“Too many bathrooms to clean if you ask me. I actually spent my summers in a sweet old house that sat on this very spot. It was leaky and creaky and filled with bats.”

“Sounds like our house.”

“Oh, you’re so lucky! I absolutely loved our old place.”

“Did it burn down?”

“No, no. We had it razed.” Maureen gestured with a flat hand, sweeping across the air. “There were problems with the foundation, although that could have been fixed, but don’t mention that to the town preservationists, promise?”

Ann liked Maureen right away, the way she made her feel like she was important enough to gossip with.

“My husband calls them the preservationistas. They had a fit when we demolished the house. They made us dig around in the yard for Indian artifacts and they hit us with zoning bylaws and challenged every permit. It took over a year just to get the plans approved. Anthony—my husband—he wanted something new. He grew up poor. He said he couldn’t understand why we’d want to live the way he had, with old two-prong electrical outlets that sparked when you put a plug in, and a well pump that always seemed to break. Old houses aren’t for everyone, I guess. Certainly not for Anthony. And now, after everything we went through to get into this house, he’s hardly ever around.” The giant, pear-shaped diamond in Maureen’s wedding band twinkled under the recessed lighting.

Maureen walked toward the hallway and shouted, “Toby! Brooks! Come meet Ann.”

Maureen rifled through her big bag and pulled out a car key. The chain had a Jaguar logo. “Your mother says your driving record sparkles.”

“Well, I just got my license.”

“Of course, you don’t need me to tell you to be careful, but the people out here drive like the sun is in their eyes. It gets worse every summer. I need you to shuttle the boys to Chatham this afternoon. Their friends are having a party. You can just drop them off and meander around town—Chatham is so lovely, don’t you think?”

Ann was about to say that yes, she did like Chatham, until Maureen said, “I personally avoid the town because every third person I see there is from Marblehead, where we live. What’s the point of getting away when you’re surrounded by the same awful people? Funny, I find myself wondering what vacations are even for lately. What’s the point? I’m just as stressed as ever with this house and the kids. Vacation from what, that’s what I want to know.”

It wasn’t really a question, but Ann felt Maureen looking at her as if she had answers. Vacations made perfect sense to Ann; she lived for vacation, even if this one was off to a rough start.