Page 54 of Seven Summer Weekends

Addison did not know what “this” was but noticed it was the second time the old guy had mentioned Gicky’s happiness as it related to her and Ben. It was strange. Her mind was running in a million directions. She needed quiet, to clear her head, but she also didn’t feel like being alone.

“Can Sally come over for a little?” she asked.

“Sure,” Shep replied, fetching the pup from inside. He ruffled both their heads before they took off.

In the studio, Addison revisited her self-portrait. She had done an OK job, she thought, replicating her figure in the clay. If she were less self-critical, she might have said it was excellent. She would say that the experience of looking at herself naked in the mirror, molding the clay into her image with no thoughts of the world around her, was intimate and powerful. Maybe Paresh had gotten into her head, but she indeed felt an inner connection that was new to her. A sense of peace, even while being completely confused about every detail of her future.

She soaked a brush and wet down the torso of the sculpture,using a fine tool to draw out the lines of two sleeves, transforming the naked breasts into a shirt. She decorated the top with a pattern, testing out checks and florals and geometric shapes before dabbing them with the tiny damp brush and gently erasing them with her thumb to begin again. Thoughts of doing the same with the mistakes she had made in life filled her head—leaving them behind, starting over, making new mistakes with little consideration of the old ones.

In the end, she chose a simple chevron and began slowly and meticulously carving the light pattern with a tiny V-tipped blade, repeating it over and over. Hours later, the figure appeared to be naked only from the waist down, like some kind of free-loving floozy. It made her laugh.

Sally barked at the studio door, startling Addison and alerting her that someone was there. She wiped off her hands and headed to the front of the house. Regardless of what Shep said, she hoped it was Ben. To her great surprise, but also not surprising at all, Kizzy’s husband was standing on the other side of the screen door.

“Rome, I told you she’s not here.”

“That’s nice, but I know she is. I told her parents what happened. Apparently, they still track her on her iPhone.”

“Of course they do.” Kizzy’s parents were definitely the helicopter type. “She left a few days ago.”

“Well, her phone didn’t.”

Addison had texted Kizzy a few times since she had left, and hadn’t received an answer. She had even checked with Pru and Lisa, and neither had heard from her. She hadn’t really been worried; Kizzy was not the most responsive on her phone. Unlessshe was working, she wasn’t tethered to it. Which was admirable really, unless you were looking for her.

Addison opened the door and let him in, determined to give him a piece of her mind as she led him to the guest room. She hadn’t straightened it out yet. No one was due to come until her parents’ arrival the following weekend, and she’d gotten too caught up in sculpting to think of anything else.

Addison and Rome had been friends nearly as long as Addison and Kizzy had, and while there was no denying where her loyalty lay, and that she was furious with him, she did still have love for him. But right now, fury won.

“What you did is awful, Rome. How could you betray her like that?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

She really didn’t feel like lecturing him. Aside from her zen and all, she had always had a soft spot for Rome—mostly for the way he looked at Kizzy.

Rome looked at Kizzy like she hung the moon. Even lately, while he was apparently having an affair, he still looked at her that way. Addison had noted more than once that if she were to settle down, it should be with someone who looked at her like that. She thought again of the way Ben had looked at her when they were about to kiss, and her heart physically dropped to her stomach. She pressed her hand to her belly, as if to catch it.

“You OK?” Rome asked.

“Yes,” she lied. She wasn’t about to share her relationship woes with another disappointing version of the male species.

She shook out the linens. No phone. And looked under the bed.

“I’ll call it,” he said.

“If it’s here, it’s dead by now.”

The telltale vibrato buzzed through the room. And there it was, plugged into the bathroom outlet.

He took it in his hands and stared at it almost longingly.

“Do you still love her?” Addison asked.

His eyes welled with tears. She didn’t feel bad for him.

“You must be hungry,” she said. “Would you like a scone?”

“No, thanks.”

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