Page 131 of The New Place

Abbot finds himself similarly embraced next, and then Chris hugs both of them at once. “I can’t believe it. But I can! I do! You two do! Today!”

“Hi, thanks,” Ned says, extricating himself.

Abbot isn’t quite so lucky, because he’s crushed once more in Chris’s hug. Chris finally lets go, only for Susan to kiss his cheek and then cup his face. “We are just so happy,” she says. “What a fun surprise. Everyone’s here. It’s so perfect.”

Is Beverly? Abbot looks up when he can, but it’s just Chris and Susan in front of him, and then they’re drawing his father over, too.

“Charles, you must be thrilled,” Susan says, and trades Abbot to hug him instead.

“Of course,” he says, his voice as cold as ever.

Yes, clearly so happy he hasn’t taken his coat off yet.

“And Newbury,” Susan goes on. “For both of you. What great news, isn’t it?” She turns to Ned’s parents. “Oh, we met, didn’t we? At Ned’s graduation? I’m Susan.”

“My parents,” Ned says quickly. “Dan and Cheryl. And Peggy’s here, somewhere. Buried in balloons, I think.”

“So good to see you again.” Dan holds Susan’s hand in both of his as he shakes it. He’s thrilled. Abbot sees it in his smile, the energy in how he’s moving and talking.

And Abbot’s father?

Embarrassment courses tight and hot under Abbot’s skin as he watches Ned introduce Charles to his parents, noting all of Dan’s enthusiasm and Cheryl’s calm joy against Charles’s formality. These two parts of Abbot’s life are colliding and Abbot’s unable to do more than stand here.

“A pleasure to meet you,” his father says, and he clearly isn’t prepared when Dan ignores the hand he holds out and hugs him.

“You must be so happy,” Dan says, as if Charles is anything of the sort. “We couldn’t be more thrilled, a new son in the family.”

“Ah.” Charles politely pats Dan on the back. “Yes.”

“You two look so alike,” Cheryl says, and it’s some relief she doesn’t hug Charles too, just clasps his hand in both of hers. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s a privilege,” Charles says and draws his hand back.

“We just adore Henry, and love seeing Ned so happy with him.” Cheryl hooks her arm through Abbot’s, drawing him to her side.

“And your daughter too,” Dan says, his enthusiasm unchecked.

Ned, Abbot thinks, and meets his eye, but in that moment, Peggy’s balloon bursts.

“I—” Ned points at her, and what can Abbot do but nod? Peggy’s shaking her hand like she got stung from the recoil of rubber, and Ned goes to her quickly.

“You’ve met Peggy, right?” Dan asks.

“Yes, I have,” Charles says. “We shared dinner last night.”

“Did you get inducted into the cape club?” Dan asks. “Which, speaking of, we’ll have to have Liesl down the Cape this summer. It’s the whole family, plenty of other kids for her to play with, and we had so much fun with Henry there last year.”

“Peggy couldn’t stop talking about Liesl the last time she visited,” Cheryl says. “She followed her around the entire time. I’d never seen anything like it.”

Charles glances over at the girls. Liesl is releasing a balloon she’s blown up, making it fly around as it expels air. Peggy, the shock of her ruptured balloon forgotten, starts blowing up another, surely to copy what Liesl’s just done.

“She would enjoy that,” Charles says. “We’ll have to have you all to Switzerland as well.”

“We were just talking about how much we’d love to travel,” Cheryl says.

“Ned,” Abbot says, pitching his voice over the din. Save your parents, he means, but Ned is tying a balloon and leaning over to look at something on the bar.

“Where’s Pat?” Ned calls back.