Find Me

by Tory Jane

  “No. However, you seem to know a lot about her. Have you met her?”

  Cecelia laughs, “Florence is a big city. It would be crazy if I met Sofia there.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck go up and the warning lights start to flash again. Something is wrong here. I’ve never talked about Charlie, said his mother’s name, or mentioned that she’s from Florence. I don’t think Allison knows her name or that she is from Florence, Italy. From what my mother told me last night, Jack didn’t talk about it. Did Frasier tell her and she gossiped with Mrs. Sharpe?

  “Yes, I heard you mention that to Charlie. Jack was not pleased.”

  “What’s the big deal? I asked Charlie about his real mom. It makes sense now that he said he didn’t have a mother yet, but that he wanted you to be his mom.”

  “Why would you ask a toddler a question like that?”

  She bites her lip, to hide the smile she’s fighting. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I don’t have any experience with kids.”

  I've never seen Cecelia this way. Her behavior is bizarre and erratic. Is she high now? I swear she knows Sofia. Her friend from Florence who happens to be in town?

  Cecelia starts giggling and changes the subject.

  “Aren't your parents best friends? They must be excited. I bet they're already planning a wedding. Ha! You're in the same boat I am.”

  “They are excited. They’ve been planning this since we were kids. They say they always knew we would be together.

  “I shouldn’t tell you this, but we've never had a problem combining love and desire. He’s quite generous. Even when we were younger, Jack has always believed that women come first and often.” I sigh. “Maybe Jack should talk to Mark?” I wink at her.

  Why did I tell her that? I want to get a dig in. I'm angry and annoyed with her.

  “That would be weird, and Mark would never take advice from another guy.”

  I look at her as if she’s crazy. “That was a joke. I would never ask Jack to do that.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course. So, first and often, eh? How often?”

  “I’m not going to tell you that. That’s inappropriate. We need to get back to work.”

  “Come on? Please?”

  I give her a casual shrug. “No. I will say honesty and communication are essential. The most important thing is choosing a man you want and love without reservation. You have to love his smell, his voice, his laugh, and the way he holds you. A man with whom you feel safe and loved. One who cherishes you. When you find that? You hold on tight.”

  I am fucking with this bitch’s head. I shouldn’t be talking about this. It is inappropriate.

  She looks lost. “I don’t feel those things.”

  “I shouldn't have said anything. I’m sure you and Mark will discover it all together.”

  “I don't think we will.”

  She doesn't look sad. She seems resigned. I don't know if I've done her a favor or hurt her.

  “Here comes your gorgeous man.” She gives me the once over. “I can’t wrap my head around how you managed to snare Jack?”

  If she says it like that one more time, I swear I’m going to bitch slap her. Instead, I grin and pat her hand. “Bless your heart. We all end up with the man we deserve.”

  Jack rushes in with our lunches. “I left Charlie in the car. Gotta run. Enjoy. I love you, and I'll see you later.”

  We both call out, “Thank you.” and he waves and runs out the door.

  “You go eat first. We’ll switch off.” Please get the fuck away from me.

  “Awesome.” She grabs the bag of food. “I’m starving.”

  I regret that. I may have taunted a mentally unstable girl. I need to get her out of here.

  Sofia

  Dinner with the Cliffs. I don't want to miss a minute of it. Time with Charlie and then a discussion of Jack's meeting with Sofia. I haven't heard from Jack. There's no telling what his mood will be.

  After dropping my car off at home and freshening up, I walk to the Cliffs' house. From the side of the house, I see a woman on the piazza. She is leaning on the railing, directly in front of the door, staring daggers. From the back, she is a thin, chic woman with shoulder length curly blonde hair in a black sheath dress, black tights, and black stiletto heels. Compared to her, I look like a child playing dress-up. Other than her hair, she’s remarkably similar to the baby mama I imagined.

  Do I keep walking, or march up and ring the doorbell? To get to the door, I would have to go through the privacy door on the street that leads up to the piazza, walk toward her and stand in front of her to ring the doorbell, or walk past her to the kitchen door at the back of the house. Their house is massive. That’s a long walk. I'm a coward in no frame of mind for a confrontation. I casually stroll around the corner.

