Great Big Beautiful Life

Margaret disappeared from public life 20 years ago after her husband, Cosmo Sinclair, died tragically. Though conspiracy theories abound, no one found her until Alice’s constant internet sleuthing produced a tip that Margaret might be living on Little Crescent Island, Georgia. Alice thought she’d stumbled on a big break, but knowing that Hayden Anderson is vying for the story makes her uneasy. She spends her evening in the hotel obsessively researching Hayden’s accomplishments and wondering if there’s any chance Margaret will choose her.

After exchanging texts with her “on-again, off-again not boyfriend” (15), Theo, Alice walks to a local restaurant for dinner, and two locals buy her a drink called the “Captain’s Bowl,” an absurdly large, blue, sugary concoction. Alice notices Hayden dining in the corner and introduces herself. He’s tall and striking but unfriendly. She asks him general get-acquainted questions and says she loved his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Our Friend Len, but he gives only one-word answers. He says her attempt to make friends is futile since he plans to land the job. She realizes that his being a jerk might increase her chances of getting the job. She returns to her table and asks her waitress to send a Captain’s Bowl to Hayden.

Alice takes inspiration from Hayden’s book about musician Len Stirling and considers manipulating the structure of Margaret’s biography. Hayden told Len’s story in reverse since Len was diagnosed with dementia and was losing his memories. In telling Margaret’s story, Alice wants to “[…] scrape away all the labels and rumors and stories piled atop this person and reveal the person herself” (25).

At a local coffee shop, Alice sees Hayden, who has just finished a run. He gets a call from Margaret. As he leaves, Alice convinces herself that this doesn’t mean she didn’t get the job. Alice knows she’ll be fine if it doesn’t work out, but she would be proud to tell her mom that she’s working on something big. She also wants to tell her dad, who first told her about Margaret. Jodi calls and says Margaret wants a second meeting with Alice. She invites her to dinner that evening.

Alice arrives at Margaret’s and realizes that Hayden is there too. Margaret needs more time to decide whom to trust with her story. She proposes that Alice and Hayden stay on the island for a month and each begin writing the book. She’ll pay them and at the end of the month decide with whom she’ll continue the work. Hayden seems slightly offended by the offer and concerned about potentially wasting a month’s work. Though Alice pauses to think it over, she knows she wouldn’t turn down the chance to spend a month with Margaret. Hayden agrees, and Jodi presents them with contracts that include non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

Hayden barely speaks at dinner, but Alice gives him “the benefit of the doubt” (37) instead of assuming that he’s terrible. They discover that they’re staying at the same hotel. Before leaving, Alice suggests that they create a schedule for spending time with Margaret, but Hayden doesn’t like any of her suggestions. She asks if he’s trying to help her or gain an advantage, but Hayden replies that he doesn’t need an advantage.

Alice and Hayden’s hotel rooms are adjacent. They agree on a schedule for a meeting with Margaret, and Alice jokingly warns that she snores. He refuses to reveal how he learned that Margaret was on the island. He says she’s too giddy about the job, noting that wasting a month of work isn’t exciting.

The next morning, Alice wakes up early to prepare for her first day with Margaret. She exchanges messages with her coworkers Cillian, Priya, and Bianca via group text and emails her editor that she’ll stay on the island for a month. While getting coffee, she runs into Captain Cecil, one of the locals who bought her a drink at the Fish Bowl. He’s about the same age as her father, and she buys him coffee. He asks why she’s on the island, and she explains that she’s a journalist. He gives her his business card and offers to help if she needs anything during her stay. Alice buys Hayden an iced green tea and a croissant and leaves them by his door. Later, leaving to explore the island, she notices that he hasn’t touched them. Alice worries about “the unease that still comes from a shut door” (50), something stemming from her childhood with her sister, and urgently knocks on his door to ensure that he’s okay. Hayden answers, clearly unamused.

Hayden is wearing only a towel and is damp from the shower. He’s attractive, and she can’t stop looking at his body. He didn’t eat the breakfast she left because he didn’t know where it came from. Alice says she got a rental and it’s her last night in the hotel, and she bids him goodbye and good luck. A fire alarm awakens Alice at four in the morning, and her first thought is “Audrey!” Outside, a man who appears inebriated approaches Alice, and she realizes that she’s wearing only a nightgown. He makes her uncomfortable, but Alice can’t fend him off. Hayden appears and pretends they’re together, which sends the man away. Alice thanks him for the help, and he invites her to breakfast.

At the only open diner, Hayden selects the booth furthest in the back. When she inquires why he prefers that spot, he claims that it offers a good view. Alice is skeptical and encourages him to share more, wanting to learn about him. Hayden’s father was the mayor of their Indiana hometown, and having grown up in such a public family, he now values his privacy. The pressure to be perfect still weighs on him. Alice relates to this, as her mother never endorsed her career choices, leaving her in the shadow of her sister, who is in the Peace Corps. Hayden picks up on Alice’s strained relationship with her mother. She asks if he’s prepared for his first interview with Margaret, but he prefers not to discuss the competition with her.

