White Sand, Blue Sea Page 11

  “I don’t understand, we had a fabulous morning scuba diving.” He poured a glass of scotch. “Olivia is like a fish in the water, she must have inherited it from you,” he sighed. “That and her long legs, she really is a beautiful girl. We did well.”

  “We didn’t do anything. Her looks are a stroke of nature and her intelligence is a combination of hard work and good schooling.” She looked at Sebastian. “You wouldn’t know. You left before she finished her first Fun with Dick and Jane book.”

  Sebastian raised his eyebrow. “You are irritable this afternoon. Felix should hire a maid instead of making you do the housework.”

  “We have a housekeeper and I like to polish the furniture.” She tossed the cloth on the side table and sat on the sofa. “A little honest labor is rewarding, you should try it.”

  “Drink this, it’s your favorite scotch.” He handed her the glass. “And tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Don’t treat me like a shopgirl you charm into giving you free cigarettes.” She took the glass. “You asked Olivia and Finn to go scuba diving in Costa Rica at Christmas.”

  “I knew there was something bothering you. You always were as transparent as a sheer negligee,” he mused. “But isn’t it a little late to be discussing custody? Olivia is almost twenty-five. She can spend Christmas with her father if she wants to.”

  “You forgot the small fact that Finn is going to ask her to marry him,” she replied and downed the scotch.

  “I did invite them both. Though Finn played tennis this morning instead of going scuba diving.” He shrugged. “If he doesn’t want to come to Costa Rica, Olivia and I will have fun without him.”

  Hadley wondered if Sebastian really hadn’t known that Finn wanted to hold the wedding at Christmas. Maybe his invitation was perfectly innocent and she was getting upset about nothing.

  “You’re absent for twenty years and suddenly appear like a cross between Santa Claus and the most dazzling movie star,” she said finally. “Olivia and Finn never fight, and now she’s defending you.”

  “I can’t think of anything more boring. The best part of being with you was when we had a difference of opinion.” He glanced at Hadley. “Making up was more electrifying than a swarm of fireflies.”

  “A relationship where you agree on things is called a lasting marriage.” Her cheeks flushed. “Finn asked Felix to hold the wedding at St. Barts at Christmas but it’s supposed to be a surprise. If Finn says he doesn’t want to go to Costa Rica, Olivia will be furious.”

  Sebastian nodded. “That could be a problem.”

  “You didn’t know?” Hadley looked up.

  “How would I know? I hardly qualify as Finn’s best man.” He shrugged. “I’ll tell Olivia we’ll go next spring for her birthday.”

  “You would do that?” she asked hopefully.

  She had been worried that Olivia and Finn would get into another fight, but now everything would be all right.

  “Of course.” He poured another glass of scotch. “You really don’t see; there’s nothing I care about more than Olivia’s happiness. Though, frankly, I believe she’s making a mistake. She’s like a turtle content in its shell. Eventually it dives in the ocean and discovers neon-colored fish and glittering coral and realizes there’s more to life than miles of white sand. But I would never sabotage her relationship on purpose,” he finished. “That would be like destroying the Mona Lisa.”

  “I’m glad.” Hadley’s eyes filled with unexpected tears.

  “There is something else bothering you.” Sebastian sat next to her. “You’re a beautiful woman with piles of wealth. You should be swathed in diamonds and rubies. You should own a collection of Louis Vuitton luggage and jet between Gstaad and Monte Carlo.”

  “I thought we should all be living in the jungle and eating coconuts,” Hadley retorted.

  “You wear nondescript dresses and flat sandals you find at Macy’s.”

  “I come to St. Barts to relax, I can wear whatever I like.”

  “It’s not just the clothes, though, you’re wasting a fine pair of legs,” he continued. “Olivia said you don’t scuba dive anymore.”

  “Felix had a bad experience years ago.” She fiddled with her glass. “He doesn’t like to dive.”

  “He plays tennis every day and you don’t own a racquet,” Sebastian protested. “Why should you stop diving because he doesn’t want to?”

  “Sometimes you do things because your spouse asks you to. It’s called putting the other person first,” she replied. “That might sound as foreign as saving for your retirement but it’s part of the marriage vows.”

