Bittersweet (20 page)

“I understand that. But he might provide a little relief from your miseries. Did he ask to see you?”

“Of course not. Anyway, he's in Europe.”

“How do you know?” Gail was fascinated by him, and by India meeting such illustrious people.

“He said he was going to be there till after Labor Day.”

“With Serena?”

“I think she was going home early.”

“Did he ask you to join him?”

“Will you stop? There is nothing to this, I promise. He said he'd love to have me on the boat with my children sometime. He's a friend, that's all. Forget it. And I'm not going to have an affair with anyone. I just gave up my career, or any hope of it, forever, for my husband. If I wanted to lose my marriage, I could take an assignment, for chrissake. I don't have to have an affair to fuck my life up any further.”

“It might actually help it,” Gail said thoughtfully, although for once she didn't really think so. India wasn't the type to enjoy it. She was too straight-arrow to play the games Gail did, and Gail loved her for it. She had a lot of respect for her, and she was sorry to see her in such bad shape now, and she had no idea how to help her. She thought Doug was a fool, and an insensitive bastard, but if India wanted to stay married to him,
there wasn't anything anyone could do about it to help her. She had to play the game his way. No matter what it cost her.

“Maybe he'll call you again sometime,” Gail said hopefully, but India only shrugged. She knew he wasn't the answer to her problems.

“I don't think he'll call,” India said quietly. “It's really kind of pointless. We got along wonderfully, but there's no way to continue a friendship like that. Our lives are too complicated. And I really like his wife. I might do some more pictures for her.” India was completely adapted to her situation.

“Will Doug let you take pictures of her?” Those were the boundaries of her life now, and she had to live with them. Like prison walls. Or a life sentence.

“Maybe. I didn't ask him. But he might. That's pretty harmless, and all I have to do is go into the city for an afternoon. I could even do it for her, without having her give me credit.”

“What a waste,” Gail said sadly. “You're one of the best photographers in the country, the world maybe, and you're just flushing it right down the toilet.” It really made her angry, especially seeing India so depressed about it.

“Apparently that was the ‘deal’ I made with Doug when we got married, although he didn't spell it out quite that clearly. I said I'd give up working, I don't think I ever said I'd burn all my bridges.”

“Then don't. Don't take your name off the roster. Maybe he'll back down eventually, after he stops beating his chest over it. It's all about ego, and control, and a lot of other unattractive stuff men do to make them-
selves feel important. Maybe in a year or two, he'll feel differently about it.”

“I doubt it.” That was very clear now. She just had to put one foot in front of the other, and do just what Doug expected of her.

And with that, India stood up. She had things to do at home. She hadn't even made their bed before breakfast. Lately she felt as though she had lead in her shoes, and everything seemed to take longer than usual. Even getting dressed, and she couldn't be bothered to do her hair or wear makeup. She felt as though her life were over. It all seemed so pointless.

They walked slowly back to their cars, and Gail gave her a hug and stood facing her for a minute. “Don't rule out Paul Ward entirely, India. Sometimes guys make great friends, and I don't know why, but I get the feeling that there's more to this than you're admitting to me … or to yourself maybe. There's something about the way you look when you talk about it.” It had been the only time her eyes had come alive or her face had been animated all morning. “Don't give it up, whatever it is. You need it.”

“I know,” she said softly. “I think he just feels sorry for me.”

“I doubt that. You're not exactly a pathetic figure normally. You're beautiful, smart, fun to be with, funny. He's probably attracted to you, maybe he's just one of the rare ones who's faithful to his wife. That's always a possibility, depressing as that is.” She grinned wickedly and India laughed at her.

“You're hopeless. What about you? Any new victims for lunch or the motel circuit?” They had no secrets
between them, or they hadn't until now. India hadn't wanted to admit to her how attractive she found Paul. It was better left: secret. And there really was nothing to it. It was probably all a figment of her imagination. But the call from Gibraltar hadn't been. He'd probably just been bored, or maybe lonely after the crossing. But he could have called Serena instead, and he didn't. India had turned it around in her head a number of times after he called her, wondering why he had, and finally decided it didn't matter.

