Read Online The Reunion by Summer Newman - Free Book Online

was a sunny, warm day, and the snow was rapidly melting. Ethan was just pushing off in his boat. Against her will she watched him row to the cove wharf, tie up, and nimbly scale the ladder. She could clearly see him walking to his car in paint-spattered coveralls, ripped at the collar and ragged around the cuffs. Just as he was getting into his car, he suddenly looked up at her house. Though he could not see her, Ebony quickly walked away, mortified. She stoked the stove, then sat for a long time contemplating life and its knack for the unexpected. The phone jolted her out of the reverie.
    “Could you come by after church?” Jenny asked. “I need your help doing something.”
    “I’ll be there.”
    Ebony changed into a loose black dress and slipped on her black boots and a gray wool hat. She put on her heavy gray coat with triangular black designs, checked herself in the mirror, then proceeded to St. Joseph’s Church.
    Does everyone know he’s back? she thought during the walk.
    As soon as she entered the parking lot, people started gesturing and muttering. It was obvious to her that everyone, absolutely everyone, now knew. Trying her best to maintain an air of reserved dignity, she took her seat in the back pew and stared straight ahead. Others would turn away if their eyes met, and she felt like a wife attending her husband’s funeral. It was apparent people felt sorry for her, but just didn’t know what to say.
    The service was excruciatingly long, and though Father Thomas gave a wonderful sermon on forgiveness, Ebony was so self-conscious that she hardly heard a word of it. At times it seemed like she was in an interrogation room with bright lights on her face and everyone staring at her through a two-way mirror. Never had she been more uncomfortable. When the service finally ended, she hurried out the door and avoided eye contact with all the people trying to get a look at her.
    I hate you, Ethan , she thought as she hurried away from the church. I will never, never forgive you.
    She quickly walked home, changed, then walked toward Jenny’s. Go away, Ethan , she thought during her stroll up the Harrington driveway.
    At that precise moment, Ethan unexpectedly walked around the corner and stopped abruptly. “Hello,” he said.
    “Hello,” she mumbled, putting down her head and trying to walk past him.
    “You look very nice today.”
    She stared unblinkingly forward and walked past him.
    “If you need any help,” Ethan said, “don’t hesitate to ask.”
    Ebony ignored the offer and in thoughtless confusion hurried into the house. Once out of sight, she shook her head. “That man!” she exclaimed. “I can’t stand the sight of him.”
    “Oh good, you’re here,” said Jenny, coming upstairs to greet her.
    Ebony took off her coat. “What do you want me to do?”
    She gestured with her head, and they went downstairs, where there was a bucket of water and a mop outside Ethan’s study. “Ethan says he’ll live on the island for awhile, but if he decides to move back here, I think I better get his workspace ready.” She went inside the study and looked back over her shoulder. “This room has been locked up for a long time.”
    Only then did it occur to Ebony how selfish she had been. When Ethan returned, Ebony thought only of herself, how he had wronged her and how she had a right to be angry. But she had not considered Jenny’s feelings. Ethan had deserted her, too. Jenny had also received only a note. Ethan was her elder brother, her only family, her protector, but he went away. Disappeared. He deserted her, his younger sister, just as he had deserted Ebony. That realization made her feel guilty.
    Jenny suddenly realized she forgot something. “Oh, I’m so stupid. I forgot the other mop. Could you go get it? It’s on the back veranda.”
    “Sure.”
    “Thanks.”
    Ebony reluctantly walked upstairs, searched for the mop on the veranda without finding it, then strolled back into the kitchen.