Embers (35 page)

Introductions were made all around, and things picked up even more when the plates and utensils started coming out. A kind of human utensil-brigade formed spontaneously between the kitchen and the lawn, with baskets of forks and boxes of glasses and napkins by the gross being passed down briskly to the proper tables. Wyler broke out of the line to grab a soda for Allie and a beer for himself. When Meg appeared briefly he offered her a beer as well.

"
No, thanks, I
'
ll wait,
"
she said breathlessly, and then she smiled and said,
"
Maybe just a sip of yours.
"

He offered her his bottle, and she drank from it, and he felt as if they
'
d shared something sacred. But then he looked up and saw Allie watching them both, and he felt ashamed to have enjoyed both beer and her sister in front of her.

He wanted to make it up to Allie. He had enough copper
friends in AA to know how hard a social gathering like this could be. He put his beer aside and took a Coke from the cooler, then went up to Allie and said,
"
It looks like we have a lull while they crank up the grills. Why don
'
t you give me a tour?
"

She acquiesced, but her heart obviously wasn
'
t in it. They began strolling down the lawn toward the right-of-way that led to the water while Wyler made small talk about the view. Allie kept answering in monosyllables. Finally he said,
"
Hey, how come I
'
m doing all the work?
You
'
re
supposed to be the Energizer Bunny in this relationship.
"

"
What relationship,
"
she murmured, slapping a dandelion listlessly against her thigh.

He had the feeling that
"
relationship
"
was maybe a loaded word, but he couldn
'
t think of another, so he said,
"
You
know: you, me. Old fart. Young dynamo. Palling around town. Relationship. I think that
'
s what it
'
s called.
"

"
My God, Tom, you don
'
t know anything,
"
she said wearily.
"
Palling around does not make for a relationship.
"

He had the sense that he was walking on quicksand now; whether he went forward or backward, it made no difference. So he went forward.
"
How can you say that? We
'
ve been relating like crazy. I know all about you: your favorite song, your favorite movie, your favorite food, your favorite color
—
"

"
Which proves you
'
re a good listener, that
'
s all.
"

"
I
'
ve told you all about my ex-wife,
"
he said, much more seriously.
"
I
'
ve never talked to anyone else about the breakup.
"

"
Because it
'
s easier to tell some stranger a thousand miles from home, that
'
s all.
"

She was right, dammit.
"
Well, what do
you
call a relationship?
"
he asked, kicking himself even before the words were out.

"
A relationship is when you
'
re only half alive if the other person
'
s not around,
"
Allie murmured, her eyes glistening.
"
A relationship is when you can
'
t help but do
...
this,
"
she added, lifting her arms around his neck.

That was not how Wyler felt about her, but he hated like hell to disappoint her. She was so very, very beautiful and her violet eyes were so very sad
...
and she smelled so terrific
...
and he
'
d clearly hurt her somehow
...
and now she was closing her eyes and parting her lips
...
so maybe, who knew, maybe he
was
interested in a relationship with her.

He slipped his arms around her waist. He was aware that he was stepping deeper into the bog, but he didn
'
t see how he could
not
kiss her. And then something kicked in, something that had nothing to do with relationships but had everything to do with the image of Meg standing in dappled sunlight.

"
Whoa,
"
he said in a shaky voice, suddenly holding Allie at arm
'
s length.
"
Not such a good idea. I don
'
t want your uncle coming after me with a barbecue fork,
"
he said, offering the first excuse he could think of.

But Allie smiled a dreamy smile and said,
"
I know where we can hide.
"

"
C
'
mon, minx,
"
he said, laughing off the moment by sweeping her back up the hill.

They headed back to the house, with Allie
'
s mood only marginally improved. The whole time, Wyler was thinking,
God, I
'
ve screwed this thing up.
The whole time, Wyler was wishing that Allie was Meg alongside him.

When they got back, Wyler automatically scanned the crowd, looking for Meg. She had a big stainless bowl of something or other in her arms and was deep in conversation with Comfort, who was holding herself oddly around her waist. Wyler watched with more than passing curiosity as Meg put the bowl down on the nearest folding table, then took Comfort by the shoulders with a look he couldn
'
t begin to fathom: of joy, surprise, dismay, tension
...
but mostly joy, he thought.

