A Nantucket Wedding(39)

“Poppy, believe me, I hope I die before David. I can’t imagine being happy without him. But also, David and I have never discussed his will.”

“I know. He said you’re all airy-fairy about money.”

“Your father said I’m ‘airy-fairy about money’?”

Poppy sighed loudly. “He might not have used those exact words, but he doesn’t think you care about money.”

“Well, I don’t! I mean, of course I do, but I’m perfectly fine financially and my needs are modest. Please don’t think I’m marrying your father for his money. I’ve never cared that much about wealth, and at my age, I’ve learned what’s important and it’s not money. I never imagined I’d meet such a wonderful man and fall so deeply in love. It’s almost miraculous that he feels the same way about me. Money simply doesn’t come into it.”

Poppy rolled her eyes. “So my father’s becoming as fiscally irresponsible as you. I think you should talk to him about all this.”

“I think you and Ethan and I should talk to David together.”

Poppy relaxed. “All right. We’ll do that.”

Alison played with her engagement ring and tried to gather her thoughts.

“Poppy, I really wanted to talk to you about your gown for the wedding.”

“Good. Dad told you why you need to wear a long gown?”

“No,” Alison responded calmly, “he told me why you want to wear a long gown. I’ve already chosen my gown and had it altered to fit. I’m sorry I didn’t speak with you about this before, but it was only a few weeks ago that I talked to my own daughters about their dresses. Everything’s happened so fast.”

    “It sure has,” Poppy agreed sourly.

Not to be derailed, Alison continued, “So I’ve gone through some bridal magazines, and checked on some websites, and you know these days, anything goes.”

Alison reached into her bag and took out several bright pages torn from magazines. She tried to hand them to Poppy. Poppy didn’t take them.

“So…you see, on this page, the attendants are wearing four different lengths of dresses. And here, an attendant is wearing gorgeous palazzo pants. You could wear those with an expandable waistband so you’d be comfortable. And a beautiful tunic over them.”

Poppy actually turned her head and looked at the page. She took it in her hand. “You’re right. Something like this might work.”

Alison was so relieved to hear those words she nearly fell off the bench.

“But there’s another problem,” Poppy said.

Dear Lord, what now? Alison thought.

“I don’t want to wear pink. It doesn’t look good on me, not with my strawberry-blond hair.”

Alison was prepared for this. “Then don’t wear pink, Poppy. I mean, your father and your brother are wearing tuxes. You’re really an attendant for your father, so you could wear black.”

Poppy met Alison’s eyes, squinting as if to read her motives for this suggestion. “Hm,” Poppy said finally. “Yes. I think I’d like to wear black to your wedding.”





thirteen


Later that day, Alison made vodka tonics with slices of lime and glaciers of ice, and carried them into David’s study. The humid heat was unusual for the middle of June, making people cranky. The north side of their Boston apartment was shaded by an enormous maple tree, and with the curtains drawn and the air conditioner on, it was the coolest room in the house. They sat in club chairs on either side of the fireplace now decorated with a large vase of silk flowers.

“Thanks. This is exactly what I need,” David said.

“I know,” Alison agreed. “I’m not a fan of hot weather, no pun intended.”

“How was your meeting with Poppy?”

“We had a good conversation. She’s going to wear a pantsuit, in black, in keeping with you and Ethan.”

“Black on a woman? That sounds odd.”

    “That’s only because we’re so old,” Alison teased. “Black is the chic new color in wedding attire these days.”

“As long as Poppy and you are happy, I’m good with it.” David took a long drink and relaxed into the cushions.

“Poppy did raise an issue with me,” Alison continued, shifting to get comfortable in her chair as she brought up an uncomfortable topic. “She’s concerned about how you’re going to change your will.”

David looked surprised. “She told you that?”

“Yes. In fact, when I said I hoped our families would be friends, she said that depended on how you change your will. She said that you think I’m fiscally irresponsible and that I’m causing you to be fiscally irresponsible, too.” To her surprise, Alison began to cry. “Oh, David, I hate saying all this, I feel like a grade-school tattletale. And you know I don’t care about money, I have money, not like your money, for sure, but I don’t want you to feel you have to leave me any money, because I don’t want to even think about you leaving me!”

David leaned over to take her hand. “Hey. It’s all right. I should have spoken with you before about this. I apologize. Poppy can be pigheaded, I know that, and that’s exactly why I told her I was going to change my will. I haven’t done it yet, but I told her I was going to, partly because it’s true and partly as a kind of kick in the butt. She’s got to learn to delegate, especially now that she’s going to have another baby. She takes too much on herself. She tends to think she’s the only one who can do anything right. I think that’s one reason Ethan has little to do with the company.”