by Nancy Thayer
Her daughters had their own families now. Alison was free to focus on David, to enjoy life, to accept with pleasure the remarkable gift of love which fate had brought her way. She told herself to get her mind off her daughters and focus on the approaching summer.
She heard whistling and knew that Ethan was coming downstairs.
three
Felicity and Jane shared a look.
Ethan walked into the room. When he saw Alison, he broke into a huge, gorgeous smile.
Their mother smiled back. “Ethan!”
Together the sisters stood like statues, staring as their mother so casually threw her arms around Ethan and hugged him.
“Sweetie, I’m so glad to see you.”
Jane and Felicity exchanged glances. Sweetie.
“We’re having steak!” Alison announced. “And I bought a nice red wine and some new potatoes and asparagus and maybe Felicity will make her fabulous chocolate ‘mouse.’ That’s what we’ve always called it since she was a little girl.”
Felicity knew she was blushing. First of all, it was way too much responsibility, making a dessert for this man to eat. She’d worry with every teaspoon that something would go wrong. Second, she hated that her mother made her seem so childish, so silly.
“Sounds great, Alison, but I’ve got to go help a friend with his boat. We’ll grab a hamburger later.”
“Well, tomorrow night, then,” Alison said.
“That’s a plan.” Ethan waved. “Have a good night, ladies.”
Then he was gone.
As if she hadn’t noticed their giddy smiles, Alison announced, “I thought we’d eat early tonight. That way we can talk about the wedding and plan the summer and maybe watch a movie together.”
“Oh, perfect!” Felicity dumped the new potatoes into a colander and rinsed them in the sink.
“Let’s have a drink on the deck. It’s still a bit cool in the evenings, so we’ll need sweaters. Jane, can you set the table and open the wine? We’ll eat in the kitchen. It’s just us, the dining room is too big, and it will be too cool to eat outside. Let’s forget making the mouse, Felicity. I’d rather have you sit and talk. We can have fruit.”
As Felicity rinsed the asparagus and snapped off the tough ends, she couldn’t help but notice what a great kitchen David had. Granite counters, Wolf gas stove and Sub-Zero refrigerator-freezer, and…“Mom, is the kitchen floor cork?”
“It is. Isn’t it heaven to walk on? And if we drop a dish, it won’t break, and cork is resistant to mold and mildew, brilliant for the island.”
“It’s so warm, and the colors echo the wood in the chopping block. Did you choose it?”
“No, Emma did, a few years before she died.”
Felicity dried her hands on a hand towel in colors that coordinated with the pale cream and soft foam green on the kitchen walls. “Do you feel funny, working in this kitchen where David’s first wife worked?”
Alison laughed. “You have no idea how grateful I am Emma was such a wonderful decorator. You know me, I can’t get my mind to settle on things like wallpaper and rugs. Oh, I suppose if the kitchen had been ancient avocado, I might have done something, but fortunately I don’t need to.”
Jane was laying out the striped linen placemats and napkins. “So you don’t feel jealous at all?”
“Truthfully, not at all.” Alison washed her hands and squirted hand lotion from the bottle next to the sink. As she rubbed the lotion into her skin, she leaned back against the counter. “Remember, I had all those good years with Mark. I wouldn’t trade my memories for anything. And I’m glad David was happy with Emma. He knows how to make a marriage work.”
Felicity pounced. “How?”
Alison put back her head and laughed. “Oh, honey, if only I could tell you in one quick and easy sentence! Janey, pour the wine. Let’s sit on the deck for a while.”
They sat at the round wood table, moving their chairs to face the water.
“So beautiful,” Felicity said. “The way the colors change as the waves ripple.”
“How much of the year will you and David spend here?” Jane asked.
