Page 64 of Summer After Summer

He nods once, then turns away, and then Ash’s hand is in mine, and we make our soundless escape.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

July 2023

Inside, after I flee from Fred, I find Lucy talking to Charlotte and Sophie in the drawing room.

“Did I miss a meeting?” I say in the entranceway. Sophie and Charlotte are sitting on the old pink brocade couch, and Lucy is perched on a flower-covered wing chair. They’re leaning in conspiratorially, like they’re discussing a surprise party. They snap back at the sound of my voice.

“No, no,” Lucy says graciously. She stands and invites me in. She’s wearing black linen pants that stop at her ankles, and a loose-fitting white blazer. She’s always had an effortless style. “I was just telling your sisters about that thing we discussed—the estate sale.”

Sophie gives me a guilty look. “It would make everything so much easier.”

“For who?”

“For all of us.”

I know she’s right, but I feel angry anyway. Charlotte and Sophie put me in charge of something I didn’t want to do, and now they seemed to be revoking that license.

“And we could do a charity too,” Charlotte says. “Sounds like the perfect solution.”

“I agree,” Ann says.

I didn’t see her, tucked in the corner behind the door. She gives me a wide smile, like we’re old friends, even though we’ve only just met.

“It sounds like it’s all decided. I’ll leave you to sort out the details.”

“Don’t be that way, Olivia,” Sophie says. She stands and walks toward me, yoking her arm around my waist. “We still need you to run everything, obviously. We’d be lost without you.”

Even though she’s obviously buttering me up, I feel myself softening. “Can you put together a proposal?” I say to Lucy. “The cost, the timing, etcetera?”

“Of course.” She stands and Ann does the same. “Why don’t we leave you three to discuss it and I’ll get you that proposal tomorrow?”

“Thanks.”

Charlotte rises. “I’ll just walk Ann out. And Lucy too, of course.”

The three of them leave, and I sit next to Sophie on the couch.

“Is she going to tell us, or …?” Sophie says.

“Why would today be any different?”

“I don’t get it. It’s not like we’d care. Scratch that—I’d be happy for her.”

“Me too,” I say.

“Me too what?” Charlotte says, returning to the room. She reaches up and smooths her hair back, letting its dark curtain fall into place. She’s dressed for tennis, though I can’t remember the last time she played.

“Getting this done,” I say. “I need a shower and a long bath.”

“Shouldn’t you pick one?”

“Nope.”

Sophie laughs. “We should do this, yes? An estate sale and give the money to charity?”

“Ann can arrange everything for us,” Charlotte says, taking a seat. “Pro bono.”

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