Page 64 of Summer Light on Nantucket
“Really,” Blythe began, thinking her way through the problem, “Bob is the one who should tell her.”
“But obviously he hasn’t.”
Blythe shook her head. “It’s not fair to Teri.”
“You genuinely like Teri.” Celeste nodded. “I understand.”
“I do. I think she makes Bob happy and she’s nice to the kids.”
Celeste’s mouth quirked in a sad smile. “So, no chance that you’ll get back together with him.”
“No chance at all,” Blythe confirmed. “Sorry to be blunt.”
“No, no. I get it. But I still don’t know what to do. I don’t want to betray a confidence. I don’t want to seem unkind to Teri.”
“All right. Well—” Blythe tossed down a sustaining gulp of wine. “I want to tell you something about Teri.”
“I’m listening,” Celeste replied.
Blythe cleared her throat. Was she really doing this?
“First of all, I want to assure you that I’m not telling you this out of malice. In May, just before we came here, I was at the Copley Place Legal Sea Foods having lunch with my friend Jill. As we left the restaurant, we saw…” Blythe hesitated. “We saw Teri kissing a man. The man wasn’t Bob. He was taller, and younger, and they had their arms around each other and were kissing…passionately.
“I didn’t know what to do, so Jill and I left, almost running away. We were shocked. I’m still shocked. Teri was not kissing the man as if he was a relative or good friend. I’m telling you because I’ve been worrying about this all summer. I didn’t know if I should tell Bob or ask Teri about it. I’ve tried to believe it was a one-time event, but the way they were holding each other…”
“Oh, my.” Tears trembled in Celeste’s beautiful dark eyes.
It surprised Blythe, how pale Celeste was. The older woman put her hands to her chest, as if Blythe had struck her there. In that moment, Celeste’s beautiful face seemed to age and wither.
When she spoke, her voice quavered.
“I don’t know what to say.” Celeste leaned against her chair for support. “I believe you, Blythe. I do believe you that Teri was kissing another man. But she’s always been—demonstrably—in love with Bob. He hasn’t seemed unhappy or worried.”
“I couldn’t decide whether to talk to you about it or not. I’m sorry I told you. I don’t mean to be…tattling on Teri, but…” Blythe’s entire body felt cringy. “But I don’t know what to do. And you always know exactly what to do.”
Celeste didn’t speak. She bowed her head and smoothed the hem of the embroidered white napkin lying in her lap.
“This time, dear Blythe, Idon’tknow what to do,” she said, her voice soft. “This is a lot to take in.”
“Oh, Celeste, I’m so sorry I upset you. I shouldn’t have told you.”
Celeste raised her head. “You did the right thing. I’m glad you told me. I’ll think about it and let’s talk more tomorrow.”
Alarmed, Blythe hurriedly said, “Or not. We can just forget it.”
“No, dear. We can’t forget it.” Celeste slowly rose from her chair. “Let’s take the lunch dishes inside. I think I need a little nap.”
“Oh, please, Celeste. Let me deal with the dishes. Go ahead and lie down. Please.”
“Thank you.” Celeste walked to the open porch door. She turned to Blythe. “It’s fine, Blythe. Don’t worry.” She walked very carefully as she entered her house.
Blythe took the dishes inside and washed them carefully. When she’d finished, she went to the bottom of the stairs to the second floor and stood there, listening.
Quiet.
Blythe left the house, taking care to shut the front door gently. As she walked, her thoughts stumbled around one another. What had shedone? How could she fix it? Should she talk to Teri about it? Or Bob? Was it a terrible, spiteful, gossipy thing she’d done, telling Celeste about her son’s girlfriend? Blythe hadn’t felt gossipy. She certainly hadn’t thought it would shock her ex-mother-in-law so much.
But, come on,she thought,why hadn’t Bob told Teri he’d had a vasectomy?