“Not so much, at least not together. He’s turning his business over to his daughter, Poppy, and that’s an enormously complicated process. So until he’s out from under it all, I’ll be down here more than he will. When he’s free, fully retired, I imagine we’ll be here a lot. Summers, definitely. Plus the fall is an unsung glory here, so I assume we’ll stay through October. And we’ll want to be here some Christmases—and you girls should come, too, at least for the Stroll. Your children would love it, Felicity. Winter? I think we’ll travel, take a cruise. Come back here in April for the Daffodil Festival.”
“Gosh,” Felicity said. “You and David have made a lot of plans.”
Alison chuckled. “I’ve made a lot of plans. David is so invested in his company. I think he’s finding it difficult to let go. I’m trying to slow him down, stop him from working so hard, get him to enjoy life. Smell the roses. No one knows what tomorrow will bring—”
“Carpe diem,” Felicity said. “Seize the day.”
“Um, yes,” Alison responded in a meditative tone, “but that’s not what I was going to say. I think I want more to simply be there in the day. Seizing sounds aggressive to me, almost hostile.” Alison took a deep sip of wine and gazed out at the water. “Yes,” she murmured, as much to herself as to her daughters. “Be there in the day.”
“I like that,” Jane said.
“You know,” Felicity mused, “I think motherhood makes me seize the day. Or really it’s the other way around. The day seizes me. The moment I open my eyes, I’m right there. Fixing breakfast, making coffee, finding someone’s lost sock, looming over my children like an ogre to make sure they brush their teeth, driving Alice to school, trying not to have a wreck while Alice and Luke are fighting over an ancient jelly bean that popped up in the car’s backseat, and I’m trying to get Luke to stop kicking the back of my seat and look at one of his books…then I get to the grocery store and Luke vomits all down the cart and his clothes.”
“Oh, Felicity!” Jane cried. “That sounds so hard!”
“That’s just the beginning of the day.” All at once, she burst out laughing. “Two Saturdays ago, I had the flu but the kids were fine and crazed with energy so I put coats on them and pulled a coat over my pajamas and staggered out into the fresh air so they could run around the yard, using up their excess energy. Then the UPS man, who is really a hunk, drove up to deliver a package. He was all tall and tanned and muscular and young, and he nodded at me and said, ‘How ya doin’, Mrs. Wellington?’ And I thought, that’s who I am, Mrs. Wellington, the crazy version. And as he drove away, I wanted to raise my arm in the air like Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, and shout, ‘As God is my witness, I’ll never leave the house without combing my hair again!’ ”
Alison laughed. “Oh, Lord, I remember those days!”
Jane said soothingly, “Oh, Filly, you know you’re beautiful no matter what.”
Felicity snorted. “Yeah, well, Ethan clearly thinks you’re the beautiful one.”
“What?” Jane and Alison asked in unison.
“It’s true,” Felicity said. “When Ethan was in the kitchen, he couldn’t take his eyes off Jane. I might as well have been a chair.”
“You’re crazy,” Jane said.
“Not crazy,” Felicity protested and tears began to well in her eyes. “And I don’t blame him. You’ve got a fabulous haircut and you’re thin and toned and so all that. I’ve gotten all saggy and maternal. I should buy some of those ‘mom jeans’ Tina Fey jokes about.”
Jane and Alison exchanged worried glances.
“Oh, sweetie,” Alison said. “That’s not true at all.”
Jane rose from her chair and bent over Felicity and enclosed her
in a warm hug. “I think you’re just tired.”
Felicity sniffed. “Sorry I’m so pathetic. You’re right. I am tired.”
Alison rose. “I think it’s time we grilled the steak. Jane, will you take over at the grill? I’ve coated the asparagus in olive oil and kosher salt, so when you turn the steak, put the asparagus on.” She gathered up the wine and her glass. “Felicity, would you bring the other glasses in? I’ll toss the salad.”
Felicity was grateful that her mother didn’t comment on her outburst. Wryly, she admitted to herself that Alison had seen plenty of Felicity’s meltdowns before. On the deck, gathering the glasses, she paused to let the aroma of grilled steak seduce her. Her mouth watered. Sometimes it sucked, being a vegetarian.
