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“So, what are you doing this evening?” Christy asked. She bent down with the dustpan and swept up doughnut crumbs and sand.
“Not much. Making dinner. Enjoying a bottle of wine, watching the fireworks from the back deck.” Diane’s voice was casual, but her face glowed as she removed her apron.
“Alone?” Christy asked in a teasing voice.
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Perhaps a certain scientist will be joining you?” Christy hung the broom on a hook behind the kitchen door and gave Diane a pointed look.
“Maybe...” she said again, this time with a devilish grin on her face.
Christy rushed over and took her hand. “You are making your special sea bass with mango salsa, aren’t you? On a bed of wild rice and kale?”
Diane laughed. “And what if I am?”
“Ha! I knew it! No wonder you’ve been dancing around here all day with your feet barely touching the ground.”
Diane rolled her eyes but then shot a look at Christy. “And you? I noticed a bit of a spring in your step.”
Christy felt the heat spread across her cheeks. “I might be going out for dinner and then fireworks on the beach.”
“With Molly?” Diane asked, though Christy had already told her that Molly was watching the fireworks from Anya’s condo with its perfect view of the water.
“With Jared,” Christy said with a shrug. “Just a casual evening.”
“Ha!” Diane said mockingly. “And I knew it! You’ve been holding out on me.”
“Not really,” Christy said. “We all—Molly and her cohorts—watched the moon rise the other night. I guess that’s what you’d call it.” She purposely didn’t mention the other things that happened that evening. “Anyway, Jared and I had a nice talk, and the next day, he texted me and asked if I wanted to go out tonight.” She started packing the few unsold doughnuts and pastries into bags for the food bank.
“I knew this would happen,” Diane said with a smile as she emptied the coffee pot. “That day he came in to buy doughnuts to take to work, he couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
“What? No way. He wouldn’t even look at me.”
“He wouldn’t make eye contact with you, but he never stopped looking at you.”
Christy felt her insides curl up into a tight ball. “Really?” she asked in a small voice. She still wasn’t sure where this was going, if it was going anywhere, but she liked the idea that Jared had noticed her before she was ‘Molly’s sister.’
“Really,” Diane confirmed. “And I saw the way he watched you at Molly’s birthday party.”
“Watched me?” Christy wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“In the way a woman wants to be watched,” Diane said knowingly. “Trust me. He’s into you.”
Christy grinned. “Into me?”
“Hey, I’m with the times,” Diane said, reaching for the light switch.
“Sure, you are. So, what’s the deal with Dr. Johnson?” She followed Diane into the back.
“Nothing, really. We’re just having dinner.”
Before Christy could respond, the sound of sirens shattered the air. Both women looked at each other before running to the windows at the front of the store. An ambulance and a police car flew by as cars and people got out of the way.
“Car accident?” Christy said.
“Maybe. It is the Fourth. Lots of people on the island.”
Christy nodded, but she always worried when she saw an emergency vehicle go by and didn’t know where Molly was. With her new bike at her disposal, and now with Anya on the island for the week, Molly was never around anymore.
As if reading her mind, Diane put her arm around Christy’s shoulders. “She’s fine.”
Christy let out a long breath. “I know. She’s in good hands.”
The sight and sound of the ambulance cast a dark shadow over Christy’s bright mood. She felt like the air had shifted, and she had no idea why.
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“This is the best meal I’ve had in years,” Simon said, and Diane felt her entire body tingle with pride.
“I bet you say that to all the women who cook for you.”
“No woman has cooked for me since Tricia passed almost ten years ago.” Simon poured himself more wine and held the bottle over Diane’s glass. She nodded, and he refilled her glass as well.
“Tell me about her,” Diane said, genuinely curious.
“She was the light of my life. She and Elena. Tricia had a heart of gold.” He stopped and raised his glass to Diane. “You remind me of her in that way.”
“That’s sweet of you to say.”
“I mean it. The way you’ve taken Christy and Molly into your life is very telling. Not everyone would do that.”
