Authors: Renee Flagler
“Yes! Thanks.” Nadalia's answer was a lot more cordial.
Once the door was closed, Nadalia spun the vase around and examined the exotic mix of flowers. She smiled at first and then covered her face and criedâagain.
Chapter 32
Pearson
Pearson lost count of how many times Niles had called her this morning. Now, he was checking on her again as if she were on suicide watch. Pearson had no intention of killing herself. Interestingly enough, she felt a part of her had come alive when her mother reached out to her and then that same part wanted to die when her mother delivered that dreadful blow about her impending death.
Niles had taken the next day off and Pearson spent it crying in his arms. He went back to work the following day and Pearson spent most of that day drinking herself numb. She couldn't wait for Niles to leave.
Now she worked from home because her eyes were too swollen to face the public and her head felt like it was floating inside of a heavy cloud.
Already, she had drunk half the bottle of vodka she opened in lieu of breakfast. It was her balm. She didn't feel pain in the same way when she was drunk. Vodka made her feel lighter and whenever the heaviness returned, threatening to weigh her down, she'd take another drink.
Niles wouldn't let her drink the day he stayed with her and every time she broke down, he'd pull her into a warm embrace. Though she appreciated his effort, the refuge his arms provided didn't soothe her the same way. In his arms, she cried, but when she drank, she forgot.
Pearson's cell phone rang and she sent the call to voice mail and it rang again. Pearson didn't feel like speaking to anyone and directed her assistant to respond to most of her calls through email, which had become her preferred method of contact for the day. Despite being intoxicated, she was handling business just fine. Her employees got the message, stopped calling, and started emailing and texting her all of their questions and updates.
Pearson's phone rang again and she rolled her eyes. Whoever this was wouldn't relent. She at least looked at who was calling and saw Candice's number. She felt a tightening in her chest.
Holding her hand over the phone, she deliberated with herself. Tears had become her natural response. She'd been ignoring her mother's calls because not only did she not know what to say, she didn't know what to feel.
When the phone vibrated again, Pearson turned the phone over and continued working.
After a while, she got an email from Niles asking her to call him because she wasn't answering her phone. She made that call.
“Hey, babe,” she puffed up her voice so it wouldn't sound so heavy.
“I've been trying to call you. You had me worried.”
“Sorry. I was wrapped up in work. I'm trying to tie up all the loose ends for this benefit. I only have a few weeks left.”
“I know. How are you doing?”
“Okay.”
“We are playing at the restaurant in the Hamptons tonight. Why don't you come with me? We'll have some special guests and Mom and Dad would love to see you.”
Pearson fished for a reason to say no. She felt better being alone with her bottle. Suddenly, she remembered. “Wait!”
“What?” Niles responded.
“Aw shoot! I think tonight is our girls night out.”
“With who?”
“Nadalia, Ryan and Vonita.”
“Perfect! You should go. It will be good for you to get out.”
Pearson didn't completely agree, but would consider it. Then she thought about it. “Yeah.” She didn't quite offer a definitive answer.
“Oh, and your mother called me. She said she was trying to call you too, and didn't get an answer. I told her that when you're working, you sometimes get in a zone and you don't take calls.”
“Okay. I'll call her back,” Pearson lied.
Pearson reached for her glass and took another gulp of her vodka.
She heard Niles sigh. “Don't forget. She's worried about you.” Pearson rolled her eyes. “I am too. I've got to go, but you better answer my call the next time or I'm coming home,” Niles threatened and she believed him. “I'll be home a little early anyway so I can get ready for our set later tonight.”
“Okay.”
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you back,” Pearson said and heard Niles toss her a kiss through the phone.
“We'll get through this. We can get through anything.”
Pearson appreciated his support, but wasn't sure how true his statement was. She had no idea how to get through this. Turning her phone back over, she worked for a little while longer before deciding that she would go ahead and get together with the girls. However, in order to do that, she'd need to see if she could be squeezed in for a facial. Her face and eyes were far too swollen to go out with that bunch and not be subject to a host of questions and she wasn't ready to talk about her mother with anyone.
