Despite the rain, my mother and Bea donned ponchos and went to “work,” returning in the afternoon drenched and sleepy. Mostly I avoided them, much the same way my parents had avoided each other, waiting to emerge from the room I shared with my sister until after they had left for the day. At dinnertime, their attempts to engage me in conversation went unrewarded. For me, every topic had a trap door to the past, and I was just trying to make it home without falling in.

In my miserable state, I was forced to admit that I’d come with the fantasy of reconnecting with my mother. She’d done her best to bring us back together, but the reality was, we’d never been whole in the first place. Reconciling would mean starting fresh, trusting that my mother would never again pull the rug from under my feet and take off on another magic carpet ride. And I knew better. So, for the rest of the trip, I wore my disdain like my baseball cap, the visor pulled low over my eyes, and counted the minutes until I could go back home.

Tuesday afternoon, the sun returned. I set my packed bags by the door even though I wasn’t leaving until the next morning. Earlier, Merilee and Bea had danced out the condo in their shorts and bathing suit tops singing that stupid Bali Hai song. Mirabelle had school and then a playdate with someone named Kahlua. I had assured everyone I would take advantage of the good weather and walk to the beach, but the minute they were gone, I made myself a bowl of stale granola, drew the shades, and turned on the television.

I was sitting on the futon watching (ironically) a rerun of Hawaii Five-O when the doorbell rang. Still in pajamas, I threw on my leather jacket and went to the door.

“Yes?” I called out suspiciously.

“It’s me, Elliot,” a man’s voice answered. “Is that you, Merilee? Let me in.”

“It’s not Merilee. It’s Jackie,” I said.

“Jackie who?”

“Jackie, her daughter?”

Silence, then shuffling then, “Uh, Jackie, um, this is Elliot, Mirabelle’s dad. Can you let me in?”

Now I was the silent one.

“Jackie? Uh, hello?”