“Dad,” Nick says. “Eva Stone is having an affair with Dad.”
Fifty-One
Gina
Friday, November 1st
Gina’s mind is replaying a memory that took place two years ago, in October.
The town had been knocked out by a freakish heatwave. It wasn’t just warm, it was hot. Tish had to cut an ASC meeting short because they were all dripping in sweat. Amanda Shaw fainted while walking her dog on Main Street. Heather Farrell’s shop sold out of four flavors of ice cream. Alma was baking under the record-breaking temperatures.
Which is why Gina decided to escape to the Sag Harbor house. Tish couldn’t come—she had a luncheon in Greenwich. Nick and Alice couldn’t make it—Allegra was a newborn. But they could go: Bobby, Calan, and Gina. Their little trio, their little family. Except Bobby had said he was too busy for a getaway. Gina hadn’t expected him to come during the week—she knew he had to be at the company. But he opted out of coming on the weekend, too. Claimed he had too much work to catch up on. Gina hadn’t believed him. Bobby loved the Hamptons. It was summer in October—of course he’d come. She waited for him to show up, first on Friday evening and then on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, once it became clear he really wasn’t coming, Gina felt her heart deflate. She went out for a walk.
The pier at Fort Pond Bay had been blissfully empty. Gina trailed it until the end, sat down at the water’s edge, and allowed the tears to come. That’s when she’d first admitted to herself that something was wrong—she felt lonely, neglected. Why hadn’t Bobby joined them? He knew what this weekend meant to her. He knew what Calan was going through in school, knew what a toll this took on Gina, seeing their son unhappy. This was their chance to spend some time together as a family. To get Calan to play outside. To make him feel loved by both his parents. Gina’s heart lurched in frustration. No, in anger. She was angry with Bobby. Angry with him for putting Alma Boots before his family.
Now, Gina realizes it hadn’t been Alma Boots at all.
Eva Stone’s words rattle in her brain.
He’d talk about you, too. About how you were drifting apart, how you were too busy for him even though you didn’t have a job. That you cared more about a pumpkin pie contest than about him.
It’s now clear Eva had heard them from Zofia. Her cousin.
The contest had taken place shortly after her trip to Sag Harbor. Gina remembers it well—everyone in town kept remarking on how fickle the weather was, scorching and frosty in the space of two weeks. When Eva brought it up, it hadn’t made any sense. She was alleging that her affair with Bobby began this last December—there had been no pumpkin pie contest since. But now Gina understands. Eva had borrowed Zofia’s story, which is why the timing had been off.
Gina hears the creak of the office door. She assumes it’s Bobby—she is about to tell him to leave—but it’s Alice, carrying a silver tray with a porcelain rose teapot and teacup for one. Alice sets the tray down on the floor in front of Gina. Gina isn’t sure why she didn’t take a seat on the leather chesterfield couch. Or on Nick’s chair. All she knows is that she’s on the floor and she doesn’t want to get up. She can’t imagine going home tonight. She’ll have to tell Calan. Her heart breaks a little more at the prospect of that conversation.
Alice pours Gina a cup of tea. Gina accepts it and takes a sip. She does it to be polite but is pleasantly surprised when she takes note of the familiar scent of hibiscus. Her favorite. She is surprised Alice knows this.
“Can I get you anything else?” Alice asks.
“No, thank you,” Gina says. She wants Alice to leave. She doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Her husband had an affair. It’s official now. After weeks of living with the agony of not knowing whether her husband was unfaithful, of begging him to confess, of promising forgiveness in exchange for honesty, she is now living with the dull blow of the truth.
But instead of leaving, Alice lowers herself to the ground and sits cross-legged.
“This might not be the time,” Alice begins. “But she wants to talk to you. Eva.”
Gina stares at her blankly.
“It doesn’t have to be now,” Alice says. “It can be whenever you’re ready.”
“You’re friends?” Gina asks. Is this why Alice had come to Eva’s defense so many times? Why she insisted that Gina believe her?
“I reached out to her a couple of weeks ago. With everything that was happening, I felt like I needed to talk to her. To my surprise, she agreed to meet with me.”
“You’ve known the truth for weeks?”
“I wanted to tell you, but…” Alice swallows.
“Everyone knew except me,” Gina says, softly.
“Eva called me when you left her apartment. She… she said you were really upset. She wants you to understand why she did what she did.”
“I have no interest in talking to her,” Gina says.
Alice is silent for a moment. Gina studies her sister-in-law. She looks like a ballerina: graceful, long-limbed, with impeccable posture and her signature high bun.
“Zofia’s relationship with Bobby took a toll on her,” Alice begins. “A big one. When they broke up, she had a severe emotional breakdown. It was really serious.”
Gina remembers a breakdown. She’d sent Zofia flowers and a basket filled with chocolate treats. She winces as she recalls the card she’d written—Because chocolate makes everything better. With love, Robert and Gina. What a fool she’d been.
“She hasn’t said a word to anyone in over a year. Selective mutism, I believe it’s called. Eva was angry, as I’m sure you can imagine, she blamed Bobby. She wanted Zofia to come forward, to hold him accountable for what he’d done. But Zofia refused.” A pause. “That’s when Eva decided
