Tom Lake (Patchett)
Short summary
Michigan, 2020. During the pandemic, Lara worked alongside her three adult daughters on their family cherry orchard.
While picking fruit, the daughters asked Lara to recount her past romance with famous actor Peter Duke. Lara began her story in high school, where she auditioned for Our Town and won the role of Emily. Years later, she was cast in a film and invited to perform in a summer stock production at Tom Lake theater in Michigan. There she met Duke, who played her father in the play, and they began an intense relationship.
Lara ruptured her Achilles tendon playing tennis, ending her stage career. Her understudy Pallace took over her roles and began an affair with Duke. Heartbroken, Lara left Michigan and eventually quit acting entirely. She returned to New England to care for her dying grandmother, then moved to New York where she worked as a theatrical seamstress. There she reconnected with Joe Nelson, the director from Tom Lake who had become the Stage Manager in the play.
It’s not that I’m unaware of the suffering... it’s that I know the suffering exists beside wet grass and a bright blue sky recently scrubbed by rain. The beauty and the suffering are equally true.
Lara and Joe married and took over his family's cherry farm. Years later, Duke briefly visited the farm, not recognizing Lara at first. When Duke died during the pandemic, his brother Sebastian arrived at the orchard and revealed that Duke had secretly purchased a cemetery plot on the farm, and the money had saved the Nelsons from financial ruin. Lara's eldest daughter Emily announced her engagement to their neighbor Benny, and the family buried Duke's ashes beneath an oak tree on the farm.
Detailed summary by chapters
Chapter titles are editorial.
Chapter 1. Auditioning for Our Town in high school
On a freezing Saturday morning in April, Lara and her friend Veronica opened their high school gymnasium for community theater auditions. The play was Thornton Wilder's Our Town, a work that held sacred status for New Hampshire residents. Lara was recruited because the director was her grandmother's friend and insurance agent. While she generally disliked the gym, she found it strangely beautiful in the morning sunlight.
As the doors opened, a massive crowd flooded the gym. Lara watched familiar faces from her town navigate the awkwardness of auditioning, feeling a mix of pity and fascination. The auditions began behind schedule with the role of the Stage Manager. Lara watched as one man after another failed to grasp the cadence required for the role. She realized that watching these adults stumble provided her with a profound education on how to present oneself in the world. Frustrated by the poor performances, particularly by women auditioning for Emily who portrayed the intelligent character as weak or overly emotional, Lara decided to audition herself. She changed the spelling of her name from Laura to Lara to seem more worldly and resolved to prove she could do better.
Chapter 2. From college play to Hollywood opportunity
Years later, Lara recounted this story to her three adult daughters while they sheltered together on their family cherry farm in Michigan during the pandemic. She described her high school audition, where she simply said the words without overacting, earning immediate applause. Her performance alongside a boy named Jimmy was a success. The daughters questioned what happened to those friends, and Lara admitted they simply lost touch. A point of contention arose regarding the famous actor Peter Duke. The daughters believed Duke played George opposite their mother's Emily at Tom Lake, but Lara corrected them—Duke actually played her father, Mr. Webb. This realization disturbed the daughters, shifting the romantic narrative they had imagined.
Lara continued her story into her college years at the University of New Hampshire. During her junior year, she saw an audition notice for Our Town and felt a pull toward the familiar role. Her college performance caught the attention of Bill Ripley, a film director who attended to see his niece. While his niece's performance was mediocre, Ripley was struck by Lara's talent. After the show, he approached her and informed her he was casting a film. He invited her to Los Angeles for a screen test, an offer that felt surreal to a young woman who had barely traveled. This encounter served as the catalyst for her transition from college student to professional actress.
Chapter 3. Emilys obsession with Peter Duke
Lara observed her three adult daughters as they prepared for bed at their family orchard. Emily, the eldest, focused on a manual about branch grafting. Maisie, a veterinary student, attended to her rescued terrier, Hazel. The daughters' presence together triggered a sense of regression, making them feel younger than their actual ages.
Memory shifted back to Lara's high school years, specifically her relationship with a student teacher named Jimmy Haywood. Jimmy was playing George in Our Town while dating Lara's best friend, Veronica. Jimmy manipulated the situation, using theatrical chemistry to pursue Lara. Despite a cryptic warning from a teacher about the legal dangers of his age gap with a minor, Jimmy and Lara began a secret affair in her grandmother's sewing shop.
I blame myself for what happened. I was hideously disloyal to the person I loved in order to be with a person I didn’t love at all. But I was also sixteen, and as sure as fifteen will get you twenty...
