This is unsurprising. Gina isn’t materialistic. According to Nick, they live on Bobby’s salary, with plenty left over for savings and charity work. Bobby has never touched his trust fund. Alice only wishes the same could be said about her and Nick.
“I didn’t know Tish very well when Bobby and I got engaged,” Gina continues. “I had visited her a couple of times as Bobby’s girlfriend, but that was it, and she wasn’t warm, but she was… polite. Maybe even friendly. But when we announced that we were getting married and that there was a baby on the way, well, you should’ve seen the look on her face. It was like I’d just told her she had terminal cancer. I thought she’d be happy. She used to pester Nick to get married and have children—”
“Nick mentioned that. But she never pressured Bobby.”
“I think it’s because she always expected Bobby to settle down. But Nick…” Gina pauses and flashes Alice a smile. “Well, he was an incorrigible bachelor until you came along.”
It occurs to Alice that Gina might know about Pearl. Maybe she’s even met her—Nick was involved with her when he was still at NYU. She makes a mental note to ask Gina about her at a later date. Alice has always been curious about the woman who broke Nick’s heart to such a degree that he needed to travel the world for over a decade to have it healed. Alice wonders if Nick had better sex with Pearl. She doubts it.
“Bobby kept saying it was all in my head,” Gina continues. “That she was just in shock. But I’m telling you, Tish hated me. I once overheard him on the phone with her. She was flat out trying to convince him to break up with me.”
This is hard to believe. Tish adores Gina. “What changed?” Alice asks.
“I have no idea. I showed up at her door fully prepared to sign whatever she wanted. But the woman who greeted me that day was an entirely different person. She welcomed me. Waved the prenup off as if it were a ludicrous suggestion on my part. And then she asked me to stay for tea. It was the strangest thing.”
“That does sound odd,” Alice says. And very unlike Tish. Making concessions isn’t something her mother-in-law does very often. If ever.
“I still don’t understand it.” Gina shrugs.
Just then, Calan and Malaika walk by, a few feet ahead of them. Alice has no idea how it happened, but her au pair and Gina’s son are now friends. They look like they’re heading to the buffet. Alice should eat something—she hasn’t had anything since breakfast. But she isn’t hungry. She could go for another oxy, though.
“Malaika looks gorgeous,” Alice offers, clearing her throat. They should change the subject. It’s nagging at Alice, learning that Gina wasn’t made to sign a prenup. Yet another example of Tish’s disdain for Alice.
“I still can’t believe she made it.” Gina sighs. “Who knew she was so talented?”
Alice tilts her head. “She made her dress?”
Gina nods. “I think that’s why she and Calan became friends. They’re both creatives.”
Alice studies Malaika’s gown: an asymmetrical soft pink number she’s paired with gilt heels. It isn’t instantly recognizable as a specific designer’s dress, but it’s evidently couture. There is no way she made it. Gina is obviously mistaken.
“Thanks for letting her come tonight,” Gina adds. “I know she was supposed to look after Allegra.”
“Allegra loves spending time with Tish.” She is about to add, “For reasons beyond my comprehension,” when she notices the way Calan is looking at Malaika. “You should watch out.” Alice elbows Gina playfully. “He’s smitten.”
For a flash of a second, Gina looks startled. But then she lets out a one-syllable laugh. “No, it’s all innocent. They’re good friends, that’s all.”
Alice eyes Calan and Malaika. Obviously, nothing’s going on—Malaika is too old for Calan—but that doesn’t mean Calan doesn’t have a crush on her. A harmless, perfectly natural crush. Nothing to be concerned about. Still, she doesn’t want to freak Gina out, so she notes, as a kindness, “You’re right. She’s probably like a big sister to him.”
Gina smiles, relieved. “Although if they were brother and sister, they probably wouldn’t get along so well. Not at this age.”
“Do you have siblings?” Alice asks. She’s just realized she knows very little about Gina’s background.
Gina looks down, a sad look passing through her face. “A brother,” she says. “He passed away, though.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Alice swallows, regretting her question. She really had no idea. But dear God, that means Gina has lost her entire family. Had it been in the same accident? Tish had been the one to tell Alice that Gina’s parents died in a car crash.
“He was older than me,” Gina’s voice is faraway, soft. “He was my hero.” Gina sweeps her gaze across the room. Her eyes land on Bobby, who is by the bar talking to some silver-haired man with a beak for a nose. Alice isn’t used to Bobby’s new look—he’s made the switch from glasses to contact lenses. Nick’s influence, no doubt.
“I’m very sorry.” Alice is surprised by the genuine bubble of concern that has risen inside her chest. It’s an odd feeling, being worried about Gina. Maybe, once this is all over, they can be friends. Or at least friendly.
Before moving to Alma, Alice had heard so many stories about Bobby that she felt as though she already knew her brother-in-law. But other than the fact that they’d both attended NYU, Nick hadn’t offered a single morsel of information on Gina. Which is why, when Alice met Gina, she had been utterly unprepared for her new sister-in-law’s chirpy disposition and never-ending energy. Gina had seemed like the type of person who only existed in cartoons, carrying herself in a way that makes one envisage woodland animals talking to her. Alice had met cheerful people before, but never anyone like Gina.
It is fitting that Alice