Back in the house, her mother said, “Toss the potatoes in butter in that bowl over there, the blue and white striped one.”
At last they all sat down to eat. Felicity said, “I’m sorry, but would you mind?” Without waiting for answer, she sang, “Thank you for this food this food this glorious glorious food and thanks to the animals and the vegetables and the minerals that make it possible. Amen.”
“Lovely, darling,” Alison said.
Jane said nothing, but at least she didn’t roll her eyes or snort.
For a while, they all focused on the meal, so aromatic, so succulent, so satisfying. They served the salad last.
“So,” Jane said, “want to talk about your wedding, Mom?”
“Good idea,” Felicity said. “What’s your vision?”
“My vision…” Alison’s mouth trembled with suppressed laughter.
“Start with your dress,” Felicity prompted.
“Let her tell it her own way,” Jane said to her sister.
Alison was smug. “Actually, girls, David and I don’t have a vision, but we do have some plans. Let me explain. David married Emma in a big church wedding. I never had that, not with either of your fathers. You know I was pregnant when I married Flint, so it was a rather sober event in front of our parents with a justice of the peace. And then, when I married Mark—” She put her hand to her throat, as if to ease it. “Well, we got married quietly then, too. We just went to the clerk of the court. We paid strangers to be our witnesses, they have people waiting for that purpose.” She cast an apologetic look at Jane. “We didn’t want to make a big deal of it because—”
“Because you had an affair with Mark and left my father.” Jane’s words were clipped.
Alison held back a sigh. She’d been over this many times before with Jane and Felicity, and she wasn’t going to take them all down this prickly memory lane again.
“SO!” Alison clapped her hands like a delighted child. “I told David I want our wedding to be fabulous.”
Alison watched her daughters exchange surprised looks. She knew exactly what they were thinking: Mom, fabulous? Alison was attractive, but she was more maternal than remarkable. She was generous and reliable and loving and sweet.
“I mean a fabulous party,” Alison amended. “A sort of celebration of life and love with our families and our friends.”
“Please don’t tell me we’re all going to stand in a circle holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya.’ ” Jane groaned.
Alison laughed. “Don’t worry. David isn’t a ‘Kumbaya’ kind of man.” Alison stood up and stretched. “Let’s go in and get comfy on the sofa. David had the computer synced to the TV in the den and we can check out the dresses and see what you like.”
“Well, you know, Mom,” Jane said, taking the bottle and her glass and following her mother, “I’m not sure you can manage fabulous when your wedding is in September. These events take lots of preparation and research and time—”
Alison settled on the cozy sofa in the den. “It’s all right, Janey. It’s all set.”
Both daughters collapsed next to her as if Alison had hit them behind the knees.
“What?” they cried.
“David and I have been seeing each other for almost a year, and during that time, I’ve gotten to know his friends and he’s come to know mine. We’re all…I guess mature would be the right word. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been married before. So we thought this time we would have a wedding that is really a spectacular party. But neither David nor I have the skills it takes to organize a party—”
Felicity piped up. “We could help you with that!”
“That’s sweet of you, honey, but his assistant, Heather, has it all under control.”
“ ‘His assistant, Heather’?” Felicity echoed.
“Cool,” Jane said. “Tell us more.”
Alison smiled. “Outside of town, off on a quiet road, there’s the poshest hotel on the island. The Wauwinet. It fronts a gorgeous beach and the end of Nantucket harbor, so it’s very private.”
As she talked, Alison picked up the remote control and a video of the venue drifted across the wide screen. “They’ve got an amazing restaurant, Topper’s, and if any guests want to take a drive around the island, they’ve got BMWs we can use, and kayaks and a gorgeous boat to take us on a tour of the island. So David and I made up our guest list, and he’s taken the hotel for the second weekend in September. The weather will still be won—”
Felicity frowned. “What exactly do you mean, ‘he’s taken the hotel for the weekend’?”