Lara reflected on her disloyalty to Veronica, noting that at sixteen, she was ill-equipped to handle the advances of a twenty-two-year-old. She chose not to share this specific history with her daughters, believing it was a lesson they needed earlier in life. The narrative returned to the present, focusing on Emily's adolescence, which was marked by intense rage and a bizarre delusion. When Emily was fourteen, she became convinced that the famous actor Peter Duke was her biological father. This obsession was triggered years earlier during a family movie night when Joe offhandedly mentioned that Lara had once dated the movie star. The revelation caused immediate chaos and relentless curiosity in the girls. For Emily, this obsession turned into a weapon of rebellion during her difficult teenage years. She claimed to belong in Malibu with Duke rather than on a Michigan cherry farm, even claiming her dark hair was proof of her parentage.
Chapter 4. First film and the journey to Tom Lake
Lara described the daily rhythms of her family's cherry orchard in Michigan. She observed the heavy burden of fruit on the trees and noted the labor shortage during the harvest. She reflected on the local definition of a neighbor, contrasting rural interconnectedness with the anonymity of city life.
You could spend years in a New York apartment never knowing the people who live two feet away from you, but live on an orchard in Michigan and you will use the word neighbor to refer to every person for miles.
The narrative detailed the relationship between Emily and their neighbor Benny Holzapfel. Joe harbored a quiet dream of the two marrying to merge their farms. Benny was described as a visionary farmer who convinced Joe to plant sweet cherries instead of plums, a decision that proved financially vital.
The daughters pressed Lara to continue the story of her past, specifically regarding a film audition. Lara recounted the phone call from director Bill Ripley, who invited her to Los Angeles. Her family supported the trip, and her grandmother sewed a special wardrobe for her. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Lara was met with unexpected luxury, including a limousine and a high-end hotel. She described the elaborate process of hair and makeup at Warner Brothers, where she was transformed. She found the camera test easier than stage work because it required a simplicity that came naturally to her. After the test, she was sent back to New Hampshire, only to be called back two weeks later for a second test. This second test was unusual, as Ripley insisted on seeing her swim. This performance secured her the part, leading to a union membership and a substantial salary of forty-five thousand dollars.
Chapter 5. Accepting the summer stock offer
Lara's start in film was delayed when the lead actress injured her ankle. During the hiatus, Lara stayed in Los Angeles, working on commercials and a sitcom. She enjoyed the sunshine and freedom. In the present, Nell expressed frustration and envy over the ease with which Lara's career began. She felt that while her mother was given opportunities, she herself was stuck picking cherries. Nell lamented that Lara didn't become truly famous, feeling her mother's talent and luck were somehow wasted.
Following a summer that felt like the end of the world, Lara shared stories of her past with her daughters while working in the orchards. Lara recalled a pivotal time in Los Angeles when her first movie remained unreleased for three years. Seeking advice, she met with Ripley who discouraged her from taking acting classes. During their meeting, Ripley informed her of a Broadway production of Our Town and suggested she audition in New York. Lara traveled to New York and auditioned for the role of Emily Webb. She felt a profound sense of confidence during the callbacks. After the second day of auditions, a casting associate named Charlie invited her to the Algonquin Hotel. At the hotel, Charlie explained that while she was talented, the production needed a more established name. Instead of the Broadway role, Charlie offered Lara a lead position in a summer stock production of Our Town at a theater called Tom Lake in Michigan. He convinced her the experience would be invaluable for her career. Lara accepted the opportunity, viewing it as a lucky break.
Chapter 6. Meeting Peter Duke at the theater
Lara traveled to Michigan to join the Tom Lake theater company. She was met at the Traverse City airport by Eric, the Executive Director, who explained the company's precarious financial state and the chaotic situation involving the previous lead actress's departure and the alcoholism of the star actor, Albert Long. Lara was captivated by the immense beauty of the blooming cherry trees. Eric informed her she would receive a higher salary and better housing. He also offered her a role in a subsequent production of Fool for Love. Upon arriving at Tom Lake, she found the campus to be an idyllic landscape of amphitheaters, tennis courts, and lakefront houses.
After settling into a comfortable room, Lara reflected on the contrast between her transient life and the settled lives of her married friends. While contemplating the lake view, a man named Peter Duke appeared at her door to deliver her rehearsal schedule. Duke, a charismatic actor, engaged Lara in a long, playful story about the origin of the name Tom Lake. He fabricated a tale involving a wealthy family and a young boy who mistakenly believed his father had gifted him the entire lake. Duke's storytelling was theatrical and charming, revealing his personality as a natural performer. As the conversation progressed, Duke revealed he would be playing Editor Webb, the father of Lara's character, Emily, in the production. Lara realized she was falling intensely in love with him.
The narrative then shifted to the present day, where Lara was recounting these events to her three grown daughters. Back in the present, the family was standing among the cherry trees in the rain. The daughters were deeply affected by their mother's story, particularly the revelation of her intense passion for Duke. Maisie questioned how one could ever get over such a powerful love. Lara attempted to explain the nature of youthful infatuation using the metaphor of a carnival ride. She compared her time with Duke to a thrilling but ultimately sickening fairground ride, emphasizing that while the intensity was real and memorable, it was not something one would want to sustain for a lifetime.
