Catching Air (31 page)

“We’re not going to go over this in the morning,” Peter said. Kira looked up at her husband in astonishment.

“We’ll take off a thousand bucks for the cake,” Peter said, his voice soft but steady. “We paid in advance for the alcohol based on
your
requirements and guest list, so you can take whatever’s left over when you leave tomorrow. The same with the food. We can wrap it up and pack it in a cooler.”

“What am I going to do with a crate of salad?” Bruce asked.

“What are we going to do with it?” Peter shot back. “Breed rabbits?”

This couldn’t be her husband, Kira thought wildly. Her sweet, nonconfrontational Peter taking on a prosecutor?

“We have a written agreement that the check will be provided tonight,” Peter said. A few guests were turning to look, but Peter didn’t back down or lower his voice. “We’d like that check now.”

“Minus twelve hundred?” Bruce was raising an eyebrow, but he didn’t look mad. He must be used to blustering on both sides before an agreement was reached, given his job, Kira thought. Maybe he even respected it, in an odd way.

“Fine,” Peter agreed. “Even though it was an accident, and my wife whipped up a damn good cake on the spot.”

Bruce pulled out his checkbook and began to write.

“Thank you,” Peter said, putting the check in his own pocket.

“It’s a nice wedding,” Bruce said.

And now it was done, Kira thought. Really, truly over. She was going to take the world’s longest bubble bath and then climb into bed and wrap herself around Peter. They’d order pizza for the next week.

She and Peter began to walk out of the tent and snow flurries fell down upon them like confetti, blown sideways under the tarp by the strong wind.

“Wait,” Kira said. She reached for her husband’s hand, remembering the photograph on her father’s refrigerator.

It was dark and freezing, and neither of them had on a coat, but she didn’t want to go into the kitchen yet, where the waiters were washing platters and wrapping up leftovers and sweeping the floor, where everything was loud and bright and busy.

The DJ was playing “At Last” by Etta James, and the slow, sweet opening notes of the music carried outside to them. It was a song Kira had always loved. It was the one she and Peter had first danced to at their own wedding.

She reached up and wrapped her arms around Peter’s neck, and they swayed back and forth.

There was no place she’d rather be.

Acknowledgments

Though it seems impossible, my adoration and appreciation of my editor, Greer Hendricks, continues to grow. Her expert guidance, ability to inspire, and natural knack for storytelling strengthen all of my novels—and none more so than this one. If you enjoyed
Catching Air,
please know that Greer’s fingerprints are on everything from the structure to the language to the cover. It would be a privilege to work with her under any circumstance. The fact that she’s someone I can (and do!) laugh with, identify with, and talk with for hours leaves me awed by my spectacular good fortune.

My smart, funny, ridiculously hard-working agent, Victoria Sanders, is as fierce and loyal as they come (she’s soft-hearted, too, but don’t mention that at the negotiating table or she might haul off and kick you). V has created opportunities for me that seem like a dream—actually, they
were
my dreams, just a few short years ago. As with Greer, somewhere along the way, Victoria has transformed into a cherished friend.

Marcy Engelman somehow agreed to take me on as a client (I’m still trying to figure out how I deserve this), and has worked magic on the publicity front while writing the funniest, sassiest e-mails in e-mail history. Marcy, you are one in a million—and I adore you.

You would think I’d used up my allotment of good luck, and I’d agree, but somehow I hit the publishing jackpot with publisher Judith Curr, Carolyn Reidy of Simon & Schuster, and the rest of the creative, cutting-edge, and just darn
likeable
folks at Atria who have published every book I’ve ever written. From dashing publicist Paul Olsewski and his imaginative colleague Elaine Broeder, to the fabulous sales force who work so hard to bring my books into stores, to Ben Lee, Lisa Sciambra, Lisa Keim, Carly Sommerstein, Hillary Tisman, and Jackie Jou . . . it is a pleasure to work with each and every one of you. Then there’s the incredible Sarah Cantin, an all-around star who brings grace, intelligence, and unerring good instincts to every single thing she does.

Chandler Crawford does an outstanding job of selling foreign rights to my books, and I’m proud to be associated with someone so well-respected in the industry. Bernadette Baker-Baughman (B3!) is smart, funny, and an excellent partner in squealing when good news arrives. My deep thanks also to Chris Kepner, for everything he does, and does so well.

To Angela Cheng Caplan, my film agent! Talk about dreams coming true. I look forward to many, many years of working with you and Kim Yau.

Erin Wittenmyer kindly answered dozens of questions I had about the adoption process, and she forwarded pages and pages of materials that provided essential information as I crafted Alyssa’s storyline. I’m very grateful to Erin.

