(See the first chapter for disclaimer, notes, spoiler, etc.)
Chapter Twelve: "Can I Just"
Caitlin
She held the iPhone to her ear as she leaned back into the pillows. "So, the graduation was nice?" she asked.
"Yes." Mom's voice sounded distracted. Distant. Exhausted.
"Allie walked across the stage without tripping over herself?"
Mom's light chuckle danced across the line. "More like danced across the stage. But, yes, she didn't trip."
"I'm sorry we missed it." She stifled a yawn and let her swollen eyes close. She had never been more excited for anything than to deliver her fourth child in six days. It was her first c-section, but she was ready. Her fourth, and last pregnancy – along with Daddy's death –, had taken too much out of her. "Kids these days though," she sighed. "They're the social media generation. They'll do anything for likes."
"Allie's a sweet girl," Mom murmured. "Headstrong, but sweet."
"Headstrong, but sweet," she mused, rubbing her belly. "Sounds like someone with Daddy's genes." Slowly, she opened her eyes and gazed up at the cathedral ceiling. Headstrong, but sweet also described Evy. Though, in her opinion, she was more headstrong than sweet as of late. "We sent a gift, but make sure to tell her that Charlie, the kids, and I send our congratulations."
"Yes. Yes, of course."
Mom's flat response gave her pause and she frowned. It was Casey who told her what Evy had done. Withdrawing from school and lying to all of them. Letting everyone believe she was headed back to Columbia next week. He said that Mom was furious. She didn't blame her. She narrowed her eyes, trying to imagine Greg, Mikey, or Blake carrying off such a gross lie. Imagine her reaction. She couldn't quite get herself there.
With a sigh, she rubbed the furrowed space between her eyebrows. Her younger sister's antics were the last thing their mother needed. It was completely childish and ridiculous of Evy to do. Not to mention immature and irresponsible. "Mom? Is everything ok?"
"Fine," she sighed and she pictured Mom rubbing her forehead. She always did that when she was frustrated and boxed in.
"Mom, listen…why don't you just forget about coming up to Sonoma."
She heard the sharp inhale. "Absolutely not."
With a gasp of energy, she pushed herself up and ignored the way her baby girl angrily kicked back. "Mom, it'll be ok. We won't tell the baby that you didn't meet her on the day she was born. She'll never know."
"I'll know, Caitlin. I'll know." Suddenly, Mom sounded like herself again. Her voice was stronger and crisper, the melodic Queen's English she had known her entire life. "Absolutely not. Evy and I will be there on Wednesday."
"Are you sure Mom? It'll be ok if-"
"I'll be there," Mom interjected. "Even if my newest granddaughter is still nameless."
With a giggle, she looked out the window at the rolling vineyard that made up her backyard. "She'll have a name. I have a few ideas. I'll know when I see her which one is the right one. Besides," she continued, "you and Daddy had decided on Evy's name, but didn't tell anyone – not even Sean and I – until she was born!" Mom was quiet, so quiet, that she glanced at the phone's screen to see if the call dropped. "Mom? Mom? Are you there?"
A moment later, she heard Mom sigh. "It was my idea to call her Evelyn."
"What did Daddy say?" she asked softly.
"Oh, he- he was speechless," Mom replied, her voice a hushed whisper. "It wasn't a name we'd ever discussed using before. But..."
"But, what?"
"But, it was the right name."
Diana
She stretched her arms high overhead and sighed as the roll of packing tape squealed. "I'm sick to death of that sound," she groaned as Casey sealed the box and scribbled Ally's name on it with a black marker. "Sick to death of packing. Why do we have so much crap anyway?"
He chuckled and pushed the box into the corner before he stood. "Because we have three kids. They're the ones with all the crap." She nodded and fell into his embrace, closing her eyes. It felt beyond good to know their family would all be under one roof again. To know she would be seeing her husband and two youngest children every day. "Remember our first apartment? We barely had furniture in it."
She snuggled against him, remembering. "Just the bed and the big screen tv," she said softly, feeling his arms around her.
"Meals standing up in the kitchen."
"Those were the days," she sang beneath her breath. His chuckle segued into a long sigh and she looked up, watching him quietly. He looked as stressed as he had sounded on the phone the last few days. Since Olivia came out of left field and transferred Gregory's shares and the job with the property development project to him. She shook her head, still annoyed with the whole turn of events. Still worried about her husband.
