Chances Are (6 page)

“Not unless DiFalco was her maiden name.”

Gina sighed loudly. Her cousin usually had a high tolerance level for family chaos. It must have really been terrible if Gina had noticed it. “They were in rare form today.”

“And you wonder why I ran away from home after high school.”

“Hell, no. I wonder why you ever came back.”

Bless Gina. She always understood.

“Thanks for drawing some of the fire in there. It’s nice to know somebody else in this family pisses off the aunts,” Maddy said as they waved good-bye to Denise and Rose. “I was beginning to think I had that honor all to myself.”

“Not as long as I’m still around.”

Some of the afternoon’s tension finally started to drain away, and Maddy leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. “Did you know Rose and I fought in the dressing room after she threw everyone out?”

“Try telling me something the whole family doesn’t know.”

“You heard us?”

“We didn’t have to. The seismic activity was a dead giveaway.”

“I told her Aidan wanted us to elope.”

“Get out!”

“He said we should grab Hannah and Kelly and elope to Vegas.” She started to laugh. “Let Rose throw us a party when we got back and charge it to the PBS crew.”

“Oh yeah,” said Gina, starting to laugh, too. “I’m sure our Rosie would be up for that.”

“It’s not like I’m thinking of doing it or anything, but the second she told me to try on that strapless Band-Aid dress, I was looking to pick a fight with her.”

“Bet you got our Rosie’s blood pumping.” Gina merged onto the highway behind Aunt Lucy’s Buick. “So now what are you going to do?”

“Run away from home again.”

“Not an option anymore. You’re here to stay.”

Maddy feigned a shiver. “A life sentence in Paradise Point.”

“Within shouting distance of every single DiFalco relative on the planet.”

“Stop the car,” Maddy said. “I have a sudden urge to play in traffic.”

Of all the cousins, Gina was the one who understood text and subtext. She always laughed where she was supposed to, but she saw beneath the black humor to the heart of the matter. There was more to Gina than her bawdy persona would lead you to believe. Maddy was one of the few people who was allowed to see the woman behind the laughter.

“I thought things were getting better for you and Rosie.”

“They were,” Maddy said, then corrected herself. “They are. We’ve both been trying hard to be more understanding, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit we’ve had some rough spots since Aidan and I got engaged.”

“I thought she was crazy about him.”

“She is. I think it’s the wedding that’s making us both crazy.”

“Maybe not. Maybe it’s the documentary that’s fraying everyone’s nerves. All this looking back isn’t doing any of us any good.”

Maddy looked closely at her cousin. “I thought you were enjoying the attention.” Gina’s salon stood to receive a fair bit of airtime when the documentary finally ran as part of a feature on the new wave of female entrepreneurs who were reshaping the old shore town.

“Dig deep enough, and you’re bound to find something someone wanted to keep buried.” Gina shook her head as if to brush away the idea. “I’d just as soon they kept the focus on your wedding.”

“Thanks, pal,” Maddy said. “I’ll remember that. As it is, the house is sprouting bridal magazines, swatches of dress material, and if I hear one more word about caterers I swear I’ll—”

“You’ve got the castle, the glass slipper, and Prince Charming, Cinderella. So what if there’s a camera crew hiding behind the altar. You’re not getting any sympathy here. You and Aidan might be South Jersey’s Trista and Ryan.”

“Bite your tongue.”

“You love him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“And you want to marry him.”

“I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t.”

“So what’s the problem? If there’s one thing DiFalcos do well, it’s plan a wedding. Why not sit back and enjoy it?”

“You think I’m being an ingrate, don’t you?”

“Yep,” said Gina as a carload of DiFalco sisters roared past them. “Rosie can be a pain in the ass, but she loves you. Besides, you’re the only one of us who just might get it right the first time. You can’t blame her for wanting to make your wedding day something to remember.”

“I think I’ll remember it just fine without fifty pounds of chopped liver and a champagne fountain.”

“I don’t know how to break it to you, but this isn’t about you.”

“That’s exactly what Rose said.”

