Alexis and Tilly rolled meatballs at the kitchen table, using a recipe that Alexis had learned from her mother-in-law. She was glad that her mother wasn't too territorial in the kitchen and seemed eager to employ some of her daughter's suggestions.
As Tilly chattered away about various neighbors, Alexis's mind drifted to her incredible kiss with Tyler. He was working until five and had invited her to Gatsby's to watch him play again later in the evening. She felt like a giddy teenager, itching to see him again.
"I guess you're not very interested in Harry Weyburn's gall bladder surgery,"
Tilly remarked.
"Not in any lifetime."
Tilly stopped rolling. "Then why don't you talk to me about something?"
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. Your life. Tell me about my adult daughter, Alexis." She paused. "Tell me about your husband. What's his name?"
"Mark." Alexis cleared her throat. "A good, decent man."
"Did you leave him?"
"No, I didn't leave him." Alexis quickly grew annoyed when she saw her mother's look of surprise. "Is that so shocking?"
"You left us," her mother said quietly. "Why wouldn't you leave him?"
Alexis stopped rolling and met her mother's steady gaze. "I didn't leave him," she repeated.
"Are you going back to London then?" her mother asked.
"I haven't decided what I'm doing next."
"Really? Because of Tyler Barnes?"
Now it was Alexis's turn to be surprised. "Damn Betsy," she hissed.
"Don't blame your sister. Everyone on the island has seen you two together."
"Tyler is..." She started to say just a friend, but that no longer seemed true.
"Tyler is aware that there are obstacles."
"Well, we both know you're quite capable of overcoming obstacles, if you really want to."
"I used to think so," Alexis said.
Tilly finished the last meatball and slid the tray into the oven. "But not anymore?"
Alexis didn't want to keep her secrets anymore. She was doing the same thing to her mother that she accused her mother of doing to her. She was demanding to be known and understood, yet withholding the very information that would allow that to happen. It was time to undo some of the damage.
"Mark and I wanted children, but I had two miscarriages," Alexis said. "The first one made it to the second trimester, but I lost the second one at ten weeks."
Tilly's shoulders slackened. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry."
"Mark was excited to start a family. He used to research everything from prenatal vitamins to the safest car seat. He was so smart, in-house counsel for a big company. He was a kind, loving man, a wonderful husband, and he would've been a great dad."