Sex and Vanity(90)

“You want to use your trust fund to buy a house in a city that’s full of wildfires and earthquakes? Really smart, Lucie. But I suppose your moving there and having your house burn to the ground is the price we’ll have to pay for getting rid of Cecil.” Marian sighed.

“Mom, tell me, why in all the years that I was dating Cecil did you never express to me how much you hated him?”

“I never hated him, Lucie. He irritated me to no end, but I could see that he was a wounded bird, so I felt sorry for him. That father of his clearly did a number on him while he was around. Besides, what would have been the point of my saying anything? You seemed to like him, and he worshipped the ground you walked on. I didn’t want to come between the both of you.”

“But you’re a Chinese mother. Isn’t it your job to come between us?”

“Ha! I’ve gone out of my way not to be a Chinese mother, you know that!”

“Why is that, Mom?”

“What? Would you prefer me to be some sort of Tiger Mom and drag you down to Chinatown every Saturday for Mandarin classes and force you to take classical Chinese dance? Not allow you to have sleepovers or have a phone or date any white boys until you were thirty? Because that’s how I grew to resent my mother.”

“Wow. Sounds like Freddie and I dodged a bullet.”

“You sure did. You guys hit the jackpot when you got me as your bad mama.”

Driving down Main Street in East Hampton, Marian suddenly made a right turn on Dunemere Lane.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, Charlotte texted as we were leaving the city. She was at the Maidstone meeting up with a friend, and she wanted to catch a ride back with us.”

“There’s no room, Mom.”

“Well, you could squeeze into the bucket seat in the back for a few minutes, can’t you?”

“Why can’t Charlotte just take a cab like everyone else? She’s so cheap! And of course she’s richer than all of us put together.”

“Stop complaining. We’re almost there and I did promise her.”

“Can you put the top down if I’m going to have to squeeze in the back?” Lucie asked.

“If you can figure out how to get the top down, you can have the top down,” Marian replied.

“How many PhDs do you have? See, it’s this button right here,” Lucie said, reaching for a switch on the center console. The convertible roof of the car began to retract in the most elegant manner. As the view opened up around them, they drove passed Cissinghurst, and through the hedges Lucie glimpsed several moving trucks parked in the driveway and men carrying Goyard suitcases out the front door. Lucie said nothing, but a sudden panic washed over her.

The car pulled up to the quietly dignified entrance of the Maidstone Club. “Go get Charlotte, please,” Marian said. Lucie hopped out of the car and ran into the clubhouse. A minute later, she reappeared.

“No sign of Charlotte, Mom. There’s hardly anybody inside the club right now. They’re in the midst of switching over to dinner.”

“Well, this is annoying. Where could she be?” Marian asked as she began texting Charlotte.

“Maybe her friend gave her a ride home?”

“She would have texted me if she had. You know, she probably walked over to Cissinghurst to say hi to Rosemary and poke around. You know what a busybody she is,” Marian surmised. “Let’s head over there.”

“No, no, I think we should stay right here. Maybe Charlotte is in the ladies’ room or something,” Lucie said nervously. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was run into Rosemary right now.

“Well, why don’t you go check the toilet and I’ll run over to Cissinghurst to see if she’s there?”

Trapped by her own suggestion, Lucie could say nothing. She got out of the car again as Marian drove down the block to Cissinghurst. A few minutes later, Marian returned with a frown on her face. “No Charlotte, but it’s the oddest thing, Lucie. There were movers at the house, packing up all of Rosemary’s belongings. They couldn’t tell me much, except that she was moving out.”

“Rosemary’s moving?” Lucie pretended to be surprised.

“Yes, but I thought she had taken a one-year lease on the house. It’s so strange. No sign of Charlotte?”

“Nope.”

“Then let’s go. I’m done waiting.”

As they drove past Cissinghurst for the second time, Marian said, “I hope nothing bad has happened. Why would Rosemary suddenly give up the house? She said nothing to me Saturday night at the gala. I hope she’s not having to leave New York for good. I would be so sad. She’s become a good friend, and for the first time in ages I feel like I’m reconnecting to my Chinese roots.”

Lucie pondered her mother’s words, feeling a piercing sense of guilt. Her mother’s phone let out two chirps.

“I’m sure that’s Charlotte. Will you check it?” Marian asked.

Lucie picked up her mother’s phone and read it in annoyance. “You’re not going to believe this. For some reason Charlotte found her way to Auden’s Preppie Guru Lounge in Amagansett, and she’s requested that we pick her up there.”

“Oh, for Chrissakes! Classic Charlotte Barclay!” Marian sighed.