Pearson sent one last email to her assistant letting her know she was headed off to appointments and wouldn't be available for the rest of the day. Then, she headed to her bedroom, washed her face and applied a light coat of liner and mascara to mask some of the puffiness. She called up the spa to see if her regular girl was available for a massage and facial. She was able to be squeezed in, but would have to get to the spa in the next half hour.
Pearson retrieved a travel mug from the cabinet and filled it to the brim with ice and vodka and headed out the door. She nearly dropped it along with her purse when she opened the door and found Candice standing on her steps.
“What...what are you doing here?” Pearson felt like a little girl caught doing something naughty. “I'm about to leave.”
“We need to talk, honey.”
Pearson cringed when Candice said 'honey.' “How did you know I was home?” she wondered aloud.
“Niles told me. I called him when you were ignoring my calls.”
“I wasn't ignoring...” Candice gave Pearson the side eye. “I was working.”
“I know, sweetheart. I work a lot, too.”
“I'm sorry, but now is not a good time. I have an appointment.” Candice looked at her watch. “And if I don't get going, I'll miss it.”
Candice released a long sigh. “Okay. Call me when you get back. If you don't, I'm going to show back up.”
Pearson's shoulders slumped. “Fine. I'll call you. But I won't have much time then either because I have plans tonight.”
“No problem. It won't take all night.”
“Fine.” Pearson stepped outside and turned her back to her mother to lock the door. “See you later, Ma,” she said as she hastened to her car.
Pearson pulled out as Candice stood in her yard watching. She wondered how she could avoid running into her later that day as well. She just needed a little more time. Pearson opened her travel mug and downed half of the vodka, winced at the large gulp and drove off.
Chapter 33
Ryan
Ryan was all cried out and had spent the last few days avoiding contact with everyone, including Anderson until he left an angry message on her cell phone, telling her she'd better call him ASAP or else. Ryan chuckled at this audacity and purposely took at least another hour to call him back.
“Hello!” Anderson was obviously still angry.
“What's up?” Ryan's response was nonchalant.
“Where are you? I've been calling you. Why aren't you answering your phone?”
“I was taking a nap.”
Anderson released something that sounded like a grunt. “I don't like it when you don't answer when I call.”
In her head, Ryan repeated his words and then said, “You never answer my calls,” under her breath.
“What did you say?” Anderson snapped at her.
“Nothing.”
“Listen. We are all wrapped up here. I'll be home tomorrow.”
Ryan was barely listening as he made awkward small talk. She realized how much their communication had diminished. She figured she might as well try her hand at being a little more firm.
“Andy!” she said, interrupting him.
“What!”
“I saw those pictures of you in that paper.” Ryan's lip trembled as she spoke. She couldn't even recall the name of the tabloid.
“What the hell are you talking about, Ryan?”
“I saw the pictures, you're on the cover with that woman from the movie and inside you're at the beach together. I saw them. It was embarrassing.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Yes, you do. I'm not going to put up with this anymore Anderson.” Ryan felt strength coming from somewhere inside. “I'm tired of this.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Ryan stayed quiet for a moment and started pacing. “I'm just saying.” She heard Anderson suck his teeth. “What about the lady in the restaurant?”
“What? Are we back to that again?”
“I was there, Anderson.”
At first he didn't respond. “You were where, Ryan?”
“At Tao, last week. I saw you myself.”
Again, Anderson didn't respond right away and she heard him breathing hard into the phone. “How could you have seen me in Tao, Ryan?”
She knew she was taking a risk admitting that she was in Manhattan. Right now she was less concerned about getting scolded and more concerned about the truth.
“What were you doing in Manhattan?”
“What were you doing in New York, in a restaurant with another woman?”
“Ryan!” she heard a big bang as if he'd punched a wall or tossed the phone. “Don't play with me, answer my question.”
