Authors: Claire Adams
"It looks like
she was in Florida the last time she wrote," he said pulling the letter
out of the envelope and finding a blank sheet of paper.
He turned it over looking for writing and
said, "There's nothing here."
"Is there
anything on the other sheets?' I asked as I walked over and grabbed one. It was
postmarked Kentucky and inside was a sheet of hotel stationary with nothing
written on it. I looked at the envelope and saw Mama's name and our address
clearly written in Molly's looped handwriting, but there was nothing else.
"What the hell?"
"We should
ask Mama," Patrick said flatly. "She'll know what this all
means."
"When can we
visit her?" I asked.
"They told me
that it would be another couple of weeks," he said. "She hates the
treatment facility and is fighting them the whole way. They told me it was best
if family didn't visit for a while."
"But we need
some answers!" I cried. "She can't just hide in rehab."
"Maybe that's
just what she's trying to do," he said. "Maybe she doesn't want to
tell us what's going on or what happened to Molly."
"I want to
know, Patrick," I said, determined to confront my mother and find out the
truth. "Riley deserves to know, and we do, too."
Patrick stood
silently for a long time and gave me an almost imperceptible nod.
We would find out
what happened to Molly, and then leave the past where it belonged.
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
I'd
been finalizing
the last parts of my plan for dinner that night. I'd wanted to do a quick run
through of how the evening's events would unfold and go through the information
I'd gathered.
"Where'd Leah
go?" I asked Norma.
"Darlin’, I
haven't got a clue," she shrugged as she continued opening the mail.
"Not my day to watch the girl."
I sighed loudly
and headed down to the warehouse where the best I could get out of Burt was the
fact that Leah had said she'd had some errands to run. Her office was empty and
there was nothing written on her calendar. I tried her cell phone, but it went
straight to voicemail.
"Dammit,
Leah!" I muttered as I took the back stairs up to my office. "Where
are you?"
I marched back
into the office and gathered up the files I'd been working on before heading
out. I'd asked Norma to join us for dinner, partly as a witness, but also as a
backup for all the information we'd spent the week gathering. I knew that when
Lincoln and Sloan started pushing my buttons, I'd need backup in the form of
some logical, fact-based input that neither one of them could dispute. Norma
and Leah were my backups, but without Leah here to go through the information,
Norma had become a very important part of the plan.
"You'll be
there before eight, right?" I said as I walked through the front office
where Norma was taking care of the last bits of the day's business.
"You can
count on me, darlin'," she said with a wide smile. "Wouldn't miss
little Miss Snotty Pants getting her comeuppance for the world."
"Norma,
you're a piece of work," I laughed.
"Just remember that you and Leah are my backups if things get
rough."
"Darlin',
I've got family, too," she said with a knowing nod of the head.
"We'll have your back."
I had Jimmy make
two stops on the way home and then drop me off before sending him back to the
office in case Leah showed up. I cursed myself for not having hired a separate
car for her when she and Riley had moved in, and I made a mental note to fix
that as soon as possible. If I'd done it sooner, I'd know where she was right
now and wouldn't be worrying about whether she was going to show up or not.
My mother had
prepared the dining room for our guests, and it looked just as I had hoped it
would.
"You've
outdone yourself, Mother," I said kissing her cheek as she arranged
flowers in a vase on the sideboard.
"I'm glad you
approve," she smiled. "I did my best to set up what you wanted. I've
got a kitchen full of people preparing dinner, and the cook is not very happy
about that."
"I'll make it
up to her," I said as I scanned the room and made sure to take note of
where my mother had set the place cards. "Norma will be here by
seven-thirty to do a quick run through of the program, but I can't find Leah
anywhere. Have you heard from her?"
"No, dear, I
haven't," my mother said. "But I wouldn't worry. She'll be here. Of
that I'm sure."
"Well, if
you're sure, then I'll trust your instincts," I said warily. I wasn't
entirely convinced, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now.
I ran into Riley
as I was just about to head upstairs to shower and dress. She was red cheeked
and excited about something she held in her hand as she raced through the
downstairs toward the dining room and my mother.
