picked at a bit of her own penne. “This after spending the year backpacking across God knows where in South Asia, right, Mother?”
Nina gaped. She had heard no word about that trip either.
“If attending Harvard is the boy’s worst rebellion, he’s welcome to it,” Celeste replied curtly. “And if it makes him the man he needs to be in order to run this company, so much the better. His father did the same thing, you know, right down to marrying a girl raised in a hovel.”
A quiet descended over the table. Jacob de Vries, Eric’s father and Nina’s uncle, had died in a terrible sailing accident when Nina was only a small child, and since then, Heather, Eric’s mother, had remarried and generally stayed away from the family. Nina cringed, having heard comments like these her entire life. It made sense, now, why the vitriol toward Penny, Eric’s deceased fiancée of a similar background, had been intense enough to drive the poor girl to her death. Celeste had simply seen it as history repeating itself and acted accordingly.
Nina cast a glance at Calvin chewing a large bite of steak with an open mouth. Not for the first time, she wondered if she hadn’t traded for the worse end of the bargain in her attempt to avoid her grandmother’s judgment.
“Do you—” Calvin cleared his throat awkwardly as Celeste’s gaze cut across the table. “Do you really think that’s best? Given his defection from the family. After all, Nina is right her—”
“A donation to the law school has already been made,” Celeste interrupted tersely. “And when he’s ready, we’ll bring him back into the fold. He’ll come home. They always do.”
Nina didn’t know how to feel. She was certain that Calvin’s unlikely defense of her had nothing to do with his affections. All signs pointed to him hating her. More now than ever. On the other hand, she also couldn’t help feeling the prodigal son narrative was a little overwrought when she was, in fact, sitting right here.
Sometimes she wished Eric wouldn’t return at all. Partly because she was still angry at him, but partly because in some ways, she envied his journey for independence. If only he had invited her to come with him.
Still, Boston…
“You know, I was thinking of going back to school,” she said casually, like she was suggesting a haircut, despite the fact that it had only just occurred to her.
When she looked up, she found Calvin and Caitlyn staring at her with open mouths.
“What?” Calvin demanded.
“School?” Caitlyn glanced over Nina, like she had somehow dripped red sauce over her white blouse without realizing it. “Really, N?”
Celeste and Violet did not speak.
Yes, she knew it was somewhat pathetic, tailing after Eric like a lost puppy. But suddenly, the idea sounded almost as good as going to Italy. Now that she was thinking about it, she did in fact see a clear path for herself and the baby after the divorce. And it was in Boston, not New York.
She could finish school.
Find the one family member she had ever truly cared about.
Make a real life for herself and her daughter outside this godforsaken city. This ridiculous family and its ridiculous rules.
“And just how do I figure into this plan of yours?” Calvin broke through her thoughts darkly. “Or have you forgotten again that you’re a married woman?”
Nina looked up to find all four faces surrounding the table peering at her like a mismatched group of theater masks. Of course. No, she shouldn’t be thinking about her impending escape yet. She owed Calvin at least some saved face, she supposed.
“Oh, er… Well, you could do your business anywhere,” she scrambled. “You travel so much anyway, and I’m sure there are ‘properties’ worth purchasing in New England too, don’t you think?”
Calvin’s eyes bugged at the word “properties.” Caitlyn and Violet looked awkwardly between the two of them, but didn’t say anything as they both took heavy gulps of their wine. Celeste continued to peer at Calvin, awaiting his response with the patience of an executioner.
Calvin opened and closed his mouth several times, revealing more half-chewed steak swimming around his tongue. Finally, he swallowed, then picked up his knife again, wielding it almost like a weapon.
“I think,” he said in an even voice that was meant to sound intimidating, but instead appeared more pedantic, “that we will have to talk about these plans later. And, Nina?”
She blinked. She had already been looking at him. Why did the idiot have to say her