Unexpected Arrivals(73)
“We’re spending the day with him tomorrow; maybe we could ask him if he’d like to meet your parents. If he’s open to it, then I don’t think it would hurt. Do you?”
His mom’s face lifted in hope. She clapped her hands together and held her fingertips to her lips, waiting on James to respond.
“Would that work for you guys?” he asked them both.
Brock nodded to Susan, and she stepped around the island to throw her arms around her son. “Thank you, James.” She never called him by his name—no one did. It was strange to hear.
As if someone had flicked a switch, the focus went from my husband to me by the least likely subject, Brock. “Cora, sweetheart, how are you handling all of this? I can’t imagine it’s easy finding out you’re now the proud parent of another woman’s child.”
Other than Neil and Hannah, the Carpenters were the nearest thing I had to family—and we weren’t close. Gwendolyn had sent me sporadic emails since the day I’d left Geneva Key, though I almost never read them and often just clicked delete. An email did not a relationship make. This might just be the very thing that changed the dynamic between the four of us, that opened a door that had been partially closed as long as I could remember. This could be the opportunity for us to create what we hoped for in a family.
“It’s a struggle.” I chose not to lie. In the end, it wouldn’t do me any good. “But James and I weren’t together when he met Chelsea, and she was a good friend to him when I was in France. I’m trying to be open to the situation while remembering there’s an innocent child who was left in the middle between adults’ mistakes.” I offered Brock a meek smile.
“Cora never wanted children.”
I was surprised James revealed that. Most people didn’t understand and assumed I didn’t like kids. Before his parents had a chance to respond, I offered my own explanation. “My parents died when I was a junior in high school. Children shouldn’t go through that.” I shrugged, acting as if it didn’t matter, yet hoping it answered their questions without starting a discussion.
They continued talking around me, and my thoughts drifted back to a time before my parents had passed away. Unfortunately, I got stuck in a loop in the limo coming home from the concert, seeing Faith’s face when she got the call, hearing myself cry out in disbelief. I hadn’t talked to her in years and wondered how she had faired when we lost touch. I hadn’t been able to maintain a relationship with her because it hurt so much, although every once in a while, she’d creep into my thoughts and I would once again regret pushing her away.
While they continued to talk—about what I no longer knew—I excused myself, needing some time alone.
***
I left my shoes at the house in favor of strolling on the beach barefoot. The sand was warm between my toes, and the waves licked it away as quickly as I took another step. I loved the dark blues of the sky just after the sun had gone down and the moon had taken its place. The ocean rippled with peaks of light, while the water appeared black. And the shades of indigo that turned onyx as they rose off the horizon reminded me of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. It was picturesque in a way that belonged exclusively to Geneva Key and one of the few things I adored about this town.
James hadn’t been given much longer to process this news than I had, but he had a couple days, and he seemed to be faring far better. I wanted to meet him at the place he was mentally, yet making that happen wasn’t as easy as clicking my heels together. Since arriving in Geneva Key, my parents’ death and what followed after had hung heavy in my mind and on my heart. I’d never been close to my grandparents, and the only truths I had were the things my father had told me growing up. He never made them out to be bad people, just indifferent—self-absorbed maybe. He’d always acted like Gwendolyn and Owen couldn’t be bothered to spend holidays or special occasions with us because their life was on the road—business and charity. Yet I wondered—seeing Gwendolyn with Legend—if there hadn’t been more to the story. Everything he’d said about them lined up perfectly with exactly what they’d done when I was forced to live on this little island a thousand miles away from the only life I’d known.
I couldn’t remember the specifics of when Gwendolyn had actually tried to reach out; I just knew in high school how isolated I’d felt. And I believed then the only reason they’d taken custody was to keep up the image of who they were with their friends and business associates. But the woman I met today was nothing like the one whose house I’d lived in over a decade ago—not even her hair or her clothes resembled that person.
When I stopped long enough to take in my surroundings, I found myself on the beach behind my grandmother’s house. I hadn’t stepped foot in it since leaving Geneva Key at eighteen. The lights shined like beacons through the windows, and I could see people moving behind the curtains. It wasn’t all that late, although, late enough that I imagined Legend would be in bed, and I might be able to talk to Gwendolyn alone. It wasn’t a secret how she felt about visitors who arrived without invitations, but I hadn’t cared what she thought before now, and I didn’t let it stop me from ringing the bell at the front door.
I wasn’t the least bit surprised when a woman I didn’t recognize greeted me. Gwendolyn’s staff had probably turned over ten times since I’d left for college.