Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Joanna helped Eva into the house and lugged the giant suitcase over the threshold with a grunt. The girl hugged her, then immediately headed for the refrigerator.
“What a pleasant surprise,” Joanna said, following her into the kitchen.
Eva reached for a yoghurt, then found a spoon in a drawer and began to eat. She sat at the kitchen table with a sigh.
“I just had to come,” she said.
“Oh?” Joanna couldn’t stop looking at her belly, though she tried hard to resist.
“I’m having a baby,” Eva said.
Joanna nodded. “So I see.” She sat at the table and reached over to pat Eva’s hand. “Are you okay, honey?”
Eva’s eyes grew misty. “Mum’s impossible.”
Joanna waited.
“She doesn’t understand the way I feel. And she always wants to control me. Do you know what that’s like?”
“I’ve been sixteen,” Joanna replied in a comforting tone. “It can be a tough time. You feel like an adult, but you’re still a child and in need of guidance from your parents.”
Eva’s eyes flashed. “I don’t need their guidance. I can make my own decisions.”
Joanna eyed her stomach and held her tongue. “What happened, honey?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, that’s fine. You can tell me when you’re ready. I assume you’re staying?” She studied her granddaughter’s puffy eyes, rosy cheeks and messy hair. It looked like she hadn’t been getting enough rest.
She finished the yoghurt. “Could I please take a shower, Gran? I could use a lie down, too.”
“You make yourself at home, honey. I’ll throw together some dinner. I’m glad you’re here. You’re just the ray of sunshine I needed today.”
She gave her another hug and showed her to the guest room. She found her a towel, then headed back out to the kitchen to look through her recipes for something Eva might like. Her granddaughter had always been headstrong and had often clashed with Karen over the years. But this was worse than Joanna could have imagined. Why hadn’t Karen told her Eva was pregnant? Who was the father? And why had Eva shown up on her doorstep without warning? She didn’t want to push her granddaughter or drive her away. But she was dying to know what was going on. She flicked through a recipe book with her phone to her ear. The phone rang, then Karen’s voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hi, sweetheart, it’s Mum. I’m calling to let you know Eva showed up at my door just now. She’s fine and taking a shower.”
“Thank God,” Karen said and burst into tears.
Debbie yawned widely, then set the phone back in its cradle on her desk. Another client gone. They were leaving the firm en masse. She’d called everyone on Phil’s client list now, and it seemed he’d been preparing them for his exit for a while. He had most of them onside to transfer across to the new firm with him. She could probably sue him for it, but how much would that benefit her or the firm? They were gone. There was no bringing them back now.
With a sigh, she let her forehead fall into her hands. What she needed was a good night’s sleep. The adrenaline faded and her shoulders sagged, leaving them achingly tired. It was too much. She’d done everything she could. Now what? She would have to get back to working hard for the clients who’d stayed behind. If she neglected them to spend all her time chasing those who had left or going after Phil for his betrayal, she’d only lose more clients. No, she should focus on what she had rather than what she didn’t.
Back at their apartment, Debbie changed into a long dress and padded to the kitchen to start dinner. She found Caleb there slicing up vegetables, music playing on their sound system.
“You’re home early,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
He smiled at her. “I thought I’d make you a nice steak for dinner. You’ve had such a hard week since Phil announced he was leaving.”
Her throat tightened. “Thank you.”
She sat on a bar stool at the bench and munched on sticks of celery he’d deposited in front of her.
“How’s it all going?” he asked, one eyebrow quirked.
She shrugged. “Not great. He’s taken about half his clients with him. The other half say they’ll stay, but I’ve had to offer them all kinds of discounts and benefits. It doesn’t feel worth it somehow. Especially after all I’ve done for them over the years.”
“It’s part of the business,” he replied.
She nodded. “I know. Maybe I’ve had enough.”
“Do you think it’s time to let go?”
“I don’t know anymore. I had intended to hand the firm over to Phil after I retired. Now that he’s gone, who will take over? What legacy can I possibly leave behind? What if the other partners all take this opportunity to exit? There are so many unknowns, my head is spinning.”
He smiled and poured her a glass of red wine. “Take a break from thinking about it. You can’t do anything else until the morning, and you need to wind down a little.”
She took the wine and sipped it. “You’re right. I can’t do anything else at the moment.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and powered it down. “I’m going to leave everything for tonight. I can’t bear to read another email or take another phone call. It’s too much. After all these years and everything I’ve built…”
“I know, but we’ll be okay.”
“Will we?”
He cupped her chin with one hand and gazed into her eyes. “We have each other. That’s all that matters. We almost didn’t make it, but we found our way back to one another, and because of that, I know that we can face anything that comes our way.”
She sniffled. “I needed that. Thank you.”
He returned his attention to the vegetables in front of him, slicing the ends off some asparagus. Then he took the steak out to the BBQ on their patio. She followed him and sat in a chair to watch him cook. He looked so handsome standing in front of the grill with the tongs in one hand, his hair tousled from the breeze.
They listened to music and talked about their favourite bands. Then, they ate steak, drank wine, and snuggled together as they watched the sun set over the city. Finally, they went inside and made love. Debbie fell asleep to the soft sounds of jazz playing in the living room, her belly full and with a feeling of contentment washing over her.