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  “She has three kids with three different last names,” Ryan whispered. “Ghetto.”

  Laura elbowed him. “You’re ghetto.”

  “Thanks,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the nursery to see his new baby.

  Chapter 3

  Marian Cooper sat at the kitchen table in Ted Dale’s beach house, looking out over the fog-shrouded beach, tapping her nails on the Formica. She wanted to call Will and let him have a piece of her mind. Infringing on her space by moving in to Dave from Organic Bonanza’s house was just over the top. The need to keep the relationship civil so he didn’t talk about her to her neighbors was high on her list of priorities.

  Then she thought of Pam, how her charade of a life had been exposed with Jack’s death, and she still drove through town like she was playing homecoming queen. The baker at the other grocery store had used that term when she was talking to Marian, and Marian secretly agreed that was exactly what Pam did. Pam was shopping there for some reason that day, as well, and had just walked by.

  “Oh, there she is, the queen mother of Babylon.”

  Marian frowned, feeling disloyal. “Why do you say that?” she asked, thinking the grocery store employee had a lot of nerve.

  “You know how in high school the king and queen of homecoming had someone drive them through town in a convertible with the top down, and they sat up on the back and waved to people?”

  “I grew up in Manhattan. We didn’t have homecoming.”

  “Well, trust me. Every town with a high school football team did. When she comes through the store, I feel like she’s in a ball gown, waving to the subjects of her monarchy.”

  Marian laughed. “Oh, it’s not that bad,” she said, having heard enough. “If it wasn’t for the Smiths, you wouldn’t have any parks and recreation in this town. I can think of other things you should be grateful for. I might have to speak to your boss about your comments.”

  “Go ahead. He feels the same way. She only comes in here when she’s desperate.”

  “Ha! I believe it,” Marian said, flaring her nostrils. “This place is a sty.”

  Tossing her head, Marian pushed on, going to catch up to Pam.

  The possibility that Will might talk about her to Dave and hurt her pride was so small-minded, Marian decided to let it go. If he really moved in with Dave after Alison moved out, they’d be the talk of the town, not boring Marian Cooper.

  A tap on the back door disturbed her revelry, and when she got up to see who it was, there was Will Carlson in all his glory. She tried not to think of poor Frank, with his bad knees from playing college football a million years ago and hair transplants that were obvious. Will had a head of hair that didn’t stop. Her heart skipped a beat or two. Sadly, that handsome face and hunky body were no longer hers.

  “They were never yours,” she mumbled, smiling at him. “Well, well, well,” she said, opening the door. “I was just thinking of you.”

  “Isn’t that nice. Can I come in? I’d kill for a cup of Marian Cooper’s famous espresso.”

  “I can make you a cup. Come on in. The grapevine tells me you’re my new neighbor.”

  He frowned, the nerves creeping up on him. “Yikes, that was fast. I just decided last night.”

  “Tell me how this transpired,” Marian said, using her best calming psychiatrist voice.

  “Well, you know Alison, right? I met her next door. She took me home with her when I couldn’t get into your house when you so unkindly left town without letting me know. I met Dave. I was going there to have my way with Alison, but as it turned out, she wasn’t interested in that, so Dave and I hooked up.”

  “How was it?” Marian asked. “He seems so, I don’t know. Pedestrian.”

  “Ha! That’s exactly what attracted me! He’s silly. He laughed when we first started to mess around. But when I worked on him, the laughter stopped. He cries out like a woman, and that took me a while to get used to. He told me he loved me and asked me to move in. Alison was not happy. She’d moved into her daughter’s room by then. I could only come over when the child was at her father’s house. Dave got tired of that and told her it might be time for her to move out.”

  “Pam used to date him. I find that so contradictory,” Marian said, grimacing.

  “He said they were never intimate; they were just friends. They enjoyed going dancing on the weekend. So it wasn’t a big deal. But I think Alison thought they’d end up getting married.”

  “I feel sorry for Alison.”

