Family Reunion, Nancy Thayer [the kiss of deception read online .txt] 📗

being indoors. They drove them in the two minivans to the library, but another camp van was parked right in front of it. The foyer of the Whaling Museum was lined with adults and children trying to buy passes. Finally, they drove out to the Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum, which was fascinating but small. Some of the children were too young to appreciate the roped-off ancient rowboats and fought to watch the video of the Andrea Doria sinking.

“Thank God we’ll have your house for them to stretch out in tomorrow,” Cal whispered to Ari.

Ari nodded uncertainly.

That evening, at seven-thirty, a knock came at the door. Eleanor had been informed that Cal and Sandy wanted to come over to hide the items for the scavenger hunt so they wouldn’t have to do it in the very early morning.

Cal had showered and changed from his wet camp clothes and looked handsome in a pair of khakis and a blue shirt.

“Nice to see you, Mrs. Sunderland,” he said, shaking Eleanor’s hand. “It is awfully good of you to allow us to entertain the children here.”

Sandy smiled and thanked Eleanor when Eleanor offered her hand.

“We’ve made maps of fifteen places which my grandmother and I think will make good hiding places,” Ari said.

Eleanor handed out the maps and walked through the house with Cal and Sandy to show them exactly what she meant, in the second-floor guest bedroom, in the crowded closet, behind the muddle of deck shoes and waders. Beneath the bed. Behind the bureau, hanging from the wood filigree surrounding the mirror attached to the bureau.

The other second-floor guest bedroom was still reserved for Cliff, who insisted that one day he’d clear it all out. It was crammed with his tennis and sailing trophies, his stacks of CDs, spy novels, and old cameras, including a Polaroid from the high school days when he thought he’d be a photographer. On his desk were a massive computer and boxes of floppy discs, and boxes, boxes, of love letters from girlfriends and not-quite-pornographic photos of those girlfriends tucked into a manila envelope—Eleanor picked that up and took it to her off-limits room. Cliff’s closet was hung with Nantucket red trousers in several sizes, and navy blue blazers he’d outgrown, and a sword— “A sword? Where did that come from?” Eleanor asked as she carried it out of the room and put it high on a shelf where no small hands could reach. Cliff had also saved stacks of magazines: Nantucket Today, GQ, Esquire, Sailing. Burgees and pennants covered one wall. Another wall was lined with shelves holding high school and college albums and photo albums and plastic boxes filled with tennis balls and a life vest that hadn’t fit him since he was ten.

“Maybe he’s planning to marry eventually and have children,” Eleanor mused.

“Well,” Ari whispered, “he’s almost forty, so he’d better get busy.”

Cal and Sandy found more hiding places: inside an Indiana Jones leather hat lying upside down on a shelf, in a pottery pencil holder Cliff made in sixth grade (why had he kept that?), boxes of old clothes meant to be taken to the dump someday.

Next, they went through the main level hiding objects—inexpensive items like Slinkies, yo-yos, plastic mermaids and ogres, small boxes of Play-Doh, a ball and jacks, a rope bracelet, a bag of marbles.

When they were done, Eleanor asked, “Would you like to sit down a moment and have a drink? Lemonade? Wine?”

“Yes,” Sandy said. “Please.”

“I’ll bring some lemonade,” Ari told them.

In the kitchen, she filled four glasses with ice and lemonade, set them on a tray, and headed to the living room. Just at that moment, her cellphone, tucked into her pocket, trilled. She’d turned the volume up in case Eleanor needed her when Ari was at camp. Now she sent the call to voicemail. Peter’s voice roared from the phone.

“Ari, you’re out of your mind. But fine, come up to Cambridge. I’ll meet you for lunch Saturday at the Coffee House. You’re paying.”

Ari’s heart kicked so hard she nearly dropped the tray. Forcing a smile, she set the glasses on the table, pretending she hadn’t heard Peter’s message. Eleanor continued to smile serenely.

Ari sat with them and took part in the conversation about the camp and each of the children.

“Fifteen children, and fifteen prizes,” Cal said. “We’d like to give them an hour to search. Then we’d like to sit in a circle on the living room floor and talk about sharing, so that eventually every child will have something, even if he hasn’t found anything.”

“So wise,” Eleanor said. “I will have lunch waiting for them. Probably mac and cheese and carrot sticks.”

The next day, Cal and Sandy arrived at the house on the bluff with the excited children. The group entered the house through the mudroom, where they shed their raincoats and boots, then went into the kitchen and on into the living room, where Eleanor and Ari greeted them. Ari introduced her grandmother, who addressed the camp.

“Hello, children,” Eleanor said. “Please sit in a circle on the floor so we can tell you how to begin the game.”

As she spoke, she handed out small brown paper bags, in case they found two or more prizes. Ari hid a smile, thinking how cleverly her grandmother had dressed, with several strands of glittering beads and an enormous diamond brooch. Many of the children were slack-jawed at the sight of the room with its fireplace and owl andirons and the mantel with the old marble clock and heavy silver candlesticks. Ari and Eleanor had removed anything breakable. Still, the heavy antique mahogany table with winged lions for legs was startling and impressive, and on the coffee table, the enormous geode, cut in half to expose glittering amethyst crystals, caused much whispering.

Cal took over, splitting the teams in half, making sure the two boys who could be the most trouble were not on the same team, and started the search. Ari and Sandy went up to the second floor