Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
T he lump in Cece’s throat had yet to go away.
She and Natalie had spent the last hour wandering the mall, looking at purses that cost more than what Cece had made in a month as a working reporter. They both seemed to be pretending that the bombshell Nat had dropped over lunch was something that could be dealt with later.
Cece didn’t really feel that way. She wanted to pull Natalie into her arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, but empty words weren’t going to solve anything and there was no point in making a promise she couldn’t deliver on. Cece had no idea what would happen next.
They were both staring into a display case at a selection of Louis Vuitton wallets, most of which would leave Cece without money to put in said wallet if she purchased one. She couldn’t keep pretending. “What are you going to do?”
Natalie glanced at her, smiling too brightly, the lights from the store reflected in her eyes. “About what?”
“About Jim.”
Her smile disappeared. “I don’t know, Mom.” Her voice was low and gruff, a clear sign she didn’t want to talk about this here.
Cece gently put her hand on her daughter’s arm. “I could really use a coffee. You want one?”
“Yeah, all right,” Natalie said. “Where do you want to get it? Food court?”
“Might as well.”
They left the store without saying anything else, made their way back to the food court, and got in line at the cookie and coffee place. Cece ordered two large coffees and one enormous chocolate chip walnut cookie.
They found a table nearby and sat. Cece broke the cookie in half and put the largest piece on a napkin for Natalie.
Then Cece broke off a small piece of her portion of the cookie. “Tell me what I can do to help.”
Natalie wrapped her hands around her cup and shook her head. “I don’t honestly know, Mom. I don’t know where to start. You were an investigative reporter. What would you do?”
This was the opening Cece had been waiting for. “I’d start with finances. There’s always a paper trail, even in this day and age. You could look at his social media?—”
“Mom, you really think he’s going to post about having a girlfriend on Facebook?”
“No, but I think there’s a good possibility he has social media accounts you don’t know about.” There were other clues that could turn up on social media, which Cece would look for regardless of what her daughter said. Cece wasn’t going to just ignore this.
Natalie’s mouth turned down. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I’m so sorry, honey. This is indefensible behavior, if he’s really cheating, I know that. Do you want me to do the digging? Then you wouldn’t have to take on the weight of it.”
Natalie took a big bite of her cookie, eyes gleaming with unshed tears. She chewed, nodding as she did. “I hate to ask that of you.”
“I’m offering.”
“You’d really do that?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t know that I want the details if he is. Just enough to…I don’t know. Get custody of Tyler, I guess. Make sure we’re taken care of.” She sniffed and a tear slipped down her cheek. “I can’t believe I’m even saying this. I’m sorry for ruining the day.”
Cece grabbed her hand. “You haven’t ruined anything. If the day is ruined, it’s Jim’s fault. Listen, why don’t you take me home. We don’t need to stay here. I’ve got enough for my article.”
Another sniff. “You’re sure, Mom? I’m fine to stay. I really am.”
Cece shook her head. “Let’s enjoy this cookie, then head back.”
Ten minutes later, they were in the car, making the drive to the Colony. Cece had her notebook and pen out, old-school style, but it was what she was used to. “You realize if you want me to look into Jim, you’re going to have to give me personal information.”
“Like passwords and stuff?”
“Yes. To things like bank accounts. If you’re all right with that.”
Natalie took a breath and nodded. “It’s okay. I trust you, obviously, and I need to know.”
“Any chance you can get into his email?”
“I don’t know his password, but it can’t be that hard to figure out. The Netflix password is Tyler’s birthday and Jim set that up.”
“Okay, I might take a crack at that then, so long as it won’t trigger an alert that gets sent to him.”
“Yeah, other than that, do whatever you need to do. I want to know one way or the other.” Natalie gave Cece all the information she could think of.
Cece wrote everything down. As much as she wanted to take out her phone and start digging immediately, her daughter needed her to be present. It was clear Natalie still had a lot of talking to do, now that the dam had been opened.
Natalie sighed, her eyes on the road. “What will I tell Tyler?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing to tell him right now.”
“But if you find something, then what?”
“Then you have to sit him down and tell him the truth. Tell him the plan going forward. And you understand that he’s going to have feelings he needs to work through. That he’s going to have to make some of his own decisions when it comes to where he spends his time.”
Natalie looked horrified. “You think he’ll pick Jim over me?”
“No, I’m not saying that. But he might want to spend some time at a friend’s while he deals with all of this, I don’t know. He’s welcome to come stay with me for a weekend, if he wants. But there’s no reason to get too worked up about this yet. There’s no proof of anything. Unless…”
Cece realized she hadn’t asked the big question. “What makes you think Jim might be cheating? What gave you that idea?”
Natalie took a breath, her grip on the wheel relaxing a little.
“He’s been traveling more. Always going to some conference.
And when he’s there, he’s so busy he rarely has time to talk much.
When he’s home, he’s preoccupied. I’ve caught him texting a few times, smiling while he does it, and if I ask him about it or he notices me watching, he always brushes it off with some comment about work.
I have no real proof. But I do have a gut feeling I can’t ignore. ”
Cece nodded. She’d taught her daughter to listen to that small voice in her head, taught her how trusting your own instincts could often keep you out of trouble. “I’ll do my best to find the truth.”
“I know you will.”
Cece didn’t want to ask what Natalie would do if it turned out Jim was cheating. Not because she didn’t want to know but because until there was proof, she didn’t want her daughter dwelling on the worst possible outcome.
It seemed that possibility was already on Nat’s mind.
“If he is cheating…” Natalie shook her head. “I don’t think I can stay, Mom. I don’t think I can forgive that. Not after what you went through with Dad.”
“You went through that, too.”
Natalie nodded. “You had it worse, though. But I mean, what kind of example would that set for Tyler? That fooling around with someone else while you’re married is okay? That’s no way to raise a boy into a good man.”
Cece agreed. “Whatever you decide, you know I’ll support you.”
“Lorraine will…” Natalie paused. “Actually, I don’t know what Lorraine will do. Probably find a way to blame me.”
Lorraine was Jim’s mother and while she was a nice enough woman, Cece knew she’d been critical of Natalie in the past. His father, Gerald, seemed more easygoing. He seemed like he actually liked Natalie. Lorraine acted as if her son could have done better.
The very idea made Cece want to spit. “There’s no way Jim having an affair is your fault.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I don’t show him enough attention. Maybe I’m too busy with Tyler and all of his stuff. I get tired, Mom. I don’t always feel like being the best wife, if you know what I mean.”
Cece thought she did. “Sweetheart, being a mother is demanding work that often goes unsung. I know Jim works hard, but when he leaves the office, he can turn it off. Motherhood is twenty-four-seven. I’m sure he knows that. And I’m sure he understands. At least, I hope he would.”
“I don’t know,” Natalie said again.
She looked so defeated. So sad. “This is easier said than done, but until there’s proof, try not to dwell on what could be. Try to focus on the present.”
“Innocent until proven guilty, right?”
“Something like that,” Cece said. She changed the topic to give both of them a break. “Tell me about Tyler’s science project. I want to know all about what my grandson is working on.”
Natalie smiled like she understood exactly what her mom was doing, but she launched into a full account of the project, sparing no detail.
By the time Cece hugged her daughter goodbye, Natalie seemed to be in better spirits. Cece hoped Nat’s suspicions were unfounded, but she had her own nagging feeling.
She went into the house, grabbed her laptop, and settled down on the couch to work. And, hopefully, find out the truth about her son-in-law.