Two Years Earlier
“Wow, you look fantastic,” Todd said as I emerged from the bedroom.
“Thank you,” I said, fighting my customary impulse to deflect compliments. I had learned well from Kat’s example.
We had been invited to Kat’s parents’ annual holiday party. They lived on the island of Palm Beach, so I knew it would be a swanky affair. I was wearing the black beaded cocktail dress I had worn to a wedding Todd and I had attended a few years earlier, and I’d twisted my hair into a low chignon. Like most redheads, I couldn’t pull off heavy makeup—it looked garish against my pale, lightly freckled skin—but I did put on eyeliner, mascara and a swipe of rose lipstick.
Our babysitter, Emma Vanover, had arrived while I was dressing. She was a not-very-bright but sweet-natured fifteen-year-old, and she was currently the children’s favorite sitter. Bridget liked her because Emma had a limitless enthusiasm for tedious make-believe games. “You be the evil stepmother and the dragon and the pet goat, and I’ll be the princess and the unicorn.” Liam liked Emma because she left him alone to play video games without the annoying time limits his parents imposed on him.
“Our cell phone numbers are on the fridge,” I told Emma after I’d greeted her. “We’re going to a holiday party. I don’t think we’ll be out past midnight, but I’ll text you if our plans change.”
“No problem,” Emma said perkily.
I ran through the basic house rules for the evening—bedtimes, allowed snacks, time limits on computer games—and Emma nodded enthusiastically along with each one. I knew she’d ignore almost all of the parameters I was giving her. Bridget was a startlingly honest child and always told me when the babysitters didn’t follow the rules. I was just happy if they didn’t drink our booze or invite their boyfriends over to have sex on the living room couch.
“What’s this evening going to be like?” Todd asked once we were in the car, driving south.
It may seem odd, but on the rare nights when we did go out, I almost enjoyed the ride there more than the event itself. The novelty of being dressed up and out on our own, unencumbered by children. The chance to talk over whatever the issue of the day was, whether it was our own domestic matters or something weightier on the news. My feet didn’t yet hurt from walking in the unaccustomed heels, and my head was still clear and sharp.
In response to my husband’s question, I shrugged, not that he’d be able to see me in the darkness.
“I’m not sure. Kat said her parents throw this party every year. I doubt we’ll know anyone there other than Kat and Howard.”
“Ah, Howard. My favorite,” Todd said. He had never forgiven Howard for his rudeness, not that he had seen him since the dinner party all those months ago.
“Kat’s dad is a builder, so I’m sure you’ll have plenty in common with him.”
Todd laughed. “Babe, her dad isn’t a builder. He’s a mogul. There’s a big difference.”
“Is there? You’re both in the construction business, albeit from different angles. I’m sure you’d have plenty to talk about.”
Todd glanced at me. “Are you trying to get me to audition for a job?”
“No, of course not. Why would you think that? Does he hire architects?”
“Wyeth Construction has anywhere from ten to fifteen architects on staff. It’s a lucrative and soul-sucking position.”
“Why soul-sucking?”
“Because all they do is design the same cookie-cutter houses for the various subdivisions Wyeth develops.”
“And that’s bad because...?” I asked.
“Because that’s not what I went to school to do,” Todd said tersely. “That’s not the kind of architect I want to be.”
I nodded but didn’t say anything. What was the point? If I commented that he wasn’t setting the world of architecture on fire now, it would start the evening on a sour note.
The Wyeths lived in a large house on Lagomar Road, with southern views of the Intracoastal. It was two stories and featured lots of columns and double glass doors. The grounds were as manicured as those of a high-end country club, with decorative shrubs and tall palm trees. Todd turned onto the circular brick-tiled driveway, the mouth of which was flanked by two stone lions. We slowly followed the line of cars curving up toward the front door, where valets were stationed to relieve drivers of their cars. Everyone I could see was dressed to the nines. A few of the women were even wearing gowns. I felt a prick of concern, wondering if my little black dress was dressy enough.
“This all looks very ritzy,” Todd commented.
“What did you expect?” I asked. “A family-style barbecue with hot dogs and hamburgers?”
“If so, I think I’d be disappointed,” Todd said.
We reached the top of the driveway. The valet, a young man with military-short hair and a white jacket, opened the door for me.
“Welcome,” he said politely.
“Thank you,” I said.
I waited for Todd to join me and then took his arm. We walked into the house.
