Chapter 11
Isla
A steady workday meant Isla’s mind had little time to think about anything outside of work. Focusing on her customers gave her a chance to get to know other people around town while also letting her personal worries take a momentary backseat. It was nice to not have to be a mom for a few hours. Isla knew she would always be a mom and loved that. But the weight of worry that came along with that title was often overwhelming for Isla. She appreciated the brief moments when she could take people’s orders and bring them their food without having to worry anymore about them.
But as she drove home with Mason happily telling her about her day, she realized how much she’d missed her kid. How much she missed her kids .
Both Mason and Blake were her whole world. They had been since the moment Isla found out she was pregnant with Blake. It had been an unplanned pregnancy which threw most of Isla’s plans out the door, but she wouldn’t change anything for it. She loved being pregnant and loved her babies.
Blake was three when Isla became pregnant with Mason. Isla had visions of them growing up together, becoming the best of friends, raising their own families one day. Growing up, Isla was never close to her siblings and she wanted her girls to be close. Thankfully, there was no separating the two of them.
From the moment Blake felt Mason move in Isla’s belly, she was sold. That was her baby. Blake loved being a big sister. She helped Isla paint the nursery, and get everything ready for the new baby, and was even there when Mason was born. Watching her three-year-old hold a minutes-old baby in her arms was a sight Isla would never forget. Her girls were the best girls, and Isla loved every second with them.
She gripped the steering wheel tighter as she fought back tears over Blake’s absence in their lives now. Isla was trying—trying so damn hard—to keep treading the water she felt she was drowning in for Mason’s sake. Mason needed her, and she needed Mason. Together, they were going to make it out of the shitty situation they had been forced into.
And with any hope, Vera would be there with them.
Vera.
When Isla’s mind wasn’t on her kids, it was on Vera. Vera had been heaven-sent; Isla had no doubt about that. In the short amount of time they’d known each other, Vera had been there for Isla more times than anyone else in the world ever had. She was sweet, and funny, and seemed to like her and Mason. A part of Isla wondered if they could be more. Because Isla wanted them to be more.
After her divorce, Isla had sworn off relationships out of bitterness. Ben Calloway had been a good husband until he saw the glimmering lights of Hollywood calling their daughter’s name. Even now, with the pain still fresh in her heart, Isla knew Ben thought he was doing the right thing. But it was how he treated her in court that did her in.
They had decided to separate months before Ben took Blake to the TV show audition in New York City. Ben and Isla had once loved each other and still loved the kids but they weren’t in love anymore. It had been Isla who asked for the divorce, and Ben agreed. Both of them knew it was what was best for their small family.
Not long after that was the audition. When Blake got offered the job, Isla told Ben no. She was just a kid. Blake deserved a real childhood, not a Hollywood childhood on backlots. But Ben didn’t listen. He changed then. Her once former sweetheart became determined to get his way no matter what. Even a year and a half later, Isla still had no idea what made him turn on her so quickly. The only semi-logical thing she could think of was Blake must have been offered a significant salary for the role. And, as the only parent, he could get all that money.
Isla prayed she was wrong; that Ben wasn’t so shallow he’d ruin her entire world over money. But nothing else made sense. Especially not the way that Ben called Isla distant and unloving toward their kids in court. Even with Isla’s lawyer’s interjections for proof, the judge wouldn’t listen. His mind had already been made up on the private golf course where he and Ben were members.
Sighing, Isla tried to force those memories back to the recesses of her mind. She had to focus on the present. After all, that was all she had now.
As she pulled the car into a parking spot in front of the apartment, she turned in her seat toward Mason in the back.
“I love you, Mason.”
Mason looked momentarily shocked by the random profession. But she smiled back at her and said, “I love you too, Mommy.”
“Do you want to go get pizza tonight?”
“Yes!”
Hand in hand, the two headed toward the apartment. But Isla stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of her front door being wide open.
“What in the…”
Her blood ran cold as she tried to process what to do. What if someone was breaking into her house? Why would someone want to break into her house? She had nothing. So, what was happening? There was only one way to find out.
“Mason, stay behind me.”
Pushing Mason behind her legs, Isla slowly walked toward the front door. She stepped inside, and instantly became even more confused. A fresh coat of paint covered every wall and plants and photo frames and a rug adorned the entire room. Isla checked the number on the front door to make sure she had the right unit.
Which she did.
“Cool!” Mason gasped as she ran past Isla into the apartment. She looked around the room with her mouth agape, the same as Isla. “Mommy, did you do this?”
“No, I don’t know who did, sweetie.”
It was then Vera rounded the corner with a sheepish smile on her face and Isla felt her heart start to melt.
“You,” she barely whispered.
“Me.” Vera grinned. “Do you like it?”
“I love it!” Mason jumped up and down before running over to Vera. Scooping her up in her arms, Vera kissed her cheek and gave her a hug. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, Mason.” Vera kissed her cheek again. “Hey, is it okay if I talk to your mommy alone for a minute while you go play in your room? I left you some new toys there.”
“Okay!”
As Mason ran off to her bedroom, Vera slowly walked over to Isla. She was still too stunned to speak as her brain tried to take in everything all at once. The perfect paint color on the walls; the throw rug that brought so much color to the room. The framed photos of Mason and Blake that had been sitting in a sewing box on the kitchen table. Everything was perfect.
