Daphne was nine, and her younger sister, Leda, eight, when Eddie was their stepfather for little more than a year. But the last time they were together was momentous. Leda was rushed to the hospital with an appendix that threatened to burst. Their mother, Abigail, kept vigil while Eddie said he would drive Daphne home. They took a detour to a raspberry farm that was closed for the season, but still had incredible views of the surrounding areas and stars. Eddie failed to navigate a sharp turn and the car left the road and landed on its side. Daphne’s head was bleeding and Eddie was sure he had broken his ankle. After a long night huddled together in the car for warmth, they were rescued and taken to the same hospital where Leda was now out of surgery and resting. Abigail was furious at Eddie and that night decided to divorce him. The girls never saw their stepfather again.

When Jonathan tells Daphne the identity of the elderly man, she begins to cry. Even though Eddie’s time as a stepfather was brief, he left an indelible mark on Daphne. Reconnecting with him means looking back, not only on her time with Eddie, but also with Buddy, her biological father and, of course, her mother, who now has a third husband, Lucas. Eddie was once the most important person in Daphne’s life. How could he have just disappeared and why did she never try to find him?

Ann Patchett’s book, Whistler, is about love lost and love found. About the mistakes that people make, but how those missteps shouldn’t define us forever. About how it’s never too late to find a new path forward. That families can come together in many ways, and no one way is the only way. At a time when so many families are divided, I found Ann Patchett’s book a soothing balm.

After leaving Eddie at the Met, Daphne tells Jonathan to go home to Bronxville while she visits Leda on the West Side. Leda, now a psychologist with a husband, Steve, and college-aged children, is blown away when Daphne tells her about meeting Eddie. Neither one can explain why their mother reacted so quickly to throw Eddie out of their house and their lives. Maybe now, Daphne can find some answers.

Daphne met Jonathan when her father and his first wife, Candy, were both in a Boston hospital being treated for cancer. Jonathan was the hospital administrator and saw it as part of his job to make sure the patients and their families were being well cared for. He spent a lot of time with Daphne, and a few years after Candy died, they married. Leda was initially wary of the union, since Jonathan was 20 years older than Daphne. But Jonathan is a good husband. He’s now retired, while Daphne still teaches at a girls’ private school. 

Jonathan’s ninety year old mother has died, and he and his sister Bea, are meeting in Wisconsin to clean out the family home and put it up for sale. Because Daphne refuses to fly, Jonathan goes on his own. She uses the time he’s gone to spend time with Eddie.

She agrees to go with Eddie to a 50th anniversary celebration for his college roommate, Skip, and his wife, Polly. Eddie gives a heartfelt toast to the couple, but then asks Daphne to leave with him. Stopping for a drink at the Plaza, they happen upon a wedding and join in that celebration. Daphne is surprised when one of the bridesmaids, a former student, recognizes her. It seems Daphne is truly on a journey through her past.

Daphne and Leda’s biological father, Buddy Zabriskie, was a fisherman. “I wasn’t allowed to say it at the time, but I was enormously fond of your father,” Eddie tells Daphne. “He was such a decent man who had no business getting married, certainly no business having children.”

Eddie and Abigail worked at Houghton Mifflin in Boston. He was an editor, she was in publicity. Their relationship began as a friendship, but soon became something deeper. As Daphne learns more about what occurred between Abigail and Eddie, she understands that their divorce had nothing to do with the car accident, although she carried that guilt with her for a long time.

Abigail’s third husband, Lucas, was one of the authors whose publicity she handled. He wrote a series of books about positivity that became bestsellers until they went out of fashion. But the royalties were generous enough to purchase a large home in the Boston area for Abigail and their two sons. Daphne takes a trip to visit her mother to tell her about Eddie. But that visit produces no explanation about their divorce.

Slowly, as the details trickle out, Daphne understands that no one was to blame for what happened between Abigail and Eddie. And she was too young when the divorce happened to maintain a relationship with him.

But that time is now, and she and Eddie are not about to let it pass by. Many stories are told, some she remembers from her childhood, including one about a horse named Whistler. Even though she and Eddie are not biologically related, they share many of the same interests and traits. They both love reading and books, and they are confident enough not to feel threatened by others who may have shared someone they loved. Candy collected paintings of rabbits and Daphne still displays them in their home. And Eddie holds no animosity towards Abigail for cutting him out of the girls’ lives.

There are some selfish people in this story and they stand out because of their behavior. But those acts are canceled out by the generosity exhibited by the others, particularly Eddie. We should all have an Eddie in our lives.

Whistler
Ann Patchett

Top Bigstock photo by ahavelaar

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