She hugged Comfort, then began talking excitedly, then hugged Comfort again. Then Bill Atwells said something to them, and Comfort said something back to him, and Bill Atwells roared out,
"
Good God! Everybody! Comfort
'
s got a bun in the oven!
"

Instantly Allie broke from Wyler
'
s side in a gleeful run for her sister-in-law and got swallowed in the crowd of well-wishers surrounding Comfort. Wyler half expected them to hoist Comfort on their shoulders and carry her down
Main Street
.

Meg slipped away and came up to him.
"
This is wonderful news,
"
she said, wiping away tears from her eyes.
"
Comfort and my brother had given up trying.
"

Wyler smiled and said,
"
You know what? I don
'
t think so.
"
He couldn
'
t take his eyes away from Meg
'
s face. She looked so overwhelmed, so emotional.
"
It
'
s an odd time to announce, no?
"

"
Oh, she hadn
'
t planned to tell anyone yet. But she
'
s been feeling woozy and I was sure she was coming down with a bug. I was trying to make her leave the picnic, and that
'
s when she told me. We forgot that Uncle Billy has ears like a collie.
"

"
And a voice like a megaphone. How
'
s Lloyd taking the news?
"
In fact, Wyler was wondering how he himself would take that kind of news nowadays.

"
He
'
s ecstatic. But anxious, naturally. Comfort
'
s forty-two, and Lloyd
'
s still trying to find steady work. They have a fierce deductible on their medical insurance. It won
'
t be easy. But I expect we
'
ll manage somehow.
"

She slipped into that
"
we
"
so easily. Their problems were
her
problems. He wondered whether it ever occurred to Meg that she had the means
—
a valuable dollhouse
—
to alleviate the whole family
'
s money worries, at least in the near term. But it was hardly his business to say.

Meg had her hands on her hips.
"
My God. There
'
s the potato salad, on the grass. I
'
d better get the bowl up and out of the ants
'
way. Please excuse me.
"
She started off and then turned back to him.
"
I hope you
'
re having a good time,
"
she said, flushing.

"
Just now I was,
"
he answered truthfully.

"
I really am glad,
"
she said.
"
I wanted you to so much.
"

****

Two hours later, Wyler, like everyone else, was stuffed with lobster, steak, corn, and fourteen
—
he counted them
—
different salads, everything from Caesar
'
s to
Szechwan
.

He
'
d made it a point of honor to sample every one, then had gone back for seconds of the crab-stuffed artichokes, the shrimp ring, the lobster mold, and the fisherman
'
s salad. After that he collapsed into an
Adirondack
chair and chatted amiably with first and second cousins about hunting, fishing, canoeing, and half a dozen other sports he
'
d never tried in his life.

Someone put an infant in his arms; the smell of baby powder made him feel ridiculously tender and protective. The womenfolk brought out coffee and dessert for the menfolk, which struck Wyler as the way things ought to be. A dozen preteens gobbled cake and ran off to the lower end of the yard to play badminton, while their older counterparts
—
kissing cousins, presumably
—
flirted and slipped away to the shore path in couples and small groups.

Everything was perfect until the sisters came and ruined it all.

Allie grabbed his visor from the back of his chair and slapped it back on his head.
"
Time for my surprise,
"
she said.
"
I
'
ve got us a boat! It belongs to my uncle
'
s neighbor; he said we can take it for a sail. So get up, lazybones. Let
'
s go!
"

He stared incredulously at her. She
'
d come up with the game plan from hell.
"
No, I don
'
t think so
—
"
he began, quietly locking his elbows around the arms of his chair.

Meg wasn
'
t in on Allie
'
s surprise, either.
"
Allie, you don
'
t know how to sail,
"
she reminded her.

"You'
re
going to sail the thing, Meg. All I have to do is try to look nautical. C
'
mon, Wyler. Outta the chair.
"

"
No, really, I
'
m stuffed,
"
Wyler groaned.
"
I can
'
t move.
"
Couldn
'
t they do something he merely
hated
, like charades? Must they do something he
loathed
?

"
Allie, I am
not
going to be your gondolier,
"
Meg said tautly.