Summer of '69(43)

Joey is wearing a blue suit and a pair of Wayfarers. They cruise down Route 3 toward Cape Cod with the radio blaring; right now, it’s Janis Joplin. Blair sneaks a glance at Joey through half-closed eyes. His expression is placid and carefree as he pretends to play the drums against the steering wheel.



The scene that ensued when Angus caught Blair and Joey in flagrante was so harrowing that, in retrospect, Blair can’t believe she didn’t go into labor right then and there. She’s incredulous that Angus, who hadn’t surprised Blair at home even once since they’d been married, showed up at the exact moment that Blair succumbed to her desire for Joey Whalen.

Angus had gaped at Blair and Joey, and then the bouquet of flowers—which he must have bought to celebrate news of the twins—dropped to the floor.

“What the hell is going on?” he roared.

Joey and Blair had tried to pull apart, but a string from Blair’s rapidly deteriorating maternity dress had caught on one of the buttons of Joey’s bespoke shirt and so there was that awkwardness to contend with, which left time for Angus to storm over to the couch and loom above them.

“How long has this been going on?”

Blair let Joey speak. There was nothing going on, he said. Joey had stopped by and Blair was upset. Joey was only trying to comfort her and they’d gotten carried away.

“You expect me to believe that?” Angus said. He narrowed his eyes at Joey, and Blair was puzzled over how furious Angus seemed. She hadn’t seen him show that much emotion since the summer after their wedding. When they’d returned to Boston that September and Angus went back to MIT, he had become more and more like a robot, programmed to move through life’s daily routine. “You’ve had the hots for my wife from the beginning.”

“Well,” Joey said, straightening up to stand at his full height. He was taller than Angus, and broader. “She was my girlfriend first.”

Blair opened her mouth to protest, but before she could get a word out, Angus landed a punch under Joey’s eye and Joey delivered a blow to Angus’s gut. Soon the brothers were engaged in a full-on brawl, circling each other, venting old grievances. Angus resented Joey for carrying a torch for Blair and for giving Blair such a suggestive wedding gift, the silver lighter engraved with the words I loved you first. Eternally yours, Joey. (Blair brought her hands to her mouth—Angus had actually noticed the lighter!) Joey said that he resented Angus for stealing Blair away without a word of apology. They grabbed each other and tumbled to the ground. Their boxing became a sort of wrestling and Blair wanted to yell at them to stop but she was interested in what the brothers had to say.

“You always get exactly what you want and then some,” Joey said. “Because supposedly you’re a genius.”

“What about you?” Angus spit. “Coasting on your good looks, your charm, your athletic ability. People liked you better. I could never have gotten a girl like Blair if you hadn’t brought her to me.”

“That’s right!” Joey said. “You married a woman who’s too good for you and you’re blowing it!” Joey had Angus’s arms pinned over his head, and he pulled his arm back to punch him. Angus steeled himself and Blair let a cry escape. Joey seemed to reconsider, and then he let go of Angus and got to his feet. “She says you’re having an affair.”

Angus sat up. “If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is.”

“You’re lying to your pregnant wife,” Joey said. He turned to Blair. “I would never do that. If you were still my girl, I would be true blue.”

Angus pointed at the door. “Get out.”

“Gladly,” Joey said. He jammed his arms into his suit jacket and bent down to look at Blair. “If you need me, just call the Parker House.”

Blair waited with her head bowed as Joey left. Angus dusted himself off and disappeared into the kitchen. Blair remained on the couch, summoning the energy to get to her feet. She felt oddly glad that Angus had come home and caught her and Joey. She was a catch! She was desirable—even when pregnant!

She hauled herself up and waddled to the kitchen. Angus’s back was to her.

“Who is Trixie?” Blair asked. “And how long have you been seeing her?”

Angus stared at the wall behind the kitchen sink where Blair kept a needlepoint sampler that said AS YE SOW, SO SHALL YE REAP. She nearly laughed at the irony of it.

“You know what I think?” Blair said. “I think you’ve been seeing her since before we were married. I think you were talking to her on the phone on our honeymoon.”

She watched Angus’s shoulders tense. He looked like he was thrumming with the things he wanted to say—a confession, maybe.

“And that day I came to your office? Dobbins told me you had a personal appointment.”

“We’ve been over this,” Angus said.

Blair tried for a haughty laugh like the one her grandmother had perfected, but it came out as a whinny. “I think you were with her. And then the other day on the phone, I heard the two of you, Angus. She said her name. You said you wanted to see her.”

Angus turned around. He was holding his glasses in his hands. They were in two pieces; Joey had broken them. Blair rarely got to look directly into her husband’s eyes the way she did now. His irises were brown and flecked with green. As many times as Blair had cursed his name in the past year, she remained in his thrall.