“Who’s that with your sister?” I asked Liam when we drew close.
He glanced her way and shrugged. He continued to dance as if we were the only ones out there, but I couldn’t concentrate. I kept looking back at the booth. Finally, I paused.
“What?” he asked. “Don’t tell me you’re tired already.”
“No. I’m just concerned about your sister. That man bought her another drink. That’s too much. She’s had enough.”
“Yes, Mom,” he joked.
“I’m serious, Liam. She already had too much.”
He changed expression and looked at her again. “Okay,” he said, pausing. “Let’s see what’s what.”
The moment we started off the dance floor, the man Julia was talking to rose and walked away.
“Who was that?” Liam asked, looking after him.
“I don’t know,” Julia said. “He claimed I was the nurse for his mother when she was brought to the ER a few months ago. He told me I was very nice. He said if anything happens to him, he wants to be sure I’m on duty at the ER.”
“He didn’t tell you his name?” I asked. I saw him disappear into the crowd, almost evaporate.
“I don’t know if I heard much of what he said. He has beautiful eyes. He bought me this drink,” she continued.
“You know you’ve had too much already,” I said.
She nodded. “I guess I’m not out enough. I should know when I overdo it. If anyone should know, a nurse should.”
I picked up her drink before she could sip any more and drank it all in one long sip. “Sorry, I was a little thirsty,” I said.
Both she and Liam were smiling.
“You almost had as many as I had, but you don’t look any different from when we got here,” Julia said. She swayed a little too much when she talked, and I put my hand on her shoulder to steady her in the seat. Then I looked at Liam.
“Maybe you should go home, Julia. Are you on tomorrow?” he asked.
“Not until the afternoon. I’ll be fine. Just don’t expect me at breakfast,” she added, laughing.
“I’ll drive you home,” he told her. “And I’ll take you home,” he added, turning to me. “Unless you want to wait here.”
“No, I’ve had enough,” I said.
“Oh, I don’t want to spoil your good time,” Julia moaned.
“You haven’t. It’s because of you that I had a good time. C’mon,” I said, taking her hand.
Liam paid our bill and followed as we started out, Julia a little unsteady but quite happy.
When we reached the entrance, she paused and looked back, wobbling a little. “Where is he?”
“Who?”
“That guy who stopped by to tell me what a great nurse I am. I thought I’d say good night.”
I looked, and so did Liam. “I don’t see him, Julia.”
She shrugged and leaned over to whisper, “He was more interested in you than me, anyway.”
“Me?”
I looked again for him, and then we headed out to Liam’s car. I looked around in the parking lot, too, but saw no one who resembled him.
“Can you follow us in Julia’s car?” Liam asked. “I’ll go slowly,” he promised when I hesitated. “Give her the keys, Julia.”
She started to protest and then realized how she was and nodded.
We stood there while she fumbled through her purse. I continued to look toward the club entrance and around the parking lot.
“You all right to drive?” Liam asked me. “I didn’t even consider that.”
“I’m fine.”
“Okay.”
He took the keys from Julia and handed them to me. Then he opened his car door and helped her in.
“Wait,” Julia cried. “What about Lorelei?”
“Julia, you just gave me your keys for her to follow us. I said I’d take her home afterward.”
“Oh. Right,” she said, laughing.
Liam shook his head and smiled at me. “Let’s get her home,” he said, “and to bed.”
I nodded and went to Julia’s car. After I got in and started the engine, I looked to the side, where I thought I saw someone standing in the shadows. Liam sounded his horn, and I had to back out to follow them. When I glanced in the rearview mirror, I was sure I saw the man who had stopped at the bar to talk to Julia. I was looking at him so hard that I nearly hit the rear of Liam’s car when he stopped at the driveway entrance. He looked out of his window at me. I indicated that I was fine, but he didn’t look confident about it. I was fine. The alcohol had no effect, as usual, but I was definitely spooked by the man in the shadows. He gave off a familiar vibe. My mind raced. He’s one of us, I thought. He must think I’m a Renegade.
I drove on, following them and fleeing him at the same time. About fifteen minutes later, we turned up what I thought was a new street but actually was the long driveway to the Dolans’ New England mansion. I realized that because of the height, there was a clear view of the ocean. The large house had been built with that view in mind. It had what looked to be at least a forty-foot tower that reminded me of a lighthouse, a peaked turret and projecting bays wrapped in glass to accommodate the ocean views. As I followed Liam around the front of the house to a garage with five doors for five cars, I looked up at the second story of the house and estimated that there were more than a half-dozen bedrooms. Liam pulled close to what I could see was a side entrance to the house and waved at me to drive up beside him.
“Just leave it in front of the third garage door,” he said, and went around to help Julia out. She looked as if she had fallen asleep. I parked and stepped out as he was guiding Julia toward the entrance. He waved for me to catch up. Julia leaned against Liam’s shoulder, her eyes closed. He nodded at the door, and I rushed forward to open it.
“We’ll get her upstairs,” he told me.
