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“I’m only staying the week,” she reminded me. Then, as though the word had just penetrated her brain, she asked, “Helicopter?”
“Yeah, Sagaponack is a long way from the city. It’s just faster.” The nonchalant way it rolled off my tongue made me happy. When Neil and I had first gotten together, I’d been super weird about his money compared to my roots. Now, I was like, “let’s get in my helicopter and fly around.” Like it was nothing. I hoped Neil had noticed at some point; my discomfort had made him uncomfortable, as well.
I don’t think Mom’s mouth closed the entire ride. At first, it was from shock. Then, as we approached Long Island, she boggled at the houses below us. “Oh my god,” she exclaimed. “Look at that one. How does anyone even live there?”
I peeked out the window. “That’s um. That’s actually my house.”
“Sophie Anne!” Mom exclaimed.
“Are you mad at me? Over the house I live in?” That was not one of the reactions I had rehearsed for.
“Not mad, no!” She still sounded mad. “But you’re two people. That’s a…that’s a…”
“I guess it’s a compound,” I finished for her. “It’s forty-nine acres, and there’s more than one building.” I added, “There’s a guest house that would make a perfect mother-in-law residence.”
“Are you trying to sell me the place? Your mother-in-law is dead, and my future son-in-law isn’t too fond of me,” she huffed. “Plus, I would never leave your grandmother. Although, we could probably put up the entire family in one wing of your house. Your house has wings!”
“You should see his house in Somerset.” I grumbled.
“Are there any other surprises for me this trip?” she demanded. “Are you pregnant? Is Neil secretly gay?”
No, he’s bisexual, and his douche bag ex is writing a tell-all. “No. Would you stop being so suspicious of everything?” I leaned back in my seat. “Put your belt back on, we’re going to land.”
Tony had brought the car down to the helipad to pick us up, and Mom raised her eyebrows.
“Did you want to pull that suitcase all the way to the house?” I asked her, and she didn’t have a retort for that.
“Ms. Scaife. Ms. Scaife,” Tony greeted us with his usual cheer. Then, he composed his expression and said to Mom, “I’m sorry for your recent troubles, ma’am.”
“Oh, don’t ma’am me.” Mom held out her hand. “I’m not fancy like these two. Rebecca is fine.”
“Sure thing, Rebecca.” Tony opened our door and we got in while he put the suitcase in the trunk.
“I hope you’re nice to all these people who wait on you,” Mom warned.
I felt a headache forming behind my eyes. “Of course we are. We’re not assholes.”
Tony pulled up in front of the main entrance, and Mom’s eyes boggled. “This place is even fancier than it looked from the air.” She took her suitcase from Tony and asked, “Do I tip you?”
“No, ma’am.” He corrected himself, “No, Rebecca. Your daughter and son-in-law pay me very well. I even have dental and vision in my benefits package. And I get to live near the ocean.”
I smiled to myself. He’d either somehow overheard her remark, or he was the most observant chauffeur in the world.
I’d expected Neil to be waiting for us, but when we stepped into the foyer, he was nowhere to be found. Mom walked around, staring up into the windowed octagonal cupola that rose over our heads.
“Do you want a tour of the place?” I asked, still a little tender from our tense flight.
She was my mom. She couldn’t disappoint me with her attitude any further. “I’m sorry. You just shocked me again. Of course I want to see your home.”
We left her bag behind, and I took her around the ground floor, from the kitchen—“You could run a catering business out of here!”—to the den and my office loft above it. I showed her the ground floor bedrooms and Neil’s study, the dining room, the TV room, and our bedroom.
“Neil even got my tub from the old apartment,” I gushed when I showed her the bathroom.
I was taking her down to see the hot tub and sauna, and we met Neil as he came out of the gym. He wore a sweat-soaked gray t-shirt and knee-length basketball shorts. His exhausted expression brightened when he saw us. “You’re back sooner than I expected.”
“We didn’t have to wait for baggage claim. Mom did carry-on,” I quipped as Neil took my mother’s hand and kissed the air beside her cheek.
“Rebecca, so good to see you again.” He turned back to me. “I’m sorry, darling, I need to shower and make myself presentable before lunch. Can you give me thirty minutes?”
