Eliza Starts a Rumor(30)
As they stepped off the train at Grand Central Station, Alison felt her inner New Yorker come alive. She couldn’t keep her focus on one thing; her eyes darted from left to right, taking it all in. Her pace picked up considerably, and she noticed that Olivia was right in step. This is what I’ve been missing in the suburbs, she thought with a sigh. She wondered if Olivia felt the same.
“It feels good to be back, doesn’t it?” Alison asked.
Olivia nodded in agreement, followed by an uneasy smile.
She knew that, for Alison, the “country” was a means to an end, that end being a return to the city at some point in her future. But, Olivia thought, she herself had closed that chapter of her life. Just that morning, when she had looked out the window at the ever-changing landscape, she’d been filled with excitement at the thought of their first snowfall in the country. She pictured reading by a roaring fire, the current red-hued panorama dipped in white. She could tell that it didn’t mean as much to Alison. As if to prove it, when they stepped out of the station, Alison dramatically breathed in the distinct smells of hosed-down pavement and food cart falafel and sighed, as if they were the smells of heaven.
“Want to walk?” she asked eagerly. “It’s just twenty blocks.”
“Sure,” Olivia agreed. She did love a good walk up Madison Avenue.
As they window-shopped and chatted their way uptown, Alison marveled at how talkative Olivia became. She seemed to have forgotten where they were headed and why, and Alison had no intention of reminding her. The familiarity of every step sparked Olivia’s memories of growing up on the Upper East Side.
“We used to eat french fries and gravy in that coffee shop nearly every day after school,” she said, “and that’s where I got my prom dress!”
Alison had bought her own prom dress at a resale shop on Astoria Boulevard. Some Manhattan girl, like Olivia, had probably worn it to prom the year before, she thought. This little sabbatical in the suburbs aside, Alison was convinced that she would be bringing up Zach in the city. She was very interested in hearing about the schools and lifestyles of city kids. There had been plenty of Olivia’s type at Wesleyan. They had a quiet sophistication about them, especially the private school kids, who were so meticulously educated that college classes seemed to be a breeze for them. She had already begun worrying about school admissions for Zachary.
“I hear the private school admission process is a real nightmare,” she said. “I’m not looking forward to it.”
Olivia grew quiet.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Alison inquired.
“If this is all true, my whole life will be uprooted. I mean, I thought I was set for the next twenty years with my modern house, loyal husband, and two-point-three kids attending one of the top-ranking schools in the county. But that county is Spencer’s. I’m the city girl. I think Lily and I would be expected to move back to the city, right? Then I will have to go through all of that school stuff alone.”
“Well, not really. Spencer will always be her father.”
Olivia’s eyes filled with fear. Alison’s expertise in recognizing the subtle changes in people’s emotions was not needed here. Olivia rushed to the corner garbage pail, gripped it with both hands, and vomited.
As Alison rubbed her hand up and down Olivia’s back for comfort, she thanked her lucky stars that Marc Sugarman wanted no part in Zachary’s life. Whether guilty or innocent, Olivia would be dealing with Spencer York when making every major decision in Lily’s life for as long as they both shall live.
Alison would never describe herself as a warm person, but she felt surprisingly motherly toward Olivia. Sisterly would probably be more appropriate, she thought, considering the ten years between them. She pointed to a bench across the street.
“Do you want to take a minute?”
“No. Let’s just keep going. I’ll never be ready for this; I feel like I’m headed for my execution.”
“I know this is awful, but it’s the best course of action you can take. Plus, Andie Rand is wonderful, and my closest friend. We’re not walking into some seedy office to meet with a man in a trench coat.” Olivia shook her head up and down, and Alison took it as a sign to proceed.
Andie was wonderful, as Alison knew she would be. She really got Olivia to relax. She listened to her whole story and took down a complete timeline of the relationship. Alison noticed that she didn’t ask pointed questions about Spencer’s character or whether he had a history of dishonesty. It struck her as odd, as she definitely would have dug into those tough subjects to get a sense of what they were up against. But Andie’s next question explained her approach.
“So, before I give you any advice, I have something to ask you. You need to sit with it and answer with complete honesty.” She took a beat while Olivia agreed. “What will you do if we find out that Spencer is cheating?”
Olivia did not need to sit with that question. She had been sitting with that question since it first entered her mind.
“I will divorce him,” she said firmly. Andie was not letting her off that easy.
“You say that, but what if in the end he is completely remorseful or offers any number of mitigating circumstances.”
“I will divorce him. I am a twenty-eight-year-old feminist woman intent on raising a feminist daughter. We are just starting out on this journey together. There are no circumstances that would make me suck it up.”