Free The First Wives Club by Olivia Goldsmith Page A

suspect anything.”
    “There, that’s settled then. Go to New York, take him out for a wonderful steak dinner at Christ Cella’s, and then home to bed.
    Tomorrow, go to Harry Winston’s and buy yourself the most extravagant piece of jewelry you have ever bought. These things happen. Be glad it isn’t worse. And be thankful. You do have a good life, after all.”
    And so she began to live the lie. Mother is so knowing, she thought as she folded the truth away and tucked it in the back of her mind like an unwanted winter blanket. But the blanket wouldn’t stay folded and put away. The infidelities got more frequent and then more flagrant, became harder and harder to ignore. Each time with younger, ever younger, women.
    Little by little, day after day, her ordinary life eroded, until now all that was left was the order, the shell of a life. The emptiness closed in on her, the only fullness she now felt coming from the extra drink before dinner, then the wine, and the brandy before going to bed.
    And yes, the occasional morning bracer, but only if she had a luncheon date that she wasn’t looking forward to.
    Not a very pretty picture, she thought as she came back to the present.
    Poor me. Poor Cynthia. And Poor Annie. And yes, even poor Brenda.
    We made bad deals.
    Of course, Annie has that awful situation with Aaron dating her own psychiatrist. Or former psychiatrist, I guess it is at this point.
    Never trust them, Mother told me, and I never have. So Annie goes to one to help her marriage, and the psychiatrist steals her husband. And when Lally Snow told me, I couldn’t say anything to Annie. After all, she and Aaron were already separated. But what a betrayal. Elise shuddered at the thought. Yet Annie continued to live her life with dignity.
    And Brenda bore the humiliation of being fat, rejected, and penniless, if not with dignity, at least with a defiance that carried her forward from day to day.
    Chessie rapped softly at the door before entering. Well, she, Elise, had humiliations of her own to deal with, she thought as the pain behind her eye or something else made it water, the tears rolling slowly down her once-perfect face.
    Putting on the Ritz.
    As the taxi pulled up to the marquee of the Ritz Carlton, Annie took out her mirror and primped for a moment. The ordeal of the funeral and of the shuttle flight to Boston were over, now the ordeal of seeing Aaron and watching Alex graduate would begin. She’d decided to put Cynthia’s letter and her whole overreaction to it behind hen-for now at least.
    Annie tried to be calm, not sad or angry. Alex, not Aaron, had asked that Sylvie not attend the graduation, and though it almost broke her heart, Annie could understand his resentment of the sister who took up so much of his mother’s time, who brought so much unwanted attention to the family. It was foolish of her to expect anything else, she thought. Still, she was disappointed. She sighed, then shrugged, paid the driver, and slid out of the cab. The doorman helped her, and as she smiled her thanks, someone ran up from behind her, covered her eyes, and kissed the top of her head. She felt her heart jump in her chest and turned, only to find Chris towering over her and grinning.
    He was wearing a soft cashmere turtleneck and a well-cut tweed jacket.
    She managed another smile.
    ”Mom! Wow, you look like a million bucks!” Chris cried. He hugged her again and as always she felt so grateful for his warmth, his open affection, so different from his father’s and older brother’s restraint.
    “Have you seen your brother yet?” she asked. She wanted to ask about Aaron but controlled herself.
    ”Oh, sure,” he said, adding quickly, “Me and Al went out to the Plough and Stars and got loaded last night. Then we hit the Combat Zone. It was great.
    It’s a good thing I’ll never graduate, because I don’t think either of us could survive another night like that. It certainly wouldn’t help my career in