Wellesley Wives (New England Trilogy) (14 page)

But, of course, they hadn’t spent all their time in bed. The Turkish marble bathroom proved very pleasant, too, but New York was just too exciting and beautiful a city to ignore—especially at Christmas. Jack took Lily ice skating at the Rockefeller Center. Then they visited the observation deck and looked out over the entire city from seventy floors up.

He took her shopping in Tiffany’s. It had only been a little awkward when the young assistant had asked them if they were buying a ring, which they weren’t. Lily had settled on an ornate key made of platinum and set with brilliant teardrop diamonds. Jack also bought her the matching twenty-four inch platinum chain, studded with diamonds. That way she could wear it always but slip it under her clothes if Popsy or Sandra were near.

“The key to my heart,” she’d told him.

“I like to think of it as the key to
my
heart, darling.”

Their second secret weekend away hadn’t been quite so perfect. Jack had business in the Czech Republic. It was a massive shopping plaza development just outside Prague that he and her father were investing in. Originally, Jack was supposed to go alone, so she’d been more than happy to tag along, but twenty-four hours into their weekend away, her father called and said he’d decided to come, after all.

This was a disaster. She had to hide in the bedroom for the rest of the weekend. Jack’s mood plummeted because he was very stressed about the possibility of them bumping into each other in the hotel lobby. Meeting in the city so far from home would be impossible to explain. There was nothing they could do. Lily had to stay prisoner in their hotel room.

On the second night, her dad had suggested going with Jack to his room to discuss some business. Jack had panicked and said it was not a good idea because his room was a mess. Her dad had backed down without making a fuss, but Jack said it felt awkward. He must have suspected Jack had a woman with him, but he said nothing about it. Chances were that he wanted to remain clueless since their wives were so close.

Little did he know that it was his own flesh-and-blood hiding up in the room of a pretty basic hotel in Prague. Looking back on it now, Lily thought it was funny, but at the time, it had been a low point. The worst part was that she and Jack had flown there first class, but her dad expected to fly home with Jack, so this meant she had to stay an extra day and fly home alone.

She figured it was all part of being “the other woman.”

At least it was all out in the open now, and she and Jack could walk the streets together and not live their entire lives in secret. Of course, there was still all the fallout to deal with, but she’d always known that was coming. It was just such a damn shame it got out the way it did. Still, it was a relief that her parents knew.

Jack was back from his soon to be ex-wife’s house, looking pretty shaken, so now Sandra knew, too.

Lily had toyed with the notion of greeting him naked, just as she had done on that very first night, since this was a bit of a first, too. But somehow it seemed like a bad idea. Her father was in ICU, and Jack was probably feeling battle-weary after the showdown with Sandra. Perhaps a stiff drink was a better idea.

“You look shattered.” She put an arm around his waist and walked him into the drawing room. A fire was blazing and the television was on.

“Jesus, that was tough.” He sighed as he fell onto the sofa and gazed into space.

“She didn’t take it well?”

“You could say that. I was half-thinking that we’d need to get you a bodyguard for the next few weeks, but then I remembered I can’t afford it. Wow, Lily, she was angry. She really went for me.” He showed her the big bruise beginning to form on the inside of his forearm.

“Jack, that’s assault,” Lily said, heading to the fridge for some crushed ice.

“Not really. She was in shock. She just lashed out, but I didn’t have time to get any clothes.”

“That doesn’t matter. You have a mountain of stuff here.” Lily came back with a clump of crushed ice wrapped up in a hand towel. She sat on the sofa next to him and gently pressed it onto his arm. Then she looked at his face. “You know, you’ve got a nick on your eyebrow, too. Was that from Sandra as well?”

“Yep. It’s not too bad though, is it?”

She shook her head. “You’re strong.” She smiled at him and kissed the hurt eyebrow. “Are we going to be okay, Jack? It’s just that Dad’s in the hospital, there’s this thing with Sandra, and now Rosie isn’t really talking to me. I haven’t dared to even try to talk to Mom. She might take Sandra’s side over mine in this.”

“No, she won’t. You’re her daughter.”

“She might.”

