A Nantucket Wedding(23)

Still, she managed to finish the day as if everything was normal. She’d left a tuna noodle casserole in the refrigerator for the weekend, and since that hadn’t been touched, she heated it up for their dinner, noticing as she worked in the kitchen that there were no signs of the macaroni and cheese or the dreadful asparagus. She did find an unfinished quart of chocolate ice cream in the freezer. Ice cream was a special treat in this healthy household. Pulling back the lid, she checked and found that only a small iceberg of ice cream was left. So, a DVD and ice cream, too.

She poured herself a glass of wine.

Dinner was chaotic, as usual. Felicity bathed the children so she could reconnect with them after two nights and three days away. Alice didn’t like it when Luke’s toothbrush touched hers. Luke insisted it was his turn to choose the bedtime story. Their concerns were so trivial, she thought, in comparison to the black storm cloud brewing around her mind and heart, a storm that could roar their lives away.

    Finally, after the children had been fed, bathed, read to, and tucked in, when they were absolutely asleep, Felicity made herself a cup of chamomile tea and went into the den where Noah was studying a spreadsheet.

“Noah? Could we talk?”

Noah looked up. He was a handsome man. Blond hair, blue eyes, much like Felicity’s own, and replicated in their children. “What’s up?”

She sat in a chair across from him. “Is something going on with you and Ingrid?”

Noah made a scoffing noise. “Yes. We had passionate sex on the living room rug while the kids watched Frozen in the den.”

“You don’t have to be that way about it. You’ve never had any employee over to the house before, except at group parties.”

“Well, you haven’t left me alone with the kids before,” Noah shot back. “And I’ve been telling you it’s a crucial time right now at work. I can only stretch myself so far.”

“It’s always a crucial time at work for you,” Felicity said softly.

“Felicity. Don’t do this.”

She nodded. She knew what he meant. It was always Felicity complaining, never Noah. They had agreed that she would handle the children, the house, the daily necessities while Noah focused on establishing Green Food and financially supporting the family.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just get…” She hated sounding pathetic. “But hey,” she said, brightening. “Want to have some passionate sex on the living room rug?”

Noah smiled. “Can it wait? I’ve got to finish analyzing these figures.”

Disappointment rippled through her. But she caught herself before she complained again. She smiled back. She rose and went to him, running her fingers lightly along his lips. “Of course it can wait. I’ll be upstairs in bed, reading. And waiting.”

    Noah brushed his head against her hand. “Thanks, Filly. I’ll be up soon.”

But it was midnight when Felicity turned off her bedside lamp and fell asleep, and Noah had not come to bed.



* * *



—

After Ethan and the girls left, Alison walked through the large, empty house, checking to be sure windows were shut in case of rain, looking for anything left behind, stripping the beds and starting a load of laundry even though this was Alani’s task, because the truth was, she enjoyed doing laundry, and she needed this period of transition from busy house to lonely house. No, not lonely. Quiet. There had been years in her life when she would have paid money for quiet.

Finally she poured herself a glass of iced tea and sat out on the deck, looking at the ocean. It was Sunday evening. She’d make herself a salad and finish off the last chunk of homemade bread and watch Masterpiece Theatre. For now, she relaxed and let her thoughts flow.

The weekend had gone well, better than she’d expected or hoped for. Her daughters had obviously enjoyed being with each other, which was a great pleasure—and a great relief. Ethan had been his usual charming self and both girls seemed to like him. But Alison had missed David.

Her phone buzzed. She wasn’t surprised to see David’s number on the caller ID. It often seemed as if they had ESP. She thought about him; he called.

“Hi, sweetheart,” she answered. “Where are you?”

“At home. Lying on the bed.”

“Mmm, I’ll be right there.”

“Sorry, but I’ve got the remote in my hand. The Red Sox game starts in ten minutes.”

Alison laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of interrupting that.”

“How did the weekend go?”

“Actually, I think it went really well. The girls had a walk on the beach together and didn’t pull each other’s hair out, and we agreed on their bridesmaid dresses, and they loved the Wauwinet. Well, who wouldn’t? Oh, and Ethan was here!”

    “Yeah, I knew he was at loose ends this weekend. Canny flew home to Esmeralda on Tuesday. Her private school gets out earlier than the public schools, and she was eager to be with her mother.”

“It’s good that he was here. He helped a friend put his boat in the water, and he spent some time with us. He actually taught Jane how to bake bread.”

“That doesn’t sound like Jane.”

“I know. But she enjoyed it. I think something about being on this island makes us all relax and do things we’d never think of doing in our normal lives. Felicity let me buy her some new clothes.”