Seaside Knitters 03 - Moon Spinners by Sally Goldenbaum

Author:Sally Goldenbaum [Sally, Goldenbaum,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2010-07-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

When Ben picked Nell up a short time later, he was sunburned, tired, and not readily given to conversation. “I’m spent,” he said, leaning over and opening the passenger door. He kissed her on the lips.

“Teenage boys will do that to you,” she said. “And you loved every minute of it. And I, too, am spent, though from boys a whole lot older than the regatta team.”

Ben didn’t press for details, and they said little on the trip home, each sinking into the privacy of their own thoughts. Decompression time, Ben called it. But whatever it was, it was one of those silent understandings between soul mates that never failed to fill Nell with gratitude.

The exchange with Harold stayed there, playing at the edges of her thoughts. Troubling.

He was tired, Birdie had said, and not talking sensibly.

Or maybe they—Birdie and Nell—were tired, reading unintended things into the words of a man who clearly loved his wife—and thought he was losing her.

Or maybe he meant exactly what he said.

And maybe Harold Sampson was lying.

An hour later, showered and comfortable in soft sweats, Nell and Ben lit some candles, slipped a Dave Matthews CD into the player, and wandered out to the deck. It was a ritual they held sacred when schedules and weather allowed, and on this cool Sunday evening, Nell knew the night would be kinder to her and sleep would come more readily, if deck time with Ben came first.

She handed Ben a glass of Scotch, then sat down on the padded chaise next to him. They stretched out, side by side, looking up at the wide sweep of stars overhead. Some nights they sat in silence, content with the closeness of each other’s body and the constellations in the sky. Other times they rehashed the day and put worry or concerns to rest before they went inside to watch the news or head upstairs to bed. Tonight was for collecting thoughts. Putting things in order.

The air was still, a change from the pleasant gusts that had propelled Ben and Sam’s team to victory. But chilly, the way June nights in Sea Harbor often were.

“Was Liz at the club tonight?” Nell asked. Her mind had wandered over a long string of happenings and people vying for attention. The most disturbing, Harold’s outburst just hours earlier, was still so foggy in Nell’s mind that she decided to tuck it away. Maybe, as she and Birdie had both halfheartedly agreed, it would make more sense in the morning.

“No. Liz wasn’t feeling terrific, the bartender said.”

“Her pregnancy isn’t a secret anymore. It was mentioned at Izzy’s shop today, though she thinks people don’t know who the father is.”

“No, probably not. I would certainly never have paired Alphonso and Liz up together. I imagine that will be a surprise.”

“I was thinking about Alphonso giving Sophia the Ferrari. A gift of something he truly loved. I wonder what happened that night that made him do it. I wonder if Sophia had found out about their affair.

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