* * *
While she was used to driving on the right side of the street in America, the Londoner taxi driver maneuvered the car along the left side—much like the drivers in the Bahamas. In fact, the British and Bahamians had quite a bit in common, Savannah thought, remembering riding on the opposite side of the street when she visited the Bahamas. Though the queen of England was not involved in the day-to-day business of the Bahamas government, she was still its queen.
Visiting Buckingham Palace was definitely on Savannah’s list of things to do. She wanted to get all of her touristy type things out of the way before she became a permanent fixture. But for now, she needed a long, hot bubble bath or at least a shower. And just as her stomach growled, she wondered if Nyle had a nice meal waiting, too. She was exhausted, but excited about being there and thrilled to meet the woman who gave her life. All of the anger and hostility that she’d felt in the past had suddenly been replaced by intrigue and curiosity. She still hadn’t completely forgiven her, but she was open to other emotions.
Savannah paid the driver with cash and found herself on Nyle’s doorstep ringing the bell for much longer than she thought necessary. Wasn’t the woman expecting her? It seemed she should’ve been standing with the door wide open, waiting for her daughter with outstretched arms. She thought that Nyle should’ve met her at the cab and helped her carry her bags inside. After having no luck with ringing the bell, she knocked.
“She stepped out for a moment,” yelled the neighbor from the doorway of her flat. “Said she’d be back shortly.”
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Savannah mumbled under her breath. But then gave the red-haired neighbor a wave. “Thank you.”
“You’re the daughter, eh?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You’re pretty like her. You’re not licentious, too, are you?”
“Licentious?” asked Savannah.
“A loose woman,” the neighbor said. “Like your mother.”
“I’m not loose. But thank you for asking,” said a tired Savannah to the busybody neighbor. She seemed to have a few loose screws.
She glanced down the narrow street and knew that the woman rushing down the block toward her was Nyle. With a grocery bag in one hand and a cigarette in the other, she was easy to recognize. She walked like Savannah. Had the same build, but just a bit more developed. She wore black leather pants that were much too tight for a woman her age, thigh-high boots and a black leather jacket. Her brown hair was shoulder-length and a pair of red-lensed glasses covered her olive-colored face. She was attractive and definitely had her own style.
“Have you been waiting long?” Nyle asked as she approached, a huge smile on her face. Her teeth were starting to brown. Undoubtedly from the cigarette smoking.
“Not very.”
“Look at you! You’re stunning,” she said. “You don’t look anything like your photographs. Isn’t she stunning, Harriett?”
“Gorgeous,” the busybody neighbor, Harriett, murmured through a raspy, cigarette-filled cough. “Did you bring the smokes?”
Nyle reached into her pocket and pulled out a package of cigarettes, tossed them to Harriett. “You should smoke the herbal ones. They’re free of nicotine, and strawberry-flavored.”
“What would be the point?”
Nyle ignored her. She didn’t hug Savannah but wrapped an arm around her shoulder as if they were old friends who hadn’t missed the past thirty-plus years together. “Let’s go inside and catch up.”
Savannah looked around at the beautifully decorated flat and thought that the money that she’d sent Nyle had been put to good use. White leather furniture, and glass fixtures were everywhere. A fuzzy rug was the focal point in the center of the room, and intriguing art adorned the walls.
“Nice place,” Savannah said thoughtfully.
“Thanks. But I can’t take the credit. Godfrey has quite the style.” She placed the grocery bag in the kitchen and then plopped down on the sofa.
“Godfrey?”
“My boo,” she said. “Isn’t that what you youngsters are calling them these days?”
Savannah shrugged. Still standing. Purse on her shoulder. “I can’t say that I use that term. So this isn’t your place?”
“It’s Godfrey’s place. He lets me bunk here while he travels the world. He’s very well off,” said Nyle, and then she quickly changed the subject. “How’s your father?”
Savannah wondered just how long she’d known Godfrey, and why she hadn’t rushed to him for refuge when she was put out on the street. And what Nyle had done with the rent money she’d wired to her. She wanted to ask, but decided to let it go.
“Daddy’s doing well,” Savannah said. “He’s retired now.”
“Gorgeous military man. Ex-military man. He swept me off my feet, Frank did. He was always so grounded. Regimented. Not like me. I was a free spirit,” she said. “Sit down.”
Savannah slid onto the edge of the white leather chair. “Thank you.”
“You’re so polite. Just like him. You’re nothing like me. You have my good looks, though.” She smiled. “But nothing else. He did well with you.”
“Yes, he did.”
“Tell me about yourself. I know over the phone, you told me that you went to college in Florida.”
“Florida State. And then I went to art school in Savannah.”
“You were named after that city, you know. Such a beautiful place. Those cobblestone streets... Go on.” She giggled. “I interrupted.”
“I have a degree in fashion, and before last week...a job.”
“You’ve definitely come to the right place. London is the fashion capital of the world.”
