by Terri DuLong
And over the past eight days, I’d come to see that wine seemed to be Isabelle’s best friend. I certainly enjoyed a few glasses myself some days, but some days none at all. I noticed that not only had Isabelle been drinking every day since she’d arrived, but most days she had her first glass before noon. I also wondered about her retiring to her room so early in the evening, leaving Haley and me to watch a movie together or work on our knitting.
“I’m ready,” Haley yelled up the stairs. “Are we going?”
“Yes,” I called down. “Be right there.”
I walked to Isabelle’s room and knocked. “I’m coming,” she called through the door.
It was agreed that today would be a shopping day at Volusia Mall.
“I’ll be downstairs,” I told her.
When I walked into the living room, I saw Haley sitting on the sofa, patiently waiting with Basil curled up beside her.
“Bet she doesn’t go,” Haley mumbled.
“No, she’s going,” I reassured her.
But ten minutes later Isabelle descended the stairs wearing no makeup and clothes she clearly would not be caught dead in for shopping.
“I don’t think I’m going to . . .” she began to say.
I jumped up from the sofa. “Oh, yes, you are. I’m not sure what’s going on, but you’re going shopping with us like you promised. Your daughter is looking forward to this and she needs to get her new school clothes. So . . . back upstairs, into the shower, put yourself together, and we’ll see you on the patio in one hour.”
I wasn’t sure if Isabelle realized she would be wrong to disagree or if she was taken aback at my adamant reaction, but no matter what she thought, she turned around and walked back upstairs.
Haley now jumped up from the sofa, raised her palm in the air for a high five and said, “Thanks.”
After a successful shopping spree which I’m sure included every single store in the mall, I suggested we have dinner at LuLu’s.
We were seated at a table outside. At six in the evening as the sun began to go down, the breeze off the ocean made it just perfect.
Both Isabelle and I ordered a glass of wine as we looked over the menu, and Haley chattered away about the new clothes she’d bought.
I had just decided on the fish selection with a salad when I heard a familiar voice. “Chloe. How nice to see you.”
I looked up into the eyes of Chadwick Price and felt heat radiating up my neck.
“Oh . . . same here. How are you, Chadwick?”
“Fine, just fine,” he said, but I saw his eyes were fixed on Isabelle.
“Oh . . . ah . . . I’d like you to meet Isabelle Wainwright and her daughter, Haley. Isabelle is Gabe’s daughter and this is his granddaughter. They’re visiting with me from Atlanta.”
He reached across the table to shake Isabelle’s hand.
“And this is Chadwick Price . . . a friend of mine.”
“Very nice to meet you,” he told her. I could be wrong, but I thought I saw a spark of interest fly between them as he held on to her a hand a moment longer than necessary.
“Same here,” Isabelle said, a huge smile covering her face. “So do you also live in Ormond Beach?”
He gestured behind him. “Just up A1A in Ormond-by-the-Sea. Not very far from here.”
“Chadwick owns a real estate agency,” I told her.
“Oh, so if I was thinking about relocating here, then you’d be the guy to see,” she said with a flirty tone to her voice.
He laughed and reached into his shirt pocket before passing her a business card. “Yes, that would be me. Here’s my number in case you’re looking for something in the area.”
Isabelle really surprised me by saying, “If you’re all alone, why don’t you join us?”
His glance flew to me and then back to Isabelle. “I’d love to but I’m just here to pick up something to go. I’ve been on the road all day and popped in to bring dinner home. But thank you. I hope I’ll see you again before you leave.”
“That would be nice,” she said before he walked inside the restaurant.
Both Haley and I stared at her.
“What?” she said, looking down as she fooled with the napkin in her lap.
“Mom!” Haley exclaimed. “Were you flirting with him?”
Isabelle was obviously flustered. She laughed as she waved a manicured hand in the air. “Don’t be silly. He just seems like a nice guy. Right, Chloe?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he is.”
We gave the waitress our order and a few minutes later I saw Isabelle smile and wave her hand in the air. I turned to see Chadwick walking toward the parking lot carrying a takeout bag.
Interesting, I thought. Very interesting.
“Thanks for asking Krystina to come over tomorrow for a sleepover,” Haley said as our food arrived. “I don’t think I’ve had a sleepover since I was ten. But . . . I hope she likes me.”
“Of course she’ll like you,” I assured her. “Since she’s only two years older than you, I thought it might be nice for you to have some company in your age group. Actually, I’ve never met her before, but if she’s anything like her mother, you’ll love her.”
When we got home after dinner, I headed to the kitchen to prepare some herbal tea. After a long afternoon of shopping and walking the entire mall, I was ready to settle down to relax and knit.
“Mind if I have some of that?” Isabelle asked.
“Sure,” I said and reached for another mug from the cabinet.
“So . . . how do you know this Chadwick?” she asked.
I explained how we’d met the day I drove over here, that he was the one who’d helped with the flat tire.
“Oh, right. I remember that. He’s the one who stopped to help you? So . . . ah . . . is there anything special going on between you?”
No doubt about it. She was definitely interested in Chadwick Price.
