Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Vivian sat down across from Terrence at their cozy corner table at Ocean Breeze Café.
He still gave her butterflies whenever they went out on a date together, and she thought to herself that he looked handsome in his clean and starched light blue dress shirt.
Terrence always looked clean and tidy, but she had stopped seeing him as fussy and now saw him as faithful and dependable.
“How's your day going, sweetheart?” he asked her, his eyes on her face. She loved it when he looked at her like that. He looked as though he was memorizing her, treasuring every part of her.
“It's going very well,” she told him, returning his warm smile. “I dropped off a couple of casseroles at Julia's just now. She's doing great, and she and Cooper and Macey are just beside themselves with happiness over Quinn.”
“I'm so happy to hear that. They were already such a great little family, and I know adding this new little one to the mix is only going to strengthen their bond. Let me know if they need anything, I'd be happy to help.”
She beamed at him. Terrence was always ready to lend a helping hand, whether it was to her family or to anyone else in the community.
She appreciated that about him very much.
“I'll definitely let you know if they need help with anything,” she told him.
“Right now, I think they have everything they need. Julia got all kinds of goodies at her baby shower, and they still have some baby items from when Macey was born.”
“That's good.” He nodded. “It's always important to have the right tool for the job.”
She laughed. “You sound like Jacob.”
“Good, he's a wise man.” Terrence picked up the menu in front of him and tapped on the listing for eggs benedict. “I know what I'm getting,” he told her. “What would you like?”
“Oh, I think I'll get the eggs benedict as well,” she said after perusing the menu for a few moments.
Ocean Breeze Café was run by her dear friend Sally Lipton, and Vivian had eaten there countless times.
She had the menu memorized, so it wasn't difficult for her to decide on what she wanted to order.
Once Vivian and Terrence had given their order to the waitress and were contentedly sipping their cups of coffee, she thought of the money that she had found in the attic.
In all the excitement over Quinn's birth, she had kept it pushed out of her mind.
Now that her closest confidant was sitting in front of her however, she realized that she should tell someone, and that he was the best person to tell first. Not only would he not experience the intense emotions that any of her children were sure to feel over the news, but he was certain to give her good, wise advice.
“I do have some other news,” she said slowly, her eyes on the table.
She looked up at him and saw that his expression was one of concern.
It was clear that he had sensed how tumultuous her emotions were about the subject.
“I found something when I was going through an old trunk in the attic the other day.”
“What was it?” he asked gently.
Vivian inhaled, feeling her chest ache a little as she thought again about Frank's betrayal and the way he had tried to fix it. “You remember that Frank left a lot of gambling debts when he passed, right?”
Terrence nodded, his frown of concern deepening. “Are there more debts that you didn't know about?”
“No.” She shook her head, realizing that the situation could indeed be much worse.
“Thankfully, it's actually the opposite. I found a shoe box absolutely stuffed with money. There are thousands of dollars in it. There was also a note from Frank, making it clear that he had been storing the money, hoping to pay off all of his debts at once.”
Terrence’s jaw dropped for one moment before he quickly clicked it shut again. He was silent for a few moments, and then he simply said, “Well.”
Vivian found herself chuckling over his reaction.
“It is a lot to take in,” she agreed. “And I know it’s not a bad thing, not ultimately—it’s good that he was trying to fix what he’d done.
And of course, suddenly finding out you have a lot of money isn’t exactly a bad thing either, although I have no idea what to do with it.
It’s just that I have such conflicted emotions about the whole thing.
It’s another thing he didn’t tell me. I wish he’d trusted me, I wish he’d –”
She stopped speaking, feeling tears spring into her eyes. She quickly blinked them back, but Terrence noticed them. He reached across the table and took her hand, stroking her thumb gently.
“It’s okay,” he assured her. “Your feelings are valid, even if you aren’t sure what they are yet.”
She laughed, feeling grateful for him and realizing that was exactly what she’d needed to hear.
“I appreciate that he tried to get the money, and that he worked so hard to repair the damage he’d done.
That means a lot to me. But I also feel angry that he never told me about any of it—finding out about his secrets was bad enough, but we almost lost the pub.
All the while the money we needed was sitting up there in the attic, but I didn’t know that it was there because he never told me.
” She inhaled and let out a long sigh, releasing some of her frustration along with it.
“That’s a lot for you to process.” Terrence’s expression was compassionate.
“I never met Frank, but it’s clear from the way the children talk about him that he was a good man who loved you all very much.
I know he failed you, and I’m sorry things happened the way they did, but I don’t want you to feel as though this erases everything good that he was in your life. ”
“You’re right.” She smiled gratefully at him.
“I just want to remember Frank as the loving father of my children, but –” Her emotions swelled up again, uncontrollable.
“But finding out that he’d been gambling behind my back was challenging enough—and now knowing that we could have been saved so much worry if he’d simply shared his money-saving plan with me—” She shook her head, biting her lip.
“That just drove the knife in deeper, in spite of the fact that he was trying to do good.”
“The shock and the pain of all this will fade with time. And you don’t have to experience this alone,” he reminded her.
“The first thing you need to do is share this news with your children. They deserve to know, even though it will be difficult for them too, and they can help you process the news.”
“You’re right. I feel nervous about it, but I also think it’s the right thing to do. Can—can I ask a favor of you?”
“Of course.” He leaned forward, her knight in cotton armor ready to protect her.
“Would you be there with me while I tell them?”
He squeezed her hand, nodding. “Of course I will be, if you want me to be.”
“I would definitely appreciate it.” She smiled at him, wondering how to express to him how much his steady, reassuring presence meant to her.
“Here’s your eggs benedict!” Their waitress appeared, holding two steaming plates of food. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“No, that should be everything,” Terrence said politely, after glancing at the napkin holder and noting that there were plenty of napkins left in it. “Thank you very much.”
“Sure thing.” The waitress smiled and departed, and Vivian felt as if a cloud had been lifted from their conversation. They ate their first few bites of the delicious food, and then their talk turned to other, more cheerful subjects, such as baby Quinn.
I know I’ll have to tell my children soon, she thought, but I’m so thankful that I’ll have this faithful man by my side.
She and Terrence continued to enjoy their meal together, and her heart felt significantly lighter than it had before.