I’d never been a particularly social person. I preferred quiet nights at home reading a book or watching a movie to attending parties. I’d looked forward to the children’s school’s annual auction fund-raiser with equal parts of dread and resignation. (The year that Liam contracted stomach flu the night before the event, thus giving us a good excuse not to attend, was cause for celebration in our house.) But I had to admit, I had been looking forward to the Wyeth Christmas party ever since the engraved Crane invitation arrived in the mail a month earlier.
I knew the party would be glamorous, and a departure from our usual holiday social schedule, which revolved heavily around school concerts and cookie swaps. But I was also especially interested in meeting Kat’s family. I was curious to see how they matched up with her descriptions. Her mother, controlling, haughty and easily disappointed. Her father, warm and lovable toward his daughter, but a tough and ruthless businessman. Her older brother, Josh, who was smart and successful, but also humorless and self-centered.
Todd and I walked into the grand foyer, a vast, high-ceilinged space. It was already crowded, with many different generations represented. I didn’t recognize a single person.
“Alice! You made it!”
I turned to see Kat sweeping toward me, her arms open. She looked beautiful in a gold sequined A-line dress and very high heels. She gave me a huge hug and Todd a kiss on the cheek, leaving behind a smear of red lipstick.
“I’m so glad you came,” Kat said, beaming at us both. She leaned toward me and whispered, “Maybe this year I’ll actually have fun for a change.”
“Why? Is it normally awful?” I whispered back.
Kat rolled her eyes comically. “I didn’t want to tell you ahead of time in case you bailed, but yes. It can be brutal. Come on, let’s get you both a drink, and then I’ll introduce you to my parents.”
Kat hailed a passing waiter and snagged us each a flute of champagne off a silver tray.
“I need to introduce you to the Dragon Lady so we can get it out of the way and start having fun,” Kat said.
“You call your mother the Dragon Lady?” I asked with a laugh.
“You will, too, after you meet her. Come on, let’s get it over with.”
Kat shepherded us into a formal living area, which was slightly less crowded than the foyer, but only because there wasn’t much space to stand. I couldn’t help notice that quite unlike Kat’s spare, modern taste, the theme in this room was glamorous excess. There was barely an inch where some sort of overstuffed chair, couch or occasional table hadn’t been crammed. Portraits hung on the walls, including one that I thought must be of Kat when she was a girl. The effect of the room would have been overwhelming even when it was empty of people. Filled with a crowd, it was claustrophobic.
Kat grabbed my hand and pulled me along, while Todd trailed behind us. “Mother, I’d like you to meet my friend Alice, and her husband, Todd.”
I found myself face-to-face with a tall woman—taller than Kat—with steel-gray hair pulled back from a surprisingly youthful face. She was wearing a column of white silk, and her only makeup was dark red lipstick. She must have been beautiful in her youth. Even now she was an incredibly handsome woman.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mrs. Wyeth said. She shook each of our hands in turn, somehow infusing this most pedestrian of greeting with a sort of grandeur. Her grip was firm, and her chin tilted upward.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I said.
“Thank you for inviting us,” Todd added.
“You’re quite welcome,” Mrs. Wyeth replied.
Eleanor Wyeth was cool and crisp and utterly devoid of warmth. It felt a bit as though we’d been brought before a queen. I could feel Kat tense beside me.
“I’ve told you about Alice,” Kat said. “Remember?”
Eleanor Wyeth studied me. “Oh, right. The logician.”
I glanced at Kat, surprised she had described me this way, but nodded.
“I gather you teach?” Eleanor Wyeth asked.
“I was a professor, but I stopped working once my daughter was born. These days I’m just a standard stay-at-home mom,” I answered.
Kat looked from me to her mother. “Don’t be so modest, Alice. She wrote a book. Isn’t that amazing?”
“A book,” Mrs. Wyeth repeated without even a hint of interest. “I don’t suppose it’s something I would have read?”
“It’s a children’s book of logic puzzles.”
“Then probably not,” she said with a tinkle of dismissive laughter. She looked at someone over my shoulder. “Judge Barnes, how nice of you to join us.”
Our audience with the queen was over. Mrs. Wyeth held out a hand to the judge, and I edged to the side to get out of their way. In the process, I banged my knee against a coffee table.
“Ouch.”
“I know. Let’s get out of here. There isn’t any room to breathe, much less stand,” Kat said too loudly.
I glanced at Eleanor Wyeth just in time to see her cast a disapproving look in her daughter’s direction.
Kat either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care. Or maybe she was used to her mother’s disapproving looks. “Are you hungry?”
