CHAPTER 12

With the undergrads gone for summer break, June was always slightly calmer on campus. Emma seized the opportunity to meet Anne in Hartford for lunch on a slow Tuesday.

"Will you be home for the 4th of July?" Each year, as if by unspoken agreement, a few neighbors gravitated to the Woodhouse home for a casual pool party. It was a nice reprieve from their larger social circle, who mostly spent the holiday in places like East Hampton or Nantucket.

"Of course. Rose is already working on her shopping list." While technically a day off for their housekeeper, she always opted to stick around to grill burgers with the family. Emma was adamant that Rose never lifted a finger to clean while off duty. "When is Frank coming, by the way? Do you think he'll want to join us?"

Anne's face dropped a little. "Oh. I hadn't told you yet. Frank is putting off his move, I guess. We're not sure when he'll get here. Charles didn't really have any details – just that 'something came up.' I can't tell if he's upset or not."

"What about you? You seem a little upset yourself."

"Yeah. It's a bit disappointing. Charles was really looking forward to see him."

"Well, I hope Frank makes it out here soon. Although, I'd like to give him a piece of my mind when I do meet him. I hate to have you or Charles upset."

Anne smiled. "I'm not going to address the inherent contradiction there. But thanks. You care too much about others."

They were interrupted by a flurry of color and the sound of jangling bangles. Alicia Bates was considered a bit of an eccentric in their circles. The middle-aged daughter of another one of Mr. Woodhouse's colleagues, she moved back to Hartford from Vermont to be with her aging mother after her father's passing. They had traded the family home for a little bungalow on the outskirts of town. Theirs was a very Grey Gardens existence, without (thankfully) the filth.

"Anne! Emma! You'll never believe it! I've had another letter from Jane!" Jane Fairfax was Alicia's niece that was a year behind Emma in school. She had visited occasionally from her home in Rochester, NY, but Emma had always found her a little distant. "She's with the Peace Corps in Cambodia, you know." They knew. Jane wrote Alicia monthly – snail mail, since the village she lived in often had internet blackouts. Alicia had a tendency to carry the letters with her and read them aloud at any opportunity.

Anne maintained perfect interest. "How exciting! What's the news from Cambodia?" She shot Emma a look when the younger woman couldn't quite smother a smile.

"Seemed like there was a malaria outbreak in the surrounding villages. Not to worry, though. They managed to contain it by distributing mosquito nets to the villagers. Jane is such a do-gooder. You know this is her second assignment there?" Of course they knew.

In any case, Alicia didn't give them a chance to respond. "She's almost done though. I can't believe she's been in Cambodia for four years. Four! I went to Mexico for two weeks once and I couldn't wait to get home after those two weeks. Imagine, four years."

Emma tried to move the conversation along. "What else does Jane write about?"

"Oh! This is the exciting part!" Alicia scanned the letter with her finger. "Now let me find this passage...here it is. 'I have some very exciting news…I have been accepted to Yale's graduate program in International and Development Economics! So, I will be coming back to the States soon, first for a short stay in Rochester, and then near you in New Haven. Isn't that great?' Isn't that great?" repeated Alicia.

"It absolutely is," affirmed Anne. "When does she arrive?"

Alicia's eyes dropped back to the page. "'I'll be leaving Cambodia as soon as I deliver my report to my field office, and plan to be in Connecticut by July 4th. I hope to spend some time with you before moving to New Haven.' She'll be here so soon! Isn't that just wonderful? We'll have to throw her a party to welcome her. And Emma, she'll be your neighbor at Yale."

"Well, if she's in town, she's welcome to come by and spend some time by the pool with us." As the words left her mouth, Emma kicked herself. She hoped they might have other plans.

"Oh how nice! We didn't have plans, and now we do! I'm sure Jane will like that. She's a champion swimmer, you know. Won gold at the Junior Olympics."

"Well, I can't promise any competition. I'm afraid our pool won't be quite up to Jane's standards." Emma ignored the warning in Anne's eyes.

"Oh, you know Jane. She won't mind. How silly, a swimming competition at home." Alicia tittered obliviously. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. I have to pick Mother up from Zumba. Imagine, Zumba at her age!"

As Alicia left the cafe, Anne sighed. "Emma, why can't you let her comments go?"

Emma felt little remorse. "Everything I say goes over her head anyway. Trust me, she didn't notice."

"That doesn't make it right. You know how much she gave up to be with her mother."

"Well, now they'll be joined by Perfect Jane Fairfax. Do you think they'll really come by the pool?"

"If you didn't want them to come, you shouldn't have invited them. I hope they will be there, and I hope you'll be as kind to them as I know you are."

"Wow, Anne. Way to go to the mom place."

"Someone's got to do it."

"In that case, I'll let you buy me lunch."