Page 39 of The Quiet Rebuild

“That’s what I keep saying.” Jake had a casual arm around Lindsey’s shoulder, and Lindsey beamed at both him and Taylor, as though she’d won the lottery. A new friend and a boyfriend had come to Nantucket, and now, they planned to stay.

“Nantucket welcomes you,” Lindsey said, blushing.

“And I think I know what I want to do with my time here,” Taylor said.

Tentatively, Taylor discussed her dream of opening an ocean-protection foundation. Jake was immediately excited, talking about how necessary ocean life was to bird and human life. “Every ecosystem feeds off other ecosystems,” he said. And then, he threw up his hands and said, “Tell me how I can help!”

Lindsey grinned and took both of their hands over the table. “Me too! I’m so in.”

It had never been easier to recruit people, Taylor thought. And to think, she’d previously assumed people would only be drawn to her because of her money and how that money could benefit them, rather than how that money could help the earth.

After that, between Harbor House sessions and hang-outs with the other women, Taylor threw herself into the idea. She spoke with various East Coast scientists about how best to use her money. She spoke with other celebrities she knew who’d opened their own foundations. She made list after list of things she needed to consider before starting something like this.

She made spreadsheet after spreadsheet and worked diligently into the night.

Her energy was infectious, so much so that many of the women at the Harbor House had begun to discuss how they wanted to “give back” after they left Nantucket. Many of them had children to raise or husbands to return to, but they didn’t want to end their contributions to humanity there. They spoke of volunteering. They spoke of going back to school. Sometimes the group therapy sessions turned into a hive mind of ideas—women throwing joy and hope into the room.

Taylor began to think that, as a result of Stella and the Harbor House, the entire planet would become markedly better. If only Stella could see the fruits of her labor.

“Maybe she had a sense for it,” she suggested to Lindsey once.

Lindsey was quiet, thoughtful. “She knew the power of helping people,” she said finally. “But I don’t think she ever could have fathomed the scope of all this.”

As the end of her time at the Harbor House came closer, Taylor no longer fully recognized herself. Dr. Estelle said the same. “This place has been good for you,” she said.

“It’s been life-changing,” Taylor agreed. There was nothing else to say.

The only thing she had to do, now, was figure out how to stay in Nantucket long-term.

Well, it wasn’t really a question of “how,” was it? It was more of a question of: where?

A few days before she was set to graduate from the Harbor House, Taylor dialed a local real estate agent. The woman was bright and chipper and eager to find Taylor “the house of your dreams.” Taylor wanted to laugh at that. She was beyond dreams. She was beyond fiction. She was planted firmly in reality. Thank goodness.

19

Halfway through May, the first batch of the women at the Harbor House “graduated” out of it. Gwen, Candice, and Lindsey threw them a gorgeous celebration on the veranda of the Harbor House, one catered by local Nantucket talent and featuring several islander music acts. A large vegan cake sat at the center of a beautiful outdoor table, shrouded with fantastic vegan and vegetarian appetizers. Gwen had caught wind of all the Harbor House women’s desire not to cause more damage than the world already had. Maybe the next batch of Harbor House women would feel differently. Still, Gwen told Lindsey and Candice that, as the head operator at the Harbor House, she had to attend to the women's emotional needs at any given moment. “What they need is what the house needs,” Gwen said proudly, raising her glass of wine.

Lindsey and Candice sat in the corner of the veranda, their chins tilted skyward so their faces were bathed in late afternoon light. It was warm, mid-seventies, and all the women wore short-sleeved dresses. It was clear that over the past month, the women of the Harbor House had become thick as thieves. They had nicknames for one another. They fetched each other's favorite snacks and asked detailed questions.

“I almost feel left out,” Lindsey whispered to Candice.

Candice nodded. “But it’s what Mom would have wanted.”

Lindsey was quiet, remembering how Taylor had said the same thing.

At the graduation party, Taylor Charron seemed brighter than ever. She’d gained weight, filling out her skeletal frame, and she laughed and smiled easily. She’d also dyed her hair to more of a honey blond, so that she no longer looked precisely like the celebrity the magazines knew so well. Now, she sat between Winona and Michelle, exchanging stories that Lindsey couldn’t hear very well. Lindsey searched her heart for jealousy. After all, Taylor was increasingly one of Lindsey’s closest friends. But there was none.

There was so much love to go around, she knew.

When it came time for the ceremony of sorts, Gwen stood up and thanked all the women of the Harbor House for their commitment to Stella’s vision. “It’s been a phenomenal first session, and I can’t thank you all enough for bringing your hearts and minds and spirits to our sessions, day in and day out.” Gwen’s eyes glinted with tears.

A few of the women made speeches. Winona got up and thanked them all for bringing new life to hers. She said, “I don’t know how I could have moved on without this.”

Lindsey felt a stab of fear, thinking of the women who hadn’t been accepted to this first round at the Harbor House—the women who’d applied and been turned away. Were they still out there, struggling? Were they still waiting for change?

Of course, Gwen, Candice, and Lindsey had already selected the next batch of candidates. The next round was already set to begin in June—from June first to the fifteenth of July—another six weeks of soul-searching, of the difficult task of rediscovery. Lindsey was overwhelmed by it. But Gwen, Dr. Estelle, and the other staff members seemed stronger than ever.

Toward the end of the evening, Taylor made her way over to Candice and Lindsey’s table. She sat with her glass of wine and smiled dreamily. “I want to invite you both to a little soiree tomorrow night,” she said.