met her mother once, when she’d come to Boston and he’d never met any of her siblings, which they liked to tease her about. She understood somewhat though. It was a bit of a project getting to Nantucket. It wasn’t like they could just drive over for dinner. It took some planning and Dylan traveled quite a bit for his work and so far, their schedules just hadn’t worked to make it happen.
Dylan lifted his glass and swirled the wine around before taking a sip. He looked deep in thought and Kate started to feel her stomach tighten. She was counting on him to go to Nantucket for Christmas.
He took a long sip before saying, “I don’t know if I can make that work, Kate. I have a shoot in California a few days before. I might need to stay longer. Plus my mother is in L.A. I can’t go there without visiting her. You know how it is?”
She sighed. “I do. I just want you to meet the rest of my family. They tease me now that you don’t exist.”
He flashed her the smile that used to make her melt. “Why don’t we go after the New Year? It won’t be as busy, and we’ll be able to see your family then?”
“We’ll see. Maybe you’ll finish up early and can visit your mom and still make it to Nantucket.” Kate knew though, as she said it, that it wasn’t going to happen.
“I’ll try. No promises though.” After paying the bill, Dylan smiled. “Did you save room for dessert? We could go to Modern?”
Kate wasn’t the least bit hungry, but needed something to put her into a better mood. “Sure, let’s get a cannoli.”
The light that had been so glorious all day was beginning to fade, and Kristen was too. She stood and stretched to relieve the muscles that had grown stiff from sitting in the same position all afternoon as the sunlight had poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Her studio was a colorful mess, as always. Sketchpads were strewn about the room, canvases in varying stages of completion leaned against the walls, and magazines and books threatened to topple off her coffee table.
But she knew where everything was, and it worked for her. It was her happy place. And she was feeling good about her latest project. She was using a photograph she’d taken as inspiration for a watercolor, and it was almost done. When it was finished, she’d add it to the collection she was building for her next art show.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and began to feel stressed. Sean, her on-again boyfriend of sorts, was coming for dinner, and she still needed to shower and figure out what she was going to cook for him. When she’d invited him a few days ago, it had seemed like a good idea, but all she felt like doing now was taking a long, hot bath, and maybe pouring herself a glass of wine. But, she needed to get moving.
When she reached the kitchen, her phone rang, and the caller ID showed that it was Sean. He was probably running late, as usual. Ordinarily she’d be annoyed, but today, she welcomed the extra time.
“Hi Sean. What’s up?”
“It’s about tonight,” he began.
“Are you running late? If so, no worries.”
“No, it’s not that. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to reschedule. Andrea called to remind me that Julian has a big game tonight. If they win, they make the playoffs. I should be there.”
“Oh, of course you should! We’ll do it another time. Tell Julian I said good luck.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks for understanding. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Kristen hung up the phone feeling both relieved and irritated at the same time. She was happy to have the night to herself, but hated picturing Sean sitting with his wife as they watched their son play basketball. It also annoyed her that they were still separated for over four years now and neither had filed for divorce yet. The few times she’d brought it up, Sean had just said that it was complicated and changed the subject.
Sean owned one of the most successful real estate offices on the island, and Kristen suspected that he wasn’t ready to give up half of his financial holdings and Andrea wasn’t ready to give up everything that went with being Mrs. Sean Prescott. Sean was well connected in town and had a membership at the most exclusive country club and their waterfront