  Rounding the corner, I call Jack.

  “Belle? I’ve been trying to reach you. My calls are still ringing straight to an automated voice mailbox. Are you on your way?”

  “Hey Jack, I'm here. A woman is on the piazza, learning on the railing directly in front of door. She looks beautiful and terrifying. I am a coward and kept walking. What do I do?”

  “Shit. Are you fucking kidding me? She’s still there? I should call the police. You belong here. You can walk up to the front door and ring the bell. I’ll be waiting for you and we will both ignore her. Otherwise use the back gate off the alley. No judgment either way.”

  “Back gate it is. Come let me in? I’m on my way”

  Turning left, I walk down the back alley and wait at the gate.

  Jack is waiting. It's as if he's on speed, talking rapid-fire and as taut as a piano wire.

  “Give me a cigarette. Please.”

  I light one for each of us, lean back, and study him. “You’re freaking out. How can I help? Xanax?”

  “You being here helps. You have a Xanax?” He’s wild-eyed. “Seriously.”

  “Jack. Is it that bad?” I hand him a pill and take one myself.

  “I'm guessing that is Sofia on the piazza?”

  “Why is she still here? Why won’t she leave? Maybe we do need to call the police? I don’t want to make a scene while Charlie’s in the house.”

  “Breathe, love. We’ll stand here for a minute and let the meds take effect. I take it the meeting didn’t go well today?”

  He sighs. “That’s an understatement.”

  “She is trespassing. If your dad thinks you need to call the police, I’ll take Charlie to my house.”

  He stops pacing. He’s calming down. “You’d do that?”

  “Of course. Are my parents already here?”

  “Oh, shit. No. Your parents should arrive soon. What if she confronts them when they walk up on the piazza? We have to get her the hell out of here. I don't understand what she hopes to accomplish by standing there?”

  “Would you like me to contact them or are you ready to go inside and strategize? Is the nanny here? She can take Charlie upstairs. You have our support, Jack. My mother is so angry, she’d let her have it and throw her out herself if she has to. And my dad would help.”

  “Miss Margaret is with Charlie in the kitchen, feeding him dinner. He refuses to go upstairs until he sees you. You’ve put a spell on that kid. You have that effect. I’ve been under your spell since I was a kid myself.” He kisses my forehead and smooths my hair.

  “I love you, Bella. I’m so sorry to put you through this. This is not how things were supposed to go. I did not expect this development.”

  “We could go talk to her, reasonably. Maybe she needs to feel heard. She’s alone.”

  “I heard her today. The whole office heard her. She didn’t listen to a word we said. My father stayed calm and lawyerly. She threw all the documents in his face and claimed they were fake. She screamed that I stole her baby from her.”

  “Do you think it’s like our situation? Do you think her parents intervened and kept everything from her?”

  “How would that change the fact that she ab
andoned her newborn without ever touching him? We did our due diligence.

  “She’s married now. She claims she’s ready to be a mother. She’s threatening to hire a lawyer and says she’s not leaving until Charlie returns to Italy with her.”

  Flummoxed, I start pacing and light another cigarette. None of this makes sense. Sofia never bonded with Charlie. Why now?

  “Jack? How did she know how to find you? Your home address?”

  He looks genuinely baffled. “I hadn’t thought of that. How did she know where I live?” He’s sifting through his memories. “The last time I sent her pictures was in Chicago, and as always the letter was returned, unopened. I haven’t contacted her since I’ve been back in Charleston. How would she know I moved back? My home address?

  “If she googled my father or me, she could find our places of employment. Which, incidentally, would confirm that she did receive the court filings. Our home address? How would she know I am living with my parents? Has she been stalking me?”

  “Would your office or your father’s firm give his home address to a charming Italian woman?”

  “Charming? She’s a fucking viper.”

  “Trust me. Every woman knows how to be charming when she wants something.

