But what was she going to do? She needed to figure out a way to talk to Bethany just for a minute without Rob or Cassidy around. And she thought maybe she had the perfect idea.
Three
"I know you want to talk to her." Jen always did know what Carrie was thinking, almost as soon as Carrie did herself.
"I do. Trying to come up with a way to get her away from that table. She looks miserable."
"She sure does," Jen agreed with a nod. "And Rob and Cassidy are holding court, completely ignoring her. As usual."
Faith looked over toward the table right in front. "I can't believe they even have special flowers on their table. And Dom Perignon."
Carrie had noticed it, too. "You'd think as the organizers, Dirk and I would have seen that coming. My mother was pretty sneaky this time, even for her."
"Sheesh. It's just like a parade of people going by. You'd think that they were rock stars or something. Not just your average reality TV stars."
"What are they?" Joe asked, leaning closer toward Carrie. "I left before you two got together. I thought he was a cook. At least that's how I remember him."
"He was, back in the day. And a poor one at that. Wasn't until he opened his restaurant that things changed for him. And for us." Carrie took another look at Rob, almost against her will. He was still incredibly handsome, but the way he was holding court and fawning over his bleached-blonde wife turned her stomach. He was almost unrecognizable to her—literally not the man she'd fallen head over heels with. Him and his daughter.
"When he opened The Wreck, everything went weird. And when Cassidy turned up to decorate for the restaurant, it really went to hell."
"Well, The Wreck seems like an appropriate name," Joe said with a raised eyebrow.
"I know, right? It was supposed to mean shipwreck, but it fits."
Jen sighed and turned toward Carrie. "I'm sorry."
Carrie shook her head. "It's all right. Honestly, I should have seen it coming."
Faith's updo almost came undone as she shook her head and frowned. "Nope. Nobody in their right mind would have seen that coming. Too fast. And so, so wrong."
Carrie nodded gratefully. At least her friends knew the real story, even if the whole world had been told something else entirely, right on the front page of the tabloids.
"Old news now. But I'd really like to talk to Bethany. I miss her."
"I bet," Jen said. "You were her mom for a very long time."
Carrie stiffened as Bethany got up from the table and headed toward the ladies' room. She stood and dropped the napkin she'd been twisting onto the table. "Looks like maybe now's my chance."
"Do you want someone to go with you?" Jen asked. She looked worried, and Carrie understood why, but she thought she should do this on her own.
"No, I think I'm okay. Thanks, though." Carrie made a beeline for the restroom behind Bethany, glancing at Cassidy. The crowd surrounding their table had gotten even heavier so Carrie ducked inside, hoping it would stay that way for at least a few minutes.
She paused at the doorway and watched as Bethany stared at herself in the mirror. She opened her beaded clutch purse and pulled out some lipstick, leaning forward to the mirror as if she was going to put some on. Glancing down at her hands, she put the cap back on the tube and dropped it in, closing the clutch without applying any.
"Looks like it would be pretty with that gorgeous dress," Carrie said softly as she stepped up behind Bethany.
Bethany spotted her first in the mirror, the look in her eyes clearing quickly.
Carrie watched as her expression changed from surprise to confusion and then quickly to what she thought was anger.
Bethany turned quickly, the chiffon of her dress rustling against the counter.
"Oh, Carrie. Hello," Bethany said as she flipped her blonde hair back over her shoulder. "Lovely to see you."
The words echoed against the tiled walls and felt like a cold slap to Carrie. She took a step backward, although she hadn't meant to.
She took in a deep breath and gathered herself. "Nice to see you, too, Bethany. You look lovely."
Bethany glanced Carrie up and down. "Thank you. Your dress is...orange. As usual."
Carrie thought she saw a flicker of a smile on Bethany's lips but couldn't be sure.
"Yes. It's still my favorite color," she said, thinking it sounded kind of lame, even if it was true. "How are you?"
Bethany turned back to the mirror, retrieving the lipstick and this time putting some on. She glanced at Carrie in the mirror.
