“How do you do,” Tova says with a nod. The busboy returns with two martinis on a tray. Carefully, he sets them in front of the couple.
Adam takes a long gulp, which reminds Tova of that day when he chugged her bottle of water in the park. “Laura and I went to Sunday school together at St. Ann’s,” he explains. “She heard I’d moved back to town. And somehow roped me into helping out with her mother’s move. And now I’ve roped in my better half, too.” He winks at Sandy.
“They’re lucky to have him.” She grins and squeezes Adam’s bicep. “And I’m always happy to help out, not that I’m much for heavy lifting. But Laura was nice enough to include me in lunch. It’s great to meet so much of Sowell Bay, all at once.”
“Yes, Laura really went above and beyond with the guest list, didn’t she?” Tova sips her coffee.
“I guess so.” Sandy tilts her head. “So, how do you and Adam know each other?”
Tova clears her throat, then says quietly, “Adam was a friend of my son’s.”
Adam flattens his lips. Then he leans down to Sandy’s ear, and most of the whispered explanation is inaudible to Tova, but she catches the words there was this kid who . . .
Sandy’s eyes widen, and she shoots Tova a sympathetic look before turning her attention to intensely studying the menu. Smoothing her hair, she straightens in her chair and clasps her hands. “Well,” she chirps, addressing the table at large. “Who’s decided what they’re having? I’ve heard the skirt steak is to die for!”
CORN CHOWDER, AS it turns out, is not available at the Elland Chophouse. But Omar recommends a curried squash bisque that, to Tova’s surprise, is lovely. She sops every last drop with the accompanying hunk of sourdough while Adam Wright and Peter Kim complain across Tova and Janice about the Mariners and their losing streak, a subject that doesn’t interest Tova in the least.
“Baseball. Who cares, right?” Janice says.
Tova smiles, then dabs a napkin on the corners of her mouth. “The only thing more tedious than watching it is talking about it.”
Peter Kim gives his wife’s shoulder a playful squeeze. “Sorry to bore you, darling.”
“Hey, maybe I’m cursed.” Adam Wright laughs. “I move back to town and suddenly they start sucking. Should’ve stayed in Chicago.” He drains his martini, then smiles at Sandy as he plucks one fat green olive from the sword-shaped plastic spear and offers her the other, slinging an arm across the back of her chair.
Janice leans toward Sandy. “Any news on the house hunt?”
“Oh yes!” Sandy beams. “We decided on one of those new builds. That subdivision on the south end of town.”
“How perfect. You can finish things exactly how you want them.”
“Exactly! Adam’s planning to build a man cave in the basement. For baseball-watching.”
Peter Kim lights up. “Excellent! I’ll be over on game day!”
The four of them share a laugh.
Sandy turns to Tova. “What about you, Mrs. Sullivan?”
“What do you mean?” Tova lifts a brow.
“Your house? Have you had any offers?”
Janice drops her fork and turns to stare at Tova.
“Jessica Snell mentioned it at closing. That your house had just come on the market. Not a good fit for us, of course. We need at least five bedrooms for when the grandkids come visit.”
“Eventual grandkids,” Adam corrects her. “Theoretical grandkids.”
Tova twists her napkin in her lap.
“Such a gorgeous house, though,” Sandy yammers on. “Jessica said she didn’t think it would last long. Someone will snap it up.”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Tova says quietly.
“Tova.” Janice’s voice is sharp. “What is she talking about?”
“Oh. Is it not . . . ? I mean, did you all not know . . . ?” Sandy’s cheeks turn as red as the pimento in Adam’s fresh martini.
“It’s quite all right.” Tova clears her throat. “Sandy is correct. I’m selling my house. I’ve applied for a suite up at Charter Village in Bellingham.”
A silence falls over the table.
“What?” Mary Ann gasps.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Barb demands.
“What about the house?” Janice leans forward.
“That beautiful house! Your father’s house!”
“And all of your things, Tova!”
“You have so many beautiful things! You’re not going to get rid of it all?”
“Where will all of your things go?”
“So many things to go through!”
“That attic, I can’t imagine.”
“Those trunks of your mother’s, the cedar ones. What a shame!”
“I’m perfectly capable of dealing with my belongings,” Tova says, her voice taut. This puts a stop to the volley of comments. How can the Knit-Wits cast judgment on her possessions, anyway? Mary Ann with all those statuettes, and Janice’s house has a whole room dedicated to computer equipment, much of which seems to serve no actual purpose. Barb, for some reason that has never been fully explained, has been collecting elephants since she was a bachelorette, for heaven’s sake. Her whole guest bedroom is full of elephant keepsakes. Who are they to cast stones?
Janice lays a hand on Tova’s shoulder. “You don’t need to do this, you know. Peter and I have always said you could live with us, that you could—”
“Absolutely not. I would never burden you in that way.”
Janice shakes her head. “You’re never a burden, Tova.”
AS THE DISHES are being cleared, Mary Ann makes a trip around the table to thank everyone for coming. Janice and Peter Kim bid goodbye, explaining that they’ll be late for their pottery class. Barb Vanderhoof and her too-tight sequins shimmy out of the room on their way to her weekly therapist appointment. Omar brings the check for Laura to sign and makes a joke about Mary Ann causing trouble in Spokane. Adam Wright swallows the dregs of his third martini and clasps his hands around Mary Ann’s forearm. “Thank you for having us!”
“This was so lovely!” Sandy chimes in, seeming to have forgotten about the bomb she dropped earlier. Thankfully, the rest of the table seems to have shrugged it off, too, although Tova caught Janice and Barb whispering about changing her mind.
Mary Ann’s smile is tight as she perches on the empty chair next to Tova. “I’ll see you before I leave this weekend, won’t I?”
“Certainly. I’ll stop by.”
“I’d like that.” Mary Ann’s voice shakes a bit. Laura hurries over and stands behind her mother, winds an arm around her shoulders.
“It’s so great of you to take your mom in.” Adam turns to Mary Ann, leaning back in his chair. “Man, I’m glad I had kids, even if it means I’ll never be rid of my ex-wife. Because it would be hell to get old alone. Isn’t that why anyone has kids?”
Sandy jabs him. “Don’t be ridiculous, babe.”
Laura eyes him sharply, offering no response other than to reach in front of him to pick up his not-quite-empty martini glass and hand it off to a passing waiter.
“I’m an idiot.” Adam raises his hand and then lowers it. “Tova, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. You won’t get old alone. Even with Erik gone.”
“It’s quite all right,” Tova says quietly. “It was a long time ago.”
“I remember it like it was yesterday.” Adam’s voice is clearer now.
Mary Ann claps a hand over her mouth, and Laura plants her hands on her hips, shooting a glare that could shatter stone. But Tova turns to Adam, suddenly aware of her heart throbbing under her blouse. “I always welcome what people remember.”
His drags a hand over his face. “I mean, nothing you don’t already know, I’m sure. I remember the last time I saw him. We grabbed nachos at the snack bar that afternoon, before he started work. We were planning to go out to my family’s cabin the next day. He was going to sneak some beers from your fridge, as usual.” He cringes. “Uh, sorry about that.”
Tova waves a hand. “No matter.”
“Anyway,” Adam goes on, “he wanted to impress that girl, whatever her name was. He was going to bring her to the cabin.”