Chapter 29 #2
They followed Andi into the office where she offered them coffee or sodas. They both chose diet sodas, and Andi opened the cans for them. “I can’t believe you guys are here.”
“We wanted to see where you’re living, dear,” Betty said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t. You’re staying here I hope.”
“We are,” Lou said. “We wanted to check out your new hotel, too. It’s so lovely.”
“Where’s Eric?” Betty asked.
“With Jack.” Andi felt a pang at the sound of his name rolling so easily off her tongue, as if everything were normal. “He’ll be dropping him off here in a while.” She paused before she added, “There’s something I need to tell you…”
“Is something wrong, honey?” Betty asked. “I knew you didn’t look quite right. Is it the babies?”
“Everything’s fine with the babies.” She took a moment to summon the courage to tell her mother the truth. “I’m not with Jack anymore.” It hurt to say the words.
Betty gasped. “Since when? Why?”
“His wife’s medical situation improved. She’s recovering, actually. I moved out about a month ago.”
“Oh, honey. Oh God, I’m sorry—not that his wife is better, but what it means for you…”
“You tried to tell me,” Andi said with a shrug that did nothing to betray her true feelings. “I didn’t listen.”
“You followed your heart.”
Andi looked at her mother with surprise.
“I have to give you credit for that. But what’ll you do? You’ll have three children!”
“I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done. I’ll work and take care of my kids and do the best I can. That’s all I can do.” She still found it hard to believe she’d be doing it all without Jack and the girls. She missed them almost as much as she missed him.
“Will you come home to Chicago?” Lou asked.
Andi shook her head. “My children’s father is here, and he’ll want to be involved with them—all of them.”
“He still sees Eric?” Betty asked.
“Every week. He won’t let Eric down, and he won’t let these children down, either.” Andi ran a hand over her pregnant belly. “That’s the one thing I’m sure of.”
Betty reached out to caress Andi’s face. “Are you all right, honey?”
The loving gesture put a lump in Andi’s throat. “I’m better than I was. I miss them all so much. But sometimes I think I’ll die from missing him.” Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she swiped at them, refusing to give in to the helpless grief again.
Betty hugged her daughter. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s such a mess, and you told me it would be.”
“Not another word about that,” Betty said. “We’ll get through this together. Don’t you worry.”
Andi spent a lovely week with her mother and aunt. Eric was thrilled to see them. They spoiled him rotten and insisted on pampering Andi, too.
They left promising to be back to help when the babies arrived. Andi appreciated that her mother offered only support and never came close to saying, “I told you so,” even though Andi wouldn’t have blamed her if she had. Who could’ve predicted just how big of a mess she’d find herself in?
Andi was working in her office the day after her mother and aunt went back to Chicago when the front desk called to tell her she had a visitor. She walked out to the lobby and was surprised and thrilled to find Kate waiting for her.
“What’re you doing here?” Andi asked as she hugged the girl.
Kate gaped at the round bulge under Andi’s black dress.
Andi laughed at her reaction. “I know. I’m explosive.” The babies seemed to get bigger by the day, and she found herself frequently out of breath as they squeezed closer to her lungs. “Come on back.”
“I know you told Frannie you don’t want to see us,” Kate said as she followed Andi to her office.
“Oh, sweetie, it’s not that I don’t want to see you. I just think it’s better for you to focus on your mother. But I’m so glad you’re here.” Andi patted the sofa. “Come, have a seat.”
“I’m glad I came. I’ve missed you. We all have.”
“I’ve missed you, too. But I’m so happy for you girls that your mother’s getting better. You must be thrilled to have her back.”
“I guess,” Kate said with a shrug. “I mean, we are, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that she’s…well… She’s different. She seems mad a lot of the time.”
“I’m sure she’s very angry to have lost so much time with you all. I can’t imagine how that must feel.” Andi didn’t mention the far more obvious reason for Clare’s anger.
“I wanted to tell you that Dad has agreed to give me a year to pursue my music. He’ll even pay for me to have an apartment in Nashville. I have to wait until I’m eighteen in November, and then I’ve got a year to get a recording contract. If I can’t do it in that time, I have to go to college.”
