A Very Good Life (11 page)

“Not really, although they were definitely a challenge. Nor did he always respond to correspondence with punctuality. Quite to the contrary. By the way, I hope you’re coming to my last lecture on Tuesday?”

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Dana replied enthusiastically.

“Then you both must join me at the after-party at Café des Artistes. It’s an enjoyable way to end the season.”

“We’d love to join you,” said Andrew. “We’ll be there, and thank you so much.”

Andrew said goodbye to Max, and he left Lenôtre with Dana.

“Now
that
doesn’t happen every day,” Dana remarked on the sidewalk. “It feels like we were granted an audience with royalty.

“New York royalty,” Andrew commented. “This has been an incredible day. We found a great Christmas tree, Nina publicly announced that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and we just got invited to Rosamond Bernier’s after-party.”

Dana gave Andrew a big hug as the two parted.

“Thanks for all the help today, Andrew.”

“No thanks necessary. Tell your parents hi for me.”

“I will.”

Ten minutes later Dana stepped into the lobby of her apartment building. She was ready for a relaxing evening at home with family. It would be the perfect end to the perfect day.

B
rett had walked around his neighborhood for more than an hour as he tried to clear his head. It was late evening, and the dark sky overhead was awash with the bright lights of Manhattan. Still, he felt a welcome anonymity as he blended in with other pedestrians as he thought of Janice’s proposal and her brazen kiss at the Polo Lounge. He wasn’t sure yet how he would handle the situation, although he had an uneasy feeling that Janice was going to leave him with very few options. If he didn’t give her the fling she desired, she could ostensibly sabotage his hopes of partnership by allowing gossip to spread through the office, even if she jeopardized her own position with the firm in the process. She might even openly flirt with him. If she were fired, she would no doubt land on her feet at another firm, whether in New York or back in California. She was holding all the cards, and her freewheeling mindset made her all the more unpredictable. He was drawn to her unpredictability, of course, which was a fact he preferred not to think about.

He looked at his watch and realized that he needed to get home since Dana’s parents were coming for dinner. He sighed and put his hands in his topcoat pockets. He didn’t feel like sitting down and making small talk, and he was well aware that his mother-in-law had a penetrating gaze that rivaled that of the astute Patti Hartlen. It was going to be a very long evening.

He was within six blocks of 77 Park Avenue when he decided that he would take everyone out to eat. The popular folksinger Mary O’Dowd was playing at the Irish Pavilion. It would be best to have everyone focus their attention on the comely and melodic O’Dowd rather than on his nervous demeanor. It would be a classic case of a magician’s use of misdirection, and he needed a bit of magic right now to conceal thoughts he found overwhelming. Until he could get Dana’s family to the Pavilion, however, he would try his best to appear relaxed and use a little humor. He would pour a scotch, talk with his in-laws, and pretend to be enjoying the holiday season.

He turned a corner and thought yet again of how Janice’s lips had felt against his. They’d been warm and inviting, and the kiss had not been unwelcome. Its clandestine nature had caused his heart to beat faster—had caused him to feel alive in a way that he hadn’t for several years. Maybe Janice was right
.
He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. He wanted it all. And it wasn’t as if a fling had been
his
idea. The affair was being forced upon him. Wasn’t it up to all good husbands to protect their families and jobs by whatever means possible?

Of course it was. Deciding the matter was as simple as looking up precedents in case law. His legal mind told him he was on solid footing.

D
ana found her apartment quiet except for the barking of Wills, who met her at the front door, anxious for his evening walk. Using a different leash, she took him down Park Avenue for a few minutes and then returned to her living room to look at the tree again and recall the pleasant excursion to Pennsylvania with the eccentric but loveable Nina. She thought of Nina’s words from earlier in the day:
we know what a determined woman can accomplish, don’t we?
Dana would not be fazed by Bea or Helen on Monday morning. She’d done good work and would continue to do so. And she was determined to find a way to keep the teen contest from becoming a farce.

Phil and Virginia arrived fifteen minutes later, and they brought a special guest: Dana’s younger brother Matthew. He was a wiry young man who wore his thick brown hair over his ears, and his tan stood in stark contrast to the fair complexions of his parents and sister.