“Do you like it?” Vera repeated.
Isla realized then she had been crying, and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. “I love it.”
“Oh, good. I thought for a moment you hated it.”
“How could I hate this?” Isla gestured around the apartment. “You did all this for me?”
Vera shrugged sheepishly. “And Mason.”
“Why?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Why did you do this? For me,” Isla’s voice cracked. “I don’t deserve this. This is too much.”
“Isla.” Closing the space between them, Vera placed her hands on Isla’s shoulders. “You deserve this. I wanted to do this for you because I know this last year has been hard for you and Mason. I can’t change those circumstances, no matter how much I wish I could, but I could do this for you. And Mason.”
“It’s too much.” Isla looked around the room again. “My head is spinning.”
“Probably the paint fumes,” Vera chuckled. “That’s why I had the door open. I was letting it air out. And I might have gone overboard and painted your room and the bathroom too.”
“Vera,” Isla felt her legs go weak as Vera put an arm around her waist, “that’s too much.”
“You haven’t even seen it yet.”
“ You’re too much, then.”
“I’ve been told that before.” Tenderly, Vera tucked Isla’s curly hair behind her ear. “Also, we tried to vent the place as best we could but I’m not sure how well it worked. So, I’m offering you and Mason my spare bedroom for the night so you don’t die from paint fumes.”
Isla’s brow furrowed. “We?”
“Oh, yeah.” It was clear Vera had forgotten someone else was there. “My friend Cameron. I left her to finish the bedroom.”
Taking Isla’s hand, she led her to the bedroom and frantically opened the door for her. The walls were a stunning shade of blue that instantly calmed Isla. Matching throw pillows were on the bed, along with a new duvet cover. More pictures of Mason and Blake adorned the nightstand and Isla wanted to cry of happiness all over again. And she would have, too, if a blonde woman hadn’t walked out of the bathroom wearing the same paint-covered overalls as Vera had on.
“Hey there.”
“Isla, this is my friend Cameron. She’s an oncologist fellow at the hospital.”
Cameron held out her hand toward Isla and they shook. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“Finally?” Isla arched an eyebrow at Vera. “What have you been telling her about me?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Vera said with a wink.
“So,” Cameron looked around the room, “what do y’all think?”
“I love it all, really. It’s beautiful and perfect and my heart is so full and happy. You two have to let me repay you.”
“No way.”
“Not a chance.”
“This is all for you, Isla.” Vera beamed and it made Isla’s heart flutter. “Well, except for the toys we got Mason.”
“ I got Mason,” Cameron added.
“Cameron is basically a kid herself so she knows what they like.”
“It’s true.”
“Come on.” Vera took Isla’s hand and led her to Mason’s room. They found her playing on the floor with brand new Polly Pocket toys as well as some new Star Wars action figures and a plastic lightsaber.
“What do you tell Miss Vera and her friend, Mason?”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Mason hugged Vera first then paused briefly at Cameron before hugging her, too. As she went back to playing, the three adults stood huddled in the hallway.
“Are you sure I can’t repay you?”
“Not a chance.”
“At least let me take you both to dinner. It’s the least I can do.”
“I am really hungry.” Cameron dramatically clutched her stomach. “Vera didn’t let us break for lunch.”
Vera waved her off. “We go longer stretches without eating during surgeries.”
“Mason and I were going to go get pizza. Does that work for you two?”
“Absolutely.” Looking down at her clothes, then at Cameron’s, Vera grimaced. “We should probably change first though.”
“Oh, actually,” there was a twinkle in Cameron’s eyes, “I just remembered I need to get home and let the dog out.”
“But you don’t have…”
Cameron widened her eyes, as if trying to convey something to Vera. It took Vera a moment to realize that Cameron was letting Vera go alone with Isla and Mason to dinner.
Damn, she’s smooth.
“Oh, right,” Vera nervously laughed. “But I can still get dinner with you two.”
“Perfect.” The bemused look on Isla’s face told her she was onto Cameron’s game, but Vera didn’t care.
After making plans to meet at Pizza Parlour in an hour, Isla walked them to the front door. She waved goodbye to Cameron before taking a minute a quiet moment with Vera. They embraced, and Isla was reminded how safe she felt in Vera’s arm.
“Thank you so much for this.”
“You’re welcome.” Vera kissed the top of her head. “And my offer is good if you want to bring Mason over for a sleepover tonight.”
Biting her lip, Isla looked at Vera as she continued.
“I’m not expecting anything to happen. I have an extra bedroom that’s already made up for guests. You and Mason can sleep in there and then come back here tomorrow. Well,” she smirked, “after I made you both breakfast.”
“Sounds like a dream.”
“So, what do you say?” Vera’s eyes were pleading with her to say yes. “Pack your things for the night and bring them to dinner. You can follow me home after.”
“Are you sure?”
“Maybe this will tell you.”
Leaning in, Vera kissed her long and hard. There was so much passion behind it that Isla knew if she said yes to the invite, they’d have to keep their distance. Because her mind and body were in desperate need of more from Vera.
“That helped.”
“Good,” Vera smirked. “I’ll see you soon.”