THE SANCTUARY (2 page)

One

THE SANCTUARY

J
ulia Anastasia Rutledge had been Lydia’s best friend since they were four years old. She toddled over to Lydia on the first day of kindergarten, spilling her grape Kool-Aid on Lydia’s new patent leather shoes while shyly asking if they could be friends.

They had met Elizabeth Goldberg at Camp Yemassee when they were eleven years old. They didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of the
Carolina Girls Forever
—or CGFs as they like to call themselves.

Sonya Boyd became part of their group a couple of months later following her parents’ bitter divorce, which caused her mother to leave upstate New York to “start a new life as far away from her ex-husband as she could get without going way out to California where everyone’s just plain crazy from all that desert heat and Santa Anna winds.”

Camp Yemassee may have been the beginning of the CGFs, but Sanctuary Island was the place where their friendship flourished. The CGFs had spent every summer and school vacation on the island. Pretending to be princess warriors, they had “battled” one another all the way across the island. That’s how they stumbled across the reclusive Gullah people, the island’s only permanent inhabitants. This was the only home they’d ever known. The Gullah were slave descendants who still held the same beliefs and practiced the same traditions as their ancestors who were brought here from West Africa.

They certainly would have never seen a hoodoo healing ceremony. The foursome watched spellbound from behind tall stalks of fragrant sweetgrass, also known as “holy grass,” as the spindly conjurer wearing a colorful kaftan jumped and gyrated while chanting and waving his gris-gris bag in the air. His movement was punctuated in the glow of the ceremonial fire. A heavyset man stood in the background banging a drum while a slim woman wearing dozens of beaded bracelets and multicolored necklaces stood beside him shaking a rattle carved from a large gourd. The music and movement, along with the crackle of the fire and the conjurer’s soft chanting, was mesmerizing. Having witnessed such a private and spectacular event, they felt a special connection to the Gullah from that moment on.

Sharing that rare experience bonded them in a way that Lydia could never explain. It also made them more protective of the island’s inhabitants—even the loggerhead turtles, which came to the island every year to nest. When nature tells them it’s time, baby turtles make their brave dash across the skinny stretch of sand to return to the sea. As they waddled towards the surf, the CGFs silently cheered them on as they embarked on their short but perilous journey.

Just past the compact beach is a dense cluster of pine-mixed hardwoods, palmettos, tupelos, and colossal cypress trees that comprise the island’s maritime forest. On the other side of the forest lies the wetlands, which is home to many birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Because of the diversity of the soil and plant life, the island is a perfect habitat for many species of plants and animals.

They referred to it as “The Sanctuary” because it became their secret haven—a place inhabited only by the CGFs and the Gullah. This barrier island became their refuge from the world. They probably knew it better than their own neighborhoods, having explored every inch of the island over the years. They spent countless hours wandering along oblique trails studying indigenous plants and animals or walking the beach collecting interesting shells. While sunbathing on the beach that was littered with large pieces of driftwood and exotic-looking seashells, the CGFs talked about boys, sex, fashion, the future, and everything else imaginable.

The island had been in Lydia’s family since a great-uncle or great-great-grandfather had won it in a card game, depending on whose story you chose to believe. It was passed on to her when her parents died, but she never considered herself its owner; more like a guardian. A protector. In recent years, her husband had looked after it. Or so she thought.

It’s funny how things that seem so important at one time become inconsequential, and things you didn’t think were important turn out to be life defining. There were probably all kinds of clues as to what her husband had been doing, if only Lydia had paid more attention.

Sonya had learned to swim in the inlet at Sanctuary Island. They had brought Julia to the island after her mother’s death. It was the only thing that got her to leave her bedroom and helped her through the darkest days of her life. Liz claimed she lost her virginity on the beach at the Sanctuary. So many milestones—even matrimony.

