Lovely Dreams

by Danielle Stewart

  “You have a plan?” Lauren asked hopefully as she flopped onto the soft bed and pulled a pillow over her face. “You’ve got this all figured out, right?”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing.” He laughed and tossed himself onto the bed next to her.

  “We should go back to Boston. This is nuts. I don’t know what we were thinking. You need to get back for the gallery opening.”

  “I’m going to call my mother.” He rolled toward her and pulled her close. “I’m tired of the games. I don’t want to make things harder for you and your mother, but I need to make this call.”

  She peeked at him from under the pillow. His face was layered with emotion. “Of course. I think you’re right. We’re out of options. So what if they know we’re here. So what if they have the upper hand.”

  Chapter 20

  Tray

  * * *

  Tray reached for his cell phone and drew in a deep breath. “You know what I’m most worried about?”

  “The long distance charges?” She slung her arm around his neck and pulled in as tight as she could to him.

  “She might lie to me.”

  “It doesn’t feel great, I can tell you that.”

  When the phone started ringing, Lauren could feel him holding his breath. She squeezed him tighter. “It’ll be all right,” she whispered. Maybe for all the same reasons he’d been telling her that all along. Because if they were holding on to each other, maybe they could weather any of it.

  “Tray?” his mother’s voice sounded sleepy and concerned. “What’s going on?”

  “I think that’s a very good question.”

  “Son? Where are you?”

  “Italy.”

  She laughed. “No you’re not. You’re here, right?”

  “Lauren and I are in Italy. In Isola San Verde Lago.”

  “What? Talia’s daughter Lauren? How did you—?”

  “It doesn’t matter. What matters now is that we get answers.”

  “You can’t get onto the property there.”

  “We know that. Why don’t we start with why there are guards here? Why does an estate you partially own need to be protected when no one is even there?”

  “There are people there.”

  “Who?”

  “We’re not going to discuss this over the phone.” Her voice was stern, but he had no intention of backing down even as she continued to scold him. “Why did you go to Italy? You can be so impulsive. So short-sighted sometimes. All we asked for was a lunch. Just an opportunity to talk with her. There is so much more there than you know. I wish you would have talked to me before you ran off there.”

  “You had plenty of opportunities to tell me what’s going on. I know I’ve not done a good job over the years of making sure you’re okay. I’ve been checked out. But I’m not walking away from this.”

  “It’s never been your job to make sure I’m okay. It’s never been up to you to protect me. I’m your mother. Where are you right now?”

  “At an inn. But I want you to answer my questions. Who is there now? What is so important about this estate? Lauren deserves answers. Gloria pushed her into this twisted business arrangement without so much as asking her if she wanted any part of it. Is this all just some orchestrated manipulation to get her to talk to her mother? I know Talia is your friend, but she abandoned her daughter. She doesn’t get to use this to just push her way back in. It’s not a convenient excuse to spark up something she never had the courage to do before.”

  “No. That’s not what’s happening here. The time was never right before this. We were always waiting. But when Gloria found out she was sick, we knew we had to do it sooner rather than later.”

  “Do what?”

  “Lauren is a very special girl.”

  “I know that.” He glanced at Lauren who was hanging on every word. “I know she is.”

  “But she shouldn’t be there right now. Not until we get there. Talia and I have to explain things to her. That’s what we were going to do over lunch.”

  “You really think blindsiding her with some lunch was a good call? After she hasn’t seen her mother in years. If you really knew anything about her, you had to know that wouldn’t fly with her.”

  “So you put her on a plane and took her the one place she shouldn’t be. Not yet. It’s not safe.”

  “Safe? Are you suggesting Lauren is in some kind of danger because of this?”

  “How do you know Lauren?” His mother’s voice had settled somewhere between concern and restraint.

  “I just know her. And I care what happens to her. If this isn’t a ploy to bring her and her mother back together, then what is it?”

  The silence on the line had him thinking maybe she’d hung up. “Mom?”

  “We’ll come to you. Just stay put. Don’t try to get onto the island again. Talia and I will be there as soon as we can. Does Lauren have the ruby ring on?”

  “No. She didn’t bring it. It’s in the safe at Kinross.”

  “Didn’t they tell her to wear it?”

  “I don’t know. Why is the ring important now?”

  “We’re on our way to you.”

  “What about the gallery opening?”

  “Tray, it doesn’t matter. None of that matters now. The locals, they’ll give you trouble if they think you’re a threat.”

  “A threat?”

  “You’re staying at the inn? Is Patria there?”

  “Yes. She’s a real pleasure,” he groaned. “Chippy Brooks dropped us off here. The driver?”

  “You didn’t tell Patria that, did you?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “That’s not the driver’s name. It’s a code word. I’ll call her now. Stay in your room.”

  “Code word? Mom, what the hell is this?”

  “Tray, I love you. I’m happy that you’re invested in this, that you care this much. But please, stop screwing everything up. Stay put until Patria comes to get you.”

  “Fine.”

  “Talia and I will be there soon. Get some sleep. Have something to eat. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Is Lauren in danger?” His mother was being evasive and coy, but on this one point he demanded a clear answer.

