“Yeah? What’s my boss’s name?” When I didn’t answer, she went on. “And who cares if they work together, exercise together, travel together, and fly on the private jet together, right? And what does it matter if she mentions her billionaire boss’s name more than she mentions yours? You’re so evolved that you’re above feeling even the slightest tinge of jealousy.”
“Are you trying to get a rise out of me?”
“Not at all,” she said. “But I do want to know how the rest of your weekend went, after you left Mom’s. I take it you didn’t bring up the new-bank-account or apartment-in-Atlanta things?”
“No. Saturday night ended up being pretty quiet. We went to bed early. We were all tired. And on Sunday, I had a break actually.” I told her a bit about Vivian and London’s day.
“Like I didn’t see that one coming,” Marge offered.
“What are you talking about?”
“Did you notice the way she was staring at you after London was stung by the bee?”
I remembered exactly but didn’t want to say it. Instead: “She was just upset that London was hurt.”
“Nope. She was upset because London went running to you and not her to comfort her. Liz noticed it, too.”
I remembered thinking the same thing and said nothing.
“So what does she do?” Marge went on. “She spends all day with London on Sunday, and then rushes London into the classroom before you had a chance to kiss her goodbye.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Because Mom called and told me. She thought it was odd.”
“You’re crazy,” I said, suddenly feeling suddenly defensive. “You’re reading too much into it.”
“I might be,” she admitted. “I hope I am.”
“And stop talking about Vivian like that. All of you need to stop dissecting everything she does. She’s been under a ton of pressure these last few weeks.”
“You’re right,” she said. “I was out of line. I’m sorry.” There was a pause. “What are you doing now?”
“Are you trying to change the subject?”
“I’m doing my best. I’ve already apologized.”
“London’s at her piano lesson. I’m on a walk. I figured I’d burn a few more calories before dinner.”
“Good for you,” she said. “You look thinner in the face by the way.”
“You can’t really tell yet.”
“Oh yeah you can. This last weekend, I was like… wow.”
“You’re just trying to butter me up so I don’t stay mad at you.”
“You never stay mad at me. You’re such a people pleaser, you’ll probably hang up worried that my feelings were hurt because you called me out.”
I laughed. “Goodbye, Marge.”
The thing is, as unhappy as I was about Marge’s assessment of Vivian, I couldn’t shake the notion that there may have been more than a grain of truth in it. The only event that didn’t fit neatly into Marge’s theories was our amiable Sunday night, but even Vivian’s unexpected warmth could have been explained by the feeling that she’d reaffirmed her undisputed primacy in London’s life.
On the other hand, that was crazy. So what if London had run to me after being stung by a bee? My feelings wouldn’t have been hurt if she’d instead run to Vivian; people in healthy marriages didn’t fall prey to such petty power struggles. Vivian and I were a team.
Weren’t we?
I sensed instantly that Vivian wasn’t in a pleasant mood when she returned from work, and when I asked about her day, she launched into a story about how the CFO had just submitted her two-week resignation, which threw the company into sudden upheaval.
“Walter was absolutely furious,” she said on her way to the master bedroom. She went into the closet and began removing her work clothes. “And I can’t say that I blame him. Just last week, she’d formally agreed to move to Atlanta. She even used it to negotiate a relocation fee bonus – which she already collected – and now she suddenly informs us that she’s taken a new job? People are always trying to take advantage of Walter, and I watch it happen all the time. I’m so sick and tired of it.”
There’s that name again, remembering Marge’s needling. Not once but twice.
“I’m sure she’s doing what he thinks is best for her family.”
“You didn’t let me finish,” Vivian snapped. In her bra and panties, she shimmied into a pair of jeans. “It turns out she’s also been recruiting other executives to follow her to the new company, and there are rumors that a few other executives are actually thinking about it. Do you know how much damage that could do to Walter’s company?”
Third time’s a charm. “Sounds like a rough day.”
“It was awful,” she said, grabbing a white T-shirt. I couldn’t help noting how stylish Vivian was, even when dressing down. “Of course, what that means to me is that because of this new wrinkle, I’m probably going to have to spend even more time in Atlanta, at least for a while anyway.”
That part I heard clearly. “More time than four days?”
She held up her hands and drew a long breath. “Please don’t add to an already awful day. I know you’re upset. I’m upset, too. Just let me go spend some time with London and we’ll talk about it later. I want to hear how her first day went and unwind and maybe have a glass of wine, okay?”