Chapter 7. The beginning of romance
Lara prepared a simple dinner for her family after a long day of harvesting cherries. The family gathered at the table, a domestic ritual revived by the pandemic and harvest season. The conversation shifted from agricultural logistics to Lara's past when Nell asked Joe for his opinion of Duke. Joe recalled Duke as a talented athlete who could perform impressive physical feats. Joe also brought up Duke's brother, Sebastian, a gifted tennis player who never turned professional. The daughters were surprised to learn that Lara also knew Sebastian.
Lara's narrative then flashed back to her first day at Tom Lake. She described the initial table read for Our Town, where she met the cast and the director, Nelson. She felt a deep connection to her role as Emily, having performed it several times before. During this rehearsal, Lara observed Duke's acting style, which she found surprisingly restrained and mature. While others were distracted or performative, Duke remained present and attentive. Following the rehearsal, Duke approached Lara and offered to show her the lake. Their interaction was charged with immediate romantic tension. As they walked toward the water, they discussed the director. Duke teased Lara about the cliché of showing someone the lake, yet the attraction between them was undeniable. He eventually kissed her, a gesture that felt both hesitant and significant, signaling the start of their summer romance. Duke introduced Lara to smoking, lighting two cigarettes and sharing one with her.
Chapter 8. Life at Tom Lake and early warning signs
Lara woke up in her home on the family's cherry orchard, noting the comfort of having Maisie and Nell back home during the pandemic. In the morning, Maisie arrived downstairs after a night spent helping a neighbor's calf. Nell revealed that while playing Pictionary at the neighboring Holzapfel house, she discovered that Emily was planning to marry Benny. This news caused Lara a momentary feeling of exclusion, as Emily had not shared this major life event directly. The family prepared for the day's work in the orchard, greeting the Ramirez family who arrived annually for the harvest. Lara and Nell took a detour to the farm's cemetery. At the cemetery, Lara reflected on Emily's childhood. Nell attempted to soothe her mother's feelings regarding the secret engagement. When they reached the trees, Emily confronted Lara about the marriage plans. Emily admitted she felt crushed by the stress of the pandemic and the farm's future, desiring a simple wedding. Lara offered her full support.
As the work continued, the daughters pressed Lara to continue her story about her past and Duke. Lara described her first morning in Michigan during the summer stock production. She woke up in her room with Duke, who playfully chose to wear her Disneyland T-shirt to their first rehearsal. They walked to the theater together, encountering Pallace, a talented dancer who was cast as Lara's understudy. Lara observed the dynamic between Duke and Pallace, both Michigan natives. At the theater, the director Nelson began the rehearsal despite the absence of the lead actor, Albert Long. Because the Stage Manager was missing, an understudy named Lee was asked to read the part. Lee was a wealthy donor to the theater who lacked any acting talent. Lara recalled the discomfort of watching Lee's performance and the relief she felt when Uncle Wallace finally arrived. Wallace appeared disheveled and likely hungover, but his presence restored the professional energy.
Chapter 9. Sebastian arrives; Dukes instability emerges
Lara reflected on her time at Tom Lake during a summer production of Our Town. She recalled the performance of Uncle Wallace, an alcoholic actor who played the Stage Manager with profound skill despite his personal struggles. Duke frequently mocked Wallace's habits, yet Lara admired the actor's ability to remain professional. Following a rehearsal, Lara and Duke relaxed by the lake, sharing alcohol and cigarettes. Their conversation turned to Wallace's aspirations to play King Lear. Duke teased Lara about her potential to play Cordelia, leading to a playful and intimate moment where they improvised a scene from Shakespeare. Life at Tom Lake was described as an immersive cycle of rehearsals and brief escapes to the water. Lara recalled the routine of swimming in the lake during lunch breaks with other cast members, including Pallace. Duke was often the first to dive in, exuding a charismatic presence. During one swim, Lara caught up with Pallace. They discussed the technical demands of theater, with Pallace explaining how she used swimming to transition between her different roles. The tranquility was interrupted by the arrival of a man at the lakeshore calling for Peedee. Duke reacted with immense joy, diving from a platform to reach him. This man was revealed to be Sebastian, Duke's brother.
In the present day, Lara's daughters interrupted her storytelling. Emily demonstrated a surprising, detailed knowledge of Duke's family history, including the existence of a younger sister named Sarah who died of cancer as a child. Lara was stunned to realize her daughter knew more about Duke's personal tragedies than she did during their actual relationship. The conversation turned to Sebastian's past as a tennis player. Emily revealed that Sebastian had once played against John McEnroe in a high-level junior match. Lara confirmed this, remembering that Sebastian had taught her to play tennis that summer. Lara returned to her memory of the first meeting with Sebastian. She recalled feeling self-conscious in her swimsuit and noticing the stark contrast between the two brothers. Sebastian appeared more grounded and mature compared to the boyish and erratic Duke. Duke introduced Lara to Sebastian with great pride. Pallace met Sebastian briefly before rushing off to a Cabaret rehearsal. Sebastian was clearly struck by Pallace's beauty and energy.
