Wellesley Wives (New England Trilogy) (10 page)

The cat always agreed with her. It was gratifying. She’d wanted to call the little black cat Jade, but Peter pushed for Tiger, even though the cat had no stripes and was female. Peter said he’d made his money in tiger markets and that a cat called Tiger would bring them luck. So far, so good.

She looked great in the center of the Halloween decorations at the front door, but she point-blank refused to stay there. Popsy forced Jack’s comments out of her head again, gritted her teeth, and focused on setting the lunch table.

Rosie and her little family were the first to arrive. As hoped, the bales of hay and scarecrows were a big hit with her granddaughter. Natasha insisted on staying outside and playing with everything.

Rosie tried to argue. “She’ll ruin your display.”

“I made it for her. If she ruins it, so what,” Popsy said, walking from the front door and back into the kitchen with her daughter and son-in-law. “So, tell me, what’s new with you guys?”

She looked from Rosie to Marcus. He was a fine-looking man even though he was getting a little light on top. He stood about six-foot-four, and it was pretty clear why her daughter had fallen for him. Doubtless he was still popular among the flight crew, but now he was a married man. Before they had a chance to talk, Natasha was back and pulling her father by the hand.

“Daddy, come with me,” she insisted.

“We can catch up later.” Popsy smiled and shoved a bottle of beer in his hand. Then he went out to chaperone his little girl in the front garden.

“Don’t let her run out onto Cliff Road,” Popsy chanted out of habit.

“Mom, do you really think he would let her do that?” Rosie asked.

“Sorry, it’s a mother’s job to worry, and you know grandmothers worry even more. They’ve seen more things go wrong.”

“Oh?” Rosie sounded intrigued as she poured herself a glass of wine. “Is something wrong?”

Popsy stopped short. “I don’t know.”

She was pretty certain there was trouble with Jack and Sandra, but perhaps it was normal. Every couple went through difficult phases. That was only natural, and as for Peter’s business deals, well, the downturn was hurting everybody. No business was immune. If the road got a little bumpy, they could ride it out together. They’d come this far.

Popsy noticed that Rosie was looking at her with a slightly worried expression, so she snapped out of her daydream and smiled. “No, nothing to worry about, darling.” She focused on her firstborn. “What about you?” she asked. “I know there was something on your mind the last time you were here, and I couldn’t really stop. Sorry about that. Will you tell me now?”

Rosie sighed and moved from leaning against the table to leaning against the counter.

“Mom, I wouldn’t ask you if I had any other choice, but Marcus and I really need to get away. We need some time to ourselves without Natasha.”

Popsy nodded.

“The problem is, there’s nobody I really trust to watch her—other than you.”

Popsy smiled, understanding what was being asked of her. “I’m more than happy to do it.”

“But she’s an inordinate amount of work, Mom.”

“Nothing I haven’t done before.” Popsy laughed and crossed the room to hug her daughter. “I can think of nothing I’d like more, pet. I’ve been waiting five years to be asked. I love the idea of having Natasha all to myself for a whole week. Oh my! Matilda will love the addition to the family. You know it must be dull just cleaning up after Dad and me all the time. She would grab the chance to play with a little girl for a week or so. I can’t imagine why we didn’t think of this sooner. When do you want to go?”

“Oh, Mom, really? You’re sure it’s not too much?”

“Too much? Rosie, I swear to you, one of the thrills of becoming a grandmother is the chance to mind babies again, but the best part is that I get to give them back before it becomes monotonous.”

They laughed as they hugged. “Thanks so much, Mom. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Where do you think you’ll go?” Popsy’s question was innocent enough. But it seemed to catch Rosie off guard.

“Um, somewhere in the Caribbean. We want to be guaranteed good weather, and it’s always sunny down there.”

“Of course,” Popsy agreed, but she saw her daughter’s face and she knew the girl was hiding something. Why ever would Rosie look so guilty over a silly old vacation?

Popsy shook herself. She decided she was definitely getting paranoid, seeing things where there was nothing to be seen. First Jack and now Rosie. Pity, because her intuition used to be razor-sharp, and now she was losing her edge. Must be something to do with getting old, she decided as she set about whipping the cream.