  “Well, it doesn’t seem to be working. You’ll be forty-nine in a few days but you behave like you’re seventy.” He frowned. “You should be practicing yoga and eating exotic foods and planning trips to Portugal and Tenerife. Instead you’re driving to the tennis club and mixing rum punch.”

  “We own a villa in St. Barts. It’s one of the most glorious islands in the Caribbean.” Hadley’s cheeks flushed once more. “I have everything I could have dreamed of.”

  “But you’re not even enjoying St. Barts. You could be scuba diving and snorkeling and sipping peach daiquiris at nightclubs. Look at you.” He waved his hand. “You’re wearing a housedress and wiping down furniture.”

  “I like to polish furniture and this dress is vintage Diane von Furstenberg. If I need fashion advice I’ll read a copy of Vogue.” She stood and smoothed her skirt. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a bath.”

  “Hadley, wait.” Sebastian touched her arm. “I can’t help noticing the changes. Your beauty is still there, it’s more spectacular than ever. But you’re so busy with Felix and Olivia and Finn, you’ve forgotten about yourself.

  “Where’s the girl who climbed onto a rock to get close to the penguins or stood fifty feet from a rhinoceros? I don’t expect her back altogether, we all age. But you can’t extinguish her completely; what will be there instead?”

  Hadley felt his hand on her arm and a chill ran down her spine.

  “I’ll tell you what’s there, a mother who spent two decades making sure her daughter was loved and nurtured,” she began. “And a wife who enjoys fixing her husband a dry martini because he always says thank you. We can’t all lead big lives filled with African chiefs and spiritual awakenings, but some of us are happy.” Her blue eyes flashed. “And I think you’re feeling sorry for yourself or you wouldn’t be here trying to charm your daughter.”

  “You’re wrong, I—”

  The front door opened and Felix stood in the foyer. His tennis bag was slung over his shoulder and his white shirt was damp with sweat.

  “There you are! Finn and I made the final round.” He kissed Hadley and nodded at Sebastian. “I’m glad I found you two together. I ran into an old friend from Yale. Eric is a big art collector and I told him Sebastian is staying with us.” He paused. “He and his wife are staying at the Hotel Eden Rock and asked us to dinner. He invited the whole family but I think he’s most interested in meeting Sebastian. He thinks your piece Poppy Fields in Cambodia is better than Monet’s Garden of Giverny.”

  “I’m flattered but comparing me to Monet is like comparing a Toyota to a Bentley,” Sebastian said, sipping his scotch.

  “I told Finn to be ready at six,” Felix said. “I’m going to go upstairs and shower.”

  “I have an idea, why don’t we leave Finn and Olivia at the villa and go ourselves?” Sebastian suggested.

  “Eric did invite the whole family,” Felix wavered.

  “Olivia and Finn are young, they don’t want to listen to middle-aged men singing Yale fight songs or reminiscing about their first time in a German beer garden.” Sebastian looked at Hadley. “It might be good for them to have the place to themselves. They can eat a romantic dinner and go for a late-night swim.”

  “That’s an excellent plan,” Hadley agreed. “I’ll tell Esther to make baked chicken for two.”

  “Sure, why not.” Feli
x nodded and walked to the staircase. “I can’t wait to catch up with Eric. He was the only one at university who appreciated Rothko’s early work.”

  Hadley waited until the master bedroom door closed and turned to Sebastian.

  “Thank you,” she said. “It will be good for Finn and Olivia to have time alone.”

  “I know you think I’m trying to shake up everyone’s life but you’re mistaken.” He put his glass on the sideboard. “I’m like Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life. I just want to know the Miller girls are okay.”

  Hadley walked to the foyer and turned around. “I appreciate the sentiment but that doesn’t stop you from getting things wrong. I’m turning forty-eight, not forty-nine.”

  Chapter Seven

  OLIVIA BUTTONED A FLORAL DRESS and slipped on white leather sandals. She smoothed her hair behind her ears and glanced at her watch. It was almost 6:00 p.m. and if she didn’t hurry she’d be late for cocktails.

