the cause. Ari had heard her mother and uncle arguing about their mother.
“Mother loves you more than she loves me,” Alicia had complained, “but I’m the one who has given her a grandchild! I’m the one who visits the most often, so that Mother knows she’s not alone in the world.”
“Mothers always love their sons more than their daughters,” Uncle Cliff had answered lightly. “It’s a male-female thing. In the genes.”
Now Eleanor replied, her voice gentle, “Of course I haven’t forgotten, darling. I’m not quite senile yet. I’ve made reservations for us tonight at Le Languedoc.” She sipped her coffee. “But I’m guessing there’s another reason for the visit. It’s seldom I get to have all of you at once.”
Ari glared at her uncle, mentally urging him to speak up. Not speaking up was a kind of lie, Ari thought.
After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, Ari said, “Gram, I apologize, but there is another reason we’re all here. I think Uncle Cliff should be the one to tell you because he’s the one who knows the most about it.”
Alicia sent Ari a quick smile of gratitude.
Cliff shifted uncomfortably in his chair, gathering himself like a peacock getting ready to display his tail feathers. “Mom, of course we’re all here to celebrate your birthday. It just so happens that something has presented itself at the same time. Almost the same time.”
“Go on.” Eleanor tilted her head slightly, encouragingly.
Cliff cleared his throat. “I ran into an old college friend, Muriel Wheeler, who is vice president of the Gold Sand Resort Company. They’re looking to expand their base. They’d like to buy this house and the surrounding land, and Muriel told me they’re willing to pay fifteen million dollars.”
Ari watched her grandmother. Eleanor’s expression didn’t change, but the light went out of her eyes.
“My,” Eleanor said. “That is a lot of money.”
Emboldened by her mother’s calm, Alicia leaned forward. “It is, isn’t it? Mother, if we split it three ways, that would be five million dollars for each of us. Oh, of course we would use our share to fund Ari’s graduate school tuition.” When her mother didn’t respond, she added, “Or, we could split it four ways, and Ari could have an equal share. We would still come out with almost four million dollars each.”
“Yes,” Eleanor softly agreed. “But you wouldn’t have this house. This water view.”
“It’s a gorgeous view, Mother,” Alicia said. “But frankly, the house…needs work. It must be difficult to keep it up, especially at your age. Phillip and I have been talking, and we worry about you, Mother. Out here on the bluff alone in the winter. And going up and down the stairs—you could fall. Or if you, heaven forbid, had a heart attack, it would take so long for the ambulance to get here, and the Nantucket Cottage Hospital doesn’t have facilities for serious heart events. You would have to be medevaced by helicopter to Mass General in Boston. That would be terrifying!”
Eleanor smiled. “You are kind to think of my health.”
Ari spotted the flash of anger in her grandmother’s eyes. Oh, Mom, shut up, she thought.
“Yes, we do think of your health. We do worry about you. That’s why”—Alicia rustled around in her purse and brought out several glossy brochures—“Cliff and I, and also Phillip, have visited several retirement communities on the mainland near us. There are some darling cottages! The community would take care of the outside, the roof and painting, but you could have the inside exactly as you want. You would have your own kitchen but you could go to the communal dining room to meet friends for meals, or you could have your meals brought to you. I would like that myself!” Alicia laughed. “Here, Mother, take a look.” Alicia tried to hand the brochures to Eleanor.
Eleanor did not reach out to take them. “Actually, I am very happy here. I’m not afraid of falling, and I think I possess the most beautiful view in the world.”
Ari knew what was coming. The more her grandmother remained cool, the more heated her mother became.
With a shaking hand, Alicia laid the brochures on the table. “If you won’t think of yourself, think of us.”
“Go on,” Eleanor said quietly.
“First of all,” Alicia said, “we do love you and we are aware that you are entering a more…difficult stage of life. You and I have talked on the phone about the people we know who’ve recently gone in for hip replacements