Weekends Required (Danvers #1)(59)
Claire could feel her mouth opening and closing with no sounds coming out. “My God, Louise, I’d no idea! Why would she have the house put in my name with Chrissie still alive?”
“Honey we both know your sister wasn’t very strong. Now your mama had no idea what would happen to her; she just took steps to protect you girls. She wanted you to be able to sell the house and have the money to take care of you and your sister. She held on there so many years to give that to you.”
Tears were rolling down her face as she gripped Louise’s hand tightly. “I never knew. I thought she was completely in denial over what was going on. I can’t believe you two did all of this on your own and managed to hide it from him; that took a lot of guts.”
Louise smiled at her and laughed. “Honey, us old ladies still got a trick or two up our sleeves. Now you find someone to list that house with and set your mama free. She needs a new life and so do you. It’s time all those ghosts were laid to rest. Someone else can come in and make a life there, give that place some happy memories.”
~~~
Claire talked to her mother that afternoon about everything Louise had told her. She saw a sparkle in her eyes that had never been there before and it looked strangely like pride. It was a strain for her mother to talk, but she managed to confirm her wishes for the house to be sold.
She spent the afternoon arranging for a real estate agent to meet her there the next day. She also called an employment agency and lined up some interviews at the end of the week. If she could find an office job during the day, she could possibly work a weekend job as well when her mother was settled into the rehabilitation center.
Claire took a few moments to check the messages on her cell phone which she’d been ignoring. Julie had left several messages wanting to know why she wasn’t working for Partiez Plus any longer. Suzy had also been ringing her phone off the hook so as soon as she was settled at home, she returned her call.
“Girlfriend, you got some explaining to do,” said Suzy. “I call and call and you never answer. Are we seeing other friends now or something?”
With a laugh, Claire said, “Nope, you know you’re my one and only. It’s been crazy here; I’ve almost lived at the hospital. Thank you for the flowers that you brought to mom, she really loved them. She’s the envy of everyone on the floor now.”
“I’m glad she liked them. I’m sorry I missed you when I dropped by, I thought I could grill you; um, I mean to feed you.”
“Grill me huh? About what?”
With a long, dramatic sigh, Suzy said, “Don’t act dumb babe, it’s so not you. I know that your love life has hit the skids for some reason. From the looks of Jason, I don’t think it’s his idea. The man looks like he has been run over by a truck. Candace who has been filling in for you says he never leaves the office. He’s there when she gets there and there when she leaves. She suspects he has been sleeping there. I’m even starting to question his bathing habits, ugh. So what gives with you two? And before you even say it, I know I’m nosey as hell but hey, it’s part of my charm, right? You seemed so happy with him, what happened?”
“Oh Suz, I wanted him to be something he wasn’t,” said Claire sadly.
“And what was that?” asked Suzy.
“I wanted him to be the man of my dreams, not the man of my nightmares.”
“Babe, I don’t get it, was he into freaky stuff or something? He sure doesn’t look like the type, although he does look yummy.”
“Um Suz, earth to Suz, come back now. What I mean is he’s just like my father.” Suzy was quiet for so long, Claire wondered if she was still there. Over a bottle of wine one evening, she’d told Suzy all about her years of abuse at the hands of her father.
“Claire, why would you think that?” asked Suzy.
“Remember when I told you Jason tried to loan me money and the fight we had over it? You explained to me that he had helped several people you knew.”
“Yeah, so you’re still mad about that?”
“No, other things have happened Suz, things I can’t get over.”
She went on to tell her about the papers she’d found in his briefcase while they were in Charleston, about the incident at the hospital and then finally what Billy had told her.
When she was finished Suzy for once was actually speechless. “Wow, he has been a busy boy hasn’t he? He’s like a fairy godmother or something isn’t he?”
“You see don’t you Suz? He’s everything I’ve been running from my whole life. I had to get away, make the break before it was too late.”
“Claire, I know you haven’t had an easy life, hell, it’s pretty much raised its leg and peed right on you. Jason has for sure lost control there a bit, no doubt. Actually, a little bat shit crazy on the giving money away for free but I already thought that. Sweetie, I don’t think he’s anything like your father. I know he’s scaring you by trying to take care of all of your needs before you even know you have them, but I’m telling you, the man has a good heart. Can you honestly say there was an instance when you felt like your father had a good heart? Did you ever feel like he was trying to protect and care for you?”
“No, but Suz, you don’t know how my father started off. Abusive people usually escalate over time; they probably don’t just go off the deep end immediately. We’d only been together for a short time and really not even in a relationship and look at how he had taken over my life. What would it be like in a month or a year? Would I even recognize myself then?” Claire felt a sob escape from her throat and fought for calm.