Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
M aggie looked at the email from Emily’s mother, before picking up the phone to call her. Her stomach fluttered with nerves but refused to let it show in her voice.
She heard only one ring before a woman’s voice answered.
“Eve Cardillo, please,”
“This is Eve.”
“This is Maggie Wheeler Moretti.”
Maggie almost always left off the Wheeler name when speaking to her friends on Captiva, but somehow she felt the need to remind Eve that she was still Daniel’s wife before he died.
“Hello Maggie, I assume you received my email?”
“Yes, I have to say it came as a shock to all of us. How is Emily doing?”
“It’s been a difficult twelve months. I’d never heard of Lupus, but now I feel like an expert.”
Talking about Emily made their conversation much easier than Maggie had anticipated. That the mistress of her deceased husband would be on the phone with her chatting as if they were friends felt surreal. She focused on keeping their conversation on a mother-to-mother exchange.
“I’m not familiar with the disease either. How did this all start?”
“About a year ago, Emily had arthritic symptoms, everything from holding a pencil in her hand to walking up and down stairs required tremendous effort. Other strange symptoms started appearing. She had migraines, a large rash on her face. We just attributed it to hormones and teenage complexion issues. One-by-one as the symptoms showed up, I rationalized everything away. Later, I felt like a terrible mother for not seeing there was something more serious happening to her.”
Trying to comfort Eve, Maggie added, “I would have done the same thing. You can’t second-guess yourself. You do the best you can.”
“After so many tests, they said she has an aggressive form of Lupus. The term they used was severe Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. It’s an autoimmune disease. We’ve been in and out of the hospital for months with tests and biopsies. It’s been horrible for her, and with her autism, there are moments…it’s too much. There are days when I feel like I’m going to break down, but that won’t help my daughter. Now, they’ve finally decided she needs a transplant, but we’re on a list so long…I’m sorry, I’m rambling on like this.”
Maggie’s heart broke for Eve, and nothing of their painful connection from the past was on either of their minds.
“Eve, all of Emily’s half-sisters and brothers have agreed to be tested. If any of them are a match, they have said they are willing to be a living donor for Emily. I would offer myself, but I’ve had breast cancer and so I can’t donate. I hope this gives you some relief…a bit of hope. We’ll do all we can to help. Emily is a lovely young woman, and we’re so happy that she’s a part of our family.”
Maggie didn’t want to say more, but she felt it necessary to add, “Speaking for the rest of my family, I hope you believe me when I tell you that Emily isn’t the only one who is welcome. I’m sure you have more family for support but know that we’re here for you if you need us.”
She could hear Eve sobbing on the other end of the line, and she waited, giving her the space to gather herself.
Finally, Eve spoke, her voice choked with emotion. “Thank you, Maggie. I…I can’t tell you what this means to me. To us. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for months. You’ve given us a lifeline.”
Maggie smiled through her own tears. “Please tell Emily that we’ll all be in to see her soon. My daughter, Lauren, is having a baby and is due any day. My husband and I will be in Massachusetts and will be there for a few weeks. I’m sure we’ll finally meet.”
“Maggie…I need to apologize…I’m so sorry for…everything…I...”
“Stop. No, Eve. We’re not going to do that. It’s in the past. It’s over. As rough as it was for all of us, we now have Emily in our lives, and we’re so grateful for that. Let’s focus on that, shall we?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Good. I’m sure you’ll hear from several of us in the coming days. You hang in there and stay strong.”
As they ended the call, Maggie felt a sense of peace settle over her.
Despite the challenges ahead, her family, which would always include Emily and her mother together, would get through the difficult days.
In that moment, amidst uncertainty and fear, there was also a glimmer of hope, and a belief that everything would work out…for all of them.
“Yoohoo…anyone home?” Isabelle Barlowe yelled from Chelsea’s front porch.
“Door’s open,” Chelsea called back.
Isabelle opened the front door and marched straight to the back of the house.
“There you are, my dear. Where have you been keeping yourself? I haven’t heard one word from you since our dinner party. Can I assume that’s because you and Steven have been too busy for you to call me?”
Chelsea found it difficult to be upset by Isabelle’s visit. Until Isabelle and Sebastian’s dinner party, Chelsea tolerated the woman’s intrusive snooping. Now, she had to give her credit for introducing her to such a wonderful man.