She took a sip of wine. “I can’t imagine anyone not stepping in to help those girls. They’re really special, and they’re all alone.”
“Not anymore,” he said with a sharp nod. “They have us now.”
“They sure do.” She smiled at him. “And maybe someone else.” She raised an eyebrow, and he looked at her with a question in his eyes.
“Oh?”
“Christy and Jared are on a date tonight.”
Simon looked surprised. “Really? Did she ask him out?”
Diane shook her head. “No, he asked her. Why?”
“I can’t imagine Jared making the first move. That man is as shy as they come. Except around Molly. She’s able to get anyone to open up, if they can get a word in edgewise.”
“I know what you mean,” Diane said with a laugh. “But seriously, Jared asked Christy to dinner and then fireworks on the beach.”
“Hmm. Interesting.”
“Why?” Diane sat up. “Is there something I should know about him?”
“Oh, no, not at all. He’s top notch. Good upbringing, from what I can tell. Harvard undergrad and grad school, working on his doctorate. Smart and focused. She could hardly find someone better.”
“But...?”
Simon put his glass down and propped his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers. “He’s a bit of a closed book. Doesn’t talk much about his family. I just know what bits I’ve pulled out of him.”
“So? You said he was shy and doesn’t talk much.”
Simon looked pensive for a moment then nodded. “I guess you’re right. Chloe and Avi never stop talking, so I suppose his reservedness just stands out.”
Diane wasn’t sure what to think but would see what more she could pry out of Christy in the morning.
“Did you hear about the excitement on the island this afternoon?” she asked.
“Excitement? Over what?”
“An overdose. Not what we typically see around here. Some pretty bad stuff apparently.”
“Local?”
She shook her head. “No, some young guy on vacation with friends.”
“Well, hopefully that’s a one-time occurrence. We don’t need that kind of thing going on around here.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Diane said, thinking she and Marge had said the same thing earlier when Marge called to tell her the news.
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“What are you studying?” Jared asked before he took a pull of his beer then put down the bottle.
Christy sipped her white zin and looked at the man across the table. The evening was going well. They were making small talk, and she felt at ease. There was no mention of her tears or their conversation from the other night, and she was glad for that. Looking back, she was embarrassed by her heightened emotions and the way she reacted to Chloe’s comment. She chalked it up to being worried about Molly and the sudden shift in her own situation, but still, she wished she had handled things differently.
She lowered her glass and realized at that moment that Jared had gotten a haircut. His dark hair still curled around his head, but the curls were a little neater, not so out-of-control, and cut back from his face some. She smiled at the thought that, perhaps, he had done that in preparation for their date.
“English,” she answered his question. “I don’t really want to teach.” She frowned. “I honestly don’t know what I want to do. Diane thinks I should become a librarian, but that’s even more schooling. Plus, I don’t know if I want to do that or if I even have the time or money.” She took a breath and sighed. “I know I should have this figured out by now, and I wish I did, but...” She looked away, heat flowing into her cheeks.
“Hey,” Jared said in a quiet voice, prompting her to look up at him. “Not everyone has it figured out by the time they’re in college or even after. I don’t.”
She blinked in surprise. “You don’t? I thought you were getting your PhD and had your whole life in order.”
“Well.” He sat back and picked up his beer, holding it in his hand while he spoke, and it occurred to Christy that it was the first time she’d seen him so at ease. She wondered if it was the beer. “I’m getting my PhD, but that doesn’t mean I have everything figured out. I think I want to be a professor but am not totally sure. I could go into research for NASA or work in a lab or for a company like SpaceX. Heck, I could become a meteorologist on the evening news.” He smiled, and Christy laughed.
“Really? With a PhD?”
“Sure, why not? I’m studying the moon, which influences the tides and weather.”
She gave a slight nod and made a noise to indicate her acceptance of this possibility.
