Two hours later, all the champagne was gone and the happy couple had recounted for the second time that day what would become the mythology of them: the Buying the Aquamarine not Diamond Ring Story (the mayor knew a guy in the jewelry business ); the Proposal Story (the mayor knew a guy who could keep the Empire State Building open late for the occasion); and the Cozy Late Night Supper Afterward at Bemelmans Bar Story. (Again, the mayor and a guy he knew meant no waiting in line.) Finally, the story of the After-Party, which Chase had arranged with their friends at Dorian’s Red Hand. It had all been perfect.

Then, there was the discussion of everything they didn’t want to discuss yet, like the date, the location, and, as Sarah put it, “the hideous bridesmaids’ dresses.” Penny declared that no decisions about any of that had been made in the nineteen hours they’d been engaged. And Chase added that they wanted a breath to enjoy their new, affianced status before choosing napkin colors or cutting the number of guests in half. Abigail pretended to buy all the denials, but one look at Penelope Diamandis told you that she locked things down as soon as she could.

After the nonstop talking and the laughter that Chase always brought into the house, the couple seemed spent, so Abigail went into the kitchen to pack up the brownies to go before the five sixteen train back to Grand Central. Chase followed her in.

“What was that about law school?” Chase asked, grabbing a seltzer out of the fridge.

Apparently, he wasn’t going to forget her faux pas. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from. I mean, I do. You said it once and you know I hate all the politics of . . . politics. Law would be a nice quiet career for you, that’s all.” And lucrative, thought Abigail, but she would never say that out loud to her son. Most nights, she lay awake worried that there wouldn’t be much left to leave her children if she and George lived as long as their relatives had, well into their eighties. There would be no house on the Connecticut shoreline to split; they’d get a condo in Hilton Head if they were lucky. A law career with a steady, solid income would be Chase’s hedge against a diminished inheritance. And Sarah? She would have to marry well.

“I think I said I wanted to go to law school once when I was sixteen. Mom, I love my job. I work for the mayor of the greatest city in the world. And now I have a gorgeous, smart fiancée who is accomplished on every level. Please let her know that you think she’s great, too.”