Chapter 10. The brothers contrasts and Emilys engagement
Sebastian was a history teacher and tennis coach in Grosse Pointe during the year and worked at a prestigious yacht club in the summer. He was a local legend because he had once played against John McEnroe. During the summer theater season at Tom Lake, Sebastian often visited his brother. Lara and Pallace would watch the two brothers play tennis under the floodlights at night, occasionally acting as ball girls. Lara observed the profound differences between the brothers on the tennis court. Sebastian was controlled and generous, adjusting his skill level to accommodate whoever he was playing with. In contrast, Duke poured a frantic, lunging energy into every movement. However, Sebastian's presence highlighted Duke's growing instability. Sebastian acted as a watchful guardian, anticipating Duke's erratic behavior in an attempt to protect him. In the present day, Lara told this story to her three adult daughters while they worked in their family's cherry orchard. A linguistic debate ensued when Lara described Duke as crazy or nuts. Her daughters corrected her, insisting on modern terminology regarding mental health, though Lara insisted that Duke's behavior was genuinely dangerous. Lara shared specific instances of Duke's instability to justify her description. She recalled finding him writing furiously in notebooks in the middle of the night, staying awake for entire weekends, and attempting to punch Sebastian when denied car keys. She also described an incident where Duke punched through a glass window when a door was merely stuck, and a chilling moment when he deliberately burned his arm with a cigarette while looking directly at her.
The family gathering expanded when Benny arrived to announce his engagement to Emily. The family celebrated with wine, envisioning a future where the two neighboring farms would be united. However, Lara noticed a haunting physical resemblance between Benny and Duke. She realized that Emily's long-standing obsession with the famous actor might have finally transitioned into a real-life love for a man who shared his physical traits but possessed a completely different, stable temperament. The celebration turned somber when Lara asked if Emily was pregnant. Emily and Benny revealed that they had decided not to have children at all. This revelation was devastating to Lara, who had spent years collecting fabric to make quilts for future grandchildren. Benny and Emily explained their decision through the lens of environmental despair, noting that the changing climate was making the orchard unsustainable. They viewed bringing a child into a failing world as irresponsible, choosing instead to focus all their energy on saving the family land.
Chapter 11. Fear for the farms future
Joe woke up early, consumed by anxieties regarding the future of the family farm. He worried that neither his daughters nor their potential future children would want to maintain the orchard. Inside the house, Maisie and Nell joined their mother for breakfast, visibly exhausted. The tension increased when Maisie received a message from a neighbor asking her to euthanize a litter of feral kittens. Nell expressed frustration that neighbors would outsource such grim tasks. Joe returned to the house and abruptly declared a mandatory day off for the family at the beach. Despite his daughters' protests about the workload, Joe insisted, revealing that Emily was already at the beach and was deeply distressed. The narrator walked through the woods toward Lake Michigan, noting the stark contrast between the hot orchard and the cool forest. On the shore of Grand Traverse Bay, the narrator found Emily sitting alone. They shared a quiet moment watching the water. Emily confessed her decision not to have children with Benny, citing her despair over the state of the world and the uncertain future of the family farm. The conversation turned to childhood memories, and Emily revealed a long-standing resentment over an evening when her parents burned old cherry trees. After the other daughters joined them and the group went for a restorative swim in the cold lake, the atmosphere lightened. The daughters asked their mother to recount the happiest day of her life, leading the narrator to begin a story from her youth during the summer she worked at Tom Lake.
Chapter 12. Duke visits the Nelson farm
In the summer of 1988, Lara and her theater companions—Duke, Pallace, and Sebastian—drove to Traverse City to visit their director, Nelson, at his family's cherry farm. The journey was lighthearted, filled with singing and games. Upon arriving at the Nelson farm, Lara was immediately struck by the serene beauty and order of the orchard, which provided a sense of peace she had never experienced before. They were greeted by Nelson, who appeared far more relaxed in his home environment. He introduced them to his aunt Maisie and uncle Ken, who welcomed the group with overwhelming hospitality and a massive farm-style lunch. The narrative shifted frequently to the present day, where an older Lara was recounting these events to her three grown daughters. The daughters were shocked to learn that Duke had actually visited their family farm decades earlier. A tense exchange occurred as Emily realized her mother had kept this specific connection a secret for years. Back in the past, Nelson led the group on a tour of the extensive orchard. He explained the harsh realities of farming, such as the volatility of market prices and the failed venture into plum trees. This discussion highlighted the deep, multi-generational connection the Nelsons had to the land. The conversation took a literary turn when Duke and Nelson began quoting Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, drawing parallels between the play and the actual farm. Duke's behavior throughout the visit was marked by a performative intensity. He lay down on a grave in the family cemetery, jokingly asking if there were vacancies for him to be buried there. The tour concluded at a hidden beach on the Grand Traverse Bay, a place Joe Nelson called the edge of the world. In the present, Joe joined the women on the beach, and the family discussed the nature of their parents' early relationship. Lara clarified for her daughters that she and Joe did not fall in love at Tom Lake; rather, they met there and only truly connected much later in life.