“Thanks,” Gina said with an alarming roll of her eyes. “I can feel the varicose veins forming even as I speak. Still, you know I’m right.”

“She’s not talking about a wedding, Gee. She’s talking about a circus.”

“It’s one day. Put up with it.”

“I don’t think I’m the big wedding type.”

“Please don’t tell me you were serious about eloping to Vegas.” Gina shuddered. “That’s too bleak a prospect, even for me.”

“It could be fun. Especially if Fat Elvis performed the ceremony.”

“There’s a charming thought for you.”

“The kids might like it.”

“The kids aren’t supposed to go on the honeymoon with you.”

“Does that mean you’re up for baby-sitting? You know how much Joey adores Hannah.”

Gina ignored the question as she eased her way around a slow-moving Cruiser. “You won’t get the big wedding checks from the aunts if you don’t give them a sit-down prime rib dinner and a dance band.”

“How big
are
those checks?” She pretended to rub her hands together in anticipation.

“Big enough to make up for a few snarky remarks.”

“So you think I should sell out for a few lira.”

“You might not believe me now, but by the time the day arrives, you’ll understand. Fat Elvis might be fun, but he isn’t family, and weddings are all about family.”

“I’ve never heard you talk this way before. You sound downright DiFalco.”

“Quote me, and I’ll deny every single word. I have my reputation to consider.”

“Rose and I might end up killing each other before I walk down the aisle.” The thought of the PBS crew capturing it all on film was enough to make her queasy.

“Trust me, you’ll bond.”

“In prison,” Maddy said, and they burst into laughter.

They fell silent for a few miles. Neither one of them had the chance to drive in silence very often. Gina had three children under ten, a trio of turbocharged live wires much like their mother. They were spending the afternoon at Upsweep, Gina’s hair salon, being cared for in the mini-day care center Gina had established for employees and patrons in the rear section of the shop.

This was the first time Gina had left her youngest’s side since he was released from the hospital three weeks ago. He had taken sick at his father’s house up near Princeton, and Gina had parked her other two kids on her sister Denise’s doorstep and raced up north to be with Joey.

“So how’s Joey doing? I was kind of hoping you would bring him with you today.”

Gina laughed. “Oh, there’s a great idea: Joe and Hannah running wild in Saks.”

“It does strike terror in the heart,” Maddy agreed. “So how is he doing?” Gina had been uncharacteristically preoccupied since bringing Joey home, and details on the toddler’s condition had been in short supply.

“We go back up to Princeton to see the doctor next week,” Gina said, her gaze firmly on the road.

“Princeton? I thought you liked Dr. Jeanne.”

“You’ll have to ask the ex,” Gina said. “He changed jobs, and the new HMO is being anal about where we go.”

“That’s not fair. Joey lives down here. You can’t be expected to drive up to—”

“So what do you want from me?” Gina interrupted. “Maybe you have time to go bare knuckles with an HMO, but I don’t.”

They dropped back into silence, but it was a much less comfortable silence than before.

She shouldn’t have pushed Gina about her choice of pediatricians. Her cousin had been under enormous strain since Joey’s sudden hospitalization. You couldn’t blame her for being short on patience. It was a situation Maddy understood quite well.

In early December Hannah had been briefly hospitalized for a violent allergic reaction to a cleaning fluid used to polish an old samovar, and she had been placed in a room next to Aidan’s one-hundred-year-old grandmother Irene. The DiFalco and O’Malley families had been drawn together in both sorrow and thanksgiving as they said good-bye to the matriarch and celebrated the recovery of the child, and from that point on, Maddy swore she could feel the hand of fate drawing her and Aidan together.

Nothing in her life had ever been easier or felt more right. The chemistry between them was undeniable, but even more important, there was an emotional connection that seemed to grow deeper every time she saw him. Marriage would only make legal the vows they had already taken in their hearts.

She wasn’t sure how much of this Hannah understood. She loved her Grandma Rose and Aunt Lucy, and if she wasn’t too sure about her other aunts, they adored her enough to make up the difference. She loved her puppy Priscilla best of all, but Aidan was coming up fast on the outside. Aidan didn’t want to take the place of her father, but when it came to raising daughters, he was a natural, and Hannah seemed to sense that.

