Chapter 4
Monday was miserable for Claire for most of the day.
Morning sickness kicked in hard around eleven, and she could barely keep anything down.
She thought she might have to reschedule dinner with her grandmother, but after an afternoon nap and a slice of toast that stayed down, she finally felt the nausea subside.
She headed to meet Grammy at five o’clock sharp.
Her grandmother liked to eat early, and that was fine with Claire.
When she arrived, her grandmother was waiting for her in the common area, just inside the library.
It was a big cozy room with a stone fireplace and a gas fire that flickered merrily.
Three women sat around a table, working on a complicated jigsaw puzzle.
Claire’s grandmother sat nearby in a cozy club chair, engrossed in the latest Danielle Steel novel, in large print.
She looked up and smiled when Claire walked up.
She closed the book, stood, and pulled Claire in for a hug.
“It’s so good to see you.” She took a long, appraising look. “You look well. You’re sure you’re pregnant?”
Claire laughed. “Thank you. Very sure. All that has stayed down today is one slice of dry toast.”
Her grandmother looked sympathetic. “That will pass soon, hopefully. Carl said he made chicken marsala tonight with homemade noodles. Does that sound good?”
Claire’s stomach growled and she laughed again. “It does actually. It’s so good to see you, Grammy. How are you?”
“I’m just peachy. Come on in before the girls grab the table I want.”
Her grandmother took her arm and led her into the dining room and to a table by a window.
The retirement home wasn’t on the ocean, but it was nearby and on a hill that gave lovely distant water views.
Claire glanced out the window and saw two fishing boats in the distance.
They sat, and Claire complimented her grandmother’s outfit.
“You look so pretty in pink.” The rosy shade flattered Grammy’s fair skin and snow-white hair.
She was petite, just over five feet and a perfect size four.
She was wearing a pink and cream tweed suit with a pale pink silk blouse and her pearls.
She always wore the gorgeous pearls that Claire’s grandfather had given her many years ago.
Grammy was eighty-two and had been married for sixty years.
Grampy had passed just a few years ago, and a year later, Grammy announced that she didn’t want to stay in the big house alone anymore.
Claire didn’t blame her. She knew the stairs were bothering her grandmother’s arthritis, and a four-bedroom house was a lot to keep up.
Claire also suspected that there were just too many memories there.
Her grandmother had been excited about moving to the retirement community.
Several of her friends already lived there, and it was all one-level living with lots of activities. Grammy had always been very social.
“How’s Lily taking it?” her grandmother asked once their server had dropped off menus and taken their drink order.
“I think it’s harder than she’s letting on. All of it—the cheating, divorce, and the baby were all unexpected.”
“And you said Ellis’s young woman is pregnant too?” Grammy’s voice dripped with disapproval.
Claire nodded. “That’s what he says, yes.”
“He’s an idiot. Sounds like an early midlife crisis. Let’s not say another word about him. Tell me all about you. What are your plans? You’ll be staying here of course, with your mother?”
“Yes. I don’t know for how long, but at least until I have the baby and figure out a plan for what happens next.”
“Well, look on the bright side. You always wanted another child,” her grandmother said.
Claire smiled. “That’s true. And I’m sure once I get over the shock of it all and the morning sickness subsides, I’ll be more excited.”
Their server returned with their drinks.
A Southern Comfort Manhattan, straight up, rocks on the side for her grandmother and a club soda and cranberry juice for Claire.
She also set down a basket of warm bread and took their order.
They both went with the night’s special, the chicken marsala.
Claire reached for a crusty roll, buttered it, and took a bite.
Her grandmother ignored the bread and sipped her Manhattan. She lifted her glass. “Here’s to new beginnings. You know I’ve always said that everything happens for a reason? I think that’s true for you, Claire. It might not seem it now, but I think this baby will be a blessing for you.”
