Wellesley Wives (New England Trilogy) (33 page)

There was a groan from beside her—not what she was expecting. She opened her eyes and slowly turned her head.

“Sandra, what are you doing in my bed?”

“Harrrrummmmppppphhhh!”

She tried to sit up, but her head was pounding like a bass drum. Then she tried to stand, but she was shaky, very shaky. “What time did you come in?” she asked but still got no reply.

By the time the nightclub had closed around six in the morning, Popsy was ready to come home and Jeff had had enough, too, but Simon and Sandra wanted to keep going. In the end, it was agreed that Popsy and Jeff would head out while Simon introduced Sandra to the wonderful world of early houses. Popsy had never heard of them, even from her wilder days in college. 

Early houses, it turned out, were pubs that opened in the small hours of the morning and served drinks until regular pubs opened. Jeff said he thought it had something to do with sailors coming into port very early in the morning and wanting a drink. Whatever it was, Popsy hadn’t had any interest in going.

What she really needed now was some strong coffee and maybe one of those famous “full-Irish” fries. She took her morning bath and left Sandra in bed. The chances of moving her were pretty slight anyway. She was out cold.

While Popsy ran her bath, she brushed her teeth and took off her makeup from the night before. That’s when she found her sleeping tablets at the bottom of her toiletries bag. She’d gone another night without needing them. Okay, a sleeping tablet was a better option than—what was it by the end of the night? Five mojitos? But even so, it meant that she’d managed to fall asleep twice in Dublin without them. Wasn’t that progress?

As she soaked, she recalled the night before. She’d spoken about Peter’s death. She’d told strangers she was a widow. Another first. Peter would have been proud of her. She’d gone out and had a good time. She’d even partied. He would laugh if he knew. Popsy understood it was never going to be the same again, and she desperately missed him, but Sandra had been right to get her out of Boston for a few days. It helped her remember there was a great big world out there, and it was her job to live a full life until a time when she and Peter would be reunited.

She tucked into an enormous fry for breakfast. She was starving. Probably from all the dancing from the night before. She thought about waking Sandra when she saw that the restaurant was wrapping up their breakfast service but decided against it. She needed sleep more than she needed food.

It looked like their plans for the day were shattered. There was no way Sandra would be in any fit state to tour Trinity or appreciate
The Book of Kells
. Maybe better to let her recover for as long as she needed and just go for a walk later. Their visit to Dublin was supposed to be escapism and fun. Well, they’d sure done that the night before.

Popsy thought about her family. Rosie was off on her romantic escape today. How wonderful for her and Marcus to get away together. That’s what a good marriage needed to survive—time spent invested in each other.

That meant little Natasha would be at Cliff Road with Matilda. Popsy wasn’t worried. Matilda was very capable. She didn’t have a car, but if there was an emergency she’d catch a taxi. That was unlikely anyway and Popsy would be home in a day.

Then she thought about Lily. Her younger daughter had tried so hard to make peace with her, but it was all so mixed up. It was hard at first to focus on forgiving Lily when she’d just heard her husband was dead. She put a lot of the blame at Jack’s feet, and Lily was literally in bed with him. She’d tried to excuse her daughter, but she just couldn’t. The closest she came was when Lily asked if she could check on Matilda and Natasha. She’d nodded and managed to say, “Thanks,” but that was it. That was as civil as they’d got.

“Damn them all,” she grumbled, and a passing waitress came over to her.

“Is everything to your liking, madam? Can I get you anything, some more toast perhaps or some more coffee?”

She forced Lily out of her mind and smiled.

“No, thank you. Everything is absolutely wonderful.” The waitress nodded and left her in peace.

About twenty feet in front of her, a sliding door was ajar, causing the snow-white net curtain to billow open just a little. The sky was a deep February blue with no clouds that she could see. Winter would be over soon, and the days would get longer and warmer.

Popsy decided to count her blessings. She had an incredible friend who was sound asleep upstairs, and they’d enjoyed an amazing night of fun and dancing. She knew she was lucky to be sitting there with wonderful food and exquisite surroundings. If she could just live in this moment and not think about America, she realized that what she had told the waitress was true. Everything
really was
absolutely wonderful

Chapter 27 

The Reluctant Swinger

“Clothing or no clothing?” The young and fully-clad girl asked as she processed Marcus and Rosie’s check-in.