I followed him as he continued through a small entryway and then into a wide hallway, dimly lit by small chandeliers all the way to the main entrance of the house and its winding marble stairway with a rich, dark mahogany balustrade. Above that was a very large chandelier, also dimly lit. The house was dead quiet. I had been wondering if Mr. Dolan would hear us and come out. He wouldn’t be happy about Julia, I thought. He might even blame it on me.
Julia groaned and then tried to walk completely on her own. When she stumbled, she laughed. Liam smiled at me and shot forward to get a good grip on her as she started up the stairs.
“Where’s your dad?” I whispered.
“He’s away for the weekend,” he replied. At the top, we turned right and followed a similarly dimly lit hallway to the first bedroom on the right. Liam opened the door.
It was much larger than any bedroom I had ever had, even larger than my father’s bedrooms in New York, Nashville, and California. Despite its size, it looked cozy and warm, with walls of gentle pink, a soft darker pink rug, and light maple furnishings, including a four-poster canopy bed. The windows were large and with drapes of white with swirls of pink. On one wall, I saw shelves of all sorts of dolls—dolls from other countries, antique dolls, and rag dolls. There looked to be a few hundred.
“Whenever Dad went anywhere, he brought home a doll or two for her,” Liam explained, seeing where I was looking.
There was even a doll on her bed, between her oversized pillows.
Julia smiled and stepped forward to embrace her doll. “Someone I can depend on,” she said.
“Why don’t you help her to bed?” Liam whispered. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
“Okay.”
He left, and Julia sat on her bed, looking a little stunned.
“How did we get here?” she asked, and laughed. Then she closed her eyes and wobbled.
“How about you get to sleep?” I said, and knelt down to take off her shoes. She laughed and then moaned and fell back onto the bed.
“Look at me. The one who should have known better,” she muttered to her doll.
I helped her undress and searc
hed a dresser drawer for a nightgown. She was practically in a dead sleep before I was able to get her to put it on. I don’t think she realized what was happening, but moments after I had folded her things and placed them on the dresser, she was dead away, still clinging to her doll.
“I wish I could tell you that you’ll feel better in the morning, Julia,” I whispered. I really liked her. If I had a sister in the normal world, she would be whom I’d choose, I thought, and leaned down to kiss her cheek, brush back her hair, and fix her blanket. Then I turned off the light and closed her bedroom door softly as I backed out.
The enormity of the mansion struck me as I stood there and contemplated the wide hallway and how far it went to the right and then to the left. Looking down from the top of the stairway, I could appreciate the size of the entryway. There were beautiful paintings on the walls, scenes of the sea, sailboats, and some rural settings. As I descended, Liam stepped out of a doorway and looked up at me.
“That stairway fits you,” he said.
“How can a stairway fit you?”
“You just look like you belong in a house like this, like you’re used to it. Most people who come here for the first time are a little intimidated.”
I nodded and looked around after I reached the bottom. “I’ve been to many mansions and castles, but I haven’t lived in one. I’m sure there are maids, housekeepers?”
“The maids come and go, but our house manager, as Dad likes to call her now, is and always has been Mrs. Wakefield. She oversees all of the housework. She served as our nanny after my mother left. She’s a widow with no children of her own. Tonight happens to be her night off. She’s probably here but asleep. Otherwise, she would be out here, X-raying you,” he joked. “Can I give you some coffee, something cold, anything?”
“I’m fine.”
“You look like you can hold a drink. My sister isn’t really the partygoer. You want to see the rest of the place?”
“Sure,” I said.
He led me into the living room. I thought it had one of the most beautifully designed fireplaces I had ever seen. The stones continued to the ceiling but arched out in both directions. All of the furniture was oversized, but considering the vastness of the room, I thought it had to be. Liam showed me the den, where they had a very large-screen television, a pool table, and dark brown leather furniture. After that came the dining room, with a table that could seat twenty.
“You eat here every night?”
“Not really. We have a kitchenette we use most of the time. With Julia’s crazy schedule and my comings and goings, we rarely eat together these days anyway.”
The kitchen looked as if it could service a small hotel. Just off of that was the kitchenette he had mentioned. All of the rooms in the house, even the kitchen, had enough windows to make them bright.
“You can’t see it well now because it’s dark, but we have a pool out back and a tennis court we rarely use. We own about eighty acres around the house. Sure you don’t want anything to drink?” He opened the refrigerator. “We have all sorts of juice, sodas, and mineral waters.”
“Okay, I’ll have a mineral water, thanks,” I said.
He took out a bottle, opened it, and poured us each a glass. We sat on stools at the kitchen island.
“I don’t know how much Julia’s told you about us,” he said, looking down at his glass. “She was ten and I was four when our mother took off. Neither of us suspected that was about to happen. I’m pretty sure Dad did. I can’t say how much he tried to prevent it. He was devastated for a long time.”
It occurred to me that both he and I had been brought up by women other than our mothers. He had his for at least four years, although by the sound of it, she wasn’t there for him much.
“Why did your mother leave?”