Lydia and David had gotten married in a small ceremony on the island’s small beach. He knew how much that place meant to her and yet he had done this. What did that mean? When he told her how much he loved her, had that been just another lie? She didn’t see how he could have done this to her if he had loved her. You didn’t treat someone you loved this way.

Lydia had never felt so alone or frightened before. If only she could reach out to the CGFs she might feel better, at least Lydia would feel less alone in the world. But she couldn’t.
Not yet.
But she knew she would have to if she was going to save the Sanctuary.

Two

JULIA

W
hen the phone rang, Julia was elbow deep in dish suds. “John, can you get that?” she asked. She had heard him in the den just a few minutes ago. The phone continued to ring. She didn’t know whether he had not heard her or was just pretending not to hear her. After sixteen years of marriage, he had developed a keen sense of selective hearing.

“Hello,” Julia said as she tried to wipe foamy suds off the phone and her hands. In the process, she dropped the phone, and it hit the floor with a clatter. She scooped it up and said a quick, “I’m sorry,” into the receiver.

“Hey, Jules.”

Julia’s mood brightened the instant she heard Sonya’s voice. Even though Sonya lived less than an hour away, they didn’t talk or get together as often as they used to when they were the CGFs. Before the “incident” with Lydia and Liz, which had marked the beginning of the end of the CGFs. Julia was still friends with Liz, Lydia, and Sonya, but it was difficult (and weird) getting together with Sonya and Liz without Lydia or Sonya and Lydia without Liz, so their connection had become tenuous. Even when they got together, it was awkward to remember not to bring up anything that related to the forbidden topic of Lydia or Liz. Julia tried to convince herself that the dissolution of the CGFs was all right. She had her hands full with John and their five kids and their respective pets: a dog, a cat, a gerbil, a lizard, and an aquarium full of tropical fish.

It was just the way things were. Liz lived in New York and was always flying off somewhere to film vanishing species or newly discovered tribes or such. Sonya was busy getting married and divorced and married and divorced. So sad! And then there was Lydia. She was busy taking care of David and anyone else who needed her. Lydia was good at taking care of people. She
needed
to take care of people.

“Hey! Are you there?” Sonya asked.

“Hey yourself. What’s up? How are you? And Michael?” she asked. “Sorry I haven’t called in a while. I’ve been meaning to, but then the day gets away from me and by night I’m too tired to talk. I suppose if I started exercising I’d have more energy.” Julia shivered at the thought of herself in sweatpants doing Zumba or spinning, or whatever torturous exercise was in vogue these days.

“I know what you mean. Look, I didn’t call just to catch up. I’ve got some bad news, and I don’t know how to soften the blow, so I’m just going to say it.” Sonya took a deep breath and continued, “David Coble died yesterday.”

“No way! I can’t believe it. I just saw him at the grocery store a couple of days ago picking up some stuff for a special anniversary dinner. Their fourteenth anniversary. He looked perfectly fine. What happened? Why hasn’t Liddie called me?” Julia asked.

“Well, I don’t know much. I haven’t talked to Lydia. She doesn’t want to see or talk to anyone yet, according to her aunt. It wasn’t a heart attack, but it was something to do with his heart. It was unexpected. Right out of the blue. Lydia’s Aunt Francis called to let me know. She tried to reach you, but your line was busy. I said that I would let you know since we needed to talk about the funeral.”

“Bless her heart,” Julia cried. “Even when John drives me crazy, I can’t imagine life without him.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, my friend. Remember me? I’ve done that whole ’til death do you part thing four times. I think I still have a piece of cake in the freezer from my last marriage,” Sonya quipped.

Julia was amazed that Sonya could joke about three failed marriages. She was also amazed at how her friend could keep pursuing love and marriage after getting her heart broken repeatedly. If she and John split, she couldn’t imagine getting back into the dating scene—let alone remarrying.

“So, it looks like the funeral’s going to be Thursday or Friday. We’ll know for sure by tomorrow afternoon.”

