Chapter 14Are you okay, Darling?
Chapter Fourteen
ARE YOU OKAY, DARLING?
Why on earth did Ivy visit Jasmine Journee before she did this lecture? What she wanted to do was hop on a plane and head home, but she had given her word. There was no way she would let the school down and besmirch her professional integrity by cancelling her lecture at the last moment. Thank God she was well-versed on this topic, and she had a PowerPoint prepared. The whole lecture was delivered on autopilot. Ivy hoped she did an adequate job of answering the questions which were asked. Despite feeling bad about it, she absolutely had to decline the luncheon that they had arranged in her honour. Her schedule also included attending dinner with the Dean and Dean of Science. She had to cancel the dinner as well. She apologised profusely.
However, it was soon forgotten when Ivy pledged a generous amount to the University’s Research and Development program from the Scott Educational Foundation.
The moment Ivy left the lecture hall, she rushed back to the rental car. Her bags were already packed and loaded.
“Roy, did you get clearance for the flight to take off right away?”
“Yes, Ivy, we are all set.”
The night before was sleepless. Rather than call Manny, she had texted him on her way back to her hotel. Ivy was sure he found it odd that she preferred to message rather than talk, but thankfully he hadn’t pushed for an explanation.
When she finally got into her room, Ivy decided to go old school. It was imperative that she see all the information she had obtained from Jasmine Journee in black and white. With meticulous care, Ivy wrote it all out in bullet point form.
Once she was done. The information was shocking. The first question which popped into her mind was, who the fuck had Jasmine Journee met in that bar in Vancouver and spent five days with?
If Manny’s DNA hadn’t proven he was the father, she would have pulled up a photo for Jasmine Journee to verify if it was, in fact, the same man.
Ivy’s mind bounced from one idea to the next as she tried to figure out where the pieces all fit together. She ended up with a headache. It felt like the answers were staring her in the face, but she was missing something obvious. The information from Jasmine Journee gave her more questions than she had before. It was driving her crazy.
After almost three decades, Ivy was certain she knew everything about Emmanuel Campbell Scott. The man who Jasmine Journee described wasn’t anything like the man, husband, and father whom she knew.
It had been that way from the beginning. When she was still fighting her attraction to him, and he would give her rides, Manny would talk to her. At first, it was one-sided, with him doing all the talking. Eventually, she began to participate. Before she knew it, the favourite part of her day was her conversations with him.
They had shared all of their hopes and dreams with each other. He told her all about his upbringing. What it was like being the heir to the Scott empire. If he had the choice, he would play football until his body told him to call it quits, then eventually own a team. Instead of the life he wanted, he had to compromise.
Live his professional dream for two years and then train to take over the family business. His father wouldn’t even have made any concessions if his mother hadn’t intervened. His mother had negotiated the deal with his father, even though Manny hadn’t voiced his discontent. If anyone knew him as well as she did, it was his mother.
The flight was four hours, and Ivy had been ready to head home. In fact, they were fifteen minutes away from their house when the feeling that she needed to speak to Mom hit her.
“Roy, I am sorry to do this, but can you please take me to the Scott Estate?”
When she arrived at the Estate, it was late afternoon. Hopefully, Mom and she could have a talk before dinner. By then, she hoped to be on her way. The butler was surprised to see her.
“Is Mom in?”
“Yes, Mrs. Scott is in the drawing room. Can I take your coat, Dr. Scott?”
She had given up long ago trying to make the older man call her Ivy. Once he had taken her coat and she removed her ankle boots, she followed the sound of the piano. Mom was a gifted pianist. Ivy stood in the door as her mother-in-law played a haunting tune. God. She hoped it wasn’t a forbearing of things to come. Once she played the last note, Ivy clapped. Mom gasped.
“Darling, you gave me a freight. What a lovely surprise.” She moved away from the piano and met Ivy halfway. Drawing her into a fierce hug.
For such a dainty lady, she was deceptively strong.
“What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” As she pulled back slightly from her daughter-in-law, she made the observation. “Hm, it looks like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulder. It is almost teatime. Let’s go through to the sunroom and we can talk about it.”
Before Ivy could object to the tea, her hand was clasped firmly, and she was led to one of her favourite rooms in the place. As they walked, Ivy was asked about her trip. She, of course, omitted her visit with Jasmine Journee. She was able to be partially truthful. “I was on my way home when I had the sudden urge to come by and see you.”
“Well, I am always happy to see you, Darling.” She stopped and pulled her into another one of her Wonder Woman/supermom hugs.
Once they were seated, and the tea was poured. Her mother-in-law looked at her. “My, you look serious. Would this talk be better served with something stronger?”
Ivy shook her head. She had to bite back a bark of laughter at the slight pout on the older woman’s face. Her mother-in-law never passed up an opportunity to have some brandy.
“I take it this is about you and Emmanuel?”
“No. Not really.”
“Hm. I keep asking if you are okay and you tell me you are coping.”
“Because I am.”
“I see. Tell me how your date on Saturday was.” Ivy felt the flush creep up her neck as memories assailed her.
Her mother-in-law smiled warmly and reached over and patted her hand. “Well. If your expression is any indication, it went well.”