“No,” I said just as Todd said, “Starving.”
“There’s a huge spread in the dining room.” Kat pointed the way to Todd. “We’ll be out on the patio, by the pool. Get a plate and come find us.”
“Do either of you want anything?” Todd asked, but Kat and I both shook our heads, and he headed off toward the food.
“What’s on the patio?” I asked.
“My dad, probably. He likes to hide out there and smoke cigars, which he’s been expressly forbidden to do.” Kat fake-coughed. “Come on. I can’t wait for him to meet you.”
I nodded and smiled, feeling a flush of pleasure at Kat’s warmth, especially in the wake of how coldly her mother had dismissed me. I’ve never had much interest in the pursuit of social power. I’ve watched the alpha school mothers jockey for positions on the PTA and felt only mild curiosity over why anyone would care that much about who got to be in charge of the book fair fund-raiser or the field day activities. Even worse, though, were the betas, the sycophantic toadies who would do anything to cozy up to and curry favor from the alphas. The whole dynamic both confused and exhausted me. I was only too glad to avoid it.
Still, perhaps my own disinterest in such social politicking had made me naive about what these women did once they achieved such positions. Kat’s mother, who certainly occupied a far higher place on the social ladder than the PTA Queen Bees, wielded her position as a weapon. Warm smiles for the lucky favorites, icy disdain for the rest. I wasn’t exactly sure what had put me in the latter group. It could have been simply that I was a friend of Kat’s. I knew their relationship was strained. Or perhaps Eleanor Wyeth was a snob who believed that a middle-class suburban mother was not worthy of her attention. Maybe a little of both.
I followed Kat out onto the veranda, which was very large and grand and had a spectacular view of the water. Kat, who lived several miles to the north, could have boated down to her parents’ house if she wished. The veranda had a pergola overhead and was furnished with navy upholstered patio furniture, glass tables and large potted palm trees. Off to one side was a rectangular pool surrounded by statuary. There was a chill in the air, but it felt good after the crush of the crowd inside.
Kat looked around for her father.
“He’s not here.” She looked disappointed. “Oh, well, he’s bound to come out eventually.”
She plopped down onto one of the rattan chairs and kicked her heels off. I took the chair next to her.
“I’m sorry about my mother,” Kat said. “I should have warned you that she can be... What would be a polite way of saying this? Difficult, I suppose. Although even that might be sugarcoating it.”
“It’s fine.” I sipped my champagne. “I’m sure it’s not personal. I didn’t take it that way.”
“Oh, but it is personal.” Kat let out a humorless laugh.
“What?” I asked, startled.
“I mean, no, of course it’s not personal about you. She obviously doesn’t know you. But she’s always been predisposed not to like any of my friends. She always warned me when I was younger that the people who wanted to be my friends might have ulterior motives,” Kat explained.
“What kind of ulterior motives?”
“Money,” Kat said simply. “That’s part of it. But also access to the family. Which really means access to Daddy. Mother does it to my brother, Josh, too, but nowhere near the extent she’s shoved it down my throat. I think in her twisted view of the world, it’s normal for men to use money to attract women, friends, business, whatever. Not so for women.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s equal parts sexist and paranoid.”
“That’s my mother,” Kat agreed, holding up her mostly empty flute of champagne in a mock toast. “A paranoid sexist. It should say that on her gravestone. It’s as accurate an epitaph as any.”
“The entire time you were growing up, you were worried that anyone who was nice to you had an ulterior motive?” I asked.
Kat put her champagne flute down and leaned back in her chair, tucking her feet beneath her. “Not exactly. I had some good friends, people I trusted. And I knew from a fairly young age that my mother was full of shit. But sure, it did make me wonder sometimes. It affected me more when I was a little older and started dating, especially after I graduated from college. I’d wonder if the men who asked me out were really interested in me, or if they were just hoping to marry into the Wyeth family. I think that’s part of the reason I fell so hard for the senator.” Kat still hadn’t told me the name of her ex-lover and Amanda’s father. “He had no intention of ever leaving his wife, so I knew that he, at least, wanted to be with me for me. Or at least, that’s how I rationalized it after he broke my heart.”
“What about Howard?”
Kat turned to look at me, her eyes large and unreadable. “Howard,” she mused. “To be honest, I’ve never been entirely sure—” She stopped abruptly, and then her face brightened. “Daddy!”
She hopped up and, without bothering to put her shoes back on, hurried across the veranda to a squarely built man with snow-white hair. Thomas Wyeth smiled down at his daughter and folded her into his arms. Kat hugged him back fiercely, then broke away to wave me over.
