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parents had always treated her accomplishments as less impressive than Betsy’s.
    “Are you still working for Morris?” she asked, changing the subject.
    “Oh, yes. I’ve had to do a lot of computer training these last few years. Everything is computerized nowadays. Morris still insists on dictation, though. And he never answers his own phone.”
    “Some people don’t like change.”
    “He thinks it’s a real hoot that my daughter joined his ranks.”
    “I’ll bet.” Alexis snickered, remembering Morris and his orange and green striped ties and suspenders. Morris was a solo lawyer, one of the few on the island, who took any case that walked through his creaky door. Even as a child, Alexis detested his threadbare carpet and dusty shelves. As far as she was concerned, he did nothing to inspire a future generation of lawyers. Rather, he served as a red, flashing warning sign.
    “Dad looks a bit beat up,” she said in a low voice. “How’s his health?”
    Tilly shook her head dismissively. “Nothing wrong with that one. Outdoor living takes its toll on your beauty is all.”
    “Is he talking about retirement at all? I mean, at some point it’s just unsafe for a man his age to do a job like that.”
    Tilly chortled. “Your father has been a maintenance technician from the time he left school. He won’t know how to do anything else.”
    “You could retire together. Do some traveling. There must be somewhere you’d like to go besides your own backyard.”
    “I think you’ll find that Dorothy Gale learns a valuable lesson when she strays from hers.”
    “Wizard of Oz aside,” Alexis huffed, “there’s something to be said for getting away from it all.”
    “That’s why people come here,” Tilly reminded her.
    “But don’t you get sick of it?”
    Tilly stopped drying dishes and gave Alexis a pointed look. “We don’t all have a strong urge to run away from our lives, Alexis.”
    Alexis longed to say something in her defense, but decided to fight her natural instinct and keep her mouth shut. Instead, she resumed washing dishes with vigor. After all, she was here to reconnect, not to bicker.
    “I’m still on London time,” she said, stifling a yawn.
    “No one will object if you turn in early,” her mother said.
    Alexis was unsure whether to take the comment as a slight. Despite the air of hostility, she chose not to. “Okay, then. I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “I’ll finish up here. Goodnight, Alexis.”
    She poked her head into the family room to say goodnight to her father.
    “Already?” he asked, without taking his eyes off the television.
    “I’m exhausted,” she said. “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up.”
    “If you say so.” He yelled in response to something happening on the screen.
    Alexis never had much interest in American football, even though she had grown up surrounded by rabid fans. In her adult life, she’d been surrounded by rabid fans of English football. She’d traded one irrational group of people for another and she didn’t feel a part of either one. Sports never held much interest for her unless she was the one playing and she hadn’t been part of a team since high school.
    Alexis moved her suitcase to the floor and changed into her Natori satin pajama set. She barely had the energy to wash her face and brush her teeth before sliding beneath the sheets. She wondered what the partners at her firm would think if they could see her now, draped in denim bedding and Winnie the Pooh sheets.
    Despite her fatigue, she stared into the darkness, unable to close her eyes. She tried to conjure up the memory of what it felt like to sleep in this room, night after night. The only thing she could remember was not wanting to sleep in this room one night longer than she had to. Mangrove Island hadn’t fit into her grand plans. And now she was back, voluntarily. She pinched her arm to make sure the moment was real and winced as she felt the squeeze of skin. Alexis