  “Marian, it’s better that she find out he’s gay now than after marriage, don’t you think?”

  “Is he gay?” she asked.

  “Oh yes, he’s gay. I’m bi, but Davey is gay. He’s spent his entire life in the dark. He’s like a different person in the months we’ve been together.”

  “It must be this beach. There are more gay men coming out of the closet! You heard about Charles Monroe, right?” Marian asked. “He used to date Pam, too!”

  “She’s attracted to gay men for some reason,” Will said. “I still think the Braddocks would swing if I introduced it correctly.”

  “Oh, yuck, don’t even go there. I’m warning you.”

  “I won’t. I don’t want to make trouble for Dave.”

  Here was an opening to ask Will to keep her business private. “Will, will you be discreet?”

  “You mean about you and me? Of course. I’d have nothing to gain. Dave is a little concerned about the public’s perception of him because of his store, so we’re going to be exclusive.”

  “You’re not going to party?” Marian asked, shocked. “My God, Will. You wouldn’t even do that for me. You must really love him.”

  “I think I do,” he said. “I did your famous pro and con list. By giving up swinging, I get to live with this great guy, on the beach, and not work.”

  “Ugh, you could have had that with me. I don’t see you in the role of housewife, Will.”

  “I know. I’ll get a job with a local realtor just to avoid having to cook every night.”

  “He owns that deli. Just eat from his store. Alison said she never cooked in the nine months she lived there.”

  “It all starts to taste the same after a while,” he said. “Anyway, no worries about me and discretion, okay? I value your friendship too much.”

  “Thank you so much,” Marian said.

  They drank coffee, not having much to say to each other. “Well, I guess I’d better head back.”

  “Is Alison out already?” Marian asked.

  “Yes. She’s just a few houses down.”

  Alison and Julie had everything ready for Lisa and baby Madelyn’s homecoming. They brought the bassinette in to place at the bedside. Pam had her cleaning crew in to do a thorough cleaning. “I’ve wanted to do this since the day she moved in, but she wouldn’t let me.”

  The logistics of living together would be worked out in time. For now, Alison would keep Megan upstairs with her, assuming the boys would stay with Dan and Julie until Lisa got on her feet. Diana was thrilled they were living at Lisa’s house, and Alison had perfect behavior from her when she threatened, “We’ll go back to Dave’s if you’re not good.”

  With all the shuffling around—Marian buying Ted’s house, Ted moving out to live with and possibly marry Charles Monroe, Alison moving into Lisa’s house, Will moving into Dave’s, Laura moving out of Pam’s house—the preparations for the Memorial Day party were a present but inconspicuous activity.

  In between doing what she could to be a help to Lisa, Pam was orchestrating the biggest party of the year in Babylon. Everything needed was ordered, purchased, delivered or assembled. Now it just needed to be put into place. On Wednesday, a cadre of workmen were at the house, used to taking direction from Miss Pam.

  One older man, Jose, reminded her that he’d been coming there to work for over fifteen years.

  “Jose, this year come to the party. Please, bring your wife, too.”

  Jose
had been a constant in Pam’s life since she moved to Babylon. He was the handyman all of her neighbors lusted after because he was a dying breed, and she rarely shared his phone number with them unless he approved it and promised not to defect to their house. She’d never had Jose to a party before. It was time.

  She thought of the people who were once important in her life, like her sisters, who she rarely heard from any longer, who would not be invited to the party. She thought of her acquaintances, like the women who worked the library book sale days with her for all the years she’d lived in Babylon. Besides their hours at the library, she ran into them at the grocery store and the gym, but beyond that, their lives didn’t cross. They were busy with their own lives and friends and families.

  Natalie Borg, probably the only true friend she had left, was arriving in the morning with Ozzy, her longtime boyfriend, to stay the weekend. They’d act as quasi hosts. Her former friends came to mind. Jeanie was the one person no longer in her life that she missed.

