The reuniting of Lizbet and Chef Subiaco is confirmed on the third Saturday of August when they attend our favorite charity benefit of the season together: the Summer Groove, which raises money for the Nantucket Boys and Girls Club. Lizbet is wearing a lilac silk dress, and her blond hair is styled in a braid crown; Mario wears a navy blazer and a matching lilac tie. They hold hands all night; they drift over to the raw bar, where Mario doctors cherrystone clams with lemon and cocktail sauce and oysters with mignonette before handing them to Lizbet. They accept hors d’oeuvres from silver trays even though the offerings at this party aren’t quite as ambrosial as what we’ve been eating all summer at the Blue Bar. （The bakery box has spoiled us.） It turns out that Lizbet and Chef Subiaco have donated one of the auction items for the event—a three-night stay at the Hotel Nantucket for the following summer, plus a “chef’s tasting” for two （with cocktails!） at the Blue Bar.
There are numerous competing bidders, all of them seemingly relentless, and the item goes for thirty-five thousand dollars. People in the tent go crazy!
It is, however, a bit awkward when the next auction item is announced: Dinner for ten at the Deck, including signature stemless wineglasses for the rosé fountain. In years past, this item garnered the highest bid, but tonight, only one hand is raised; it belongs to Janice, the dental hygienist whose brother, Goose, is the Deck’s sommelier. Janice accidentally bids against herself （she’s had a lot of wine）， but even so, she wins the package for twenty-five hundred dollars, which is less than the package is actually worth.
Discreetly, we look around the tent, searching for JJ, and are relieved to discover he’s not in attendance.
The Summer Groove is not only the best charity event of the summer, it’s also the final one. When we wake up the next morning, our spirits sag. All we have to look forward to now are the “lasts.” The last great beach days, the last lobster omelet–and–Whispering Angel lunch at the Galley, the last stroll over the sundial bridge in Sconset, the last chance to surf-cast in Miacomet, the last long afternoon drinking Gripah at Cisco Brewers, the last of the zucchini and corn at Bartlett’s Farm （tomatoes will go strong into September and—eek!—are those pumpkins we see?）。 We can squeeze in one more boat ride up the harbor to watch the kiteboarders, check out one more juicy summer novel from the Atheneum, and eat one more fish sandwich at the Oystercatcher while the sun sets over the water and guitarist Sean Lee sings that it’s hard to get by just upon a smile.
But then Romeo at the Steamship Authority reports that some really rich dude is sending a Bentley over on the ferry with a chauffeur, and not only that but this same dude is flying in from London on his G5.
“He’ll be here Wednesday,” Romeo says.
Who could it be? we wonder. And then we realize: It’s Xavier Darling.
22. Cedar and Salt
August 22, 2022
From: Xavier Darling （[email protected]）
To: Employees of the Hotel Nantucket
Greetings, all, good morning—
Although I am busy preparing for my trip across the pond, I have not forgotten about this week’s bonus. I’m pleased to announce Edith Robbins as our winner. One heartfelt letter described the myriad ways that Edith went above and beyond during a family’s extended stay. Wonderful job, Edith!
I will arrive Wednesday afternoon at 2:00.
Please prepare the footmen and the trumpeters! （Joking, of course.）
XD
Lizbet has known for months that Xavier would be arriving on August 24, but the date seemed impossibly far in the future, and then, as it drew closer, Lizbet was consumed with other things. However, time did what it always does: it passed.
Xavier arrives tomorrow.
Lizbet waits until there’s a break between fitness classes, then enters the yoga studio, which is pleasantly dark. She sets one of the thick mats in the middle of the room and considers turning on some gamelan music but decides that the sound of gurgling water over river stones in the fountain is pleasing enough. She assumes a savasana pose and tries not to think.
Half an hour later, just as her eyes naturally flutter open—this room must have supernatural powers because she actually slept—there’s a light tap on the door. The door cracks open. “Heartbreaker?”
It’s Mario. Lizbet loves the sound of his voice. She lies back down. “Hey.” She nearly tells him to lock the door behind him so they can christen the yoga studio—but really, what is she thinking?
Mario stands over her, holding her espresso. “Edie told me you were down here and I almost didn’t believe her. What’s going on?”