Page 23 of Sunset on the Solstice

Soon, Monica and Jim were there.

“Your daughter has been an angel for our son,” Jim said to Rebecca.

Rebecca stuttered. “I really am so sorry about your son,” she said.

“What are the doctors saying about him?” Lily asked, as she knew that the doctors couldn’t tell Shelby anything.

“They still don’t know when he’ll- I mean,” Monica said. “He hit his head really hard. Even if he does wake up, they’re not sure if…”

This was something Shelby hadn’t heard before. Her ears rang. “What aren’t they sure about?”

Monica and Jim exchanged worried glances. It was clear they’d previously decided not to share whatever this news was with Shelby.

“His personality might be slightly off,” Monica said finally, her gaze to the ground. “But they don’t know. There’s so much they don’t know.”

“How could they know that?” Shelby asked, shaking her head. She thought the doctors were useless.

“Maybe we should call my sister,” Rebecca said, speaking of Aunt Bethany.

“She’s not here,” Shelby said, raising her shoulders.

Rebecca sucked in her cheeks. “I know, but maybe she could tell you what’s standard with a head injury like this.”

But Shelby didn’t want to hear more bad news. She also didn’t want to hear any more advice from family members. She could already guess what Aunt Bethany’s stance was.

All Shelby knew to do was keep herself upbeat and sure. When she finally convinced her mother and sister to return to Nantucket, she burrowed into meditation and prayer, asking the universe to let Jared wake up. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do,” she said to the sky over the hospital, which seemed unable to stop spitting rain. Everything felt permanently dreary. “I’ll be the wife of his dreams,” she told the sky.

On the day of their next meeting, Professor Thames emailed her, asking why she wasn’t in her office. Shelby deleted the email right away.

The dean wrote her not long after that, suggesting that they meet to discuss what was happening with her this semester. He wrote: There is always a possibility that you can press pause on your academic career this semester and begin again in the spring, but you need to communicate that.

Shelby deleted that email, too.

After Shelby had spent three weeks at the Cambridge hospital, three weeks at Jared’s bedside, three weeks avoiding her assignments and her books and her emails, Jared finally opened his eyes. Shelby could hardly believe it. She called a nurse right away and squeezed his hand. “Can you hear me, baby?” she asked. “I’m here. Don’t talk. There’s a tube in your throat.”

Jared’s eyes flicked back and forth, as though he were trying to make sense of where he was. Slowly, Shelby filled in the blanks about the accident and the hospital. A minute later, a bunch of nurses arrived, as did his parents. Shelby, Jim, and Monica were asked to step outside so the staff could properly assess Jared and remove his feeding tube. In the waiting room, Shelby and his parents wept openly and hugged one another. Shelby felt more connected to Jared’s family than she did to her own now. They’d been through this together.

When they were finally allowed back into Jared’s room, he was able to talk in a small, raspy voice. “You’re here,” he said to Shelby, blinking slowly.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Shelby told him. “I love you, Jared. I’m sorry about everything, but we won’t be apart again.” Her throat was tight with sorrow.

12

Autumn and Christmas 2026

Now that Jared was awake and getting better every day, it was decided that Jim and Monica would welcome Shelby to their Boston home more often. Previously, Shelby had slept either at the hospital or, sometimes, in the crappy hotel nearby. But now that Jared would see her every day. Now that she needed to mend their romantic relationship as his body mended itself, she needed to look the part of his girlfriend. This meant daily showers, skincare, and makeup. It meant comfort and time to breathe.

The first night that Shelby went home with Jim and Monica, she sat in the back seat and watched the rain glide down the car windows. Jim and Monica were talking about their most recent meeting with the doctor, during which the doctor had talked about Jared’s brain scans. They weren’t hiding any information from Shelby, not now. Shelby felt a swell of pride, even as what they said worried her. Apparently, the damage was far greater than they’d initially thought.

It was decided that Shelby would take the guest bedroom closest to Jared’s room, the one he’d vacated when he’d gone to Harvard. After showering in the guest bathroom, Shelby padded past his bedroom and peered in to look at the decorations he’d put up during high school. There were bands she’d never heard him talk about. There were sports posters. On the dresser was a framed photograph of Jared with some girl Shelby didn’t recognize, the sight of which punctured her stomach. But Shelby reminded herself that of all the girls Jared had dated or been friends with before, Shelby was the one who was here.

In the guest bedroom, Shelby curled up on her side and listened to the wind as it railed against the massive house. She’d heard Jim say something about the year the house had been built and how much history it had seen. But the only history she imagined was Jared, growing up here, strengthening himself for adulthood. Soon, he would be back. Soon, Shelby and Jared would walk up and down the halls, as Jared regained his strength.

For Thanksgiving, Shelby returned to Nantucket. She was reluctant on the bus and ferry rides, but when her mother and Lily appeared in their car, she felt a jolt of happiness. They smiled at her nervously, as though they didn’t know what to expect from her.

“How is he?” Lily asked, turning around in the front seat to look at Shelby.

“He’s so much better,” Shelby said. “He’s walking around with a cane, now, and the doctors say that he’ll be able to go home a week or two before Christmas.”