“Dan Lewison has a girlfriend,” Gail informed her. “And Harold and Rosalie are getting married in January, after the divorce is final. And there's no one new on the horizon.”

“How boring. Maybe I should give you Paul's number,” she teased, and they both laughed.

“I'd love it. Anyway, kiddo, take it easy. Don't be sad. And when Doug comes home tonight, kick him in the shins, it'll do you both good. And besides, he deserves it.” India didn't disagree with her, and she waved as she got into her car and drove off to the chores that were waiting. But she felt better after seeing Gail, and unburdening herself to her. There wasn't much she could do to change her life right now. But at least talking to someone about it was something, and it had helped her.

She picked the kids up after school, as usual, and took Jason and Aimee for their tennis lessons. Sam went home with a friend and came home in time for dinner. And Jessica was all excited about being a sophomore. Two seniors had actually looked at her, and one of them
had actually said something to her. And mercifully, Doug stayed in the city to have dinner with clients. India just wasn't in the mood to deal with him. And she was asleep when he came home on the last train, and slipped into bed beside her.

He was already up and in the shower when she got up the next morning, and she put on her jeans and a sweatshirt without combing her hair, and ran downstairs to let the dog out and make breakfast.

She put the
Wall Street Journal
and The New York Times at Doug's place, and started a pot of coffee. And while she was pouring cereal into bowls for the kids, she glanced at the paper, and saw Serena on the front page. What startled her was that it was the picture India had taken of her that summer. She was surprised to see it in
The Times
, with her name along the side in a small credit line, as she unfolded the paper, and then she gasped as the cereal spilled all over the table.

For a moment, she felt as though all the air had been squeezed out of her as she read the headline. There had been a plane crash on a flight from London to New York the night before, and the FBI suspected a bomb planted by terrorists, though as yet no one had taken responsibility for it. Serena had been on the plane, and there were no survivors.

“Oh my God,” she said softly as she sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, with her hands trembling as she held the paper. The story in the newspaper said that the plane had taken off, as usual, after a slight delay due to a mechanical problem of some kind, and the plane had exploded without warning two hours out of Heathrow.
There had been three hundred and seventy-six people on board, among them a congresswoman from Iowa, a British M.P., a well-known ABC newscaster returning from a special he had done the week before in Jerusalem, and Serena Smith, internationally known bestselling author and movie producer. And all India could think of, as she looked at the photograph she had taken herself, were the things Serena had said while she took pictures of her that summer. It had been almost exactly two months before, and India knew without a moment's doubt that Paul would be devastated.

She didn't know what to do, whether to write or to call, or how to reach out to him. She could only imagine how he felt, and she felt terrible for him. Serena may well have been difficult, and she may not have liked his boat, but she was an extraordinary woman and it had been obvious to Serena, as it was to everyone else, that he was crazy about her. The article said that she was fifty years old and was survived by her husband, Paul Ward, and a sister in Atlanta. India was still reading the article when Sam came down to breakfast.

“Hi, Mom, what's wrong?” There was cereal all over the table, and India looked as though she'd seen a ghost. She was as white as the empty cereal bowl sitting before her.

“I … it … I was just reading something.” And then she decided to tell him. “Remember Paul, with the
Sea Star?”
She knew he did, but she had to identify him somehow. “His wife died in a plane crash.”

“Wow!” Sam looked impressed. “I bet Paul is really sad. She didn't like the boat though.” That was equally
important to Sam, and clearly showed her as defective. But he was nonetheless sorry for Paul, as she was. And as they were talking about it, the others came down, and Doug was with them.

“What's all the excitement about?” he asked, there was an atmosphere of hysteria in the kitchen, mostly caused by the appearance of their mother. It was obvious, just looking at her, that something terrible had happened.

