The Sins of the Mother

Chapter 26


The week she waited for the pathology report was agonizing, and she got the results on Friday. It was the best she could have hoped for. Clean margins, no involvement in her lymph nodes, and the earliest stage of cancer. She needed no further treatment. It was an enormous relief. All she had to worry about now was a recurrence, which hopefully wouldn’t happen.

And that week, Peter couldn’t spend the weekend with her. He was going to Boston for his daughter’s birthday. She was off the hook until he came to the early Christmas dinner for her children on Monday. She had been dodging him for days and he sounded discouraged. And she was lonely for him. He called her often during the weekend.

“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,” she said, and meant it. She knew he was planning to stay over after dinner. Maybe she would tell him then. It was the first time he was going to be at a family event with her children, which was important to her and to Peter. It was a turning point in the relationship. She had told Phillip after Thanksgiving that Peter was getting divorced, and he was pleased for her, even if she said she didn’t want to get married. It was still cleaner if he was free. And now they could spend holidays together. Christmas would be their first.

“Well, get better by tomorrow,” Peter told her, with a little romantic lilt in his voice, and she almost groaned. She still couldn’t pick her arm up, and then she laughed. Maybe he was right and they were too old for dating, particularly if her body was going to betray her and fall apart. The road repair this time had been a little rough. She envied her mother’s perfect health until ninety-five. She hadn’t been as lucky, after her first brush with cancer. She knew that she was luckier than most, but it had scared her nonetheless. It had been humbling.

And when Monday night came at last, the table was beautifully set, the house was filled with flowers, the Christmas tree was up, and Olivia was feeling better. She wore a red satin jacket, and black tuxedo pants with a white silk blouse. Everyone looked very festive. Taylor had come with Phillip, and Andrew with Liz, Peter was there and seated at her right at the table. Everyone had understood by then what his role in her life was. For years, they had never suspected, but now they knew. And Phillip had passed the word that Peter was getting divorced. It was entirely respectable.

Taylor looked like a young girl in a pretty white wool dress with her long coltish legs, and dark brown hair cascading down her back. Sarah had found some strange macramé creation in a vintage shop that she was very proud of, and Liz looked beautiful. Andrew had worn a dark suit and looked dashing and aristocratic. And Olivia gave out their gifts before dinner. They were all saving them until Christmas, but each one had a pile of several presents that she had carefully chosen herself. As she handed them to each person, she saw Peter watching her with a questioning glance. He looked at her even more intently as she accepted their gifts with one hand.

“Did you hurt your arm?” He had seen her operating awkwardly, using only her right arm. No one else had noticed.

“No, I’m fine,” she lied, but she did feel better. And everyone was in good spirits. Taylor was wildly excited to be going to St. Bart’s with Phillip, and the others were happy with the house they had rented in Stowe, and to be going skiing together. Liz had warned Andrew that she was a terrible skier, and he said he didn’t care, and preferred après ski activities to the icy slopes himself. Alex was planning to enter some ski races, and was a fabulous skier. And John was planning to paint while Sarah skied.

They had a delicious turkey dinner, with traditional plum pudding and hard sauce for dessert, which reminded Olivia of their Christmas dinners when they were young, with everyone around the table, and Maribelle cooking the turkey. In recent years, Olivia had a caterer do it, and it was exquisite.

She looked tired by the time her children and grandchildren left, laden with their presents. And she was saving their gifts to her to open on Christmas Day. She and Peter planned to exchange gifts then. He put an arm around her after everyone had left, and suggested they go to bed, and she knew the moment of truth was coming. She couldn’t fob him off in bed, and he would see the bandage.

She came back into the bedroom in her dressing gown, and stretched out on the bed with a sigh. It had been a stressful three weeks for her, and she was still feeling shaken by it. Peter was already in bed and she could see from the look in his eye that he was about to get amorous with her. She looked at him with a serious expression and reached for his hand.

“There’s something I have to tell you.”

“You’re pregnant? Fine, I’ll marry you. We’ll have a shotgun wedding,” he said with a smile and she laughed.

“Not exactly. No, actually I’ve had a hell of a few weeks.”

“I had a feeling that you did.” He didn’t look surprised. “You sounded awful.”

