Phillip surprised her by saying, “You know my parents are dead.”
“Of course I do,” Eleanor replied, insulted. “I went to their funerals.”
“And my sister lives in Australia now,” Phillip said.
“If you’re trying to imply that you have no family—” Eleanor began.
Phillip interrupted, “I don’t need to imply—”
“It’s a fact. I know. And I’d think that would make your wife and child all the more precious to you.”
“They are precious to me. But they are so connected to you and this house and Cliff that they don’t actually feel…all mine.” Phillip’s face was growing red with emotion.
“But, Phillip, that’s the way all families work,” Eleanor reminded him.
“Is it?” Phillip asked. “How many Christmases has my family spent here? How many summers? I’ll tell you. Every Christmas. Every summer.”
Eleanor twitched with annoyance. “I had no idea that was a problem for you.”
“I didn’t say it was a problem. But look—Ari told me she’s pregnant. I’m sure you knew about this before I did.”
“That’s true. You learned about it when Ari spotted you at the farm stand with your…whatever you call her.”
“I don’t call her anything anymore.” Phillip stood up and paced the room, hands shoved into his pockets. “That’s over. I’ve broken off with her. It was never a long-term thing, anyway.”
“But it was a thing,” Eleanor said.
“Yes, it was. And I regret it terribly. But honest to God, I didn’t think it would hurt Alicia. I didn’t think Alicia would even notice. All she talks about, all she wants, is for you to sell this damned house and give her a couple of million, and do you have any idea how that makes me feel? That I can’t give my wife what she wants?” His voice cracked. “I work all the hours God sends me.”
“Yes,” Eleanor said, nodding. “I know you do.”
“Yet Alicia and Ari, and probably you, think I don’t spend enough time with them.”
“Mortimer felt that way, too. That I didn’t appreciate how hard he worked. I can remember being stuck in this house during a week when it rained constantly almost every day. Alicia wasn’t upset, but Cliff was bored crazy, so he tormented Alicia, and I resented Mortimer because he wasn’t there to help.” Eleanor nodded to herself, remembering those days. “So I do understand, Phillip. A bit.”
“Thank you for that,” Phillip said. He collapsed in a chair. “So much has happened in such a short time. Alicia went on a cruise. And Ari told me she met a man.”
“I can’t speak for Alicia. She hasn’t called or emailed.”
Phillip hung his head. “I wish I could turn back time.”
Eleanor said, “No one can do that.”
“Eleanor, do you think our marriage is coming apart?”
“I really don’t know. That’s for you and Alicia to work out.” Eleanor stood up. “Ari’s here,” Eleanor said. “I hear her car. I’ll leave you two alone.”
She met Ari just as she was coming into the kitchen. “Your father’s on the deck.”
Ari frowned. “What should I do?” she asked.
But Eleanor quickly left the kitchen. She understood how Phillip felt. She was not going to tell Ari what to do.
* * *
—
Ari slid the glass door open and stepped out onto the deck. Her father stood only a few feet away from her. Her familiar, weary-looking father. She ached to hug him, to feel him holding her tight, patting her back, telling her it was all okay. At the same time, she was angry at him, and disappointed in him, and in many ways he had become a stranger.
She was just beginning to say, “So where’s Bemi?”
But her father spoke first. “Are you really pregnant, Ari?”
His concern, putting her first, the warmth of his voice, the question, made tears come to her eyes. She couldn’t speak, she could only nod her head.
“Well,” her father said, “that’s kind of cool.”
“Really? Do you think so?” Ari was smiling and crying at the same time. No one had told her it was kind of cool, and it was.
“I do. What’s the due date?”
“Late February.”
Her father pulled out a chair for her. “Let’s sit down. Do you want me to get you some iced tea?”
“No, Dad, I want you to talk about you first. Are you leaving Mom? Do you love Bummer? Sorry, I mean Bemi. I just called her Bummer in my head.”
“I’ve broken off with Bemi. I want to speak with your mother, but she doesn’t answer her cell when I phone.” He sat, and Ari sat across from him. “I’ve been a