Summer Island: A Novel

Ruby has never been to Caroline’s house before. Caroline lives in an affluent suburb of Redmond. When Ruby knocks, Caroline eventually comes to the door looking flawless and put together. She is surprised to see Ruby, but quickly welcomes her inside. The house is spotless.

Ruby asks where the kids are, and Caroline quickly tells her to be quiet so she doesn’t wake them up from their naps. Ruby can tell something has upset Caroline, and she asks her what’s wrong. Caroline says the children have been acting difficult this week. Ruby accuses her sister of having an affair, and Caroline smiles and says she’s not and has no desire to have sex.

Caroline asks why Ruby has come to see her, and Ruby tells her about Rand’s affair. Caroline already knew and says that everyone on the island knew as well. She says that Ruby didn’t know because she didn’t want to know. Ruby tells Caroline that she’s getting to know Nora, which upsets Caroline because Caroline has struggled to become close with Nora. The two discuss whether they have forgiven Nora, and are interrupted by a scream. The children have woken up, and Caroline encourages Ruby to leave before they see her. They make tentative plans to see each other again, and Ruby leaves.

The narration switches to Nora. She keeps looking at the hate mail she received and tries to build up the strength to read some of it. She also looks at the note Ruby left, realizing that she pushed her daughter too hard. Then she hears Rand come into the house. Rand picks her up and takes her outside. He apologizes to Nora and admits he should have apologized to her years earlier. He talks about the day Nora came back to the family and how bad he felt for treating her the way he did. Nora says she’s happy that he’s in a better place now. When Rand says she deserves to be happy too, she reminds him that abandoning your children is a much worse thing to do than sleeping around. Rand admits that he told Ruby the truth, and Nora tells him that that was a bad idea. However, Rand believes this will help Ruby reconnect with Nora.

Ruby ends up waiting on the ferry for several hours, which gives her time to reflect on what she’s learned about her family. She realizes that she has to rethink how she feels about Nora. She begins writing her article again. In the article, she examines her childhood and Nora’s decision to leave the family. She describes how Nora’s absence destroyed the family and divulges that she now knows about her father’s infidelity. She admits she now knows that Nora didn’t leave her for fame, but because of her very human pain. Ruby wonders who she could be without the pain she feels.

The ferry arrives at Lopez Island, and Ruby quickly speeds off of it and makes her way to the Sloan’s island home. Lottie answers the door and is happy to see her. Ruby heads upstairs to see Eric. The two greet each other, and Ruby is surprised by how Eric looks. They share a joint and catch up. Ruby says she’s thinking about writing a book, and she jokingly says she’ll write about Nora. Eric says that Nora is a saint, and Ruby says she doesn’t believe him. Ruby apologizes for falling out of touch with Eric. Eric encourages Ruby to forgive Nora and tells her about how he and Nora reconnected. He wrote to her for her column and then they continued corresponding. Nora encouraged Eric to make peace with his mother’s refusal to accept him due to his sexuality, and her words saved him. Ruby admits that she’s afraid to forgive Nora.

When Ruby goes home, she decides to write more of her article. She writes about Eric and his illness. She describes how she is beginning to want and miss her mother for the first time in years.

Ruby wakes up late the next morning and realizes she will need to talk to Nora about what she’s learned. As Ruby gets dressed, she realizes she’s been making herself unattractive with her makeup and hair and decides to stop trying so hard. When she comes downstairs, Nora remarks that she is beautiful. Ruby admits that she needs a haircut. Nora offers to cut her hair for her, which is something she did when Ruby was a child. They go outside, and Nora begins cutting Ruby’s hair.

Nora asks Ruby questions about her life and admits to wondering what kind of person she’s become. Ruby asks Nora to tell her what she was like as a child. Ruby tells Nora that they need to speak about Rand’s infidelity. Nora agrees, and they reconvene on the porch to discuss. Nora says she feels like she loved Rand too much. Ruby tells her mother she remembered the day Nora returned to them, and she apologizes. She calls her “mom,” which is something she hasn’t done in years, causing Nora to cry. Ruby asks why Nora stayed away so long before returning to them.

The narration switches to Nora. She explains that on the surface, she and Rand were a perfect couple. However, every time they fought, Nora heard her father’s voice. While she had her suspicions that Rand was cheating on her, she caught him with the children’s soccer coach one day. She soon overdosed on sleeping pills and realized if she didn’t leave soon, she would die. When she left, she met a man named Vince Correll, the man who sold the photos to the tabloids. They had an illicit affair, and then Vince left. She again overdosed on sleeping pills and ended up in a mental institution this time. When she got out, she went to see her family. Nora tells Ruby that she never stopped missing her. Ruby says she believes her, leading Nora to know they have begun to heal.

Ruby goes upstairs and considers what her mother told her about her mental illness. She begins to write her article again, focusing on Nora’s stay in a mental institution and the fact that Ruby was unaware of the problems in her family as a child. Ruby is interrupted by a phone call from Caroline. They talk, and Ruby asks Caroline if she’s happy, which makes Caroline cry. Ruby encourages Caroline to come to the summer house to get to know Nora, and Caroline admits she’s afraid to do so. Nora calls for Ruby, and she ends the phone call to go to her mother.

Downstairs, she finds Dean holding a bouquet of daisies. He asks her to talk, and he tells her to wear a bathing suit under her clothes and some tennis shoes. After changing, she goes outside to meet Dean. He has a bike for her, and they bike away. They go to the park, and, while they bike, Ruby is reminded of their childhood together. At the park, they hike to a waterfall. He takes her to the place where she first told him she wanted to be a comedian. Ruby tells him that she saw Eric and is surprised to learn that Dean hasn’t seen Eric in years. She apologizes for hurting Dean when they were teenagers. Dean asks what she would do if he still loved her and asks her if she has stopped loving him. He kisses her passionately, telling her he’s waited for a second chance with her. Ruby continues to be too afraid of being abandoned, and tells him she can’t do this with him. Dean tells her she can’t run him off, because whatever happened between them still exists.

Dean and Ruby return to the summer house. He tells her that he knows they both will think about the kiss they shared that night and that he’s been looking for her for years. She admits to being afraid, and bikes away.

The narration switches to Ruby. When Ruby returns home, Nora is cooking her favorite meal. Ruby tells Nora that a relationship with Dean won’t last, and Nora disagrees. For the first time, Ruby realizes she’s not alone in her life anymore. She also realizes she cannot write the article. She goes upstairs and tries to call Val, and leaves a message with his assistant saying that she won’t be turning in the piece. She then continues writing. In her article, she writes that she called her agent to tell him she wouldn’t be completing the exposé. She explains that she didn’t realize that writing it would require her to stand on top of Nora’s broken career. More than being famous, she wants to be Nora’s daughter.

The narration switches to Dean. He sees a camera shop and goes inside to buy a camera and then shops at a grocery store. He brings home a rocket popsicle for Eric. They reminisce over childhood, and Dean tells Eric about his day with Ruby. Eric encourages him to continue pursuing her and thanks his brother for coming home.

The narration switches to Nora. Ruby brings Nora some tea and reflects on how badly she acted after Nora left. Nora encourages her to give Dean a chance. She tells Ruby she always thought she’d be a writer, which surprises her. Ruby admits to thinking about writing something personal about the family, but stopping so she wouldn’t hurt anyone. Nora reminds her that you can’t live life without hurting people. Then the women hear footsteps.