  She rubbed red lipstick on her lips and thought it had been a glorious day. Scuba diving with Sebastian was exhilarating and their picnic of French bread and duck pâté was delicious. If only she and Finn hadn’t gotten into a fight this morning, everything would be perfect.

  She remembered suggesting they eat dinner at Le Toiny and bit her lip. How could she have forgotten to make a reservation? She had stayed in the bath too long soaking in lavender bubbles and reading a paperback book. But Finn was counting on it and she couldn’t disappoint him again. He had been so angry with her, she didn’t want to have another disagreement.

  Suddenly she pictured eating apple tatin at the Pipiri Palace with Finn and Sebastian and gasped. Finn didn’t have to figure out the check with the maître d’, he was telling him not to bring out the champagne. Finn had been going to propose! If only Sebastian hadn’t joined them, she might be wearing a sapphire-and-diamond ring on her finger.

  She would call Le Toiny and reserve a table. Then she’d put on Finn’s favorite perfume and the diamond bracelet he gave her for Christmas.

  There was a knock on the bedroom door and Olivia opened it. Finn stood in the hallway, wearing a navy polo shirt and beige slacks.

  “I’m sorry I’m running late,” she said. “Felix likes us to be punctual. Let me grab my purse and I’ll be ready.”

  “Didn’t Felix tell you?” Finn entered the room. “He and Hadley and Sebastian went to Hotel Eden Rock for dinner. An old college friend of Felix’s is an art collector and wanted to meet Sebastian.”

  “I must have been in the bath and didn’t hear him knock. I was about to book a table at Le Toiny. I meant to do it earlier, I just…” She hesitated.

  She couldn’t apologize for scuba diving with Sebastian; she had every right to see her father. But she hated tension between them; it made her feel slightly dizzy.

  “I’m sorry about everything I said earlier,” he began. “I’m glad Sebastian is here and you’re spending time with him.”

  “I shouldn’t have changed my plans, but I’ve waited so long for this moment. Sebastian really is quite sensitive and he does like you,” she replied. “He wanted to cancel scuba diving because you couldn’t join us.”

  “I think we can all get along perfectly for the next few days.” He kissed her. “I have an idea. We have the whole villa to ourselves and Esther made coq au vin and polenta and coconut mousse for dessert. Why don’t we stay home and eat in the garden?”

  Olivia kissed him back and her shoulders relaxed. That was the wonderful thing about Finn, they hardly ever argued. She glanced out the French doors at the pink hibiscus and yellow frangipani and felt warm and happy.

  Her green eyes sparkled and her face broke into a smile. “I can’t think of anything I’d like better.”

  * * *

  They sat at the glass table on the patio and ate shrimp salad and grilled tomato bread. Finn poured two glasses of zinfandel and they talked about the tennis match and a new client at the gallery. Olivia gazed at the lush palm trees and glittering ocean and thought she really was happy. All the people she loved were in one place, what more could she want?

  She remembered when she met Finn the summer before her senior year at Vassar. The weather was unbearably humid and she thought she was the only young person in Manhattan. All her friends had escaped to their parents’ Long Island estates or cottages in Maine. But Olivia wanted to get work experience and Hadley was happy to have her work at the gallery.

  * * *

  “Can I help you?” Olivia asked a young man standing near the door. He wore a dark suit and white shirt and his forehead was covered in sweat.

  It was almost 5:00 p.m. and she was desperate to change into a cotton dress and sandals. But Hadley treated everyone who walked in as if they were old friends. She would never point out it was two minutes to closing time and she longed for a plate of tapas and chilled sangria.

  “They’re all fascinating.” He studied a canvas painted in endless shades of blue. “I’m just not…”

  “Interested in abstract art?” Olivia finished, smoothing her blond hair behind her ears. “To be honest it’s not my favorite style of painting. At least when I study a Rueben or Rembrandt, I know what I’m looking at.”

  The man glanced at Olivia and laughed. “Shouldn’t you not say that out loud? If the owner hears you, you might get fired.”