His daughter was living proof. Kelly was everything a parent could want in a child, and Maddy thanked her lucky stars for bringing the perfect stepsister into her little girl’s life. For all the talk you heard about how tough it was to raise a teenager, he had managed to bring up the perfect kid. Kelly was funny, smart, polite, charming, and talented. Her grades were top-notch. She was active in a dozen after-school clubs. She had great friends and a boyfriend even Aidan had to admit was a good kid.

Maddy should be walking on air. And she was. She really was. For the first time in her entire life, everything she had ever dreamed about was within reach. She was where she was meant to be, when she was meant to be there, with the people who meant the world to her, and with the man she loved.

Was it possible to let herself believe it might even last?

She had no troubles, no complaints, no reason for the sense of unease that had been growing ever since the documentary crew came to town and aimed their cameras at Maddy and Aidan and the upcoming wedding. But it was there just the same, and she couldn’t make it go away, no matter how hard she tried.

She swiveled around in her seat and scanned the highway behind them. “I haven’t seen Claire’s car since we left the restaurant.”

“I think she took the Parkway,” Gina said. “We’ll probably catch up with her when we get past Freehold.”

“She is a good driver, isn’t she?”

“NASCAR thinks so.”

“Not funny.” Even though it was, in a dark sort of way.

“She’s gained a few pounds since she quit smoking.”

“Why are we all so obsessed with weight? I think it looks good on her,” Maddy said. Claire had one of those long, lanky frames that easily hid a small weight gain.

“Mmm,” said Gina. “I keep wishing she’d come into Upsweep so we could do something about that Bonnie Raitt thing she has going on. Redheads do
not
gray gracefully.”

“Gina—” Maddy searched for the right way to phrase what she wanted to say. “I—I’d really rather we didn’t talk about Claire.”

“Why not? She’s about to become your sister-in-law. She’ll be family. We always talk about family. It’s a tradition.”

“It’s just that things haven’t been all that warm and fuzzy between us since Aidan and I got engaged.”

“You think that’s what those snarky looks at lunch were all about? You’re telling me she’s jealous?”

“No! I didn’t—well, maybe. But not of Aidan. I think she’s jealous about Kelly.”

“Oh boy! Now things are getting juicy. So you think the aging redhead is—”

“I don’t want to do this, Gina. Let’s change the subject.”

“Why? Claire’s as good a subject as any.”

“Do I really have to spell it out?”

Gina’s smile faded. “That was a long time ago, Maddy. Billy’s dead.”

“I still wish you hadn’t told me,” Maddy said, leaning her head against the passenger window. “Every time I look at Claire, I think of you and—”

“Would you rather think of me and Aidan?”

Nothing like the unvarnished truth to snap a woman back to reality. “No, but—”

“It was either tell you the truth or let you think I was sleeping with the man you were falling in love with. I don’t see where I had a choice.”

“Do you think she knows?”

Gina shook her head. “Not about me.”

“But she knows Billy slept around?”

“Honey, the entire town knew Billy slept around. It wasn’t exactly a secret.”

“So how did you manage to keep it quiet about the two of you?”

“Are you implying I don’t know how to keep my fucking mouth shut?” Gina, angry, was a sight to behold.

Maddy felt her cheeks redden. “Meaning I know this town. Like you said, there are very few secrets.”

Gina opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The sight of her breezy, unflappable cousin brought to her knees by the memory of Billy O’Malley hit Maddy like a blow. Gina had loved Claire’s husband, really loved him in a way she hadn’t loved the fathers of her children, and that knowledge threw everything Maddy had believed about love and fidelity and the bonds of matrimony into chaos.

“I think it would have worked out,” Gina said at last. “I think we would have ended up together.”

Maddy had the feeling that even if Billy had lived, Gina would have ended up alone, but she held back the comment. She loved Gina. She didn’t want to hurt her. But there were still parts of this puzzle she found difficult to accept.

“How can you stand around chatting with Claire, knowing that you wanted to steal her husband?”