Page 31 of Private Pleasures

“We have a dance tonight at the club, darling,” Margo told her daughter. “You know, Nora, you are looking better now than you have in years. You’ve lost weight, and you have a positive glow about you. If this is what getting rid of Jeff has done for you, you should have done it sooner,” she laughed.

Nora laughed too. “Thanks, Mom,” she said. And then wondered what her mother would think if she told her about The Channel, and that she was having the best sex of her life with an imaginary lover.

Since Nora had to turn in her car to the dealer, they squeezed into J. J.’s and Jill’s two little cars.

“You really should have told me, darling,” Margo said. “You can’t be without a car. How are you going to get around?”

“I’m taking J. J.’s car for now. I’ll drop him at work and pick him up every day. That way I’ll have the car for errands, and he’s not taking it to college anyway this year. He’s got it exclusively Friday nights until Sunday church. It won’t be so bad, Mom,” Nora said. “Besides, I’ve got to pay the insurance now.”

“Jeff is a monster!” Margo said, and she turned to her escort. “This is a perfect example of his perfidy, Taylor. Didn’t I tell you?”

“Now, honey, don’t you go getting yourself all upset,” Taylor Bradford said. “I think your Nora will just be fine, won’t you, girly?”

“Yes, I will,” Nora agreed sweetly, and she winked at him.

They were all laughing as they parked and got out of the car. J. J. and Maureen ran off to join their classmates. Nora and her family walked to the soccer field, where chairs had been set up for the graduation. The day was sunny, with a light breeze. It was perfect June weather.

“Who is that?” Carla asked as a sleek dark gray limousine pulled into the parking lot. “Oh, Jesus, Nora! It’s Jeff, and he’s brought the Jennifer with him.”

“I cannot believe the effrontery of that man!” Margo gasped.

Nora stared. Well, there was the answer to her question. The next Mrs. Buckley was not a great beauty, but she was a very striking young woman. Tall. Blond. Willowy.

Nora instantly regretted her mauve-and-green floral dress. While it certainly fit her better than it had in a long while, it wasn’t the kind of dress in which you wanted to meet your successor. It screamed ordinary. The Jennifer was dressed in a pale gray silk suit with a fitted jacket. She was wearing a pair of the highest sling-back heels Nora had ever seen. They were straight out of Carrie’s closet on Sex and the City. Her blond hair was pulled back neatly.

“Let’s get out of here,” Carla hissed. “I don’t want to be introduced now.”

“Agreed,” Nora said. “God, I look so fat in this dress, and she looks like she lives on lettuce leaves.”

“You do not look fat in that dress!” Margo said loyally. “You look lovely.”

Oh God, Nora thought, lovely? She didn’t want to look lovely. She wanted to look smashing and sexy. She wanted to look like she looked in The Channel. Oh, Kyle! She hadn’t seen him since Jill got home. Jill was a night owl, and there was no chance to sneak into The Channel with Jill home. But right now she wanted to look like she did with Kyle, and she wanted to have him on her arm. Wouldn’t that surprise old Jeff?

They found an open row, and crowded in. The Seligmanns, the Pietro d’Angelos, and the Ulriches were already waiting for them. Just enough chairs, including Margo and Taylor. No room for Jeff and his Jennifer. Too bad.

“Jeff just arrived in a big limo with his Jennifer,” Carla hissed to the others.

“Such a nerve,” Rina said. “I wouldn’t want a nerve like that in my tooth.”

“Do you think they’ll come back to the house for the party?” Tiffany asked.

“It’s his son’s graduation,” Nora whispered at them. “I’m sure he’ll come back, and please, for the love of God, no confrontations. I’ve got enough trouble, and the lawyers start talking again on Monday. We don’t want Jeff feeling hostile.”

“I can’t talk to him, Ma,” Jill said. “That woman with him isn’t much older than I am. It’s embarrassing.”

“No, Jill, what’s embarrassing is wearing a seven-year-old flowered dress when your husband’s next wife-to-be looks like she stepped out of Vogue. So shut up, and be nice to your father,” Nora snapped irritably. “This situation isn’t about you. Got it?”

“Good for you, girly,” Taylor Bradford murmured, and he patted her hand.

The graduation ceremony began. It was like every graduation day. Pomp and Circumstance. Welcome to Parents and Guests. A small speech by the principal. The Salutatorian’s Speech. The Valedictorian’s Speech. The Awards. The Conferring of the Diplomas. The Dismissal, when all the mortarboards went flying in the air to the happy shouts of the graduating class. And it was over.

J. J. headed toward his family. “I saw him,” he said to his mother.

“Be nice. Remember what we talked about,” she warned him.

And then Jeffrey Buckley and his companion were upon them. “Congratulations, son,” he said. “I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Heidi Millar.”

The girl quickly held out her hand. “Your dad speaks highly of you, J. J.,” she said.