“The thing is, I think I’d like to write a book. Working on my dissertation has given me a new appreciation for writing. But working with Molly has made me start wondering about how many kids out there love space like she does, like I always have from the time I was little. It would be really cool to share what I’ve learned with others, but I can’t decide whether that would be on an academic level or just something fun, like writing for kids.”
“What about writing textbooks? You know, for elementary schools.”
Jared finished his beer. “Hmm, I’ve never thought about that.” He put the bottle on the table. “And that opens up a whole new line of thought.”
Christy laughed. “I didn’t mean to make things even more difficult for you.”
Jared shook his head and looked at his watch. Is he bored with me? Christy wondered automatically.
“Want to take a walk on the beach before the fireworks? We’ve got plenty of time.” He motioned for the waitress but stopped and looked at Christy. “Oh! Unless you wanted dessert.”
She looked at the remains of her chicken marsala. “No, I’m stuffed. A walk would be perfect.”
They paid, and Jared escorted her from the restaurant, his palm on the small of her back. Christy liked the feel of his hand there. When they approached the car, he let go. Christy felt a coolness rush up under her shirt even though the night was hot and humid. She smiled at him as he opened the Jeep’s door for her and held her hand to guide her inside. She remembered Fred doing the same type of thing for her mother, but she had never experienced such chivalry in men of her own generation. She had always thought of chivalry as an innate trait, but now she decided that it must be learned.
Neither spoke as they drove to the beach, but it was a comfortable silence. Christy could see what Molly saw in Jared—he was polite, kind, well-mannered, and soft-spoken. He had a gentle confidence that was so unlike most of the guys Christy had known in high school and college. He was a gentleman, so far, and Christy was beginning to understand why Dr. Johnson placed so much trust in him. She found that she was relaxed around him and wondered how she ever could have thought he posed a threat to Molly.
Jared had a season pass to the state park, which surprised Christy—he didn’t seem like the beach type—but then she remembered that the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge was much more than a beach with its trails and recreational activities for birders, photographers, and researchers. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and decided she could see him as a birdwatcher. The thought made her smile.
Once they were parked in a sandy area where driving was permitted, Jared hastily jumped from the car and was at her door before she had it all the way open. She took his offered hand and let him help her out. He let go of her hand to close the door, and she felt the same loss of heat that she had experienced when he removed his hand from her back at the restaurant. She followed him down to a wooded area and was surprised when he took a trail through the grass.
“Where are we going?”
“Wild Beach,” he replied before stopping and turning back to her. “You’ve never been there?”
She shook her head.
“It’s a great place—fewer people, more wildlife, and great trails.” He looked down at the long summer skirt that swayed around her legs and the sandals on her feet. “Um, maybe another time?”
Christy shook her head. “If this is the best place to go for a walk, then I’m game.”
He took her hand, and she felt the effects of his touch run up her arm and down to her stomach. He turned back, taking her with him.
“We can get there a different way. We’ll save the trail walk for later.” He stopped and looked at her, pushing his glasses up with his free hand, seemingly nervous once again. “I mean, if you want to go another time.”
She smiled, feeling a little shy in the semi-dark of the trees, his hand holding hers. “I’d like that a lot.”
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Jared wasn’t sure when he realized he was holding Christy’s hand. It just felt... natural. She made no attempt to let go as they walked down the beach, not even when she bent to take off her shoes. When she stopped suddenly and tugged at his arm, he looked at her, only to find her staring ahead, her eyes wide.
Wild Beach was called that for many reasons. Few people made their way to the end of the eleven-mile strip that was lined with sand dunes and buffered by sand and marsh grasses. The grasses, surrounding marsh, and spindly trees were the perfect habitat for migrating birds—great blue herons, snowy egrets, dunlins, American widgeons, and other birds that loved that type of terrain. To top it all off, there were the ponies.
The wild ponies of Assateague Island had lived on Assateague and Chincoteague islands since the Seventeenth Century. There were several stories about how they arrived there, but the one most accepted by historians and locals alike was that the ponies were shipwrecked after the sinking of a Spanish galleon off Assateague. Today, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company was responsible for the care of the ponies. A pony auction was held every year to help pay for the department’s expenses.