“Well, you just plan to stay here. I don’t want to worry about you driving those back roads or crossing the causeway late at night,” Julia said.

“I was hoping you’d say that. It’ll give us a chance to spend some time together.”

“That’ll be nice, even if it is under these circumstances. What can I do to help Liddie? I feel so helpless. She always knows what to do to help people and I can’t think of a thing. I mean, how can you help with something like this? Maybe I should make a casserole? Or what if I take her a Carolina Kit and a big box of tissues. What do you think?” Julia fretted.

“I think we should respect her wishes and just leave her be until the funeral. Lydia can talk or cry all she wants, and we’ll be there for her,” Sonya said.

“Well, if that’s what you think,” Julia reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll call you as soon as I know anything more, or you call me if you hear first,” Sonya said.

“Do you think we should tell Liz? Or would Liddie not want us to?” Julia asked.

“I think Liz should know. This might be just the thing to bring those two together. Honestly, if they weren’t both so hard-headed, this wouldn’t have dragged on for so long.”

“Can you believe they haven’t spoken in more than two years?” Julia said.

“I know. I wish that would change before we’re old ladies—or dead,” Sonya said.

“Maybe we could tell Liz that Lydia realizes how foolish she’s been and that she wants her at the funeral and tell Lydia that Liz has begged for her forgiveness. They’ll hug and say how silly they were to have let this go on for so long, and we’ll all be friends again,” Julia said.

“It’s always the sweet, quiet ones you have to watch out for. Who knew you were so diabolical? I don’t see what we have to lose by giving your plan a try, except that I haven’t been able to reach Liz. I’ve tried all her numbers and email but with no luck. Hopefully, she’ll get my messages before the funeral, but who knows? She could be in Istanbul or Tanzania for all I know. I’ll keep trying,” Sonya promised.

“I haven’t heard from her in nearly two months, except for a postcard from Peru,” Julia said.

“Same here,” Sonya said with a sigh.

After she hung up, Julia stood studying herself in the antique mirror that hung behind the kitchen table. She wore no makeup on her freckled face, and she was nearly twenty pounds overweight. Would she even fit into her black suit? Was it twenty or thirty pounds that doctors called obese these days? She hoped it was thirty. She wondered briefly if folks were whispering behind her back, “Poor Julia Reynolds. She used to be so petite and pretty. What happened to her?”

What had happened to her? When had she stopped paying attention to how she looked? As Julia tried to figure out exactly when she had stopped worrying about her weight or wearing makeup, Max ran over to her. He left a floating trail of dog hair across her kitchen floor. The Sheltie stood in front of her happily wagging his semi-furry tail. That reminded her, it was time for his next dose of medicine. She’d had to give him the pill twice a day for the last nine days, according to the vet’s instructions. She’d also been the one to take the dog to the vet to treat the skin rash. Since he was John’s dog, or at least it was his idea to get a dog for the kids, she’d been tempted to hand him the bag that the vet had given her, but she knew John would never remember to give the dog all his medicine and ointment.

The dog’s appearance brought Chesapeake out from his hiding spot under the kitchen table. The tabby stretched lazily and slinked over to Julia, meowing loudly to signify that he was also ready for food and attention. As the bulky feline nuzzled her leg, she made a mental note to start buying senior cat food. “Time for both of us to go on diets,” Julia told Chesapeake as she rubbed his head and chin.

Meanwhile, Bree began crying upstairs. Her oldest child, Marla, was supposed to be watching her baby sister but was probably texting someone or experimenting with strange shades of mascara instead. No doubt, she was the one who had been tying up the phone line when Lydia’s aunt had tried to call. It was exhausting having a fifteen-year-old girl in the house. They had been having more than the usual amount of troubles lately as Marla tested her boundaries. Two weeks ago, she tried to go to school wearing purple eye shadow, black eyeliner, and blue mascara—and nothing but a long, belted T-shirt and boots. Three nights ago, she had found her whispering on the telephone at one o’clock in the morning. When Julia told her to hang up, Marla put up her finger, indicating just one more minute. Julia had patiently waited for two minutes before she disconnected the phone herself.