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Um, you didn't exactly look like you were enjoying yourself out there. To me, anyway."
Bethany turned again, gripping her clutch tightly against her waist.
"Oh, we go to these kinds of things all the time. Cassidy and my dad are quite famous, you know. Everyone loves them. The TV show is a hit."
"So it seems." Carrie had watched it once, in the beginning, and it had made her so angry she'd never watched again. She had heard, though—or seen on the tabloids—that it was doing very well.
"Yes. And now that it's on hiatus, we're taking a tour of the continent."
Carrie's eyebrows rose. She hadn't heard anyone use that terminology for visiting Europe in decades. Sounded like something Cassidy would say.
"Well, that sounds very nice," Carrie said. "You'll be missing school. And tennis season. What about that?"
Before Bethany had a chance to respond, Jen's loud whistle pierced the air and bounced around the ladies' room right before she poked her head in.
She crooked her finger at Carrie. "Time to go." She nodded at Bethany and got a smile from the teenager in return. More than what Carrie had gotten.
"Well, nice to see you. Have fun on your trip," Carrie said as she followed Jen out the door. Jen grabbed her hand, pulling her faster and ducking into an alcove on the side. They watched as Cassidy swooshed into the ladies’ room and came out a second later with Bethany in tow.
"Never dismiss the importance of having a wingman," Jen whispered. "I thought you might need one."
"Thanks. I guess I did."
"How'd it go?" Jen asked as they skirted the side walls and headed to their table.
"Ugh," was all Carrie could say. It had been confusing to her, Bethany's response not at all what she'd expected. But she didn't really know what she had hoped for anyway.
"Well, that doesn't sound promising."
"It wasn't," Carrie said.
She plopped back into her chair and turned to Dirk.
"Dirk, we're pretty well wrapped up here, aren't we? Clean-up crew is all set, Mother will be making fundraising announcements. Would you join her and make my excuses for me? I think I want to just get out of here."
Dirk frowned, but nodded. "I'd rather you'd stay, but I understand. I'm sorry. It was a lovely evening, and a success to be proud of."
He stood as Carrie gathered up her things, buttoning his tux and heading for Carrie’s mom.
Feel free to stay if you want," she said to Faith and Jen. "And thanks for coming, Mrs. Russo, Joe. Mrs. Grover, nice to see you again."
She straightened her shoulders, set her eyes on the door and walked straight out of the building. It wasn't until the valet brought her car that she realized Faith and Jen were right behind her, as always.
"Thanks, guys. I just couldn't stay."
Faith squeezed her elbow. "And we wouldn't stay without you."
"No. You did a great job, but we'll have more fun on the deck. Just the three of us," Jen said. "The past can stay in the past."
Four
Jen poured the last of the chardonnay into Faith's glass and glanced at her lifelong friend as they both watched Carrie head down the stairs to her car. The orange satin fabric of her formal gown that had gleamed earlier in the evening was now crumpled and dull. But there was the familiar spring in her step that never seemed to fade.
No matter what life threw at her, Carrie was always a "
glass half full" kind of person, but Jen wouldn't have blamed her if she saw things differently after what had happened at the fundraiser.
She'd tried to bring it up, thinking Carrie might want to talk about it. But she hadn't. She'd just said it was nice to be able to see Bethany, that she was so grown up. Jen had even cast the bait that her mom had behaved horribly, but Carrie hadn't taken it. She'd seemed a little sad, but stoic as usual. And she hadn't stayed long, saying she needed to get out of her evening gown or she was going to lose her mind.
It certainly wasn't how Jen would have reacted. "Between her mom being such a jerk and running into Bethany—and Rob and Cassidy—I'd be furious, if it was me. I think we should have poked them all in the eye. Or spilled something on them. Accidentally, of course."
Faith, who'd known Carrie almost as long as Jen had, shook her head. "Not what Carrie wanted. In the last thirty years, I've seen Carrie flustered maybe twice. If that. And even then, she bounced back pretty fast."