    Rosie almost choked “Excuse me?”

“I said, smoking or non-smoking?”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t hear you correctly. Non-smoking.”

Rosie wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting. Gargoyles and little devils at the reception desk? Another possibility was Playboy-bunny-type airheads doing suggestive things with their pens. But no, it had all been pretty normal. The check-in area was small and decorated in bright Caribbean colors, and as they were being processed, they were offered a cocktail. Rosie would’ve liked it if the drink was stronger, but she was grateful for anything right now. Her nerves were in ribbons, she was so anxious.

Marcus picked up a load of pamphlets on things to do along the coast, while Rosie clung to the counter. She heard some raucous laughter somewhere in the distance, perhaps in a pool or bar area, but she hadn’t seen anything crazy, and nobody had made a pass at her or Marcus in the first three minutes—phew!

“Isn’t this wonderful?” Marcus enthused when they were at last alone in their room. He held Rosie’s hand, and they stood on the balcony of their fabulous suite overlooking the Caribbean Sea. To be fair, it really was exquisite. Snow-white sand sloped gently down to a breathtaking turquoise expanse. Their suite was in a building that was almost on the beach. The complex was made up of a series of smaller units nestled into lush tropical gardens. Only two buildings had the incredible sea views. Marcus had chosen the best the complex had to offer.

“Yes, darling, this really is amazing,” she replied honestly.

“Now that we’re here, it’s not so scary, is it?”

She nodded, but inside she was terrified. Rosie had always been the wildest in her group of friends. Somehow, over the years, she’d lost herself. Well, she decided, it really was time to find herself again.

“A drink?” she suggested thinking that a little Dutch courage might help her nerves.

“We just had one. Let’s get into our swimsuits and go exploring instead.” He was so excited, and Rosie knew she couldn’t delay it any longer. She shrugged and agreed.

The only advantage of this stupid vacation was that she’d never in her life been so motivated to get into good shape. When she walked out of the bathroom in a navy string bikini, Marcus did a double-take and let out a low, soft whistle of appreciation. “Hey, baby, you look amazing,” he said.

“You like?” She did a twirl for him. Maybe, just maybe, she could seduce him and keep him all to herself. If he really had a good time, Rosie figured, perhaps he wouldn’t feel the need to wander. And so it was that their first sexual encounter was with each other.

She was thrilled. She loved him and would have happily spent the week having sex with him and reading beach novels to fill her days. Combine that with some good food and a few sightseeing trips, and that would be the vacation from heaven as far as she was concerned.

Marcus seemed pretty happy, too. “That was amazing, babe. You’re so gorgeous, you know that?” he said after their lovemaking.

She nodded. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too.” He kissed her on the nose. “And what a bod. What have you been doing for the last few months? I mean, you weren’t in bad shape, but a six pack?” He ran his fingers down her hard stomach.

She looked down at her now ultra-flat tummy. “I know. That only appeared a few weeks ago. I was pretty amazed myself. I think I’ve just been running so hard and then when I ramped up the weights sessions, well, this happened.”

“You know, you’re going to be very popular at the pool parties.”

Her mood plummeted. “And that doesn’t bother you?” She was genuinely amazed at the way he handled the jealousy.

He shook his head. “Nah, I know you love me. This is just sex. It’s not about love; it’s about trying new things.”

That was the part Rosie didn’t get. “But what if you have sex with a woman and you fall in love with her?”

Marcus slapped his forehead. “I thought we’d been through this. You know love and sex have no connection in a guy’s mind. Sex is sex, and love is something altogether different. Sex is a little like—oh, I don’t know—well, it’s like kissing. You can just do it and then move on. Women are brainwashed into believing it’s something more, but it’s not. It’s just a physical act like eating or sleeping. A bodily function. You like to have lunches with different groups of women, right?”

She nodded as she lay beside him on the king-size bed. “Well, it’s like that. Lunch.”

“Just seems to me that some men have bigger appetites than others,” she said.

He took it as a joke and laughed. “Yes, and some women, too. Now come on and put your amazing bikini back on. I have to find my swimming trunks.