“No. At least I don’t think so. Initially there might have been. We had one dinner together. Strictly platonic. But no . . . nothing going on.” And I realized as soon as I said that, it was true. I had no romantic feelings toward Chadwick and never would. I refrained from explaining to her the real reason why I felt this way and said nothing about his brother, Aaron. This was information she didn’t need to know.
“Why?” I asked, passing her a mug of tea and heading to the living room.
“Oh, just wondering,” she said, curling up in an easy chair. “Nice looking guy.”
I smiled. And you don’t know the half of it, I thought. One of the wealthiest and most eligible bachelors in Volusia County.
“He is,” I said, before Haley bounded down the stairs to join us with Basil close at her heels.
“Mom?” she said, a few minutes later.
“Hmm?” Isabelle mumbled. Her mind was clearly on Chadwick Price.
“Did you mean what you said tonight?”
“About what?”
“When you told that guy that if you were thinking about relocating here he’d be the one to see? Are you really thinking about us moving here?”
Isabelle laughed. “Oh, I seriously doubt that, Haley.”
When Haley remained silent, she asked, “Why? Would you like to move here?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. It is a nice town. The people are friendly. We have the beach nearby. Lots of shopping and things to do.”
“True, but you know I told you when you go back to school next month, I’m going to be looking for a job in the Atlanta area. So once that happens, it might be difficult to just uproot and relocate.”
This was news to me. “I thought you were okay financially,” I said. “I didn’t realize you needed to work.”
“I probably don’t need to. I’m just feeling pretty useless hanging around the house all day. But with my lack of skills, I don’t think a lot of employers will be fighting to hire me.”
“See, Mom, you can really work anywhere. So why not here?”
It was easy to s
ee that Haley had already warmed to the idea of becoming an Ormond Beach resident.
“I don’t know, Haley. Let’s drop it for now.”
I saw the look of disappointment that crossed Haley’s face. “Hey,” I said. “Are you up for a game of Scrabble?”
“Definitely,” she said, jumping up to get the game.
Chapter 35
I was making my bed the following morning when I realized I hadn’t dreamed about the woman in the red evening gown for a while. Maybe all of it had meant nothing and the dreams had ended.
I threw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and headed downstairs to find Haley already waiting for me in the kitchen.
“All set?” I asked, clipping Basil’s leash to his collar.
“Yup, ready for our morning walk.”
One of the reasons I loved walking the beach before seven was because it was fairly empty. We passed a few other walkers and joggers, but there was plenty of space and quiet.
“Do you think my mom might consider us moving here?” Haley asked as she kept up the brisk pace beside me.
“I don’t know, but you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I would. I like it here a lot.”
“But how about your dad? Wouldn’t you miss seeing him?”
She paused a moment before saying, “Well, I don’t see him very much anyway. He cancels out a lot of the weekends we’re supposed to have together.”
I was surprised to hear this. “Oh. Why is that? Is he working?”
“That’s what he says.”
“But you don’t believe him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he’d rather spend time with his girlfriend.”
“Have you met her?”
“No. Never. I’ve asked Dad if I could, but he always makes an excuse. I think he’s ashamed of me and doesn’t want her to meet his fat, ugly daughter.”
I stopped walking and gripped Haley’s shoulders. “Don’t you ever think that, Haley. It’s just not true. Maybe he thinks you’ll resent his girlfriend and blame her for your parents splitting up.”
She shrugged again and we resumed walking.
After a few moments, she said, “I’m not even sure that was the reason they did break up. Mom hinted that he left her for somebody else, but I think they had just outgrown each other. You know, like so many other couples. Most of the kids in my class? Their parents are all divorced. So nobody really gets married and stays together.”
My heart fell. Though she might be partially correct, it made me sad to think that a young woman of thirteen could have such a jaded attitude toward marriage.
“Oh, Haley. That’s just not true. Sure, a lot of couples do get divorced but many others are together for fifty, sixty, and even seventy years. When you find the right person, you’re together forever.”
“Yeah, that’s just it. How on earth do you know beforehand that you have found the right person?”
I was beginning to see that Haley Wainwright was extremely mature for her age. And unfortunately, I had no answer for her.
Marta arrived with her daughter shortly after two. I was happy to see that Haley and Krystina seemed to hit it off immediately and surprised to discover that Krystina was also a knitter.
“Did you teach her to knit?” I asked Marta.
“Yes, about five years ago, and she really enjoys it. I don’t knit as much I’d like to but I’m glad Krystina does so well. She’s eager for your yarn shop to open.”
Isabelle walked into the kitchen and instructed the girls to bring Krystina’s things upstairs before they headed to the patio.
I offered Marta and Isabelle a glass of sun tea that I’d just brought in from outside.
“Oh, that would be nice. Thanks,” Marta said. “But I can’t hang around here too long or Krystina will think I’m spying on her.”
I laughed and poured two glasses. “Isabelle?”
She shook her head and headed to the fridge to remove a bottle of white wine she’d opened the day before. “Oh, no thanks. I’m going to get a glass of wine and go read on the patio.”