  After leaving her husband, Dave from Organic Bonanza, Jeanie had moved in with Ted Dale, Pam’s former neighbor, who was gay. Now Jeanie was living happily with John Zapelli, Pam’s former husband. On the rare occasions that Jeanie and Pam ran into each other in town, it was always congenial. Why did Pam cut off a friendship with someone she’d once loved and considered her best friend when she didn’t even like John Zapelli?

  She reached for the phone and dialed Jeanie’s cell number.

  “I never thought I’d see this name on my caller ID again.”

  “Well, you were wrong,” Pam replied. “I’m calling to invite you and John to my Memorial Day party.”

  “You’re kidding? Why?” Jeanie asked.

  “Because I miss you. I never even liked John that much. Why am I sacrificing the closest female friend I’ve ever had for him?”

  Jeanie cackled over the phone. “Yes, I’d love to come. I’m not inviting him, though.”

  “Will it cause problems if you come alone?” Pam asked.

  “We really don’t have that kind of relationship,” she said. “I’m here in my own little room. I schedule his bookings like Violet used to do. We eat together and have a beer in the evening on the terrace. But we don’t have sex. He’s not that into it, and I’m certainly not, at least not with him.”

  “Jeanie, too much information.” Pam choked. “Ugh.”

  “I want you to understand what’s going on, that’s all.”

  “While I have you on the line, I have some news about your ex,” Pam said.

  “Alison already told me,” Jeanie replied. “I’m not surprised. Dave was never really into it with me. After Ted, I need to be nice to John because I’ve run through all the men on Seaview.”

  “That Will Carlson is a looker,” Pam said. “Too bad he’s insane.”

  “Will he be at your party?” Jeanie asked. “I’d do a threesome with him and Dave.”

  “I don’t want to hear about it if you do!” Pam shouted, laughing.

  They talked a while longer like old friends who speak every day, making Pam happy. She tried to remember the last time she was happy, and couldn’t.

  “Mrs. Braddock, can you come outside and tell us where the band is going to set up? We’ll run the electric cables.”

  She followed the electrician through the veranda onto the sand. The weather was still iffy, overcast, and occasionally spitting, but just a threat.

  “I hope the weather clears up. I’m not sure about you running electric lines in the rain.”

  “We won’t do any connections until Saturday morning,” he said. “It’s supposed to be clear and fine all weekend.”

  “The band usually goes here,” she said, pointing to a protected space near the house. The dance floor will go next to it and another down by the water at high tide. Last year we had dancers pushed into the surf.”

  Over the next days the party area took shape, from the huge tent to the potted palms. Seating inside the tent, just in case of rain, and more outside was set up for over one hundred guests.

  “I thought you weren’t going to do this anymore,” Nelda said, walking over the sand dune.

  “Who’s with Lisa?” Pam asked, ignoring her.

  Lisa had been discharged two days after the C-section, which seemed a little fast, but she wanted to get home.

  “Alison and Julie are both over there,” Nelda said. “Lisa told me to go home and rest. She said Fredericka will get Miranda off the bus so the kids can all see the baby. It’s exciting having all the cousins so close.”

  “I’m going to get some lunch. Are you hungry?” Pam asked, feeling a little odd that she hadn’t been summoned to Lisa’s. “Maybe I should take lunch to them.”

  “Sister Mary was there with more stuff from the deli. She makes the best tuna hoagies. So, no, I don’t want lunch. You should go visit while the food is out.”

  “Okay, maybe I’ll do that. Text me if the workers need any questions answered.”

  Pam grabbed an umbrella and a bag, just in case she saw any beach treasure, and set out over the dune. She was getting used to having Lisa down the beach. Their relationship still felt strained, but then maybe all mother-daughter relationships were complicated. She wondered why she continuously beat herself up over it.

  Laughter from the house increased her anxiety. She hated to interrupt, but pressed forward. Tapping on the door, she turned the handle to let herself in when Julie got up to answer.

  “It’s just me,” Pam said.

  “Mom, come have lunch. Sister Mary brought a sandwich platter for twenty,” Lisa said.

