Fools Rush in(46)

We sat awkwardly for a minute. Digger whined from the bedroom. I’d rather be with you, puppy.

“How’s New Jersey?” I asked.

“Wonderful,” she answered immediately. “Avery is fantastic, and there’s so much to do in the city. And his place down there…well, there’s nothing like it on the Cape.”

It was my turn to murmur “Mmm hmm.” Avery. What a dopey name.

“Does your, uh, does Avery get along with Danny?”

“Of course!” She looked annoyed that I’d even ask. “He loves him like a son.”

Well, then maybe he could kick in a little tuition money, I thought. Avery was richer than God, wasn’t he? “How nice,” I managed to say. Fortunately, the kettle was boiling so I could get up and make a face behind Trish’s back. Pouring the water into our cups, I set our tea on the table.

“So, Trish, tell me. What exactly do you do all day?” I asked. “I mean, Avery must put in long hours on Wall Street…what do you do when he’s gone?”

Trish daintily bobbed her tea bag up and down in her cup. Satisfied that her brew was the right strength, she dangled the dripping tea bag over the cup and raised her eyebrows questioningly at me. Rats. I’d forgotten spoons. Irritated, I snatched the hot tea bag in my bare hand and tossed it into the sink, not getting up from my seat.

“Well,” said Trish coolly, “we do so much entertaining. There’s always a million things to do, make reservations, research the latest restaurants, make sure we have tickets to whatever’s on Broadway in case Avery needs to impress some clients. Plus I work out every day at our club. And I have to supervise things like the housekeeping.”

“Wow. You must be so busy.”

“I am, Millie,” she retorted. “You have no idea what that sort of lifestyle demands. And I like it. I like not being a cop’s wife and vacuuming sand out of my car every week. I like going to the city and visiting museums and seeing plays. There’s more to the world than Cape Cod, you know.”

“Oh, I do know. It’s just that there’s nothing better in the world than Cape Cod. And no one better than Sam! How can you not miss him? Don’t you ever wish for your old life, Trish?”

“Not really. I mean, of course I miss Danny, and Mom and Dad. But wait till you’ve lived here another decade, Millie,” she said, a trace of bitterness in her voice. “We’ll see what you think then.”

“Well, if the Cape is so hick, then why does Avery have a house in Wellfleet?”

Avery owned one of those monstrosities overlooking Wellfleet Harbor, a massive, glaringly modern house of glass and chrome. In fact, that was how my sister had met Mr. New Jersey; Trish had been organizing a tour of homes last spring, and apparently she’d found Avery’s bedroom particularly interesting.

“Oh, that,” she said dismissively, sipping her tea. “We sold that.”

Digger began to whine pathetically.

“I can’t believe you got a dog,” Trish stated, her expression sour.

“Trish, why are you here?” I asked rather rudely.

“What?”

“Why did you drop by here? Just for a sisterly chat?”

“Oh,” she replied. “No, not really. I’m here to pick up Danny for a visit, and he and Sam are out somewhere, apparently. Mom wasn’t home, so I drove over here to kill some time.”

Digger’s whines took on a deeper note, becoming more of moan. I felt like joining in.

“Trish…” I began. The ring of the phone interrupted me. Grateful for the distraction, I got up to answer it. Digger began to claw maniacally at the door at the sound of my footsteps. “Down, killer,” I said before picking up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, Millie.”

Joe! Hooray! It was Joe!

“Hi, Joe,” I said, stepping into the living room so Trish wouldn’t see the goofy smile that spread across my face.

“How you doing?” Joe asked.

“Great,” I lied. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I had a few minutes, thought I’d give you a call.”

Aw! Loved him! “How are you?” I asked, blushing with the newfound pleasure of just chatting.

“Well, I’m good now,” he said.

“Aw,” I couldn’t help saying. In the kitchen, Trish rattled her cup on the saucer, lest thirty seconds pass without her being the center of attention. “Listen, Joe, I’m sorry, but this isn’t the greatest time…. My sister is here, so I shouldn’t really be talking on the phone. I’ll call you, um, tomorrow, all right?”

“Okay,” Joe said agreeably. “You have a good day. Catch you later.”

“Bye.” I grinned and hung up gently. I stood for a minute, savoring the sound of his voice and the warmth it brought.

“Who was that?” Trish asked as I came back into the kitchen.

I took a breath. “Oh, that was just, um, a friend.” I stood up a little straighter. “Joe Carpenter.”

Trish’s mouth dropped open. Even my gorgeous, snobby sister was not immune to Joe’s glorious beauty.

“Why would Joe Carpenter be calling you?”

I couldn’t help myself. I stamped my Nike-clad foot. “Trish, for God’s sake! You’ve been here for half an hour and you haven’t even noticed that I’ve dropped twenty pounds since Christmas. My hair is eight inches shorter and three shades lighter. I’m not your ugly-duckling little sister anymore! Maybe Joe’s calling me because he’s my boyfriend!”