Page 86 of Ten Beach Road

Twenty-eight

It was the Fourth of July and so far no one had cleaned, sanded, or stained a single square inch of Bella Flora. They’d slept in, dunked day-old doughnuts in freshly brewed coffee for breakfast, and then spent most of the day lounging around the house like ladies of leisure.

Outside the heat was furnace-like; the humidity clinging to the air made it thick enough to choke on. Bella Flora’s castle-like walls and newly juiced air conditioners kept the engine buzz of boat traffic muted and almost made Maddie feel sorry for the paparazzi still stationed outside.

In the early afternoon Deirdre left for a cookout hosted by the president of the designers guild, whom she was courting. The rest of them made sandwiches. Now Kyra was planted on the couch with her already dog-eared copy ofWhat to Expect When You’re Expecting. Her video camera sat on the floor within reach.

Maddie picked up her phone and tried to reach Steve and Andrew again, but for the second time that day she got no answer. She could hear the click of fingers flying over a keyboard in the kitchen, where Nikki sat at the table searching the Internet for . . . something. For the last thirty minutes, Avery had been wandering Bella Flora with a legal pad in one hand and a pen in the other.

Kyra laid the book open on her rounding stomach. “Who do you keep calling?”

“Dad and Andrew.”

“And?”

“No answer.”

“Is there ever?” Kyra asked.

Maddie sighed. She’d been getting a text or two a week from Steve since she’d issued her ultimatum, but they were completely impersonal and maddeningly inconclusive:The weather’s good. The magnolia tree’s blooming, orAndrew met the contractor at Mother’s yesterday. She wasn’t sure why he bothered and at the same time reread each one over and over, looking for some sign of hope or hidden meaning.

“Do you think the fact that they’re not answering could be a good thing? You know, maybe they’re out at your grandmother’s, working on the house,” Maddie couldn’t help adding.

Kyra gave her the “you’re dumber than dirt” look.

“Or at the neighborhood pool.”

Another look.

“You know . . . swimming.”

This earned Maddie an eye roll.

Nicole wandered into the room on the tail end of their conversation. “Swimming would be good. Maybe we should go down to the Don and take a dip in the pool, have a drink, and pretend we really are on vacation.”

“That’s a great idea,” Maddie said. “We could invite the photo crew to come with us so that they can get some good action shots when we’re thrown out of the pool for not being guests.”

“Well then, maybe we should be guests,” Nicole replied. “We could chip in on a room and take turns napping on a mattress that’s not lying on the floor. Then we could spend the whole day by the pool.”

“It’s a holiday weekend. I seriously doubt they have any rooms available,” Maddie said. “And if I got ahold of a real bed I don’t think I could make myself share it.”

Avery came into the salon and plopped down on the chair. “It feels really weird not to be working. Do you think I should go out and find something to do in the pool house?”

“No!” Maddie said.

“We’re trying to figure out a way to feel more on vacation, not less.” This came from Nicole.

“Well, we do have the whole Gulf of Mexico at our doorstep,” Maddie said. “We should have taken Chase and Jeff up on their invitation to go out in the boat to watch the fireworks. Deirdre’s going to meet up with them, isn’t she?”

“You all are free to go,” Avery said.

“Isn’t it about time you and Chase waved white flags at each other?” Nikki asked.

Avery shrugged. “It’s enough we have to work together. I don’t need to be around him twenty-four/seven. And I don’t want to be in that small a space with Deirdre without the ability to leave. Sharing a bathroom has been tight enough.”

Maddie got up and moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Out in the pass, family-laden boats wallowed low in the water while Jet Skis whizzed by. Photographers loitered on the path to the beach, but the jetty was packed with fishermen and out on the Gulf the bold colors of a parasail danced through the sky. “Are we really in here relaxing?” she asked. “Or are we hiding?”

“Good question.” Nicole looked down at her watch then stood. “This is Independence Day. And we do have the whole day off.”

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