estate was massive. Andrea was still living there with Julian while Sean had moved into a smaller place, a condo on the pier, across from where the ferries docked.
Kristen was about to pour herself a glass of chardonnay and go sink into a hot bath when her cell phone rang again. This time it was Abby, her younger sister. Abby rarely called just to chat.
“Hey, Abby.”
“Are you busy? I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” she sounded agitated.
“Of course not. I’m done for the day. Is everything okay?”
There was a long moment of silence before Abby spoke. “Yeah, it’s just been a long day, and I’d love to meet for a drink and catch up unless you have other plans?”
“My plans just got canceled actually, so I’m all yours. Do you want to go out or come here? I have a bottle of wine I was about to open, and I could make us some pasta or something?”
“How about I bring our favorite pizza? I could pick it up and be over in about a half hour or so.”
“Perfect.”
Kristen took a quick shower and relaxed as the hot water soothed her tired muscles. She changed into her favorite yoga pants and a soft, long sleeved t-shirt and had just finished blow-drying her shoulder length, stick-straight brown hair when she heard footsteps outside. Abby had arrived.
She could smell the pizza as she reached the front door and opened it. Abby stepped in and handed her the box.
“Spinach, artichoke and feta?” Kirsten asked. “It smells amazing.”
Abby grinned. “Of course.”
“Great, I’ll pour us some wine if you want to get the paper plates out of the cabinet.”
She poured them two generous glasses of chardonnay and they each loaded two slices of pizza on their plates and went into the sunroom. Kristen’s cottage was small, but cozy, and when she wasn’t in her studio, she loved spending time in the sunroom. In the summer months she kept the windows wide open, to let the fresh air in. She wasn’t on the water, but even the most inland house on Nantucket still had crisp, ocean breezes.
In the cooler months, the room stayed warm because it faced the sun and she loved to curl up on the soft white sofa at the end of the day and read or watch a little TV. They settled on the sofa and put their wine and plates on the coffee table. The conversation was light and easy as they ate and sipped their wine. Abby hadn’t mentioned anything out of the ordinary, but Kristen knew something was bothering her. After they finished eating, Kristen topped off her glass with a splash more wine, and noticed that Abby had barely touched hers, which was unusual. “So, why was today such a long day?”
Abby sighed. “I’m probably making too much of it. Jeff’s really a great guy. I know that.” Abby had married her high school sweetheart. She and Jeff had been dating since their sophomore year and got married a year after they both graduated from college. They were almost thirty now and as far as Kristen knew, they were happily married. Their only frustration was that they hadn’t been able to get pregnant. Even after several attempts with IVF. And the process was much more difficult both physically and emotionally than Abby had expected. They’d all been surprised by that.
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s just that he’s never home. He works so much. More than ever before. He says it’s because he needs to put in the time to grow the business, but it’s almost like an addiction with him. He thinks about work, morning, noon, and night. And weekends too. I don’t remember the last time we went away or even just went out to dinner. By the time Jeff gets home at night, he’s so tired that he falls asleep on the sofa around seven.”
“Have you talked to him about it? Asked him to cut back on his hours?”
Abby nodded. “Dozens of times. He always apologizes, cuts back for a week or two, then slips back into his usual habits. I’ve had it. And it’s been a long time coming, but I finally decided that I can’t live this way.”
Kristen was shocked, as Abby and Jeff had always seemed like the most rock solid of couples. But, she also understood. If Abby wasn’t happy she should do something about it.
“Are you considering divorce?”
“Yes, I have been thinking a lot about it recently. It’s hard, but I finally made the