Beth

The next morning at breakfast, Peter joins us. Over the clink of forks cutting food and glasses being filled, I update him and the others on Sophie's status.

"She lost a lot of blood, but she's in stable condition right now. The doctor had to stitch her up quite a bit though," I say.

"What a relief she's okay," Aunt Alice says as she pours sugar into her coffee and stirs it.

"It could have been so much worse," Peter says. "You should have seen the dog attack her. It was horrifying. I should have listened to Isaac and waited to continue with the shoot. I didn't see the danger until it was too late."

"There was no way of knowing exactly what would happen," I reassure him.

"So Beth, I can't believe we haven't told you our news," Mariah says as she spoons the flesh from her grapefruit. "We're selling Malcolm Estate! We found this gorgeous villa right on the beach and instantly fell in love, didn't we, Father? It's so much nicer than being crammed into this tiny house!"

I push my scrambled eggs to the other side of my plate. I'm suddenly not hungry anymore. The thought of permanently losing Malcolm Estate makes me sick to my stomach.

"We will be neighbors with Mahata Swami, imagine that! He lives in a $12 million dollar mansion that is absolutely breathtaking and runs spiritual retreats in his home. Father and I went to one as special guests, and you would not believe how many underwent vows of poverty. It was so inspiring. We were so moved we nearly joined in ourselves, but Mahata Swami felt like it might make more sense if we lived those vows in our hearts as he does, and upon further reflection, we agreed with him.

"Peter is actually the one that told us about the villa. I told him my exact specifications and can you believe it? He matched each one. You're going to love your new room."

I had thought that maybe if I won the contest and the app sold well, I could buy the house from my father. It would probably take a long while to even come up with a down payment for a loan, and if they're anxious to buy a house in Nantucket, they won't wait on me.

"I thought we had decided to move back to Lexington after the summer," I say. "We're not in a position where we have to sell quite yet."

"It's not a matter of having to, Beth. Father and I want to sell the house. Coming here this summer has affirmed it. We'd much prefer living here near the water and the fresh air of the island. I don't have more than a couple of headaches a week now. If you remember, I used to get them every day. We've never been healthier, have we Father? And happier! The children adore living on the beach. Olivia and Toby are making friends. Besides, we have been given a very generous offer on Malcolm Estate."

"Indeed," my father says. "The island has been most settling to our souls."

An offer already! I shouldn't be surprised they've moved forward on selling the house without telling me, but it still stings deeply. It's just one more reminder how little control I have over my life.

"Tell me, Beth," my father says. "Have you been using my new creams? Your complexion is much improved. You know what they say, the face is the window to the soul."

He would think that.

"Uh, no, I'm not using anything special on my face. I didn't realize we were entertaining offers on Malcolm Estate," I say.

"Well, now I feel awkward," Peter says. "I didn't realize they hadn't discussed my offer with you."

"You want to buy it?" I ask.

"Guilty as charged. It's a gem of a house. With a bit of elbow grease, I'm confident I could get Malcolm Estate registered as a historic place with a little plaque and everything. There's no rush, though. Discuss it as a family and decide what you think is best."

"I didn't realize you wanted to leave the island, Peter," I say.

"I'd like to split my time between the two," Peter says, smiling broadly at me. "I want to spend some of the time in Lexington, of course, but it only seems fair that others have an opportunity to participate in the history of the home."

"You're really planning to send tours through our home," I say flatly.

I can't believe Father and Mariah are so readily giving up our home. Peter wants to turn into a bloody museum. The thought of tourists tramping around the house gives me the shudders. Peter leans over and whispers in my ear.

"Besides, I have reasons to live in Lexington. Reasons of a personal nature."

I flush at the implications.

After breakfast, Peter's crew arrives. We are filming my video today. It was Peter's idea to film it here at our house. Since Olivia is the inspiration behind my app, Peter wants to include her in the shooting. At first she was opposed, but after we worked through her concerns, Olivia agreed to be in the video as long as she doesn't have to say anything. That works for me.

As the guys set up their cameras, I receive a text from Isaac.

An emergency has taken me away to Africa. I will be gone for the next few weeks. Will you please watch over Sophie while I'm gone? I feel badly I can't be here for her while she is in such pain. The last thing I want to do is cause anyone pain. Thank you.

After skimming the text five or six times looking for hidden messages, I decide not to read anything into it. Isaac is simply concerned for his girlfriend and doesn't want her hurt. End of story.

I am a little irritated he even sent the text. Did he really think he needed to ask me to take care of Sophie? Of course I would be there for my best friend when she needs me. I thought that was a given. I force the thoughts away to focus on filming the story behind my app.

David swings by partway through the taping to inform us that at the end of the week, half of the contestants and mentors will return to Solaire Enterprises. The other half will stay in Nantucket a second week to work on their projects and finish filming the stories since Sophie's accident has thrown us off schedule. From this point forward, there will be no assigned mentors. All mentors will be available to all the contestants to use based on their expertise. All of the mentors except Isaac, of course.

I wonder what would be so important he feels he needs to go to Africa in the middle of the competition?

The rest of the week passes in a blur. I see Sophie at the hospital as often as I can, but it's hard to get away. I suppose it would be impossible to expect a full recovery in so short a time. I'm concerned by how withdrawn she's become. Sophie is a shell of the girl she was, and I barely recognize my vivacious friend. She has convinced the hospital staff to let Snickerdoodle stay with her, which I think is doing her some good. Her dog occasionally brings a weak smile to Sophie's face when she licks her or burrows under the blanket. I hope she will recover in time to compete in the final round, but I'm not sure she will.

I notice Cole has stopped at the hospital to visit her as well, and at the end of the week, knowing that he has been asked to stay on Nantucket Island, I ask him to continue his visits in my absence. He readily agrees.