“Here comes Auntie Lily.” Natasha rushed into the kitchen, pink-cheeked and runny-nosed from the chilly October air. She must have been jumping on the bales of hay, because twigs of straw were shoved in her coat pocket like a not-so-secret stash. Marcus walked behind his little daughter with his arm draped around his sister-in-law’s shoulder.

“Hello, honey.” Popsy came over and kissed Lily. “Now that I have my two babies with me, I’m happy.” She sighed with maternal contentment. “I simply couldn’t ask for a better birthday present.”

Rosie glanced at her sister and raised a glass as if to say hi. Lily gave a slight nod back.

“Come see Grandma’s scarecrows, Mommy,” Natasha demanded.

Marcus and Rosie were dragged out to admire the Halloween decor by their very determined little girl, which left her alone with Lily.

“So how’ve you been?” Popsy started as she always did with her youngest. She worried that Lily worked too hard and didn’t have a serious man in her life. It was time she thought about settling down and providing her with a few grandchildren.

Lily gave her a bright smile. “I’m great. Happy Birthday, Mom.” She handed Popsy a birthday card with a small bag attached that was clearly a Macy’s gift card. “I hope you don’t think it’s too impersonal. It’s just I don’t know what to get the woman who has everything.”

“That was most thoughtful of you, honey,” Popsy said. “I will have great fun with it. Perhaps we can have lunch together there and you could help me spend it. Now pour yourself a glass of wine and fill me in on all your news.”

As usual, Lily’s life was all about the office and her job. Popsy knew that her daughter had stopped telling her about the friends that were getting married and having babies. It worried her. She checked the beef wellington and stirred the red cabbage, re-basted the roast potatoes, and listened to her beautiful, clever daughter tell her about Boston’s financial world. Two o’clock came and went with her daughters, granddaughter, and son-in-law all filling her in on their lives, but there was still no sign of Peter.

“What the heck is taking your dad so long?”

“I’ll call him and get him moving,” Lily said and headed out.

Rosie had returned and hovered around the stove, nursing her second glass of wine and picking at the red cabbage.

Natasha came running into the kitchen again. “Grandma, Auntie Lily has a new boyfriend!”

Rosie dropped a piece of red cabbage onto her cream silk sweater as she jerked her head around.

“Nat,” she squealed. “No. Oh shit—my top.”

“Rosie, what have you done?” Popsy laughed anxiously. “Red cabbage? That will never come out.” She shook her head and looked back at her granddaughter. “Why do you think Lily has a new boyfriend, darling?”

“Natasha!” Rosie tried again. “Come here and help Mommy. Get a towel, quick.”

Natasha skipped over to her mother, obviously delighted to be asked to help with a real emergency.

“ ’Cause I saw her kissing Uncle Jack. He’s her new boyfriend,” Natasha explained as she ran over to Popsy. “Can I have a towel please?”

Popsy laughed. “Of course, pet.” She wet a towel and handed it to her. “Children, they have such wonderful imaginations, don’t they?” she asked. “Honey, I’m afraid red cabbage stains just don’t come out. I think your top is ruined.”

Rosie was panicking loudly now. “I loved this top,” she whined as she dabbed it with the cloth Natasha had given her.

Lily walked back in. “Dad’s on his way.” She smiled. Then she saw Rosie’s anguished face and stained sweater. “What happened?”

“I got red cabbage on myself.” Rosie moaned. “Look at it, Mom. Help.”

Popsy ignored her eldest’s overreaction and focused instead on Lily. It was too funny. “I was just hearing about your torrid affair with Uncle Jack, but then Rosie spilled red cabbage on herself.”

Lily looked at her older sister incredulously and shook her head, bewildered. “You told her? Why the hell would you do that? What possible benefit could it bring to you? Honestly, Rosie, just because your life is going down the toilet, there’s no point in dragging me down with you.” Then she flashed her mother a furious look. “Yes, well, did she tell you that she and Marcus are going to a swingers’ resort in the Caribbean?”

Rosie screeched, “Lily. Stop.”

Popsy wasn’t following. “Oh, the Caribbean? I know about that, but what are the swingers?” She looked at Rosie. “Are you taking up golf, love?”

Rosie slapped her forehead just as Marcus walked into the kitchen. “Peter’s home and Jack’s with him. Are the Hoffmans coming for lunch, too?”

Now it was Lily’s turn to squeal, and she ran out of the room.

