Part 39 (2/2)
”Is Shannon napping?” he asked.
”Uh-huh.” Shannon had been up with the Kira most of the night. The baby had been born at exactly midnight on the twenty-first of December and she'd been a night owl ever since.
I moved my laptop to the floor and Ethan lowered Kira into my arms, then sat down next to me. I snuggled the baby against my chest. I liked it when she was half-awake like this, in that gurgling, not-quite-ready-to-eat state, easily placated by a little cuddling. I pressed my lips to her thick hair and inhaled the scent of baby shampoo. She was a beautiful child, with her mother's-and her great-aunt Isabel's-dark eyes, dark hair, and double rows of jet-black eyelashes. She and Shannon lived with us, and although Tanner sent money every month, I contributed as well. Shannon still gave cello lessons at the music store and would be entering the music program at Drew University in the fall, commuting from home. She had a hard road ahead of her. I'd given up a.n.a.lyzing whether I was helping her too much or too little. I was just trying to follow my heart.
Ethan leaned his head against my shoulder, rubbing Kira's back as we watched Abby, Lucy and Clare splas.h.i.+ng and laughing in the dock. Then Lucy hoisted Clare onto her shoulders for the walk up the slope. From upstairs, I could hear the sound of water running and knew that Shannon was up, and the front screen door squeaked open as my mother came inside. In a moment, everyone would be on the porch.
I covered Ethan's hand where it rested on Kira's back. ”Is this how you thought your life would turn out?” I asked him.
”Are you kidding?” he said. ”I couldn't have dreamed up anything this good.”
I laughed, then returned my attention to the granddaughter in my arms. I wondered what sort of challenge Kira would present to Shannon when she she became a teenager. I could imagine Shannon struggling to hold on to her child, trying to rein her in to keep her safe. became a teenager. I could imagine Shannon struggling to hold on to her child, trying to rein her in to keep her safe.
And I would be there to help her let go.
QUESTIONS FOR YOUR READING GROUP.
1. Julie carries the responsibility for Isabel's death throughout her life. How does that impact her and her relations.h.i.+ps over the years?
2. Julie refers to her family's inability to discuss Isabel as ”the elephant in the room.” Do you have experience with ”the elephant in the room” in your family or circle of friends? How does that impact your relations.h.i.+ps?
3. Were you more like the adventurous Julie as a child or the fearful Lucy? How did that affect you growing up? How and why did those qualities change in you-if they did?
4. In part, The Bay at Midnight The Bay at Midnight is about sisters. Discuss Julie and Lucy's relations.h.i.+p. How do you think Isabel would have fitted in had she lived? is about sisters. Discuss Julie and Lucy's relations.h.i.+p. How do you think Isabel would have fitted in had she lived?
5. Why do you think Shannon turned to Lucy with her problems instead of to Julie? Is there anything Julie could have done differently to be her daughter's confidante? Does this situation resonate for you as you think about your own teenage years or your relations.h.i.+ps with your own children?
6. What parallels did you see between the generations: Maria and her parents, Julie, Lucy and Isabel and their parents, Shannon and Julie?
7. Julie is caught between the teachings of her religion and her own nature. How does this impact her and the choices she makes? Can you relate to her conflict?
8. Why do you think Ross wanted to reconnect with Maria?
9. What do you think motivated Julie to maintain a friends.h.i.+p with Wanda and George in spite of her parents' objections?
10. Which character garnered the most sympathy from you and why?
11. How did your feelings about Julie, Lucy and Maria change throughout the story?
12. The Bay at Midnight is written in the first person from three points of view-Julie's, Lucy's and Maria's. How might the story have been different if it had been written entirely from Julie's point of view? is written in the first person from three points of view-Julie's, Lucy's and Maria's. How might the story have been different if it had been written entirely from Julie's point of view?
Q&A ON The Bay at Midnight The Bay at Midnight What inspired you to write this story?
This story actually began with the setting. Until I was eighteen, my family owned a small bungalow on a ca.n.a.l in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. I've always felt nostalgic about my longago summer home. Since I knew I would never own it again, I decided the only way to enjoy it would be to write about it.
As always, I wanted to explore the relations.h.i.+ps between people, particularly Maria and her two daughters, Julie and Lucy. The murder of the third daughter, Isabel, flowed from my thoughts about the family. The setting, with its early sixties innocence, seemed perfect for a mystery. I had so many real details in my memory from living there-floating on tubes down the ca.n.a.l to the bay, crabbing in our dock, getting caught in the fog from the mosquito truck, and one heartrending disappearance of a child-that the book was both easy and fun to write.
You often write about secrets in your novels. What intrigues you about the dynamics of a relations.h.i.+p in which something is hidden?
Before writing full-time, I was a psychotherapist who frequently worked with families. I became aware of the damage a family's secrets could do its members. Children and young adults intuitively sense when there's something ”amiss” in their family, and they often act out in response to that discomfiting intuition. In my fiction, I like to explore the ramifications of keeping secrets, both before and after they're revealed.
The Bay at Midnight shows a single event's legacy on three generations of women-Maria; her daughters, Julie and Lucy; and her granddaughter, Shannon. What did you want to explore in each of these women's lives? shows a single event's legacy on three generations of women-Maria; her daughters, Julie and Lucy; and her granddaughter, Shannon. What did you want to explore in each of these women's lives?
I wanted to look at how Isabel's murder coloured each of their lives as the years pa.s.sed. It was only as I began writing the story that I saw the link between the three mother-daughter dyads: Maria and her mother, Maria and her daughters, and Julie and Shannon. Each mother tried to protect her daughter from the inevitability of growing up, with all the difficult choices and learning experiences that entails. And each of them failed.
You've written many novels. Is there one book in your history as a writer that stands out as a favourite?
Actually, this one. I felt deeply connected to the setting for reasons I've already mentioned, but writing in the first person also connected me to the characters in a way I hadn't previously experienced. I missed the characters once I typed ”The End,” so I think that's a good sign!
WHY I WRITE...
I always wanted to be a writer and wrote many small, terrible books as a pre-teen. But I also had a strong desire to be a social worker, having read a book as a teenager about the different ways social workers could help people. By the time I was ready for college, becoming a successful writer seemed like a pipe dream, so I received both my bachelor's and master's degrees in social work. Then a funny thing happened. I was at a doctor's appointment, and the receptionist told me the doctor was running very late. There were no magazines in the office, but I had a pen and a pad...and I had an idea that had been rolling around in my head for more than a decade. I began writing and couldn't stop. At first, I thought of my writing as a hobby, but after about four years I had a completed novel. A year later, I had my first contract. I continued working as both a social worker and a writer for several more years until I decided to write full time. I love writing. It's hard to imagine a better career, and I have plenty more stories to tell.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY.
Once a medical social worker, Diane Chamberlain is the award-winning author of twelve novels that explore the complexities of human relations.h.i.+ps-between men and women, brothers and sisters, parents and children. Diane lives in northern Virginia.
Q&A ON WRITING.
What do you love the most about being a writer?
It's so rewarding to be able to touch thousands of people with my stories. I love hearing that a reader lost a night of sleep because she couldn't put down one of my books! That's the best compliment I can receive.
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