“Do you really think he’s looking or just out driving around?”
“Not sure.” Jane took a swig of her soda.
For some reason, watching her drink Crystal’s Tab was deeply offensive to Lily. Cradling her mug between her hands, she sat down at the table and tried to concentrate on her breathing. She’d been studying yoga for years. She was supposed to know this. But all the lessons had flown out of her head.
“What do you think of Sean, anyway?” Jane asked.
“I don’t have any opinion of him,” Lily said. “I don’t know him.”
“He’s drop-dead gorgeous,” Jane said. “Even better-looking than Derek.”
“Then maybe you’re engaged to the wrong brother.”
“I’m so not his type.”
Apparently proper grammar and a Ph.D. were not mutually inclusive, thought Lily.
“Why not?” she asked, mainly just to keep from sustaining the conversation herself.
“Sean is eye candy. I’ll bet he’s fun in bed, but I don’t think there’s much more to him than that.”
“Like I said, I don’t know him.”
“Know who?” His hair slicked back and wearing his golf team warm-ups, Cameron returned to the kitchen.
Lily set down her mug. She had an overwhelming urge to grab Cameron and hug him the way she used to when he was tiny. He was practically grown, she thought, noting his large hands and feet, the freshly razored square jaw and piercing blue eyes. Yet despite his grown-up appearance, she still detected shadows of the child he’d been. She could still see his face shining with joy on his birthday or when Crystal brought a baby sister home from the hospital. She could still remember the little-boy smell of him, like freshly turned earth, and she could still hear his choirboy voice, singing along with Disney soundtracks.
Lily had celebrated birthdays with Cameron; she’d admired his lost teeth and perfect report cards. She’d helped him mourn and bury goldfish and pet mice, had taught him phonics, cursive writing and long division. She’d attended scouting ceremonies, soccer games and golf tournaments.
And now Jane Coombs was going to have all that. Lily tried not to feel resentful, but it was hard. She adored this boy and wanted only good things for him. Was Jane a good thing? She couldn’t imagine.
“Your uncle Sean,” she said in response to his question. “I don’t know him at all. What’s he like?”
“He’s okay.” Cameron went to the fridge and took out a gallon jug of milk. Before either Lily or Jane could suggest getting a glass, he’d upended it, impressively drinking without spilling a drop. When he lowered the jug, he looked at them both, his face stiff with worry. “I know what you’re trying to do. You want to distract me so I quit thinking about all the bad stuff that might have happened to my parents.”
“They had a lot to talk about,” Lily said carefully. “The time probably just got away from them.”
“Until one in the morning?” He put the cap on the milk carton and shoved it back into the fridge. “They didn’t even talk that much when they were married.”
Jane snatched up her raincoat. It was one of those stylish designer ones from Canada. According to Crystal, Jane’s fashion sense had improved dramatically since she’d started spending Derek’s money.
“You know what?” she said. “Sean is right. Sitting around here waiting for the phone to ring is nuts. I’m going home to check my answering machine.”
“All right,” said Lily, trying not to sound too eager to get rid of her.
“You have my home number and my cell.” Jane pulled on her coat and adjusted the Hermès scarf under the collar. “Call me the second you hear anything.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll do the same, tell you the minute he calls.” A peculiar brightness hovered in her eyes, the sparkle of tears.
All right, so maybe she did love Derek, Lily conceded, and offered a quick smile. “Drive carefully. The roads are still wet.”
Jane tugged her Louis Vuitton satchel over her shoulder and went out the front door. Lily stood on the porch for a moment. The night air was chilly and damp from the day’s rain, though now the sky was clear. Against perfect blackness, the stars stood out like shattered glass flung up in the air.
With a shiver, she stepped back inside and shut the door. Only then did it occur to her that the whole time she was here, Jane had never once asked about the girls. And upon leaving, she hadn’t even said goodbye to Cameron or offered him a word