Chapter 38
Caleb
Brooke makes it to the farewell brunch. Barely. She insisted on being here despite me and Maddie both telling her to take the day off.
She stays on the periphery of the event, hiding her bloodshot eyes behind large sunglasses.
It’s a beautiful day, but not even that can lift her mood.
She’s still in shock. We were up until four this morning, me holding her while she cried herself to sleep.
We just have to make it through a few more hours, then I can take her home.
Of all the weekend events, this is by far the most relaxed and casual.
Though that doesn’t mean much. It’s about as casual as a royal wedding.
Round tables on the patio are covered with simple light blue linens, yellow-striped napkins sitting on top of blue Mediterranean-patterned chargers.
The centerpieces are a mix of blue and yellow.
All a nod to the honeymoon Hannah and Preston are taking on the Amalfi Coast.
We’ve set up a big buffet with an omelet station and waffle bar. The line at the actual bar rivals last night. I don’t know how everyone is drinking again already. Hair of the dog, I guess.
Each guest looks so effortlessly put together. Except Gage, who’s sporting quite the bruise. It almost makes me feel guilty. He threatened to press charges. Preston and the guy who won five hundred dollars reminded him that Brooke could easily press charges, too. Part of me wants her to.
Hannah finds me at the omelet station, Preston by her side. I haven’t had a chance to talk to them since last night. They give me their orders.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, cracking eggs into the pan. “I was out of line.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Preston says. “He’s my cousin, but he’s also a huge asshole.”
Hannah laughs. “This isn’t the first time Gage has gotten punched on the dance floor.”
That doesn’t surprise me. “Even so, I was way out of line.”
“My dad took care of the photos Kevin got, and I haven’t been tagged in anything yet, so I think we’re okay,” Hannah says nervously.
With all the drama last night, I hadn’t thought about my own reputation.
Someone could easily identify me as the chef for Foley’s.
Dad may be proud of a lot of things I’ve done, but he won’t be proud of this.
I serve up their finished omelets.
Hannah takes hers and heads to a table. Preston lingers. “So how was the carriage house?” He raises a brow. This guy.
“It’s very nice,” I say.
“Cool, cool. You two make a good team. For all of this and like, life and stuff. Brooke was telling me about your restaurant. Can’t wait to check it out.”
“Thanks, Preston.”
He takes his omelet, and I’m that much closer to the end of this wedding weekend.
It’s Tuesday and the only outreach Brooke’s gotten from Judy was one text late last night: See you tomorrow, dear. Brooke isn’t going into the office. How can she when she’s barely gotten out of bed? If she never walks into that office again, I wouldn’t blame her.
Once service for the farewell brunch was over, Joey and Maddie managed breakdown and cleanup while I grabbed our stuff from the carriage house, got Brooke into the Wrangler, and drove her home.
She was silent for the fifteen-minute drive across town, curled against the door and staring out the window.
I managed to put the doors and top back on before the terrible weather on Saturday.
When we got back, I wasn’t sure how to take care of her. My always capable Brooke was a shell of her usual self.
As if Mother Nature knew what she needed, the beautiful morning turned into an overcast afternoon and the air turned cool. A small taste of autumn to come. Dad’s words came to mind: When they’re having a bad day and need comfort, we help them. Then Brooke’s: Soup is for warming up the soul.
I asked Jordan if she could drop off the ingredients for the Market’s lemon chicken orzo soup before she hunkered down to edit photos from the weekend.
“I’m going to run you a bath, okay?” I told Brooke while I waited for Jordan.
“Okay,” she answered quietly.
When her bath, complete with bubbles and a bath pillow I found under the sink, was ready, I walked her into the bathroom. I was about to leave when she wrapped her arms around me and let her head fall against my chest. I pressed a kiss into her hair.
After holding her for a while, I unwrapped my arms and pulled her hair to the side, allowing me to reach the zipper of her dress.
I unzipped and kneeled down to help her step out of the dress.
She reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, then rested a hand on my shoulder while I slipped off her underwear.
I took her hand and she stepped into the bath, sighing as the warm water touched her skin.
I hated what she was going through, but I loved taking care of her.
“I’ll come check on you in a little bit, okay?”
“Okay,” she said.
Ingredients delivered, I worked on prepping and checked on her about twenty minutes later.
“I’m going to help you get out, okay?”
“Okay.”
I got her out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her.
She got dressed in sweats and took a nap.
Hours later, I went into her room. I found her curled on her side, similar to the position I found her in the night of the meeting she missed.
This time, though, she looked peaceful. I climbed into bed behind her and wrapped my arms around her.
She stirred a little and turned to face me.
“I made you some soup. Come have some, okay?”
“Okay.”
I could see her come back to life as we ate. Her soul warming up a little. I’ve never been prouder of what I’m able to do with food. It’s so much more than ingredients and plating. It’s the love that goes into it. The love that’s helping Brooke heal.
That’s how it’s been for the last two days. She’s slowly coming back to life, but she’s not ready to face her mom. Not today. Maybe not ever.
Today, Judy is officially handing over the reins to Paige at the staff meeting.
Paige Summers. Celebrity wedding planner from San Francisco.
That’s why she looked so familiar. I’d done all of two weddings with her team, but I should have been able to place her and save Brooke this heartache.
I don’t think I could have stopped Judy, but I could have prepared Brooke.
Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference, but if there is anything I can ever do to make Brooke’s life easier, I’m doing it.
Maddie got a copy of the employment agreement all Spencer Soirees staff sign, and it’s absolute bullshit.
A two-year noncompete clause for all full-time employees in the coverage area of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Interns nearly sign their lives away so that they won’t disclose trade secrets.
