Golden Girl(103)

Vivi swoops down to the Manhattan offices of Mr. Hooper, where Flor and her assistant, Jenny, are jumping up and down in front of Flor’s computer.

Golden Girl is number one on Amazon! Number one!

Flor clicks on BN.com. Golden Girl is at number one!

“I just checked Twitter,” Jenny says. “People are clamoring for Brett Caspian’s ‘Golden Girl’ to be released as a single on iTunes. The YouTube video has seven hundred thousand views so far.”

“This is the kind of publicity I’ve waited my entire career for,” Flor says. She raises her eyes to the office ceiling. “We’re going to do it, Vivi. We’re going to get you to number one!”



“I’m not getting my hopes up,” Vivi says.

Martha starts humming; this is something new. Vivi listens closely. She’s humming “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” by the Rolling Stones.

“Are you trying to tell me something?”

“Not really,” Martha says. “I was just at choir practice and the song got stuck in my head.”

“The choir of angels sings the Stones?” Vivi says.

Martha laughs. “Oh, Vivian!”

Oh, Vivian—what? she thinks.

“‘If you try sometimes, you’ll find you get what you need,’” Martha says.



Vivi isn’t sure she needs anything other than for her children to be healthy and happy, but at five p.m. on Wednesday, August 11, when the New York Times bestseller list is announced, D. K. Bolt’s Satan’s Weekend is at number three, the Dorothea Benton Frank book is at number two, and…

Golden Girl, by Vivian Howe, is at number one.

“I’m number one!” Vivi shouts, and she dances around a bit with her hands in the air. She’s certain this kind of behavior is frowned upon up here—pride is a deadly sin and all that. But she can’t help herself! She is so excited! She has the number-one novel in the country and she did it without using any of her nudges!

She half expects Martha to appear, but Martha doesn’t. Vivi doesn’t need her. This moment is for Vivi to celebrate on her own.

Thank you, Brett, she thinks.





Willa, Carson, Leo, and Rip




Lucinda’s birthday is August 17, and every year, the Quinboros celebrate with a family dinner at the Field and Oar Club. Lucinda reserves the round table in the center of the dining room so that everyone she knows can come bestow his or her warm wishes.

This year, JP brings Savannah as his guest, which would have been completely unthinkable in previous years but, with the event of Vivi’s death, now feels just right. Willa and Rip are there; Leo has brought Marissa, and Lucinda invited Penny Rosen. Carson is alone.

Normally, Carson would show up high or already drunk, but she seems straight to both Willa and Leo. It’s only a matter of time, they suppose, until she orders a Mind Eraser and says something outrageous. Carson’s theatrics bore them, but on the occasions of their grandmother’s birthday dinners, they count on her for entertainment.

Their grandmother’s favorite server, Dixie, comes to take their drink orders. Willa is afraid that if she orders seltzer, someone will ask if she’s pregnant again, so she orders a chenin blanc and squeezes Rip’s hand to signal him not to say anything. Leo and Marissa order Cokes. Carson orders a ginger ale.

“Feeling okay, sweetie?” JP asks.

“Fine,” Carson says. “Just taking it easy tonight.”

This is highly, highly unusual but nobody says anything. Penny Rosen starts the conversation by asking Marissa where she’s going to college.

Marissa says, “Salve Regina, in Newport.”

“Leo is heading to Boulder,” Penny says (which is impressive, Carson and Willa think. Their own grandmother might not even remember this), “so I suppose it’ll be a teary farewell in a few weeks, with you two being so far apart.”

“We’re committed,” Marissa says. She raises her voice so the whole table can hear her. “Leo and I have set a date for our wedding. June twenty-second, 2024.”

“Wow,” Carson says. “Have you booked a venue?”

Leo knows his sister is baiting Marissa and he also knows it will work. “Stop it, Carson.”

“We haven’t booked it, booked it,” Marissa says. “But we’ve decided. The ceremony will be at St. Mary’s and the reception will be here.”

“Here?” Lucinda says. “Are your parents members?”

“No,” Marissa says. “My mother applied in 2016 but she’s still on the waitlist.”

“It’s a very exclusive club,” Lucinda says. “Especially for a single parent.”

“But you belong, Grammy,” Carson says. “And you’re single.”

“Yes, well, my father…” Lucinda says.

“We’re going to use Leo’s membership,” Marissa says. “If my mother doesn’t get in.”

JP clears his throat.

Lucinda says, “I don’t think we need to be discussing an event so far in the future that may or may not ever take place.”

Ouch, Willa thinks. She feels empathy for Marissa, maybe for the first time since she’s known her. Mr. and Mrs. Bonham expressed this same cynicism when Willa and Rip said they wanted to get married.