Chapter Sixteen
“Hello.”
Maisy sounded nothing like her usual self; for half a second, Chase hesitated. “Maisy?”
“Oh, hi, Chase.”
Now she sounded breathless and stiff. Something was definitely off. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah…nothing. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
Her answer befuddled him. “Whyever not?”
He hadn’t stopped thinking of her from the moment he’d flown out of Seattle. All day he’d kept checking the time, eagerly waiting for the hours to pass so he could call her.
“Because of the things my brother said. Sean was being presumptuous, rude, and ridiculous; I was certain he’d offended you. I’m so sorry and incredibly embarrassed.”
“Don’t be.” So that was it. He hadn’t been put off the least bit by Maisy’s brother. If anything, he respected Sean for wanting to protect her. It was up to Chase to prove to Sean that he was sincere.
“I find it hard to believe you think my little talk with Sean would be enough to send me running for the hills.” That was almost laughable. The woman had no idea how deeply she’d implanted herself into his thoughts and actions.
“It’s just that…I can’t imagine what you must think of my family.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you. I think your family is simply wonderful.
The dinner was one of the happiest meals I’ve had in years.
The banter was refreshing. I loved how you all worked together to arrange for Patrick to play baseball.
” The conversation had been a revelation to him.
An eye-opener. Something he’d never experienced.
His mother disappeared from his life when Chase was only eight.
He didn’t understand where she’d gone or why.
At first his father had assured him Michelle would be back.
But as the weeks progressed, it became clear that wasn’t to be.
His birthday passed, and then Christmas, without a word.
Not even a card or a phone call. Nothing.
It was as if he no longer existed in his mother’s eyes.
The pain of her abandonment was sharp, and he’d often cried himself to sleep.
His father’s second marriage had been brief, hardly a blip in Chase’s memory. She was in and out of his life so fast it was difficult remembering her name. Alice, he now recalled.
As soon as he was old enough, Chase was sent off to school.
He’d thrived on the routine and discipline and made friends.
The first real ones of his life. Most of the boarders were like him, sent away because they were often unwanted intrusions for wealthy, distracted parents or when dealing with their stepmothers or their fathers’ busy careers.
That was certainly the case with Simon. His father was mostly a stranger to Chase until Simon had brought Chase into the business, following his graduation from college.
“I called because I wanted to tell you this paying-it-forward thing is really working with me.”
“It is?” Her voice rose slightly, revealing the first hint of enthusiasm.
“There’s a Starbucks on the street down from my office. I generally stop by for coffee in the morning on my way into the office. It made me think of you.”
“Starbucks did? Their coffee tastes bitter to me. How did you connect that with me?”
“Simple. Starbucks got its start in Seattle, right?”
“Yes, the original store is directly across from Pike Place Market. Have you been there?”
“No. Perhaps you can take me sometime.”
“I’d be happy to, one day. But I still don’t get the connection.”
“You’re both from Seattle, obviously.”
“Okay, but what does that have to do with generosity?”
“I was getting to that. I heard the man order behind me, and when I went to pay, I added his bill to mine. Because all I wanted was coffee, I left almost immediately, before the guy had any idea of what I’d done.
” Chase had felt good about it. He left with a huge smile on his face.
Apparently, his emotional high had been noticed.
Tristen, his assistant, had mentioned what a good mood Chase appeared to be in as he updated him on his schedule for the day.
“That’s great,” Maisy said, and sounded genuinely pleased. “You’re a quick study.”
“It’s all because of you, Maisy.”
“You give me far more credit than I deserve.”
“Do you remember mentioning to me passing out sandwiches to the homeless?”
“Of course.”
“There’s a homeless guy living in the alley by the office. Security got him to leave, but he came back. I walked past him today and saw him in a completely different light. I’ve decided I’m going to buy him a coffee tomorrow and see if there’s some way I can help him.”
“That’s great.”
“Again, it was an idea you inspired.”
“That makes my heart happy.”
He wondered if she had any idea how happy she made him as a whole. “Tell me more about your childhood.” He was eager to know everything about Maisy.