Rosie loved the navy bikini. It was her first time in a string one since she was eighteen. She also bought a navy and white robe to go over it, and she had a broad navy straw hat, too. Even her flip-flops were white with little navy dots to match. If she was the biggest prude around the pool, at least she would be the best-dressed.

Finally, armed with her oversized sunglasses and the new hardback bestseller, which could also be used as a weapon, she was ready for this—whatever “this” was. Marcus wore his swimming shorts and his Ray-Bans. It was obvious he’d given no thought to what he wore and yet, annoyingly, he still managed to look great. They walked around the pool together. It was so beautiful. There were two couples in the water getting quite friendly. Whether they were married to each other or not, she wasn’t sure, but they didn’t pay her any attention, and for that she was grateful. Between the pool and the beach was an outdoor bar. Caribbean music pulsed out of speakers that masqueraded as rocks nestled in among the flowers.

“Let’s get a drink?” Rosie tried again. She knew she sounded like an alcoholic, but this was no ordinary situation. Three couples were at a table in the bar and another two couples sat at a different spot. They were all around Rosie’s age, and they looked pretty normal. No crazy swinging going on here, she thought, beginning to get a little more comfortable but still clinging to her husband.

He ordered her a large piña colada. It was gorgeous. It was in a humongous frosted glass, full to the brim with a bright-yellow liquid that looked and tasted like a smoothie. Slotted onto the top of the glass was a slice of fresh pineapple and a little pink paper umbrella to remind her that she was on vacation. Marcus had chosen a bloody Mary.

“Cheers, babe.” He clinked her glass, and they took a seat together.

The six sitting right next to them glanced over and said hello. Marcus nodded back as Rosie studiously ignored them. She knew she was being rude, but she was scared of sending out any kind of inviting message. She finished her piña colada too fast. “Let’s check out the beach. I wouldn’t mind a swim.”

“Watch out for the sharks,” a female voice said from behind her. She swung around to see who’d spoken. It was one of the women sitting at the table of four. She smiled at Rosie but turned her attention to Marcus. Then she winked at him. She winked at Rosie’s husband right
in front of Rosie
.

“I think most of the sharks around here are on dry land,” Rosie snapped back a little too fast.

The other three sitting with the table “oohed.”

“Touché,” one of the men said, while the other made a “meow,” kind of sound, suggesting a catfight was possible. It looked like Rosie had managed to put her would-be competitor back in her place, for now.

“That was a little harsh,” Marcus whispered as they walked to the beach.

“She winked at you, Marcus. She actually winked at you right in front of me. Bitch.”

“Honey, this is a swingers’ resort. We’re supposed to be doing a lot more than winking.”

“We just got here. Isn’t there some sort of settling-in time? You know, an introduction night or something?”

“More like an induction night.”

They had reached the sand by now and Rosie took off her flip-flops. “What’s an induction night?”

“I read about it at the front desk notice board. Most guests arrive on Saturday and Sunday, so they have a special induction session where some of the couples who’ve been here for the last week meet and greet us over cocktails.”

“You sure that isn’t
meet and eat?
” Rosie asked. “That was one tough cookie at the bar. You’re not going near her, do you hear me?”

Marcus laughed. “The whole idea is there are no rules, and you’re making them already.”

Rosie sighed. He was right, but this was all so crazy.

“Want to go swimming?” she asked, not really feeling like it.

“What about the sharks?” Marcus laughed.

“They have nets.” She looked out on the shimmering aquamarine water. “Pity they don’t have them up here on the beach, too.”

After the swim and a little mellow time catching the last of the day’s sun, they headed back up to their suite to get dressed for dinner. Rosie had decided to go pretty conservative for her evening wear. She didn’t want to send out any overly friendly messages. Then, when Marcus was in the bathroom, she called home.

Natasha was having a great time, and so was Matilda. True to her word, Lily had checked in to make sure everything was all right, which clearly it was. Now would have been a really good time for Matilda to need her tonsils out, or her appendix—Rosie wasn’t fussy. She just needed an excuse to get Marcus home, but no such luck. The housekeeper was in perfect health and Natasha even better. She wasn’t missing her parents at all.