  “It’s crazy, but I think Cecelia is somehow involved. Her behavior today was bizarre. You heard the comments she made. Later she used Sofia’s name. When I confronted her, she claimed that she knew about Sofia and Charlie, and where she was from, because she overheard her mother and your mother talking.”

  “I never told my mother. My father knows, obviously. Maybe he told her. She and Mrs. Sharpe aren’t close friends, though. Does your mother know?”

  “No, your mom never told her.”

  “Why would she tell Mrs. Sharpe about my personal life and not her best friend?”

  “We should go inside and discuss this with your family.”

  He nods, takes my hand, and braces his shoulders. She is no longer on the piazza. We breathe a sigh of relief and enter through the kitchen door.

  She is sitting at the kitchen table holding Charlie in her lap, surrounded by our parents, and Miss Margaret. Everyone is stone-faced. My mother looks like she's been crying. She must have been the one to let her in the house.

  Jack’s face turns white and then red with anger. He clenches his jaw, and drops my hand.

  Charlie sees us enter and jumps out of Sofia's lap. “Daddy. Bella. Where you been?” He runs to us and reaches for Jack. Jack scoops him up. He looks like he's about to sprint away with Charlie in his arms. Charlie must sense the tension. “Daddy? Hugs. Kisses.” He kisses Jack and then reaches for me. Jack lets him crawl into my arms. He buries his head in my neck and cuddles with me. “Waiting for you, Bella.”

  “I’m here now, Charlie. I’m here. I’m not leaving you.”

  He sighs and yawns. “No, leave. No more stranger lady. She leaves? Please? Make her leave. She scare me, Bella. Is she lady Miss Celia tell me about? Don’t like Miss Celia.”

  “She’s leaving, sweet Charlie. I’m sorry she scared you.”

  I look over his head, and Sofia is glaring at me. Jack puts his arm around me. We stand firm. United. A family. Charlie falls asleep in my arms during the standoff.

  Jack says quietly, “Miss Margaret, please take Charlie upstairs and put him to bed.”

  She takes his dead weight from me and holds him close. I know this woman would fight to protect Charlie, too. She gives me a reassuring smile and nods at me. She approves.

  Sofia follows him with her eyes but says nothing. She sits with perfect posture, elegance oozing from every pore.

  I feel disheveled. Less than. Like a pathetic aging hippie in dress up clothes. She and Jack look like they belong together. I am the interloper here.

  She turns her icy blue eyes back to Jack and me. I shrink in fear.

  Jack stands straighter to confront her. “What are you doing here, Sofia? You are not welcome in this house. You are trespassing.”

  She shrugs a slim shoulder. “You cannot keep me from my child.”

  “The hell I can’t. As we explained to you today, your parental rights were terminated after you abandoned your newborn son.”

  “I change my mind.”

  “Today is the first time you've ever touched my child, and you had to lie and sneak your way in here to do it. Did you tell him who you are?”

  “I have doctor who will testify that I suffered from—what do you call it in English? Post-partum depression.”

  Jack speaks through clenched teeth. “There was nothing post-partum about it. You never wanted him. I had to beg you not to abort my child. We had a deal. I begged you not to terminate the pregnancy, and you agreed to give him to me. Charlie is my child. You were nothing more than a miserable bitch of an incubator.”

  She dismisses him with a wave of her hand. “Hormones,” she sighs.

  “Answer me. Did you tell Charlie who you are?”

  “Jack. Such drama. Of course, I did. He should know who his real mother is.” She directs this comment to me.

  Jack lurches toward her. I’m afraid he’s going to strangle her or at the very least, pick her up and throw her out. As much as I’d like to see that, I grab his hand firmly and keep him in check.

  She doesn’t flinch. I have never witnessed a woman maintain such composure. She reaches her perfectly manicured hand into her elegant Prada pocketbook and pulls out a cigarette case. She lights a cigarette and glances around at the crowd that surrounds her. She has the nerve to look bored. No, not bored, disdainful.

  Allison has had enough. She does not tolerate rudeness. She approaches her, plucks the cigarette from her hand. “You may smoke outside on the piazza. Not in my house.”

