summer,' Nora reminded her daughter.
'I hate that phys-ed stuff. I'm not an athlete like J. J.,' Jill replied.
'Honey, don't you miss not having a graduation?' Nora asked.
'Nah. Lot of bother, Ma. I just want to go to law school, and get on with my life,' Jill responded. 'And I've got to start thinking of an internship for next summer.'
Nora shook her head. 'You're your father's daughter,' she said.
'Don't say that!' Jill cried. 'I'm nothing like him! I don't want to be like him!'
'Honey, I only meant you were organized, and ambitious,' Nora soothed. She hated seeing her children so angry with their father. This problem wasn't really theirs. It was hers and Jeff's. Jill had always adored her father. 'You have to be nice to your dad, Jill, when he comes. I don't want him taking away your law school tuition this year. There is no way you could go to Duke without him this year, and he seems to be in an odd mood. Remember that.'
'Probably his teenybopper girlfriend has him on drugs. Drugs give you mood swings,' Jill said nastily.
'Jill! I have no idea how old or how young this woman is. Don't say things like that,' Nora scolded.
'Ma, you know she's got to be younger. When a man has enough money, and is happy in his job, the only thing he wants is red-hot sex. I learned that in psych. I don't think you and Dad were having red-hot sex, if you were having sex at all.'
'Enough!' Nora said sharply. 'Your father wants a divorce. I'm happy to give him one. Our only disagreement is money. Let it go, Jill. I don't want to hear any more about this. Dad and I will both be happier apart.'
And it couldn't all come soon enough, Nora thought to herself. She hadn't seen her husband in several weeks, and to her surprise she wasn't unhappy. In fact she was downright happy, and she was looking forward to starting her own life anew. Rick assured her that they would get a decent settlement out of Jeff eventually. He explained why Jeff couldn't sell the house from under her, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that in the end the house would be sold. That news would come later when there was no other choice. For now it was a huge burden off of her shoulders, as was the financial problem of J. J.'s college tuition.
Carla had come to her with a check for six thousand dollars, and when Nora had demurred, Carla had quietly explained that it wasn't right for J. J. to lose his sports scholarship, and that it was a graduation gift to him from his neighbors on Ansley Court, who had watched him grow up with their kids. It would pay for his dorm room and his meal plan. Nora cried. There was no way she could deny her son this chance. And he was going to write thank-you notes to them all, or she'd kill him!
On graduation morning J. J. donned his kelly green gown and cap. The school's colors were kelly green and white. Maureen Johnson was wearing a white cap and gown, like all the other girls graduating that day. The two families met on the lawns outside. Pictures were taken. Margo Edwards had come up from South Carolina in her gentleman friend Taylor's private plane. They had flown in early this morning, and would be leaving almost immediately after graduation.
'We have a dance tonight at the club, darling,' Margo told her daughter. 'You know, Nora, you are looking better now than you have in years. You've lost weight, and you have a positive glow about you. If this is what getting rid of Jeff has done for you, you should have done it sooner,' she laughed.
Nora laughed too. 'Thanks, Mom,' she said. And then wondered what his mother would think if she told her about The Channel, and that she was having the best sex of her life with an imaginary lover.
Since Nora had to turn in her car to the dealer, they squeezed into J. J.'s and Jill's two little cars.
'You really should have told me, darling,' Margo said. 'You can't be without a car. How are you going to get around?'
'I'm taking J. J.'s car for now. I'll drop him at work and pick him up every day. That way I'll have the car for errands, and he's not taking it to college anyway this year. He's got it exclusively Friday nights until Sunday church. It won't be so bad, Mom,' Nora said. 'Besides, I've got to pay the insurance now.'
'Jeff is a monster!' Margo said, and she turned to her escort. 'This is a perfect example of his perfidy, Taylor. Didn't I tell you?'
'Now, honey, don't you go getting yourself all upset,' Taylor Bradford said. 'I think your Nora will just be fine, won't you, girly?'
'Yes, I will,' Nora agreed sweetly, and she winked at him.
They were all laughing as they parked and got out of the car. J. J. and Maureen ran off to join their classmates. Nora and her family walked to the soccer field, where chairs had been set up for the graduation. The day was sunny, with a light breeze. It was perfect June weather.
'Who is that?' Carla asked as a sleek dark gray limousine pulled into the parking lot. 'Oh, Jesus, Nora! It's Jeff, and he's brought the Jennifer with him.'
'I cannot believe the effrontery of that man!' Margo gasped.
Nora stared. Well, there was the answer to her question. The next Mrs. Buckley was not a great beauty, but she was a very striking young woman. Tall. Blond. Willowy.
Nora instantly regretted her mauve-and-green floral dress. While it certainly fit her better than it had in a long while, it wasn't the kind of dress in which you wanted to meet your successor. It screamed ordinary. The Jennifer was dressed in a pale gray silk suit with a fitted jacket. She was wearing a pair of the highest sling-back heels Nora had ever seen. They were straight out of Carrie's closet on
'Let's get out of here,' Carla hissed. 'I don't want to be introduced now.'
'Agreed,' Nora said. 'God, I look so fat in this dress, and she looks like she lives on lettuce leaves.'
'You do not look fat in that dress!' Margo said loyally. 'You look lovely.'
Oh God, Nora thought, lovely? She didn't want to look lovely. She wanted to look smashing and sexy. She wanted to look like she looked in The Channel. Oh, Kyle! She hadn't seen him since Jill got home. Jill was a night owl, and there was no chance to sneak into The Channel with Jill home. But right now she wanted to look like she did with Kyle, and she wanted to have him on her arm. Wouldn't that surprise old Jeff?
They found an open row, and crowded in. The Seligmanns, the Pietro d'Angelos, and the Ulriches were already waiting for them. Just enough chairs, including Margo and Taylor. No room for Jeff and his Jennifer. Too bad.
'Jeff just arrived in a big limo with his Jennifer,' Carla hissed to the others.
'Such a nerve,' Rina said. 'I wouldn't want a nerve like that in my tooth.'
'Do you think they'll come back to the house for the party?' Tiffany asked.
'It's his son's graduation,' Nora whispered at them. 'I'm sure he'll come back, and please, for the love of God, no confrontations. I've got enough trouble, and the lawyers start talking again on Monday. We don't want Jeff feeling hostile.'
'I can't talk to him, Ma,' Jill said. 'That woman with him isn't much older than I am. It's embarrassing.'
'No, Jill, what's embarrassing is wearing a seven-year-old flowered dress when your husband's next wife-to-be looks like she stepped out of
'Good for you, girly,' Taylor Bradford murmured, and he patted her hand.
The graduation ceremony began. It was like every graduation day.
J. J. headed toward his family. 'I saw him,' he said to his mother.
'Be nice. Remember what we talked about,' she warned him.
And then Jeffrey Buckley and his companion were upon them. 'Congratulations, son,' he said. 'I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Heidi Millar.'
The girl quickly held out her hand. 'Your dad speaks highly of you, J. J.,' she said.
To Nora's relief, J. J. shook the young woman's hand. 'Thank you,' was all he said.
'Nora, Heidi Millar,' Jeff said.
'You'll come back to the house, of course,' Nora responded. 'We're having a small celebration before J. J. goes off with his friends.' She quickly turned away, as did the others.
'Of course,' he said jovially.
'I can't believe you asked him to come here with his… his woman!' Jill raged at Nora in the car.
