Page 51 of The Summer Club
The hug ended too fast, but there was one more thing Andi had to say. “I hope you have fun with Dad.”
“I will.” Molly smiled at her mother, a very grown-up look in her eye. “Don’t worry so much, okay?” Andi couldn’t help but feel that their roles had flipped, if only in that moment.
Andi laughed. “I’m trying, kiddo.”
And then Molly was off. Enveloped in the big black car once more. Disappearing around the turn.
Andi was still standing in the street staring after them when Hugh pulled up alongside her. “That was quite a stunt. Not every day you see a barefoot, middle-aged woman keeping up with a Cadillac SUV.”
Andi looked down at her dirty bare feet. “God. I didn’t even notice.”
“It’s okay. The rest of the neighborhood did.” Hugh threw his arm around her. “C’mon, Mama. Let’s get you a drink.”
Back inside, everyone was loitering in the living room, pretending to busy themselves.
Cora looked up from her unopened book. “You okay, honey?”
“She chased the car down the street,” Hugh announced. “Never saw her run that fast in high school track!”
Charley came around the kitchen island and held out his arms. There was still such confusion in her head about her parents and there was so much tension in the house, but none of that mattered in the moment. Andi stepped into his hug like she was a little girl. “It’s hard, Dad. This whole post-divorce co-parenting thing is so goddamn hard.”
That was the thing about her father. He didn’t say anything to the contrary. Nor would he try to fix it. His unshaven chin was comfortingly familiar against her cheek as he nodded and listened. “I know, kiddo. It’s hard for us too. But we’re all here.”
Andi stepped back, wiping her cheeks. She looked around at all their faces. How she loathed pity. “You know what we should do?”
“Open a bottle of wine?” Martin offered.
“We need to get out of the house.” She turned to Sydney. “We haven’t been to the Beach House Grill yet. What do you say we toast the wedding and have a shark attack?” It was their long-standing favorite Cape Cod frozen drink named after Chatham’s Great White influx. Dubiously named. But delicious!
“I’m in!” Sydney said. “Hugh, Martin, you coming?”
They nodded in unison.
Andi turned to her parents. They’d been listening at the edge of the conversation, trying to look as if they weren’t. “Mom? Dad?” It was a small olive branch. But they had to start somewhere.
Cora looked uncomfortable. “Oh, I don’t know. That place is for young people. You kids go ahead.”
But Charley disagreed. “No, Cora. I think you should go. I think we should both go.”
Andi watched as they shared a silent exchange. “All right,” Cora said finally.
“All right, then,” Andi said, her spirits rising a little.
As the rest of them headed upstairs to get ready, Andi felt something inside her shift. “Good call,” Hugh whispered when it was just the two of them left in the living room couch.
Andi shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.” She lowered herself onto the couch. “I know you’re still upset with them and I am too. But we need them. At least I do.”
“I know,” Hugh said, flopping down beside her. “But manage your expectations, okay? Baby steps.”
That worked for her. It was a concession. “Look, I’m also sorry for what I said earlier. About you and Martin not understanding because you don’t have kids.”
Hugh waved his hand. “Don’t give it another thought.”
It was already a sensitive topic, probably made even more so by all the recent family upset. She should’ve realized that sooner. “How are you guys doing with all of that?”
He glanced at the staircase, lowering his voice. “It’s made us talk, at least. And listen to each other.”
Andi let out her breath, her marriage therapist’s waiting room flashing in her mind. How many hours could they have saved themselves if they’d just listened more? “That’s good,” she said. “The listening is harder than the talking.”