Claire tapped her glass against her grandmother’s. “Thank you. I think so too. I’ve felt at peace since I’ve been back here. I think I was more unhappy in my marriage than I realized,” she admitted.
“I was lucky with your grandfather. It wasn’t perfect of course, we had some ups and downs, but I never doubted him. You’re young still. You’ll find someone better than Ellis.” She made a face again when she said his name, and Claire laughed.
“Honestly, I can’t imagine when I’ll be interested in dating again. My focus will be on the baby, probably for the next eighteen years.”
Her grandmother reached over and patted her hand.
“I know you feel that way now. But this will pass. You’re grieving the loss of your marriage, and I’m not making light of that at all.
But there are plenty of good men out there, and when you’re ready, you’ll know.
” She took a sip of her Manhattan and grinned.
“And I don’t think it will be eighteen years. ”
Several of her grandmother’s friends stopped by to say hello on their way to their table.
Claire knew two of them. Beryl and Alice were both widows and had been close friends with Grammy for years.
The other woman, Nancy, was a newcomer. Once they’d settled at their table across the room, her grandmother shared a bit of gossip.
“Poor Nancy, the other two wouldn’t have anything to do with her the first week she arrived.
They were not exactly welcoming. They wouldn’t let me invite her to join us for dinner until I got to know her and made sure she was ‘one of us.’ They can be terrible snobs sometimes.
But they had a point, which is that we didn’t want to get stuck with her at our table every night if we didn’t like her, you know?
That sounds horrible now that I’m saying it out loud. ”
“I’m sure you made her feel welcome.” Claire knew her grandmother hated to see anyone left out.
“I did. I sought her out at the library and chatted with her a bit and liked her immediately. She and her husband had a second home here, so they spent summers on Nantucket for years. She’s a reader and a foodie like us, and I invited her to join us at dinner that night.
Thankfully, the girls took to her immediately. ”
“It sounds a bit like high school,” Claire said, “and wanting to be in with the cool kids.”
Her grandmother laughed. “I suppose it is a little. But the companionship is nice. There’s always someone to do something with if I’m feeling social.” She grinned. “And you know me.”
Their server arrived with their meals, and the sweet marsala smelled heavenly. “Yes, you like to keep busy,” Claire said. “Are there any nice men here?” She glanced around the half-filled dining room. It was almost all women.
“They are few and far between. Some of the women are eager to get to know them. But that ship has sailed for me. I’m content with my memories of your grandfather. And I’m excited to welcome your baby. You’ll have to have a baby shower of course. I can’t imagine you still have any of Lily’s things?”
Claire hadn’t thought that far ahead. “No, you’re right. I’ll probably need everything.” The thought of everything she would need seemed overwhelming. Her grandmother caught her eye.
“Don’t worry about that now. You have plenty of time. Your shower won’t be for many months, and it will be exciting for all of us to shop for the baby. How’s your friend Rachel? Do you two still keep in touch?”
Claire nodded. “Yes, she’s still my closest friend.
She came over the first night I was here.
And she asked me to join her book club. I’m going to my first meeting on Wednesday.
” She grinned. “That means I’ll probably spend most of tomorrow reading the book.
It’s a good one though. Have you read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier? ”
“I haven’t read the book, but I saw the movie. It was very good. That might be fun too if you have time.”
“Good idea. Maybe I’ll see if Mom wants to watch with me tomorrow night. It will be fun to compare it to the book.” And that way, if she didn’t manage to finish in time, she’d still know the story. Claire was a little nervous about that, as every time she tried reading, she ended up falling asleep.
“Have you met with Sloane yet? Your mother mentioned you were going to see her about handling your divorce. She’s the best,” her grandmother said.
“That’s what I hear. I’m seeing her Friday at eleven.”
“Good. She’ll make sure you get a fair settlement. It can be tricky when you haven’t worked. Especially if he has a good lawyer.”
“I think Ellis will be fair. He said that he would anyway.”