Chapter 13. Wallace collapses; Joe takes over
Backstage at the Tom Lake theater, Lara and Uncle Wallace prepared to begin a performance of Our Town. Wallace confessed his nerves while they watched the audience settle into their seats. As the play commenced, Wallace, serving as the Stage Manager, took Lara's hand in a moment of quiet solidarity. Lara reflected on her own acting abilities, contrasting her ease in playing Emily with the terror she felt rehearsing for Fool for Love. She acknowledged that while she was excellent as the youthful Emily, she lacked the range to play more complex characters. As the run of Our Town continued, Lara noticed Wallace's health declining. He missed marks and appeared to be physically struggling. During a performance, Wallace leaned heavily on Lara for support. Despite his obvious distress, he insisted on finishing the third act, delivering his final lines about the stars and the earth with a beauty that captivated the entire cast. Immediately after the curtain fell, Wallace collapsed into Lara's lap, hemorrhaging a massive amount of blood that soaked her white wedding dress. Doctors from the audience rushed to assist while an ambulance was called. Back at their lodgings, Duke comforted Lara, explaining that Wallace's condition was the result of lifelong alcoholism. Years later, Lara recounted these events to her three daughters over dinner. Her husband, Joe, joined the conversation, revealing the chaotic aftermath of Wallace's collapse. The local understudy, a man named Lee, had refused to take over the role, prompting Joe himself to step in as the Stage Manager for the remainder of the summer run. Lara shared memories of visiting Wallace in the hospital. She met Wallace's second wife, Elyse, who had arrived to take him back to Chicago. During the family dinner, Maisie looked up Wallace's obituary on her phone. They discovered that he had died only weeks after leaving Tom Lake at the age of fifty-six. The daughters were surprised to learn that their father, Joe, had once been an actor. Joe explained that he had only pursued acting briefly in college but knew the role of the Stage Manager well enough to save the production.
Chapter 14. Dukes alcoholism and Laras struggle
Lara, now fifty-seven years old, watched her daughters head out to watch a screening of Duke's film, The Promised Man. The movie was being projected onto a sheet at their neighbors' farm. While the girls viewed the event as a rare break from their grueling work during the pandemic, Lara remembered the film as soul-crushing. She declined the invitation to join them, preferring to stay home with Joe. As Joe and Lara cleaned up after dinner, they discussed the film and their past. Joe, who was once the Stage Manager in a production of Our Town at Tom Lake, reflected on his brief acting career. Lara questioned if he ever regretted leaving that life behind for the farm, but Joe insisted he was happy. They reminisced about their time together on stage. Joe revealed that he only agreed to continue playing the Stage Manager because he wanted to be near Lara, confessing his youthful love for her. The narrative then shifted back in time to the summer at Tom Lake. Following a health crisis involving Uncle Wallace, Lara and Duke moved into Wallace's vacant cottage. The space was far more luxurious than their previous accommodations. While packing Wallace's belongings, Duke discovered the older man's stash of vodka and prescription pills. Duke's casual attitude toward the situation and his immediate consumption of the alcohol highlighted his growing dependency. During rehearsals for the play Fool for Love, Duke insisted on using real tequila to achieve authenticity. This created a rift between the actors and the director. Lara, who struggled with the role of Mae, felt increasingly alienated as Duke and the other male actors embraced heavy drinking. While the men seemed to improve their performances under the influence, Lara found herself wobbling and forgetting her lines. Returning to the present, Lara walked through the orchard toward the Otts' farm to catch a glimpse of the movie alone. Reaching the hill, Lara saw Duke's face projected on the screen. She watched the film's climax, where Duke's character, an alcoholic who had lost his job, finally succumbed to his addiction. Lara was struck by the raw terror and vulnerability Duke displayed on screen, a performance that eventually won him an Academy Award. She spotted her family sitting together on a blanket. Seeing them together provided a sharp contrast to the isolation and tragedy depicted in Duke's film. She chose not to join them, wanting to be asleep before they returned.
