Elin Hilderbrand - The Rumor

Grace missed her so much. Fifty or sixty times a day, something would happen and Grace would think, I have to tell Madeline. But then she would look at the phone, and she would think of Madeline’s words: Allegra is a cheater, and you, Grace, are a cheater. And Grace would shudder. Madeline didn’t want to hear from her. Madeline thought she was a common harlot.

It was awful heartache, fighting with her best friend. Madeline was probably hanging out at her apartment, breaking her writing discipline so she could meet Rachel McMann for lunch.

Eddie needed to pay Madeline back. Maybe if he did that, Madeline would be less angry, and Grace could call.

And now, on top of everything, Benton was acting funny.

Grace said, “Are you okay? You’re acting funny.”

“I’m not acting funny,” Benton said. “I just can’t stay for lunch today.”

“Nobody else is home, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Grace said. Eddie was back to work, Hope was at the rectory, and Allegra had gone into town to look for a volunteer job. She was to check in with either Eddie or Barbie in person at the office every hour. Neither Eddie nor Grace trusted that Allegra wouldn’t simply slip off to the beach.

“I’m not worried about that at all,” Benton said. He checked his phone. “I have to go.”

“Go, then,” Grace said. “You seem in a terrible hurry.”

He sighed. “Grace.”

“We only have two weeks until they come!” Grace said. She made a grand gesture with her hand. “Does this yard look ready to you?”

“Fifteen days,” Benton said. “And, actually, yes, it does.”

Grace couldn’t figure out what was happening here. This was the same man who had spelled out his love for her, was it not? He had said he didn’t care who heard him.

Then the worst came to mind.

“Is McGuvvy coming today?” Grace asked. “Is she flying in from California?”

“No, Grace,” Benton said. “She is not flying in. I don’t keep in touch with her-you know that.”

“Right,” Grace said. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you seem distant, like you’re pulling away.”

Benton slid his phone into his pocket and faced Grace. “You should probably give your girls some attention.”

“I’m sorry?” Grace said. “Are you telling me how to parent?”

“I had a conversation with Hope,” Benton said. “It was no big deal, but even she told me Allegra was heading for trouble. I feel like I’m taking you away from your number-one responsibility.”

“You… no, you’re not,” Grace said. “The girls are… well, they’re sixteen. If I paid more attention to them, they would call me annoying and tell me to go away.”

Benton sighed. “You’re right. I have no business telling you how to parent.”

“Is something else bothering you?” Grace asked. “Something you’re afraid to tell me?”

Benton nodded slowly. “I think people are talking about us.”

“Do you?”

“There’s a woman named Donna who works for Mrs. Allemand, and she heard Madeline King was writing some sexy novel about a woman and her contractor. I guess people are saying it’s based on you and me.”

“Madeline?” Grace said. Madeline was writing a new novel, but Grace didn’t know the subject.

“You haven’t told Madeline about us, have you?” Benton asked.

“No,” Grace said. She feared the tops of her ears would burst into flames, giving her away.

“I know she’s your best friend,” Benton said.

“Was my best friend,” Grace said. “She isn’t speaking to me right now because of this thing with Allegra.”

“She’s not writing this as some kind of revenge, then, is she?” Benton asked.

“No,” Grace said, but her mind was racing to the night when Grace invited Madeline up to her study, and then all those phone calls. Madeline knew every detail. If she were writing a book… but no, Madeline wouldn’t do that, not even as a revenge tactic.

Two of the women at this table will betray the person on their left.

Grace shook her head to clear it. “Who’s Donna?” she said. “And where did she hear this rumor?”

“I guess she’s friends with a girl named Greta, who’s the nanny for that blond woman Sharon that we saw at the party.”

“Oh God,” Grace said. “Sharon is awful. Sharon makes stuff up all the time and tries to pass it off as the truth.”

“Well, all I’m saying is what I heard.”

“I thought you didn’t care who knew,” Grace said. “That’s what you said the other night.”

“I had been drinking.”

“So you do care?”

“Well, I don’t love being the subject of gossip. I have a business to run. I hate to generalize like this, but it’s the women who hire me-however, it’s the men who pay the bills. But this all reflects much more poorly on you, Grace. I don’t want anyone thinking badly of you.”

Grace took a deep breath. “I’m ready to leave Eddie.”

Benton raised his eyebrows in an expression of boyish hope. “Really?”

“Really,” she said. Then she thought about the twins. Allegra was already such a mess, and Hope was fragile.

Benton read the doubt off her face, maybe, because he said, “Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Let’s just work on the yard for the shoot for now.”

Grace nodded. “Okay.”

He said, “I’ll stay for lunch tomorrow, Grace, I promise.” He bent down and kissed her in a way that turned her inside out. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” Grace said.

Benton strode away, and a few seconds later, Grace heard the engine of his truck. She ran upstairs to her study and called Madeline.

Three rings, four rings, voice mail.

Grace said, “There’s a rumor going around that you’re writing your new novel about a woman having an affair with her contractor, and apparently some people think it’s about me and Benton? This had better not be true, Madeline.” Grace swallowed. “This had better not be true.”

She hadn’t held out much hope that Brick would want to ease his heartache by spending time with his mother, but Madeline offered, and Brick accepted. In the week following Allegra’s deception, they hung out together. The first day, they grabbed sandwiches from Something Natural and drove out to Sesachacha Pond, where Madeline sat at the water’s edge and Brick listened to music on his headphones. The second day it rained, so they went to the movies at the Dreamland Theatre, each with their own tub of popcorn and box of Milk Duds. The third day, they rode their bikes to Madaket and napped on the beach until the sun set in orange and pink streaks-then Trevor met them at Millie’s for fish tacos.