“My childhood? It was pretty average. The highlight was when Sean won a trip to Disneyland when he was in the fifth grade and the whole family got to go. It was the trip of a lifetime. Dad took a whole five days off work, and we went on every ride and ate out every meal. You can’t imagine what a wonderful time we had as a family. That was our only big vacation.”
“I envy you that time,” Chase said. “I’ve never been.”
“You’ve never been to Disneyland?” She sounded incredulous. “What about Disney World or any of the other Florida theme parks?”
“Nope. Dad was always too busy to take time off work. The highlight of my summer, if you could call it that, was some remote summer camp.” Not that he hated those times. He had some good memories from there.
“I’m sorry, I…I assumed you would have been to every amusement park ever built,” Maisy said sympathetically.
“No need to be sorry, I enjoyed camp,” Chase said, easing the tension with a short laugh. “Tell me more about your summers.”
At his encouragement, Maisy continued to recall her childhood experiences: swimming at the local pool, playing games in the park, riding bicycles, along with times spent with her cousins and grandparents.
Her experiences were far and away nothing like those of his own childhood. He realized as she spoke how much he’d missed. When he married, this was the type of life he’d want for his own family.
“Tell me about what it was like when you were a kid?” Maisy asked.
Chase gave her a brief description of his own childhood.
“Like I said, Dad sent me to summer camp as soon as school was out. I flew from the boarding school to the camp. I enjoyed my time there.” He didn’t mention that only rarely had his father shown up for parents’ weekend.
When it came time for camp to end, his father sent a driver to collect him and bring him back to Chicago.
Chase would return home to an empty house for a week or two before he returned to boarding school. He told Maisy none of this.
“What about your grandparents? Didn’t they play a role in your life?”
“No.” He knew how close Maisy was to her grandmother and wished it had been that way for him.
“Surely you had some contact with them?”
“My maternal grandparents died long before I was born, in a private airplane crash. Their death was the reason my mother had such a large trust fund.”
“What about your grandparents on your father’s side?”
Chase rarely talked about his lack of family. It’d never really bothered him until he’d met Maisy and her siblings and seen a family in action.
“My grandfather was busy with the bank and my grandmother was a socialite and deeply involved in charity projects. I saw them briefly at Christmas and got a card and money for my birthday, but other than that, I didn’t have any real connection with them.”
Maisy was silent for a moment. “I couldn’t imagine growing up without my grandparents. I’m sorry you missed out on that, Chase.”
“Yeah, me, too.” And he was. He’d never given it much thought, and realized how much he would have liked a relationship with what little family he did have.
They spoke for an hour nonstop, and everything seemed to be fine, when Maisy abruptly claimed she needed to help Patrick with his homework.
Chase was disappointed to end their conversation and reluctantly let her go.
He wanted more. Needed more. He doubted she’d lied to him about helping Patrick.
At the same time, he noticed a hesitancy with her, as if she wasn’t sure she could or should trust him.
He understood and was willing to be patient.
With time she would realize his interest was sincere.
—
The following afternoon, Chase was at his desk when his father walked in. It wasn’t unusual for the two of them to chat several times a day. Generally, Chase went to his father’s office. It was rare for Simon to visit him unless it was a matter of importance.
His father took a seat in the leather chair in front of Chase’s desk. The door leading into the outer office was closed.
“To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” Chase asked.
His father crossed his legs and leaned back, striking a comfortable pose. “I heard you took the corporate jet to Seattle the other day.”
“I did. Is that a problem?” Chase already knew it wasn’t.
“Not in the least. I didn’t know we had any business in the Pacific Northwest.”
“We don’t. I flew out for personal reasons.”
“Oh?”
A wealth of meaning went into the sole word.
“Was it to see that woman you mentioned?”
“Not entirely.” He paused, unsure how best to proceed.
It was difficult to talk to Simon about anything having to do with his mother.
Her name was rarely mentioned, and when it was, any discussion about Michelle brought up a whole slew of painful memories.
Early on, Chase quickly learned that his mother was a subject best avoided.
“I met with a couple of the people who attended Michelle’s services,” he clarified.
“And?”
Once more the weight of the single word hung in the room like thick smoke, choking and heavy.