23. Chapter 23
“ M ake it stop.”
“Annie.”
“Annie!”
“Please, make it stop!”
The words infiltrated my brain slowly, in broken pieces, just like my broken head. At least, it felt broken. Broken shards of glass or rock or … ouch.
The Imperial March .
My stomach started churning at the song as the dread set in, and I knew it wasn’t just the hangover as I opened my eyes slowly. When my hand found the sound, I reluctantly swiped left.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Anastasia, my word! Why did it take you so long to answer? Did I teach you nothing about good telephone etiquette?” Jacqueline paused for just a breath. “Never mind that. Where are you? We are at the hotel. We sent a messenger to fetch you from your home, but no one answered the summons.”
I took a deep breath, steeling myself as both my head and chest pounded.
“Mother, I didn’t know I was to be summoned today.
You’re in town—” I stopped myself. Was I supposed to know that they were visiting this weekend?
I couldn’t recall whether my mother had sent me the travel dates already, and I realized it was best not to act surprised.
I didn’t need yet another lecture on being reckless or forgetful.
“Well, I—you—” she sputtered. My mother never sputtered. “I am shocked, Anastasia. It sounds as though you are not even sufficiently prepared for our visit. I hope I am wrong. Though we both know that rarely happens.”
What was I supposed to say to that? “Uh, welcome to Minnesota, Mother.”
“Being the magnanimous mother I am, I shall overlook this careless oversight this morning, but please do consult the itinerary. No slip-ups this weekend, darling. I need you on your best behavior, do you understand me?”
With my brows furrowed almost painfully, I forced the words out. “Yes, Mother.”
“So, we’ll see you at brunch in one hour. Goodbye.” The call ended, and I exhaled in relief.
Then the panic set in.
I have to see her.
My mother is here. In town.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I mumbled hoarsely, stumbling out of the tangled bedsheets, speaking to whoever was with me in Viviana’s room. I couldn’t recall who had crashed in the bedroom and who’d been stuck with the couch; by the time we’d decided to sleep, we’d been hardly able to stand.
Racing to the restroom, I braced myself, but after I stared in the mirror for a while, my stomach seemed to settle, if only slightly.
I splashed water on my face. My head was spinning, and I looked horrendous.
I had to meet Jacqueline in under an hour.
And her latest boyfriend and his … daughter, I think.
What were their names? Chris, maybe. Or Christine.
I shook my head slowly as I swished some toothpaste around in my mouth and tried to run a brush th rough my hair.
Staring at my rumpled appearance, I decided to text Rafael for help.
Annie
Can you come to the apartment asap? Need to look presentable in under an hour. Meeting Jacqueline and her guests.
Rafael
Oh, hell. Only for you, darling. I’ll be right over.
I love you. Don’t panic.
Annie
Love you.
An hour later, I was speedwalking into the Four Seasons, my head still swirling with pain and a bit of queasiness that I barely noticed, so deep in thought about what was coming. Years had passed since I’d seen my mother, who refused to visit me in what she called the pitiful Midwest.
“Darling,” called a high-pitched voice. That was Jacqueline’s socialite voice, the public one that she thought sounded more sophisticated and philanthropic than her real voice.
Or at least the one she used with her daughter—who knew the real Jacqueline.
It was strange that she spoke so differently in different settings, but I’d long ago grown accustomed to it.
“This is my darling Anastasia. She is late, but we will kindly forgive her, of course.
You know I am kindness itself, dearest Ricardo, am I not?
“Indeed,” said Ricardo, assessing me from head to toe in a leisurely fashion.
“How could anyone not forgive such a beautiful face … that is so like her mother’s?
” He smiled at Jacqueline and linked ar ms with both her and the younger woman on his other side.
“Anastasia, I am Ricardo. I’m sure your mother has told you much about me and Caroline, my lovely daughter. ”
Caroline was apparently the other woman on his arm, and she yawned. “Hi, nice to meet you.”
I forced a bright smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Ricardo and Caroline. And Mother, you look well,” I added politely.
Her eyes flashed. “ Well . Yes. Do show us into the restaurant, Anastasia. We are quite famished.”
My brows furrowed as I looked around.
Does my mother assume I’ll be their damn tour guide?
I’ve been to the hotel before, since Brandon stayed here, but—oh, man, I hope he’s not still here now.
After a beat though, I realized I didn’t care that much one way or the other. I was long over him.
