Maine - J. Courtney Sullivan [177]
She suddenly remembered that the paper towel dispenser in the cottage was empty and figured she might as well go to Ruby’s Market on the way back. She asked Alice if she needed anything else, cursing herself for being so darn accommodating, even after what had happened. She was still upset, but what was she going to do—drive home to Pat and never speak to his mother again? There were people in every family who were capable of doing something like that, and people who weren’t.
When she told Adam she was leaving, he tried to persuade her to stay for one more round, but the spell had been broken, and Ann Marie just wanted to get home to the beach. He asked her for her card.
“I’m in the book,” she said. “And online. Ann Marie Clancy Designs.”
It sounded absurd once the words were out of her mouth. She could feel herself blushing at the lie. But if he could tell, he did not say so. He only said, “It was a pleasure dancing with you, Ms. Clancy.”
Around three o’clock on the first of July, Pat called her from the New Hampshire tolls to say that he would be arriving in the next half hour, and the Brewers were two cars behind. Ann Marie made one last round of the cottage, making sure it looked perfect. She opened a bottle of wine to let it breathe. She set a tray of scallops in the oven. She had wrapped them in bacon that morning and dipped strawberries in melted chocolate.
There was one more thing she wanted to do before they arrived. She found the card she had bought at Shop ’n Save on the table in the hall and headed outside to find Maggie. She had meant to give it to her niece yesterday, but then she lost track of time, and anyway, Maggie was rarely out of Kathleen’s sight.
Ann Marie stepped out into the sunshine. She didn’t have to go very far. Maggie was sitting on the ground at the edge of the property, her back resting against a massive pine tree. She was scribbling in a notebook, occasionally glancing out over the water. Ann Marie wondered what she was writing.
“Maggie!” she called.
Her niece turned her head.
“Don’t get up,” Ann Marie said, but Maggie was already rising to walk toward her.
“Isn’t it a gorgeous day?” Maggie said when they met in the grass. “It seems like July arrived today and boom—now the weather is acting in kind. I haven’t seen it so warm here in years.”
Ann Marie thought about the cottage schedule and felt a bit guilty. She and Pat had originally thought of rotating the months each Kelleher kid got from year to year, but it just seemed too confusing. They wanted July for themselves. And since Clare still had a son in school, it seemed that August was the logical month for her. Which left June for Kathleen and Maggie and Chris.
“It is nice,” Ann Marie said now. “It almost feels like you could get in the water without dying of hypothermia.”
Maggie smiled.
“Your uncle and our friends are coming soon,” Ann Marie said. “They should be here any minute.”
“I’m sorry my mom’s being so stubborn about us staying on,” Maggie said. “I’d leave, but I don’t trust her here on her own. I’m sure it’s only for a day or so, to make a statement or something. You know how she is.”
“Oh, it’s okay. Anyway, honey, I wanted to give you something. Here,” she said, awkwardly pushing the envelope forth.
Maggie ripped the paper and pulled out the card. On the front was a picture of a pink and blue rattle, with CONGRATULATIONS written underneath.
“Thank you,” Maggie said. She began to tear up. “You’re the first person to congratulate me.”
A few seconds later she was laughing. “I’m so emotional lately,” she said. “I cry at everything.”
“I was the same way,” Ann Marie said. “So was Patty. You two will have to compare notes. She’s got it all down to a science now. And her attic is absolutely crammed full of baby clothes. They’re not having any more, so—it’s all yours. Next time you come up to Boston, we’ll go through it.”
“Thank you,” Maggie said.
“Patty will be here next week, so if you’re still around …”
She prayed that Maggie