flowers on all the tables, and she had made the curtains herself from a beautiful French fabric. The dining room was formal and a soft ivory white, filled with orchid plants and a view of the profusion of flowers she had planted in the garden. Their own bedroom was all done in soft blues, “like the bay,” she had teased him, Teddy's room, as she called it, was done in warm browns, and the baby's room was all done in bright yellows. She had worked hard all summer to get it ready, and the day Teddy arrived she looked around as they left to pick him up and decided that she was proud of what she had done.
“Forget something?” Brad questioned her from the doorway as he watched her waddle toward him. She was five months pregnant and he loved to see her shape as she lay in bed beside him or emerged from the shower in the morning. She looked full and ripe and wonderful to him, her whole body as graceful as it had been, and yet the full weight of their child swelling her belly. He loved to touch it and feel the baby kick, and now he smiled and patted her tummy gently as she stood before him. “How's our little friend?”
“Busy.” She smoothed the plaid overblouse over her navy blue skirt and smiled at her husband. “He's been kicking all morning.”
Brad looked concerned. “Maybe you did too much getting ready for Teddy.” But Serena shook her head.
“No, I didn't.” She looked over her shoulder as she closed the door. “The house looks nice, doesn't it?”
“No. It looks wonderful. You did a great job, darling.”
She blushed, but she looked pleased. For a girl of twenty, she had come a long way and done a great many things. Sometimes he had to remind himself of how young she was. He had just turned thirty-five that summer. “I'm glad that Teddy's coming.”
“So am I.” He started their dark blue Ford and looked at his watch. It seemed like only days before that they had arrived themselves, and when they found Teddy, just stepping off the train at the station, Brad felt as though they had only just left New York. The two brothers shook hands and clapped each other on the shoulder, as Serena hurtled herself into Teddy's arms, and they squeezed each other hard, and then laughing, he stepped back and patted her protruding stomach.
“Where'd you get the beachball, Serena?”
She looked at him primly. “Brad gave it to me as a present.” All three of them laughed, and Teddy followed them to the car. He only had one bag with him. The rest of his things had been sent directly to Stanford several weeks before.
“How do you like it out here, you two?”
“We love it. But wait till you see what she's done with the house.” Brad looked at his wife proudly. “You'll see why we love it.” And as soon as Teddy stepped inside, he knew what his brother had meant. Serena had created an atmosphere of well-being that touched everyone who entered. One wanted to unravel on the couch, stare at the bay in peaceful silence, and never leave again.
“You did a beautiful job, Serena.” She looked pleased, and then jumped up to bring him tea and sandwiches and little cookies. “Will you please sit down?” He went after her, but she shooed him back into the living room with his brother, who looked at them both, like two children, happy to be playmates again.
“How's Greg?” Braid didn't wait long to ask the question, and there was concern in his eyes as he asked.
“About the same.”
“Which means what?”
Teddy hesitated and then shrugged, with a small sigh. “I'll be honest with you, I don't think he's happy with Partie. He's drinking even more than he was before.”
“He couldn't possibly.” Brad looked upset.
“Well, he's sure as hell trying. I don't know.” He ran a hand through his hair, as he looked at his brother. “I think she pushes him all the time. She always wants him to do something different than he's doing. She wants a bigger house, a better life, wants him to have a better job. …”
“All in three months?”
“Sooner if possible. She bitched for two months about their honeymoon. She thought he should have taken her to Europe. But he wanted to go to Newport instead, which she didn't consider a honeymoon. The house he had rented for her for the summer wasn't as