The Dutch House

As time goes by, Danny achieves some financial stability with his real estate holdings, and Maeve is deeply involved in this success because she keeps his books and manages his taxes and paperwork, free of charge. Maeve’s involvement adds fuel to the fire of conflict with Celeste, however, and all is not well in Danny’s marriage.

Celeste believes Maeve is still overinvolved in Danny’s life and blames Maeve for Danny’s decision to break up with her earlier in their relationship. Celeste also resents how frequently Danny goes down to Maeve’s house and sees the time spent away from their children as stolen, especially since Maeve has no children or spouse to prevent her from coming up to the city. Celeste has also failed to move on from her disappointment that Danny never became a practicing doctor; Danny trots his medical skills out for minor accidents during family vacations, but this is not enough for Celeste. Maeve, on the other hand, still resents Celeste’s desire to get married when Danny was in medical school. Maeve still shows up for important events in the children’s lives, and she fills young May’s ears with stories about the Dutch House.