Chapter 2
Chapter Two
C ece Davenport held onto her smile until she was back inside.
Then she deflated. Was this really her life?
Writing stories for the community newsletter on a mall ?
Interviewing a neighbor ? She’d had a National Press award once.
That was gone now. Rescinded due to lies that she’d known nothing about.
“How far the mighty have fallen, Peanut.”
Peanut, her little orange and black calico cat, ignored Cece to continue sunbathing on the steps that led to the loft.
The loft that was supposed to have been her office, where she was going to write her masterpiece novel exposing the newspaper industry for what it really was.
But the last time she’d been up there had been to put away the Christmas things. The loft had become her storage area, which was probably what it was for most people. It would stay that way, too. She didn’t have it in her to revisit the industry that had left her broken and shamed.
A car horn honked, making her jump. She looked out the window to see Natalie in the driveway.
She grabbed her purse. “Don’t wait up, Peanut. Might be late.”
She went out, locked the door, and walked to her daughter’s SUV.
Natalie smiled as Cece got in. “Morning.”
“Morning. How are you?”
“Good. I got you a caramel latte.”
Cece looked down. There were two Starbucks cups in the console’s holders. She didn’t like Starbucks, preferring to spend her money locally or, better yet, at home, but it was the thought that counted. “Thank you.”
She put her seatbelt on while Natalie backed out. “How’s Jim?”
“He’s good.” Natalie’s smile was tight. “Off to Texas for that conference I told you about, so it doesn’t matter how late I get home.”
Cece didn’t comment. The man traveled a lot.
But that wasn’t her business, no matter how much she wanted to dig.
If Natalie wanted to talk, she would. “What about Tyler? You’re not leaving my grandson to fend for himself, are you?
” Thirteen seemed a little young to be home alone, but kids grew up so fast.
“No,” Natalie said, her smile more genuine now. “He’s staying over at Blake’s tonight. They have a group science project to work on, so Blake’s mom said Ty might as well spend the night.”
“All right then. Orlando, here we come. Just don’t forget, I have that book club thing tonight.”
“I’ll have you home in time. It’s not until seven, right?”
“Right.”
During the entire drive, Jim didn’t come up again. Maybe that was by design. Cece let it go. It was very possible that things between him and her daughter were a little rocky and this day was the escape Natalie needed.
As Natalie parked, Cece hoped the day would be exactly that. An escape. “I really appreciate you driving, Nat.”
“Sure, Mom.”
They got out and wandered into the mall, coming in through the huge glass-front entrance. The smell of chlorine from the big water feature hit them instantly. From here, both floors of the mall were visible, along with the escalator system that led upstairs.
“Where to first?” Natalie asked.
“I guess let’s just walk this floor and get a feel for the place. Then we can go upstairs and do the same. Whenever you’re ready for lunch, just let me know and we’ll find a place. The food court should be decent. My treat, since you drove.”
They walked and window shopped, going into a few stores, but with no real intentions. Mostly, they commented on what was cute, what was questionable, and once they were out of the store, how welcoming the staff was.
“I bet that will change when we get upstairs,” Natalie said. “That’s where most of the fancy stores are. Gucci, Chanel, Hermes. You know, all those places where rich people shop. I bet the staff in those stores are a little more reserved.”
Cece nodded. Blaise had been wearing Gucci sunglasses and a Chanel ballcap this morning. Not the first time Cece had seen her in them. And Beau was never without his Louis Vuitton collar, unless he was wearing the Gucci one.
Blaise obviously had money.
Was that why she’d declined to be interviewed? Cece never held that against anyone. She wouldn’t have wanted to be interviewed, either. She liked to keep a low profile. It was one of the big reasons she went by Cece now and not Cecelia.
But Blaise saying no made her curious, all the same. That was just her nature. And part of why she’d been such a successful journalist.
Until someone else had done even more digging and revealed that her source had forged paperwork, emails, and layered lie upon lie, all in an attempt to get revenge.
Natalie nudged her. “You okay? You just got the crankiest look on your face.”
Cece immediately blinked and forced a smile. “Did I? Sorry.”
“Thinking about Dad?”
“What? No.” Cece snorted. Her ex-husband was enough to put her in a bad mood, though.
“He makes me cranky, too, so I get it. At least you don’t have to deal with him as much.”
“You shouldn’t either.”
Natalie pointed at a dress in one of the windows. “That’s pretty.” They stopped to take a closer look. “Dad calls once a week to check in.” She sighed. “I think he’s trying to make up for leaving like he did.”
“Maybe.” Cece shrugged, not really caring what her ex did.
He’d said the scandal was too much. Too embarrassing.
She’d suspected he was already involved with someone else, and not long after he’d left, that suspicion had been confirmed.
But she’d been too busy trying to survive ovarian cancer to do anything about it.
Fortunately, she had survived. No thanks to her husband.
She chose to focus on the dress. “You should try it on. That color would suit you.”
“It’s probably five hundred dollars. Jim would kill me if I spent that kind of money on a dress. Especially with Tyler’s braces not paid off yet.”
“Trying it on costs nothing.” She grabbed her daughter’s arm and tugged her into the shop.
As it turned out, the dress was only three hundred and twenty-five dollars, and it looked spectacular on Natalie, but then, she looked great in everything, even if Cece was biased in that regard.
Natalie did a twirl, making the dress’s gossamer skirt float out. “It is really pretty.”
“I’ll buy it for you,” Cece said. She didn’t mind spending the money. She’d done all right in the divorce. And if it made Natalie happy, it was well worth it.
“Mom, you can’t.”
“I can.”
Natalie shook her head. “That’s a generous offer and it’s a beautiful dress, but where would I wear it? It’s too nice for church.”
“PTA meeting?”
Natalie laughed.
“Jim has work functions you go to sometimes, doesn’t he?”
She nodded, her expression darkening. “Yeah. But I don’t usually go to those.”
Cece’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing. Again, trying not to pry.
Natalie tipped her head toward the dressing room. “Back in a minute.”
While she was changing, Cece browsed around, mostly looking at the earrings. Not so much because she wanted to buy a pair, but she did the beadwork class at the community center every month and was always looking for inspiration.
She picked up a pair of turquoise and purple hoops made of seed beads and silver spacers. Very pretty. And probably something she could make. She snapped a pic with her phone as Natalie came out.
Cece tucked her phone away. “Are you getting the dress?”
“Not today. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“You’re welcome.”
They made it around the rest of the mall then took the escalator up to the second floor, which put them right in front of Burberry.
Cece stopped to look, nostalgia getting the best of her. “I used to have a Burberry trench coat. Found it in a charity shop in London when I was there on assignment in 1988.”
“What happened to it?” Natalie asked.
“I gave it to a friend when I got pregnant with you. Wouldn’t fit me anymore.”
Natalie grinned. “Sorry. Maybe I should be buying you something.”
Cece laughed. “Let’s finish this side and get some lunch.”
“I’m ready.”
They walked around window shopping until they got to the food court. They both ordered burgers and French fries, not Cece’s usual fare, but it wasn’t every day she got to hang out with her daughter.
They found a table away from everyone else and sat.
“I’m really glad we could do this,” Cece said. “It’s good to spend time with you.”
“You, too.” Natalie picked up a fry, ate it, then took a deep breath. “How did you know Dad was having an affair?”
“I didn’t, really. Not until after he left. Why?”
Natalie exhaled, but it sounded more like a sigh. “Because I think Jim is having one.”