“Despite what you see, how much we have, I don’t think she was comfortable and happy here. I get bits and pieces. At first, we were told she had some kind of a nervous breakdown, and then it went to her just being a self-centered woman who really didn’t want to be bothered with children and a husband. She was seeing someone on the side, someone who I guess promised her more excitement.” He paused. It was painful for him to talk about it, but it obviously helped him.
“Did you . . . were you and your sister . . .”
“Sent to therapy? Yeah, some. I hated it, and although Julia claims it helped her, I know she hated it, too. It never really helped me understand. I mean, I think it’s just natural to ask why she married my father in the first place. She must have known what she was in for, right? Then I think, maybe he promised her a different sort of life. Dad’s always been anal about his work. I’m sure she was left here many times while he was out carving new territories, bringing in more lucrative business projects. She had plenty of household help. We had a nanny for years. She didn’t have to do any of the things ordinary housewives do. She had her own sports car, a limousine driver whenever she wanted to go to Boston, but . . . it wasn’t enough.”
“The house didn’t fit her,” I said. “What I mean is, the life she was leading. I imagine she had a lot of high-society events?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember my father talking about her having any close friends. Julia says all she had was her gang of phonies.”
“She didn’t feel she belonged, I suppose. It happens. You ever see the movie Citizen Kane?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’d remember if you did. A very wealthy and powerful man brings his new wife to a mansion ten times as large as this, surrounds her with guests, gives her any material thing she wants, but she ends up very lonely and leaves him and all that.”
“She had a prenup agreement. But for a mother to desert her own children?”
“It sounds like she pawned you off as much as she could anyway. I know that’s not pleasant to hear.”
He nodded. “Dad withdrew from us, too, during those first years. I’m not trying to blame anyone else for my own failures, but . . .”
“But you couldn’t help feeling that if your mother could leave you, there had to be something wrong with you.”
“Right. The therapist tried to help me deal with that, but the feeling never goes away. You grow up going to ball games at school, being on teams, and seeing parents dote on their children, and you look at the stands and see no one there for you. Dad was always working, and Mom was gone with the wind. I did see that movie.”
“And Julia?”
“Much the same but better at being stable. She stuck it out through nursing school. She’s probably told you about Clifford, and maybe that will work out. She hasn’t been able to hold on to any relationship yet, however. She has the same self-doubts. She just isn’t as bitter about it as I am. I only worry that she’ll stay with Clifford not because she wants to but because she’s afraid to lose him. Understand?”
“Yes, I do. I think it’s too early to say.”
“I love talking to you. I have trouble talking to girls. The ones I’ve been with, that is. They seem to have brains made of jelly beans.”
I smiled. “Don’t shop for a girl in a candy store, then,” I said.
He sat back with a frozen smile on his face. “Where are you really from, Lorelei Patio?”
“Planet Earth.”
He laughed, twirled his glass in his hands, and took a sip. “I know you’ve had your own family problems. You don’t need to hear about mine.”
“I don’t mind. Really.”
He nodded and smiled. “I believe you. Maybe I got off on the wrong foot with you,” he said.
“I think, if I could give you some advice, you should stop blaming yourself for things.”
He actually blushed. “Wow. Thank you, Dr. Patio,” he said.
“I don’t mean to sound condescending, Liam. It’s just something I see clearly, that’s all.”
“You know what I see?”
I felt my body tighten in anticipation. Was he going to attack me for being too arrogant?
“I see one of the most beautiful girls who ever set foot in Quincy. And from what I can tell, one of the nicest and brightest, too.”
I felt myself relax again. “Lots of times we see what we want to see, Liam.”
“Then what’s the difference?” he said, smiling. He thought for a moment. “If it’s not too late, you want to take a short walk outside? I have a favorite spot I’d love to show you.”
“Okay,” I said.
At so many moments during the night, I could have stopped this from becoming something, but every time I thought of it, I backed down. There was something stronger than my caution, stronger than my fears. Was that good? Daddy always said, “We don’t fear, but if you should feel like you do fear something, don’t be afraid of that. Most of the time, it’s a warning.”
He led me through some glass sliding doors that opened onto a large patio with a fireplace at the center. Reaching to his right, he flipped a switch and lit up the rear of the mansion with lighted paths, landscape lights, and lights in the pool and the whirlpool.
“My father designed every inch of this place,” he said. “After my mother left us, he spent most of his free time working on the estate, as if he wanted to reassure himself that having it, being here, was right.”
“How can something so beautiful be wrong?” I said.
He widened his smile. The outside light made his eyes glitter, but most of the brightness came from inside him, I thought. He took my hand and without speaking led me down the lighted pathways and then off to the right, where there were large maple and oak trees. On one was a ladder that led to a pretty sophisticated-looking tree house. It had four walls and a large window looking toward the ocean.
“It looks good enough to live in,” I said.
“My father provided all of the materials for me, but he didn’t come out here and build it with me. He gave me instructions and occasionally checked out my work, but nothing more.”
“He wanted you to have something solely yours,” I said.
“That’s what Julia says.”
“Listen to the women in your life,” I playfully advised.