“I’ll wait for you out here?” Peter suggested.
“Yeah.” Ada felt faint. “Sure.”
Ada walked slowly backstage, where she found Quinn in her own dressing room, the same dressing room that had once been Ada’s. Flowers covered Quinn’s makeup table, and other singers filled the space, pouring glasses of champagne and congratulating Quinn and each other. Quinn had changed into a black onesie and had removed some of her makeup, but still looked like a knock-out. When she saw Ada, she threw herself forward to hug her.
“Ada Wagner, as I live and breathe!” she cried.
Ada laughed and let herself melt into her old friend’s hug. Incredibly, Quinn still smelled the same as she always had. It was true that Ada didn’t have many friends to speak of on Nantucket; she’d thrown herself completely into her career andmotherhood, neglecting her social life. It was strange to be so entirely loved by a friend.
“I’m sorry,” Quinn said, breaking the hug. “It isn’t Wagner anymore, is it?”
Ada laughed. “It’s Bushner. You were at my wedding!”
“Of course. The dentist,” Quinn said. “Is he here?”
“He is,” Ada said. “But he had to make a call. He’s coming to the party later.”
“Thank goodness! What would we do without the dentist?” Quinn’s eyes glinted poisonous green. “Oh, but I want to hear about everything. How are you?”
Several of the performers had noticed Ada and were gathering around her and Quinn.
“It’s Ada Wagner! Ada, how long has it been?” It was a Frenchman named Jacques, who’d starred in an opera with Ada when she was twenty-one. Jacques was now in his sixties, impossibly, with a soft white beard. He hugged Ada close, and Ada felt as though she were seeing an old family member rather than an old friend.
“Jacques, you were incredible,” Ada said, pulling back.
“I was fine, darling.” Jacques waved her off. “I’ve lost a little something over the years.”
Ada insisted this wasn’t true, although she knew what he meant. His voice was slightly thinner. Maybe he would lose it soon.
Always, it seemed tragedy lurked on the other side of a successful opera career.
Soon enough, Quinn announced it was time to go to the opening party. “Come along, everyone!” She gathered a few bouquets in her arms. “We can’t keep them waiting.” Quinn laced her arm through Ada’s and pressed her cheek against hers. “I can’t believe I have you here! You’ve been sorely missed overthe years. I still can’t believe we let the dentist steal you away from us.”
“That reminds me! I have to find him,” Ada said. “I’ll meet you there.”
Ada returned to the lobby to pick Peter up where she’d last seen him. To her surprise, the lobby was empty and echoing, with Peter nowhere to be found. Donning her jacket, she stepped into the night and swept her eyes from one end of the road to the other, before discovering Peter leaning against a pillar, still talking on the phone. She took a moment to study him, the width of his strong back, the way he tilted his head when he spoke. He cared so desperately. She loved this about him.
It was hilarious to hear Quinn call him “the dentist” after all she and Peter had been through. It was hard to imagine life without him, whereas she’d lived almost the entirety of her adulthood without Quinn. It was funny how life worked out. It was just like what she told her patients all the time. You had to be open to change. It was so often a godsend.
Chapter Three
The opening night party was held at a prestigious restaurant located near their hotel. Starving after a wild and emotional night on stage, the opera singers filled their plates with divine foods: stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, multiple types of cheeses, Italian delights, and plenty of chocolatey and custardy desserts. Wine was flowing, drawing everyone together with laughter and good stories. Quinn insisted that Ada and Peter sit near her and her boyfriend of the moment, another opera singer named Geoff. Ada vaguely remembered him from twenty years ago.
“Yes, darling,” Quinn confirmed when Ada asked. “He was absolutely nothing back then. He barely had a voice to speak of. I don’t think we would have given him the time of day back then, do you? I don’t know how he made it as far as he did. But he’s really come into his voice, don’t you think?”
Ada remembered that Geoff had had a small part in the second act of the opera from that evening. She suspected that Quinn was drawn to men with less impressive careers than her own. She always wanted to have the upper hand. Ada couldn’t blame her, although she liked that she and Peter were on evenground: an orthodontist and a therapist. Peter made slightly more than she did per year, but only slightly.
“So, Peter,” Quinn said, swirling her wine, “tell me. Why did you steal my best friend and take her to that little island of yours?”
Peter laughed, his cheeks red from the wine. In the orange candlelight, he looked terribly handsome.
“Is that what happened, Quinn?” he asked. “You always have a way of twisting the truth.”
Quinn raised her eyebrows. “I remember seeing Ada every day of my life until you came along and swept her away. What does a dentist have that I don’t?”
Peter was in good spirits and joked, “I’m an orthodontist these days, Quinn.”
“Oh! I’m sorry to disrespect you,” Quinn said sarcastically.
