Part 28 (2/2)
”Honey!” heshouts ”It's okay! Shehas a plan!”
Carolineco, with a cartonoficecreamandninebowls
”Jack,you're hopeless”Sheputsdownthecartonandthebowls ”Lulu,will youtakecoffeeorders?”
A gracious hostess, Carolineserves both pies, but there's little demand for thecold oneinthealu,” Grayer says sleepily froinrehashi+ngtheevening, asI trytofind acoedtoexpandintotwelve newmarketsthis year? Mr
Xis impressedwithJack's businessacu herhandonhis aroback with youonThursday ecouldhave a romanticweekendinthecity”
He pulls his arm away as he makes a left turn ”I told you, it'll just be a lot of client entertaining You'd beboredoutof yoursinhis cellphoneanddials withhis freehand
Shepulls her Filofaxout andflipsthroughtheeI wouldliketoly
”Yes,” I say, startingtonodoff
”I'm not sure if it's appropriate for you toI'd like youtobe alittle one over to the Sterns?for tea I l be back by five Just a thought ?if you have to go, why not see if you can co, becauseh the Horners have invitedusover forbrunch
Have a greatameell Incaseyou e worried if I l be lonely Caronlinehas offered to keephthey equitebusy,but I sureother peoplewill thinkof,I didn wanttowakeyoufroent and she said that it really pretty safe out here She said she be surprised if anything happened to Grayer or me while we e here all by ourselves, so please don spendyourti aboutus all thewayuphere
Wednesday night, on the eve of Mr X's departure, the three of us sit waiting in the Rover for Mrs X The original plan was to leave Grayer and”to relax,” while they had dinner at II Cognilio with the Longacres But when they cae, Grayer screa,sohewould,quote, ”shutup”
After five straight days of running a virtual day-care center for all of the Xes' friends on at ht,I starttonodoffassoonasI slumpdownunderthecanoe
Mr X jerks the cell phone away fro to lose the reservation o see what's takingher solong”I openthecardoorjustasMrs Xteetersoutontothegravel onuncharacteris!
tically high heels, clad in a strapless black dress with a red cashlances atherbeforestartingthecar
”Honey, what time do you wanton her seat belt
”Don't bother'ht I'll justcall acab”
”I wanttoflywithDaddy”Grayer,hungryand,ofcourse, napless,beginstosquiret a chanceto see if you broughtanymosquito bite stuff,did you?” bitten?I justdon't understand it Noneof ushas anybites”
”DoyouthinkitrabsomeAfterBite?”
”I reallydon't thinkwe havetihtofthevisorhI justWanttogoTo adrugstore
After a tensetwenty-ift shopof thefa a rabbit in silhouette, is a bizarre, nationwide status symbol Of courseI wantone Mrs X ushers us into the restaurant, a glorified bait-and-tackle shop that serves up twenty-five-dollar bowls ofpasta onsplinteredtables
”Darling, how are you?” Mrs X is accosted by a woe, blond hair that looks as if it could stand up to the fiercest Nan-tucket wind ”You're so dressy, my God, I feel like a bumpkin” She pulls herAquaScutumbarnjacketcloser aroundher
Themen shakehandsandMrs XintroducesGrayer ”Grayer,youreacre absentet our table” We are shown to a drafty corner table and handed a green booster seat, which Grayer tries to squeeze himself into
”Mrs X,I thinkit's toos sideways, strainingto fit his whole tushyin the seat ”Go see iftheyhave a phonebook”
I finally unearth three filthy Nantucket directories and slip them under his derriere, while the adults order cocktails I pull crayons out ofon the paper tableclothasI go
”Well, of course, I love it up here, but I don't kno I'd do it without acre says ”I don't kno people went anywhere before the fax and the cell phone, I really don't I'ether a set back You know, I planned Shelly's entire weddingfroing ours fro the wrap around her naked shoulders ”I' me buy one of the studios on the secondfloor”
”Your buildinghasstudios?”
”Well, they were all inally and er apart I'd love to have someplace for a little private time, you know? I'm just so torn when Grayer's hos done for my committee work”
”Oh, honey, cheers to that! Our eldest daughter just did the sa he has two kids and needed sohtobeinvolved I thinkit's agreat idea”
The waitress cooes whizzing by her at knee height,nearlyknockingthreehighballsontoMrs X's head
”Aaaan-drew CometoMommmyyy”We hear aplaintive voice whineasthehumantumbleweedfliesundertablesandbetweendiners
The themtodisciplinetheirchild
”Oh,honey,isn't thattheCliftons?” Mrs Xexcusesherselftogoover andkiss cheeks
”Nanny,drawolfscores
”Isn't that great?” she says, sitting back down ”They're here with their son, so I toldAnne that Nanny would take everyone out to the parking lot until the food corenditionof ”Michael,RowYour BoatAshore” bytheDumpster?
I pulldervish out into the cold, dark, sandy parking lot to play They climb up and down a piece of oiled driftwood a few tiels
”Yeah, no How about ash hands before the food comes?” I try to steer them back inside toward theladies'rooirl's toilet Noway”