“Well, sweetie, I think it’s pretty clear. He’s reserved all the rooms and the restaurant and hotel property for the weekend. Friday through Sunday nights.”
Felicity looked wide-eyed at her sister. “Jane, David must be rich.”
Jane said, “He is. I know.”
“How do you know?” Felicity looked suspiciously at her mother and Jane, as if they’d been keeping a secret from her.
“I googled him,” Jane said.
“Smart.” Felicity brightened.
“I know.” Jane straightened. This was her element. “David Gladstone’s parents came from England when David was a boy. They built a successful business from making and packaging British-named soaps and lotions: English Garden Creams. They supply the most elite hotels and department stores with face, hand, and body lotions and anti-aging creams and lip balms, all beautifully packaged. David Gladstone, I’m sorry to say, is not a billionaire. But he is a millionaire several times over. He has substantial holdings in real estate all over the country. He pays his taxes on time. He is widowed and has two grown children, Ethan and Poppy. Poppy is married and has two children. Both Poppy and her husband, Patrick, work in the corporate offices in Boston. Ethan is divorced, with a nine-year-old daughter. He lives on a large property in central Vermont where he manages a staff who keep horses and hens, hold summer camps for city kids, and grows, among other things, flowers to be used in researching new products for English Garden Creams.”
“Goodness,” Felicity said. “You’re certainly thorough.”
“And you girls can relax. No worries, as everyone says now. Heather will be taking care of most of the details. She’s sent Save the Date cards to our friends, and she’s working with Brie at the hotel about the food, the flowers, that sort of thing. And she’s on island often to personally check on things. She and her husband have a house on Nantucket.”
“Wow,” Jane said softly. “How posh, Mom.”
“It’s not because we’re too busy or not interested in it all, we are,” Alison said. “But David is still managing his company, and I want to put all my energies into creating a perfectly wonderful summer for you and for David’s children. And our grandchildren, of course. I want to focus on making everyone happy. I want to make this house so welcoming, so warm, that my family and David’s get to know each other. So we can be, really, one big happy family. I want to sit on the deck with an iced tea and watch Alice and Luke play with Daphne and Hunter. I want to watch Noah and Scott and Patrick and Ethan play poker here on a rainy day. I want you gi
rls and David’s daughter, Poppy, to watch silly romantic movies with me, all snuggled together on the sofa.”
“That’s so sweet, Mom,” Jane said, adding, “and maybe a bit unrealistic?”
Felicity asked, “Okay, but what about your wedding gown? And our gowns? We are attendants, aren’t we? Could Alice be your flower girl? Luke could be the ring bearer!”
“We’ll have to talk. Poppy has little ones, too,” Alison said. “I’ve chosen my gown, and I’ve got a computer file of possibilities for you two to study. When you’ve decided on one, we’ll have Anya fly in with the dresses and make all the necessary alterations.”
“So you’re not exactly following a normal wedding planner calendar,” Jane said.
“No, I’m not,” Alison replied smoothly. “Why should I? David and I are doing it the way we want to.”
“I can’t believe you live like this,” Felicity said.
“David has worked very hard for his financial success,” Alison reminded her daughters. “We’re old enough to want to spend our time the way we want. So! Let’s look at the possibilities for your dresses.”
Jane expected to see gowns on hangers, but no, models wore the gowns, turning at a click of the remote to display the back and sides. Alison’s gown came first, a strapless bodice of ivory satin with a knee-length ruched satin skirt and a lace shrug she could take off later for dancing.
“Wow, Mom, that’s so—wow!” Jane exclaimed.
Alison laughed. “I know. Not like my usual under-the-radar style.”
“This is so weird, Mom,” Felicity said. “It should be the mother helping the bride pick her dress.”
“Well, darling, my mother is dead. You’re so busy with the children, and I didn’t want to make Jane travel from New York just to watch me try on clothes.” With a level glance at Felicity, Alison said, “Anyway, I don’t think you and I would have the same taste. And I knew what I wanted—a short skirt, because I’ve still got good legs—”
