“I think so, but then I’m prejudiced. Nice or not, Thomas is certainly unique. You know how mothers say, ‘Johnny didn’t smile until he was four and a half months old. I was ready to give up’? I’m still waiting for my elder son’s first smile.”
At that everyone at the table laughed politely and Madison knew that it was an oft-repeated story, but she was still intrigued by this other brother. Maybe right now she was feeling an affinity with him.
“Thomas will hate you.”
Turning to the speaker, Madison said, “I beg your pardon?”
Everyone was looking at Robbie, aghast at her rudeness. “I meant nothing personal. It’s just that Thomas isn’t interested in pretty girls.”
“Speaking from experience?” Scotty asked, then, like a junior high kid, looked at Roger to share the joke.
“Why would I be interested in Thomas?” Robbie snapped at him. “I’m not a masochist.”
Scotty looked at Madison. “What Robbie is in a snit about is that she made a pass at my big brother last year, but he turned her down. Not enough brains for his taste.”
“I’ll have you know that—” Robbie began, but Scotty cut her off.
“My brother got the brains, but I got the looks,” he said, then nudged Roger in the ribs. “But looks like ol’ Roge and I have gets us through, doesn’t it? The two of us barely made it through college. If it hadn’t been for the girl Roger was—” At that Scotty broke off at a look from his mother. “Anyway,” Scotty said, “she did all our homework for
us.”
Turning to Scotty, Madison smiled at him with such warmth that she could almost see him melt. It had been years since she’d been looked at as Frank and his son were looking at her now.
“Tell me everything about the two of you in college,” Madison said in a deeper-than-usual voice, then lowered her eyes seductively. When she looked back up, Scotty was staring at her with his mouth hanging open, Roger was grinding his teeth in anger, all three of the girls looked as though they could happily have scratched her eyes out, Mr. Randall was looking at her adoringly—and Mrs. Randall looked as though she were about to burst into laughter.
As for Madison, she felt beautiful and she hadn’t felt beautiful since . . . Well, actually since that day over two years ago when she’d sat on a bench at the DMV in New York City beside two other young women.
For the rest of the meal, Madison listened to the others talking, but she was in her own world. It was finally beginning to sink in that she really was in this gorgeous place and she would not have to take care of Roger. It was obvious that the Randall summerhouse came equipped with servants, so Madison wouldn’t be required to help peel potatoes as she often did at Roger’s house. But then, sitting in the kitchen chatting with the cook was a relief from the sickroom.
Vaguely, she heard more talk of this oldest brother, Thomas. It seemed that he was good at anything he tried.
“Of course Thomas wouldn’t attempt anything he wasn’t going to be the best at,” his sister, Nina, said with contempt in her voice, making Madison look up at her.
“Better than changing majors every semester,” Scotty shot back.
“Why do we have to talk about Thomas?” Robbie said in a little-girl whine. “So he was the captain of the Yale soccer team. So he’s top of his class in everything he does. Does that mean he’s lovable?” At that she looked at Mrs. Randall in horror at what she’d said. “I mean . . .” Her face turned red.
Scotty looked at Madison. “You’ve seen that my sister’s friend does little else except put her foot in her mouth. Last summer she made a fool of herself over my older brother, but Thomas didn’t so much as look at her.”
“I did not!” Robbie said, tears in her voice. “I thought he looked lonely, so I talked to him, that’s all.”
“Yeah. Sure,” Scotty said. “And that’s why you bought four of those . . . What do you call them?”
“I believe they’re called string bikinis,” Mrs. Randall said, smiling.
“I’m not going to listen to any more of this!” Robbie said as she shoved her chair back and ran from the table.
Picking up the bread basket, Mrs. Randall offered it to Madison. “Now, dear, you see why I don’t wear pearls. If I did, I might be tempted to strangle someone with them.”
At that Madison laughed hard at the joke that only she and Mrs. Randall understood.
I like these people and I like this place, Madison thought. Not the girls, but the parents, anyway. As she looked about the room at the old hunting prints on one wall and the blue-and-white checked curtains over the big window, she thought, Yes, indeed, I like this place.
And it was at that moment that she vowed that she was going to have a good time. She was going to ignore whatever Roger did and she was going to enjoy herself. Now, as she glanced down the table at him, she could see that he was flirting with Nina. Since Terri was at the other end of the table, now it was Nina.
What kind of wife can sit and watch her husband flirt with another woman and feel nothing? Madison thought to herself. And instantly, she knew the answer: A wife who wants out, she thought.
With that thought came a great feeling of relief to Madison. She had made a mistake in returning to Roger. She’d left what could have been a lucrative career in modeling to return to a man who said he loved her, but it had been a mistake.