  “Not if I can call them off in time. Goodbye.”

  The call cut off and Tray sat up quickly. Stunned. “What the hell is going on here?”

  “I don’t know.” Lauren exhaled, sitting up and sliding into his arms. “Is someone coming after us?”

  “No,” he said with far more confidence than he felt. “We’re fine.”

  “What if someone comes?”

  “I’ll handle it.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t just go to the damn lunch. This is my fault.”

  “Lauren, you side-stepped a trap they put out for you.”

  “And I think by doing that, I walked the both of us straight into another one.”

  A thudding on the door sent her long red nails digging into his arm. “Who’s there?” Tray demanded. He hopped to his feet and motioned for Lauren to stay back.

  “It’s Patria, you idiots. What a mess you’ve made of all this.”

  He rolled his eyes and cautiously opened the door. “Good to see you again too.”

  “You have no idea how close you came to some real trouble. Fools. I’m spreading the word through town that you’re here on your mother’s behalf and you’re to be left alone. You’re no threat.”

  “Threat to what?” Tray asked brashly.

  “Nice try. I’m not here for that. If you had questions you should have asked them back wherever you came from. No one around here is foolish enough to talk with you now. Don’t bother asking around. And I wouldn’t wander far. I’ll have some food sent up to you here. Just wait for your mothers. Fools.”

  Lauren stood and brushed her hair off her shoulder. “You know our mothers well? They come here often?”

  “Girl, I don’t bother with two warnings. Food will be up soon. Then g
o to sleep. Troublemakers.”

  Lauren pursed her lips. “I’m sorry if we caused any trouble. We didn’t know what we were walking into.”

  “We still don’t.” Tray paced to the window. “Now we’re grounded?”

  “Yes.” Patria propped a hand on her hip and dared him with her expression to try to leave. “Punished. Stay put.”

  There was a clamoring downstairs. A slammed door. Voices climbing the stairs.

  “They’ll mark up all my walls.” She turned quickly and shut the door tightly. Her voice rang out like a drill sergeant. “Out. Get on out of here. Francine has called. It is her idiot son. She’ll be here to collect him as soon as she can. Now out. Before you track mud in.”

  The voices all quieted suddenly and the footsteps grew farther away. Lauren pressed her ear to the door. “They were coming for us? Why?”

  Tray moved toward the window and pushed the lace curtain aside. Four large men in civilian clothes slunk out of the inn with looks of disappointment painting their round, mean-looking faces. Two held baseball bats. One gripped a metal pipe. What if he hadn’t called his mother?

  He looked at Lauren and felt instantly guilty for the danger he’d walked her into. It was his impulsive idea to go there. The idea of what might have happened filled his stomach like sharp gravel. That was why he’d always gone it alone. The risk, when your heart was in it, was oppressive.

  “I don’t know what they wanted, but they’re gone now.” He reached for the phone by the bed.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “Patria,” he explained. “We’re going to need some wine. Actually we need all the wine.”

  Chapter 21

  Lauren

  * * *

  The haze of her wine buzz had long since worn off. If she’d slept, it was only for a couple fitful hours. Speculation had filled her mind as she moved through that fuzzy space between dreaming and waking. The only thing that quieted the endless supposing was her hand resting on Tray’s chest., his heart pulsing against her palm.

  When he spoke it rattled through his chest, to her hand, and into her body. “I got a text from my mother. They’ve landed. They want to meet in the café across the street.”

  “Smart,” Lauren huffed. “A public place where I can’t say half the things I want to.”

  “You can say whatever you like, you’ll just do it with an audience.”

  They dressed and got ready at a snail’s pace, neither one seeming eager to face their mothers. Even though it would hold the key to the mysteries they were chasing, it also came at the cost of confronting long-buried feelings.

  “I think I see them,” Lauren called over her shoulder to Tray. The window in the room faced the café, and there were two women in gauzy pastel linens sitting at a table out front. It had been so long since she’d seen her mother, but even from this distance she knew it was her.

  They made their way toward the café in silence. There hadn’t been much to say since the phone call with Tray’s mother. Lauren felt like a scolded child and a frustrated woman.

  Tray slid his hand into hers, and she looked up at him curiously. “Don’t you think they’ll be wondering what this is all about?” She gestured toward their hands.

  “Good. We should give them something to wonder about.” He spun and stopped her before they crossed the street. “I don’t want to go to Panama after this.”

  “Sick of the beach?”

  “I don’t want to go to Switzerland or Iceland or anywhere. No matter what happens with the two of them, I want you to know I’m not anxious to run off.”

  “You’ll stay in Italy?”

  “No.” He shook his head and blustered, “Are you trying to make this harder on me? Getting a rise out of it?”

  She shrugged.

  “Wherever you end up, I’d like to end up there for a while.”

  “Oh,” she said, covering her heart with her hand. “Really?”

  “And I wanted to tell you that before we walk in there. I don’t want you to think I’m only hanging around because I feel bad for you.”

  “You’re anticipating I’ll feel bad after this.”

  “Just covering my bases.”

  He took her hand again and stepped aside. It was like they’d walked up to the door of a plane and had to trust in their parachutes now. Too late to turn back.