Chapter 15. Career-ending injury on the tennis court
The narrative began in the present day at the family orchard where Lara joined her daughters for morning work. The atmosphere was quiet, and Lara sensed that her daughters were preoccupied with the movie they watched the previous night. Maisie provided a medical update on the neighbors' dog. Joe arrived and briefly discussed his past as a steady stage manager. A conversation about smells led the family to realize that Joe had always smelled like the cherry orchard. This sensory connection served as a bridge for Lara to recount a specific memory from her youth in Michigan during a production of Our Town and Fool for Love. She described the intense heat and the self-destructive habits of Duke, who was struggling with alcoholism and hangovers during rehearsals. Lara recalled a Tuesday when the director ended rehearsal early because of the cast's drinking habits. Duke's brother, Sebastian, visited the group. Despite Duke's poor physical state, he insisted on playing tennis with Sebastian in the sweltering heat. The match ended abruptly when Duke was forced to leave the court to vomit in the grass, leaving Sebastian to invite Lara to play in his place. Lara, despite having had a little to drink, found herself playing the game of her life. She felt agile and confident, surprising everyone by scoring a point against a professional. However, while lunging for a difficult serve, she felt a sensation like a gunshot in her leg and collapsed on the hot court. It was immediately apparent to Sebastian and Pallace that Lara had suffered a total rupture of her Achilles tendon. In the present, Lara revealed the scar on her leg to her daughters. While Emily and Maisie focused on the physical aspects of the scar, Nell began to sob. Nell intuitively understood that this injury was the defining moment that ended Lara's acting career and shifted the trajectory of her life. The memory concluded with Sebastian carrying Lara from the tennis court to the car because Duke was too incapacitated to help. Pallace packed a bag for Lara, already preparing herself to step into Lara's roles.
Chapter 16. Watching Pallace shine as Emily
During a family dinner at the Nelson farm, Lara's daughters discussed the night their mother ruptured her Achilles tendon. Joe revealed that he visited Lara in the hospital late at night after performing in Our Town, a detail Lara had forgotten because she was recovering from surgery. Lara recalled waking up in the hospital to a phone call from her agent, Ripley. He informed her that her film Singularity was finally being released and that the editor had made her the star. Ripley urged her to return to Los Angeles for publicity, dismissing her commitment to the summer stock theater now that she was injured. Despite his persistence, Lara felt a growing sense of attachment to Michigan and a reluctance to leave. The doctor informed Lara she would be non-weight-bearing for six weeks, necessitating the use of crutches. Sebastian arrived to pick Lara up from the hospital, having made excuses to his own work to assist her. He informed her that she had been moved to a first-floor cottage since she could no longer climb stairs. Sebastian's kindness stood in stark contrast to Duke, who had not visited her in the hospital and only appeared later at the cottage, smelling of tequila. Sebastian carried Lara into the cottage and helped her settle in, promising to find her a wheelchair so she could see the play that night. A friend named Chan eventually wheeled Lara to the theater. Along the way, they stopped to pick sweet cherries from a mysterious tree, a moment that marked Lara's burgeoning appreciation for nature. She arrived at the theater as the sun was setting. The performance began with Joe Nelson taking over the role of the Stage Manager. Lara observed that while Uncle Wallace was mesmerizing, Joe was inherently trustworthy, guiding the audience through the story with a steady hand. When Pallace took the stage as Emily, Lara was initially struck by their physical differences, as Pallace was Black and taller than Lara. However, Lara quickly became absorbed in Pallace's interpretation of the character. She realized that Pallace was not just a replacement but a spectacular Emily who brought new life to the role. Lara watched as the audience, some of whom were initially skeptical, was slowly won over by Pallace's talent. The final act of the play, where Emily returns to her mother's kitchen after death, devastated Lara and the rest of the audience. Lara wept not only for the character but for the realization that her time as an actress had come to an end.
I explain to the dog how I have told myself for so many years that my career fell apart because I wasn’t any good, but now I’m starting to think it all fell apart because I had ceased to be brave.
