All Summer Long: A Novel Part 21

"I count my blessings every day. And I love that h.e.l.lcat streak of yours."

He reached over and took her hand in his; then he leaned back against the probably germ-infested seat back, smiled, and closed his eyes. Olivia looked over at him, and in the brutally unforgiving early morning light of New Jersey, she saw all the wrinkles around his eyes and she loved every single one of them. Every single one.

They arrived at Teterboro and Maritza was standing by the check-in counter talking to a woman at the desk. When she saw Olivia and Nick, she stopped and hurried to greet them.

"Oh, hey! I'm so glad y'all made it!" She hugged Olivia and gave her two air kisses.

Muah! Muah!

"Good morning!" Olivia said, hugging her back.

"Wow! Somebody sure forgot their gosh darn sunscreen!" She said to Nick.

"Yes, thank you. Someone certainly did," Nick replied.

He was smiling, but inside he was slightly annoyed. These kinds of remarks irritated Nick, and especially that morning, when Nick was clearly feeling the effects of too much sun. It wasn't that Maritza was the kind of woman who took some schadenfreude in the suffering of others. She wasn't like that at all. But there appeared to be no filter between her brain and tongue. Nick had a dull headache and felt slightly nauseated.

"Do we have any aspirin?" Nick asked.

"Of course!" Maritza said. "In one of the galley drawers on the plane."

"Great," Nick said. "Thank you."

"Darling? Are you feeling ill?" Olivia said.

"I'm okay," Nick said. "Two aspirins and a nap and I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Well, the pilots are already on board if y'all are ready?" Maritza said.

And as they had when they went to Necker Island, they boarded Bob's gorgeous G650 and left the normal world behind.

There were two large vases of peonies on the end tables, and the plane smelled wonderful.

"Oh! What beautiful flowers!" Olivia said.

"Thank you! I just decided that when I'm not flying with Bob, I'd order flowers. Flowers make me happy," Maritza said.

"They make me happy too!" Olivia said, wondering if they'd go flying through the air when the plane took off.

Nick took the aspirin from Maritza and headed for the back of the plane with a bottle of water.

"I'm just going to shut my eyes for twenty minutes," Nick said. He settled himself in his seat, reclined the chair, and checked out.

"I love how men say I'm going to go to sleep now and ten seconds later they're asleep. How does that work?" Maritza said, sitting in Bob's designated seat.

"I don't know, but it's another one of those truisms about men that seem a little unfair to our gender," Olivia said, taking the seat to Maritza's left. "I can't fall asleep until I've ticked off a mental checklist for what I need to do the next day."

"Please! I haven't slept through the night since Gladdie was born!"

"I'll bet," Olivia said.

They were quiet for a moment because bringing up Gladdie dredged up thoughts of Ellen, which naturally led to thoughts about Bob's infidelity. As a result, a small dark cloud seeped in through the oval-shaped windows and throughout the cabin.

"I am very excited to see the house," Olivia said to lighten the mood.

It worked. Maritza perked right up and became the epitome of the happy housewife, leaving Olivia to wonder about the contents of Maritza's medicine cabinet.

"Oh!" she said brightly. "I think you'll love it. The question is, will it be too much work to bring it back to its glory days?"

"I love old houses. What year was it built?"

"1900. Would you like coffee? After takeoff I can make us cappuccinos. We finally got the coffee maker installed."

"Sure! I'd love to see how it works."

Olivia thought, Wait a minute. Bob spent sixty-four and a half million dollars on his plane and his coffeepot was on back order? Priceless!

One of the pilots came out of the c.o.c.kpit to move the flowers to a secure spot and to make sure they were buckled up. He said, "Flying time is about an hour and five minutes. There's a squall around the Boston area, so we'll divert easterly and take her up to forty-three thousand feet. You shouldn't feel a thing."

"Great!" Maritza said casually as though she'd been flying on private jets her entire life.

In minutes they were airborne. Olivia looked back at Nick. He was sawing logs. As soon as they reached cruising alt.i.tude she got up and went to the back of the plane. She carefully covered him with a light blanket because she knew sunstroke caused chills. She kissed his forehead and he didn't flinch.

"Oh, dear! Is Nick's snoring going to bother you? I can tell him to roll over on his side." Olivia said.

"Heavens no! Let the man be! Bob snores so G.o.d-awful bad I make him sleep in another bedroom." She was quiet for a moment. "That probably wasn't the smartest idea I ever had."

"Well? Who's to say?" Olivia wasn't picking up the thread on that topic. "All men snore, especially if they drink wine and eat red meat."

"Well, now you're talking about Bob's religion!"

"Exactly! Tell me some more about the house," Olivia said.

"I saw it with the broker and Bob last week. It's pretty fabulous. There are eight bedrooms and eight full baths. I think it's about ten thousand square feet. And there's a guest cottage. But no swimming pool."

"Really? No pool? How odd. When's the last time it was renovated?"

"Not since 1991. So the kitchen is a disaster and the bathrooms aren't great. But here's the thing. It's the view! It's right on the harbor and it has a dock. That's why Bob wants it."

"He'd have a place to park his submarine!" Olivia said, knowing that this absurd conversation could start a civil war in some cultures.

"Right? And the location is perfect. It's right at Brant Point. You'll see."

"Location is always the most important factor to consider. How big is the property?"