“Matthew!” Dana cried as she gave him a hug. “I didn’t think we’d see you until Christmas.”

Brett and Dana were with the McGarry family on Thanksgiving.

“I’m meeting some friends downtown later this evening,” he replied, “so I thought I’d tag along with Mom and Dad and join you for dinner. I turned in my term papers early, so I don’t head back to school until next Saturday. I’ll be at your party Thursday night.” He turned as Wills’ barking demanded his attention.

“Wills!” Matthew exclaimed. “I’m glad to see you, too!” Matthew dropped to his knees and began playing with the excited spaniel.

“Uncle John hasn’t called you, has he?” Virginia asked Dana.

Dana frowned. “No. Why?”

“Because he’s getting more upset by the day over Johnny marrying Suzanne Farnsworth. The Episcopalian ceremony is like a stake through his heart, plus Suzanne sent out the wedding invitations earlier than expected. Uncle John is beside himself.”

“He was hoping that you might speak to Johnny,” Phil added. “Uncle John isn’t even sure he’s going to attend the wedding.”

“That’s awful, but what could I possibly say to Johnny?” asked Dana. “He’s a grown man. I’m not going to get involved in his affairs, although I can understand Uncle John’s feelings all too well. I don’t think he’s missed Sunday mass in his entire life, and he’s in the pews on weekdays as well whenever he has a chance. And let’s don’t forget, Mom, that you insisted that Brett and I have a high mass with three priests to ensure that the marriage was going to be rock solid, as if the ceremony were an insurance policy. I feel sorry for poor Uncle John, but I don’t see how I could be of help.”

“That’s just what I told John,” Phil said. “No good can come from interfering with Johnny’s plans. All that meddling would turn into a soap opera.”

“You could send him to Hawaii for a couple of weeks,” Matthew suggested, laughing. “I know a few girls on the beach who might make him think twice.”

“I don’t think so, little brother,” Dana said, kissing Matthew on the cheek.

Not surprisingly, Virginia privately thought Matthew had a good idea. She sighed as she thought of her daughter’s wedding eight years earlier. She had indeed arranged for a solemn ceremony in the Catholic Church to impress upon Brett the seriousness of the vows he was taking. To this day, she wasn’t sure that he had gotten the message. In retrospect, she might not have minded if someone had taken him on an extended tropical vacation like the one Matthew was jokingly recommending.

Dana noted the concerned look on her mother’s face but decided not to disclose details of her dinner at Cheshire Cheese the previous evening or their discussion about a weekend home in Bedford. It was a case of slow and steady wins the race. Brett needed to make partner first, and the romantic getaway at the Inn at Phillips Mill was still more than a month away.

“And just where
is
the other half of this rock solid marriage?” Virginia asked.

Dana rolled her eyes at her mother’s wording and intonation.

Wills barked as he ran to the front door, anticipating Brett’s arrival.

“What’s that saying from the Bible?” Matthew said. “The master cometh at an hour you least expect?”

“Behave yourself,” Dana told her brother playfully.

Brett came through the door and saw Dana’s family assembled. The observant Virginia noticed that he had a smile on his face even before he’d seen his guests, as if he’d been preparing for his entrance.

“Matthew!” Brett said, giving the young man a hug. “What a surprise! And look at your tan while the rest of us are bundled up and walking through snow storms. Hey, does anyone want a drink?”

“I’m going to open a bottle of wine in a moment,” Dana said. “Something special in honor of Matthew.”

“I’m going to have a scotch,” Brett said. “It’ll warm me up quicker.”

Dana poured everyone a glass of wine while Brett hung up his topcoat, followed the others into the living room, and poured a tumbler of scotch. He circled the table Andrew had provided as he inspected the tree. “Is that what they call a Hanukkah bush?” he asked.

Brett looked around the room, but only Matthew had rewarded the remark with a chuckle, and he was receiving a sharp elbow from his sister as he did so.

“It’s a Concolor fir,” Dana informed her husband. “We’ve never had one before, and since we had to use Nina’s Beetle to bring it home, I decided to do something a little different this year.”

“Well, it’s a wee bit on the small side,” Brett said, wrinkling his nose and tilting his head. “Why don’t we get a bigger tree and use this somewhere else in the apartment?”

