Page 43 of The Quiet Rebuild

But Taylor admitted she was. “This is the first time I’ve ever stood up for something that wasn’t pure selfishness,” she said. “A lot is riding on that. I want it to seem genuine.”

“It is genuine,” Lindsey reminded her. “As long as you show how much it means to you, it will come across.”

Taylor hoped she was right.

The following morning, a dark car appeared on the street at three fifteen to pick Taylor up. Taylor slid into the back seat before the driver had the chance to open the door for her. “Good morning!” she said brightly, wanting to seem easy, eager.

“Hi! Good to see you again!” the driver said, smiling back at her in the rearview mirror.

“Again? We’ve met?” Taylor asked, wincing at herself.

“You wouldn’t remember. I drove you a few times in LA,” he said, pressing the gas lightly. “This was maybe eight years ago?” He hesitated. “From what I hear, things are different for you now.”

Taylor laughed. “As different as can be, I think.”

The driver turned at the light and continued, “You seem different, I think. Suppose you don’t mind me saying so. You seem lighter. Happier.” He paused. “I don’t mean to overstep.”

In her old life, Taylor might have been angry at such a comment from someone she didn’t know. But now, she found she welcomed such generosity. She was different. And she was grateful for the soul-seeking and work she’d pushed herself through to become whoever this iteration of Taylor was.

For the first time since filming in Tokyo, Taylor found herself in a makeup chair, chatting with the makeup and hair stylists and preparing for the interview. They were seasoned workers. They took years off her face. When they finished, Taylor was led to a waiting room where a variety of vegan breakfast foods awaited her. They’d been told what she liked.

Not long after she arrived, a set worker with a headset on knocked on the door. Taylor called her in. The set worker introduced herself as Maggie and said, nervously, “We’ve had a situation next door. The expert being interviewed after you- his waiting room unfortunately flooded? And we were wondering if he could share your space for a little while. You’ll be going on camera before him. It won’t be long now.”

“Oh! Flooding. That’s terrible.” Taylor was on her feet.

“It happens. We’ve had so much rain this year,” the set worker said.

Taylor considered linking the rain up with climate change, but then told herself: save it for the news. “Send him in. I don’t bite,” she said.

What Taylor expected was an old scientific expert, some sixty-something professor type with glasses and a big beard. But the man who entered the room was in his mid-forties, with red-brown hair speckled with white and green eyes. When he introduced himself as Will Hamner, a shiver went down Taylor’s spine.

“I’ve read about you!” she said, shaking his hand. “I read a few of your academic papers. The one about the sea turtles was particularly illuminating.”

Will laughed and sat in the chair opposite her, reaching for a banana. “Thank you. Wow. It’s rare for someone founding an environmentalist foundation to actually read academic papers. They’re so dry.”

Taylor’s cheeks burned. “I want to do this the right way.”

“From what I’ve read about Maya’s Ocean, you’re off to a good start,” Will said. “Actually, that’s why they’re bringing me on today. They want me to talk about the efficacy of your foundation and how I see it growing.”

Taylor hadn’t known they’d asked an expert. She struggled to breathe.

Will leaned toward her, narrowing his eyes. “I can’t say for sure what will happen. Nobody can. But what you’re doing, or what you plan to do, is incredibly brave and forward-thinking. I’d love to help you as much as I can, if you want that.”

Taylor was taken aback. “Thank you,” she stuttered. “My friend Jake, he’s an ornithologist. He recommended your work to me. He’s a big fan. He’s the one helping me the most on all this. I was so uninformed until very recently. I’m trying to fix that.”

“It’s a great achievement,” Will said. He split open the top of his banana and took a small bite. It felt normal, as though he and Taylor had eaten together many times before. “By the way,” he said. “Out front they were talking about you. They said you’re some movie star?”

Taylor laughed, throwing her head back. For it was then she realized that Will Hamner had no idea who she was, nor what she’d done, nor about the sitcoms she’d starred in or the man she’d loved. To Will, she was a brand-new environmentalist, an idealist with a deep pocketbook.

She wondered if this meant she could begin again.

But before she could say anything else, the same set worker with the headset came back to call her to the camera. “We’re ready for you,” she said, urgency in her voice.

Taylor’s eyes widened. She turned to Will, who wore a nervous smile. “I’ll see you after,” he told her. “Break a leg.”

21

After the successful Today Show interview, Lindsey, Candice, and Taylor spent three days in Manhattan. Taylor had several interviews scheduled with podcasters and social media activists, which left Lindsey and Candice plenty of time to go out to eat, explore the city, hang with Sarah, and contemplate the next months of their lives. Candice had to get back to the Harbor House soon to prepare for the next batch of Harbor House women. And Lindsey, well, she was heading back to Nantucket to continue to fall deeply in love with Jake—and help out at the Harbor House and Maya’s Ocean. She was fulfilled.