CHAPTER TWELVE
SYLVIA
They should have canceled the party, Sylvia thought as she looked around at the opulence of it all, but it was too late for that now. Every year she said it would be a small beach get-together, and every year it blossomed into a bustling neighborhood affair. The only problem was that she and Walter were friends with everyone, and it cost them a small and ruinous fortune. But there was nothing Sylvia could do. Invitations had been sent out weeks ago, food and entertainment had already been ordered and paid for. Canceling would have only sent tongues wagging, and that was the last thing she wanted.
She stepped away from Walter. He was deep in conversation with the Hersheys about the new Village Inn restaurant that had opened in a property the couple owned and leased out on Marine Avenue. She might have been interested before—she always wanted to know about new ventures happening in her town—but now every conversation seemed fake and pointless. What was Walter going to do? Invest in it? Hardly. She almost muttered her sarcasm out loud, as she surveyed the scene and recognized every single face—friends she’d known for years, business owners from town and from the peninsula, new members from the club, as well as part-timers who lived on the island only in the spring and summer months. She felt a pang of sympathy when she saw Millystanding alone over by the children’s area. She imagined it would be tough breaking into this crowd if you were new in town; everyone here had known each other for years, and to navigate it alone would be even harder. Milly’s husband Lloyd was strangely never around, but at least he was working, making money, not gambling their lives away.
“Mom.” Judith came up behind her wearing a white-and-pink-print summer dress with a pink sash and white gloves.
“Oh, you look absolutely darling,” Sylvia said. “Is that my dress?”
“Yes,” Judith said. “Everything of mine is getting too tight across the bust,” she said in a hushed tone, while giving a small swooshing gesture across her chest. “I need new dresses.”
“Well, I’m glad you found something you like in my closet. What’s mine is yours,” Sylvia said.
“Good,” she said. “So can I also borrow your gold bracelet, the one with the rose diamonds that you usually wear with this?”
Sylvia froze. It was gone. It was sitting with the rest of her jewelry collection in the pawn shop, likely in the back room, just waiting to be put out for sale when she didn’t return with the money she’d borrowed. But of course she couldn’t tell Judith that.
“Mom,” she persisted. “Can I? My friends are already here; I just need to put on my finishing touches.”
“Not this time, sweetheart.”
“Why?” she asked. “You always let me.”
“I said no, Judith. This is just a barbecue. You don’t need fancy jewelry today.”
“But you’re wearing…” Then Sylvia watched as Judith’s eyes went to her mother’s bare neck and wrist. “Well, everyone else is dressing up. Why can’t I borrow it?”
“Don’t argue with me in public, Judith Anne, or you won’t be seeing your friends at all today.”
“That’s so not fair.” Judith scowled at her mother, then stormed off. Sylvia instinctively looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the tension between her and her daughter, or that her jaw was likely clenchedshut, her hands in fists at her side. She took a deep breath and slapped on a smile when it appeared that everyone was either too preoccupied or too tipsy to notice.
Sylvia took one more glance around, her pleasure bittersweet at seeing so many friends gathered and having a good time at their beloved home. She felt tears well up and she quickly blinked them away, thinking she should probably get back to Walter, keep up appearances, when she suddenly felt someone’s eyes upon her. She turned and noticed a man standing on the public fishing pier next to her beachfront, smoking a cigarette, staring at her intently. He might be one of Walter’s friends, she thought, but he wasn’t anyone she recognized. He didn’t look away, and for a brief second she allowed herself to think he might just be passing by, impressed with the grand party; after all, everything looked pristine. But his intensity unnerved her. Someone touched her shoulder and she almost screamed.
“Oh, Sylvia.” It was just Milly. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Gosh, you’re shaking.”
Milly looked over to where Sylvia had been focusing all her attention. “Who is that?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Sylvia said, looking again, then linking her arm in Milly’s and steering them away, picking up a pink cocktail from a passing waiter. “But I don’t like the look of him.”
Milly’s brow furrowed. “Should we tell Walter? Maybe he should send someone over there. He looks a little menacing.”
“No.” Sylvia grabbed Milly’s arm a little tighter than she’d intended. “Not in front of all these people. I’ll handle it later.”
Milly moved in front of Sylvia and stopped her from walking back into the party crowd. “Is everything OK? You seem rattled,” she said.
Sylvia shook her head, afraid she’d start sobbing here at her own party. She was so filled with rage and fear and uncertainty that it might all just pour out of her. “Oh, Milly,” she said, her voice shaky. “It’s Walter. I can’t talk about it, not really, but he’s got himself into some trouble, financially,” she whispered. “I’m terrified about what it’s going tomean for us and I’m furious with him, just so furious I can barely even be around him.”
“I’m so sorry,” Milly said, genuine concern taking over her delicate features. “What can I do to help? Anything—just say the word.”
Sylvia took a deep quivering breath and tried to regain some of her composure, and when she looked out to the pier again, the man was gone. “Don’t speak a word of this, please. I shouldn’t have told you. I was just…” She held up her drink. “I’m a little tipsy, and it’s been hard to keep it all to myself. It’s just so much to keep inside, you know?”
Milly nodded. “Oh, I know,” she said. “I can guarantee you’re not the only one harboring secrets around here.”
Sylvia cocked her head, but Milly took Sylvia’s hand in hers. “I won’t say a word, I promise. Your secret is safe with me.”