“Hello, Isabelle. I have been busy, but it’s not all because of Steven. I’ve been spending time helping Jacqui with the gallery. It’s becoming something of a full-time job.”
“I thought you gave her a few of your paintings. What else is there to do?”
“It’s not just the paintings. I’ve been making phone calls to artists and other galleries, as well as helping with sales and answering the phone. It’s really a volunteer position and I won’t do it for long…just until she gets on her feet.
“So, what brings you by?”
“I wanted to hear how things were going with Steven, of course. He is such a lovely man.”
Chelsea smiled. “He is. Things are great. We’re having a nice time getting to know one another.”
There was no way Chelsea would give Isabelle details about her relationship with Steven. The only way to satisfy the woman’s need for information was to give her just enough, but not too much.
“Well, I can’t help you with Steven’s background. I hardly know the man.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you said the two of you were friends?”
“Me? No, not me. I just met him a few months ago. Sebastian and Steven have been friends for years. They’ve worked together on different projects. Don’t ask me specifics, because I haven’t a clue. I was surprised to find out that you’d never met Steven. I mean, after all, when you and Sebastian were seeing each other, Steven was around all the time.”
Chelsea’s head was spinning. She thought back to the time she and Sebastian were dating. It was only months, but if Steven was around, she would have heard his name mentioned, at least once.
Why didn’t Steven mention he knew about her and Sebastian dating? They were engaged and almost married. It didn’t make sense.
“Isabelle, does Steven know Sebastian and I were…”
“Engaged?”
Chelsea nodded. “Yes.”
“Of course. As I’ve said, he knew you were engaged back when Sebastian proposed to you. That’s what Sebastian told me.”
Chelsea put her hand to her face. It felt hot and her heart raced. In a few hours she was about to have dinner at Steven’s place. She looked at her watch and quickly got up from her chair.
“Isabelle, I’m so sorry, but I have a million things I’ve got to do this afternoon. How about we get together one of these days for lunch?”
“Oh Chelsea, that would be lovely. I’m dying to go to that restaurant on McGregor Boulevard. You know the one, Cibo, I think it’s called. I hear the grandmother makes a different ravioli dish every day. Do you think we could go there?”
“Yes, that would be perfect,” she answered, walking Isabelle toward the front door. “I’ll call you.”
Isabelle air-kissed Chelsea on both cheeks. “Au revoir, mon ami. Don’t forget now.”
“I won’t,” Chelsea answered as she shut the door.
As soon as Isabelle left, Chelsea paced the floors thinking about her next move. She didn’t want to talk to Maggie or anyone else. Mostly, she didn’t want anyone to talk her out of what her instincts told her to do.
She picked up the phone and dialed Steven’s phone number.
His voice cheerful, he answered, “I was just thinking about you.”
Chelsea could hear her teeth grinding and her jaw clenched. She couldn’t let him keep talking for fear that his charm might soften her demeanor.
“Steven, I’m sorry to call at the last minute, but I’m afraid I have to cancel our date tonight.”
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
She wanted to tell him no, everything was not all right, but she wouldn’t be able to calmly explain.
“Yes, fine. It’s just that something’s come up that I need to deal with. It’s important. I’m sorry.”
But, she wasn’t sorry…at least not sorry for breaking the date. She was sorry she’d let Isabelle talk her into dating again… sorry wasn’t the word for how she felt. She was humiliated and angry at the same time.
“I understand. How about a rain check…tomorrow night?”
“No. I can’t. I’ve got to go.”
She hung up before he had a chance to say anything else. She went outside and sat facing the water.
How could she let herself be tossed around like that? First Sebastian…and then Steven. Did Sebastian talk about her to Steven? Was Steven waiting in the wings and ready to date Sebastian’s…what was the word?
She put her head in her hands. “I can’t even say it.”
Men talk, at least that’s what she believed. She was a joke…someone with little value.
Chelsea didn’t know what she was going to do next, but one thing she was certain of. She had to get off Captiva Island and find someplace to be alone…someplace to regain control over her life and rebuild whatever resolve she had left to never let her heart be vulnerable again.