“Uh, yeah. She’s a Nantucket legend,” Hayes said, trying to remember. “A famous matchmaker. Some say she works in secret, behind the scenes, even now.”
“She does.” Nellie started up the stairs. “She has been for years.”
“You think she’s real?”
Nellie stopped and looked at him. “I know she’s real.”
Hayes paused on the steps and looked up at her, noting a strange twinkle in her eye.
“Years ago, I came to Nantucket seeking a new life. I was visiting your parents when I met a woman named Helen who took a shine to me right away.”
Helen. Right.
They were at the top of the stairs now, and Hayes realized he hadn’t been up here since he was a kid. “What does that mean, ‘took a shine’ to you? Like, she had a crush on you?”
“Hayes Michael McGuire.” Nellie swatted him across the arm.
“I’m just trying to make sense of what you’re saying.”
“Helen saw something in me.” She led him to the room at the end of the long hallway. “She said I had a gift. Said I could read people, that I knew what they needed even when they didn’t. She said the magic had found me.”
Hayes searched her eyes for any clue that would explain what she was trying to say. He didn’t want to roll his eyes, but he wondered if she’d finally lost her mind.
“Said she wanted to train me to be her replacement.”
As far as he knew, Nellie had never worked a day in her life, so he was even more confused now, trying to figure out what this Helen could’ve possibly wanted from his aunt.
“I lived in her house for several months, and then she introduced me to Arthur. She said we were soulmates.” Nellie put her hand on the doorknob of a room at the end of the hall but didn’t open it. “She was right. Helen was always right when it came to love.”
“That’s great, Aunt Nellie,” Hayes said. “Sounds like a great lady.”
Nellie pushed the door open, revealing a small room with light pink walls. At the center was a desk, piled high with file folders, and on the wall were two large bulletin boards full of photos, newspaper articles, thank-you cards, and a bunch of paraphernalia he couldn’t decipher upon first glance.
“Is this your office?”
“Of sorts,” she said, an air of mystery coming over her. “This is the office of Noni Rose.”
Hayes turned and looked at her, confusion—he was sure—on his face. He shook his head, trying to understand what she was saying.
“I am Noni Rose,” she said, filling in the blanks.
“Aunt Nellie, that’s not possible,” he said.
“Sit.” She motioned to the chair on one side of the desk, then took her seat behind it. “Helen explained that she’d been plucked out of obscurity by a woman who’d been working as Noni Rose. That woman had also been chosen by the Noni Rose before her and on and on as far back as the history of Nantucket. As long as people have been on this island, the famous matchmaker has been at work.”
“So, you’re saying it’s a lie that’s passed down from generation to generation?” Hayes took his seat, crossed his ankle over his knee, and waited for an answer.
“Oh dear,” she said. “Maybe this was a mistake.”
“What was, telling me that one of the island’s oldest legends is a bunch of hogwash?” He laughed. “Pretty sure I already knew that. I don’t believe in soulmates or magic or any of that.”
“I see,” she said. “You’re a doubter.”
“A doubter?”
“A doubting Thomas, like the man in the Bible—”
“Yeah, I know who Thomas was,” Hayes said. “You’re equating me not believing in matchmakers with Thomas not believing in Jesus?”
She laughed. “Look, all I’m saying is, I’ve had a pretty successful run. Helen found me when I was very young, and this is all part of the reason I stayed on the island.”
He wasn’t sure what to make of her story, but he surely didn’t believe love worked this way, so mostly he wanted to tell her this was ludicrous.
“Do you need proof of my success?” she asked, and he could tell by her tone that she had it.
“Sure,” he said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
She pulled a small book out of the desk and handed it to him. He opened it and found the names of several couples written on the pages throughout the book. In some cases, these names were accompanied by wedding announcements clipped from the newspaper and glued onto the page.
As he flipped, he began to see names and faces he recognized. “You’re telling me you’re the reason all of these people met and fell in love?”
She smiled smugly. “And I’ll have you know of all my couples, only one has ever ended in a divorce.”
He gave her a nod. Okay, that was impressive, if it was true. “Well done, Aunt Nellie. That’s saying something these days.”
“Helen explained that it was a very special kind of person who possessed the magic of being a matchmaker. She said it was important that the tradition was passed down so the romance of the island would live on.”
“No offense, Aunt Nellie, but don’t you think the romance of the island will go on whether you’re matchmaking or not? Some might argue this is just you sticking your nose in other people’s business.”
She folded her hands and leaned in closer, across the desk. “Dear boy. Love might prevail here on the island, but it always benefits from the nudge of Noni Rose.”
Hayes had no reply. His aunt might be certifiable, but he didn’t feel like now was a good time to tell her so.
“And, furthermore, nobody knows anything about what I’m doing. I can assure you, there is nothing untoward happening here. I look at this as a responsibility, and I didn’t ask for it, mind you. You don’t get to choose to be Noni Rose, Noni Rose chooses you.” She stared at him, an expectant look on her face.
He smiled at her. Had she just said something important and he misunderstood?
“I think it’s a great thing, then,” he said. “If it makes you happy, and people are finding love or whatever, more power to you.”
“People do not find love or whatever,” she said pointedly. “I create an atmosphere that allows love to blossom, that’s all.”
He didn’t respond.
“And, you’ll be pleased to know that I’ve selected my replacement.”
“You’re retiring from matchmaking?”
“I’m taking a little break.”
“Right,” he said. “Paris.”
“Right.” She nodded, that knowing expression still on her face.
“Aunt Nellie,” he said. “What are you trying to say?”
“It’s you, Hayes,” she said with enthusiasm, as if he’d been chosen the next contestant on The Price is Right.
“What’s me?”
“My replacement.” She still leaned forward across the desk, but now it almost felt like she was luring him in somehow. “Well, temporarily.”
“Me? No.” He shook his head. “You’ve officially lost your mind.”