Chapter 44 Annabelle
Annabelle
Annabelle opened the hotel door and was struck by a feeling of déjà vu.
Chase’s room was next to hers. Like in her dream.
And the room was exactly like the one in her dream.
She walked out onto the balcony and sat on the wicker chair, gazing out at the palm trees on the beach.
The balcony looked a little different; the terra-cotta floor and white railing hadn’t been in her dream.
But the view was the same, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was living in some sort of parallel universe.
The sound of the crashing waves calmed her and she closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the breeze on her face and the smell of the salt air.
She was meeting Chase in a few hours for dinner.
Her phone rang, and she went back inside to get it. It was James.
“You arrive all safe and sound?”
“Yep. No issues. It’s gorgeous here. Remind me again why we don’t live in California?”
“Um, because my practice and my parents are in Connecticut.”
“I’m joking, but, man, it’s so nice to be out of the cold,” she replied.
“Enjoy. So, listen. Scarlett told me about the ski trip.”
Her stomach dropped. Shit. “Yeah, I forgot to mention it to you. I don’t know Avery or her parents, and I’m not comfortable with her going away with them.”
There was silence on the line.
“James?” She heard him sigh.
“This is about your dreams, isn’t it?”
“I thought you didn’t want to hear about my dreams.”
“Annabelle, you can’t put your anxiety on the kids. It’s perfectly reasonable for Scarlett to want to go skiing with her friend. I spoke with Avery’s father last night, and I’m comfortable with her going. She’s not a baby, and you can’t treat her like one.”
Panic made her heart beat faster. Something terrible was going to happen to Scarlett.
She knew it. Only now Annabelle was three thousand miles away and powerless to stop it.
“James, please listen to me. I’m not treating her like a baby.
I know she’s going to get hurt if she goes skiing.
” The image of Scarlett’s bloodied body from her dream came to her again.
“Call it women’s intuition, but please go along with me on this. ”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. One of us has to be reasonable. Did you make that appointment with Monica?”
“I tried, but I found out she passed away.”
“Oh no! That’s terrible. Well, I can ask around for some referrals.”
“If I promise to make an appointment with someone, will you change your mind about the ski trip?”
“No. I promised Scarlett she could go. I think—”
She wiped away tears of frustration. “I gotta go.” She cut him off and ended the call, throwing her phone on the bed. She started pacing, scrambling to come up with a way to stop Scarlett. Picking up the phone again, she called her mother-in-law.
“Annabelle? Is everything okay? James said you’re away on a business trip.”
“I am. Look, Charlotte, I need your help.”
“What is it, dear?”
“Scarlett has plans to go skiing this weekend with a new friend, and I’m worried.”
“Worried? About what?”
“I’ve never met the parents and it’s a girl who Scarlett just started hanging around with. Scarlett almost got suspended for vaping, and it was connected to Avery.” Her words were technically true, so she wasn’t lying. She needed to make Charlotte concerned if this was going to work.
“That doesn’t sound good. Did you speak to James about this?”
“That’s the thing. I told Scarlett she couldn’t go, and she waited until I left to persuade James to let her go. He feels caught in the middle. She’s got him wrapped around her finger.” Not exactly true, but Charlotte didn’t need to know that.
“I don’t think I should insert myself in the middle of this, dear. I’m sorry. But James has good sense, and I can’t call his judgment into question.”
Charlotte didn’t seem to mind calling Annabelle’s judgment into question in the past. She could see she wasn’t going to get anywhere with her mother-in-law. “Okay, I understand. Please, don’t mention this to James.”
“All right, but I have to warn you, darling, being at odds over the children is not good for your marriage. You need to have a united front.”
“That’s what I’m trying to say. James is the one who isn’t keeping a united front. I said no, and he allowed Scarlett to go around me.”
“Again, this is between the two of you. I think you need to discuss it with James. It’s not good to get others involved.”
Annabelle wanted to scream. “I take your point. Will you please give me your word that this will stay between us?”
“Yes, of course. I’m always here if you need to talk.”
Annabelle still had a day to try to figure something out. Scarlett wasn’t leaving until tomorrow afternoon and wouldn’t be on the slopes until Saturday.
—
Chase was waiting in front of the restaurant when Annabelle got downstairs. They were seated right away at an outside table facing the ocean. She inhaled deeply, trying to relax. Their drinks arrived, a vodka tonic for Chase and a glass of Sancerre for Annabelle.
