Wellesley Wives (New England Trilogy) (53 page)

“But what if we fizzle out in a few years?”

“What if you don’t?” Popsy argued.

“Well, what about you and Shane?”

“What about us?”

“Are you going to go for it?”

“It’s too soon. I’m not ready.” Popsy stood, uncomfortable with the turn in the conversation.

“Jeez, Popsy. He calls you every day now, and I see how happy you are when he does. He’s already long-distance-courting you and you’re the only person who hasn’t realized it.”

Popsy sat back down. “You think?”

Sandra smiled. “If I’m willing to give love a second chance, you should be, too.”

“Who said anything about love? It’s not even a year since Peter died.”

“Who said anything about having to wait a year? We’re not as young as we used to be, woman. At our age we need to get on with our lives. What are you waiting for?”

“Do you think I could ask him to visit me here?”

“Yes, oh yes, I think that would be an amazing idea. He would love to come, and if you’re living in Lily’s place, there are two bedrooms if you’re not ready to take that next step.”

“I’m nowhere near taking that step. I just wondered if he’d like to come over as a friend, but Lily’s apartment would work well, because it’s right beside the harbor and Shane loves boats.” Then she looked at Sandra. “I’ve been having embarrassingly vivid dreams that, um, well, about Shane.”

“Oh?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s something. Invite him over next time he calls. Okay?” Sandra asked.

“Okay, okay, already. Jeez, he’ll probably say no anyway.” She opened the last letter. “Oh look, it’s another DSW coupon. Do you think this is a sign?”

“For sure.” Sandra laughed. “Let’s go shoe shopping.”

An hour later they were dressed and looked like a million dollars. “Which car do you want to take?” Sandra asked. “Mine, your Merc, or the Ferrari?”

Popsy faltered. “I haven’t been in it since Peter’s crash,” she mumbled.

“Let’s skip it, then.”

Popsy gave her a thank-you nod. “You know, I think I’m happier in my old car. I was never really a Ferrari kind of girl.”

“I know what you mean. You’re classier than that.”

“But you like it, don’t you?”

“What can I say? I’m louder than you. I like flash.”

“Well, that’s that, then. Happy Birthday.” Popsy beamed.

Sandra’s jaw dropped. “I can’t take that car. It’s yours. It cost a fortune. If you don’t want it, sell it. You’ve already given me a ridiculous amount of your life insurance money—which I will pay back—but really, Popsy this has to stop. I can’t take any more from you.”

“You? Take from me? Ha!” Popsy said. “You’ve done nothing but give to me since Peter died. Give, give, give.” She took Sandra’s hands and looked earnestly at her. “You gave me the birthday present of a lifetime. That trip to Ireland saved my sanity. You know I don’t want the car, and we both know you like it. Play with it for a few weeks, and then sell it. Use the money to get yourself set up with Sven. This is Karma. Please take the car, Sandra. I would love you to have it.”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

They got into the Mercedes and put on their sunglasses. Popsy cranked up the stereo and Lady Gaga poured through the stereo speakers from somewhere under her seat.

“Let’s go and shop till we drop—with our coupons. Then you need to phone Sven and tell him you’re on your way. After that, we’ll go for a nice lunch somewhere and maybe even have a few cocktails. What do you think?”

“Cocktails at noon? It’s like I always said, Popsy, you can take the girl out of Wellesley . . .”

And they said together, “. . . but you can’t take Wellesley out of the girl!”

“So tell me the truth, you really haven’t thought about skydiving with Shane?” Sandra said.

“Skydiving?” Popsy was lost.

“Doesn’t that ring any bells with you?” Sandra asked. “It was the night Peter and Jack had the European investors over, and we were talking about sex. You were worried somebody might overhear, so you referred to it as skydiving.”

“Had I been drinking?”

“Maybe just a little.”

Popsy laughed. “I wonder if Shane would ever be interested in skydiving with me,” she said, then pressed the button so her car roof glided back and Gaga’s music filled the air around them. The music was so loud, Popsy didn’t hear her phone when it rang, and that gave Sandra the chance to grab it and answer it first.

“Hi, Shane, it’s Sandra. Popsy wants to know if you’ll come and visit her; only she’s too shy to ask.”

Popsy killed the music and stared at her friend in disbelief.

“Don’t look so horrified. That’s what you did to me back in Banagher with Sven.” She handed the phone over. “He said yes, by the way.”

Popsy rolled her eyes.

“Hi, Shane, sorry about that.” He was laughing down the phone line. “Um, I was going to ask you—if Sandra hadn’t butted in, if you’d like to come visit Boston?”

“Popsy, there’s nothing I’d like more,” he said. She could tell by his tone that he was smiling.

“You’ll come? Really? That’s great news.” She gave the thumbs-up sign to Sandra.

“When do you want me?” he asked.

“What?”

“When should I come over to Boston?”

“Oh, as soon as you like, I guess.”

“What about next week?” he asked, his Strabane accent cascading up and down.

“Next week?” Popsy suppressed the urge to panic. “Gosh, yes, that would be absolutely fine. You’ll be able to help me move.”

“You? You’re moving house? Jesus, don’t risk your life again—at least not until I’m there.”

She listened and laughed. This felt right. “No, I won’t do anything life threatening, Shane.”

Sandra checked her reflection in the side mirror and adjusted her sunglasses. “You’ve come so far, Popsy,” she whispered. “Now ask him what he thinks about skydiving.”

(It’s never) The End

Dear Book Club friends,

I really hope you enjoy
Wellesley Wives
. When I was writing it, I was conscious of the possible discussions and debate it could spark, so, for your entertainment (and to stir it up a little!) I have included ten book club questions. I want this to add to your enjoyment of the book and give you some food for thought. Naturally there are no right or wrong answers because every point of view is valid in its own right. For this reason I have given my own personal answers to these questions on my website,
http://WWW.Suzyduffybooks.com"
. It might be interesting to check out my site and see if we have the same points of view about the various characters or if we are diametrically opposed. Either way, it’s just for fun.

Happy reading,

Love Suzy

Questions

1. What was the theme/essence of
   Wellesley Wives
   and what was its purpose?
   
2. Was the setting of particular importance? Having read about New England and Ireland, what strikes you as the biggest differences? Which do you think would the nicer place to live and why? Does age have an impact on your opinion?
   
3. Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? Have you or anyone you know gone through some of these situations? Which ones? How did they deal with it?
   
4. Do they remind you of someone you know? How and why?
   
5. In what way do the events in the story reveal more about the author?
   
6. Is it a satisfactory ending? What would you like to have seen done differently?
   
7. Which woman do you relate to most—Popsy, Sandra, Rosie or Lily? Do their ages have any bearing on how they dealt with their situations? Or do you think their personalities are so set that they would have been similar, had for example, Lily been forty when she went through what she did with Jack? Would Popsy have bounced back at the same rate ten years older or ten years younger?
   
8. Which man do you dislike most?
   
9. Is there any hope for Jack?
   
10. What are your feelings on swinging?