Family Reunion, Nancy Thayer [the kiss of deception read online .txt] 📗

After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, Ari said, “Gram, I apologize, but there is another reason we’re all here. I think Uncle Cliff should be the one to tell you because he’s the one who knows the most about it.”

Alicia sent Ari a quick smile of gratitude.

Cliff shifted uncomfortably in his chair, gathering himself like a peacock getting ready to display his tail feathers. “Mom, of course we’re all here to celebrate your birthday. It just so happens that something has presented itself at the same time. Almost the same time.”

“Go on.” Eleanor tilted her head slightly, encouragingly.

Cliff cleared his throat. “I ran into an old college friend, Muriel Wheeler, who is vice president of the Gold Sand Resort Company. They’re looking to expand their base. They’d like to buy this house and the surrounding land, and Muriel told me they’re willing to pay fifteen million dollars.”

Ari watched her grandmother. Eleanor’s expression didn’t change, but the light went out of her eyes.

“My,” Eleanor said. “That is a lot of money.”

Emboldened by her mother’s calm, Alicia leaned forward. “It is, isn’t it? Mother, if we split it three ways, that would be five million dollars for each of us. Oh, of course we would use our share to fund Ari’s graduate school tuition.” When her mother didn’t respond, she added, “Or, we could split it four ways, and Ari could have an equal share. We would still come out with almost four million dollars each.”

“Yes,” Eleanor softly agreed. “But you wouldn’t have this house. This water view.”

“It’s a gorgeous view, Mother,” Alicia said. “But frankly, the house…needs work. It must be difficult to keep it up, especially at your age. Phillip and I have been talking, and we worry about you, Mother. Out here on the bluff alone in the winter. And going up and down the stairs—you could fall. Or if you, heaven forbid, had a heart attack, it would take so long for the ambulance to get here, and the Nantucket Cottage Hospital doesn’t have facilities for serious heart events. You would have to be medevaced by helicopter to Mass General in Boston. That would be terrifying!”

Eleanor smiled. “You are kind to think of my health.”

Ari spotted the flash of anger in her grandmother’s eyes. Oh, Mom, shut up, she thought.

“Yes, we do think of your health. We do worry about you. That’s why”—Alicia rustled around in her purse and brought out several glossy brochures—“Cliff and I, and also Phillip, have visited several retirement communities on the mainland near us. There are some darling cottages! The community would take care of the outside, the roof and painting, but you could have the inside exactly as you want. You would have your own kitchen but you could go to the communal dining room to meet friends for meals, or you could have your meals brought to you. I would like that myself!” Alicia laughed. “Here, Mother, take a look.” Alicia tried to hand the brochures to Eleanor.

Eleanor did not reach out to take them. “Actually, I am very happy here. I’m not afraid of falling, and I think I possess the most beautiful view in the world.”

Ari knew what was coming. The more her grandmother remained cool, the more heated her mother became.

With a shaking hand, Alicia laid the brochures on the table. “If you won’t think of yourself, think of us.”

“Go on,” Eleanor said quietly.

“First of all,” Alicia said, “we do love you and we are aware that you are entering a more…difficult stage of life. You and I have talked on the phone about the people we know who’ve recently gone in for hip replacements or even open-heart surgery. It’s a fact of life that people sixty-five and older are prone to accidents, falling down the stairs, loss of stability, not to mention becoming forgetful and setting the house on fire.”

Eleanor raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been reading some extremely depressing literature.”

Alicia soldiered on. “Also, you know that I’m getting older. I want to enjoy life while I can.”

“Which means buying a ten-thousand-dollar purse.”

Alicia held her head high. “Well, yes. And taking cruises…Phillip and I have been longing to go on some cruises. I’ve never really seen the world…and Phillip has been working so hard. I want so much to help him escape his work and relax.”

“What is it with these cruises?” Eleanor asked.

Alicia jumped right on that. “Mother, you should go with us! In a separate stateroom, of course. Ari could come, too. Why, just think, all of us together, maybe on the Queen Mary 2. I’ve heard women need to wear gowns for the balls and the men wear tuxes! We could go to the Mediterranean. To Norway! To Hawaii! Where have you always wanted to go?”

“Darling, I’ve always wanted to stay right here,” Eleanor said.

“How would you do that?” Uncle Cliff asked sternly. He moved to sit on the edge of the wicker settee so that he could be next to his mother and also on a higher level. “This house is falling apart. Mom, be reasonable. The plumbing has to be replaced. The wooden steps to the beach are in bad shape. If a step broke and someone fell, you could have a lawsuit on your hands. Your furnace is a hundred years old.”

“Not quite a hundred,” Eleanor murmured.

Cliff said smoothly, “You’re out here alone all winter. No one else lives on the bluff or nearby. Frankly, Mom, never mind that this house is a wreck, I’d think you’d be bored silly out here by yourself. If that’s not the way to become an eccentric old bat shuffling around in five sweaters over a bathrobe, I don’t know what is.”

Ari was weak with relief when her grandmother burst out laughing.

“What an elegant image you have of me!”

Alicia said in her most soothing voice, “Of course that’s not how we envision you. You are much too classy for that. But really, how can