“Daddy, I want you to meet my friend Alice. Alice, this is my father, Thomas,” Kat said, tucking her hand in the crook of her father’s elbow. He extended his other hand to me.
“It’s very nice to meet you finally, Alice. Kat has been raving about you for months. She said that you are the smartest person she’s ever met.” Mr. Wyeth smiled down at me. His eyes, which were the exact same shade of blue as Kat’s, crinkled pleasantly at the corners.
“That’s very nice of Kat and almost certainly not true,” I protested.
“Don’t listen to her, Daddy. She is brilliant and she’s funny as hell, too,” Kat insisted.
“My kind of gal,” Mr. Wyeth said. He laughed and patted me on the back.
Much as I’d been struck when I met Howard for the first time how mismatched he’d seemed with Kat, it was equally hard to imagine how a man who seemed as jolly as Thomas had ended up with the icy Eleanor. Had Eleanor once been a carefree young girl, and only hardened into a stiff-backed matriarch in her later years? Or was this yet another confounding example of opposites attracting?
“Did you sneak out here to smoke?” Kat asked.
Her father adopted an expression of innocent surprise. “Does that sound like something I would do?”
“Absolutely. That’s why Alice and I came here in the first place. I thought I’d find you here,” Kat said.
Thomas Wyeth winked at his daughter and slipped a cigar out of his pocket. “Just don’t tell your mother.”
“As though I would.” Kat rolled her eyes.
“That’s my girl.” Mr. Wyeth lit his cigar with an engraved jet lighter and took a deep, satisfied drag on it. The cigar smoke was spicy and earthy as it swirled in the cool air.
“Is there some sort of family reunion going on out here?” a voice asked. “And if so, why wasn’t I invited?”
I looked up and saw a lanky man with thinning hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He was followed by a blonde woman who was so painfully thin, her head looked like it was two sizes too large for her body.
“Oh, we make it a point to never invite you to family reunions, Josh,” Kat said drily as her brother joined us.
“Kat the Kidder.” Josh reached out to rumple her hair.
“Stop it!” Kat swatted his arm away. “Alice, this is my annoying brother, Josh, and his wife, Ashley.”
I shook each of their hands in turn.
“Why are you all out here? It’s freezing.” Then Josh noticed the cigar in his father’s hand. “You know Mom’s going to kill you if she catches you smoking again.”
Mr. Wyeth waved a dismissive hand. “I can handle your mother.”
“Famous last words,” Kat murmured.
Mr. Wyeth chuckled and turned to join a gathering of men who had clearly come out to the patio with the same idea. They were all lighting cigars while engaging in lighthearted conversation.
“Hey, did you know Zach Harris is here?” Josh turned toward his sister.
“Zach came?” Kat seemed surprised. “Where is he?”
“I saw him inside. He and his wife just got here.”
“Come show me.” Kat grabbed her brother by the wrist. She looked at me. “Zach is an old friend of mine. We used to date in high school. I’m just going to say hello. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure, take your time,” I said. I didn’t want Kat to feel like she had to babysit me.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit,” Kat answered over her shoulder.
I watched Kat and her brother disappear into the house. Kat was still barefoot, having left her shoes behind on the veranda.
I wanted to find Todd, but it seemed rude to leave Ashley on her own.
I smiled at Kat’s sister-in-law. “This is a great party.”
“How long have you known Kat?” Ashley asked.
“Just about a year.”
Ashley was pretty in a lacquered-over way. Her blond hair had been ironed straight, and her makeup had been applied with an expert if rather heavy hand. When she spoke and smiled, her face remained strangely flat and waxy, the telltale signs of Botox.
“Kat’s something else, isn’t she?” Ashley offered in a high, almost singsong voice that betrayed just a touch of a Southern twang.
“She’s great.”
“She has quite a habit of collecting people.” Ashley smirked. “I guess you’re the latest addition to the collection.”
The smile slid off my face. From the slight slur of her words, I guessed that the glass in Ashley’s hand did not represent her first drink of the evening. Then again, she was so wisp thin that it might not take much to make her tipsy.
I arched my eyebrows. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t? Well, let me tell you something about my sister-in-law. She comes across as, like, the coolest girl ever, right? And she’s so much fun and so put-together, and you’re so flattered that she wants to hang out with you all the time...and then, as soon as she gets what she wants out of you—” Ashley tried to snap her fingers, but in her lubricated state she wasn’t able to pull it off “—you never hear from her again. That’s Kat. She’s uses people, and then she discards them.”