He looked down at her and sighed. "We have so much crap we needed three storage units for it all."
She smiled and reached up, cupping his face. "Only temporarily. The house will be ready in six weeks."
He rolled his eyes and forced a deep breath. "Until the next delay with the builder. We were supposed to stay with Olivia and Gregory eight months. We're pushing a year."
She shook her head, her fingers dancing along his hairline. "It'll be a lot for you. Working with Olivia, still living with Olivia."
Casey looked at her for a long moment and smirked. "You're still pissed at her," he marveled and she could hear the teasing tone. "Don't be."
"I'm allowed to be worried about you," she insisted, her arms going around his neck. "I'm allowed to be annoyed that she made a split-second decision. A split-second decision that impacts you and she didn't even deign to discuss it with you first!"
"Deign," he marveled. "Fancy."
"Case!"
He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Stop," he whispered, his lips brushing her skin. She turned her eyes up to him as he continued, "It's ok. I'm ok."
"You're stressed," she retorted in a hushed breath.
"Stressed…because I want to do a good job." Silently, she watched as his eyes met hers and he continued, "Liberty is the only thing I've ever gotten from both my parents. I don't- I mean, I want them to be proud of the work I do now that I'm responsible for Mom and Gregory's shares."
With a lump in her throat, she nodded and hugged him tightly. This man. She was so blessed to have this sensitive and caring man as her husband and the father of her children. He sighed deeply, one weighed down with trouble, as he gripped her back. And yet… "But, there is something else bothering you."
"Not bothering," she heard him reply. "But…well, there's been this nagging thought I haven't been able to shake in months." She looked up sharply. Months? "And, since Gregory died, it's been on my mind more and more."
"Casey, what is it?" she murmured.
His blue eyes sharpened as he slowly and carefully asked, "How would you feel if we changed our last name to Richards?"
Bette
"So, you've just been bouncing around Europe for the last four decades?"
AJ nodded, gently swirling his Sauvignon Blanc. "You probably think that sounds pathetic," he chuckled and she resisted the urge to agree with him. With a lazy smile, he took a long inhale before sipping the wine. "But, after leaving Sunset Beach, no other place felt like home."
"No place?" she scoffed as the warm ocean breeze stirred her hair. She pushed her sunglasses down her nose and eyed him over the frames. "Not Saint Tropez? Not Montenegro? Not Monaco?"
With another deeper chuckle, he set his wine glass down and leaned in closer. "You'd think they would," he said softly and she found herself leaning in to hear him better. "But, there's something special about this town, this sand."
"It's magical…or so the famous legend goes."
Smiling gently, he shrugged and glanced up. His gaze was just over her right shoulder, no doubt looking at the Pacific Ocean glittering below them, seagulls dancing in the air. "I suppose I would feel something special about any town my father founded." Slowly, he looked back at her, a sudden sadness weathering his expression. "Though this is the only town he did."
She reached out slowly and patted his hand. "The centennial ball will be a wonderful celebration to honor him."
He cleared his throat and sat back as a server appeared with their lunches. "Yes, very much so," he replied when they were alone again. As she reached for her flatware, she heard him tentatively ask, "Has Olivia expressed interest in attending?"
Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth as she cut into her Chilean sea bass. "She hasn't expressed interest in much of anything the last few months. I'm sure you can understand that."
As she looked up, she saw a thoughtful glint in his eyes as he adjusted his silk pocket square. "Yes, I suppose so. I rather thought she seemed to be in good spirits at the Liberty shareholders meeting the other day." She chuckled beneath her breath, but said nothing. In good spirits wasn't how she'd describe Olivia at any point this week or the last several months. "Perhaps you and Olivia would do me the honor of attending as my guests? I have a table to fill."
"As your guests?" she repeated.
"Of course! I'd be the most envied man at the ball with you two on each arm."
She smiled and gently set her fork aside. "I don't know that Olivia will want to attend. She's had me decline all the social engagements she previously accepted when Gregory-" Her voice trailed off suddenly as her unspoken words danced around her mind. When Gregory was still alive. "She hasn't left the house much these last few months," she finally said.
"Well. Perhaps a night on the town would do her some good."
With a tight nod, she turned back to her lunch. "I'll mention it to her when she gets back from Florida with Evy."
Evy
The Admirals Club at the airport reminded her of the dining room at the country club. For being a large room with a lot of people in it, it was surprisingly quiet. The hushed conversations were sprinkled with the clinking of the silverware, occasional laughter, and the not-so-distant sounds of a plane's jet engines. With a sigh, she leaned her elbows on the small table and rested her chin in her hands.