“It did.”
“I am glad you two are working things out. I’ve always known you two were meant to be. He would come home and complain about his next-door neighbour. I would smile and indulge him because I knew he was already half gone for you.” Her mother-in-law never tired of recounting this tidbit of their history. For all intents and purposes, her mother-in-law was the family historian. She loved recounting stories.
The woman was also an absolute menace with any visual recording devices. Either she or someone she hired was there to capture all their moments. With both pictures and videos. In a digital world, she still insisted that everything be printed. Pretty much every moment of Emmanuel’s life was recorded. It was one of the things he grumbled about the most.
“You have no idea what it was like growing up with the photographer. My Mom was before her time. She has always been capturing every single moment.”
Ivy thought he had been exaggerating, but she had pulled out her high-lens camera the first time she met her.
“I have a feeling this meeting is going to be very special. I want to capture it.” Flash. Flash.
It had just been the beginning. Every moment her mother-in-law was around, she would see to it that it was captured on film. If Ivy thought, it was a lot when it was just her and Manny. Well. Grace seemed to double her efforts when it came to capturing the lives and achievements of her grandchildren. The children didn’t mind; it was all they knew. It was so second nature to them.
One of the children would say, “make sure you take a picture for Grandma.”
“Will you stay for dinner? Larson is off having dinner with some members of the board?”
Ivy made a mental note to shoot Manny a text and let him know what his father was doing. Yes, granted, Larson had known some of those men for decades and some were friends, but she had her guard up where he was concerned. As much as Larson wanted his son to take over the company. Sometimes she felt like her father-in-law was jealous of the great job his son was doing. Especially because Manny wasn’t running the company the way his father did.
“You know what? I’d love to have dinner with you. What are we having?”
“Korvstroganoff, I felt for something hearty. Oh, and we have fresh Limpa.”
“Sounds good. I will wash up and join you in the dining room.” It was one of the Swedish dishes that Ivy had gotten used to. She liked the gravy and enjoyed the rye bread.
Grace filled Ivy in on her trip with Sage. The two of them had a special bond. Her mother-in-law had been overjoyed to finally have a little girl to spoil.
Once dinner was finished, Grace sat beside her and pulled up her phone to show Ivy the pictures. It was all beautifully documented… from the time they arrived at the airport…
This woman documented everything. Always. This triggered Ivy’s memories.
No fucking way!!
“Hey Mom, you have made me super nostalgic. Can we look at Manny’s baby pictures?”
Her mother-in-law’s face lit up. She clapped. “Of course we can. I’ll have dessert served in the great room. Let me go get the albums.”
As Ivy waited for Grace to return, the feeling that she had grew. Why? Hadn’t anyone picked up on this fact before? She was certain if Manny knew what she suspected, he would have shared it with her.
“Ta-da.” Grace sang as she reappeared with three albums.
“Let’s start at the beginning,” Ivy announced. Grace handed her the first baby book and sat beside her, readying herself to give commentaries. Ivy closed her eyes and inhaled deeply in preparation. She opened her eyes and the album slowly. Her breath caught in her throat.
Grace rubbed her arm. “Are you okay, Darling?”
Ivy could only nod in response. This was the very first album of Emmanuel. The very first picture was of Manny in his crib.
Beneath it was written,
Manny four days old.
It was taken in his nursery. In this house. The next few were of only him. Ivy flipped three pages before seeing a picture of Grace holding Manny. Which was exactly what she needed to see. Yes, everyone was different. Especially after giving birth, but she would bet money that the young woman she was looking at… didn’t just give birth. Ivy gulped. Closed her eyes, then opened them. Searching for the right words.
What if you’re wrong? But Ivy didn’t think she was. If she was correct, she was about to poke the hornet’s nest and reveal a huge family secret.
Taking a deep breath to fortify herself, Ivy asked, “Mom, where are the pictures of when you were pregnant with Manny?”
Because those were photos that Ivy had never seen. Not one. There were many photos of young Grace, Grace and Larson. Their wedding, honeymoon, and travels. However, Ivy had never seen one of a pregnant Grace. Why had it never occurred to her before today?
Grace’s hand shook slightly in her lap. Her face was ashen. God, Ivy hated upsetting this beautiful woman who had been nothing but kind to her. Her mother-in-law closed the album, put it to her side and stood. She walked over to the frosted glass. Ivy doubted she could see beyond into the darkness, but she stood, stalk still, staring out the glass as if she was studying it for some great test. The room was heavy with silence. Ivy didn’t know what to do.
Grace ran her hand over her head, smoothing it. Once, twice. Then she turned to face Ivy. Her laugh was nervous, high-pitched. Then she winked. “Darling, I should have known it would be you who figured it out. After all these years, you would think I would be ready to face this?—”
“I’m sorry?—”
Walking back over to where Ivy sat, Grace shook her head.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, my Darling.” She took a seat beside Ivy and grasped her daughter-in-law’s hand.
