Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Audrey smiled as she looked at a display of garden gnomes that were placed on a shelf in Shoreline Market.
The little statues were whimsical and charming, and they all had some kind of autumn theme—either they were holding a cup of cider, or a carved pumpkin, or they were tossing leaves in the air or dressing up as little ghosts for Halloween.
“These are so dang cute,” Michelle exclaimed. “I know we already have enough gnomes, but buying a couple more wouldn’t hurt, right?”
“Listen, you know I’m a sucker for seasonal decorations.” Audrey laughed. “Sounds great to me. How about that little guy tossing leaves in the air?”
“Um, yes! He’s got a cute little twinkle in his eyes.”
Michelle and Audrey added that gnome as well as the one holding a carved pumpkin to their cart.
Audrey looked down at her list, checking to make sure they’d already gotten everything they needed for The Birchwood House.
They’d stocked up on hand lotions and shampoo, as well as the toothbrushes and mini tubes of toothpaste that they gave out to their guests.
“I think we’re all good,” she said, starting to push the cart around a corner. “We can just browse for a little bit longer—”
Audrey froze, the blood draining from her face. In front of her, perusing a rack of earrings, was Clark. Standing next to him was his young girlfriend, Molly.
A pit formed in Audrey’s stomach as she watched Clark hold a pair of earrings up to Molly’s left ear. He was smiling at her, acting sweet and attentive in a way Audrey hadn’t seen in years. He hadn’t treated her like that since they were first dating, decades ago.
Michelle noticed Audrey’s reaction before she noticed Clark. “Mom,” she said, touching Audrey’s arm in concern. “What happened? You’re as white as a sheet.”
Audrey shook her head and gestured to Clark and Molly. Michelle sucked in her breath in a way that sounded like a hiss.
“I can’t believe he’s still here, turning this little escapade of his into a—a vacation!
” Michelle looked fierce. “The least he could have done was come back to talk with you sooner. Or just call in the first place. Or email—never mind, scratch that. The only decent thing would have been to have never said anything except, ‘Wow, I’m so incredibly sorry for everything I did’ to begin with. ”
Audrey cracked a half-hearted smile, feeling comforted by Michelle’s feisty indignation.
“I really don’t want to talk to him,” she confessed. “Not right now, especially.” She didn’t want to confess it to Michelle, but she was worried that if she had to talk to Clark, she might start to cry. The last thing she wanted was to cry about her ex-husband out in public.
“You shouldn’t have to talk to him,” Michelle said, shaking her head. “Let’s turn the cart around and head the other way before he realizes we’re here.”
It was too late, however. With a smoothness that suggested he’d known they were there all along, Clark turned in their direction and offered them a bland smile.
“Well, well,” he said. “Audrey and Michelle! Fancy meeting the two of you here.”
Audrey felt her stomach drop, and her brain buzzed.
She didn’t feel as though she was in danger of crying, at least for the moment, and that was a mercy, but her emotions felt as scattered as the contents of a shopping cart that had been pushed over.
She didn’t know whether she felt angry or nervous or sad or embarrassed.
The only thing she knew for sure was that she felt nauseous.
Michelle squeezed Audrey’s arm, ignoring Clark completely. “I think we should go, Mom,” she said. “Let’s just get out of here.”
Audrey shook her head, finding that it was difficult to speak. “It’s okay. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you can’t say hi to your dad. You have every right to see your father.”
Clark smiled and half-opened his arms as if for a hug in a way that he might have meant as casual, but which came off as mocking. Michelle frowned, her nose wrinkling.
“I have no reason to associate with a man who would be unfaithful to my mother,” she said, her consonants crisp and emphatic.
Clark shrugged off Michelle’s comment as if choosing to ignore it. Instead, he gestured to his girlfriend as if she was a blue ribbon that he’d won at the fair. “Have you met Molly?”
Molly tossed her straight blonde hair and waved in a manner that was far more condescending than friendly.
“I remember hearing about her,” Audrey said dryly. “I believe the police informed me of her name when they finally located you, Clark.”
“I remember her,” Michelle said icily. “She went to high school with me. She used to take things that didn’t belong to her back then too. But she’s really got some nerve showing up on my father’s arm in my mother’s hometown.”
Audrey nudged Michelle gently. Although she was glad that Michelle was coming to her defense, she wanted them to take the high road.
Being cruel to Molly wasn’t on her agenda, not ever.
“This isn’t the time, Michelle,” she said under her breath.
“You’re right, we should just turn around and go home. ”
“Are you afraid of the truth, Audrey?” Clark asked her, his tone slightly mocking. “You owe me what I came to collect and I have every right to be here, and so does Molly, since she’s my partner. It’s your problem if you’re unhappy with my current life, not mine.”
Audrey shook her head, thinking to herself that she was incredibly lucky that circumstances had pulled her away from this unbelievably selfish man.
“I would never want you back in my life, Clark, so I’m not jealous.
I have no interest in being with a man who deserted his family and broke his promises. ”
“I second that,” Michelle said, speaking up before Clark had a chance to retort. “We don’t owe you a single thing, Dad. Not a single thing. You owed us a lot and you betrayed us, so all bets are off. I don’t have any loyalty to you anymore.”
Michelle wrapped an arm around her mother and quickly and skillfully turned them and the cart around. They walked away together, and even though Audrey was tempted to turn around and look at Clark again, she didn’t.
Once they were at the front of the market, Michelle finally slowed down her pace and Audrey did the same.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Michelle asked. Her lips were pressed together in concern.
“I just don’t understand why on earth he had to come here,” Audrey said, her voice barely above a whisper.
She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Clark wasn’t following them.
She wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that—he seemed intent on always having the upper hand.
Following her would be a power move, and one that he was likely to consider.
She had a feeling that the only reason why he hadn’t followed them was because Molly didn’t want him to.
Michelle shook her head. “He’s a spiteful man.
I saw glimpses of it here and there when I got older, but I always brushed them off and didn’t let myself think too much of it.
Now his true colors are out in the open, and I have to say, I’m not a fan.
I think he’s trying to make you jealous, Mom.
He probably misses you, in his own twisted way, and he wants to feel like you miss him too. ”
Audrey grimaced, feeling disgusted and reflecting that her daughter was probably right. “There is no chance of me being jealous. I feel hurt, definitely, but not jealous. Evan is twice the man Clark ever was.”
“Definitely.” Michelle grinned at her. “Let’s get checked out and get the heck out of here. You deserve a cup of tea and a nice relaxing date with a book.”
“Sounds heavenly.” Audrey smiled weakly. “I think I’ll do just that.”
And, she thought to herself, I’m going to call my boyfriend. Talking with Evan always makes me feel better, and I know today that’s really going to be the case.
She took a deep breath, reminding herself that she could face the trial she was going through, and that she was brave enough to handle it. She was going to put Clark completely out of her mind for the rest of the day and do her best to relax and have a pleasant afternoon.