Даниэла Стил - The Affair

“Social media is so time-consuming,” Nadia complained to her.

“It’s an essential tool for communication today,” Athena said, and Venetia nodded. She and Athena followed each other’s Instagrams. Nadia did less of it. It wasn’t quite as popular in France, although she had gotten clients both as a result of her work being photographed frequently in decorating magazines and from her website, which was stylish and well done. Nicolas had helped her with it. He was much more familiar with social media and the internet than she was.

They all went to bed early that night, and were looking forward to a day at the beach the next day. They were up bright and early, and arrived at the kitchen at the same time to make breakfast. Nadia had already fed the girls, who went back upstairs to dress while their aunts sat around eating croissants Athena had made, drinking coffee, and laughing. And then they all got ready to go to the beach.

They felt like kids themselves swimming and playing with their nieces all day. And they had dinner at a fish restaurant in Trouville that night before coming back to the château. They ate bouillabaisse, sea urchins, and other local delicacies from the sea, and were happy and relaxed on the way home.

They got home at eleven o’clock, as Nadia glanced at her watch. Sylvie and Laure went straight up to bed. “Mom must be on the plane by now,” Nadia said as she followed her sisters up the stairs. It had been a perfect day, and she hated to think their weekend was already half over. It restored her soul just being with them, and made her feel young and carefree again. They had all talked to their respective partners that day. Ben had taken the children to two barbecues and a picnic for the Fourth of July, and Harley and Will had placed third in the regatta, which was honorable. Joe had dutifully reported that the dogs were doing well.

Nadia knew that the dynamic would change slightly the next day, once their mother was there. Rose was such a powerful, driving force. Even without Rose saying anything, there would be just a little less room for each of them. She didn’t mean to take over, and knew how not to overwhelm them, but they were each influenced by her and still wanted to please her. They cared about what she thought, and wanted her approval, which seemed childlike in a way. But she had stepped into the role of matriarch with natural grace while no one was looking, even before she lost her husband. It was the role she had at the magazine too. She was the matriarch of her family and the magazine, the person on whom all the decisions and responsibilities rested. In a sense, she wore a crown that no one could see but everyone knew was there. Along with it went the burdens. She never complained about what the role entailed or shirked her responsibilities. She was a living legend and had served as an example to all of them, each in a different way, according to their needs and perception of her. They had emulated her work ethic without hesitating for an instant, and for each, in their own field, success was a given, although hard earned, and richly deserved.

—

Nadia heard the car pull up to the house on the gravel driveway early Saturday morning and went downstairs to greet her. Rose looked as immaculately put together as always, in white slacks, a crisp white shirt, a trim navy linen blazer, and a straw hat, with the familiar black alligator travel bag. They spoke softly so as not to wake the others. Sylvie and Laure appeared in their nightgowns and threw their arms around her. They walked her to the largest bedroom, which Nadia had saved for her, with its own dressing room and pink marble bathroom. Rose loved coming to the château, and appreciated how simply and elegantly Nadia had helped Nicolas renovate and redecorate it when he had inherited it. It remained true to its original look, with beautiful antique parquet floors, wood paneling and moldings throughout, and she had added just a touch of modern, in order to make it comfortable but not look incongruous. It was a perfect example of a three-hundred-year-old home smoothly brought into the present. It was the ideal showcase for Nadia’s decorating talent.

“I’ll just take a quick shower and change into jeans,” Rose said, and they left her after she and Nadia hugged again. By the time she joined them in the kitchen in white jeans and a T-shirt and white Hermès sandals, the others were chatting animatedly and having breakfast. She sat down and entered the conversation with a smile, after she hugged each of them, delighted to see her daughters all in one place for a change. The long weekend together had been a great idea and was going well. After their initial discussions about him, Nicolas hadn’t been mentioned again and Nadia was relieved. She wasn’t going to be making any big decisions over the weekend. It was a family reunion, and a vacation, for all of them, Rose as well. She didn’t even mention the September issue, which was a sensitive subject. This was family time, a sacred time for all of them.

They spent the day at the pool, reading magazines and dozing, exchanging sun creams and sunscreens, while Rose sat under an umbrella on a lounge chair. Athena made a big, healthy salad for lunch, which was perfect, and at the end of the day, they all compared how tan they were, except Venetia, who, with her fair skin, had been happy to lie in the shade under the enormous umbrella with her mother.

Dinner that night was going to be their last big meal together, and their mother’s only evening meal with them. The others were flying home the next day, and Rose was going to Paris for a day of work and meetings before she went back on Monday night. She made use of the time while she was there. Nadia had gone all out and ordered lobsters and écrevisse for all of them. There was a tin of caviar on the table. Nadia had chilled some of their best white wine and champagne, Athena made another very creative salad, and after the meal they put three flavors of gelato on the table: peach, lemon, and chocolate. The combination of flavors was exquisite after a sumptuous meal. They sat back in their chairs, happy and sated, as Athena poured another round of champagne.

“Oh God, I’m going to get drunk in front of Mom,” Olivia said, and they all laughed, including Rose.

“I’ll be asleep on the table before you can do anything outrageous,” Rose assured her, and accepted another glass of Cristal herself. Every aspect of the meal had been perfect. The girls went to bed on their own, tired from a day in the sun and the pool.

As they relaxed, the conversation turned to their children, what their talents were likely to be, and what their hopes were for them.

“Will is going to be just like Harley and you,” Venetia said, smiling at her sister, “serious, hardworking, ethical, successful.”

Olivia looked at her for a minute, and with the benefit of the champagne, she looked pensive. “He won’t be like Harley,” she said, sounding certain.

“Why shouldn’t he? You both have the same values,” Venetia proceeded innocently, and sipped the champagne.

“He’s not Harley’s.” The words fell into their midst like an unexploded bomb that lay on the table, ticking loudly.

“What do you mean?” Athena questioned her, confused by what she’d said.

“Will is not Harley’s,” Olivia repeated, as her sisters and mother stared at her. “I made a terrible mistake right after we were married. I was in my first job after I’d passed the bar. I got sent as low man on the totem pole on a big case. We had associated with a firm in San Francisco. The case settled, and we all got drunk to celebrate. The associate they had me working with looked like some kind of god. We had fun working together, and I don’t know how it happened or how I could have been so stupid, but we wound up in bed on the last night. I tried to forget about it afterwards, to just erase it from my mind, I felt so guilty about Harley. I wasn’t in love with the guy. We just got drunk and went crazy for a night. Then I found out I was pregnant, and I didn’t know if it was Harley’s or the associate’s. Bernie, his name was Bernie. I didn’t want to have an abortion in case it was Harley’s. I told Harley there was a problem, and I needed an amnio, and had them do a DNA test. I was five months pregnant when I got the results, and found out he wasn’t Harley’s. I really didn’t want an abortion by then. I never told Harley. I did tell Bernie, who had left the firm by then. He signed away any rights and didn’t want any part of it anyway. I’ve never heard from him again. I didn’t tell Harley then and I never will. It would break his heart that his only son, whom he adores, isn’t really his. I’ve got the relinquishment paper in a safe deposit box. I should probably destroy it when Will turns eighteen. And that, my beloved sisters, is my one dark secret. So now you know. Will is not my husband’s son.” There was total silence at the table for several minutes as Olivia’s mother and sisters stared at her in astonishment. She was the last person on earth any of them would have expected that from.