"Betty!
Betty! Look what I found!" she called as she collided with me. "Oof!
Sorry, Jack!"
"What have
you got there?" I asked looking down at her cupped hands.
"A
frog!" she cried as she opened her hands and a tiny green reptile crawled
up her fingers before launching itself at me. "Jack! Watch out!"
Instinctively I
reached up to brush it off my shirt, but the frog was a step ahead of me. It
launched itself into the air again before attaching to the entryway wall.
"My
frog!" Riley cried as she ran to grab the little green jumper. Before she
could put her hands over it, it had climbed up the wall out of her reach.
"Jack, he's getting away!"
"Indeed, he
is," I grinned as I stepped around her and quickly put a cupped hand over
the frog to prevent its escape. "Help me out here and get a sheet of paper
or something flat so I can scoop him up without losing him again."
Riley ran to the
front entryway and pulled a page from one of her notebooks. She rushed back and
handed it to me.
I quickly slipped it
under the frog as I kept my hand covering it. Riley followed me to the back
door and opened it. We walked out to the wall surrounding the patio where I
released the stunned creature. He sat breathing and blinking for a few moments
as if trying to get his bearings, and then launched himself off the wall and became
one with the bright green grass on the lawn.
"Nice
rescue," Riley said, sticking her hand out for me to shake. "You're a
hero."
"Uh, not so
much," I said, gripping her hand and shaking it firmly.
"To that frog
you are," she said solemnly, looking out at the lawn before adding,
"And to me and Leah, too."
"You like
living here?" I asked, sidestepping my heroism—real or imagined.
"I love
living here," Riley said. "It's calm, and there's always food in the
fridge. No one yells at me to take them to the bodega for beer or cigarettes,
and I don't have to fight with anyone to get my school work done."
"I see,"
I said, trying to imagine what kind of life she'd been living before they came
to stay with us. "So, you wouldn't mind staying here?"
"I'd like that
very, very much," Riley said hesitating a little. "But I'm not sure
if Leah would like it. You might want to ask her."
"You don't
think she'd want to live here?" I asked.
"I don't
think she would want to leave Gram all alone," Riley shrugged and then grinned,
"But what do I know? I'm a kid."
I laughed as she
ran off to her room, leaving me standing on the patio, holding a sheet of
paper. I stared out at the perfectly manicured lawn.
"Something
funny?" Leah said as she walked out onto the patio.
"You're
back," I said trying to not show my irritation that she'd been out of
touch all day. I looked closely at her. Her eyes were red, and
she looked somber. "Everything
okay?"
"Yeah, fine.
Sorry I was gone all day. I had to take care of some things," she said, as
she looked me over. "What's with the paper?"
"I was a hero
to a frog Riley let loose in the house," I said as I folded the sheet and
tucked it in my jacket pocket.
"I see,"
she nodded in a way that indicated her thoughts were elsewhere. "I know I
missed the run down for this evening's dinner. Do you want to go through it
now?"
I looked at her
and realized she was in no shape to do a run-through of the plan. What she
needed was a hot shower and some time to pull herself together before dinner.
"Nah, go
shower and get ready for dinner," I said casually. "You know the gist
of it, so I'm sure it'll all be fine. Besides, Norma is coming to dinner, too.
She can act as another backup in case things get out of hand."
Leah nodded, then
turned and went upstairs to get ready. I had the urge to call to her and ask
what had happened, but I stopped myself.
We didn't have
time for an emotional crisis with Sloan and Lincoln arriving in an hour.
*
Norma
,
my mother, and I were having a drink in the living room, trying hard not to
talk about what was about to happen. I didn't want anything to tip off our
guests.
I focused on maintaining light
chatter while we waited for Leah to come downstairs and join us.
"Oh my!"
Norma drawled. "My God, girl, you clean up good!"
I turned and felt
my breath catch in my throat as Leah entered the room. She was wearing a
midnight blue velvet dress that hugged her curves and made her eyes look even
bluer than usual. She'd put on mascara and lipstick and pulled her hair up away
from her face in the front. It flowed down her back.