I had thought she’d cut back a bit on her wine intake. But maybe not. She had been staying downstairs later in the evening with Haley and me but I was concerned she had a wine stash in her room that she indulged in each night. Certainly nothing wrong with having a glass or two of wine each evening, but hiding it would be cause for concern, so I hoped I was wrong.
The girls came back downstairs and headed outside with their knitting projects.
“Your daughter is beautiful,” I said. And she was—tall, slim, with gorgeous long blond hair and fair skin. “She also seems like a very nice girl.”
Marta nodded. “Yes. I’m very proud of her. It could have all turned out so differently.”
I waited for her to explain.
“My sister knows, of course, and also Mavis and Yarrow. But nobody else.” She paused for a moment. “My daughter—she is the result of rape.”
I inhaled a breath as a sense of déjà vu came over me and I whispered, “Oh.” Suddenly I was a college student checking the calendar and praying I’d get my period on the right day. Luckily, I did.
Marta nodded. “He was the father of the children I cared for. I was a university student and he was a politician in the community. He was involved in many political events in the evenings and on weekends. His wife had died. He needed help and I needed the money. I had always felt a little uncomfortable with him. One night he was very late returning and I knew he had been drinking heavily. The children were asleep and he . . . forced me into his bedroom. Yes, I could have screamed. But I was so scared. I knew he carried a pistol. But most of all, I didn’t want to frighten the children. And so . . .”
“And so,” I said. “Another man took advantage of a woman. I’m so sorry.” I reached across the counter to pat her arm.
“I never went back to his house, and a month later, I knew I was pregnant. I told my parents, and it was decided I would come here to America to be with my sister and her husband. And nobody would know. I would have and keep the baby. That was my choice. Abortion wasn’t an option for me. Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. However, it is allowed in cases of rape. I think that’s a very good thing and I will always strongly support a woman’s right to choose. But for me, I knew what my choice had to be.”
I nodded; I very much agreed on a woman’s right to choose. “Does Krystina know?”
Marta shook her head. “No. She thinks her father was my married university professor. That is what I told her and because he was married, she accepts that she cannot contact him.”
“How brave of you, coming to a strange country, not speaking the language initially, and giving birth to your daughter. I know you had your sister, but it still had to be very difficult.”
“You have no idea,” she said as she blew out a breath of air. “I am not here legally. I am one of the undocumented immigrants you hear about on television and read about in the newspaper. Immigration isn’t just a Latino issue. Polish immigrants are second only to the undocumented Mexican population.”
I let out a gasp. No wonder Marta had seemed uneasy with me at first. “I had no idea.”
She let out a sarcastic chuckle. “No. It’s not something we advertise. I live under the radar. I would love to return to college and finish my degree, but I can’t. I would love to get a driver’s license and drive legally. But I can’t. Most of the money I make from my jobs has to go into savings because I have no medical coverage.”
“Can’t you apply for a green card or citizenship now?”
“It’s too late. I came here in 2000 on a tourist visa. That was the easiest document to get in Poland and I just needed to get out of there. I was three months pregnant by the time I left. My visa only lasted six months here, which was around the time I gave birth to Krystina. I couldn’t take a chance of being deported. I was too scared that I’d be sent back to Poland, and I just couldn’t risk that.
So . . . I did nothing.”
“My God, how sad—your entire story.”
Marta nodded. “And I love this country. I would give anything to become a citizen, but since 2001 it has only become more and more difficult, especially for people who overstayed their visa. But my daughter? I am so happy because she is a citizen of the United States of America. And for that I am grateful.”
I let out a deep sigh. The things we don’t know about people. The secrets that people live with every single day. And yet—they survive. Human beings are always proving the resilience of their nature.
“Have you forgiven Krystina’s father?” I asked
Her eyes locked with mine. “He gave me a precious and cherished gift. How could I not forgive?”
Chapter 36
I was sad to see Isabelle and Haley leave four days later and head back to Atlanta. Although based on various things Isabelle had said or hinted at, I had a feeling that in time the two of them just might be returning permanently.
It made me happy that Haley wasn’t quite the same girl when she left. I think she was committed to healthy eating and an exercise program when she returned home. In just two weeks she morphed from a sulky, unhappy teen to one who was willing to make some changes. A few days before they left she’d asked if Helen could cut and style her hair. That had been a good choice. She’d emerged from the salon sporting a chin-length, sassy, modern cut.
They had just pulled out of the driveway when my cell rang. I was pleased to see Henry’s name on the caller ID.
I laughed as I answered. “How is it that you always seem to know the perfect time to call?”
His laughter came across the line. “I’m not sure, but I’m happy that’s the case. Did your company leave?”
“Yeah, just a few minutes ago. The house is empty again and Basil is already moping around.”
“Aww, poor little guy. I’m sure they’ll get back soon for another visit.”
“Well, I could be wrong, but it seems that Isabelle is giving some thought to relocating here. Since her divorce, I think she’s been looking for ways to make a change in her life. And Haley has already told her she’s all for the idea.”