“Take it from me, as the father of three girls. Daughters always side with their mothers and vice-versa. It might be a little rough for a while, but you and your mom will survive this. Me and your father? Now that’s a different story. Christ, I can’t believe he’s in ICU. What’s the prognosis?”

Lily filled him in on what she knew, and he in turn gave her a blow-by-blow account of his visit with Sandra. It was an exhausting day and very late when they realized that neither of them had eaten since breakfast.

Lily fussed over Jack and his wounds much more than they needed, but the truth was that even though her relationship with her parents and sister was probably at an all-time low, in secret she was really happy. At last—at long last—she had Jack all to herself. He was living with her in her apartment. Yes, even though it was the darkest day in her family’s life, it was the best possible day for her and Jack.

She made them both a mushroom and tomato omelet while Jack watched the late night news. Already Lily’s mind had latched on to the idea of seducing him as soon as they’d eaten. He was always in a better mood after sex. It would soothe him and help him sleep better.

She chose one of his favorite bottles of red wine, a Bordeaux that was particularly full-bodied and heavy. Personally, she found it a little too robust, but tonight was about getting Jack back to happy. Armed with the food and the wine, she returned to the love of her life and soon-to-be, she hoped, husband.

He was reading an e-mail on his phone. “Oh crap. Olga knows.” Jack groaned and pushed away the food.

“Your ex-wife knows about us?”

“I’m not talking about us.” He sounded impatient. “C&J. How the hell did she get wind of it so fast? Sandra must have told her, that bitch.”

She put the two untouched plates down and sat next to him. It was clear that while his love life was a little complicated, C&J Industries was his primary focus. Lily loved Jack, but she needed to remind herself that, just like her father, business came first and family second. C&J Industries was the great love of his life, and now it looked like it was dying.

Chapter 12

Rosie & Marcus

“It’s good to see you guys.” Marcus kissed Rosie and Popsy on their cheeks and shut the door behind them. He’d thought Matilda was sleeping, but she reappeared when she heard the front door.

    “Oh, Mrs. Power, Mrs. Power.
Dios mio
. How is Mr. Power? He such a good man. He cannot die.” She cupped Popsy’s tired face in her well-worn hands.

There wasn’t much of an age difference between the two women, but Matilda had looked and acted like a grandmother in all the time the Marcus had known her. His wife said she was a godsend, having come as an au pair from Colombia almost thirty years earlier. She arrived a week after Rosie did, and she’d just never left.

Matilda moved from being a nanny to housekeeper as the girls grew, but the only thing she absolutely refused to do was drive. Over time, Popsy and Peter had tried to convince her to get lessons at their expense, but she wasn’t interested. She walked or taxied anywhere she wanted to go, and the train at the bottom of Cliff Road took her straight in to Boston. Matilda was a regular mass-goer and had a few friends in the Colombian community in Boston, but other than that, she stayed in the house.

The Powers had converted their guesthouse into Matilda’s living quarters when Lily turned fifteen, and the housekeeper had lived there ever since. It had every comfort and convenience. Was it any wonder Matilda was so happy with them?

Popsy, on the other hand, considered herself the lucky one to have Matilda. Both women were happy with the arrangement.

To celebrate her tenth anniversary with the family, Peter had bought her a small house in Wellesley. He figured it was due after ten years of faithful service, but Matilda made it clear she had no intention of leaving them, then or ever. Peter said the house was a form of pension plan for her. This kind of generosity was typical of the Powers. Matilda had had it decorated and furnished to her liking, but she never rented it out. Popsy knew that young Colombian girls stayed there sometimes when they needed a little help. Matilda might sleep there on the weekends, but often as not she remained at Cliff Road.

Peter tried to talk to her about renting it out or taking out a mortgage on it so she could buy a second and maybe a third property, but she wasn’t interested. It was her little piece of independence.

She didn’t look very independent tonight, however, with her tear-stained face.

Even in her exhausted and depressed state, Popsy found the strength to soothe her. “It’s okay, Matilda. It was a heart attack.”

Matilda gasped and covered her face.

“Shhh, he’s going to be okay. You know Peter. It would take more than one little heart attack to take him down.” Popsy and Matilda walked back to the kitchen.