“I’m going to tell you all I can. Honestly, I’m not sure where to start. So, I’ll just start at the beginning. When I was sixteen, my parents let me know I was promised to Larson, but they told me I didn’t have to marry him until I was twenty-one. The next year I asked to meet him. He was a nice boy. I figured we would have a good life. Here is the thing. Even at that young age, I very much knew what I wanted. More than anything, I wanted to be a mom.
I can’t remember when I didn’t want a child. The thing was, everyone else would get what they wanted from my marriage to a Scott. My parents had the wealth, but not the connections. The Scotts had the connections, but their wealth was smoke and mirrors. All the other parties involved were going to get what they wanted from this… so I thought I’d get what I wanted too. My parents, of course, were more than willing to allow me to get married at eighteen once they found out I was pregnant.”
A knock at the door interrupted Grace’s musings.
“That must be dessert. Come in Verna.”
Verna came in and quickly set out the dessert tray, and apéritif to go along with it. Then she nodded and was gone.
“Are you ready for dessert?” Grace asked.
“No, I am okay.”
“If you do not mind, I will pour myself some Dubonnet.”
Ivy couldn’t help but notice that her mother-in-law prepared her drink with only one ice cube and forwent both the zest and sparkling water.
Grace took a healthy gulp, and then asked, “where was I? Oh yes. I was eighteen and married. Two weeks after my honeymoon, I suffered my first miscarriage. It would be the first of many. Over the next six years, I would lose baby after baby. My parents and Larson begged me to stop. To pick a charity. What charity would fill the hole of a child?” Grace stopped and examined the glass.
“Then Larson found out about a colleague’s daughter who had gotten herself in trouble. At first, I refused. I wanted a baby of my own.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I wanted to give him his own child. I hadn’t told him yet, but I was pregnant again. A month later, I wasn’t. So, I agreed. I didn’t want to give up hope, but I didn’t feel like I had a choice.”
Grace drained her glass and poured some more. She looked at the glass, inspecting it and then sighed deeply, then put the glass down.
“The first time I held him. I knew he was mine. Up until I held him, his name was going to be Larson III but I looked into his little face, and he looked up at me with those precious little blue-grey eyes and I saw the soul of an Emmanuel. I also knew he was meant to be my little boy.”
When Ivy had felt the need to come and visit her mother-in-law. She hadn’t expected this revelation.
Whew, this was a whole lot to take in. So many questions raced through her mind it was hard to process it. Grace walked over and resumed her seat beside her.
“Why didn’t you tell him?” Ivy asked because she knew with certainty there was no way Manny knew this and didn’t tell her.
“I wanted to. We were going to tell him when he turned thirteen. Then, sixteen, then twenty-one. Those birthdays would come and go. I couldn’t bring myself to utter those words that he was my chosen son. Then I convinced myself that loving him with everything I was had to be enough. Besides, she knew we had him, and in all those years, she never reached out. Not once. As a matter of fact, that was a stipulation of the adoption. Even if I told him he wasn’t my birth son, ‘she’ never wanted her identity to be revealed to him.”
“You spoke to her?” This part was important because her gut instinct was raging again.
“No, I never spoke to her. Neither of us did. It was all handled through an attorney. You must think terribly of me.”
“No. Not at all. Why would I? I’ve always thought you did an amazing job raising a very special man.” Ivy reached over and drew her mother-in-law into her embrace. They stayed joined like that for a moment. Grace was the first to pull away. Her eyes held a sheen.
“I’ve been carrying that around for so long. I thought once I admitted it, it would be a weight off my chest. Instead, it feels like this ordeal is just beginning.”
Grace had no idea. Ivy was sure Grace just meant letting Emmanuel know, but if her hunch was correct. This revelation was going to stir the hornet’s nest on a grander scale.
“Ivy?” Her mother-in-law’s tone drew her attention from her musings.
“Yes?”
“You said, Emmanuel, and you are in a better place. Correct?”
Ivy nodded as her forehead creased. She was uncertain where Grace was going with this observation.
“I know this is a lot to ask, but I don’t think I can do it. Would you tell my boy what we have been keeping from him?”
Grace couldn’t be serious about this. Ivy was shocked. That was a huge ask. What was she thinking?
“I think he would take the news better if it came from you.”
Ivy was just about to tell her, absolutely not, that this was something that his parents needed to step in and tell him when a thought struck her.
“Alright. I will do it.”
“You will!?” Although she had made that huge ask, it was clear that she hadn’t expected Ivy to agree.
Maybe she should feel bad for what she was about to do, but Ivy needed information. Later, much later, she would allow herself to feel bad that she used this moment to gather it.
“Can you provide me with all the adoption paperwork?”
“See? You know Emmanuel well enough to think of gathering information. I will get it from the safe.”
“Thank you. If you don’t mind, I need a few days to figure out how to best break the news to him.”
“Yes, of course. Hell, I haven’t been able to brooch the topic in the last fifty years.”
Only the slightest twinge pricked her conscious. No, she wouldn’t share with her mother-in-law her true intent in obtaining the information. After Grace retrieved the papers from the safe, and Ivy had them securely in her purse, the women sat to finally had their desserts.
They talked about the children and avoided the newly placed elephant in the room. They would have probably talked longer, but Larson returned. Ivy was all too happy to leave Grace to discuss her recent admissions to her husband.