Lost Along the Way(20)
“I’m speaking with you now.”
“Yeah, but you looked like you wanted to spit at me when I first showed up, too.”
“I’m over it.”
“Thank God,” Jane said. She reached out and grabbed Cara’s hand. It felt cold. “Thank you for letting me stay here tonight.”
“You’re welcome.”
“What time will you guys be home?” Jane asked.
“Not late if I can help it, but it’s hard to say,” Cara said. “We won’t leave until Reed has had enough scotch and small talk and not a moment before.”
“Well, I hope Reed doesn’t mind my staying over,” she said.
Jane tried to ignore the uneasy look that crossed Cara’s face.
eight
Cara hated socializing with the people who traveled in Reed’s circle. Especially the women. They all had names like Bitsy, Buttons, Tiffy, or some other ridiculous moniker that made it impossible to take them seriously, which wasn’t actually much of a problem as they rarely had anything serious to say. Tonight, she and Reed were having dinner with Cody Miller, Reed’s squash buddy, drinking comrade, and oldest friend from his boarding school days at Exeter, and Cody’s wife, Tabitha. The thought of it was almost as horrid as the idea of having to somehow explain to Reed that Jane was sleeping in their guest room. She felt like the ceiling and the floor were compressing like a vise and trying to flatten her, but there was no way around it. This is the life I built, she reminded herself. It is what it is.
They rode most of the way in silence. By the time they valeted the car, Cara was no closer to telling Reed, but maybe that was for the best. Maybe the news would go over better after he’d had a few drinks and relaxed.
“I don’t want this to be a late night,” Cara said as they entered the restaurant, even though she knew it was pointless. She couldn’t think of any seamless way to tell Reed that Jane was at their house, and the anxiety was making her jittery.
“Stop fidgeting,” Reed snapped. He was already annoyed with her, and they hadn’t even sat down. Reed pushed his way through the crowd and ordered them both drinks at the bar. When he handed her a glass of white wine, she had to hold it with both hands to keep the glass from shaking.
“What is the matter with you?” Reed asked. “Why can’t you hold still?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just not really up for this,” Cara answered.
“You’re never up for doing anything!” Reed said. She didn’t feel like explaining to him for the millionth time that she wasn’t ready to be social yet, that she was still very much mourning her mother and wanted to stay home, alone. “Here they come,” he said as he caught sight of Cody and Tabitha entering the restaurant. “Smile, and pretend you’re happy to be here, would you please?”
Cody waved as he pushed his way toward the bar, Tabitha scurrying after him, glancing around the room to see who else was in attendance. Cody’s hair was still wet from a shower, and he wore khakis, a cashmere sweater, and his usual Stubbs and Wootton shoes. The initials CM were monogrammed in yellow thread on the black slippers, so that no one would ever again mistake Cody’s Stubbs and Woottons for their own and accidentally take off with them. That had happened once, at the annual Fourth of July beach barbecue down on the Sound, and for months afterward he’d inspected the footwear of every man at the club in an attempt to identify the thief and have his membership revoked. The slippers were never recovered, but Cody swore he would never be the victim again, and it would be a brave man who’d steal shoes that were emblazoned with someone else’s monogram.
“Hey there, guys,” he said, tugging at the cuff of his shirtsleeve until it matched the length of his sweater. “I’m sorry we’re late. Tabitha couldn’t find anything to wear, despite the fact that she has a walk-in closet larger than a New York City apartment. Explain that to me!”
“No problem at all!” Reed said, showing more affection for his buddy than he had for his wife in years.
“It’s nice to see you,” Cara lied as she leaned in so he could kiss her cheek.
“Another good day at the office?” Cody asked after the hostess had escorted them to their usual table in the back corner of the room. “Stock market was up again. If this keeps up it will be a banner year.”
“I know. I reallocated some money into a few riskier assets. I’m liking the returns I’m seeing, but I think there are some better opportunities out there. It never pays to be conservative,” Reed replied, loving any conversation that had to do with money and his acumen for making it.
“Tabitha seems to think we need to start worrying about our retirement. Do you believe that? I’m thirty-eight years old. Maybe she’s planning on me retiring at fifty but I sure as hell am not. I have a long career in front of me—unless, of course, she kills me in my sleep. Maybe that’s her master plan.” Cody laughed. “She’ll probably dress me in a suit and push me down the stairs so she can collect double indemnity on my life insurance or something.”
“I love when you talk about me like I’m not here even though I’m sitting right next to you,” Tabitha joked, though Cara didn’t think that it actually bothered her at all. “It was just a suggestion. I don’t know anything about business. I saw something about it on a talk show and thought I should mention it—that’s all! Cara, do you think I’m being ridiculous?”