her quite blatantly and Margot, who didnât usually fall for the suave types, was surprised that she didnât mind.
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â she asked.
He put down his spoon and leaned closer to her. âYou care about your surroundings. Youâd like some charm. An old building, a WBF.â
âWood-burning fireplace,â she decoded. âIâm sure thatâs beyond my means. I do like older places. What really matters to me is light.â
âSee,â he said. âI knew it.â
In the next few minutes he told her about himself and his job in the art department of a nationally known advertising agency. She liked his name, Teddy Larkin. He spoke quickly, was lively and energetic. When she told him she wanted to become a painter he seemed impressed and said that the Frick was his favorite museum in New York. He asked her if sheâd been to any of the new galleries in Chelsea. He made it easy for her to like him.
Over the next weeks they met for dinner, drinks, hung out at some clubs. Teddy seemed to know people everywhere. He liked going out, trying new places. Margot, who hadnât been dating anyone recently, rarely went out after work. Her favorite friend at the office had moved to Brooklyn to live with her boyfriend and she disappeared right after work. The woman who liked going to movies with Margot had started night courses toward her business degree and no longer had any free time. Margot couldnât paint at night and she was growing tired of lonely evenings. Teddy seemed to make it his job to show her how to have fun.
He also relished the real estate search. Margot had found it daunting to face real estate agents on her own, and together they went all over the city, checking on leads, investigating ads from the Sunday Times . Then, through a friend of a friend of his, they had found Margot an apartmentâsmall, but with the charm he insisted on; no WBF, but a terrace. The monthly maintenance fee was manageable. Margot had a small legacy from her grandmother in addition to the money for the apartment that would help. She never told Teddy about that extra income. A month after she moved in, he proposed. Margot still wondered how it had happened so quickly.
Lacey and Alex had come to New York to see Margotâs new apartment and meet Teddy. On that weekend visit Teddy, probably hoping to impress them, had reserved a table at Yaegerâs, the most sought-after restaurant in New York. The meal was expensive, the dining room noisy, and the entire evening awkward. At first Teddy dominated the conversation with his tales of the art department where he worked. His enthusiasm for his job had sounded more like bragging to Margot that night. Lacey was quieter than usual, and Margot sensed that she wasnât taken in by Teddyâs charms. Alex barely said a word, certainly nothing to Teddy. Alex seemed to avoid looking at Margot too, though later in the evening when she asked about their new house in New Castle and their plans for Bow Lake later in the summer, both he and Lacey acted more like themselves. Margot didnât have enough vacation to go to New Hampshire that year. She planned to stay in New York to paint the walls of her new place.
Now thinking back to her marriage, Margot tried to remember if she had ever really loved Teddy. She had felt a flutter of excitement each time she was with him, certainly during that first spring. He had beautiful manners, always opening doors for her, sliding across the seat of a taxi so she wouldnât have to, holding his big black umbrella over her in the rain. He even sent her postcards, sort of old-fashioned love notes of places he wanted to take her in the cityâthe Empire State Building, the sculpture garden at the Museum of Modern Art, cherry trees in bloom overlooking the reservoir in Central Park.
He paid attention to her at a time when no one else did. While vain about his clothes, he also
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â she asked.
He put down his spoon and leaned closer to her. âYou care about your surroundings. Youâd like some charm. An old building, a WBF.â
âWood-burning fireplace,â she decoded. âIâm sure thatâs beyond my means. I do like older places. What really matters to me is light.â
âSee,â he said. âI knew it.â
In the next few minutes he told her about himself and his job in the art department of a nationally known advertising agency. She liked his name, Teddy Larkin. He spoke quickly, was lively and energetic. When she told him she wanted to become a painter he seemed impressed and said that the Frick was his favorite museum in New York. He asked her if sheâd been to any of the new galleries in Chelsea. He made it easy for her to like him.
Over the next weeks they met for dinner, drinks, hung out at some clubs. Teddy seemed to know people everywhere. He liked going out, trying new places. Margot, who hadnât been dating anyone recently, rarely went out after work. Her favorite friend at the office had moved to Brooklyn to live with her boyfriend and she disappeared right after work. The woman who liked going to movies with Margot had started night courses toward her business degree and no longer had any free time. Margot couldnât paint at night and she was growing tired of lonely evenings. Teddy seemed to make it his job to show her how to have fun.
He also relished the real estate search. Margot had found it daunting to face real estate agents on her own, and together they went all over the city, checking on leads, investigating ads from the Sunday Times . Then, through a friend of a friend of his, they had found Margot an apartmentâsmall, but with the charm he insisted on; no WBF, but a terrace. The monthly maintenance fee was manageable. Margot had a small legacy from her grandmother in addition to the money for the apartment that would help. She never told Teddy about that extra income. A month after she moved in, he proposed. Margot still wondered how it had happened so quickly.
Lacey and Alex had come to New York to see Margotâs new apartment and meet Teddy. On that weekend visit Teddy, probably hoping to impress them, had reserved a table at Yaegerâs, the most sought-after restaurant in New York. The meal was expensive, the dining room noisy, and the entire evening awkward. At first Teddy dominated the conversation with his tales of the art department where he worked. His enthusiasm for his job had sounded more like bragging to Margot that night. Lacey was quieter than usual, and Margot sensed that she wasnât taken in by Teddyâs charms. Alex barely said a word, certainly nothing to Teddy. Alex seemed to avoid looking at Margot too, though later in the evening when she asked about their new house in New Castle and their plans for Bow Lake later in the summer, both he and Lacey acted more like themselves. Margot didnât have enough vacation to go to New Hampshire that year. She planned to stay in New York to paint the walls of her new place.
Now thinking back to her marriage, Margot tried to remember if she had ever really loved Teddy. She had felt a flutter of excitement each time she was with him, certainly during that first spring. He had beautiful manners, always opening doors for her, sliding across the seat of a taxi so she wouldnât have to, holding his big black umbrella over her in the rain. He even sent her postcards, sort of old-fashioned love notes of places he wanted to take her in the cityâthe Empire State Building, the sculpture garden at the Museum of Modern Art, cherry trees in bloom overlooking the reservoir in Central Park.
He paid attention to her at a time when no one else did. While vain about his clothes, he also
Similar Books
