A Nantucket Affair (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove #4)(35)

“So, Ethel and Harry just got engaged! At their age, can you imagine? Ethel’s never been married, though, so I guess why not, right? Harry’s a nice enough guy. Donna wasn’t happy about that, though. Not at all. She set her cap on Harry months ago, but he never took any notice of her.”

“That’s great. Good for Ethel.” Sue thought it sounded romantic to finally find love in her eighties and to get married.

“Well, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. Where is that husband of yours?”

“He’s off-island picking up a new car. They called this morning and told him it was ready, so he was going to head over and pick it up.”

“I didn’t realize he needed a new car. Did he get another Honda?”

Sue smiled. “Not exactly. He still has the Honda. He got a bright red Mercedes convertible.”

Her mother laughed. “What on earth does he need that for?”

“He doesn’t. He just wanted it. He says it will make him look successful and the agency, too.”

“Oh, that’s just silly. He wants to be seen driving it all over the island. He’s clearly going through a mid-life crisis.”

“That crossed my mind, too.”

“What about that young blonde girl in the office, Barbi something? Is he still spending too much time with her?”

“It’s Brandi, and they are on a committee together. We talked about it, actually. I told him people have commented and he said that’s ridiculous, that there’s nothing to comment on. I’m really not worried about Curt.”

“No, I don’t suppose you should be. He’s not the type, I don’t think. Besides you have a wonderful, happy marriage so nothing to worry about.”

Sue was quiet and her mother raised her eyebrow. “Everything is fine, right?”

“Yes, it’s fine. I suppose.” She sighed. “Though we don’t spend as much time together as we used to. I work from home now and Curt’s so busy with work at the office and so involved in so many social things, like the Nantucket Affair event. They keep asking him to chair it.”

“And Brandi’s on that committee? And works with him? So, she’s seeing him almost as much as you are?”

“Well, in a different way, but yes, I suppose so.”

“So, she’s giving him the attention he’s not getting from you? When was the last time you two had a date night?”

Sue laughed. “We go out with friends all the time. You know I’m not much for cooking.”

“That’s not what I mean. When was the last time you went out for a romantic evening? Where you both got dressed up and had a lovely dinner and conversation and maybe even some dancing?”

“Gosh, I don’t remember the last time we did that. Maybe a year or so ago when we spent the weekend in Boston and went to the theater.”

“Maybe it’s time to see a show,” her mother suggested.

“I’ll think about it. The next month or so is really busy.”

Her mother sipped her tea and glanced out the window before turning back to Sue with a serious look.

“A good marriage takes work to keep it good. To keep the romance going. If you don’t make the effort and spend too much time apart, it will just get harder to find your way back. Trust me on that.”

“What are you talking about? You and Daddy had one of the best relationships I’ve ever seen.” Sue’s father had been gone for just over five years now, and as far as she knew her parents had always been madly in love.

“Your father was the love of my life but we went through a rough period, when you and your brother were in middle school. You kids got most of my attention then and work got most of his. We stopped going out for date nights because we were both so busy and tired.” She was quiet, and her eyes grew dark for a moment before she smiled and said, “But fortunately, we realized we needed to make time for each other. We started the date nights again and the magic came back. It never left after that.”

Sue guessed there was more to the story than her mother was willing to share, but that was okay. She got the point. They moved on to other topics until after a few lively hours of conversation, her mother started to look tired. When she couldn’t fight back a yawn, Sue stood and stretched.

“I should probably head home. A pile of laundry is calling my name.”

“A nap might be calling mine.” She stood too and walked Sue to the door.

“Next time Curt comes with you, tell him he has to drive that fancy new car and take me for a spin!”

“I’ll tell him. He’d love that.”





It was still light out when Sue got home and she was looking forward to seeing Curt’s new car. She expected him back before it got dark, so when six o’clock rolled around and there was no sign of Curt, she called his cell. But he didn’t pick up and it went to voicemail. She didn’t leave a message. She figured he’d see the missed call and call her back. That’s what they usually did for each other, unless it was urgent and a message was needed.

At six-thirty, he finally called and she was torn between being worried and annoyed.

“Where are you? I thought you’d be home by now. Did you get the car?”

“I did and it’s a beauty. Wait til you see it. I’m just leaving the Club Car now. I met up with Tom and John for a drink. I’ll be home soon. Sorry I missed your call. My phone was dead and I had it on Tom’s charger.”