Jen nodded slowly. "I know. But those couple of times were like body slams. Rob skipping out with Cassidy in the dark of night, leaving Bethany with Carrie until it suited him to take her away for good? I haven't even seen him since—what, four years now?"
"Neither have I," Faith mused. "Except on TV."
"Oh, right. There's that."
"Who'd want to have that in their face? Wives of Newport Beach is as ridiculous as it is horrible."
"I never watched it ever again after that time you and I did. Just seeing them at the restaurant Rob and Carrie had worked so hard on was disgusting. Remember?"
"I'll never forget. It was gross," Faith said.
"At least she had her practice to fall back into. Losing a child you'd raised from a baby overnight—I can't even imagine."
Faith leaned against the railing of the deck. Well, she tried there for a little while, remember? Bethany went back and forth every other week."
"Yeah. Until she couldn't. But he didn't give her any choice. And for what it's worth, I think she made the right one, given the circumstances."
"I know. I do, too, but I sure wish it would have been different. For her. Did she say anything to you after she'd seen Bethany tonight?" Jen shook her head.
"No, not really. We just kind of left in a hurry. Don't blame her for that. And as you know, she didn't say much more tonight. Just that it was nice to see her."
"I know. I was dying to ask, but she didn't seem to want to say much." Faith gasped and pointed out over the waves. "Oh, look. A shooting star."
Jen followed to where Faith was pointing and saw the last few sparkles of the shooting star.
"Remember when the kids were little? We used to see them all the time. Now they're few and far between."
"Yeah. Too many lights now."
Jen realized that it was the first shooting star she'd seen all summer. Or at least she hadn't noticed any with so much going on trying to keep the beach house.
"I think maybe that one was for Carrie."
"That's a lovely thought. I bet it was." Faith hugged Jen and said goodnight.
Jen sat for a moment on the deck, the warm breeze tickling her neck. She thought she should turn in—it had been a very long day—but wanted to make sure Carrie was all right first. She wouldn't be able to sleep unless she tried.
The phone rang twice before Carrie picked up. Her soft voice offered a quiet, "Hi, Jen."
"Hello, dear friend. I was just checking on you. I know it was a really rough night. You okay?"
Carrie let out a sigh. "Yeah. I'm fine."
Jen paused for a moment. She knew that pressing Carrie wouldn't go anywhere, and she truly didn't want to pry. It was her experience that Carrie would bring it up if she needed—or wanted—to.
"Okay. I'm here if you need anything. And Faith and I would be happy to let the air out of Rob's tires if you think it will help. Or toilet paper his house. Or whatever you want."
Carrie laughed. "Thank you. I know you guys would. Just not necessary. It is what it is."
As Jen clicked off after saying good night, she remembered how hard it had actually been. When what it was was something completely different. Rob and Carrie, together. Carrie falling in love with Rob's infant as much as she did with him. And the crash that came many years later.
Jen's heart hurt for her friend, and the very public reminder of what might have been—but wasn't. Shame on Mrs. Westland for her selfish decision to invite them to something Carrie had worked so hard on. But knowing Mrs. Westland as she did, it wouldn't have been any other way. It still stunk, though, and just before she fell asleep, she wished her friend comfort and happiness. And as for Carrie's mother, she wished her something completely different.
Five
Ugh. Puppy breath. It wasn't remotely the way Jen wanted to wake up, but it only took a brief moment for Daisy's enthusiasm for a walk to infect her, too.
Jen stretched, threw on some shorts and a t-shirt, and headed downstairs. "Hang on just a second, Daisy," she said to the puppy whose tail was wagging furiously, her nose to the glass of the front door. "I need to start the coffee first."
She pushed the 'on' button on the coffee maker and grabbed Daisy's leash. The summer had provided some progress in puppy training, but not much. "Sit," Jen said, her hands on her hips.
Her command didn't elicit the desired response. Daisy was much more interested in the cat strolling by outside the door than in Jen's command. When she'd finally gotten the leash on the wriggling puppy, without Daisy's cooperation, Jen opened the door and tried to keep up as Daisy sprinted toward the beach.