“Cheers,” Chase said, lifting his glass to hers. “Thanks for coming with me. I know it was short notice.”
She took a sip of her wine. “It’s not exactly a hardship. It’s so beautiful here.”
“Still, I’m sure it wasn’t easy to line up help. You mentioned when we had lunch that you have two daughters.”
She nodded. “I was going to ask my mother-in-law to come and stay at the house, but my husband was able to juggle his schedule a bit. Plus, we have a part-time nanny.” His bringing up the girls made her think of the ski trip again. The pit in her stomach grew.
Chase gave her a concerned look. “Is everything all right?”
“My daughter is going skiing over the weekend, and I’m a bit nervous about it.”
“Oh? Has she ever been before? Are you afraid she’ll get hurt?”
Annabelle didn’t know if it was because she’d dreamt of Chase, but it felt like he was someone she knew well, someone she could confide in. “Yeah, I guess. It’s been a stressful few weeks. Some issues with my one daughter at school. Anyway.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m being overprotective.”
“I can understand why you’d feel that way. Especially being so far away. We do everything in our power to protect our kids, when the reality is, we have far less control than we think. But I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
She nodded. “You’re right about that. I feel so powerless. But she was hell-bent on going, so whether I’m here or back home, there’s not much I can do about it now. But enough about me. Tell me about your family. You have a son, right?”
His face lit up. “Yes, a great kid. A high school sophomore already. The time has flown.”
“He’s your only child?”
A look passed over his face that Annabelle couldn’t discern, but he seemed sad. “Yeah.”
Something told her not to press it. “Well, you’re right about time passing so quickly. I feel like I blinked and they morphed from babies into little girls, and now I’ve got a teenager. Not loving the sass.”
Chase laughed. “I get it. Are your daughters close?”
“Hmm, yes and no. They love each other, of course, but Scarlett’s going through this stage where everything her sister says or does, she thinks is babyish. But Olivia adores her, and Olivia’s my sunshine child. Nothing seems to get her down. They’re both wonderful in their own ways.”
“They’re lucky to have such a great mom,” he said.
She smiled. “Thanks. Not sure Scarlett would agree right now, but in all seriousness, we do enjoy our family life. It’s just going a lot faster than I imagined.”
“It does fly. I try to spend as much time as I can with Lucas. Course now that he’s in high school, he doesn’t want me around as much. But we’re still close. Tara, my wife, thinks I dote on him too much, but I keep reminding her that he’ll be off to college before we know it.”
“My husband accuses me of the same thing. Says I let the kids get away with too much. I suppose it’s good, though, that balance between the parents. Otherwise, the kids would get away with murder.”
Chase nodded, but the expression on his face led her to believe that things might not be great between him and his wife.
Before veering off into dangerous territory, she moved the conversation to a discussion of the conference tomorrow and what they wanted to accomplish.
By the time they finished dinner, Annabelle felt even more at ease with him.
Despite it being only a little past nine, it was close to midnight in her internal clock, and she suddenly felt exhausted. They walked back to their rooms.
“Thanks again for coming. I feel bad for pulling you away from your family over the weekend, but I’m glad to have you here.”
She smiled at him. She still felt anxious about being so far away, but there was no need to make Chase feel bad. “It’s fine. Maybe a change of scenery will do me good.”
“Good night, then,” he said, and went into his room.
Annabelle got undressed and plugged her phone into the charger.
She noticed she had a text from James wishing her good night with a heart emoji.
Her hand hovered over the phone, ready to answer, but she was still pissed at him.
Regardless of whether or not she was overreacting, he had done the wrong thing by overruling her.
And she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen, but she prayed she was wrong.
The more she thought about the way he kept insisting she talk to a therapist like something was wrong with her, the angrier she got.
Why couldn’t he listen and be supportive, like Chase?
It was the first time in her marriage that she was comparing James to another man.
And he didn’t compare favorably. Her text tone sounded again. Chase.
Chase: Thanks for a great night and for coming with me. Sweet dreams
She hesitated for a moment and then she began to type.
Annabelle: Thanks for listening and not making me feel silly for worrying
Chase: My pleasure. xx
She put the phone on the nightstand and turned out the light, a smile on her face.