Page 54 of Winter Solstice
“She hurt Kevin very badly,” Isabelle says. “I’m sure he will agree it’s better if she has nothing more to do with anyone in this family.”
“I’m sure he will agree with that,” Patrick echoes. He looks at Jennifer. “Sometimes I just don’t understand what you’re thinking.”
Jennifer stares at Patrick, dumbfounded. She would like to point out the following:
1. This show has nothing to do with Norah Vale. Danko is the producer.
2. Sometimes Jennifer doesn’t understand whatPatrickis thinking. Such as when he decided it would be a good idea to take the privileged information that Bucky Larimer gave him at his Colgate reunion and use it to illegally make twenty-five million dollars. He broke the law, he lost his job, and he went to jail. As a direct result of this, Jennifer got hooked on pills, and now they find themselves in a precarious financial situation. Needless to say, they wouldn’t be having this conversation if not for the poor choices that Patrick himself made.
Possibly, he gets to point two on his own, because his expression and his voice soften.
To Isabelle he says, “Jennifer is going to be working with Norah’s brother on a TV show. It’s a very big, very exciting opportunity for her, and I support her. I’m sorry this has any tie to Norah Vale. But Norah isn’t directly involved.”
“And even if she were, she has changed,” Jennifer says. “She’s nice. Ilikeher. I like her far more now than I ever did when I was related to her. And she is no threat to you or Kevin.”
Isabelle shakes her head. “Please leave the kitchen,” she says. “I will finish this myself.”
“So you’re still mad?” Jennifer says. “You’re going to stay mad unless I renounce any association with Norah? I think you need to grow up, Isabelle.”
“Getout,” Isabelle says.
“What’s going on in here?”
Jennifer turns to see Mitzi walk into the kitchen with Allegra in her wake. Jennifer offers Allegra a smile.If you marry Bart,she thinks,this will be your family too!
“Nothing,” Jennifer says. “I was just helping Isabelle clean up.”
Isabelle sniffs as only an indignant French woman can and runs the water in the sink. Jennifer refills her wineglass at the fridge. Mitzi shifts her gaze between Isabelle and Jennifer, but they are the model of obedient daughters-in-law. There will be no family squabbles.
AVA
So much for being her own fulfilled, independent person!
She misses Potter more than she ever dreamed possible. He’s in Palo Alto, staying at the Westin; the hotel is less than a mile from the bungalow where Trish, Harrison, and PJ live. He arrived on Wednesday afternoon. The plan was that Potter would take PJ out for pizza because Trish had a meeting. But when Potter arrived at the house, PJ refused to go with Potter unless Harrison came as well.
“So it was like an alternate version ofHeather Has Two MommiescalledPJ Has Two Daddies.I’m sure everyone at Patxi’s thought we were gay.”
“What do you care?” Ava asks.
“I don’t,” Potter says. “But I do care that I seem to have been replaced by a thirty-year-old Brit. Did you know that Harrison is only thirty?”
“That’s notsoyoung,” Ava says. “I’m thirty-two.”
“Harrison is very fond of you, by the way,” Potter says. “He made a point at dinner to ask about ‘our friend Ava.’”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him Ava wasmyfriend and he’d better stay away from her,” Potter says.
“How was PJ?” Ava asks. “Did he behave?”
“He was terrific,” Potter says morosely. “He told us about school, he ate his pizza, he put his napkin in his lap, he was polite with the server.”
“Wonderful!” Ava says.
“But I think it was because Harrison was there,” Potter says. “I really messed up, letting Trish take him so far away.”
Ava steels herself for the announcement that Potter is moving to California. “It is far away,” she says. “I miss you.”