Chapter 17. Dukes betrayal with Pallace
A summer storm in northern Michigan forced the Nelson family to take a break from their orchard work. Lara reflected on the contrast between the harsh winter snows and the current July lightning, which provided a welcome hour of respite inside the house. While Joe and Emily worked in the barn, Lara mended clothes in the kitchen with Nell and Maisie. The conversation turned toward the past as Lara continued the story of her youth at Tom Lake. The daughters speculated about the past relationship between Duke and Pallace. Nell correctly guessed that Duke was unfaithful to Lara with Pallace, noting the predictable pattern of leading men falling for their costars. Lara confirmed this, though she admitted she was unaware of the betrayal as it was happening due to her recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Lara recalled her time spent in the theater's cottage after her injury ended her role as Emily. Feeling disconnected from her acting career, she found purpose in helping the costume designer with mending. During her recovery, Lara observed the shifting dynamics between Duke and Pallace from a distance. Duke, increasingly focused on his new role in Fool for Love, became emotionally distant from Lara. He dismissed her concerns and ignored her requests. Meanwhile, Pallace visited Lara but was visibly uncomfortable, burdened by the guilt of taking over Lara's roles and her burgeoning affair with Duke. The arrival of Sebastian brought a temporary sense of comfort to Lara. Sebastian had been away working as a tennis coach and remained oblivious to the betrayal unfolding between his brother and girlfriend. He treated Lara with genuine friendship and care, eventually carrying her into the theater to watch the opening night of Fool for Love. The performance of Fool for Love served as a brutal revelation for both Lara and Sebastian. Watching Duke and Pallace perform together, their chemistry and physical intensity made it undeniable to everyone in the audience that they were having an affair. Sebastian, realizing the truth mid-performance, held Lara's hand in a silent gesture of shared grief and shock. After the play ended, Sebastian fled the theater immediately, leaving Lara behind. Lara was left alone in the darkened theater, realizing that neither Duke nor Sebastian would be coming to assist her. This moment of abandonment forced her to find a way to navigate her physical and emotional state independently. Lara described her arduous journey back to the cottage, using the backs of theater seats to hop toward the aisle and eventually reaching her wheelchair. This struggle proved to be a pivotal moment of self-reliance.
Chapter 18. Leaving Tom Lake for good
Following a heavy storm on the Nelson farm, Lara continued telling her three daughters about the end of her summer at Tom Lake. She revealed that after the opening night of Fool for Love, a violent altercation occurred between Duke and Sebastian. Duke was punched in the face and required stitches at the hospital, while Pallace was found in a state of extreme intoxication. Lara explained that she never saw Duke again after that night, essentially being ghosted before the term existed. Her daughters reacted with indignation. In the present, Lara reflected on her contentment with her life as a cherry farmer in Traverse City. She acknowledged that while her past might look like a disaster on paper, she had found true happiness with Joe and their grown daughters. The narrative then shifted back to the past, describing the day after the theater disaster. Lara was confined to bed with a ruptured Achilles tendon, overwhelmed by feelings of betrayal. Ripley arrived at Tom Lake to retrieve her. He revealed that Duke had actually called him, orchestrating Lara's departure. Duke's motive was twofold: he wanted her to be safe in California, but he also used her to lure Ripley to the theater to see his performance. Duke knew that once Ripley saw him act, his career would take off. Despite her heartbreak, Lara recognized Duke's brilliance and the manipulative nature of his ambition. She agreed to leave with Ripley, abandoning her summer stock life. Lara moved into Ripley's pool house in Los Angeles, where she underwent physical therapy and prepared for the release of her movie. She formed a platonic bond with Ripley, who encouraged her to stay in the industry. However, Lara remained firm in her decision to quit acting. She felt that the artificiality of the industry was unbearable. She participated in the promotional tour on crutches, charming audiences and interviewers, while internally knowing she was finished with that world. After the movie's successful release, Lara chose to return to New England. Ripley tried to convince her to stay, suggesting she was making a mistake, but she felt a sense of relief in leaving.
Chapter 19. Life after acting and Dukes surprise return
Lara finished telling the story of her summer at Tom Lake to her three daughters while they worked in the family cherry orchard. The girls reacted differently to her past as an actress; Emily and Maisie were content with her choice to become a farmer, while Nell remained convinced that her mother might have made a mistake by giving up a potential career in Hollywood. The conversation turned to Duke, the famous actor Lara once dated. The daughters pressed Lara for more details about the years between her time at Tom Lake and her eventual marriage to Joe. Lara explained that she returned to New Hampshire to care for her grandmother after a foot injury ended her acting prospects. She shared the tragic family history of her uncle Brian, who died of exposure as a child after sleepwalking into the snow. Lara described her deep bond with her grandmother, a seamstress who taught her to sew and encouraged her education and independence. Lara stayed with her grandmother through the woman's battle with breast cancer, providing comfort and reading to her until she passed away. After her grandmother's death, Lara moved to New York City, where she worked as a seamstress for theatrical productions. It was there that she was unexpectedly reunited with Joe Nelson, who was directing a play. The two quickly realized they were meant to be together, picking up a connection that had remained dormant since Michigan. Joe eventually used money from directing peanut butter commercials to save his family's farm from debt, and the couple moved back to Michigan to take over the orchard. Lara reflected on the stability of her marriage, noting that good marriages are often less interesting to outsiders than dramatic affairs. The narrative then shifted to a surprising revelation: Lara actually saw Duke one last time in 1997. While she was pregnant with Nell and living on the farm, a black SUV arrived, and Duke stepped out. He was visiting the farm because he remembered it as the one place where he could imagine himself truly happy. Duke did not initially recognize Lara or realize she was the woman he had once known. He met her young daughters and expressed a desire to buy the farm to ensure it never changed. Lara introduced him to Joe, and Duke was shocked to find that they were married. After a brief, strange interaction involving a Chekhov quote, Duke left with the children to see the family cemetery.
