The Scarlet Thread (14 page)

Ashley set her rum punch down hard and uttered a short,

exceedingly foul word. “I swear. All men are pigs.”

“Darling,” Meredith said, too inebriated to be distressed by

anything. “You’re looking at it all wrong. Haven’t you read
Men

Are Just Desserts
?” She looked at Lorraine. “Did he fess up,

sweetie, or did you have to pry the information out of him with a

crowbar?”

“I asked him point-blank. He tried to worm his way around

the issue with his usual legal jargon. He might be able to fool everybody in a courtroom, but I always know when he’s lying.”

“Are you filing for divorce?” Ashley said, her own having only

recently been declared final.

“Actually, I was thinking about castration.”

“Here,” Meredith said, delighted. “Take the butter knife.”

Ignoring Meredith, Marcia put her hand over Lorraine’s.

“Don’t make any decision too quickly, Lorry. Try to work it out.”

“Work it out!” Lorraine’s dark eyes welled with tears. “I put

the jerk through law school. Four years I worked two jobs just to

get him through. You know who the woman is? That airheaded

blonde bimbo I told you about, the one in the last divorce case he

handled.”

“Be thankful,” Meredith said. “At least it wasn’t the husband.”

Nancy laughed before she could stifle it. Looking sheepish,

she apologized quickly. “Stop making jokes, Meredith,” she

whispered. “It’s not funny.”

“Of
course
it’s funny. It’s hilarious!” Meredith said. She lifted

her martini in salute. “To marriage, the biggest joke man ever

played on womankind. I should know. I’ve been on the

merry-go-round often enough.” She downed the martini with a

flick of her wrist.

“At least Eric’s faithful,” Lorraine said bitterly.

“Oh, of course, he is, darling. As long as I give him everything

he wants, he performs like a trained dog, though I daresay a dog

9 9

little sports car Eric is driving cost me one hundred and fiftyseven thousand dollars.” She gave a bleak laugh. “Fidelity comes

at a high price these days.”

Sierra saw the sheen of tears in Meredith’s eyes.

“I’d kill myself if John cheated on me,” Edie said.

“Ah, now there are wise, comforting words,” Meredith said,

her tone hard-edged with derision. She flagged Wylie for another martini. “Far from an original idea. Attempt suicide, and

your unfaithful husband will be wretched with guilt. I tried

that with my second husband. Charles called an ambulance

and had my stomach pumped. A completely disgusting experience, I can tell you. And did he beg forgiveness and tell me

how much he loved me and what a mistake he’d made? Ha!

He moved out while I was in the hospital.” Pain flickered

across her face as she revealed this old, obviously still unhealed, wound.

“I told Frank a long time ago that what’s good for the gander is

good for the goose,” Lorraine said as the waiter moved away.

“Meaning what?” Edie said. “You’re going to cheat on
him
now?”

“Why not?” Lorraine said fiercely, eyes brimming with tears.

“Let him have a taste of what it feels like to be betrayed.”

“That’s the spirit!” Meredith said with an overbright laugh.

“And I know just the lad to instill jealousy in any husband.

James! Come over here this minute, dear.”

Lorraine, fully aware of just how outrageous Meredith could

be when she’d been drinking, blushed as a handsome young

waiter turned slightly to look over at them. “Don’t you dare,

Meredith!” she hissed.

“Isn’t he a dish?” Meredith said, waggling her bejeweled fingers at him playfully. “Gorgeous, ambitious, and
half
Frank’s

age. In far better shape, too.”

“If he takes one step in this direction, I’m leaving.”

1 0 0

Meredith shrugged dramatically toward the young man. “Another time, dear. Lorraine’s changed her mind.”

“I swear, Meredith. You’re completely incorrigible,” Lorraine said.

“Comes with the territory,” Meredith said, a bleakness seeping

into her blue eyes. She quickly tried to hide it behind a bright,

brittle smile.

Ashley glanced at her watch. “I’m going to have to get to the

gym.”

“She has to work off the rum,” Meredith said dryly.

Ashley worked out an hour each morning at home and then

spent another hour each afternoon at the club with a personal

trainer who specialized in body shaping. She had a perfect body

already but was convinced if she missed a day of exercise, she’d

blow up like a balloon. Sometimes she ate nothing but salad

without dressing, while at other times she gleefully devoured

every dessert on the menu. Sierra had never known anyone so

obsessed with her body and caloric intake.

“Can’t you forgo it just this once?” Lorraine said, annoyed.

“Why don’t you come with me? A good workout will do you a

world of good.”

Meredith smiled drolly. “Treadmills are wonderful things,

aren’t they? They reduce a normal human being right down to

the mentality of a hamster in a wheel.”

Ashley gave her a sharp glance. “A good workout would be

better for her than obsessing about Frank and getting drunk like

you.”

Meredith arched an elegant brow. “The kitten has claws today.”

Ignoring her, Ashley got up. “Are you coming with me,

Lorry?”

“No. My heart already aches. I don’t need my body aching,

too.”

“Fine.” Swinging around, Ashley walked quickly across the

room and out the exit into the lobby.