“Not anymore. It’s New York now.”
“Whatever,” said Nyle as she lit another herbal cigarette. “It’s a close second. A good place to plant your feet in the fashion industry.”
“Right.”
“I used to be in fashion myself. I was a model in my younger days. I’ve graced the covers of Vogue and L’Officiel magazines.”
“Seriously?”
“You didn’t know?” she asked. “It’s why I couldn’t take you along. It’s why your father and I parted ways. I was traveling too much, trying to pursue my career. He didn’t understand.”
“You mean you chose your career,” Savannah said matter-of-factly.
“I wanted to bring you here to England, with me. But your father wouldn’t allow it.”
Savannah became uncomfortable with the way the conversation was headed. She wasn’t ready to face the past just yet. She was tired. And hungry. And not at all ready for truths about her childhood. She wasn’t ready to defend her father, nor let Nyle off the hook for her misgivings either. She needed a good night’s rest before she contended with the heavy issues.
“Is there somewhere I can freshen up?”
“Yes, of course. Follow me.” Nyle led the way down a long hallway.
She flipped on the light in one of the bedrooms. “This is where you’ll be sleeping. You can place your things in here. And the toilet is just down there on the right.”
“Thanks,” said Savannah.
“I’m going to prepare something to eat for us. We’ll have Cumberland pie. Have you had that before?”
“No. Can’t say that I have.”
“Good. You’ll love it.” Nyle placed a gentle hand on her daughter’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.”
“And when you’re done...freshening up...you can tell me all about Chloe, and Edward. If you want to talk about him. I know he’s the ex. So we don’t have to talk about him at all, if you don’t want to. But Chloe... I want to know all about her.”
“I’ll tell you all about her once I get settled.”
“Fantastic.” She smiled.
Savannah took note of how beautiful Nyle was. She could picture her face gracing the cover of fashion magazines once upon a time. She wanted to talk to her about life, and catch up on all that they’d missed, but for now—she needed a moment to catch her breath. And sleep.
Chapter 19
Edward struggled to get the rubber band around Chloe’s thick ponytail. The center part was crooked, and the second ponytail was more flyaway than the first one, but he’d managed to complete the task. He’d combed Chloe’s hair. He was happy that it was Saturday and she didn’t have school. At least he’d have the weekend to practice before Monday morning.
“There!” he said with pride. “It’s not quite like Mommy’s, but it’s done. Go look in the mirror.”
Chloe hopped down from the kitchen bar stool and rushed down the hall to the bathroom. Edward cleaned up the mess he’d made with ribbons, bows and other hair products. He grabbed the remote control for his stereo and turned the volume up. Washed his hands and began to season the orange roughy he and Chloe had picked up at the farmers’ market. His cell phone rang.
“Hello.”
“It’s me.” Savannah’s voice was music to his ears. “How are things going?”
He tried to hide his excitement. “Everything’s fine.”
“Where’s Chloe?”
“She’s in the bathroom looking at her hair. Daddy combed it today.”
“Oh, Lord.”
“What? I did a good job. She looks great.”
“Well, let me ask her for myself,” said Savannah.
“How was your trip?” Edward asked. “I’m glad you made it safely.”
“It was long and tiring. When I made it to Nyle’s place, I was exhausted and hungry.”
“What’s she like?” he asked in an almost-whisper, as if Nyle could hear him.
Savannah giggled. “Somewhat eccentric. Pretty, though.”
“I understand why you needed to go, Savannah. I do. I know how important this is.”
“Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“Let me get Chloe,” said Edward as he walked to the bathroom where Chloe stood on the toilet and gazed at her hair in the mirror. “Sweetheart, your mother’s on the phone.”
“Mommy!” Chloe exclaimed and then hopped down from the toilet. She grabbed the phone from Edward’s grasp.
Edward walked out of the bathroom. Gave them a bit of privacy and an opportunity to catch up. He hoped that Chloe wouldn’t resort to crying again after hanging up the phone. She had cried the entire day before and most of the night. She was more attached to Savannah than he imagined. He guessed that every girl felt that way about her mother, but it left him helpless.
He stepped out back and placed charcoal briquettes in the grill, fired it up. Chloe rushed outside and handed him the cell phone and then bolted back into the house. He looked at the screen and realized that Savannah was still on the line.
“Hello.”
“She’s sad, but she’ll be okay later,” Savannah explained. She was tearful. “I miss her like crazy. I hope I can do this.”
“She’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry, Savannah. I promise I’ll take great care of our daughter.”
“I know. And I’ll be okay,” she sniffed. “I’m just fatigued and emotional.”
“Get some rest, and visit with your mother. We’ll give you a call in a couple of days and check on you,” said Edward. “Let’s not run up your phone bill. Hit us up on Facebook.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll post pictures of Chloe every day, so that you can feel like you’re a part of her routine.”
“Okay.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Now go get some rest and check your Facebook page later. I’ll post pictures of her hair.”