Her grandmother raised her eyebrows. “I hope so. There’s another saying I heard recently—‘If their lips move, they’re lying.’ That’s why I’m glad you are going to use Sloane. She won’t let him get away with any funny business.” Her grandmother looked genuinely worried for her.
“I’m not worried, Grammy. I just want to get it over with and move on.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. How do you like the marsala?”
“It’s delicious.” Claire had already made a good dent in her dinner. The combination of buttery pasta and tender chicken was making her stomach happy.
“Good. Save a little room for dessert. The cheesecake here is insane.”
Claire finished her meal, then split a slice of raspberry-topped cheesecake with her grandmother. As she was hugging her goodbye, her watch pinged with a text message notification from Ellis.
Can you call me as soon as you get this message? It’s sort of urgent.
Claire waited until she was home and in her comfy pajamas before calling Ellis back. She wrapped herself in one of her mother’s soft, thick fleece blankets and curled up on the living room sofa. Ellis picked up on the first ring and sounded strained.
“Thanks for calling. Again, I’m so sorry about all this, Claire. I really am.”
Claire didn’t respond and just waited for him to continue.
“I’m even more sorry about this news. I should have come clean to you before you left, but I just couldn’t look you in the eye and tell you this.”
Claire felt her stomach flip. “What is it?” What could possibly be worse than Ellis cheating on her?
“It’s our finances. It’s bad, Claire. I’ve pretty much lost everything.
I got fired yesterday. I knew it was coming.
I screwed up. I thought I had it all figured out, and I took risks I shouldn’t have taken with a client’s money and with our money.
I started over a year ago with our retirement account, and I doubled it and then tripled it, and I was flying so high that I got greedy. ”
He paused for a moment, but what he’d said didn’t really register yet. She stayed silent, and after a heavy sigh, he continued.
“I took a home equity loan on the apartment and put it in a trading account and mirrored all the trades I made in the retirement account. I was so cocky that I did the same for that new client—the one we were celebrating recently. I’d doubled their money, and that’s why they gave us a lot more to invest.”
“And then your luck ran out?” Claire felt a sense of panic rising.
“Spectacularly. I put everything into shorting a stock that I was so sure was going to crash hard. And it did the opposite. It went on a tear and soared high, and I was so sure it was fake and was going to turn that I didn’t cut my losses—like I should have.”
“How much did you lose?”
He sighed heavily. “Almost all of it. The client of course is furious, and I don’t blame them for firing me. But I’m so sorry that I lost everything we had too. I’m putting the condo on the market and hope I get enough to cover the home equity loan.”
Claire gasped. “How much did you take?”
“The maximum they would give me, which was about eighty-five percent of the estimated value. Once I pay back the mortgage, that pretty much wipes out any remaining equity.”
“So you’re saying there’s nothing? We’re totally broke? No savings?”
“There’s a little in the checking account, but I’ll need to pay a realtor fee and other expenses. Yeah, we’re pretty much wiped out.”
Claire tried to process what he’d just said. “What will you do?”
“Rebecca said I can move in with her. And her father might have a job for me—he likes me, and he knows about the baby. I doubt he’d be so helpful otherwise.
He does financial management and said he can always use a good money manager.
I just won’t have any access to funds initially, of course.
My salary will be low to start though. I’ll have to prove myself.
” He took a deep breath. “So unfortunately, that won’t leave a lot for child support or alimony.
But once I’m on my feet again, I’ll make it up to you. ”
Claire’s moment of sympathy vanished, replaced by irritation. Once again, Ellis had let her down. Her thoughts went to Lily.
“Does Lily know any of this?”
“I haven’t talked to her yet, but she knows something is up since I didn’t go in to work today.”
“You need to talk to her. Immediately. She needs to hear it from you. Tell her I’ll call her tomorrow, or of course she can call me anytime.”
“Okay, I will. I’m so sorry, Claire. I really am.”
“I have to go. Goodbye, Ellis.”