Standing about twenty yards ahead of Jared and Christy were three of the ponies, their red and white patchwork coats shining in the evening sun. Though he had read of their history and knew their fame, Jared had never actually seen the ponies in person. The sight of the beautiful creatures standing on the shoreline sent a thrill though him. He felt the same waves of excitement rolling off Christy as she stood, transfixed by the majesty of the scene.
“They’re magnificent,” she whispered.
Jared felt a lump in his throat as he watched her watching them.
“Magnificent,” he repeated at the same whispered level she had used.
Slowly, she turned toward him, and he felt a flutter in his chest. With his free hand, he reached up and gently caressed her face, much the same as she had done to his a few nights back. He felt her catch her breath as his fingers touched her skin. Her hazel eyes held his, sparkling with meaning he didn’t dare compute.
The urge to bend down and kiss her was as strong as the ocean’s tide, and he felt himself being pulled toward her, though he made no move. He had the sudden awareness that he was the moon and she, the earth, holding him in her gravitational pull, caught between the desire to move toward her and the need to stay in the safety of his orbit.
A loud whinny rang through the air, and she blinked, the moment broken. Jared wasn’t sure if he felt regret or relief. He had never allowed himself to get too close to anyone outside of his family. Even the deep love he had for his sisters had its boundaries, and he often wondered how his mother managed to keep the two worlds separate—the one they lived in and the one about which the two of them never spoke.
“Should we head back?” Christy quietly asked, and he thought he detected disappointment in her tone.
He looked at his watch. “Yeah, we should. I didn’t realize how long we’ve been walking. We need to get going if we’re going to make it to see the show.”
They took one last look at the ponies and turned to go, her hand still in his, and it gave him some comfort despite his misgivings about getting too close.
“Where to next?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
“Really? We are watching the fireworks, right?”
“Of course. We’re just not going to watch them with the thousands of people who are crowding onto the carnival grounds.”
He felt her look at him but kept walking. If she asked questions, he wasn’t going to answer. He was good at keeping secrets.
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Christy took Jared’s hand, and he helped her down onto the deck of the boat. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d been on a boat, but she knew that this was nicer than the average fishing boat.
“You said this is Dr. Fieldstone’s boat?”
She watched him untie the line and toss it onto the deck like an expert.
“Yeah, he’s out of town and said I could borrow it.”
She held her bottom lip tightly in her teeth as he walked precariously along the outer ledge of the boat to untie the other line. “Be careful,” she said.
Jared stopped and looked at her with concern. “Are you afraid of boats?”
She shook her head, perhaps a little too vigorously. “Um, no. I’m not afraid exactly...”
Jared let go of the line, leaving it tied, and jumped into the boat. He put his hands on her upper arms and looked down at her. “We don’t have to do this. I thought it would be nice to be away from the crowds and get a stellar view of the fireworks, but—”
“Stellar?” She asked with a smile. “No pun intended?”
Jared didn’t smile. “Christy, seriously. I’m not trying to be funny. If you want to watch them somewhere else, we can.”
“No, I’m fine. I’m just not used to being on a boat. And it’s going to be dark. And you don’t really have any experience—”
“Whoa, stop there. I grew up in the land of ten thousand lakes. I was practically born on a boat.”
“Really?”
A dark look passed across his features, but it disappeared quickly and was replaced with a smile. “No, not really. But I did live most of my childhood in Minnesota. We went boating a lot. My father has a boat, and we spent a lot of time at his family’s cabin on a lake.”
“And you’re sure you know how to drive one?”
Jared laughed. “Absolutely. Dr. Fieldstone would not have loaned it to me if he didn’t trust my knowledge and ability. I really have been driving boats longer than I’ve been driving cars.”
Christy thought about that, then slowly nodded. “Okay, then,” she said with an exhale. “Let’s do this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep, I’m sure. I’m an island girl now. I have to get used to being on a boat. Right?”