Savannah laughed through her tears. “I can only imagine what it looks like.”
“Like I told you before, it looks great. You’ll see,” he said. “Now I have to go. Gotta get this fish on the grill.”
“Okay. Kiss her for me.”
“I will. We’ll talk soon.”
Edward wanted to ease her anxiety as best he could, and when he hung up he felt as if he’d been successful.
* * *
He and Chloe sat in front of the television, ate fish and watched a Disney movie. He wanted to ignore the text message that he received from his colleague, asking if he’d completed his part of the report for Sunday morning’s presentation. The mayor was meeting with one of the city’s top officials for Sunday brunch, and she needed her talking points. He hadn’t finished them. He’d rushed out of the office on Friday and headed straight for Chloe’s school because he needed to be on time picking her up. He’d completely forgotten about the report and the meeting.
“Damn,” he mumbled under his breath.
He glanced over at his daughter, dressed in her Sofia the First pajamas. He hated the thought of loading her into the backseat of his car and dragging her into the office on a Saturday night, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Duty called. He’d have completed the report using his laptop computer, but he needed access to the files in his office.
“Baby, we’re going to take a ride,” he told her.
“Where?”
“To Daddy’s office,” he said. “I need for you to go find some shoes and to pack some toys into your backpack.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She rushed down the hallway and was back in a few moments.
He pulled out of his Delray Beach subdivision and zoomed down Atlantic Avenue, then pulled onto Interstate 95 toward downtown West Palm Beach. The sun was already beginning to set as the palm trees swayed in the wind, and he hoped to be back soon and have Chloe in bed at a decent hour.
In his office, Chloe sat in a chair and spread her toys out across his mahogany desk. He pulled files from the cabinet and began flipping through their pages, turned on his computer. He plugged numbers into an Excel spreadsheet, then found music on his iPad.
When he glanced at the clock again, it was well after midnight. Chloe had since curled up and fallen asleep. He leaned back in his chair. Exhausted. He grabbed his cell phone and pulled up the camera, snapped a shot of Chloe’s hair, then logged into Facebook and sent it in a message to Savannah. She immediately replied.
What took you so long? And where is she?
At my office. I had work to finish up.
On a Saturday night?
Yes.
It’s after midnight!
He’d made a mistake, snapping the photo at his office. He knew that Savannah would worry about things that she had no business worrying about. But she was the one who’d left him in this predicament.
We’re headed home now.
It wasn’t completely a lie. All he needed was another thirty minutes or so and he’d be homeward bound. He put the finishing touches on his report, pulled charts and graphs into his spreadsheet, and saved the document. After this, he shut down his computer. He glanced over at Chloe and a wave of guilt rushed over him. She was supposed to be at home tucked into bed. What type of father kept his little girl out until the wee hours of the morning? He brushed sleep from his own eyes, turned off the music and then lifted Chloe into his arms. He turned off the lights and carried her out to the parking lot.
Chapter 20
Savannah ordered porridge with a fruit salad, while Nyle went for the full breakfast with eggs Florentine and American-style pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup, and steak frites. She insisted on a Bloody Mary to top it all off. Snagging a table at Balthazar London was usually very difficult, but for Sunday morning brunch they had no problem. The French brasserie was a perfect imitation of New York’s version of the restaurant, with red awnings, red leather banquettes, huge anti
qued mirrored walls and mosaic floors.
Savannah watched in awe as Nyle ate as though there was no tomorrow. It had been her idea that the two eat there. Nyle insisted on treating Savannah to a nice English meal at her favorite brunch spot. She spent the entire meal catching Savannah up on all that had taken place in her life over the years. She shared the story of how she met Godfrey, the man she’d been in a relationship with for the past few weeks.
“He’s a wonderful lover,” she stated, “but he’s never home. Always traveling abroad. The flat is his. I just lay my head there.”
“Does he know that I’m staying there?”
“Of course.”
“Are you sure?” Savannah pressed.
Nyle gave a nod. “We’re two ships in the night. Our paths rarely cross.”
“Why do you put up with that? Why not find a man who has time for you?”
“I like him,” she said. “And I enjoy the time to myself when he’s gone.”
“I guess if it works for you both. How does he feel about it?”
She laughed. “He has the nerve to be jealous.”
“Will you ever marry?” Savannah asked.
“Doubtful. We’re fine this way. Why fix something that isn’t broken?” Nyle asked. “Marriage is overrated anyway. I’ve been down that road before, and so have you. Will you ever remarry?”
“I don’t know. I suppose if the right man comes along.” Savannah finished her porridge. “Edward and I spent some time together in the Bahamas recently. I thought we might reconcile, but it didn’t really work out.”
“Why not?” asked Nyle.
Savannah looked at her mother. Wasn’t ready to share everything with her just yet. They needed to build trust.
“Timing.”
“What does that mean? You weren’t ready or he wasn’t?”
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