  “I am hungry,” Pam said, walking over to peek at the baby in her bassinette first. “Aw, look at this little thing. She’s very sweet. Boy, she really looks like you.”

  “Yeah, I wonder why.”

  Alison laughed. “Look how much she looks like Morgan.”

  “Can I get you anything?” Pam said, not missing the hint that if brother and sister have a kid, there’s no question who the parents are.

  “No, I’m stuffed.”

  Except for the fact that Morgan was almost two months old, the babies did look a lot alike. Their parents were related, so it made sense. Pam bristled, hoping no one noticed. A wave of desolation flooded over her. This was because of Jack. The babies were cousins and sisters. It was disgusting. There was no one on earth, except maybe Natalie, with whom Pam could share her revulsion. She even doubted she could trust Randy with her deepest feelings now, sure he’d slipped and told Marian Pam had AIDS. Marian hadn’t admitted it yet, but Pam had a feeling. When the party was over and things calmed down with Lisa, Pam planned on confronting Randy. If he admitted to it, she would decide what to do at that time.

  Their relationship had changed dramatically since Bali. There was a wall up. She avoided him, and to her sadness, he was avoiding her. They had a lot to talk about with the business and the party. There was always something to share. But any intimacy was gone. It made her sick.

  Trying to join in the gathering at Lisa’s, Pam knew she was often on the periphery of a group. She never felt like she was part of the conversation. These young women certainly didn’t need her hanging around.

  “Mom, really. Get a plate and come sit by me. I need my mommy.”

  Everyone laughed, and Pam remembered how she used to pamper Lisa. Maybe she needed to do that again.

  “Do you want a foot rub?” she asked, half joking.

  “Oh, I’d kill for a foot rub. Pam gives the best foot massages.”

  “Only to family though!” Pam added.

  “You always said I was like family,” Julie said.

  “And I am family,” Alison replied.

  They laughed, keeping it down so as not to wake any babies up. Pam was at the counter getting a sandwich when there was a knock at the door, and she looked up to see Cara Ellison.

  “It’s Cara!”

  She came in, hugged Pam, handed her a basket of things from the farm, and made her way around
the room, first hugging and kissing Julie, and then oohing and ahing over baby Morgan, and then bending over to hug Lisa.

  “Where’s the newest?” Cara said, lifting the blanket from baby Madelyn’s face. “Oh, she looks exactly like you!”

  Pam brought Cara a plate and set a plate of cookies from the farm on the coffee table before she sat down with her own food. When there was a lull in the conversation, she spoke up. “I just thought of who’s missing,” she said. “Gladys. Does she know?”

  “I didn’t think to call her,” Lisa said.

  Gladys was Lisa’s first husband’s mother. Currently, she was living in Greece with an olive farmer.

  “I’ll call her later,” Pam said.

  “So what did Ryan have to say?” Cara asked.

  Alison and Lisa looked at each other and smirked.

  “He’s having second thoughts, but we think his girlfriend is appalled at his lack of interest and is pressuring him to be involved,” Lisa said.

  “Nothing has happened though. Zero, so like Ryan to stir the pot and then hide. So we’re just waiting,” Alison said. “Neither of us need him to be involved. He’s not exactly father material.”

  Back in the city, Ryan and Laura were going over scripts with the producer Randy had hired for their production company. They’d start taping the first episode in mid-July. The more in depth Ryan’s research got into the work Jack had accomplished, the greater his respect for him. He was able to move beyond the wrong that Jack had done, and it was freeing for Ryan, at last.

  Violet had become the confidante he needed, the rational person to whom he could go when memories served to suffocate him. Now she was there to offer what she could in his dilemma of the baby girls.

  “I wouldn’t even put my two cents in if Laura was resentful. But it sounds like she’s the driving force behind your interest.”

  “She is, damn it. I almost got away with being an absentee father. Is that the right term?”

  “It is,” Violet said. “But it’s too pretty a name for what it really is. Deadbeat dad is more like it.”