Sitting in Margaret’s home for their first official interview, Alice reflects on how she tracked Margaret down from internet conspiracy chat rooms and websites. She cold-called all the potential leads and knew she had found Margaret when she hung up on her. Alice left Margaret a voicemail sharing how much of a fan she was as a child and that she wept when she learned of Cosmo’s death. The message prompted Margaret to return her call. Before answering questions, Margaret wants to know more about how Alice became so invested in her story.

Alice was homeschooled as a child, and her parents, who were both journalists, introduced her to unique interests, including the Ives family. They gave her a book called The Fall of the House of Ives, which chronicled the family’s history. Alice loved this book then, but now that she’s a journalist, she sees that instead of a well-researched biography, it’s just a collection of “recycled tabloid headlines” (66). Alice has a copy of the book with her, and she watches as Margaret thumbs through it, worried that it will bring up painful emotions. However, she wants Margaret to feel comfortable sharing her whole story. Margaret disagrees that the unauthorized biography is an inaccurate portrayal of her family because they, too, made their fortune from printing scandalous headlines designed to generate interest and sell papers. Margaret didn’t realize that her family was extraordinary until she was removed enough to see the truth. Alice records Margaret telling her story from the beginning.

Alice frames the telling of Margaret’s story by refuting claims in The Fall of the House of Ives. First, she questions the notion that Margaret’s great-grandfather, Lawrence Ives, was “a cold-blooded sociopath who may have murdered his business partner” (70). In truth, Lawrence grew up poor and desperately wanted to help his family. His younger brother, Dicky, died from exposure when he was young, and he wanted to save his sister. He went out West with a miner, Thomas Dougherty, to seek precious metals. When they were unsuccessful, Lawrence sent Thomas away, but Lawrence found a seam of silver ore. Suddenly wealthy, he bought his first hotel. When Thomas heard about it, the trouble began.

Alice is surprised that Margaret went so far back in time to begin the story, but Margaret insists that the story is essential to understanding her family. Margaret’s family visited the Ebner hotel only once, and Alice senses that she doesn’t want to say anything about it. She shuts off the recorder and stops taking notes to make Margaret feel more comfortable. Thomas felt that Lawrence had cheated him out of the fortune. When he confronted Lawrence about it and threatened to go to the press, Lawrence purchased the San Francisco Daily Dispatch, which was the beginning of the Ives’s media empire. Lawrence sent for his sister, but when she learned what he did to Thomas, she refused, and their relationship was broken. Margaret is suddenly exhausted and asks if they can resume the story later.

Alice moves into her rental and researches what Margaret told her but finds little. She learns that after the Ives family sold the Ebner hotel in the 1970s, it was renamed the Arledge—before Margaret’s visit. She wonders if Margaret has visited more recently and isn’t being honest. Alice calls Theo for his opinion on what to do if she thinks a source is lying. During the call, she reflects internally on why her relationship with Theo wasn’t working. Her friends have pointed out that Theo only wants to see her for hookups. Alice goes to a local restaurant for dinner. Feeling lonely and eating alone, Alice considers inviting Theo to visit her. She sees Hayden in the last booth, working on his laptop. She walks over to say hi, and he asks her to stay and eat with him.

Over dinner, Alice and Hayden agree that Margaret is lying to them. Hayden confirms that she also told him things that don’t add up. They discuss Margaret’s possible motive for bringing them there. Hayden considers whether it might be related to memory loss but confesses that his time with Len may be influencing his perception. Alice and Hayden’s legs touch under the table because they’re both tall, and she feels attracted to him. He refers to her as his “friend” to the waitress, and Alice senses that they’re making progress toward no longer being rivals.

The conversation shifts to their personal lives, and they learn that they both have complicated relationships with their parents. Hayden spent so much of his childhood trying to live up to his parents’ unrealistic expectations and being in the shadow of his successful brother that he chose a career that took him far away from it all. Alice’s parents were what she calls “hippie journalists who chained themselves to trees in the seventies” (94). They lived in communes, sewed their clothes, and were homeschooled. Her sister, Audrey, had many surgeries due to heart issues when she was young. Alice and Audrey were bullied a lot because of their lifestyle and because Alice was unusually tall for her age. However, Alice isn’t bitter about her childhood, and Hayden says she’s surprisingly optimistic.

Hayden walks Alice back to her rental house because he doesn’t want her walking alone. Alice asks if he’s ever dated someone tall like him, positing that she thinks tall men always date short women. Hayden laughs but doesn’t answer. Alice says her mother disapproves of her job. Her father was more supportive of her work, but he passed away recently. She misses him terribly but tries to focus on being grateful for their time together. Hayden listens tenderly and empathetically, and Alice thinks her opinion of him is changing. As they near the house, she wishes the walk would last longer. She turns to leave, and Hayden calls to her, saying he’s only dated one short woman. She asks him to come inside, and he kisses her.