1 0 1

Meredith said, shaking her head. “I say we spike her mineral water. Maybe she’ll enjoy life a little more.”

Sierra lifted her iced tea and sipped, wondering if any of these

women enjoyed life at all. They had everything the world

counted important, yet she couldn’t see any evidence of
joy
in

their lives. They were all hungry for something more.

Just like you . . .
a voice echoed in her head. She shifted uncomfortably, knowing it was true. The same hunger ate away at her

and left her feeling restless and insecure.

Something was missing, but she didn’t know what.

Marcia put her hand over Meredith’s. “What’s the matter with

you today?”

Meredith gave a bleak laugh. “Nothing that isn’t wrong with

me every day of my life.” She gave the waiter a radiant smile as

he set another martini in front of her. “Thank you, Wylie.” She

lifted the drink to Marcia. “Cheers, sweetie.”

“Did you ever see Dr. Worth?” Marcia said.

Meredith gave a derisive laugh. “I don’t need a psychiatrist.”

Sierra had been amazed to find out that the totally together

Marcia had ever been to a psychiatrist, let alone that she’d

been in ongoing therapy for ten years. Marcia claimed that

was why she felt so at peace within herself. Dr. Worth had

taken her on a journey into her past, where she had come

face-to-face with the causes of problems in the present. Apparently, her parents had said and done things, seemingly

unimportant at the time, that had had profound effects on her

ability to function as an adult.

“Once I’d discovered what—and who—was responsible, I

found I was free to move on,” she’d told Sierra, that calm smile

on her face.

Whenever difficulties arose in her marriage or life, Marcia

simply returned to the refreshing, comforting counsel and couch

1 0 2

of Dr. Worth. Once there, she received a booster shot of selfesteem, absolution, and direction.

“Don’t you see, Meredith?” Marcia continued. “You’ll never

be truly happy until—”

“I don’t think getting in touch with my ‘inner child’ would help

much,” Meredith said flatly, cutting her off.

“It would help. I guarantee it. It’s helped me tremendously.”

“Has it?” Meredith gave a mirthless laugh. “If it’s so helpful,

why are you back in therapy every other month?”

“Dr. Worth gives me a fresh view.”

“Darling, I could give you a fresh view, and I wouldn’t charge

you two hundred and fifty an hour.”

Marcia drew back with graceful calm. She gave a slow sigh, a

sign she was striving for patience. “Why don’t we order lunch?”

“Ah, ah, ah. I’m sure any self-respecting psychiatrist like Dr.

Worth would tell you substituting food for a good fight is stuffing your feelings and counterproductive to your mental and

emotional health.”

“I’m hungry,” Marcia said with a beatific smile.

“No, you’re not. You’re
mad.”

“No, I am not.”

Though Marcia sat in her usual, elegantly relaxed pose, Sierra

could feel the tension radiating from her. She had seen the same

thing happen before when Marcia was faced with a hard question.

Meredith gave her a bald grin. “You’re getting angry.”

“I’m sure you’d like me to be angry,” Marcia said coolly, “but

it’s not constructive.”

“Constructive?” Meredith smiled, her lovely, perfectly

made-up face showing nothing of the inner turmoil that was

clearly raging. “I’m always curious to see how deep your serenity

goes, Marcia. I suspect not very.”

Marcia arched her brow. “What do you mean?”

“You’re not serene at all, despite appearances. I admire your

1 0 3

husband never strays. Your children are a perfect little lady and

gentleman. Not a single rapid in the river of your life, is there,

sweetheart? Not so anyone can see, that is.” Meredith twirled

her beautiful, aristocratic, bejeweled hand gracefully in the air,

adding sardonically, “And all because you’ve embraced the light,

become one with the universe, and live on a higher plane of consciousness than the rest of us poor mortals.” Her hand took rest

beside the martini, her eyes shrewd. “Tell me, dear. Does the

Valium help?”

Two spots of color appeared in Marcia’s cheeks. “I face my

problems head-on, Meredith.”

“Oh yes, and wrestle them to the ground and choke them to

death with the sheer strength of your will. I
know,”
Meredith

said. “I’ve seen the hunted look on Tom’s face. I imagine if the

poor man ever felt free enough to wear an open-necked shirt,

we’d see the bite marks on his throat.”

Marcia’s face flushed beet red. She went rigid for a moment,

then let out her breath very slowly and audibly, a yoga technique

Sierra recognized. “I prefer your company when you’re sober,”

she said with icy calm.

“And less honest, too, perhaps?” Meredith’s blue eyes flashed

with disdain. “Solve your own problems, dearie, before you try

to fix mine.”

Marcia rose regally and cast a stiff smile at the others seated

around the table. “Why don’t we all go in for lunch, ladies?”

Edie, who loathed conflict, rose quickly. “I think that’s an

excellent idea.”

“We’d be delighted if you joined us, Merry,” Marcia said as

she gathered her white tennis sweater and canvas bag.

“Liar,” Meredith said and raised her martini in mocking

salute.

Sierra followed Marcia into the dining room. Nancy and Edie

1 0 4