A Nantucket Wedding(76)
“But,” Poppy said.
Alison wanted to roll her eyes, but kept staring down at her plate.
“I still don’t think it’s right for Heather to be doing the wedding arrangements.”
“That’s not up for negotiation,” David said calmly. “It’s underway. It’s done.”
“Fine.” Poppy sulked for one last time, and then heartily dug into her omelet.
Throughout lunch, Alison’s phone had been vibrating almost constantly.
“I’m got to check my phone,” she told David and Poppy, and took up her purse and went down the hall and into the ladies’ room.
Jane had called and left messages several times. Alison clicked on the most recent message.
Jane sounded rattled; she was talking fast. “Mom? Mom, I’ve been trying to reach you. I’m about to board a British Airways flight to Manchester and then I’ll take a train to Wales. A mountain rescue group has called to tell me Scott’s missing. They think he might have fallen. Listen, I talked to Felicity, she knows everything I know. I’ll phone you both when I have anything new to report. Love you.”
Alison’s heart jumped in her chest. No, she thought. Not Scott. He was reserved and quiet, but Alison thought Jane and Scott had a satisfying marriage. Adrenaline kicked into her bloodstream. Fight or flight. But what could she do? Nothing. She couldn’t dismiss this problem and pretend everything would be fine, and she could do nothing to solve the problem, she couldn’t fly over to Wales and search an entire mountain.
She did the only thing she could do. She closed her eyes and bowed her head and prayed.
When she returned to the dining room, David rose and helped settle her chair.
“Jane phoned. Scott’s missing. She had a call from a mountain rescue team. She’s flying to Manchester now.”
David put his hand on Alison’s. “How can we help?”
“I don’t know,” Alison told him. “I can’t think.”
“Whenever something frightening happens to me,” Poppy said, “like when my friend had a lump in her breast, or when Hunter fell out of a tree and broke his arm, I scrub the bathrooms. Seriously. It’s like a bargain with fate. I do something I really hate doing like cleaning the toilet, and I feel like I’m tilting the balance of destiny back toward what’s good.”
Alison managed a smile. “What an unusual way to cope, and oddly, I can understand your logic.”
“Let me tell you, it’s worked every time. Plus, my toilets are spotless.”
“Maybe I’ll try it,” Alison said weakly.
“You should. I hope it works for you.”
Such a strange superstition, Alison thought, and she was grateful that Poppy had offered this advice to her. Poppy had opened up a bit, had showed that she wanted, in her own way, to help. Someday, Alison hoped, she and Poppy would laugh about it.
Until then…“Well,” Alison said, “I think I’ll go home and scrub some toilets.”
* * *
—
Felicity had considered feeding the children early and bundling them off to the den to watch a movie so she could have some time alone with Noah. But often the children were unintentional buffers for the adults. Noah didn’t swear as much with the children around. Felicity didn’t cry.
So she served the vegetable lasagna and the green salad and whole-wheat rolls to her entire family, and she was glad, because Noah was in a dark mood and the children, in their silly ways, made him smile.
She’d prepared cups of fresh fruit for dessert.
“Alice. Luke. You may take your fruit into the den, and you may watch The Lego Movie, but you must use your fork for the fruit, and you must absolutely use napkins. No wiping fruit juice on your shirt, okay?”
The children would have promised anything for a movie, Felicity was well aware of that. This meant she’d have time to talk seriously with Noah; she supposed she should be thankful to Ingrid for bringing the first DVD into the house.
“Let’s go into the living room,” Felicity suggested. “I have some good news and some bad news.”
Reluctantly, Noah rose from the table. “I’m not in the mood for this.”
“The bad news is that Jane had a call from a mountain rescue group in Wales. Scott’s gone missing. They’re searching the mountain for him, and Jane has flown to the UK.”
“Huh.” Noah shook his head. “That’s too bad. I kind of liked the guy.”
“No past tense yet, Noah! Mom and I are keeping in touch with Jane, as much as we can while she’s traveling and not always in an area with a cell tower.”
“I hope they find him,” Noah said. “I always thought he took too many risks. Maybe he’ll learn he’s not a superman.”
Felicity took a deep breath. “Okay, now for the good news.” She took her husband’s hand and pulled him into the living room. They sat at opposite ends of the sofa. Felicity cocked her head and smiled at Noah. Noah stared at the wall.
“Noah, drumroll please—I’ve got a job!”
Her words surprised him so much he actually turned and looked at her. “What?”
“I’ve got a job, Noah! At the Small Steps Preschool. I’ll work forty hours a week, so I’ll be home with the children after their school. I’ll make fifteen dollars an hour, so that’s six hundred dollars a week, which means twenty-four hundred dollars a month!”