All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank

Author:Dorothea Benton Frank
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-05-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Nantucket Looms

After a delicious seafood dinner and highly animated conversation in the back room behind the bar at CRU, they agreed to meet for breakfast in the dining area the next morning at eight. Nick had spent the better part of the dinner entertaining Maritza with the history of Nantucket from the tales of Tom Nevers and the Nantucket Indians to the stories of the treacherous Rose and Crown Shoal, Walter Chase and his heroic rescues with the surf boat, the Coskata. She was a rapt student, absorbing every word and asking lots of questions.

“Walter Chase said to his men, ‘You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back!’ Can you imagine saying such a thing in today’s world?”

“No. I haven’t heard these stories since I was knee-high to a grasshopper! And I’ve never heard of Tom Nevers. I thought it was just a neighborhood. All this information is so good to have because I can tell it all to Gladdie and make her the smartest girl in school!”

Olivia thought, Did that mean Gladdie might receive her formal education on the island?

“Well, and remember, history teaches much more than just a list of dates and facts. It teaches us how to be. What kind of people do we want to be? The men who walked these beaches during terrible storms swinging their lanterns and peering though spyglasses, watching the turbulent waters, searching for ships in trouble?”

“They were a bunch of nuts,” Maritza said.

“Maybe. But those men were also selfless and brave. Let’s not forget that they endured every kind of inclement weather to help save lives. It was below zero when Chase’s soaking wet and near-exhausted men saved the crew of the Kirkham. And save lives they did.”

Nick was on a lecturing roll, becoming as boisterous as a revival preacher in a tent. Olivia put her hand on his to calm him down.

Nick took a breath and exhaled. “Thank you, sweetheart. I was about to break the sound barrier, wasn’t I?”

“It’s okay,” Olivia said, thinking that his enthusiasm was part of what made him such a beloved professor.

“It sure gives you a lot to think about,” Maritza said. “I mean, they risked their lives for strangers. I don’t know if I’d do that, do you?”

“Well, our armed forces do it every day, as do our police officers and firemen and all sorts of first responders. Sadly, that kind of work is not in my nature. Thank God there are people who can do it,” Nick said. “I’m more of a diplomatic peacemaking sort of fellow.”

“You would’ve made a wonderful ambassador,” Maritza said.

All Nick heard was would have.

Olivia, always sensitive to Nick’s feelings said, “Game’s not over! The White House might still call.”

So morning found Nick and Maritza chatting away while they dressed and packed, expecting to leave the island that day.

“Maritza loved all the stories you told last night,” Olivia said.

“You know, her desperation is pitiable,” Nick said. “She’s in deep trouble with her marriage if

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