A Nantucket Wedding(51)

“Are you calling my father a liar?”

“Of course not, Poppy.” Alison took a few yoga breaths. She thought she knew a way through this mess, for now. “I think your father has so much to deal with, professionally and personally. Taking control of the company—which I never said you shouldn’t do—and our forthcoming wedding and your pregnancy, will take a toll on your life for at least a year—”

“So cancel the wedding. Or postpone it.”

“No, Poppy. That’s not going to happen.” Alison was angry now, working hard to remain cordial. She presented her offering. “Well, the wedding is going to happen, but David and I could postpone our honeymoon. That way he could be here while you have your baby, and he could hand over the control to you more gradually.”

Poppy stared. “You would do that? You would postpone your honeymoon cruise?”

“Of course I would, Poppy. If that’s what David wants, of course. It does seem like a good idea, doesn’t it?”

    Poppy bit her lip. She stared at the floor. In that moment, Alison saw the young woman in Poppy, the daughter of a mother who had died four years ago and was not there to share this new pregnancy with Poppy, to counsel Poppy, to intercede in all matters with Poppy’s father on Poppy’s behalf. Poppy was a woman alone, surrounded by males, her father, her brother, her husband. It really was too bad that Ethan refused to take any part in the management of the company. He could share the burden with Poppy; he could lighten her load. Poppy was brilliant and assertive and capable, but she was also a mother and a pregnant woman and a wife and a daughter. And now she was about to see her beloved father joined to another woman, the archetypal wicked stepmother.

Alison wanted very much for Poppy to consider her a friend, not an enemy. And at this moment, she experienced an unexpected surge of love and sympathy for the young woman who had so much on her hands—and in her body. Yet she was certain that if she attempted to make a conciliatory move—to embrace her, make a joke—if she tried to do that, Poppy would snap like a trap and take off Alison’s hand.

So she waited quietly.

At last Poppy spoke. “That might work. I’ll think about it.”

“And, Poppy, one more thing.”

Poppy squinted suspiciously. “What?”

“I’d love to have your advice about the wedding present I want to give David. You’re the only one I can ask, really, because I need it to be kept a secret, something my daughters find impossible to do. Plus, you know your father best of all of us.” She was flat-out flattering Poppy, and the younger woman seemed receptive.

“I can keep a secret,” Poppy said. “Ethan, not so much.”

“That’s what I thought. So. I’ve spent time walking around town. I’ve noticed that many houses have quarterboards, like those on ships, with clever names, like PLEASANT DREAMS on Pleasant Street or LOVE OF FAIR on Fair Street. This house doesn’t have a quarterboard, so I thought I’d have one made to give to David as a wedding gift.”

    “Hm. What would it say?” Poppy still looked suspicious.

“I was thinking GLAD TO BE HERE. Because your father’s last name is Gladstone. And we’re all glad to be here, right?”

“That’s kind of corny.”

Alison bit her tongue. “Too corny? What do you think of the idea in general?”

“I like the idea, but…”

“Okay, well, what about this one? GLAD TIDINGS. Because the house faces the ocean and the tides—”

“I get it. Yes, that’s kind of clever. I like that one.”

“All right then! I’ll get right on it! Glad to have your input!”

“Don’t tell Heather,” Poppy said. “She’d be sure to tell Dad.”

“Okay, good idea. I won’t tell anyone else. It will be our secret.”

Poppy almost smiled before she left the room. Fine, Alison thought, now Poppy believed she was making the decisions not only about the company and about her father’s honeymoon plans but also about Alison’s wedding present to David. So she and Poppy weren’t friends yet, but they were collaborators in a major secret. That was a good start.

Jane flew in later that afternoon and made her way to the house in a rental car. Ethan arrived in the early evening. David spent a great deal of time with his grandchildren, and Alison saw how that made Poppy ease into a happy state that Alison hadn’t seen her in before. Everyone was in a good mood, so for a day or two, Alison relaxed.





seventeen


Ingrid lived in a house, a real house, not a rented apartment like many of the young people who worked for Green Food. It was large, airy, and uncluttered, a house that could have been photographed for a magazine, everything crisp and dove gray and cream, open plan, the living room segueing easily into the dining room and kitchen. Glass doors slid open to the patio and swimming pool.

It was nicer than the house Noah and Felicity owned. As Felicity sat on a lawn chair, smearing sunblock on her children and putting water wings on Luke, she listened to the talk around her as other employees came out to the pool. “Wow,” they said, or “Awesome,” but no one asked how it was that Ingrid had such a house. So they must all know, and Noah must know, and there was another important matter that Noah shared with Ingrid but not with Felicity.