  Sofia rolls her eyes at her. “Americans.” She strolls to the back door, glaring at us through the screened door and blowing her smoke into the house. Allison picks up her pocketbook, opens the door, and tosses it outside like it’s trash. She then closes and locks the door and pulls the shutters closed.

  Allison locked her out of the house. I'm impressed. She looks to the rest of us. “Please, sit. Feel free to smoke, I know you all want to. I'll get drinks for us.” She returns with a tray of liquor and mixers, glasses, ashtrays, and an ice bucket. The unfazed hostess.

  Sofia is pounding on the door, screaming in Italian. Allison calmly calls through the door, “If you insist on behaving this way, I’ll be forced to call the police. I suggest you leave. Your attorney can contact Mr. Cliff at his office.”

  We are eerily quiet. The only sound is Sofia roaring in a fury outside.

  I pour myself a Crown and ginger and light a cigarette. Jack joins me with a bourbon on the rocks.

  My mother shakes herself out of her stupor and helps Allison gather up snacks and napkins.

  Jack demands harshly, “What happened before Belle and I came in? Why were you all standing around watching her hold my child?”

  Mr. Cliff turns to him. “Watch your tone, son. We didn’t want to upset Charlie any more than necessary.” He grabs his phone. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to step outside and insist that she leave. I’m sorry, Allison, but I need to involve the police.”

  Jack’s mother kisses him. “My hero. Do what needs to be done.”

  He dials 911. “Yes, this is Frasier Cliff. We have an intruder on the premises and require police assistance. Yes, yes. It’s a woman who has been stalking us. She is trespassing and harassing my family. Thank you.” Mr. Cliff is a prominent member of the community. I have no doubt that an officer will be here in minutes.

  He then walks to the front door and waits for the police. My father joins him.

  I can tell Jack is torn. He wants to be with his father, but he also wants to know what Sofia told Charlie.

  He pleads, “Please tell me what happened. What did Sofia say to him?”

  Allison responds, “You saw her. She's one of the coldest women I've ever met. When Lillian and Thom arrived, she swooped in
as if she owned the place. She picked Charlie up, held him in her lap, and announced, ‘Charlie, your father probably hasn't told you about me, but I am your momma. I live in a country called Italy, and I’m going to take you there. Would you like that?'

  “It was bizarre. That woman doesn't have a clue how to talk to a child. Charlie sat there, terrified, asking for you and Belle. Other than holding him in her lap, she barely looked at him. Sofia didn't hug him or comfort him. She doesn't want a child. What is she doing? I’m sure it didn’t help that all of us stood in a circle around them staring at her, shocked.”

  Jack jumps up and rushes to the front door. The three men now stand on the sidewalk in front of the house waiting for the police.

  Sofia is still screaming and cursing outside, pounding on the door.

  Allison, my mother, and I sit at the kitchen table in silence. My mother takes Jack's chair, and his bourbon, lights a cigarette, and puts an arm around me.

  I can't stand it anymore. Sofia must stop. I walk to the kitchen door and step outside with my drink and cigarette.

  I speak casually, “Sofia? What are you doing? What do you want? Do you realize they’ve called the police?”

  She spits at me, on me. Then screeches, “Shut up, brutta puttana.”

  “What did you call me? I caught the ‘bitch’ part.”

  “You.” She points her finger in my face. “You are not bella. You are an ugly bitch.

  “I know about you. Jack's precious Bella Belle. The puttana he dreamed about, and wrote to instead of loving me. You will never be my son’s mother.”

  “This is about me? You didn’t want your own son, but no other else can have him either? Are you insane?”

  The men must hear her yelling and rush around the corner, an officer in tow.

  “Belle? Are you okay?” Jack rushes to my side.

  “She spat on me and called me an ugly bitch, other than that, I’m dandy. I wanted to speak with her reasonably, try to calm her down. Obviously, that was stupid.”

  The officer steps up. “This woman spat on you?”

  I point to the spot on my dress. “Yes, sir.”

  “Ma’am, you need to come with me. I can charge you with criminal trespassing and assault on Ms. Tucker.”