Read Online The Pretty One: A Novel About Sisters by Lucinda Rosenfeld - Free Book Online Page A

Greenwich, Connecticut, society family in which the matriarch had opined that the key to a happy marriage was lots of sex with one’s husband. The quote had stuck with her. Because while it had been a long time since Perri and Mike had had a lot of sex, until recently they’d at least had some. Which is to say, twice a month on Saturday night after their biweekly dinner date. It was a schedule that had seemed to suit both of them. It wasn’t as if they’d just met—far from it. And they were always short of sleep: if Noah didn’t wake up crying, his pacifier missing, Sadie would appear like a ghost in the doorway of their bedroom at four a.m., claiming to have had a bad dream and determined to climb under their covers, splay her limbs, elbow them in the face—and ruin any hope of a good night’s rest. (Aiden, god bless him, slept as if he were in a coma.)
    Plus, while Mike had been employed by Credit Suisse, he’d had to be at his desk by eight at the latest. Which meant that he’d had to leave the house by six thirty. But ever since he’d been laid off—ever since he’d been able to sleep in—he’d only wanted to cuddle. And Perri hadn’t been able to find the words to ask him why. This was partly because she found talking about sex to be mortifying and partly because she feared the answer was that he no longer found her attractive. Not that she could blame him if he did. After three pregnancies and nursing marathons, she felt like a battered boat, its sail loose and tattered, its ropes frayed. Where her large breasts had once been a source of pride and embarrassment in equal parts, now theywere only a source of embarrassment—especially since they’d begun to point south. She’d thought about getting a “lift,” but it seemed so desperate. Also, she was petrified of being unconscious. How could she control things if she weren’t awake? In her late twenties, when she’d had an ovarian cyst removed, Perri had needed a Valium just to enter the hospital.
    In truth, Perri didn’t necessarily find Mike any more attractive than he found her. Though it wasn’t the early signs of middle-aged spread that failed to put her in the mood; it was the fact that he snored and refused even to discuss it with a doctor. It was also that he’d officially taken over childcare duties on Tuesdays. (The other four days of the week, the family employed a Colombian nanny named Dolores.) Though how Mike actually spent the nine hours that Perri was in her midtown Manhattan office was another matter. From what she could tell, he filled the morning by shopping for dumbbells and free weights on the Internet, while Noah sat at his feet, drawing on the carpet with ballpoint pens he’d found lying around the house—until it was time for both their naps. Later, Mike would take Noah to go pick up Sadie and Aiden from school. After that, the TV would go on and wouldn’t go off again until Perri came home—only to find a sink full of dishes and no milk in the fridge. And for this, her husband seemed to expect a medal! For this, he called himself Superdad and would tell anyone who’d listen that losing his job had been a “blessing in disguise,” allowing him to spend the “quality time” with his family that he’d always wanted to spend.
    Not that Mike’s domestic failings were anything new. But when he’d worked longer hours than she did, Perri had had no expectations that he could possibly disappoint. He wasn’t there, so how could he be expected to have stopped and shopped at theShop and Stop? The irony was that when Mike had first announced that he’d been laid off, Perri had been secretly relieved. He’d been gone so much the previous few years—had rarely made it home before the kids’ bedtime. Now, though, she couldn’t wait for him to go back to work. But he’d insisted that he was in no hurry, and that his severance package had been generous enough to buy them both time. He also said he’d rather get a