“My friend Paul's wife was exploded by a bomb,” Sam said dramatically, as the others talked about it with interest.

“That sounds unusual,” Doug said, helping himself to a cup of coffee. “Paul who?”

“Paul Ward,” India explained. “He owns the yacht we visited this summer. He was married to Serena Smith, the writer.” She had told him about it, and he remembered instantly, and raised an eyebrow.

“How did she manage to get in the way of a bomb?” He looked somewhat nonplussed.

“She was on a plane that went down last night out of Heathrow.” Doug only shook his head in disapproval, and picked up the
Wall Street Journal
He had no sense of how upset his wife was. And he left, without saying another word, ten minutes later, after eating a muffin. He said nothing to India as he left, and the children were still talking about the crash when they were picked up by their car pools. She was grateful she didn't have to drive them.

And she sat in the kitchen afterward, staring at the paper, and thinking of Paul. He was all she could think
of now, and how distraught he must have been. But she didn't dare call him. The phone rang as she sat there. It was Gail.

“Did you see the paper?” Gail sounded breathless.

“I just read it. I can't believe it.” India sounded vague and distracted.

“You never know what's going to happen, do you? At least I guess no one suffered. They said it exploded in a blinding flash in less than a second.” They had been seen by another plane flying above them.

“I can't begin to imagine how he feels. He was so much in love with her.” But he had nevertheless managed to call India from his boat, Gail wanted to point out, but didn't. And when he recovered from the blow, he would be a free man, which might just create an interesting dilemma for her, or so Gail thought.

“Are you going to call him?”

“I don't think I should intrude,” India said, and then she remembered the photograph she had taken. She could send it to him now. It was a beautiful picture of both of them, and he might want to have it.

“You could go to the funeral. I'm sure they'll have some kind of memorial service for her in a few days. He might like to see you,” Gail said practically, ever helpful.

“Maybe.” They talked about it for a few minutes, and then hung up. And India went to look for the picture. She found it in a stack of papers she'd been meaning to get to in her darkroom. She had never gotten around to sending it to Serena, as she had promised. And she stood and looked at it for a long time, looking first into Paul's eyes, and then Serena's. Just the way
they sat together spoke volumes. He was draped across the back of her chair, and she was leaning her head against him, on the
Sea Star
, and she was beaming. It was hard to believe she was gone, so instantly, so totally, so quickly. It must have been even harder for Paul to absorb. And as India thought about him, she realized he was probably still in Europe, on the
Sea Star.
Or flying home by then, after they notified him. She had no idea what one did in a case like this. But it was obvious to her, as she thought about it, that it was better not to call him.

Instead she sat among the breakfast dishes on the kitchen table, and wrote him a letter, telling him how sorry she was, knowing how devastated he must be. It was a short but heartfelt note, and she enclosed it with the photograph, and drove to the post office to send it.

She felt as though she were moving underwater all afternoon. She just couldn't get over what had happened, and she still felt shell-shocked when she picked up the children at school.

She managed to get dinner on the table that night, but when Doug came home, she still hadn't combed her hair since that morning.

“What happened to you today? You look as though you'd been kidnapped.”

“I'm just upset,” she said honestly, needing to share it with him finally. “I feel so badly about Serena Smith.”

“You couldn't have known her that well. You only met her once or twice, didn't you?” He looked disinterested, and puzzled by her reaction.

“I did a shoot with her, for the back of her next book. It was the picture they ran in
The Times
this morning.”

“You never told me,” he said, his mouth setting into a thin line.

“I must have forgotten. Her husband was crazy about her. He must be just sick over it.” India looked distraught as she explained it to him.

“These things happen,” Doug said blandly, and started talking to Jason, as India felt her heart sink. There was no sympathy whatsoever left between them. There was nothing, only the lingering resentment of the summer, like the acrid smell of smoke after an electrical fire. It seemed to her as though everything they had once had had been burned to ashes in the meantime.