Free Wellesley Wives (New England Trilogy) by Suzy Duffy Page B

Could they not find something happy to write about? she wondered as she searched for the fashion and lifestyle supplements.
    In the travel section, an article on Ireland and Dublin caught her eye. She’d never visited, which was odd because the shopping was supposed to be terrific and, of course, Popsy was originally from the area and often mentioned it with fondness. Surely that alone was reason enough to go.
    She took a drink of coffee and settled down to learn all about Popsy’s hometown. By the time she got to the end of the article, Sandra decided it was definitely worth a visit. It had all the big stores that London and New York had, but in a more compact city.
    The photographs of the area in autumn were breathtaking. Old cobbled streets were flanked by impressive Victorian houses, still in perfect condition and being used as homes and offices. Alongside this enviable old world, the Irish had built a magnificent new financial district similar to Boston’s glass monoliths. Dublin had the best of the old world and the new. It was a beautiful city.
    Of course, there was also the famous Irish hospitality. The people were quite literally like no others. The article said researchers had found the Irish to be the happiest people on earth and most likely to laugh.
    Why was that? she wondered.
    She envied them. Why had she never managed to visit?
    She was sold. But then she thought about Jack. He wouldn’t be happy to drop everything and go on a shopping trip.
    Was it her imagination or was he becoming more grouchy? More difficult to please? She’d only broached the subject of babies with him once, and he almost hit the roof. He’d been furious with her—really angry.
    “We had a deal!” he’d shouted as he stormed around the room. “You knew full well coming into this marriage that I didn’t want any more children. I can barely keep up with the three I have.”
    Thinking back on it now, Sandra felt sad. She did know that was how he felt, but she’d changed her mind. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but life had a funny way of changing people, and now all Sandra really wanted was to start a family before it was too late. If it wasn’t already too late.
    She felt that old familiar panic rising again. If she didn’t have a baby, what was life all about? There had to be more to it than shopping and running. It was all right for Jack. He had three kids already, but those girls didn’t want anything to do with Sandra, so that left her out in the cold with no children to care for.
    Surely Jack was the one being unreasonable. If he truly loved her, he would give her this one precious gift. She wouldn’t expect him to do anything. She would do it all. In fact, they wouldn’t even have to move.
    A million times in her mind, Sandra had renovated the second bedroom into a nursery. In her imagination, it was always yellow because she didn’t know whether she wanted a boy or a girl. She just wanted a baby—one for herself. Was that so awful?
    Her mood plummeted and she tried to focus on the paper again. Dublin. How had Dublin set her off on her baby fantasy? Sandra took another bite of her toast, but it had gone cold now. The sugar-hit from the marmalade hadn’t helped her headache, so she decided she needed something stronger and headed out to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen for some painkillers. She kept them in the press under the cutlery drawer.
    I’ll have to move them, she decided, thinking about how easily a toddler could get to the colorful bottles of medication.
    “Stop!” she yelled. She didn’t need to childproof the apartment because there were no children in it, or any coming anytime soon.
    After tossing two large pills into her mouth, she took a large gulp of water to wash them down then went back into her bedroom. There was no point in putting it off. She really needed to get to the gym. Running was the only way she knew to rid herself of a hangover. Plus, it might get babies out of her