  Tray took the lead. Not by much. Only a couple inches ahead of her. But enough to let her know he was ready to take the brunt of it if she needed him to.

  There was no cordial greeting. The two women stood, folded their hands neatly in front of them, and waited. Tray and Lauren didn’t offer anything either. The four of them stood, shifting and waiting for an awkwardly long time. Finally Francine gave in. “Tray, I’m glad to see you are both all right.” Her eyes went straight to their interlocked hands, and she tried to level her face. Show no reaction.

  Talia licked nervously at her lips and then made a small hiccup noise. “Lauren, it’s been so very long.” Tears had already formed in her exhausted-looking eyes.

  “Has it?” She laughed humorlessly. “I haven’t really been keeping track.”

  Disappointment wracked her mother’s weathered face. All of Lauren’s memories of her mother had been colored by hurt and anger. She couldn’t clearly remember what she’d looked like all those years ago. So she couldn’t pinpoint how much had changed.

  Tray gestured for them all to sit down, but he didn’t make a move to try to rein Lauren in or calm her. He’d promised to have her back no matter what, and she believed him.

  Francine turned her teacup to the left and then back to the right. She was wearing a ring identical to the one Gloria had left for Lauren. Upon closer inspection. so was Talia. They both noticed Lauren’s gaze.

  “You didn’t wear the ring Gloria left you?”

  “No. I thought it was safer put away.”

  “It would have been better if people in town saw you wearing it.” Francine spun her ring around nervously. “But that’s all right. I can understand why you were hesitant. Do you want a drink?” she asked, clearly hoping this would make for lighter conversation.

  “No,” Lauren replied flatly and Tray shook his head. “I honestly don’t want to spend more time here than is required. I don’t enjoy sitting around with people who have played me for a fool.”

  “A fool?” Talia asked, leaning forward and making a move to touch Lauren’s hand but suddenly thinking better of it. In slow motion she pulled her own hand back and placed it awkwardly on the table. “No one here played you for a fool.”

  “You’ve known Gloria for fifteen years.” Maybe she was saying too much too soon, but she couldn’t play chess right now. Strategy was beyond her emotional capacity at the moment.

  Talia and Francine exchanged a quick glance.

  “Obviously since I found the address to this place, you can tell I did some research of my own. So when Gloria met me in that bus station, it was all a set-up?”

  “Yes,” Talia admitted through pursed lips. “After your father died I wanted to be sure you were all right. I asked her to check up on you. She watched you for a few days and was impressed. Giving you a job was her idea. And look how well that worked out.” She attempted a weak smile but let it fade when Lauren stayed stone-faced.

  Tray turned to his mother. “You’ve known Gloria since you were girls, right? But you only met Talia a few years ago.”

  “No,” his mother said, lifting her spoon and mindlessly mixing a lump of sugar into her tea. “I met Talia about fifteen years ago. I met her through Gloria.”

  Lauren felt hot with rage. Just hearing them talk about Gloria, this part of her dear friend she never knew, was making her blood boil. “How did you meet Gloria?” she asked through gritted teeth. “I want to know everything.”

  “Lauren honey,” her mother began, tears streaming down her cheeks, “this is not easy for us to talk about.”

  Francine put her hand on Talia’s shoulder as she foug
ht tears of her own. “It brings up a lot of painful things for us.”

  “I can’t imagine what that’s like,” Lauren groaned. “I’ve been so lucky to be pain free all these years. How could you leave me with him?” She refused to cry. “No one knew Dad better than you. No one else understood how little he had to offer. Yet you took off.”

  “I was having an affair,” she explained, as she lifted her napkin to her eyes. “Your father was so indifferent to me. So distracted and myopic. I just wanted to feel seen. To be looked at like the young vibrant woman I was. I met a man at a bar in Boston. He owned an exporting business. Very successful. And he took a shine to me right away. I can’t explain to you how badly I needed someone like that in my life.”

  “I needed a mother in my life.” Lauren slammed her hand on the table and ignored the other patrons who turned her way.

  “I never intended to leave you with your father. I was going to leave him, but I always planned to take you with me.”

  “Sure.”

  “I can understand if you don’t believe me. This man was named Jeremy Bowman. I didn’t tell him at first that I was married. Or about you.” She looked down, seeming mortified. “I just wanted to have a little fun for a while. Something all for myself. He seemed so sweet. I started imagining what a wonderful father he would be to you. One weekend he swept me away to the Outer Banks. I told your father I had to visit a sick family member. That weekend everything changed.”

  “Tell her,” Francine insisted.

  “Jeremy Bowman was not the man he led me to believe. In Charleston things went badly. Very badly.”

  “How badly?” Tray asked when Lauren became unable.

  “He put me in the hospital. Took my credit cards, every bit of jewelry I had on. Anything of value I’d brought with me was gone. I was in the hospital, hurt in so many ways. Penniless. Embarrassed. I couldn’t go home to you and your father. I couldn’t let you see me that way.” The tears came again. “I thought I would just heal, swallow my pride, and go back home. I’d tell your father we should get a divorce, but I’d never tell anyone what really happened.”