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

Ari nodded. “Okay, I get that. But whenever I’ve been home during the last four years, I’ve always made my own meals and sometimes made dinner for the three of us. I don’t know why Mom thinks I would be such a burden. I’ve done my own laundry since junior high!”

“You’re going to have a lot more than laundry when you have a baby,” Eleanor said gently. “But more than that, there’s a kind of psychological freedom that comes when your children are grown up. When they can take care of themselves.”

“But I can take care of myself,” Ari insisted. She’d never sounded more childish.

Eleanor looked at her watch. “I believe it’s an appropriate time for me to have a nice, healthy Bloody Mary.” She rose and said, over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen, “I’ll be right back.”

While she fixed her drink, she also made a cup of hot chocolate on her Keurig. The day was warm, but Ari couldn’t have alcohol, and hot chocolate was always helpful.

When Eleanor was seated across from Ari again, she said, “Let’s start with the basics. How much of your salary from Beach Camp did you save?”

“Thanks for the hot chocolate.” Ari had recovered her poise. “I’ve saved almost all of it. I never intended to be a parasite. I’d planned to get an apartment in Boston while working on my master’s. I’ve talked with several friends about sharing a place. Of course, that’s not going to happen now. Also, I’m sure you know that my grandfather on my dad’s side left me a small trust fund. I can live on that for at least a year while I work toward my master’s. Then I can get a job, maybe at a childcare center so I can take my baby with me. And you offered to let me stay here with you.”

“Yes, and I would love that,” Eleanor said.

“I did a lot of thinking after I left Mom and Dad at the house. I’ve always known I could support myself. It’s just that so many things have been happening so quickly.”

“Oh, my sweet girl, I don’t mean to criticize you,” Eleanor said. “This has been a whirlwind of a summer for us all.” She had much more to say, but she felt they had both exhausted themselves and needed to let their brains and their hearts rest. She put down her drink. “Get dressed. Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”

Ari stood up, stretching. “That’s a good idea. Although it can’t change anything.”

“It can change the way you feel about things,” Eleanor reminded her. “A walk by the sea is always good for the soul.”

Twenty-Six

It had always been Eleanor’s custom to have her family at the Nantucket house for the Labor Day weekend. Here it was, and here they were.

Eleanor and Ari had slipped out to Bartlett’s Farm early in the morning, before the rest of the family arrived. They’d bought pounds of potato salad, broccoli salad, fried chicken, vegetable curry, and edamame pasta with mushrooms and walnuts. They’d brought them home, lugged them in, and put them in Eleanor’s own serving bowls. It was raining off and on, which was fine with Eleanor, because Phillip usually grilled a salmon or steaks, and even though Alicia and Phillip had reunited, Eleanor didn’t want him swanning around her kitchen and deck as if he belonged again. He might belong to Alicia, but Eleanor was not so forgiving.

Actually, her family might not be so forgiving after she made her announcement.

Cliff knew, of course, but he only knew part of it, the part he liked.

They were gathered in the living room. Alicia and Phillip sat holding hands, like young lovers. Ari joined them on the sofa. Cliff sat in the chair Mortimer had always preferred, looking dashing in his white ducks and navy blue Brooks Brothers shirt. Alicia had had her dark hair cut and styled in a careless bob. It suited her. Phillip wore Nantucket red pants and a blue rugby shirt. He had not yet been able to meet Eleanor’s eye since he entered the house this morning. Ari was wearing a lavender sundress that set off her tan. Her dark hair was curled up in a rather Parisian chignon.

She knew that Eleanor was going to make an important announcement, but she didn’t know what it was.

Eleanor wore a new dress that seemed to startle her family and startled her from time to time. She’d ordered it from a catalog and was amazed at how her entire reflection changed in the mirror when she put it on. It was a bright blue batik “cold shoulder” dress, meaning that it had sleeves that left her shoulders exposed, and a slice of her upper arms, where what she called her flags waved the most. It was the most daring thing she’d worn in years, perhaps ever. She wore her long hair down, pulled back with a silver butterfly barrette, and lipstick and earrings. Her family thought she’d gone mad, but Silas liked her in the dress. A lot. It might be a sign to the others that she was changed.

She entered the living room and sat in her chair. Cliff smiled smugly and poured her a flute of prosecco.

“So,” Eleanor said, “here we are. Alicia and Phillip, I’m so glad to see you together again. Ari, you know how I feel about you. Cliff, you look ridiculously smug, so you might as well tell the others.”

Cliff couldn’t wait. “Mother’s sold the house! Gold Sand bought it for fifteen million dollars!”

Everyone gasped. For a moment, they all froze with shock.

Then Alicia absolutely flew out of her chair to kiss her mother. “Oh, Mother, thank you!”

“Wait, wait,” Eleanor said. “I have more to say.”

“Almost four million dollars, Phil! Four million for each of us! Mother, you can buy a home near us!”

“You won’t want me near you after