separately.”
“We should sue the paper for slander!” Amy said, suddenly paying attention again. “It’s the only solution.”
Zo shook her head at Amy. She didn’t want to change the subject away from Hannah. “I don’t know about that-“
Keeley put her drink down again on the table and straightened up, sitting very tall in her seat, her face closing off defensively as she stared down Zo. “What do you mean, you don’t know? It’s slander, right?”
Pam, having given up on her shirt, put her hand out and waved it in the air between them. “Hey, I don’t think a lawsuit’s the solution, either.”
Zo said, “Well, it’s just that I read it, Hannah’s book, a little of it, and it’s just so… real-seeming. The reviewer was probably fooled by it. Anyway-”
Keeley’s face went slack with surprise. “What? You read it? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What?” Pam and Amy asked in unison.
Zo had been dreading this moment since August. And now the words had just popped out of her mouth. She still didn’t know what to say. Why hadn’t she told them? She hadn’t said anything to Hannah either, and holding herself back with her had been almost physically painful.
Of course Zo had been the one to start reading the book first, the avid fiction reader of the group and the one who had spent countless hours reading stories to Hannah when she was little, the two of them curled up together like spoons. She couldn’t wait to see their baby’s - her dreamy fairy-girl’s - novel. As soon as Keeley had opened the box containing all of their copies, Zo knew she wouldn’t be happy until she sat down and devoured it. She frequently read books in one sitting, closing the book finally and awakening from the dream with regret. This was true mostly with good books, great books, and of course Hannah had to have written something amazing.
It had been in the beginning of August this year, right after they arrived for their annual month-long vacation together. Early one morning, they had all gone back to the Barefooter house after scaping crabs along the boardwalk. They had been lucky enough to catch not one, but two soft-shells - real softies that had just shed their shells and were perfectly tender. As was the custom on the island, they rushed home to cook and eat them for breakfast before they turned into “leatherbacks”, the name for crabs growing new shells. Overly chewy, islanders spurned eating leatherbacks and would rarely order soft-shell crabs in restaurants as invariably that’s what they were. Better to crack a crab or eat it as a real softie.
On their way to the Barefooter house, Keeley stopped by her and Ben’s house and picked up some strawberries and a large brown cardboard box. Over a breakfast of lightly breaded and fried soft-shelled crabs, Pam’s killer home fries, and ripe strawberries, Keeley had opened the box and distributed the books to each of the Barefooters. They had grinned at each other with pride and wiped their greasy hands thoroughly before inspecting their copies.
Zo was breathless holding her copy, staring at Hannah’s name on the cover, desperate to be alone with it. As soon as they finished breakfast, cleaned up, and left their shared house to return to their own larger abodes that fit in husbands and children and assorted summering relatives, Zo practically ran all the way to her house up-island and her favorite reading chair on the porch.
It was only a half-hour later when Zo slammed the book shut, feeling ill. Something about it really bothered her. Her lips were raw from biting them unconsciously. It was such a dark scary thing, Hannah’s book. Yet so real. This was what Hannah chose to write?
She put it down on the little table next to her reading chair and looked at it for a minute. And then, she really didn’t know why, she stood up, picked up a glossy fashion magazine from nearby table, and put it on top of Hannah’s book, covering it completely. It stayed
“We should sue the paper for slander!” Amy said, suddenly paying attention again. “It’s the only solution.”
Zo shook her head at Amy. She didn’t want to change the subject away from Hannah. “I don’t know about that-“
Keeley put her drink down again on the table and straightened up, sitting very tall in her seat, her face closing off defensively as she stared down Zo. “What do you mean, you don’t know? It’s slander, right?”
Pam, having given up on her shirt, put her hand out and waved it in the air between them. “Hey, I don’t think a lawsuit’s the solution, either.”
Zo said, “Well, it’s just that I read it, Hannah’s book, a little of it, and it’s just so… real-seeming. The reviewer was probably fooled by it. Anyway-”
Keeley’s face went slack with surprise. “What? You read it? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What?” Pam and Amy asked in unison.
Zo had been dreading this moment since August. And now the words had just popped out of her mouth. She still didn’t know what to say. Why hadn’t she told them? She hadn’t said anything to Hannah either, and holding herself back with her had been almost physically painful.
Of course Zo had been the one to start reading the book first, the avid fiction reader of the group and the one who had spent countless hours reading stories to Hannah when she was little, the two of them curled up together like spoons. She couldn’t wait to see their baby’s - her dreamy fairy-girl’s - novel. As soon as Keeley had opened the box containing all of their copies, Zo knew she wouldn’t be happy until she sat down and devoured it. She frequently read books in one sitting, closing the book finally and awakening from the dream with regret. This was true mostly with good books, great books, and of course Hannah had to have written something amazing.
It had been in the beginning of August this year, right after they arrived for their annual month-long vacation together. Early one morning, they had all gone back to the Barefooter house after scaping crabs along the boardwalk. They had been lucky enough to catch not one, but two soft-shells - real softies that had just shed their shells and were perfectly tender. As was the custom on the island, they rushed home to cook and eat them for breakfast before they turned into “leatherbacks”, the name for crabs growing new shells. Overly chewy, islanders spurned eating leatherbacks and would rarely order soft-shell crabs in restaurants as invariably that’s what they were. Better to crack a crab or eat it as a real softie.
On their way to the Barefooter house, Keeley stopped by her and Ben’s house and picked up some strawberries and a large brown cardboard box. Over a breakfast of lightly breaded and fried soft-shelled crabs, Pam’s killer home fries, and ripe strawberries, Keeley had opened the box and distributed the books to each of the Barefooters. They had grinned at each other with pride and wiped their greasy hands thoroughly before inspecting their copies.
Zo was breathless holding her copy, staring at Hannah’s name on the cover, desperate to be alone with it. As soon as they finished breakfast, cleaned up, and left their shared house to return to their own larger abodes that fit in husbands and children and assorted summering relatives, Zo practically ran all the way to her house up-island and her favorite reading chair on the porch.
It was only a half-hour later when Zo slammed the book shut, feeling ill. Something about it really bothered her. Her lips were raw from biting them unconsciously. It was such a dark scary thing, Hannah’s book. Yet so real. This was what Hannah chose to write?
She put it down on the little table next to her reading chair and looked at it for a minute. And then, she really didn’t know why, she stood up, picked up a glossy fashion magazine from nearby table, and put it on top of Hannah’s book, covering it completely. It stayed
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