Skye was itching to ask Rosalind about Tommy and the wedding, but the first day passed so peacefully, and the next day Rosalind was so cheerful about baking, and Batty was singing, and Jane insisted they go on a long hike around the point and then make a dinner together, and Skye never found a moment.
Anyway, Rosalind would come to her if she was ready to talk. Wouldn't she? They all went to their oldest sister in times of need, surely Rosie knew she could expect the same thing.
By the third day, the girls could talk of nothing but Jeffrey's arrival. Since graduating from college, Jeffrey had been traveling all over for gigs. He had even been in Europe for over a year. Most recently, he had hung around New York and Boston, crashing on friend's couches and at Alec's. He had grown tall and handsome, and he and Alec looked more like brothers these days. It always surprised Skye until she remembered that Alec and Mrs. Tifton had been barely twenty when they had Jeffrey. Younger than she was.
The more the Penderwicks had gotten to know Alec, the more boat rides he took them on, the more birthday parties he attended in Cameron, the more baffled they had been by his youthful love affair with Mrs. Tifton. For while Alec had remained as kind and affable as he had been that first summer at Point Mouette, Mrs. Tifton had, if anything, gotten worse. She had divorced the horrible Dexter Dupree, only to marry another villainous husband. When that didn't work out, there was yet another that ended with an even more inflammatory divorce. The last one had stolen all the treasures from the Arundel attic and sold them. After that, Mrs. Tifton fled Arundel (too many bitter memories) and spent most of her time in her New York apartment. Jeffrey now managed the estate, which was why anyone had even considered having Rosalind's wedding at Arundel. The Penderwicks had been clearly and irrevocably banned after the first summer.
"One of life's greatest injustices," Jane used to call it.
To which Rosalind or Skye would say: "Well, we did ruin that garden competition. And yell at her that one time. And we did encourage her only son to try to run away."
But with Mrs. Tifton off the property, Jeffrey had suggested the wedding be held at Arundel. Rosalind had admitted that she still considered the Berkshire estate one of the most beautiful places on earth, and after that Jeffrey had insisted.
Jeffrey was due to arrive in the the mid-afternoon. That morning, Skye was out on the deck with a fantasy novel on her lap. She wasn't reading though.
Skye kept lifting her eyes from the pages to stare out at the ocean and think about the last time she had seen Jeffrey.
He had been in San Francisco for a quick show. Skye and Dusek had taken the train to the city to watch him, and afterwards they had grabbed a drink at a nearby bar in the Mission.
"It's good to see you," Skye had told Jeffrey after the show. "You should make the trek out here more often."
"There's good food I guess," Jeffrey had said. "But the music scene is pretty dead, it's edged out by all the tech."
"Tech is the future though," Dusek responded.
"And you think art has no place in the future?" Jeffrey asked.
Skye had chuckled, but Dusek had just look confused.
An hour in, Dusek had started to say they had better head back to Palo Alto. It was late and the last CalTrain ran at midnight.
Dusek headed to close the tab, and Jeffrey had leaned close to Skye. She remembered he had been so close, Skye looked to count the freckles on his nose, like she had when they were younger. Only most of Jeffrey's freckles were gone.
"Come on, Skye," Jeffrey had said. "I'm only here for one night, let's make the most of it. We could go out dancing, or explore Dolores Park at night, or head into the Castro. Or go all the way down to the water and watch the sun rise, whatever adventure you choose."
Skye had been tempted, more tempted than she could ever admit. But she told Jeffrey that she had a lot of work, and Dusek was tired.
"So let Dusek go home," Jeffrey had said.
Skye had broken his gaze and stared into her empty glass.
"The Old Skye would say yes," Jeffrey said. "She would have said yes in a heartbeat. She would have laughed at this boring New Skye."
His words and his challenge cut Skye to the core.
"I haven't changed," Skye said. "There's no Old Skye or New Skye."
"Maybe not," Jeffrey said. "But I miss the Old Skye."
On the deck, Skey was jolted from her memory by a honking horn. It couldn't be Jeffrey, not yet, but then Jane was shouting, and Batty was scampering out of her room where she had been practicing.
Skye leapt up and joined Rosalind at the door. And there Jeffrey was, leaning out the window of the car that Alec was driving.
"I was too excited," Jeffrey yelled. "I had to get here as soon as I could!"
Skye's breath caught a little, and then she shook away her fear and ran out with her sisters.
In a flash, they were out in the driveway, and Jeffrey was out of the car, and they were hugging and laughing and all together again.