“I like the tree,” Dana said, turning to look at the fir again. “I think it looks just fine where it is.”

“Oh, it’s a beautiful tree, honey! It’s just that I thought we’d preserve a little tradition by putting something a little taller here in the living room—something that really says Christmas.”

The word “preserve” caused Brett’s forced smile to disappear momentarily. Janice had directed sharp barbs at him for trying to preserve his proper, staid way of life, and he was about to acquiesce to her remedy for removing himself from “McGarry landmark status.” He realized that attempting to preserve tradition was a visceral response to his anticipated fling with Janice.

“I think that maybe it’s time to start some new traditions,” Dana said, recalling the time she’d taken to pick out the tree with Nina and Andrew because Brett had to work. “We’ll be surrounded by Christmas tree farms in Bedford and perhaps then you can spare an hour so we can pick out a tree together.”

Dana had decided the previous evening to remember how hard Brett was working to make partner and to be more understanding of his work schedule. But did he have to criticize the tree within five minutes of stepping into the apartment? If he wanted a bigger tree, then he should have gone to Bucks County.

“Bedford?” Phil said. “Are you two moving?”

Looking confused, Brett sipped his scotch.

“That’s pretty cool,” Matthew remarked. “Make sure there’s a spare bedroom for a marine biologist.”

“I propose a toast to the Multicolor fir!” Brett said, reclaiming his smile.

“It’s a
Concolor
fir,” Dana said, now growing visibly irritated. “And no, Dad, we’re not moving. We just think Bedford is the perfect spot for a weekend home.”

“Bedford?” Brett said. “Oh yes—the country. Of course! Let’s raise a toast to a future home in Bedford!”

Dana was silently fuming
.
Brett obviously didn’t seem to recall their conversation at Cheshire Cheese. Memories of the day’s earlier triumphs were fading quickly.

“I think it’s time to get dinner started,” Virginia suggested nervously. Her daughter was upset, and there was obviously a backstory involved in the exchange between Dana and Brett that the Martignettis weren’t privy to.

“Good idea,” said the unflappable Phil. “I’m starving.”

“I’ve got frozen crepes ready to bake,” Dana said.

“Wait, honey!” Brett said. “It’s been a long day, and I don’t want you to have to cook tonight. Let’s eat at the Irish Pavilion. We can see Mary O’Dowd, the Irish folksinger. We’ll have a great time. We can even ask Paddy FitzGibbon to show us a catering menu for the party next week.”

“I love O’Dowd,” Matthew said. “but she’s not playing until next Saturday.”

“And Andrew and I have already taken care of the menu for next week,” Dana said. “We’re using Lenôtre.”

“We could always do French next year,” Brett said. “Paddy’s such a good friend and—”

“I think you’ve been outvoted,” Matthew declared good-naturedly while patting Brett on the back.

“The crepes are now in the oven,” Virginia announced a minute later. “No Pavilion tonight.”

“Then I propose another toast,” Brett said, realizing that his efforts to appear jovial were falling flat. “To family and new traditions!”

Everyone raised their glasses except Dana, who turned sharply and headed to the kitchen. Brett, she thought, was acting strangely. Why did he try so hard to impress her parents whenever they were together?

“Matthew,” Brett said as he sat on the sofa, “tell me how the surfing is on Oahu these days.” It was the only thing he could think of to talk about.

“Pretty cool,” Matthew said. “The waves are some of the best in the world.”

Brett nodded and sipped his scotch. “Glad to hear it, Matthew. And I’m happy you could join us tonight.”

Virginia glanced at Phil, and in their unspoken vocabulary, Phil knew exactly what she was saying: with Brett, nothing had changed.

• • •

Dinner was peppered with small talk, and Brett confined his remarks to asking questions about what others were saying rather than trying to initiate any conversation of his own. Dessert was served, Virginia helped clean up the kitchen and dining room, and the Martignettis left for Long Island at ten-thirty. The evening had come to an abrupt halt.

Dana decided to take Wills out despite Brett’s protest that he would be happy to do the final chore of the evening. “I need some fresh air,” she said tersely.

Brett, who’d had wine with dinner, poured himself another scotch. He wasn’t drunk, but he’d forfeited complete sobriety by the middle of dinner. He was standing in front of the Concolor fir when Dana returned.