“When I had my annual mammogram, they found a small lump. It was malignant, stage one cancer. They think they got it all, so I’m fine. I didn’t want to worry you. I had the lumpectomy last Friday, and I was a mess all week, to be honest. It scared the hell out of me, and it kind of woke me up. I’m not ready to retire, and I probably never will be. At least I hope not. But I don’t want to push quite so hard. I want to take a little more time to smell the roses, as they say. With you, if that’s okay with you. And I thought of something else. I still don’t want to get married. And you don’t want to date. But I think I’d like to try living with you, if that appeals to you. You could move in here, if you’d like to.” She looked at him tenderly. He was stunned.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this, about the lumpectomy?” He looked angry, and she was shocked. “I knew something was wrong, dammit. You wouldn’t even take my calls. What do you think I am, some kind of fair-weather boyfriend? I love you. I want to be here for you, in good times and bad. I don’t want you going through something like that alone. You don’t have to be so brave, Olivia. You get to be human too. I’m here because I love you, not just for a good time. And I warn you, I am going to be very, very angry at you, if you ever do something like that again, and go through all that, and don’t call me. In fact, I want to be here, as part of the furniture, so you don’t have to call me.”

“I felt stupid that I didn’t. I was miserable. And scared. I was so shocked at first, I didn’t know what to do. And then I was in the middle of it, and I just kept going. I promise I won’t do anything like it again. And what do you think about my other idea, about living together?”

He leaned over and kissed her then. “I think I may have to, otherwise I’ll never know what you’re up to. I don’t trust you.” He still hadn’t gotten over what she’d told him, and he was upset about it. “I can’t believe you’d go through all that and not call me.”

“I know. It was stupid,” she admitted readily, and she regretted it.

“Yes, it was. And I would love to live with you, Olivia. And I suppose we don’t have to be married. I just thought it would be nicer. I’m old-fashioned, I guess. But if you prefer living like a couple of libertines, and that won’t upset your children, then I’m signing up. Where do I enlist?” He was smiling as he leaned down and kissed her. And then he remembered and looked concerned. “Does your arm hurt?”

“I can’t use it for a couple of weeks.” She opened her robe then and showed him the bandage. It was bigger than he’d expected.

“My poor baby,” he said, as he put an arm around her and held her close to him, and a few minutes later they slid into bed and turned off the lights.

“So when are you moving in?” she asked him in the dark with a giggle.

“Is tomorrow too soon? I thought you’d never ask me,” he said, and turned to kiss her in the dark. “Olivia, you are a terror, but I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, snuggling up to him, and feeling safe again for the first time in weeks. They had come up with the perfect solution. And she loved the idea of their living together, and so did he.



They spent the following weekend moving some of his things in and arranging them around the house. They blended in nicely, and she had cleared two closets for him. Peter seemed to fit right in as though he’d always been there. It was just like their romantic weekends together, only better. He loved to cook, and sometimes he had dinner for her when she came home from work. They had gone to two Christmas parties together in New York. She had dinner with him and his children, who were warm and welcoming to her. She had called her own children once they made the decision and told them he was moving in, and no one objected. She hadn’t told her children about the lumpectomy and didn’t intend to, only about Peter moving in. And Liz had news of her own.

“Andrew is moving in with me after we get back from Stowe.” They had only been dating for four months, but it felt right to both of them, and he assured her that she needed a handyman in residence, which sounded good to her too.

“I’m happy for you, sweetheart,” her mother said.

“I think Peter is good for you, Mom,” Liz said thoughtfully. “Maybe he’ll make you slow down a little.”

“I’ve been thinking that myself. Just enough to have some fun and not work all the time.”

“You’ve earned it.” She had been working at jet speed and then some since she was eighteen.

“We’re going to Provence in March or April to check out a place for next summer. And I want to see Cassie before she has the baby. She says it’s already started to show.”

“I doubt it,” Liz said. “She’s such a string bean. She’s going to look funny pregnant.” Olivia was grateful that the baby had happened and she would get to see it born.

“I must say, we’ve turned into a very modern family,” Olivia commented. “We’re both living with men without being married, and Cass is having a baby without marrying its father. I never would have thought it. Do you think you and Andrew will get married?”

“Who knows?” Liz said honestly. “It’s too early to think about it. What about you and Peter?” She was surprised her mother didn’t want the respectability of marriage, but she had gotten too independent.

“We don’t need to. Maybe I’ll change my mind later. But this is fine for now.”

