Page 40 of Summer Longing
“Did you know a starfish can regrow lost limbs?”
“I did not,” Ruth said.
Amelia squatted down so they were eye level. “By the way, Elise told me what a help you’ve been with the baby. Please know how much it’s appreciated.”
Ruth felt warmed by the comment. With her own mother gone, she’d forgotten what it was like to feel maternal approval from someone. It was comforting and gave her the sense of being less alone.
“I heard your daughter decided to visit after all.”
“Yes.” Ruth smiled. “Although she wasn’t thrilled with my little white lie.”
“You mean your exaggeration,” Amelia said with a wink. “Well, however it came to be, I’m happy to hear your nest is full. Rachel and Luke are having a few people over for dinner at their house tonight. We’d love it if you and your daughter could come.”
Ruth’s impulse was to decline. But the thought of another evening alone with Olivia, the uncomfortable silences and, worse, recrimination, made the invitation very appealing. Olivia could rest in her room if she wanted, but Ruth was going out. “I can’t speak for Olivia, but I will be there,” she said.
“Oh, tell your daughter I insist,” Amelia said. “See you tonight.”
Elise maneuvered the baby stroller onto the sidewalk and latched the fence gate behind her. If she hurried, she could still catch the last half of the mosaic class.
“I thought you rented out this house for the summer.”
She turned at the sound of the familiar gravelly voice behind her and found Bianca standing on the sidewalk.
“Oh, hi, Bianca. What are you doing here?”
“I keep an eye on my daughter’s house.” Bianca wrinkled up her face with a glance at the stroller and crossed her arms. “Whose baby is that?”
I keep an eye on my daughter’s house.Had Bianca been the one to call the police on them? “This baby is none of your business,” Elise said.
“Well, here’s something that is my business. It’s bad enough that you two rented my daughter’s house to that horrid summer person, but to think of you selling it to her—”
Elise was in no mood for this. “First of all, Bianca, it’s not your daughter’s house. It’s Fern’s and my house now. Second of all, we are not selling. It’s just a summer rental.”
Bianca made a noise, an exasperated harrumph sound. “That’s not what I heard.”
“Well, maybe you should stop listening to rumors.”
“No, I mean I literally heard Fern talking to that woman about selling the house. The other day, when I was in the shop. That woman said she was very interested. And Fern said it was an interesting idea. Since it was all sointeresting,I’m surprised you don’t know about it.”
In the early-morning heat, Elise felt her body grow cold. But she would not give Bianca the satisfaction of reacting. She was a gossip and a pot-stirrer. She had to keep her eye on the important thing. She pulled the hood lower to cover Mira’s face.
“Always a joy chatting with you, Bianca,” she said. “Now I need to get going.”
Olivia felt like she was eighty years old.
It took her five minutes just to ease out of bed. She walked to the bathroom bent so far over she didn’t have to lean any farther down to rinse after brushing her teeth.
After popping two Advil, she sent off a quick e-mail to Dakota. There was no way she was going to make it into the office tomorrow morning. She’d be lucky to be on the road in time to go to sleep in her apartment.
It was tempting to crawl back under the covers, but she knew she couldn’t give in to the impulse not to move around. It was probably a good idea to walk to one of the bookstores and try to find a copy of the back-pain book. Just repeating the mantraI’m fine, I know this isn’t realwasn’t helping.
After a ten-minute, snail-paced odyssey to the kitchen, Olivia made coffee and settled at the table with her phone. A white slip of paper was tucked under a bowl of fruit. Her mother had left her a handwritten note. A note!I mean, ever hear of texting?She knew her mother was making one of her not-so-subtle points:Get your head out of your phone.
Good morning. I hope you’re feeling better. I’m at an art class and will be home at around eleven if you want to get brunch together. If not, there’s food in the fridge. Love, Mom
Nothing said retirement like a Monday-morning art class, Olivia thought. God, she was so happy that was far in her future. She had decades of her career in front of her. And she couldn’t wait to get back to it.
She scrolled through her phone, checking all of her clients’ accounts. A voice-mail reminder window popped up on her home screen. She owed her dad a phone call.