Before she could check on Bree, she heard her twin nine-year-old sons fighting in the backyard. The sounds escalated and then one of them began crying.

She didn’t even know where her son Bobby was. She seemed to recall the twelve-year-old saying that he was going down the street to a friend’s house to play video games. Or was that yesterday? It suddenly came back to Julia why she didn’t have time to worry about makeup and manicures.

“John Archibald Reynolds, I know you can hear me. Stop pretending you can’t and come help me,
please
,” Julia begged as the house got louder with the sounds of disgruntled kids and pets.

It was after nine o’clock, and the house was finally quiet. The kids were all asleep or at least secure in their rooms for the night. Julia had finished bathing, brushing, and applying ointment to Max a few minutes ago. The dog was already comfortably nestled inside a large towel in the middle of their bed, snoring softly. She had brought the last load of clothes upstairs from the dryer and had just begun to sort them when her elusive husband appeared. He sat on the bed and rubbed the dog before taking off his shoes.

“Where have you been all day?” Julia asked irritably.

“Just working on some stuff,” John said.

“What sort of stuff? What
stuff
keeps you too busy to help me with our kids? And that keeps you away from work? Daddy says that you’ve barely been there the last few days. So where do you go?” Julia asked.

“Your daddy giving you progress reports on me now, is he?” John’s voice was thick with sarcasm. “That figures.” He jumped up, grabbed his shoes, and heaved them into the closet.

“He’s worried. Frankly, so am I. You’ve been so distant lately. I just don’t know what’s going on with you,” Julia said worriedly.

“Yes, you do. You just won’t admit it.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t have the slightest idea what’s bothering you, so why don’t you tell me? Is something going on at work? I know that you and Daddy don’t always see eye to eye about how to run the paper mill and that has to be frustrating. But listen to me, you can’t take it personally. Daddy knows he’s going to have to give up the reigns one of these days, and that makes him hold on tighter while he can. You know what a control freak he is. I can talk to him, get him to ease up a bit if you like.”

“I don’t give a shit about the mill. I never did. I wanted to be a soldier,” John grumbled.

And there it was. The elephant in the room. What had been simmering and festering inside her husband all these years. The resentment. The anger. John had been in the MCROTC program at USC. He planned to serve in the US Marine Corps. But then Julia had gotten pregnant as soon as they got married (it must have happened on their honeymoon) and it had been a difficult pregnancy. Truth be told, she had never been all that excited about being a military wife. So, she had talked him into deferring his plans until after the baby was born. He went to work for her father in the meantime. Then Julia got pregnant again. She swore it had been an accident. She sometimes forgot to take the pill every single day. John had not been happy.

“When are you going to get over that? You haven’t been in the military in years, and the war is over! And you conveniently forget that most of those guys who were deployed are dead or still coping with serious injuries. You should be grateful, not resentful,” Julia said.

“Well, excuse me for not being grateful to be your daddy’s flunky. I don’t want to sit behind a desk every day, shuffling papers and setting up endless meetings. I’ve forgotten what adrenaline and sweat feel like,” he exploded.

“Wouldn’t
Semper Fi
have looked cool on your tombstone? I’m not going to apologize for the fact that I wanted my husband home instead of smack dab in the middle of a war zone.”

“Just don’t expect an apology from me either. I can’t change the way I feel any more than you can,” John said.

Julia knew that he loved her, but she wasn’t sure that was enough anymore. Julia crossed the room and knelt by the edge of the bed where her husband sat looking miserable. She took his hands in hers, gripping them tightly as she looked up at him. “John, I know you’re unhappy right now. But look, we have each other, five wonderful kids, a beautiful home, and plenty of money. Most people should be so blessed. Can’t we just be happy? You don’t have to work for Daddy if you’re miserable. You can find another job.”