“Mrs. Bostwick, how lovely to see you.” Did you bring your flying monkeys?
Chloe squeaked a little and tugged the material of her red cotton shirt from her mother’s clenched hand. Emily hadn’t realized she’d wadded the fabric in her fist quite so tightly.
“Well, it’s certainly something to see you here, too, Emily. What’s the special occasion? Don’t tell me you’re getting married again?”
Shields up, phasers on stun. “Nope. Not getting married again.”
Mrs. Bostwick was wearing a big floppy sun hat and oversized sunglasses tinted a nearly opaque black. Still, Emily could feel the woman’s beady little eyes boring into her through the lenses. Her kelly-green capri pants were covered with little pink flamingos to match the pink sweater draped around her narrow shoulders. Emily was glad she’d put on another one of her I’m a successful businesswoman dresses. Today’s was a sedate but attractive royal-blue shift with a narrow white belt, and her hair was clipped back in a no-nonsense ponytail. Olivia Bostwick could not fault her for what she was wearing.
She could fault her for a whole bunch of other stuff, though. Including breaking her son’s heart when she’d run away with Chloe’s father. Reed Bostwick had been Emily’s high school sweetheart—on an island where pretty much everybody married their high school sweetheart. Emily had done him some serious wrong by running away with Nick. She’d left Reed a note saying goodbye, of course. It was a heartfelt note, too, but that was no way to break up with someone she’d known her entire life. She’d realized that soon after leaving, but by then the damage was done, and Mrs. Bostwick was not one to let bygones be bygones.
“Just here for a short visit then? Your family should be pleased.”
The woman held a black belt in passive-aggressive comments. So many meanings in those few little words. Your family is pleased the visit will be short. Your family should be pleased, but no one else is. And last but not least, your family should be pleased, but are they? Are they really? Are you sure? Mrs. Bostwick should travel with a complimentary cryptologist for all her skill at weaving hidden messages into what she said. Emily had spent many an afternoon trying to decipher just what was meant by all the words Mrs. Bostwick didn’t say, because Reed’s mother had disliked her looooong before Nick showed up. No one on the island would have been good enough for her son, but without a doubt, Emily was the least-appealing candidate.
“I’m here for the summer, actually. I’m helping Gigi renovate one of her rental cottages. And this is my daughter, Chloe.” Surely even Mrs. Bostwick could not hold such a grudge that she’d be rude to a little girl. Okay, again, Chloe wasn’t technically little. But she was young, and fortunately Mrs. Bostwick’s maternal instincts, although never sensitive to Emily, did extend to Chloe. No doubt because Mrs. Bostwick felt sorry for Chloe for having such a lousy mother.
“Hello, Chloe. It’s a pleasure.” Meaning it was Mrs. Bostwick’s pleasure? Or it should be Chloe’s pleasure? Damn, the woman was clever with the double entendre! But Chloe, bless her heart, read all the signals and kicked into her Gracious Manners Barbie routine.
“Hello, Mrs. Bostwick. It certainly is a pleasure to meet you, and what a lovely hat that is. You remind me of Audrey Hepburn.”
Score one for the kid, and thank goodness Emily had made her watch all those old movies. Any woman of Mrs. Bostwick’s generation would consider that the highest of compliments, and it seemed to work. She fairly preened. If she were a peacock, Emily would have just been slapped in the face with tail feathers.
“Why, aren’t you sweet?” Mrs. Bostwick said. And how did that happen when your mother isn’t?
Emily smiled stiffly. “Well, we don’t want to keep you from your errands any longer, Mrs. Bostwick. I do hope we see you again.” Meaning I hope we see you first so we can run in the other direction.
“Reed’s back for a few weeks, too, you know.”
Emily had started to turn but halted her movement, her gaze returning to the bug-eyed sunglasses. “Is he now?”
“Yes, with his wife and their family. He’s terribly successful, you know. And terribly important. He works for the governor, you know, and he’s terribly happy.”
“That sounds terrible,” murmured Chloe, and Emily resisted the urge to elbow her precious daughter in the ribs.
“Well, that’s just wonderful news, Mrs. Bostwick. Please give Reed my best regards.”
“I don’t imagine I’ll mention seeing you, Emily, but if your name comes up in conversation, I’ll be sure to tell him.”
Oh, as if her name was not coming up in conversation all over the damn island. The place was only eight miles in circumference with a population small enough to fit inside any given Olive Garden. Reed probably already knew she was there and was undoubtedly terribly unconcerned about it.
“Have a pleasant visit, Chloe.” Mrs. Bostwick turned, her floppy hat swaying in the wind, and Emily was summarily dismissed.
Finally, they were on their way again. Running into Mrs. Bostwick had been inevitable, and at least now Emily had gotten it out of the way. She couldn’t very well spend the summer avoiding her. There wasn’t much chance she’d be able to avoid seeing Reed, either, and she didn’t quite know how she felt about that. She’d wondered about him over the years. Moments like at 3:00 a.m. when she couldn’t sleep, she’d try to imagine what her life might have been like had she stayed and married Reed like she was supposed to. Sometimes she sincerely wished she had, but then she’d think of Chloe, and without Nick, she wouldn’t have her daughter, so no matter what mistakes she’d made in the past, she wouldn’t wish to change anything because Chloe made it all worthwhile.
Still, she wondered what Reed looked like now. Paunchy and bald? Still trim with a nice headful of wavy light brown hair? Did he still laugh at stupid jokes, or was he serious and intense now that he was so terribly important working for the governor? She had heard from her sister Brooke that he’d gotten married to someone he met in grad school. She’d felt a momentary tug on her heart at that news, but it passed, just like their chance at a future together had passed.
“You good, Mom?” Chloe asked, slipping her hand into Emily’s as they walked. Emily squeezed her fingers and smiled.
“I am good. Are you good?”
Chloe nodded. “I’m okay, but I’m kind of nervous. What if my cousins are mean? Who am I supposed to hang out with all summer?”
“I’m sure they won’t be mean, honey. They’ll probably think you’re pretty fascinating because you live in San Antonio.”