Page 47 of The Summer Club

Aside from Charley, Cora was very much alone. As she tried to busy herself setting up a nursery in the strange new house, her college friends packed their cars and returned to school without her. Cora’s father would not speak to her. Though she suspected it was done in secret, her mother managed to call and write each week. Then, in late fall, a handsewn patchwork quilt arrived in a box from Ohio. “For my baby, for her first baby,” the card read. Cora ran her hands over the soft cotton squares, tears spilling down her cheeks. Charley laid it in the tiny bassinet in the nursery. He was right by her side the day before Thanksgiving, letting her crush his hand as she gave birth to not just one baby—but to their shock and surprise—twins!

Charley Darling kept his word. Just as he’d promised, he loved her and both her babies like they were his own. In time, they made a life no different than most of the young couples they grew to know. A Volvo wagon. A house in the suburbs. The very picture of an all-American family. And eventually, after many failed attempts to have a baby that would be from them both, Sydney came along. They were a family of five. Pieced together like the squares of her mother’s patchwork quilt.

It was not the life she’d planned, nor the life she’d dreamed of. Some things came more easily than others. From the beginning, Cora loved her children with a fierceness she was not prepared for. And, with time, she eventually grew to love their little house and the life they built. But, in spite of all that, no matter how hard she tried and wished and prayed, Cora did not fall in love with Charley Darling.

Andi

She couldn’t help it. All this wedding talk dredged up the divorce.

It wasn’t Sydney’s fault. Andi was genuinely happy for her little sister and she was thrilled to be a part her big day. That was a fact. But there were other facts she could not escape: Andi was the only unmarried bridesmaid. A forty-four-year-old single mother who would be lined up in the (not terribly hideous but still rather unflattering) coral strapless dress with a bevy of childless, recently married, beautiful twenty- and thirty-somethings Sydney counted as her closest friends. The thought of it made Andi cringe. Plus, there was the fact that she was matron of honor. Which meant she had to plan a night out for the other bridesmaids when they arrived. Andi had not gone out in ages. The idea that she had to manage a rousing, all-in, big night for her little sister filled her with dread. She had no idea how to keep down more than one cocktail these days, let alone where to go to find a good one with a gaggle of girlfriends who were well-versed in the lifestyle of being young and carefree. Andi’s idea of a big night was grading her students’ English papers over Thai takeout and going to bed early to watch anything British on PBS. Plus, the biggest reminder of her divorce was on his way now. Her ex-husband, George, was due to arrive at Riptide at one o’clock that afternoon to take Molly away for a few days. And his not-so-lovely “true life partner,” Camilla, was the final glaringly ugly fact.

“What time are we expecting them to make land?” Hugh quipped. Andi sat in the kitchen staring at her third cup of coffee with shaky hands, thinking that she probably shouldn’t have had the second. But she needed to do something besides eat ice cream and it was just too early for a cocktail. She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. “Half an hour.” Her stomach roiled.

“Well, well, well,” Hugh said. “Do we roll out the carpet or batten down the hatches?”

Martin had a softer approach. “What can we do to help you steel yourself?”

Andi smiled at him gratefully. “Keep me away from the coffeepot and distract me. I am not looking forward to this.”

“You’re tougher than you think,” Sydney offered.

Hugh slid onto the stool next to her. “And if you find that today’s an off day, give me the signal. I’ll hold Camilla down while you take your best swing.”

In spite of her frayed nerves, Andi laughed. She had to find the positives. Molly was looking forward to this trip, she reminded herself. Since eight o’clock that morning (a practically predawn hour for a teenager!), Molly had already been packed and set to go. Andi had had to force herself to act like she was just as excited for her too. Instead, as she went through her duffel bag one last time checking to make sure she remembered sunscreen, a light jacket, and the frayed, pink stuffed elephant she still slept with, Andi found herself fighting silent tears. The thought of Molly going away on her first vacation without her was too much. As it was, she’d never spent more than a few nights away from her since the day she’d been born. And now Molly would be going on a trip—one ferry ride and sixteen nautical miles away (she’d looked it up, of course)—with two people Andi truly could not stand.

“You guys don’t have kids, so no offense, but letting go of your daughter for a week is hard to do.”

The look on Martin’s face made her regret it the moment the words left her lips. “It’s not like we don’t want them,” he mumbled.

Sydney winced and instantly Andi felt like an ass. God, was everything in this family a minefield?

“I’m sorry! What I meant is that I’ve always been the parent who organizes Molly’s life. From making sure she does her algebra to reminding her to eat her broccoli to nagging her to apply sunscreen.”

Hugh let out a low whistle. “You sound like a ton of fun to vacation with.”

“Shut up, I’m serious. It’s not a fun job, but someone has to be the parent.”

“George isn’t?” Sydney asked.

“Nope. George never says no to her. Never oversees homework or enforces curfew, let alone cooks a healthy meal. Forget sunscreen! She’s going to fry under his watch this week.”

Her voice had become shrill and she caught herself. The last thing she wanted was Molly to overhear this upstairs. But it just wasn’t fair. When it came to parenting, George wanted to be Molly’s pal, not her anchor. He left that hard work to Andi.

“That sucks,” Sydney sympathized. “You get laundry and soccer-mom duty while he gets takeout pizza. You should be allowed to have fun with her too.”

“And I want to! I hate always feeling like the warden.”

“So let’s list the good stuff!” Sydney suggested, a little too enthusiastically. “There have to be some positives about this trip for Molly. And for you.”

“I forgot you were a cheerleader in high school,” Hugh pointed out dryly.

Sydney ignored this. “This week Molly will have a little independence away from you. Maybe she’ll learn to take care of herself.”

“My turn,” Martin said. “The kid’s not exactly going to suffer on the Vineyard. She’s hitting one of the hottest vacation spots on the East Coast. Think of the selfies she can take for her Insta page.”

Andi had to give him that. “When I bought her extra sunscreen yesterday, I also got her the cutest polka-dot bikini she’d been eyeing in town.”

“Plus, you get a little vacation from parenting this week. Think about that.” Martin squeezed her hand. “After a whole week away, I bet Molly misses you and comes home appreciating you even more.”