“Anastasia, did you hear—” My mother’s voice became a bit more shrill.
“Yes, sorry,” I mumbled. “Right this way, everyone,” I said like a tour guide, pointing in the direction of the only restaurant within sight.
As the morning hours passed, so too did my enthusiasm for, well, anything.
Even the news about my literary agent job hadn’t impressed my mother.
In fact, she seemed disgusted by the turn of events.
Caroline had looked a bit sympathetic and had congratulated me, while Ricardo had merely smiled and eyed me with an odd kind of interest. Jacqueline’s reaction shouldn’t have surprised me, but for some reason I’d always held out hope that I could one day secure that elusive approval from her.
Didn’t everyone want that? Apparently working was beneath us, especially working on commission.
“It’s so … common,” my mother said, wrinkling her nose.
My hand shook as I sipped my drink, wishing it was stronger. “If by common you mean normal , then yes.” I wanted to add that many people would kill for a job in publishing. I didn’t consider it a cutthroat industry per se, but one needed a hefty dose of both luck and talent to succeed .
“Don’t be obtuse,” Jacqueline said sharply.
When Ricardo and Caroline looked startled, she smoothly changed her tone to one of honey and innocence.
“Why work so hard and waste your youth, your beauty, for pennies? At least Caroline will be working for a good wage as a surgeon,” she said.
She looked around, appearing to be genuinely confused as to why I would pursue what she deemed a dead-end job.
I wanted to scream that publishing jobs were coveted, that they were far from a waste , that I wouldn’t be working for pennies—though it wasn’t about that. “Mother—”
“Did you not follow my advice with that wealthy young man from New York—”
“No,” I said, fighting back tears. “He isn’t a good man. I told you that. He propositioned one of my best friends. While I was sick.”
“Well—” Jacqueline started, and then apparently she decided to change course because her tone became quiet and scolding. “Let us not speak of such coarse things at the table, Anastasia. I raised you better than that.”
Somehow I survived the rest of the meal, only to be dragged along to a jazz concert in the park, of all things.
Caroline’s idea, probably. She seemed normal-ish.
I was mortified when my mother insisted on an elaborate setup with several large beach umbrellas and ornate wooden chairs, while the rest of the attendees sat on blankets or cheap folding chairs.
“Anastasia, I need to powder my nose, and I believe you do as well. Please show me to the ladies’ room.”
I was about to reply that there was no ladies’ room in the park—and that I didn’t need to powder my nose—when Caroline stood up. “I actually need to pee. I’ll take you to the bathroom, Jacqueline.”
My eyes widened as I watched my mother smile graciously at Caroline, who linked arms with her.
If I ever uttered a word like “pee” in my mother’s presence, I’d have been blasted with her disdain.
Apparently Caroline could get away with it though, since Jacqueline was trying to impress her rich father .
I don’t care anyway.
And this is good—it means I don’t have to be alone with her.
And then it dawned on me. I was alone with Ricardo instead.
“Anastasia, I hope you’ve been enjoying the concert,” came his deep, grainy voice, far too close to my ear. I realized he was mere inches from me, leaning as far as he could over the arm of his chair.
“Uh, it’s Annie,” I said, my voice shaking.
And I knew immediately that my words were a mistake.
“ Annie ,” he said, his smile growing as his eyes swept over my chest. “Yes. I’d be happy to be more, uh, familiar with each other.”
When I felt his fingertips brush my knee lightly, I squeezed my eyes shut.
This day couldn’t get any worse, could it?
“Actually, I do need to powder my nose after all,” I said, rising abruptly from the chair and nearly tripping. I didn’t bother to turn back and see his expression but merely strode in the direction I’d seen Caroline and Jacqueline heading earlier.
On the way there, I encountered them. “Mom, I need to talk to you,” I said firmly, placing a hand on her arm.
My mother’s eyes widened. “Darling, I’m sure it can wait. This is terribly rude to Caroline, who was just telling me about Ascott’s plans for their move here—”
“That can wait,” I said, trying to pull her aside.
Caroline looked between the two of us and smiled politely. “Jacqueline, I’d love to catch up a bit later. We have all weekend, right? I don’t want to monopolize it.”
When she’d walked away, Jacqueline wrestled her arm out of my grip and hissed, “See? She takes care not to monopolize every situation. You could learn from Caroline, you know.”