“I should probably go find my husband.” I turned away from Ashley, wondering if Kat knew just how much her sister-in-law despised her.
Ashley grabbed my arm, pulling me back around toward her with a surprising and somewhat disturbing strength. I looked down at her bony hand gripping me with its long, red-painted nails. It reminded me of a claw.
“Ask Kat about Marcia Grable,” Ashley hissed, pushing her face far too close to mine. “Just ask her. I dare you.”
I twisted my arm out of Ashley’s grip and took a step back from her. “Excuse me,” I said coldly.
I turned away and headed back into the house. But I did hear her singsong voice, the Southern accent even more pronounced than before, call after me, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
* * *
“What’s wrong?” Todd asked when I found him standing near the buffet on his own, holding a plate piled with an assortment of hot hors d’oeuvres.
“What do you mean?” I realized I was holding my arm where Ashley had grabbed me. I saw Howard Grant across the room, standing too close to a pretty brunette woman laughing flirtatiously up at him. He either didn’t notice me or, if he did, didn’t acknowledge that he recognized me. I wasn’t surprised. Howard hadn’t grown any friendlier toward me over the months since I’d first met him.
“You look a little freaked out,” Todd said. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just had a... Jesus, I don’t know what that was.” I plucked a mini crab cake off Todd’s plate and bit off half of it. It was delicious. I popped the rest of it into my mouth.
“What?” Todd asked. “Did someone grab your ass?”
I choked on the bite of crab cake I’d been in the process of swallowing and pressed a hand to my mouth while my eyes watered.
Once I’d recovered my composure, I said, “Don’t do that!”
“What?”
“Make me laugh when I’m eating.”
“Asking if someone grabbed your ass makes you laugh?” Todd smiled down at me. Whenever he was amused, his eyes squinted up into two half crescents.
“This isn’t exactly an ass-grabbing sort of crowd,” I said, making sure to keep my voice a low murmur, aware of the heads that had swiveled in my direction when I was coughing.
“What happened, then?” Todd asked.
Before I could fill him in on my run-in with the unpleasant Ashley, Kat appeared in front of us, smiling, her face flushed.
“Here you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” she said. “Todd, I see you found the food.”
Todd raised his plate in answer. “Everything’s delicious,” he said.
“Yes, nothing but the best for my mother.” Kat’s voice was heavy with irony.
“I’m going back for another round,” Todd said. “Alice stole all of my mini crab cakes.”
“I did not! I only had one.”
“It’s your word against mine.” Todd winked at me and then turned and headed purposefully toward the buffet table.
“Todd’s great,” Kat commented. She sounded almost wistful. “You’re so lucky.”
“Why, because the man appreciates a buffet?”
“You know what I’m talking about. He’s a good guy.” I followed Kat’s gaze and saw she was staring at her husband, who was still chatting cozily with the brunette. Howard touched the woman’s bare shoulder, and she giggled in response. Kat tensed. “Better than most.”
If Howard’s flirtation and Ashley’s venom were common occurrences at her parents’ holiday party, I could see why Kat dreaded it. And she hadn’t even heard what Ashley had said to me. I wondered if I should tell her, but decided against it. Kat was in a good mood, happy and vivacious, or at least she had been until she spotted her husband ogling another woman. I didn’t want to spoil her night. Besides, Ashley was clearly a poisonous person, I decided, and she’d probably been jealous of Kat for years. Kat was certainly brighter and more personable and definitely more attractive than her aging sorority-girl sister-in-law.
No, I decided, I wasn’t going to play the part of Ashley’s tattletale. And I certainly wasn’t going to ruin Kat’s evening. Instead I was going to enjoy the party and drink champagne until my always-overworked brain was comfortably numb. To hell with the headache I’d have tomorrow.
“What did you think of Ashley?” Kat asked, almost as if she was reading my thoughts. “I saw you two chatting.”
I shrugged. “I think she’s had too much to drink. She wasn’t making much sense, and she was slurring her words.”
“That seems likely. She usually is.”
“Really? How does she stay so thin?” I asked.
“She never eats. She lives on a diet of wine and bitterness,” Kat said, which cracked both of us up.
“What are you two ladies laughing about?” Todd asked, joining us. He slid an arm around me and cupped his hand on my waist.
“I’m just so happy I met Alice,” Kat told him. She squeezed my arm. “She’s exactly who I needed in my life.”