Someone told me years ago that I should always have a place in my mind where I could imagine myself happy, so that when I wasn’t so happy I could go there. Anyway, this is the place I go.
Chapter 20. Final encounters with Duke
Lara sat in the cherry orchard with her three daughters, continuing the story of her past. She addressed Emily directly, questioning if revealing the truth about Duke's non-paternity earlier would have been better. Emily admitted that as a teenager, she would have likely misinterpreted the truth as a betrayal. The sisters discussed their fragmented memories of Duke's brief visit to the farm years ago, contrasting the myth of the movie star with the reality of their father, Joe, who truly raised them. Maisie shared a story from the night Duke died during the pandemic. She had been assisting a neighbor with a difficult dog birth and, while driving home, nearly hit Duke's dog in the road. After returning the dog to Sebastian, she found the news of Duke's drowning in Capri on her phone. She was the one who woke Lara to deliver the news. The narrative then shifted to a previously untold secret from Lara's time in New York, years before she married Joe. Duke called her from a psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts, asking for a visitor. Lara, still under his spell, traveled by bus to see him. To gain entry to the locked ward, she used the name of her former character, Emily Webb, as she wasn't on the official visitor list. Inside the facility, Lara found Duke in a state of manic charm amidst a group of struggling patients. The environment was depressing and restrictive, yet Duke maintained his actor's persona. Despite the clinical and supervised setting, Duke manipulated Lara into a brief, hollow sexual encounter in an unlocked bathroom between his scheduled security checks. Exiting the hospital feeling shaken and used, Lara encountered Sebastian waiting outside. Sebastian had been visiting Duke daily but was barred because only one visitor was allowed at a time. The two went to a nearby Italian restaurant to escape the heavy atmosphere of the hospital. They shared a meal and reflected on their shared history with Duke and the trauma he caused those close to him. During their dinner, Sebastian revealed that their mutual friend Ripley had been secretly in love with Lara for years. The conversation provided Lara with a sense of closure and human connection that her encounter with Duke lacked. Sebastian then drove Lara back to New York, a four-hour journey that helped her process her feelings and decide to move on from her acting aspirations and her obsession with Duke. The chapter concluded with a significant revelation that Lara kept from her daughters. Six weeks after the encounter at the hospital, Lara realized she was pregnant. Without seeking help or permission from anyone, she went to a clinic and had an abortion. She viewed this act as hers alone, a final severance from Duke that allowed her to eventually build her life with Joe and the girls.
Chapter 21. Burying Dukes ashes at the farm
The narrative focused on the intense period of the cherry harvest at the Nelson farm, where the overlap between sweet and tart cherry picking created a state of constant, exhausting labor. The family and their seasonal crew used giant mechanical shakers and tarps to collect the fruit. This frantic work allowed no time for reflection or conversation, demanding total physical immersion until the first week of August. After the harvest, the family spent a day resting at the lake before preparing for the upcoming pruning and apple season. During this transition, Maisie returned from a meeting with her advisor accompanied by Sebastian, the brother of the famous actor Duke, who had recently died. Lara recognized him immediately, though both had aged significantly since their time together at Tom Lake. Sebastian's arrival brought a physical connection to the past, as Lara walked into his arms and they shared a moment of mutual recognition regarding their survival and the lives they had led since youth. Lara introduced her three daughters to Sebastian. He revealed that Duke had once dreamed of living on a Michigan orchard and naming a daughter Emily, a revelation that surprised the family. Sebastian complimented Lara's past acting talent, specifically her role as Emily in Our Town, and defended her choice to leave the profession against her daughters' occasional protests. The conversation shifted to the history of the Nelson farm and Duke's secret connection to it. Sebastian revealed that Duke had tried to purchase the farm years ago, but Joe and his family refused to sell. Eventually, Duke offered a large sum of money to purchase a plot in the family cemetery, a transaction that had secretly saved the farm from financial ruin during a difficult period. This nondisclosure agreement meant Lara and Joe had never known the true source of the bailout until this moment. The family gathered for lunch to process these revelations. Sebastian explained Duke's sense of isolation and his decision not to have children because he viewed himself as a liability. That night, Joe questioned Lara about her feelings for Sebastian, leading to a tender moment where Lara reaffirmed her enduring love for Joe, realizing that her past experiences were merely a prelude to the life they built together. The narrative concluded with a quiet ceremony in the farm's cemetery. Sebastian, assisted by the family, buried Duke's remains beneath a red oak tree. Joe recited lines about the cycle of life and rest. As they sat among the graves, the family discussed the future, including Emily's upcoming wedding. Lara reflected on the continuity of the farm, the generations buried there, and the peace found in choosing a quiet, rooted life over the fleeting glory of fame.