The fourth day, Brick wanted to “stay home and chill,” whatever that meant, so Madeline wrote in her apartment all day.

The fifth day, Brick asked Madeline if she wanted to join him and Parker Marz at Cisco Beach.

“Sure,” Madeline said. Parker was smaller in stature than Brick’s other friends, but he was smart and funny and related well to adults, and Madeline enjoyed his company.

When she pulled into the parking lot at Cisco, she said, “Are you sure you want me tagging along? I can just drop you guys and come back and pick you up later.”

“You should definitely join us, Mrs. Llewellyn,” Parker said. “Our social cred will skyrocket in the presence of a beautiful woman.”

“Dude, chill,” Brick said. He smiled for the first time in who knew how long. “It’s my mom.”

“Should I just drop you?” Madeline asked Brick.

“No, Mom, come with us. It’s cool,” Brick said.

Madeline followed the boys down to the beach and set up three chairs. Cisco was home to the Nantucket surf scene-young guys in wet suits standing possessively next to their boards, and the gorgeous, underfed girls who loved them. Madeline also recognized the elder statesmen of surf-men like Sultan Nash, the housepainter, and Thornton Bayle, paving king, who had ditched work for waves. Then there was a slew of aspirants-from kids Brick’s age all the way down to fourth- and fifth-graders.

Brick charged into the water to bodysurf while Parker plopped into the chair next to Madeline.

“I think he’s doing a little better each day,” Parker said.

Madeline nearly laughed. “Do you?”

“He’s my bro,” Parker said. “And he got done wrong by that… well, excuse my French, Mrs. Llewellyn, but by that bitch, Pancik. That’s the risk you take when you date a beautiful girl. Allegra is the most popular girl in school-well, her and Hollis; I mean, I have no prayer of scoring even one date with someone of their caliber, but the good thing”-Parker held an arm out to indicate Brick, floating alone over the swells-“is that I do not own a time share in Heartbreak City.”

“You guys are all really young,” Madeline said. “I think maybe Brick and Allegra were too immature for an exclusive relationship.”

“It sounds like you’re letting Allegra off the hook, Mrs. Llewellyn,” Parker said. “And I hate to see you being a softie. Allegra had been cheating on him for a while. I saw her at the Cape Cod Mall with Ian back in April. They were at the Chanel counter. I mean, come on, is it not totally obvious what game Allegra was playing? She picked an older guy with money. Brick never stood a chance!” Parker let out a weary sigh. “I just hope our boy bounces back.”

Madeline reached over and squeezed Parker’s arm. “He’s lucky he has a good friend like you.”

“I love that kid,” Parker said. “He’s my bro.”

Madeline smiled, and then she brought her legal pad out of her book bag.

“Is that your new novel?” Parker asked. “My mom tells me it’s a real doozy.”

Madeline had received Grace’s voice mail-This had better not be true, Madeline. This had better not be true-but it hadn’t stopped Madeline’s progress on the novel or even slowed her down. Madeline was going to write B/G until Eddie paid her back her money!

As soon as Madeline got home from the beach, her phone started to buzz. Rachel McMann. Madeline was tempted to let it go to voice mail, but, to be honest, she was starved for female interaction. She ached for Grace every second of every day.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Rachel said.

Madeline sniffed. She already didn’t like the way this conversation was going.

“What?” she said.

“I heard?” Rachel said. “That Grace Pancik…?”

“Oh God,” Madeline said.

“Took Benton Coe, her gardener, as her date to the Sunset Soiree, and now Jean Burton thinks she’s pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Madeline said. “Grace?” This pierced her. She had tried and tried and tried to have another baby. If Grace had gotten accidentally pregnant by Benton Coe…

But no, uh-uh, no way, not possible. This was gossip at its most insidious.

“Rachel,” Madeline said. “There is nothing going on between Grace and Benton Coe. Grace is happily, happily married to Eddie. So, please, Rachel…?”

“Yes?” Rachel said.

“Mind your own business,” Madeline said.

He walked into the office with one thing on his mind. He had tried calling Barbie at home, and he’d left two messages on her cell-no response.

Eloise was in but on the phone. Eddie collapsed into Barbie’s chair. She was wearing a red Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress and four-inch Manolos and the whopper pearl at her throat.

Eddie wondered if Glenn Daley had ever held that pearl between his teeth.

He said, “I’m selling numbers nine and eleven Eagle Wing Lane to Glenn Daley.”

“Yes,” she said, “I know.”

“You know?” Eddie said.

“Someone in his office sent over the paperwork,” Barbie said. On her desk were two large coffees from the Handlebar Café, Barbie’s new favorite place. She handed one to Eddie that was loaded with milk.

“Thank you,” Eddie said. Barbie never brought him coffee. So this was a peace offering, or a please-don’t-hate-me-for-sleeping-with-Glenn-Daley offering. Eddie was dying to address the issue, but he feared that to do so would be to embarrass them both. But he wanted her to know that he knew. He knew for sure.

“From now on,” he said, “I’m going to schedule the girls.”

Barbie shot a glance across the room at Eloise. She nodded. She was so damn insouciant that Eddie wanted to pick up her stapler and throw it across the office just to get a response.

“Okay?” he said.

“Okay,” she said.

The next group in was Nightbill, a little more than two weeks hence. It was some kind of accounting or payroll firm from Kansas City. The contact person was a man named Bugsy Greer.