I feel bad leaving Sophie on the island, but David is insistent all technology-based contestants return to Solaire headquarters to fine-tune our products. It makes sense, and considering how things fell apart in the first few rounds, I need Mike's help to work through the bugs on the app. He's been keeping me in the loop about the progress he's made, and I'm looking forward to seeing the latest version.

Underlying all this is the heaviness of knowing my father will likely sell Malcolm Estate within a few months. In the back of my mind, I knew he might come to this conclusion, but I always hoped I would be in a position to buy it if the opportunity ever arose.

The other nagging thing is Olivia will barely have anything to do with me. It broke her heart to leave me at the beginning of the summer, and I was so looking forward to being reunited with her. Now she's always too busy running around with Tessa to spend any time with me. I suppose I should be happy she has a friend her age and isn't so dependent on me.

I know she's falling behind in her studies. I've watched her hang out with Tessa as well, and I don't think she's the best influence on Olivia. The others are so thrilled to have Olivia speak again, they don't seem to mind that most of her comments are rude like Tessa's.

The worst of it is they have decided to stay on the island without bothering to ask my opinion. If I win the contest, I've already signed a contract that I will work out at Solaire headquarters in Cambridge. If I can't live near Olivia, who's going to help her after Alice returns to Lexington?

***

The evening before I leave, Peter comes to dinner. Aunt Alice has cooked her famous Nantucket Bay scallops with bay-scented butter, lobster rolls and a strawberry and spinach salad with honey balsamic vinaigrette. Peter is gracious and appreciative of the meal, as he should be. The food is delicious. My aunt is clearly thrilled with him, and I would be surprised if this isn't the "family friend" Sophie mentioned to Isaac.

Father, Mariah and my aunt all seem to be enthralled with Peter. I have to wonder how much of their admiration is genuine, though. Do they admire him? Or do they admire the respectability of his family and his wealth? I think they feel important being around him.

The best way I can describe being around Peter is he's easy to be around. He's fun to talk to, and I don't have to walk on eggshells wondering if he'll suddenly get angry with me like Isaac does sometimes. It's nice to be around someone who's not so contradictory. We've dated a few times as teenagers during the summers I spent in Nantucket, back before Isaac and I became a couple. I barely saw Peter at all during the five years I lived on the island after leaving Harvard. He was working for his dad and traveling heavily at the time.

When Peter leaves for the night, I feel flattered when he takes my hand in his and says, "David has asked me to come to Solaire and edit the videos there. I was hoping, that is I hope, we can spend some time together while I'm there."

"I would like that," I reply. He smiles and squeezes my hand. After he leaves, I sit on the porch swing to enjoy my last evening on the island. My hair is clinging to my sticky neck. I pull it up to allow the breeze to cool me down. I hear the sound of croaking, and the deep "jug-a-rum" of the island frogs.

Aunt Alice joins me the swing shortly afterward and rocks with me. The slight creaking of the swing makes a comforting sound.

"I see that Isaac has found someone new," she says after a bit. "I would have guessed he might have found someone a little closer to his age and a bit more like you personality-wise, but they say opposites attract, and Sophie does seem like a very nice girl. I'm sure they will be very happy together."

I smile, refusing to be baited.

"Watching them, I'm inclined to think I was right to discourage you as I did ten years ago. I probably could have handled it better when I found you two the night of your prom, I'll admit, but surely you see it all turned out right in the end."

"I'm sure they will be very happy," is my noncommittal reply. We rock for a bit in silence.

"Sooo, Peter certainly spent a lot of time at the house this week," she says.

Of course. I could see this line of conversation coming a mile away.

"He did," I say, feeling a bit mischievous. "I'm wondering if he's interested in Mariah."

"Mariah! Why would you think that? Did he say anything about her?"

"Well no," I admit. "But I don't think he visits because he wants to hear Father's deep thoughts on the universe."

Alice appreciates the humor and laughs.

"Well, considering that Peter hasn't visited us regularly until you came here, I think that blows your theory about Mariah out of the water. You haven't hit on the more obvious reason for coming. I think you know what I mean."

"Well, he did say he would like to see me while he's working with David in Cambridge."

"Indeed? That's nice," Aunt Alice smiles. I can tell she is pleased with herself. In her mind, she has married me off to Peter and am living in a house with a white picket fence and two darling children of my own. She continues.

"On a more serious note, I've taken to heart what you've said about Olivia and I've started up lessons again with her. She fought me tooth and nail, but we've completed three more just this week. I've also realized in our excitement over her speaking again, we haven't held her as accountable for her words as we should have. That's changing now. I don't want you going back to the competition worrying about Olivia. I promise I'll fulfill my end of the bargain, no matter what your Father or Mariah says."

"Thank you, Aunt," I say, feeling my eyes moisten. "I can't tell you how much relief that gives me to know somebody will be both firm and loving with her. It won't be long before this competition is over, and we can pick up where we left off."

_____________

Please hit that star and support this story! I appreciate it <3

I need your help! Any ideas for casting for Peter? I'm drawing a blank right now and could really use your help! 

It feels great to be posting the story again. As I mentioned before, I've had to pull back on my publishing schedule and am now posting a new chapter every Friday. Just this past week, we have new carpet installed in two bedrooms, painted the bathroom, the deck and the railing. It's always fun to see improvements to the house, even if we will be leaving it soon. I realize the irony behind Beth moving from her home around the same time as mine - ha!

Here's Aunt Alice's delicious famous Nantucket Bay scallops with bay-scented butter and the Strawberry Spinach Salad. Yum! I totally want to dig in.

Dedication this week goes out to a lovely reader lisabaldwin1. I have so enjoyed your comments and support of RESTLESS HOPE! Thanks so much. <3