  “Art appreciation is individual.” Olivia shrugged. “If everyone liked the same thing, all the art in the world could be housed at the Metropolitan and the Louvre. I can respect an artist without enjoying his paintings.” She paused. “Besides, I’m Olivia Miller. The gallery belongs to my mother.”

  “If we’re being completely honest, I came inside for the air-conditioning,” he replied. “My boss sent me to deliver a letter to a client in Chelsea. I walked in circles and still can’t find the address.”

  “Let me see.” Olivia took the envelope from his hand. “It’s around the corner. If you wait a minute, I’ll show you.”

  “I really appreciate it, I was wearing out the soles of my loafers,” he said when they delivered the letter. “Can I buy you an iced coffee or gelato?”

  “I never go out with strangers.” She hesitated. “How do I know you’re not an international spy?”

  “My name is Finn and I’m clerking at my family’s law firm,” he began. “I was crew co-captain at Princeton and vice president of the honor society. Besides,” he looked at Olivia, “we just walked through a dark alley, you have to be able to trust me.”

  “I guess I’ll take my chances,” she said and noticed his eyes were the color of cornflowers. “Right now I’d give anything for a plate of spinach ravioli and frozen Negroni.”

  They sat at an outdoor table at Alta Linea and ate crispy artichoke with salsa. There was a basket of French bread and pots of sundried tomato butter.

  “This is my first summer in Manhattan,” he admitted, sipping his drink. “Everyone looks cool and relaxed and I feel like I spend all day in a sauna. Then I go back to my sublet and strip down to my board shorts. It’s my fault; the landlord said it was air-conditioned. I didn’t think he meant you had to stand in front of the freezer.”

  “New York City landlords aren’t known for their integrity,” she laughed. “But you’re wrong, everyone in Manhattan in August is uncomfortable. But if they admitted they’d rather be sailing on the Long Island Sound or eating crab in Nantucket, other people will know they’re miserable. They have to make everyone believe they stayed in New York because the restaurants are empty and you can get a ticket to the best show on Broadway.”

  “Then I’m afraid I’m not going to fit in. My parents taught me to be honest,” he explained. “If you meet a woman with glossy blond hair and green eyes, you tell her she’s beautiful. And if you want to see her again, you don’t wait a few days and pretend you lost her phone number.”

  “Oh.” Olivia blushed and looked at her plate.

  “Would you go out with me this weekend?” He looked at Olivia. “I hear it’s
easy to get tickets to a Broadway play.”

  She studied his tan cheeks and the cleft in his chin and nodded.

  “Yes, I’d like that very much.”

  * * *

  “I want to ask you something,” Finn interrupted her thoughts. “It’s about this summer.”

  “This summer?” Olivia put down her wineglass and gulped.

  Surely Finn wasn’t going to suggest getting married in a few months? She wasn’t going to be one of those brides who kept a daily notebook and spent nine months picking out centerpieces. But the best locations in New York booked months in advance and the perfect dress could take several fittings. She didn’t want to rush into buying something off the rack and reserving a poorly air-conditioned restaurant because the ballroom at the Plaza was taken.

  “I know we always spend a week in Nantucket with Felix and Hadley but an associate at the firm booked a cottage in Maine,” he continued. “It’s on the coast and there’s whale watching and hiking. He asked if we’d like to stay there in July.”

  “Maine!” Olivia replied and wondered why she suddenly felt like a deflated balloon.

  She’d been going to Nantucket since she was a child and loved everything about Felix’s clapboard house and the village with its elegant boutiques and quaint shops. And Maine would be just as lovely; the scenery was breathtaking and the lobster delicious.

  But she remembered Sebastian’s descriptions of Kenya and felt somehow guilty, like when you read a whole book at a bookstore without paying for it. She and Finn didn’t have to ride a camel in the Gobi Desert to be happy. And being alone together in Maine would be so romantic; they could visit lighthouses and watch the sunset.

  “I know we love Nantucket but it would be nice to do something different,” Finn urged. “We could go fishing and catch our own dinner.”

  Olivia looked at Finn and remembered why she loved him. He was always thinking about her and more than anything, he wanted to be together.