Page 48 of The Book of Summer

“Oh, me?”

Bess pats her stomach as if the information might be on her.

“In my knapsack, dear.”

“Okay. Got it.”

Bess retrieves the flyers—which are meat-sauce-free, thank God—and stands to pass them out. Suddenly a body materializes beside her. Without asking, Evan Mayhew takes half the papers from her hand.

“Thanks,” Bess mutters.

“And what do we have here?” Cissy warbles. “Even Chappy Mayhew’s son is on my side!”

“Uh, I’m only helping Bess.”

“Oh I’ll bet you’re helping her all right. Where’s your girl—?”

“Cis!” Bess warns, and then waggles her fingers. “Get on with it. We’ll pass out the sheets.”

“Fine.” Cissy exhales as Bess and Evan make their way around the room. “The other members of the Preservation Fund and I truly believe that the historical and natural beauty of the bluff can andshouldbe protected to benefit future generations. Our mission is to do this in a scientifically sound and financially viable way.”

“Hi Bess,”people whisper as she wends her way through old classmates and teachers and Yacht Club pals.

“You look great.”

“How’s your sister?”

“Baxter Road is the very soul of the bluff,” Cissy goes on. “And it’s also the road that leads to the iconic Sankaty Head Lighthouse. The street is lined with historic homes and is a crucial part of the island’s identity.”

“How’s the ER business?”

“Your dad still alive and well?”

“As the bluff continues to erode,” Cissy says, fixing her glasses so they are more firmly on her face, “Baxter Road is in grave danger. In addition to threatening the homes that are the very fabric of this island’s character, the erosion undermines the infrastructure of Sconset itself, putting at risk our water supply and sewage lines.”

Bess drops off the last flyer with the manager of their favorite restaurant, the Chanticleer, and backs up against the wall, arms crossed. She watches Evan distribute the rest of his.

“On top of this is the decline in revenue,” Cissy says. “Erosion has already caused the loss of over sixty million dollars’ worth of property. Sixty millions’ worth of this island’s tax base. And the number is increasing as we speak. Every day we lose more cubic feet of our beloved land.”

Bess’s head jolts up. Every day? As inall the days? Cissy glossed over this key detail. Damn that woman. So good at what she does. Professional rabble-rouser and sneaky, sly fox.

“Nantucket is a special place,” Cissy continues, “and Sconset is a major reason why. Picture the narrow lanes. The charm of the rose-covered cottages. Beautiful Sankaty Head Light. Not to mention the houses, the historic homes with stories to tell. Homes with family memories,islandmemories locked inside.”

As Cissy’s voice bubbles with emotion, Bess finds herself growing weepy-eyed, too. She pushes away her tears and looks up to find Evan watching her. Bess glances away, pretending not to see.

At last Cissy wraps up her speech with a few more mentions of “character fabric,” followed by a slide show featuring the homes that could be lost if they don’t act. She hasn’t put Cliff House in the show but the Mayhew place is “best for last,” which elicits a brief Cissy-Chappy fracas until someone removes them from the floor.

“My house isn’t going anywhere,” Chappy calls, his parting shot. “Except up in value when it has a panoramic ocean view!”

“I’m surprised you’re paid by pound of fish, and not by pound of horseshit.”

Checkmate, Chappy Mayhew. Cissy got the last word after all.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll be concise.”

Geologist Morton Schempler appears at the podium, shuffling along like a prison warden or the losing football coach. It’s evident he doesn’t have the patience for town rivalries or neighbors with agendas. No thanks on shrill grandmothers, either. These people paid for a study, not a speech, and he’s not keen to stick around.

“This revetment project is a horrible idea,” he says, straight off, from the spot where Cissy stood minutes before. “You’ll see on the screen dozens of projects that have used walls exactly like those proposed by the Preservation Fund. And every single one has failed. Hard armoring has been proven ineffective multiple times, in a variety of situations. All it does is give a false sense of security to property owners and create further deterioration of the surrounding beaches.”