“You won’t get sick or anything?”
“I don’t think so?” She hadn’t meant for it to come out as a question and saw the alarm in his eyes. His grip tightened on her arms. Not for the first time, something about him reminded her of Vince, but she quickly pushed the thought away.
“No, I’ll be fine. I promise,” she said hastily. She gave him as much of a smile as she could. After a moment, he let go and climbed back up to untie the line.
Christy breathed deeply as Jared started the boat and maneuvered it away from the dock. By the time they were out in the middle of the channel, she felt at ease. The slow movement of the boat stirred a breeze that wrapped around her, dispelling the heat and humidity that she had felt on shore. She looked over the side, wondering if she could see any fish swimming by the boat, but the water was murky and moved too swiftly for her to detect anything. She sat back up and leaned her head back. Closing her eyes, she let herself enjoy the peacefulness of the ride. When the boat eased to a stop, she opened her eyes and looked around.
They weren’t the only boat out there by far, but there was a hush over the moonlit water, only interrupted by the sound of the anchor that Jared dropped into the water. He joined her on the cushioned bench, and they both looked up at the sky.
“Not much longer,” Jared said in a soft voice.
A shiver ran over her. Jared put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. “You can’t be cold,” he said even as he rubbed his hand up and down the top of her arm.
“No, just...” She tried to think of the right word. “Anticipating, I guess. It’s been a while since I’ve had a night like this.” She turned to face him. “Thank you. I needed this.”
“You’re welcome,” he said in a hushed voice, and she felt as though her stomach was filled with the little white birds they saw on their walk. She stared into his eyes and swallowed when she saw them briefly dart to her lips and back up.
She felt him leaning toward her and anticipated his kiss, inclining toward him. Suddenly, there was a loud pop, and a light streaked up into the sky. They both startled and looked to see a burst of color against the black cloak of night.
Neither moved nor spoke for the next forty-five minutes. Christy watched the display without a care in the world. She didn’t know if it was the beautiful night or the feeling of his arm holding her close to him that brought on the profound sense of peace.
When the display was over, they sat still while the other boats meandered back toward the shore, and Christy wondered if Jared was as much against the night ending as she was. Finally, he spoke, his voice rich and low.
“I think God intended for our lives to be just like this.”
Christy had no idea what he meant, and she was surprised to hear him say such a thing. “God?”
She felt him nod, but they continued looking into the sky. “Yeah. I think when he created the heavens and the earth, he meant for life to be just like this—peaceful and quiet with humans looking toward the heavens in awe.”
Christy was quiet for several moments before saying, “You believe in God?”
As if surprised, Jared pulled back and looked at her, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. “You don’t?”
“Um, well, I guess I never really thought about it.”
“You never thought about whether you believe in God?”
She shook her head, not sure if she felt embarrassed or just confused. “It’s not, I mean, he’s not something we ever talked about. I mean, Fred was a scientist, after all.”
“So?” Jared asked, his face a picture of puzzlement.
“So, aren’t most scientists atheists or something?”
Jared shook his head. “Well, there are scientists who are atheists, more now than ever before, I would guess. But throughout the centuries, it was men of the Church who pioneered most of the greatest scientific discoveries ever made.”
“Really?” She sat up, completely intrigued. “What Church?”
“The earliest science experiments on record were conducted by Catholic priests and monks. In fact, Buridan, Oresme, and Bacon were the Catholic philosophers who founded modern science. In the very first centuries AD, it was the Catholic monasteries and convents that were bastions of science, ushering in studies of nature, mathematics, engineering, and even space.” He smiled and raised and lowered his eyebrows several times. Christy laughed, and Jared continued.
“Copernicus pioneered the idea that the sun was the center of the universe, and Descartes invented the study of geometry. They were both Catholic. Mendel, the father of genetics was also Catholic, and Georges Lemaître, a Catholic priest, formulated the Big Bang Theory.”