Andi was proud of Jack and knew how far he’d had to bend to reach such a compromise with Kate. He’d never have the animosity with his daughter that he’d experienced with his own father. “That sounds very fair. Are you happy with it?”
“It was hard for him, I get that, but I can do it. I know I can.”
“I have no doubt. You certainly have the talent. What’ll you do until November?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I was wondering if I could work here. I know you planned on outdoor entertainment in the summer, and it’d give me a great chance to practice before a live audience and to try out some of my own songs.”
“Have you talked to your father about this?”
Kate nodded. “He said I have to ask you, that it’s your decision.”
So he put the ball in my court, Andi thought.
Kate would be a terrific draw on the verandas, each of which had outdoor bars in the summer.
She decided to hire her to work during the day when the crowds at the bar were less likely to be rowdy, since she was still only seventeen.
However, Andi wanted Kate to believe in her talent and not see the job as a favor.
“My assistant manager, Jen Brooks, is in charge of hiring the entertainment. You’d have to try out for her. Is that okay?”
Kate’s eyes widened. “Now? I have my guitar in the car.”
“Do you have something ready?”
“I’ve been working on a few new things—well, really they’re old things, but you know how I love the old stuff.”
Smiling at Kate’s enthusiasm, Andi walked around her desk to open the door. “Let me find Jen and see if she can do it now. Go get your guitar and meet me back here.”
She surprised Andi with a hug. “Thanks, Andi.”
Kate went to get her guitar, leaving Andi staggered for a moment by intense longing for Kate, her sisters, and their father. She shook it off and went to find Jen, who was happy to be brought in on Andi’s plan to hire Kate but to make it look like it was Jen’s decision.
“Wait until you hear her play,” Andi said. “It won’t be any decision at all.”
They escorted Kate into the deserted lobby lounge, which wasn’t due to open for another hour. Kate set up her guitar and plugged it into the amplifier on the small stage while Jen flipped on the power to the microphone.
Watching Kate tune her guitar and do a quick sound check on the microphone, Andi was startled by her professionalism. She hoped Jack was prepared for his daughter’s success.
“This was originally done by Carole King,” Kate told them.
As Kate began to play, Jen looked at Andi as if to confirm she’d been right about the young girl with the powerful talent. She played “Now and Forever,” a song about a perfect love that had gotten away and the memories it left behind.
As Kate played the last notes of the song, Andi stood, muttered an apology, and rushed from the room. The song had pushed its way past her stiff resolve and punctured her broken heart by summing up exactly how she felt without Jack.
She ran through the crowded lobby where one employee after another called out to her with concern.
Pushing through the large double doors leading to one of Jack’s stone verandas, she hurried across the lawn.
Andi knew she shouldn’t be running in her condition but was unable to stop herself until the grass met the rocky shore.
There she sank to the grassy lawn and sobbed.
That’s where Kate found her.
She sat next to Andi. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think before I played that song. I was so excited to have the chance to try out.”
Andi reached out to hug her. “I’m sorry I reacted that way. At least you don’t have to wonder if your music touches people.”
Laughing softly, Kate said, “If it helps at all, I don’t think my dad is in much better shape.”
Strangely comforted to hear that, Andi held Kate close to her for a moment longer. “You got the job.”
Kate’s eyes lit up. “I did?”
“You’re going to knock ’em dead, Kate, here and anywhere you go. I have no doubt. Someday when you’re rich and famous, remember who gave you your first job.”
“I’ll never forget,” Kate said softly. “I’ll never forget any of it.”
“I won’t, either.” For however long it had lasted, they’d been a family, and neither of them would ever forget it.
“You can start on Sunday at two. Wear whatever you’re comfortable in.”
Kate hugged her again. “Thank you so much, Andi. Walk you back inside?”
“I think I’ll stay out here for a few more minutes.” Andi looked out over the vivid blue waters of the bay where a few sailors enjoyed one of the first warm spring days. “I’ll see you soon.”
After Kate walked away, Andi reclined on the grass and let the sun warm her face. The babies moved relentlessly, reminding her that life went on even when it seemed the world had ended.