“That’s how I feel with Andrew.” They chatted for a few more minutes and hung up. Olivia talked to them all before they left for Stowe, and she checked in with Alex. He said things were going well, and he was planning to finish his college applications over Christmas. Stanford was still his first choice.

She talked to Cass in London too, and she said she was fine and getting bigger. Talking to her made Olivia miss Maribelle more than ever.

She had opened her gifts from the children on Christmas Eve, and they were lovely. They were all things she loved and would have picked for herself. Even Taylor had given her a gift, a pretty scented candle, and Alex had given her a locket with his picture in it. She put it on immediately, and called him afterward to thank him. He told her he had picked it out himself and bought it with his allowance.

She and Peter had exchanged gifts with each other on Christmas morning. She had bought him some sweaters she knew he needed, and a beautiful Patek Philippe watch. He loved it and put it on as soon as he opened it. And then she opened the box from him. It took her breath away when she saw it. It was a beautiful sapphire ring from Tiffany, and he slipped it on her finger.

“It’s not an engagement ring,” he said carefully, “unless you want it to be. It’s a living together ring for now, but any time you change your mind, I’ll say a magic word over it, and presto magic, instantly it will become an engagement ring.” He kissed her, and she smiled.

“I love it.” She thought of the ring Ansel had given her mother that she had worn ever after and that was in Olivia’s jewelry box now. “I’ll never take it off.” She admired it all day, every time she saw it on her finger. It was gorgeous and meant the world to her.

Phillip had also bought Taylor a ring, and gave it to her in St. Bart’s. He had sneaked it down with him, in his pocket, and put it on her finger on Christmas morning. In their case, it was an engagement ring, and Taylor was stunned when she saw it. It looked like a headlight. He slipped it on her finger and asked her to marry him. She accepted, and would have even without the ring. They were now officially engaged, and he called his mother and told her. She congratulated them, and Phillip said he hoped the wedding would be next Christmas, after the divorce.

And in London, Danny had had a tiny red electric guitar made for their baby. It was adorable and actually worked. Cass laughed when she saw it and hung it in the nursery. And she told Danny it was exactly what she had wanted. He was thrilled, and said he thought so.

They all had a wonderful Christmas in their various locations.

And after Christmas, John had a surprise for his mother. It wasn’t one she had wanted, and it came as a shock to her initially. He and Sarah had been discussing it for months. He walked into her office, with a nervous expression.

“How was Stowe?”

“It was fantastic. Mom, I have something to tell you,” he said, as he looked across the desk at her. He had told no one yet, except Sarah, not even Phillip. He wanted to tell his mother first. “I’m leaving,” he said, with a sad expression. He didn’t want to let her down. But he had realized that he had to follow the path that was right for him, and The Factory had never been it. It was her dream, and one day Phillip’s, and his son’s, but it had never been his. He had gone to work for her to please her and his father and because it was expected of him. Now that was no longer enough. He had realized it during his counseling sessions about Alex. His son was true to himself and had set them all a good example. Now he had to be too. “I want to paint full time.”

She was quiet for a long moment, thinking about it as she looked at him, and then she nodded. She had learned that lesson too, that you had to follow the path that was right for you. She tried to think of what Maribelle would have said, in all her wisdom, and listened to her mother’s voice in her head.

“I respect what you’re doing, and I want you to be happy,” she said, smiling at him, and he got up and hugged her with a look of relief.

“You’re not angry?”

“How could I be? You’ve worked here for eighteen years. You’ve done your bit. If you want to be an artist, you should be. Just give me time to find someone who can take over creative and design, and then you’re free.”

“Of course,” he said reasonably. “I already have some ideas.” He’d been thinking about it for weeks.

“Have you told Phillip?”

“Not yet. I wanted to tell you first. Only Sarah knows, not even Alex.”

“Thank you,” she said gratefully, “for everything you’ve done.” She walked him out of her office and then went back and sat down, thinking about it. It would be sad losing him at work, but he had to do what he believed was right. She looked out the window then and saw that it was snowing. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground. It looked beautiful. She wanted to go for a walk in it with Peter, and maybe they would when they got home to Bedford that afternoon. She wanted to take time to do things like that now. To walk in the snow, to spend weekends with Peter, to go to London to see Cass. She walked to her desk with a smile and went back to work, and she had the strong impression that her mother would have been proud of her. She could feel it.