She watched as he became more animated. He had the same passion in his voice when he talked about God that he had for the moon, and she marveled at his enthusiasm.
“See, it’s a modern myth that religion and science are at odds, mostly thanks to Stephen Hawking, but he was wrong. Science can measure quantitative things, but it can’t measure truth, beauty, goodness, or other intangible things. Science can only explain so much. Thomas Aquinas, who was brilliant, said that you can’t prove that God exists because God isn’t a being. He is being itself.”
Christy stared at him, narrowing her eyes as she tried to grasp what he was saying. “I’m lost. First, I have no idea who this Thomas guy is, and second, how is someone ‘being itself’?”
“Matter is a thing that is in a manner of being. We, humans, are things in a manner of being. Energy is in a manner of being. The universe is in a manner of being.”
Christy raised her brow, and Jared seemed to understand that she was falling even farther behind. He waved his hand as if to erase his words from the air.
“Okay, sorry. Science can never eliminate or disprove God because God isn’t a thing or a person or a form of energy. He is the culmination of everything, the before and after, the beginning and the end. Hawking spent his life searching for the Theory of Everything, the basic underlying thread that holds everything together. What he never understood or accepted was that the thing that unites and explains everything is God.”
He looked at her as though this should make all things clear.
Christy shook her head. “I want to understand. I’m trying to understand...” She was beginning to feel the same way she felt several nights before. Her limited knowledge and understanding were no match for his intellect, which she knew. What surprised her, though, was that he was arguing the case of something which she would have thought was unintellectual.
“Maybe it’s too late at night for me to be able to fully understand what you’re saying.” She didn’t want to admit that she was just woefully inadequate when it came to such deep ruminations.
Jared looked at her and grinned, but not in a demeaning way. “It’s okay. It’s heady stuff. You were brought up in a house where science was God. I was brought up in a house where the God in Heaven was the basis for everything.”
“That’s just so foreign to me. I mean, my mother used to say things like, ‘do the Christian thing,’ and sometimes we found a church on Christmas, but that was the extent of it. Fred was staunchly anti-religion.”
She thought that the look he gave her might have been one of pity, but he quickly rearranged his expression and eased himself off the bench. “I get it. I went to Harvard, too. Religion wasn’t a very popular discussion topic there. Unless you were on the side of Hawking, of course.” He turned toward the engine room, or whatever it was called, but then looked back at her. “Don’t worry about not understanding it all. Just know that I’m always here to talk. If you have questions about religion or science or how to drive a boat, I’m your man.”
He gave her a wide smile before going into the little cabin and starting up the boat. Christy stared out at the dark horizon as they headed back to the shore and thought about all that he had said. Most of it was beyond her understanding, so she decided the only thing she really wanted to dwell on were the words, ‘I’m your man.’
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“I’m telling you, I thought I was seeing a ghost.”
Vince’s remark was greeted with nothing but silence. He took the phone from his ear and looked at the screen to be certain he had not lost the connection. After several moments, he heard a voice on the other end.
“And you’re positive he isn’t there just for the holiday? That either way, you’ll have the ability to track down his whereabouts?”
“Absolutely,” Vince replied, almost tasting the approval he’d lost after his last indiscretion.
“And you know this how?”
His mouth curled up into a confident grin. “Because I know the gal he was with. And so do you.”
Local Authors to Sign Books at SunDial Books
Local authors Kayla Kelly Middleton and Katherine Middleton Kelly will be on hand this Saturday to sign copies of their best-selling books. Middleton will be autographing the cookbook she wrote with her husband, Zach, Around the World in Eighty Meals, which is the inspiration for the new Gordon Ramsay cooking competition on Fox Television. Kate Kelly, Middleton’s sister-in-law, will be signing her memoir, Discovering Life on a Barrier Island. The book details the story of Kate’s arrival on Chincoteague, meeting her husband, Coast Guard Commander Aaron Kelly, and becoming a beloved member of our community. Contact SunDial or check out their Facebook page for more information.
The Chincoteague Herald, July 5