Opposites Attract

sigh. That was the year Ty had won the U.S. Open, then barely had time to savor it before the world had crumbled around his ears. “Yes, I remember.”
    “Asher left Ty and married Eric Wickerton.” When Ada remained silent, Jess lifted her coffee cup and drank as if to fortify herself. “It was my fault,” she blurted out.
    Ada took the time to taste her own coffee, deciding it wasn’t half bad for restaurant brew. “Your fault, Jess? How?”
    “I went to see her.” In quick jerks Jess began to shred her napkin. She’d thought it would be easier now that she had told Mac everything, but with her mother’s gaze steady and patient on hers, she felt like a child again. “I went to her hotel room when I knew Ty wouldn’t be there.” After pressing her lips together, she let the confession come out in a burst. “I told her Ty was tired of her. I told her he—he was bored.”
    “I’m surprised she didn’t laugh in your face,” Ada commented.
    Quickly Jess shook her head. “I was convincing,” she went on. “Maybe because I was convinced it was the truth. And I—I was sympathetic.” Remembering how well she had played the role of reluctant messenger tore at her. “Oh, God, Mom, when I look back and remember the things I told her, how I said them . . .” Anguished, her eyes met her mother’s. “I told her Ty thought she and Eric were suited to each other. There was enough truth in that, but I turned it around to give her the impression that Ty was hoping Eric would take her off his hands. And I defended Ty, telling Asher he’d never want to hurt her, that he was really very concerned that she’d gotten in over her head. I—I made it seem as though Ty had asked my opinion on the best way to untangle himself from an affair he had no more interest in.”
    “Jess.” Ada stopped the movement of her nervous daughter’s hands with her own. “Why did you do such a thing?”
    “Ty wasn’t happy. I’d talked to him just the night before, and he was so down, so unsure of himself. I’d never seen Ty unsure of himself.” Her fingers began to move restlessly under her mother’s. “It seemed so clear to me that Asher was wrong for him, hurting him. I was convinced I had to save him from being hurt more.”
    Leaning back, Ada let her gaze drift. The West Side Tennis Club was respectfully dingy, very American. Perhaps that was why she’d always liked it. It was noisy. The Long Island Railroad ran alongside, competing with helicopters, planes and road traffic. Ada had never completely gotten used to the relative quiet of suburbia after a lifetime in the inner city. Now she sat back, absorbing the noise, trying to think of the right words. It occurred to her that parenting didn’t stop when children became adults. Perhaps it never stopped at all.
    “Ty loved Asher, Jess.”
    “I know.” Jess stared down at the shredded paper napkin. “I didn’t think he did. I thought if he’d loved her, he would have been happy. And if she had loved him, she would have . . . well, she would have acted like all the other women who hung around him.”
    “Do you think Ty would have loved her if she had been like all the other women?”
    Jess flushed, amazing herself and amusing her mother. It was a bit disconcerting to think of the tiny, white-haired Ada Starbuck, mother, grandmother, knowing about passion. “It wasn’t until after I met Mac that I realized love doesn’t always make you smile and glow,” Jess went on, keeping her eyes lowered. “There were times when I was miserable and confused over my feelings for Mac and I began to remember that last talk I had with Ty before I went to see Asher. I realized how alike Ty and I are, how the stronger our feelings are, the more moody we can become.”
    On a deep breath she met her mother’s gaze levelly. “I tried to rationalize that Asher wouldn’t have left Ty, that she wouldn’t have married Eric if she had really cared. And that if he had, Ty wouldn’t have let her go.”
    “Pride can be just as strong as love. The things you said to Asher made her feel unwanted, and betrayed, I imagine, that Ty would have spoken to you about it.”
    “If the situation had been reversed, I would have scratched her eyes out and told her to go to hell.”
    Ada’s laugh was a warm, young sound. “Yes, you would. Then you’d have gone to the man you loved and used your claws on him. Asher’s different.”
    “Yes.” Miserable, Jess pushed her untouched