Mom sat across from her, saying nothing as she gazed at a spot on the ground. She sighed, peeking up at her as sorrow wallowed in her chest. Mom hadn't spoken to her much in days. Not since she got the letter from Columbia. Now, with more than an hour until their flight back to California, the silence hurt more than ever. It was the first time since the letter arrived that she had been alone with her. Casey and the kids were staying in Islamorada for a few days with Diana and Allie before all five of them came back to Sunset Beach. Without anyone else around, it was more obvious than ever: Mom had never been this angry with her before. Ever. And, she hated how it felt to be on the receiving end of her anger. With a small sigh, she began softly, "I thought you would be mad if I told you." Slowly, Mom looked up. Her expression was blank, but she said nothing. Seizing the moment, she continued, "You said Dad would be mad at you if I became a dropout."
"It's funny," Mom murmured as she reached for her cup of tea. "Despite the pain killers I was on at the time, I distinctly remember you promising me you were not a dropout."
"And, I'm not!" she insisted. Mom's violet eyes turned up over the tea cup, watching closely. "I'm not going back to Columbia for the summer semester like I originally planned, but I will be there for the fall semester in September."
"Until you decide to withdraw at the last minute," Mom muttered into her tea. "Again."
She frowned. "Why are you acting this way?"
Her tea cup hit the saucer with a sharp clink. "Because I am your mother. Because you lied to me. Because you dropped out of school. And, for what? Some boy?"
"Benjy is not just some boy!" she hissed, her hands clenched so tightly her fingernails dug into her palms. "God, and this doesn't even have anything to do with him!"
Mom's eyes rolled slightly as she sat back in her chair. "Oh. Really?"
"Benjy didn't know anything about it. In fact," she admitted in a low voice, her eyes dropping to her lap, "you'll be happy to know he's as upset with me as you are." She glanced back up in time to see the surprise wash across Mom's face. "Can I just- can I just be honest?"
"I would love honesty from you," she replied softly.
"I have thought about how things will change with Benjy when I go back to Columbia. Also, he'll be going to law school in a few months. I mean, we have plans for ourselves and we're not changing them for each other. We'll figure it out how to make it work. And, yes…he might have played a small part in my decision." Mom's eyes flickered, but she said nothing. Taking that as a sign to continue, she said, "But, it wasn't all because of him. And- and, I get that you're mad at me for lying." Hanging her head, she felt the tears burn her eyes as she whispered, "I know Dad would be too."
"Evy-"
"But, did you ever stop to think maybe I'm not ready to go back to school?" Her throat tightened as she whispered, "That I'm afraid of leaving you? That if I'm not there, you'll be all alone?"
With a deep sigh, Mom sat up and reached across the table. She choked back a sob and looked up as Mom's fingers threaded through her own. "When my mother died, I didn't want to leave London. I couldn't bear to leave my father there all alone," she said softly, her eyes brimming with heartbreak. "I actually- I actually asked Daddy to transfer to the firm's London office. I wanted us to move there, so I – we – could be close to him."
She nodded slowly and wiped her free hand across her eyes. "What did he say?" she asked in a croaking whisper, though she had an idea.
Mom's face fell as she gasped, "He said yes." She inhaled sharply and squeezed her hand as she continued in a breaking sigh, "Daddy said yes. Without a second thought."
She bit the corner of her lip, watching as Mom wiped the tears from her eyes. "So, why didn't you and Dad move to London?"
Mom's hand trembled as she sniffed and blinked rapidly. "Your grandfather. When I told him what I wanted to do, h-he said it was ridiculous. Ridiculous to upturn Caity and Sean's lives. Ridiculous to make Daddy give up his career in California." Her eyes glazed over, like she was replaying the conversation with her father in her mind. After a moment, a sad smile came to her lips and she chuckled ruefully. "He said he wasn't a child who needed to be looked after. He said that even if he was, he would never ask that of your father and I."
She began to shake her head. "Mom-"
"Evelyn." Her name quivered in the silence as she reluctantly met Mom's gaze. "I'm not a child who needs to be looked after." Hot tears brimmed in her own eyes as she heard Mom continue, "And, even if I was, I would never ask that of you."
A/N: Diana sings a bit of "Those Were the Days" (written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse).
