they pay for your wedding ceremony and party? Did they give you wonderful gifts to take into your marriage the way Indian parents do? We call it a dowry, but is it so different?”
Tracy was stunned. She had never, never, thought of her life that way. Arranged marriages were conducted on the other side of the world.
She was still trying to figure out what to say in return when she heard footsteps in the other room. She realized Lee was staring at them from the doorway. And not happily.
“What on earth is going on here?” he asked.
Alice turned. Tracy caught a glimpse of her face. She looked uncertain, even frightened, although Tracy was sure she had to be imagining that.
“Your generous mother-in-law invited us for cake, Lee,” Tracy said. “And we’ve been having a wonderful time. Alice knows how to entertain a crowd.”
“Alice should not be entertaining anybody. Alice needs rest and quiet.”
Janya spoke before Tracy could. “Perhaps she has had too much of both and needs friends, Mr. Symington. She has been happy with us, and we’ve been delighted with her.”
“And what would you know?” He sounded as angry as his words. “Somebody like you has no idea what Alice needs. You’re not even from here.”
Janya did not back down, which surprised Tracy. In fact, she took a step forward. “The country I come from has nothing to do with this. Sometimes strangers can see what’s going on better than family can.”
“Exactly what do you mean by that? What do you think is going on?”
Tracy stepped between them. “Hey, look, Lee, Janya just means you might be too close to the situation. When we’re with Alice, she has a great time. You’re naturally worried about her. But maybe she’s not as fragile as you think.”
He didn’t reply. She noted a muscle in his jaw working hard, as if he were suppressing whatever he had intended to say.
“I thought…you would be gone. I didn’t want to disturb you.” Alice sounded tired, maybe even defeated.
“So you waited until I left.”
Silence stretched on, and Tracy thought he wasn’t going to continue. Then Lee sighed. “I’m sorry. I apologize to all of you, especially you, Mrs. Kapur.” He looked at Tracy, not Janya, when he said it. “I was out of line. It’s just that excitement isn’t good for Alice. The consequences show up later.”
“I’m fine, Lee,” Alice said with dignity. “And these are my friends.”
He nodded. “Again, I apologize. I had no right to be so upset. There’s just a lot to worry about.” He smiled at his mother-in-law, a thin smile that looked as if it had been manufactured from next to nothing. “And I worry because I care. You know that.”
Tracy was becoming a fan of apologies, but this one did little for her. This was a side of Lee she hadn’t seen before, and she didn’t like it.
“Shall I go out and come in again?” This time he smiled ruefully, and more genuinely, at all of them. “Could we pretend this never happened?”
“You are very kind to apologize,” Janya said stiffly. “And now, I must go home.”
“Thank you for understanding.” Lee was beginning to sound like the man Tracy had thought she was getting to know. She wondered what, if anything, had happened at the barbecue to upset him.
“I’ve got to go, too,” she said.
“And me,” Wanda added. “I’ve got some work to do tonight.” She looked at Tracy and wiggled her eyebrows. “A few phone calls that need to be made.”
They all thanked Alice, and Lee saw the women to the door. He pulled Tracy aside before she could follow the others down the path.
“Listen, I thought about this, and you’re right about Olivia. I’ll register her first thing on Monday morning. And I’m sure you’re right about Alice, too. She’ll be fine until Olivia gets back in the afternoons. Thanks for nudging me a little. Before and, well, now.”
She felt better. Everybody had bad days, and Lee did have a lot on his plate. “You’re welcome.” She rose up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek to show he was forgiven.
chapter nineteen
Had anyone ever brought up the subject, Tracy would have snickered at the idea of an early-bird special. Had she been asked where she wanted to eat, she would have said any place except a noisy tourist restaurant that flung plastic baskets with greasy clumps of dough on every table right along with the menus. Yet here she was, late on a Thursday afternoon, sitting at the