“They feel great,” Gina says, looking at Tish.
Alice sighs. It must have been considerably easier to marry into the Dewar family back when Alma Boots only made, well, boots. The limitless footwear options they now carry means that Alice is harassed whenever she wears another brand.
Harassed. Ha! That’s funny. She should make that joke at the table.
“And I love the minimalist look,” Gina continues.
A great match for a Technicolor outfit.
Alice immediately chides herself. She doesn’t want to be that woman. The woman who picks apart another woman’s appearance. Not even in her mind.
“You look lovely, dear,” Tish says.
“You do,” Alice agrees. A kindness.
When was the last time Tish complimented Alice? She can’t even remember.
“Tell me, Calan,” Tish begins. “How’s school?”
Calan fidgets on his seat, brings a forkful of moqueca to his mouth, and mumbles something that Alice can’t quite make out. Really, with all the time Gina spends pampering the boy, one would assume that he would’ve learned to enunciate properly by now.
“Calan is working on a project with Nicholas Davidson,” Gina says. “You know him, Tish. Craig and Colleen’s boy?”
“Of course, Terry’s grandson. She told me Colleen is pregnant again. A girl this time. Charlotte, I think.” Tish turns to Bobby. “Bobby, dear, that reminds me. Terry stopped by today to ask about your… situation.”
“Mother, let’s not,” Bobby voice comes out strained, tense. Alice’s ears perk up.
“Apparently,” Tish begins, ignoring Bobby, “Terry’s cauliflower of an IQ thought you were being accused of rape. Can you believe it? She obviously doesn’t think you did it, but still. Rape! What a silly thought.”
Yes, thinks Alice. Rape and silly. Two words that go together so well.
“Mom,” Nick says, his tone stern. It’s harder to ignore Nick. Physically, they are identical, but Nick has a commanding presence. “Let’s not.”
Alice steals a glance at Gina, whose eyes are, as always, on Bobby. Alice swears that’s all Gina does: take cues from her husband. That and fret over her son. Alice feels sorry for her sister-in-law, she really does. Gina is often a source of annoyance, but she doesn’t deserve to be gossip fodder for this town. Still, this might be a good thing, long-term. Gina is obviously a competent person. Alice has seen her efficiency on display during ASC events—she’s a scheduling and organizing whizz. Maybe if Gina divorces Bobby, she’ll go back to school. She could work in events or with project management. She’s great at fundraising—that’s a real, valuable skill. Her talents are wasted in Alma. As are Alice’s. Really, this whole town is a waste of everyone’s time.
“Everyone’s talking about it,” Tish says. “No sense in pretending otherwise.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Mother,” Bobby says, sternly. “It isn’t true.”
Alice notices Calan’s eyes darting nervously between his parents. As a rule, she stays out of the Dewar Drama, but even she knows that Bobby and Calan’s relationship is a rocky one. (Nick won’t shut up about it, and it’s obvious Calan hero-worships Nick, which means that Alice has yet another person to compete with for her husband’s attention.)
“Of course it isn’t true,” Tish says. “Which is why there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. The woman is a conniving little liar.”
Alice drops her fork with a little more force than necessary. Victim blaming—is that really what they’re doing? If she weren’t so buzzed, she’d speak up.
“But why is she lying, Grandma?” Calan asks.
From the mouth of babes. Perhaps Calan is smarter than he looks.
“Calan thinks it has something to do with Souliers,” Gina says.
Calan nods vigorously. “It happens all the time in graphic novels, the bad guys blackmailing the good guys. Like, for personal gain. So maybe they’re tricking her into lying for them.”
Alice sighs. This is even worse than victim blaming. It’s victim infantilization. So much for the boy being smart.
“It’s nice to see you taking an interest in the family business, my dear,” Tish says. “Even if it is long overdue.”
It occurs to Alice that the only person who has it worse than she does is Calan. Not only has he lived in Alma his entire life, but he is expected to run the company someday. He’ll never be able to escape this town.
“Dad’s looking into it, baby.” Gina’s voice is laced with fatigue, but she seems resolute. It’s sad, how otherwise intelligent women will dumbly believe their husbands.
“This will all be over soon.” Bobby sounds confident. Too confident.
Has he paid Eva off? Alice feels a ripple of disgust.
“I think we should all take this more seriously,” Nick says.
Alice finds herself nodding approvingly.
“What makes you think I’m not taking this seriously?” Bobby asks, his tone as dry as the wine.
Nick clears his throat. “I’m just saying this could have serious repercussions—”
“You think I don’t know that?” Bobby interrupts, his tone indignant. “You think I don’t know what’s happened to other CEOs? Potdevin. Krzanich. It’s a witch hunt out there.”
Witch hunt, really? Alice rolls her eyes. She thinks of the excellent essay collection by Lindy West she just finished—if only she could get Bobby to read it.
“Philip Ross got away with it,” Alice says. “The tech mogul.”
“Exception that proves the rules,” Bobby retorts.
Alice doesn’t agree. It’s true that #MeToo has caused a few men to lose some power, but, for the most part, these men survive—some even thrive. They move on, unscathed. Some come back stronger than ever. It’s a distinctly male privilege: the ability to fail up.
Alice could make this argument. She could recite the names of several men who bounced back from accusations without missing a beat. But sparring with Bobby about facts won’t rattle him. Fortunately, Alice knows what will.
“You must feel very lucky, Bobby.” Alice takes a purposeful pause. “To have everyone believe you.” She turns to face her sister-in-law. “Especially Gina.”
Gina places a protective hand over her husband’s. She looks hurt, offended. What it must be like to be so naive, so trusting.
Bobby cups Gina’s hand with his own. “I never doubted my Jib’s loyalty.”
Jib. A moronic nickname if Alice ever heard one. Named after the sail at the bow of a boat. “She propels me forward, which is what the jib does,” Bobby had explained, years ago. Alice isn’t one for pet names, but surely there are better options available, even within sailing jargon.
“You wouldn’t believe Nick?” Gina says.
Alice raises her eyebrows in surprise. She’s proud of Gina for standing up for herself—even in such a foolish way. There may be hope for her yet.
“No one’s accused Nick of anything,” Alice replies. Plus, Nick wouldn’t do that. Their sex life is great. It’s not something she’d admit out loud—correlating a couple’s sex life with a man’s infidelity—but this is Gina they’re talking about. Everything about her is wholesome and organic and vanilla. And no one wants a vanilla blow job.