“Why can't you answer mine?” She enjoyed her new boldness.
“I was working. Now answer me.”
“You came that close to home and didn't even call your own wife?” Ryan was doing well and proud of it.
“I'm not doing this with you. I'll see you tomorrow and I want to see how much mouth you have when we are standing face-to-face.”
He called her on her boldness and she felt her confidence deflate. She realized that he'd hung up on her and she swallowed hard. If she wasn't pregnant, she'd have a drink. In all that audacious talking, she hadn't thought about what she would have done if he were in front of her. She almost didn't want him to come home.
Ryan put her phone on the charger and started getting ready for her night out with the girls. Their dinner couldn't come soon enough. Her nerves were frazzled and hanging out with them would be sure to help calm her down. Too bad she couldn't ask them to come back home with her so they could be there when Anderson arrived.
Ryan dressed for the night and left the house. They weren't scheduled to meet for quite some time, but Ryan felt like she was suffocating and needed to get out. She could already feel Anderson's rage.
She arrived an hour before the other girls and sat at the bar drinking seltzer water with olives until the other ladies arrived one by one. Pearson was the last to show up and they were seated. Ryan had prepped the waitress before Nadalia, Vonnie and Pearson arrived, telling her to bring her seltzer water in a martini glass with olives whenever they ordered drinks. She wasn't ready to explain why she wasn't drinking.
“So we made it to round two. Are your husbands happy? I know mine is,” Nadalia said.
Ryan couldn't help but stare at her. She'd never seen Nadalia wear so much make-up. She looked away when Nadalia turned in her direction. Not sure if she had caught her looking, Ryan complimented her to avoid being embarrassed. “Nadalia, you have on make-up tonight.”
“Yeah. Been trying some new things lately. I'm trying to master the smoky eye thing. I love the way it looks on people.”
“Yeah. You're so pretty. I don't think I ever remember you wearing make-up before.”
“I try to keep it looking natural,” Nadalia said and called the waiter over to order a bottle of wine. “Pearson. What's the name of the wine we had last time?”
“I don't even remember. Order anything. I'll have a glass, but I'm feeling more like having a dirty vodka martini tonight. Actually, I'll probably have quite a few. You ladies can enjoy the rest of the wine,” Pearson said.
Ryan expected her to laugh, but she didn't.
“That sounds good,” Vonnie said. “I'll have one of those too. Make mine extra dirty. I love the olives.”
The waitress gave them a friendly nod and turned toward Ryan with a discreet wink.
“So what's up in the lives of the rich and famous?” Nadalia asked and chuckled.
At first no one answered. Vonnie broke the silence. “Hey Nadalia, how was the getaway with Sage?”
“Oh. It's next week. I'm looking forward to it,” Nadalia said with a slight smile before taking a sip of wine. “And I tried some of that spontaneous action,” she said and winked.
“Woo!” Vonnie said, lifting her glass to Nadalia.
“How's Noelle doing in school?” Pearson asked.
“She seems to be fine, but I'm still having separation anxiety,” Vonnie said. “I find all kinds of silly reasons to call her. She knows what's up, so she indulges me.”
“I hated that place,” Pearson said without looking up.
“What? You are the one who recommended that school to us.”
“It's a great school even though I still hated it. I was never good at making friends,” Pearson admitted. Nadalia made a sound, chuckled and sipped. Pearson cut her eyes at her. “Surprised?” She directed her comment to Nadalia. “Anyway.” Pearson turned her attention back to Vonnie. “I'm sure Noelle is more sociable than I ever was. Most kids love it and the education is unmatched. It's one of the best in the country.”
Vonnie put her hand to her chest. “Oh. You scared me for a moment. I was about to ride up there and pull my baby out.” All the women laughed. “But really, sometimes I do want to take her out just to have her closer to home. She seems to be adjusting well, but I worry about her a lot. Don't be surprised if you hear that she's back home attending private school.”