Who Loves You Best: A Novel by Marilyn Simon Rothstein

Author:Marilyn Simon Rothstein [Rothstein, Marilyn Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2024-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Jake told me the dentist had gone well and that Alex had called to say he would be delayed due to a situation at work but would get to Boca Raton as soon as possible. Several neighbors had asked Jake to come for a meal. I couldn’t help but think that I could be home on my own for a thousand years and not one neighbor would propose I stop in for a meal. Sexism. Only men were invited for a “you must be so hungry and lonely with your spouse out of town” dinner.

“I said yes to Karen and Bob.”

“They don’t eat. They drink,” I said.

“I know.”

I heard the toaster pop up. I imagined Jake browning the cinnamon-raisin bread he had a weakness for adding a gob of cream cheese on top, and spreading it evenly all around.

“What are you eating?” I said to see if I had guessed correctly.

“Cinnamon bread with butter. We’re out of cream cheese.” He asked whether I’d gone to see the property he’d mentioned, the expanded Cape in Great Barrington. “The more I think about it, the more I want to move. Don’t be stubborn. Go check on that house with Di. She’s an agent.”

“Jake, please sing a new tune. I’m not looking, and in any case, I’d never enlist Di to help. Today, she announced she’s having friends over on Friday. I have the feeling she’d like me to make myself scarce. Get this part. She calls it a book club, but no one reads. I don’t want to spend one more minute with her than necessary. And I don’t think she’s the best influence for Callie. She’s cold, calculating. A narcissist. If I choose to go house hunting, I’ll call someone else.”

“You know, Jodi, I’ve always believed in doing business with people we know. She’s Lisa’s mother-in-law. She won’t steer us wrong. Besides, she’ll be upset if you retain another agent. And rightly so.”

“She won’t find out. I’m not buying. The most I’d be doing is exploring.”

“You’re there, I’m not. Do whatever you think is best, but please go look,” he said.

“Okay. I’ll reach out to another agent in Great Barrington. How’s the toast?”

“Not worth a dime without the cream cheese.”

I knew he’d say that. I had, after all, known him since I was eighteen. I met him the first day of college, and we had grown up together since then. I thought back to meeting him, how it all unfolded. Although my father had no direct hand in introducing us, he certainly influenced my choice. I went straight from living under my parents’ roof to a relationship with Jake.

My father had come to America from Europe. He believed in living a certain way, and he always made clear what he thought. The night before I left for college, after dinner, he beckoned me into the living room of our modest house. I anticipated that he expected to hold court from his wide armchair.

“Come in here,” he had said in the tone of a king addressing a messenger.

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