The Island Read Online Free PDF Page B

experiencing a phase and it would pass. It had passed, but the teenage boy lived on in Tate. She was still fanatical about Bruce Springsteen, and about computers, and about NFL football. She had bought her first piece of real estate in a city where she knew no one “because it was there.”
    “I’m in Seattle,” Tate said.
    “Microsoft has computer problems?” Birdie said.
    “I’m at a conference,” Tate said.
    “What did Chess tell you?” Birdie said.
    “The same things she told you, I’m sure,” Tate said. “She changed her mind. She doesn’t want to marry Michael.” Tate paused. “And she said you were completely cool about it. Not a freakazoid at all.”
    Birdie fought a sense of disquiet. She didn’t love the idea of Chess and Tate discussing her, though of course Birdie and her sister, India, had parsed and deconstructed their own mother from the time they were conversant, at ages three and five.
    “Did she say if anything had happened?” Birdie said.
    “Happened?”
    “Did anything precipitate her decision? Or it all just came out of thin air?”
    “Out of thin air, I guess,” Tate said.
    “Okay,” Birdie said. “Because Michael thinks there’s something else going on. Something Chess might not be willing to tell him. Or her mother. Like maybe she’s met someone else?”
    “She didn’t mention anyone else,” Tate said. “But we’re talking about Chess. I’m sure she has men hounding her day and night. I’m sure she has men following her home from the subway like stray dogs, trying to sniff up her skirt.”
    Birdie sighed. “Really, Tate, must you be crude?”
    “I must,” Tate said. She paused. “So… what about Tuckernuck?”
    “Oh,” Birdie said. She had forgotten about Tuckernuck. “What about it?”
    “Chess said that you two are going, and I want to come, too,” Tate said. “I want to stay two weeks like we used to. Can we? Chess said she would.”
    Birdie was caught off-guard. Amazing, at the age of fifty-seven, that she could still feel so many surprising emotions at once. Both girls on Tuckernuck for two weeks? It was an embarrassment of riches; it was a lavish gift, one Birdie never would have dared wish for. And yet the motivating factor behind this trip had been for Birdie and Chess to spend quality time alone together. Now that Chess wasn’t marrying Michael Morgan, Birdie supposed the need for one-on-one time with her daughter was less pressing. And the trip to Tuckernuck would be more fun with Tate along. Birdie decided to let herself be happy. She would have both of her girls on Tuckernuck for two whole weeks!
    “Can you swing it?” Birdie said. “What about work?”
    “I am my own boss,” Tate said. “Two weeks is nothing. I could take the whole month off if I wanted to.”
    “You’re sure you want to come?” Birdie knew that both her girls loved Tuckernuck as much as she did. But they were adults now, with responsibilities. There was no Internet on Tuckernuck, no TV, and very poor cell phone reception.
    “God, yes!” Tate said. “Of course I want to come. The house is still a total dump, right? I think about it all the time. The cobwebs? The bats? The stars at night, bonfires on the beach. And the Scout? I love that vehicle.”
    “I spoke to Barrett Lee,” Birdie said. “Do you remember Chuck’s son, Barrett? He’s taken over the caretaking business.”
    “Do I remember Barrett Lee? Yes, I remember him. He was the object of my private fantasies until Clooney and Pitt did Ocean’s Eleven. ”
    Birdie said, “Was it you, then, who went on a date with him? The lunch date, in the boat?”
    “No, he took me fishing. He took Chess on the picnic. Good old Mary Francesca scored a date with my fantasy man, then proceeded to drink a six-pack of beer, get seasick, and upchuck her ham sandwich off the stern.”
    “Really?” Birdie said. She knew there had been a date, but she’d had no clue what transpired.
    “Classic Chess, right? The woman