"Oh, heck. I don't know. Maybe an acre or so."

"So it's manageable."

"Yeah. If everything goes to h.e.l.l in a handbasket, Bob could cut the gra.s.s."

"Let's hope we never see the day!" Olivia said, and laughed with her. "Let's make some coffee."

"Sure."

They were about half an hour into the flight. They enjoyed their cappuccinos, and the aroma of the brewing coffee beans brought Nick back to the land of the living.

"What's that wonderful smell?" he said.

"We have a cup for you, darling! How're you feeling?"

Nick stood and stretched, ran his hand through his hair, and said, "I feel perfectly well, thank you. And if I may say, I think a cup of whatever you ladies are savoring would make me feel even better."

"Let me get it for you, Nick," Maritza said. "Sometimes caffeine can be a miracle drug."

"I heartily agree, Maritza," Nick said and smiled, thinking, She's pleasantly tolerable some of the time.

Maritza handed Nick his coffee and said, "So, Nick, you know you're welcome to come with us to look at the house."

"Well, thank you. I think, however, that I'd like to pay a visit to the Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum. Every time I've been to Nantucket the time gets away from me and then I don't go. I've wanted to see it for some time. Nantucket has a fascinating maritime history, as I'm sure you know."

"I do know that. I used to go there when I was just a little girl."

"How nice! And of course, I'd like to drop into the Whaling Museum, if time permits." He took a sip. "This is delicious! I already feel better!"

"You're welcome! I have a car and a driver who can take you there. It's off the beaten path."

"And that is precisely why I never got there! Anyway, you ladies don't have to worry about me. I know how to amuse myself."

"Well, you can have the car all afternoon."

"Why, thank you. I won't be gone too long," Nick said.

"Olivia and I can walk to the house I want her to see from the hotel. In fact our hotel is so close, it's like my daddy used to say, you could spit on it in a good wind!"

"What a thought!" Olivia said. Spit? Not again! Olivia thought. Really?

"I know! Y'all, it looks like we're going to be landing in a few minutes. We'd better buckle up!" Maritza said.

They all took the rules seriously, so they buckled their seat belts and raised the seat backs.

"So the plan is to check in, have lunch, go see the house, and go shopping. Drinks are at six at our hotel and dinner is at CRU at eight o'clock. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect!" Olivia said.

The plane landed so softly that Nick didn't even realize they were on the ground. Olivia could tell he was dumbfounded by the look on his face.

And Maritza, who knew that Nick was a nervous flier, smiled and said, "Featherlight landings are a point of pride for our pilots. They know I really don't like getting the fillings jiggled out of my teeth."

"Well," Nick said, "I used to think I was going to die in a plane crash, but now that I've flown in a helicopter and actually skippered a submarine, I'm no longer terrified."

"Honey? When your number's up, it's up," Maritza said, "and the chances of you crashing in our plane are zero."

"Intellectually I understand, but you know these fears are never grounded in rational thought," Nick said. "But I feel perfectly at ease on your plane. In fact I may have been cured!"

Headline in the New York Post: PHOBIA CURED BY A G650! Olivia could see it in print. Maybe we should line up all the worrywarts and take them for a ride on Bob's jet, Olivia thought.

They went through the tiny terminal with a snack bar and a gift shop and Maritza said, "Y'all remember that TV show called Wings?" She pointed to a picture of the cast of Wings hanging on the wall.

"I remember that show," Olivia said. "I used to watch it late at night."

"Well, they used the outside of this airport terminal as theirs. But they shot the interior shots out in Hollywood. Isn't that fabulous?"

"No kidding," Olivia said.

Nick said nothing, but Olivia could smell his wood burning. When they had checked into their hotel room, she said, "So, I take it that you're not impressed that Wings was partially shot here?"

"Most definitely not," Nick said. "This island used to be the whaling capital of the world."

"I think I knew that. This is a nice room, don't you think? Look, we have a water view!"

Nick stepped over to the window and looked. Then he grunted. "It's beautiful. And did you know the first American female astronomer, Maria Mitch.e.l.l, was born here and discovered a comet when she was only fifteen years old?"

"No, I did not. Just fifteen?"

"Yes, it's a fact. And in 1820, Herman Melville was inspired to write Moby-d.i.c.k because of what happened to the whaleship Ess.e.x and her crew."

"No kidding. Well, that's impressive."

"Yes, ma'am. I think so too. And in 1841, Frederick Dougla.s.s made his first antislavery speech right here on this island. Those stories ought to be on the walls of the terminal. Wings. Please."

"You need to eat something. You're cranky. Maybe there's a Snickers in the minibar. Do you want me to look?"

"No, but I am starving. All I'm saying is please, let's not trivialize this island. Give her her well-earned dignity."

"You might need a b.l.o.o.d.y Mary too."

"I just might."

Soon they were seated on the covered terrace reading over the menus, drinking their water, and picking at the breadbasket. The waiter placed a b.l.o.o.d.y Mary in front of Nick, and Olivia and Maritza raised their mimosas in a toast. Nick lifted his gla.s.s.

"Mr. Seymour is about to become very agreeable. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Maritza and Olivia said.

"What did that mean, Nick? Are you feeling disagreeable?" Maritza said.

"My sweet husband thinks pop culture is ruining the world."