great job with him. He’s a sweet little guy.”
I nodded. “He misses his daddy.”
Billy slanted his eyes, and immediately I wished I could take the words back.
“I can’t keep having this conversation with you,” he said. “I’m too tired to even have the same old arguments again. To remind you what you already know.”
“I know! I’m sorry,” I hastily said. “It’s just that… I miss having someone around to talk to.”
“You could go to Sedona and visit your mother.”
“And pull Will out of school? That wouldn’t work.”
“She visits you a lot,” he said, finishing his drink.
“I know. It’s just the minutes that fill the days. They can be very lonely.”
We didn’t seem to have much to say after that, and we didn’t have another date night. Billy blamed it on work, but I blamed it on my complaining. He’d asked me to make time for us, and I’d gone and brought up the one thing that always pushed us apart. I had to try again. I had to find a way to mend this rift that kept growing bigger between us.
April 15, 19--
We’re breaking ground on our new home on Hammond Island this week. Goodbye city life! The five of us are headed to the exclusivity of that coveted neighborhood of quiet lanes and vast, sprawling estates.
Our house will be the biggest, Billy said. No point in being as successful as he is if you plan to hide your light under a bushel. And Billy’s raking it in these days.
I guess the sad part about your dream coming true is the fear of it stopping. The fear that one wrong move and it’ll all slip away. Billy works just as much now as he ever did, although he says part of it is meeting with contractors and looking at plans for the new house.
He keeps asking me for my input, but I only want two things for sure. Heart pine floors upstairs and a flagstone driveway that wraps around the house to the patio. Oh, and I’d also like a music room. Something pristine and elegant for when Lucy’s grown and wants to put on small concerts for her family. She’ll be an expert pianist, of course.
I also want a nice view from the balcony and patio area. Our lot is situated so that we can see Lost Bay from all angles, and I want to be able to sit outside and watch the water and the boats going by. Billy’s a fan of travertine, and he wants that cool stone installed throughout the first floor. I wasn’t completely onboard with that, but I didn’t argue.
He also wants the exterior to be stucco, which I think is a bad idea for this climate, but he assures me the builders have a new, special type of stucco that’s more durable. I just can’t wait to be the king and queen of South County. I guess in a way we already are, but we need a palace to go with it.
The babies are growing so fast. Both twins are walking now. John started off first at fourteen months, but Lucy took her time. I think the little princess just liked being carried by her daddy, but she finally took her first steps around the eighteen-month mark. Now I’m wondering why I was so eager to get her going. She’s into everything! I look up and she’s pulled her cereal off the table onto her head, and I have to call the maid to come a day early and clean it up.
Will’s doing great as always in second grade. Billy says we’ll have to move him to Sacred Heart once the house is finished. Sacred Heart is the exclusive private school on Terry Cove where all Hammond Island residents send their children, and it’s much closer to our house than Magnolia School. Billy says he’ll get a top-notch education, but I hate it. I know. Originally I wanted him there, but I just hate my little man leaving my alma mater. Magnolia is the sweetest place, and all the teachers love him so much. I’m afraid private school will turn him into a spoiled little rich boy, and I want him to be like his daddy.
Lexy had Julian a few months ago. I remember that night so well. It made me realize how close we’ve all become. Lexy doesn’t
I nodded. “He misses his daddy.”
Billy slanted his eyes, and immediately I wished I could take the words back.
“I can’t keep having this conversation with you,” he said. “I’m too tired to even have the same old arguments again. To remind you what you already know.”
“I know! I’m sorry,” I hastily said. “It’s just that… I miss having someone around to talk to.”
“You could go to Sedona and visit your mother.”
“And pull Will out of school? That wouldn’t work.”
“She visits you a lot,” he said, finishing his drink.
“I know. It’s just the minutes that fill the days. They can be very lonely.”
We didn’t seem to have much to say after that, and we didn’t have another date night. Billy blamed it on work, but I blamed it on my complaining. He’d asked me to make time for us, and I’d gone and brought up the one thing that always pushed us apart. I had to try again. I had to find a way to mend this rift that kept growing bigger between us.
April 15, 19--
We’re breaking ground on our new home on Hammond Island this week. Goodbye city life! The five of us are headed to the exclusivity of that coveted neighborhood of quiet lanes and vast, sprawling estates.
Our house will be the biggest, Billy said. No point in being as successful as he is if you plan to hide your light under a bushel. And Billy’s raking it in these days.
I guess the sad part about your dream coming true is the fear of it stopping. The fear that one wrong move and it’ll all slip away. Billy works just as much now as he ever did, although he says part of it is meeting with contractors and looking at plans for the new house.
He keeps asking me for my input, but I only want two things for sure. Heart pine floors upstairs and a flagstone driveway that wraps around the house to the patio. Oh, and I’d also like a music room. Something pristine and elegant for when Lucy’s grown and wants to put on small concerts for her family. She’ll be an expert pianist, of course.
I also want a nice view from the balcony and patio area. Our lot is situated so that we can see Lost Bay from all angles, and I want to be able to sit outside and watch the water and the boats going by. Billy’s a fan of travertine, and he wants that cool stone installed throughout the first floor. I wasn’t completely onboard with that, but I didn’t argue.
He also wants the exterior to be stucco, which I think is a bad idea for this climate, but he assures me the builders have a new, special type of stucco that’s more durable. I just can’t wait to be the king and queen of South County. I guess in a way we already are, but we need a palace to go with it.
The babies are growing so fast. Both twins are walking now. John started off first at fourteen months, but Lucy took her time. I think the little princess just liked being carried by her daddy, but she finally took her first steps around the eighteen-month mark. Now I’m wondering why I was so eager to get her going. She’s into everything! I look up and she’s pulled her cereal off the table onto her head, and I have to call the maid to come a day early and clean it up.
Will’s doing great as always in second grade. Billy says we’ll have to move him to Sacred Heart once the house is finished. Sacred Heart is the exclusive private school on Terry Cove where all Hammond Island residents send their children, and it’s much closer to our house than Magnolia School. Billy says he’ll get a top-notch education, but I hate it. I know. Originally I wanted him there, but I just hate my little man leaving my alma mater. Magnolia is the sweetest place, and all the teachers love him so much. I’m afraid private school will turn him into a spoiled little rich boy, and I want him to be like his daddy.
Lexy had Julian a few months ago. I remember that night so well. It made me realize how close we’ve all become. Lexy doesn’t
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