“Where did you put Natasha?” Rosie asked.

Marcus shrugged. “Matilda showed us to a room upstairs. I think it was yellow. She was sound asleep when we moved her, so she might be scared in the morning.”

“That’s my old room.” Rosie smiled. “I bet Tilly did that on purpose,” she said. He knew it was her old pet name for the nanny. Matilda was like a second mother to Lily and Rosie. “Oh, Marcus, what a horrible day.”

“Let’s try to get your mom to bed and then we can talk.”

Popsy and Matilda were in the kitchen settled at the same table that Peter had been sitting at only a few hours earlier when he collapsed. Matilda was amazing. The only sign of the earlier party was the untouched pumpkin pie with a candle in it. Popsy tried to convince Matilda to have a slice.

In the end, all four of them sat down and had a cup of strong decaf tea and a large slice of pie.

“Natasha will be furious she missed the birthday pie,” Rosie said as she chomped.

“She can have some for breakfast,” Popsy said. “It’s my birthday and these are extraneous circumstances.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Marcus said and smiled.

“Hey, Matilda, these guys are going to let us watch Natasha for a week. How about that?”

Matilda gasped and covered her face with her hands, only this time it was out of joy. “I am so happy.”

Even after all this time, her English was pretty poor, but she was sharp as a pin and extremely astute.

“When you go?” Matilda asked.

Rosie turned to her husband for some guidance, but he smiled and shrugged. “Whenever she likes,” he offered. “Flying isn’t a problem for us because I get free flights every year. All we have to do is decide on a date and book it.”

“Where will you go?”

Again, Marcus answered, “Wherever she likes.”

Rosie watched Popsy and Matilda nod at each other. Her husband was saying all the right things. Even Rosie was touched. Maybe her father’s heart attack had impacted her husband. He was clearly as shaken as the rest of them, and between that and the inevitable public scandal of C&J, he might shelve all his crazy party notions and start to cherish the woman he had at home. Rosie’s mind flashed to a scene where he was sweeping her away for a romantic vacation—just the two of them—alone. That’s what she really needed.

Full of birthday pie and sweet tea, Popsy and Matilda headed off to their beds. Rosie tried to get her mother to take a tablet of some sort to help her sleep, but she insisted she was okay.

“It’s not serious,” Popsy kept saying as if the repetition would make it a reality. “He’s going to be fine.”

Popsy confirmed that Rosie and Marcus were to sleep in the guest bedroom and Natasha was in her mother’s old room. Then she put the cat out and set the alarm before heading for bed. “Making everything run as usual helps me stay sane during this madness,” she said when Rosie tried to help with Tiger.

Marcus wiped down the kitchen table while Rosie cleared away the pie and the cups.

“Your mom seems pretty together for a woman who just saw her husband have a heart attack,” Marcus said and threw the cloth into the sink.

“I don’t think it’s hit her yet to be honest,” Rosie said. “I mean she’s barely had time to think and as for Lily—Jeez.”

“Yeah, I think that might be an even bigger issue in the long run. How will your father be able to work with Jack Hoffman from now on?”

“I’m not sure that there is any going forward. I think the business is really gone. I suppose their professional relationship of thirty years will dissolve along with the company. Damn Lily. He was my godfather. Now I don’t want to see him again—ever. What the hell was he thinking?”

Marcus came over to where Rosie was leaning against the counter. She was pulling a hand towel through her hands over and over. He took it from her and gathered her into his embrace. “This will all sort itself out in time, honey. Take a leaf out of your mother’s book. Don’t think about it all so much.”

Rosie rested her head against his broad, warm chest. She knew he was right.

“Remember the Ostrich Plan?”

She smiled softly. Of course she remembered the Ostrich Plan. How could she forget? But she let him talk. It was soothing to listen to his deep, warm voice.

He laughed. “You were so uptight before our wedding. I thought you were going to have a nervous breakdown. All those stupid little details driving you nuts.”

“They were important to me.” Rosie didn’t meet his eyes but focused instead on removing imaginary bits of fluff from his shirt. “At least, they
felt
important back then.”