Kudos to copy editor Susan Brown, proofreader Wendy Keebler, and book jacket designer Anna Dorfman for another stellar job.

To all the amazing book bloggers, booksellers, and librarians—I would never get to do this without your support, and I am deeply thankful to you for being so welcoming to me, and for championing books in general. And speaking of championing books, there is no one who is more supportive and generous to her fellow writers (not to mention more funny and charming) than the author Jennifer Weiner. Jen, you stand up for us all when it would be easier to look away, and I’m proud to call you a friend.

Chatting with readers who have found me on Facebook and Twitter is always a highlight of my day. Thank you all for sharing the publication process with me, and for making it so much more fun! If you haven’t already found me on social media, please do, because I’m probably hanging out there, procrastinating (note to my publisher: Please don’t read that last line).

My parents are endless sources of help, fun, and laughter, and I’m so grateful they live close by and are an important part of our lives. “Alvie”—Olivia Cortez—is an angel, and I don’t know what I would do without the good cheer she brings into my home.

And as always, to my family (in this case, last place isn’t a bad thing, kids!), for filling my life with chaos and carpools, messes and baseball games—and moments of joy that my heart can barely contain.

Catching Air

S
ARAH
P
EKKANEN

A Readers Club Guide

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. In what ways do Alyssa and Kira discover that they are more alike than they originally believed?

2. How are Rand and Peter contrasted throughout the novel? What are their different approaches to running the bed-and-breakfast?

3. For Dawn, following her heart rather than her head leads her into a disastrous outcome. Have you ever found yourself in a difficult situation because you were blinded by love?

4. Alyssa recalls a friend who went from weighing 350 pounds to running several marathons a year: “She hadn’t changed her habits; her habits had changed her.” What’s the meaning behind this distinction? What are some of the new habits that these characters develop because they are running the B-and-B?

5. Even though Kira, Dawn, and Alyssa are all grown women, how are their childhood experiences—particularly, the degree to which they felt safe and cared for—impacting them throughout the novel? Particularly for Kira and Alyssa, how are these experiences shaping how they think about becoming mothers themselves?

6. In thinking about her marriage to Rand, Alyssa notes, “Their relationship had never been truly tested.” Given that they regularly moved and traveled—and likely faced financial uncertainty as a result—did this analysis surprise you? What kinds of life events do you think really test a romantic relationship?

7. How do each woman’s memories of her mother drive her forward, or inspire her?

8. Kira becomes frustrated when she feels she’s bearing the weight of planning the wedding and the daily management of the inn without Peter equally contributing; Alyssa starts to panic when she realizes that perhaps she never really ensured that Rand also wanted a child as much as she did. To what degree is each woman responsible for the situations she finds herself in, and to what extent should they expect their husbands to behave differently?

9. Alyssa says that she was worried she’d “feel confined by bed rest” but that surprisingly, “all her traveling was what had prepared her for it.” What are some other seemingly polar opposite experiences that end up being mutually beneficial?

10. Consider where we leave Rand at the novel’s conclusion. What do you think will happen to his and Alyssa’s marriage? Do you think men are less likely than women to change their patterns of behavior?

11. Kira disappears from the B-and-B and confronts two men when she arrives in Florida. What kind of power has each man held over her sense of self since she and Peter moved to Vermont, and why is it essential for her to find closure with each of them?

12. Consider the different types of relationships that are depicted in the novel—romantic bonds, blood relations, in-laws, and friends—and discuss the expectations and “norms” associated with each.

Enhance Your Reading Group

1. Would you ever want to move to a vacation destination and open your own business? If yes, where in the world would you pick? What would the business be? Who would you want to run it with?

2. Sarah Pekkanen is the author of four other delicious novels! If you haven’t yet read
The Best of Us
, do so as a group, and think about the marriages depicted in that novel. Using the couples of these two books as examples, what would you say are the keys to a successful relationship? And where do the breakdowns that each couple face seem to originate from?

3. Throughout the novel, Kira perfects certain recipes that work well for feeding larger groups—like her butternut squash soup, or her fondue, or her pancakes. Do you have any tried- and-true recipes that you break out for guests spending the night, or for hosting a larger holiday meal? Did any of those dishes ever go disastrously wrong when you were hosting? Bring a recipe or two—and stories! —to share with the group.

Also by Sarah Pekkanen

The Opposite of Me

Skipping a Beat

These Girls

The Best of Us

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Sarah Pekkanen

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First Washington Square Press trade paperback edition May 2014

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file.

ISBN 978-1-4516-7353-1

ISBN 978-1-4516-7354-8 (ebook)