Page 48 of A Nantucket Wedding

“All right, I am, too. I admit it. But you can’t do the kind of work we do without being fussy and exacting.”

“Okay, let’s think about this. Would you stop working if you had a baby?”

“Of course, for a while. Then maybe I’d work part-time. It means we won’t have as much money, but truthfully? We’re not paupers.”

“Not to get into details, and please don’t tell me how much money you make or I’m afraid I’d either kill you or drown myself right now, but could you live on only Scott’s salary?”

“Not in New York. Not the way we want to live. Believe me, I’ve thought about this. Plus, I’m not sure I want to work only part-time. Iamsure I don’t want to stop working. I love what I do and I’m good at it. But when I see you holding little Luke after his bath, he smells so sweet, he’s just lovely, and Alice, well, she’s a pistol! Clever and beautiful. And I think,I want one of those.”

As they turned back toward the house, Felicity wrapped one arm around Jane and hugged her. She was almost ready to burst into tears at the thought of her brilliant, super-smart, hard-shelled sister expressing such sweet emotions about Felicity’s children. Swallowing hard, she said, “But you know, Jane, it isn’t always like that. It’s never getting a good night’s sleep and worrying constantly and dealing with more vomit than you saw even at college frat parties.”

Jane burst out laughing. “Thanks for that image, Felicity! And please don’t say all this to Scott, not that he’ll ever talk to you or anyone about it. Okay, that’s what’s going on with me. It’s not going to be solved soon, if ever, but it helps to talk about it. Now, what’s your problem?”

“It’s Ingrid,” Felicity confided gloomily. “Noah’s secretary, assistant, whatever she’s called. Noah didn’t come here this weekend because the office was giving Ingrid a birthday party. I know she’s important for keeping his work on schedule, but she’s sopossessiveof Noah. Half the time, when I phone Noah, Ingrid answers and tells me he’s too busy to talk, she’ll take a message. I want to say,I’llgive you a message, bitch.”

“How old is she?”

“I’m not sure. Somewhere in her twenties, I guess.”

“So, young. Is she pretty?”

Felicity shrugged. “I’m way prettier. But yeah, I guess she’s okay-looking.” She abruptly halted in the sand. “Do you think Noah’s having an affair with her?”

“How could I know? You should talk to him about it. But also, you should google ‘office wife.’ That’s become a real phenomenon. Actually, it probably has always been a problem. I’ve heard about it for years. The office wife knows all the daily details and trials and successes the man goes through with work. She shares all the in-jokes the wife doesn’t even know about. She makes life easier for the man at work. Think about it. When he comes in for the day, she hands him his coffee, notices his new haircut, and says she’ll deal with the call to the unhappy lawyer. Or whatever. She protects him. She makes a sweet, comfy nest for her boss. That’s her job.”

They began walking again. Felicity said, “I see. And when Noah comes home to me, he’s got two noisy children, a leaking bathroom pipe, and a pile of household bills. But how can I change that? Noah wanted children as much as I did. He even wants more.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you should get a sitter and go on a date at least once a week.”

“Yeah, we used to do that…good idea, Jane.”

“And maybe you should hire cleaning help, once a week, so you’re not so overwhelmed with housework. Maybe you could get out and treat yourself to a massage once a week, or a mani-pedi.”

Felicity laughed. “I like the idea about cleaning help, but trust me, I’m not going to be in the market for a mani-pedi for a few more years. I’m lucky to find time to wash my hair.” Spontaneously, she took her sister’s hand. “I feel so much better after talking to you, Jane. I feel less gloomy about it all.”

“Me, too. And all this helps, too.” She gestured toward the ocean, the waves catching flashes of light from the setting sun.

fifteen

Sunday morning Patrick and Scott drove to the Downyflake and Cumberland Farms, returning with bags of doughnuts and cinnamon rolls and newspapers and magazines. Felicity and Poppy settled their children at the table with orange juice and pastries, then allowed them to play outside in the sprinkler while the adults sat on the deck, sipping coffee and reading. Poppy and Felicity were showing one another the newest styles in fashion and snorting with laughter, while Alison sipped her coffee and smiled at the sight of her daughter and David’s becoming friends.

And then, bloodcurdling shrieks came from the yard.

“MOMMY!” Luke screamed.

All the adults rushed down the steps to find the four children in a tug-of-war over a large, deflated ride-on rubber whale.

“It’smine!” Luke screamed.

“No, it’smine!” Hunter yelled.

“Ourdaddy got it foruslast year when we came here,” Daphne bellowed.

“But you never even noticed it,” Alice shrieked. “It was stuck under the steps and if Luke hadn’t crawled under to get it, you wouldn’t even know it was there.”

“Isaw it!” Luke cried. “Idid!Icrawled under the steps!Igot it out!”

“Children, children!” Alison tried to get between the two boys. “Calm down. We can sort this out, we can make this fair for everyone.”

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