“We’re in here,” Popsy called from the kitchen, still confused about Lily’s outburst. Surely her daughter knew she was only joking about Jack. Still, it wasn’t like her to be so hysterical without reason.

“Lily, don’t go far,” she shouted after her. “I’ll serve up straight away.” Peter and Jack walked into the kitchen.

“Jack.” Popsy smiled. “You wouldn’t believe what I just heard. It’s so funny.” She laughed but stopped when she saw the grave expression on his face.

“I think you better sit down, Popsy,” he said. “In fact, everybody better sit down. We have some very bad news.”

Marcus brought Natasha to the drawing room where he switched on the Disney Channel and promised her she could stay up late if she could give the grownups a few minutes to talk while Rosie went out to get her sister.

Popsy came over to her husband and saw his ashen face. “Darling, are you feeling all right? You look ill.”

He didn’t meet her eyes but shook his head. Gently she guided him to the large antique pine table that dominated the center of the kitchen, and he sat down. It was their first purchase as a married couple. Big enough to seat eight, it had been far too big for their first house, but Popsy had insisted. It was at this table she’d told Peter she was pregnant with Rosie and less than twelve months later that she was pregnant with Lily. Rosie and Marcus announced their engagement sitting at this table. To Popsy, it embodied the heart of the family. If her husband had some bad news for her, this was the place to hear it. The table was so heavy and solid that Popsy felt its support when she needed it. She was on one side of her husband and Jack, their lifelong friend and business partner, was on the other. Popsy knew that sitting there, she could weather whatever they were going to say.

“What’s the matter, Peter?” she asked again without waiting for her daughters to return. This time he managed to look her in the eyes, but he looked lost, disconnected. Was this the same man who’d made love to her on the dining room floor just the night before? She was getting scared to see him so beaten. In all their years together, she’d never seen him like this.

Marcus hovered until the girls got back, and then they all sat down, too.

“Has there been an accident? Peter? Jack? Talk to me. You’re really scaring me.”

“It’s all gone,” Peter whispered.

“What’s all gone?” Popsy asked.

“Our business. It’s all gone down the tube. A lifetime’s worth of work, wiped out by a few belligerent investors.”

Popsy looked at Jack. “What is he saying? Is it the deal? Did it not go through?” She felt her own panic rising. “But it’s not the end of the world, is it? There’ll be other deals.”

But Jack shook his head. “That was our last hope. We’ve bet the farm once too often. We’re finished. Broke. Over.”

Lily frowned. “What deal was this?”

“We’d been trying to sell a majority share of C&J Holdings. It was the only way to save the company, and these guys from the UK—they were our last chance. They turned us down. We were offering them a sweet deal, but they just don’t trust the global property markets anymore. They know it’s at an all-time low, and think it will take decades to get a good return. They’re off to Canada instead.”

“Is C&J Holdings insolvent?” Lily asked.

Her father laughed. “Insolvent, in the doghouse, in the brown stuff. Call it what you want. It’s gone. We’ll have to file for Chapter 11 tomorrow.”

Rosie touched Peter’s hand. “Dad, I’m really sorry to hear that, but you still have this fabulous house and the one in Florida. You have stocks and shares and loads of money in the bank.”

He shook his head. “I’m not so sure about that. I’ve used the equity in this house. The bank owns it now.”

“But this is your home. Surely it could never be taken away from you.”

Again, he shook his head. “This building is in the loop. I used it to cross-guarantee things a few years ago. Back then it seemed like perfect business sense. Jack thought so, too.”

“Jeez, your penthouse in The Celtic Crowne? You’re going to lose that?” Marcus asked, articulating what the others were thinking anyway. Jack looked like his business partner—shell shocked—almost immune to what was being discussed.

“My home?” Popsy whispered. “This house? It’s not ours?’ She said the words, but the meaning wouldn’t compute. This was just too big to comprehend. “I’m going to lose everything? But this is my home. These are my things. I bought everything you see here, even the paint on the walls. It’s all mine.” She was holding the table so hard that her knuckles were white with the effort.

Rosie’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh dear God.”

Lily focused on her father. “What were you saying about the banks, Dad? Have they threatened to do anything? Wouldn’t that take weeks, even months?”

Popsy watched Peter cover his face with his hands. Had he started to cry? It was looking like this had been coming down the track for some time. Jack glanced at Lily with a look of anguish. It was like she was living in a dream and everything was happening in a fog.