Daisy spent as much time as Jen would allow trying to bite the waves, and Jen was grateful that she was wearing flip-flops, wading into the water a little bit to keep hold of Daisy's leash. The water had begun to cool already, the sun a bit lower as the weather began to turn toward fall. She looked up and down the beach—families had already pitched umbrellas and set out coolers to enjoy the Labor Day holiday. At least this would be the last of it for a while, and Jen realized that this would be the first year that she didn't have to go back, too. It felt good—and strange at the same time.
They'd been so busy helping Carrie with the fundraiser that she hadn't been able to give much thought to what she'd do. She'd need to figure out how to generate some income, but she had a little time and she'd committed to her dad and her brother that she'd continue to fix-up the house—as cheaply as possible. On the cheap, she’d promised her dad. But she could do it. And it was time to pack up all of Nana's things and move them on. That would be a pretty big project in and of itself. Not a simple thing, to pack up memories that spanned a lifetime.
Daisy finally gave up her quest to bite a wave, and she took off to see her best friend, Boris. Jen wasn't a bit surprised—Daisy would go every chance she could get—and today, Jen didn't mind.
"Well, good morning," Joe said as Jen and a very sandy Daisy approached his porch that looked out onto the beach. "Boris was hoping you'd stop by."
Jen passed through the gate with a nod to Joe. "He was, was he?" She dropped the leash when he shut the gate and laughed as the two dogs began to tumble on the small patch of grass next to Mrs. Russo's roses.
"Yes, he was," Joe said with a wink. "I'm not sorry you stopped by, either, but don't expect me to roll around on the grass to show it. Coffee?"
"Sure," Jen said gratefully. "Daisy pulled me out before I could have any this morning. Besides, yours might be better than mine anyway."
"Whoa, I bet that was tough to admit," he said.
Mrs. Russo pushed the screen door open with her backside, her hands full with two steaming mugs of coffee. Jen reached for the offered mug and wondered at how Mrs. Russo always looked so sharp. Even this early in the morning her short black hair was spiked with gel just perfectly, and her lipstick matched her colorful capris and complementary flowered shirt. She'd always dressed really nice, and Jen couldn't help but take a glance down at her own outfit that she'd grabbed from the floor of her
bedroom.
"Thank you, Mrs. Russo," Jen said, her appreciation genuine and deep as she savored her first sip of coffee.
"You're welcome. Sit for a minute. How is Carrie? We were worried about you all since you left in such a hurry. That must have been quite a shock."
Jen nodded and glanced at Mrs. Russo. "It was. Did you have a chance to fill Joe in? He wasn't around for the implosion of their relationship, and I hadn't had the chance—or the reason, really—to fill him in."
Joe sat on the edge of the brick planter and sighed. "She did. Sounds awful. Who knew Rob would turn out to be such a putz?"
Mrs. Russo added her two cents. “Putz doesn't even begin to describe him. I could think of some much better words—"
"That's all right, Ma. We get the picture," Joe said with a smile. "I'm sure it's deserved, though."
Jen took another sip of coffee. “It is. No question about that. But I think she's okay. You know Carrie. She always looks at the bright side. Was just happy that she got to see Bethany at all, even for a moment. She doesn't talk about things like that much, but I know it meant a lot to her."
"Good grief. What a mess," Mrs. Russo said, removing her red cat-eye glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Her mother had no business doing that. But it doesn't surprise me one bit. That woman's always been horrible."
Jen's eyebrows rose. "Oh, you two know each other?"
One of Mrs. Russo's eyebrows rose as she peered at Jen. "Do we ever. We go way, way back. I have stories I could tell you—"
"Ma, maybe another time," Joe said, a half grin spreading across his face.
Jen's curiosity was piqued, but any more questions would have to wait for another time as Daisy and Boris both laid down, their energy spent. If Jen had any hope of getting Daisy on their way home before she fell asleep, it had better be now.
She drained her mug and handed it to Joe. "Thanks for the coffee. It was great to spend the evening with you guys last night."
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