"You look
lovely," I said as she crossed the room and accepted a glass of champagne
from my mother.
"Indeed you
do," my mother said. "I'm glad I told my seamstress to take that
dress in a little more!"
"Thank you so
much, Betty," Leah said as she hugged her. She turned and looked at me as
she held her glass up. "And thank you, Jack. Thank you for organizing this
evening and for making sure that all of us are here tonight."
"Thank you,
darling," my mother said as she hugged me. "This will be such a nice
evening."
I felt slightly
guilty that I was about to cause my brother a whole world of pain, but I also
knew that he deserved it. I'd told Leah that we'd keep the affair to ourselves
since there was really no reason to destroy Jessie in front of everyone.
Besides, I had a feeling that once Lincoln was no longer useful, Sloan would
drop him like a hot potato and move on to the next rich and powerful man who
could help fuel her career. She was ruthless that way.
A few minutes
later, Martin led our guests into the living room where I greeted each of them
with a glass of champagne and a lively toast.
"Well, isn't
this a lovely evening you've planned, Jack," Sloan said as she linked her
arm with mine and pressed her body against me. She was wearing a form fitting
dress that looked like liquid gold stretched across her perfectly proportioned
body. I wanted to shove her away, but I knew better than to do that before the
main event. So, I smiled and nodded.
"This is
quite the dinner you've set up, Jack," Lincoln commented as he peeked into
the dining room and saw the elaborate set up. "It's good of you to invite
us."
"Of course, I
can't think of anyone I'd rather have here for such a momentous occasion,"
I said as I moved away from Sloan and grabbed the champagne bottle.
"Tonight's a night for celebrating! More champagne!"
I refilled the
glasses as I kept an eye on Sloan who had sidled up to my mother and was
quietly whispering in her ear. Despite knowing about Sloan's treachery, my
mother played it off like the consummate actress I knew she was. I cast a quick
glance at Leah, and she smiled before turning her attention back to Jessie's
latest story about Joey and Mimi's afternoon at the zoo. To her credit, Norma
stayed on the outskirts of the conversations and simply observed what was
happening. I flashed her a grateful smile, but she just nodded and turned her
attention back to the conversations.
When dinner was
ready to be served, we moved into the dining room and took our seats around the
beautiful table my mother had prepared. The candles were lit, giving the room a
romantic glow as they reflected off the beautiful china my mother had chosen
for the table.
I sat at the head
of the table with Sloan to my right and Lincoln on my left. My mother sat at
the other end of the table with Leah on one side and Norma on the other,
positioned as the audience. All through dinner, Sloan kept slipping her hand
into my lap and squeezing my thigh. I knew she was anticipating the moment I
made my big announcement, and this genuinely made me smile at her throughout
the meal.
When the last
plates had been cleared away, I stood at the head of the table holding my wine
glass.
"I'm so
grateful you could all be here for this momentous occasion," I began
smiling at everyone as I looked around the table. "It was a terrible time
losing Pop, and then when I was forced into the leadership position at Baby
Steps, I wasn't happy. However, we found a way to make it work, and now the
company is growing stronger by the day thanks to the hard work of one woman who
has put in more time and energy than I could have ever imagined."
Sloan beamed
brightly next to me as she looked around the table and then back up at me as I
continued.
"There's no
way I could have done as much as I've done without her, and I feel deeply
indebted to her for standing with me as we figured out a way to overcome our
latest challenge. Tonight's dinner is my way of thanking her for being such a
team player and for contributing so much more to the effort at Baby Steps than
I'd ever hoped she would. Her business acumen and her ability to work with the
people who make Baby Steps great go above and beyond the call of duty. As a
result I'm thrilled to announce that I'm promoting Leah to Senior Vice
President of Distribution."
Norma, Jessie and
my mother immediately began clapping as Leah looked at me shocked by the
announcement. Sloan's face was a mask of disbelief and anger, but she quickly
hid it and put on a wide, fake smile as she politely clapped along with
everyone else. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lincoln's confusion,
and I smiled as I held my glass high and said, "To Leah!"