Page 134 of The New Place

“Sorry about that,” Ned says with a grimace. “We talked about taking it off for today, but negotiations weren’t successful. Pat, could you try?”

“I’m on it.” Pat tosses a comical salute toward Ned. “Do I have permission to employ bribery?”

“Why not?” Ned sighs. “That, or we’re editing it out of all the pictures we take.”

“Leave it,” Beverly says. “We had—what was that party? Remember? Henry had his goggles.”

“In Chamonix?” Susan asks.

“Wouldn’t take them off,” Chris says. “I remember that. Henry splashed like a fish in the pool the whole weekend, and we’d gotten you purple swim goggles and you loved them. You were what, six years old?”

“No, it was Cathy’s thirtieth. You couldn’t have been more than four,” Beverly says.

Dimly, Abbot feels Ned drop his hand to loop his arm around his waist.

“Insisted they were your new glasses and you wore them everywhere,” Beverly goes on.

“That’s right,” Susan says. “Bumped into everything, since you couldn’t see five feet in front of you.”

“We have so many pictures, Ned,” Beverly says. “I’ll send some, so you can see. They’re all the more perfect that Henry was so determined to keep those goggles on.”

“We did try,” Charles says. “Though similarly to you, Ned, negotiations failed.”

They all laugh. Abbot hears it distantly, watching from some faraway place as Ned looks between them, the beginning of a smile on his face.

“Well, all this makes a cape seem a bit more acceptable,” Ned says, and Stop, Abbot wants to plead, but he’d have to speak and he’s frozen.

“I was pleased to see she still has it, after dinner the other night,” Charles says.

He’s numb too, Abbot finds, trying to feel his hands, his face.

Ned will help. Ned always helps, and he’ll disengage them from this conversation, or steer it to a new topic.

Ned squeezes his waist and yes, there’s the firm press of his body against Abbot’s side, and Ned taking a breath, ready to speak to rescue him. But Ned turns as his mother’s voice rises over the din.

“Yes, so we’ll just be switching houses,” Cheryl says to Sandy. “I’m sure you know, what with realty and all. So much easier than trying to rent.”

“You’re going to what?” Ned’s voice cuts through the commotion.

“Claire finally called me,” Pat comes over to tell him. “Did you hear? And wait, are we abandoning Capegate?”

“A house swap,” Cheryl says. “We found the most lovely couple in Italy.”

“I was so freaked out, but she’s coming up on Sunday,” Pat says. “And look, Abbot, I just got this, too. I read an entire thing about wine.”

“You and Henry will have found a place by then, right?” Dan asks. “I know, I know, no assumptions.” He waves at the bustle of the room. “But really.”

“I have some perfect properties for them,” Sandy says. “Can’t wait to show them a couple more.”

“It’s not fancy-fancy, but it’s not not fancy.” Pat thrusts a wine bottle into Abbot’s hands.

“It’s a spot just outside Florence,” Cheryl says. “Is that very far from you, Charles?”

“There’s a train,” he says.

“Dan, there’s a train,” Cheryl says.

“What exactly is happening to the house?” Ned asks.