Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(20)

“No. Why?”

“Look at him. Sure, from certain angles, he looks good—tall, dark hair speckled with silver—but he’s at least ten years older and sort of flabby in the middle. It’s like Gilligan or the Skipper of the S. S. Minnow dating Ginger, if you know what I mean?”

Nora hadn’t realized how judgmental Stacy could be until today. She had to do something. “Come meet her,” Nora suggested. “She’s sweet and kind. You can’t blame her for being born beautiful.”

“Yes I can,” Stacy said with a laugh. “I’m not going to change into my bathing suit, that’s for sure.”

“Come on,” Nora said again, prompting Stacy to follow her to where the others congregated near the pool. As they approached, Nora said, “Dessert is on the table. Wait until you try some of Jane’s delicious homemade brownies.” When no one broke away, Nora went ahead and made introductions. “Jane, I want you to meet Stacy. She lives directly across the street from us.” Nora proceeded to point out the two towheaded children running around. “Bobby and Samantha are hers.”

“They’re adorable,” Jane said, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked up at Stacy. “Nice to meet you.”

“So do you have children?” Stacy asked.

“Unfortunately, I do not. But I would have a dozen if I could.”

Nora wondered why Jane didn’t adopt. Despite how close they had gotten in such a short time, there was still so much she didn’t know about her.

Laura joined the group in time to hear what Jane said about wanting children. “You can have mine if you want.” Laura looked at her husband, Dennis, with exasperation. “I can’t handle them today. They won’t stop fighting.”

Jane pushed herself from the lounge chair. Everyone watched her as she made her way to the shallow end of the pool where the smaller kids floated around in the water, their feet touching the bottom. She clapped her hands, loud enough to get the children’s attention. There were five under the age of nine. “Come on, kids, let’s play a game.” Jane pointed at the grassy area of the backyard. As she walked that way, she spotted Trevor coming outside. “Hey, Trevor! Mind helping me out for a minute?”

“Sure,” Trevor said without hesitating. He’d always been Nora’s big helper. Two of the kids scrambled out of the pool and quickly dried off. The others were already on Jane’s heels.

Stacy crossed her arms. “Does she talk to animals, too?”

Nora didn’t mention that she’d taken Tank to the groomers today so Jane wouldn’t be bothered.

Laura’s brow furrowed when she saw her kids smiling and listening intently to Jane as she explained what game they were going to play.

“Does she babysit?” Laura said in a manner that told Nora she was only half joking. “I’ll pay double.”

David glanced at Nora. “I need to check on something inside. I’ll be right back.”

“So, Richard,” Stacy said, “how did you and Jane meet?”

“She came to my office with a toothache and left without any pain.”

“That makes sense,” Stacy said. “You worked your magic on her, and she was putty in your hands by the time you were finished.”

“That’s right,” Richard said. “You’re lucky I never put a spell on you.”

“Next time I come in for a cleaning, maybe the new guy you hired could fill a few cavities.”

They all laughed.

As her neighbors chatted, Nora told everyone she would be right back. She hurried to catch up to David and followed him into the house. They had been married long enough for her to know that something was up. “David,” she said once they were both inside, out of earshot. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I’m expecting a call from a client.”

His body was rigid. He rarely got upset, but clearly something was going on inside that head of his. “You’re angry with me. What did I do?”

“Jane told me, along with everyone else, that you were going to Paris and that you would be gone during Thanksgiving. I had no idea, and I was so embarrassed. It would have been nice if you had talked to me about it. If the tables were turned, I know you wouldn’t have appreciated being caught off guard.”

Nora’s stomach dropped. Why would Jane bring it up in front of people she’s only just met? “I never told her I was going to Paris. She was in my office when she mentioned a software trade show being held in Paris at the end of the month. When I realized it was during the holiday, I told her no. In her usual fashion, she kept pressing, so I told her I would look at the kids’ schedules and get back to her.” Nora drew in a breath. “Now that I think about it, Jane did say we could talk more at the barbecue, but we’ve been so busy that it slipped my mind completely. I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it.” Nora reached for his hand. “If there is ever any mention of any trips in the future, I’ll tell you first thing. I promise.”

“It’s fine,” he said, although she could tell he was still disappointed. “Just caught me off guard. I guess I always imagined the two of us spending time in Europe after the kids go off to college . . . hearing her talk about the two of you going to Paris and seeing all the sights threw me off, that’s all.”