It’s one thing to make any random employee sign, but your own daughter?
Brooke signed it six years ago, when Judy promised to one day hand the agency over to her. I don’t want to believe Judy had always planned to sell the business, but the contract makes me think that Brooke’s right. Judy never planned to give it to her.
Mom stops by with Wendell and brings more food than this kitchen’s ever seen, at least since Brooke’s lived here. Has she completely forgotten that I cook for a living? I unpack the five Foley’s bags on the counter.
“Seriously, Mom, three key lime pies?”
“It’s her favorite, Caleb,” she says, like she knows Brooke better than me.
“I know, but it’s a little excessive, no?”
“Honey, there is no such thing as too much key lime pie. Put one in the freezer.” She pats my shoulder.
We bicker about how to fit everything in the small refrigerator until Brooke comes into the kitchen.
She’s in light blue sweats, her hair is piled on the top of her head in a messy bun, and her face is free of makeup, showing off all her beautiful freckles.
My heart does so many things when I look at her. It swells with love for her, aches for what she’s going through, burns with anger. I’m furious that anyone would ever hurt her.
“Oh, honey.” Mom spins to Brooke and opens her arms. Brooke melts into Mom while Wendell dances at her feet.
I’ve tried so many things to help her since we got home.
The one thing I want to tell her the most has to wait.
It’s not the right time. Not when she’s navigating all of this.
The next best thing I can do is share the love I so easily receive from my parents.
But especially, right now, from Mom. Nothing will ever fill the hole Judy’s left in Brooke’s heart, but between me and Mom, I think we can get pretty close.
Brooke doesn’t know it yet, but she’s stuck with us.
Mom runs her hand over Brooke’s hair in a soothing motion. She hugs her like a Disney cast member, not letting go until Brooke pulls away first.
“We’re here, Brooke,” she says. I walk over and wrap my arms around both of them. The two women I love more than anything else in this world.
We’re interrupted by the whirling dervish that is Maddie. Per usual, we hear her before we see her.
“That bitch.” She storms into the kitchen.
“I swear to god I was about to punch the smug smile right off of her face today. She told the staff Brooke’s been working with her to sell the business to Paige and can’t wait to work with her.
Said Brooke needed an extra day after the weekend.
That’s an awful lot of food. Perfect, I’m starving but I also need a drink.
So listen, we’re going to figure this out.
I have a plan. Okay, I don’t, but I’ll figure one out.
It’s my turn to make the plan. You need a fucking break from figuring it all out. ”
Mom and I look at Maddie wide-eyed. “Take a breath, Maddie,” Brooke says with a stuffy laugh.
“You must be Maddie,” Mom says, extending her hand. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Creases form between Maddie’s eyebrows as she looks toward me.
“All good things, I swear,” I say, placing a hand over my heart.
“Better be! You and me,” she says, pointing between us. “We’re on the same team now.”
It’s only mid-afternoon, but Brooke skipped lunch, so I warm up an assortment of the prepared foods. Garlic and herb grilled chicken, roasted asparagus, couscous salad. Foley’s Market favorites.
I pour glasses of wine for the four of us and we sit at Brooke’s small kitchen table.
While we eat, we talk about the weekend, filling Mom in on the highlights, the funny moments, and the drama.
We avoid discussing the biggest drama of all.
Mom already knows, and there’s no reason to make Brooke relive it.
Mom scolds me for punching Gage, but she’s not surprised that I did.
I’m not sure if I should be flattered or offended.
Brooke recalls the speech from Hannah’s dad and starts to cry again.
This time, thankfully, they’re tears of happiness.
This woman loves love, and I need her to know how much I love her.
That I will help her through this and everything else that comes our way.
We never said it out loud, but Mom, Maddie and I made a silent agreement to wait until after Brooke eats a giant slice of key lime to talk about Judy. Mom cuts Brooke another piece and places it in front of her.
“All right, honey,” Mom says. “I’m going to give you a little tough love, okay?”
Brooke scoffs. “I know all about that, Lynne. Judy’s love has always been tough.” She’s been calling her Judy exclusively since Sunday.
“Oh, sweet girl. Everything you’ve been through with your mom has been tough, but I’m afraid it wasn’t love. At least not the kind you deserve.”
“I know,” Brooke says, her eyes glistening. “It’s…just…she’s my mom, you know?”
“I’m positive that she loves you, Brooke. How could she not? You’re one of the most incredible young women I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.”
“I second that!” Maddie mumbles, mouth full of pie, making Brooke laugh.
“Me too,” I say, placing my hand over hers on the table.
“But your mom, she’s…she’s always going to be looking out for herself, which is no fault of yours. Until she realizes what a mess she’s made of things and decides she wants to make a change. Maybe go to therapy or something.”
Maddie guffaws, nearly spitting pie across the table. “I’d pay to see Judy in therapy.”
I give Maddie a look that says you’re not helping.
“Sorry.”
Mom keeps her focus on Brooke. “From what Caleb’s told me, you’ve always done what makes it easier for you two to maintain a relationship, right?
It was easier to go along with things to keep her happy.
When you didn’t, things got tough, and she made you feel guilty for wanting something else or doing something against her wishes.
None of us are going to tell you what to do Brooke, only that you need to do what’s best for you. What’s best for Brooke.”
How am I so lucky to have two parents who love me unconditionally and Brooke got stuck with Judy? It’s hardly fair.
Brooke sighs and looks at me. “What about the noncompete? I’ve made my life, my whole personality, weddings. I can’t imagine not being able to do this work.”
“I can’t imagine you not doing it either,” I tell her. “But I looked into it a little more. Connecticut law says a noncompete can only be enforced if it’s reasonable—”
“It’s pretty fucking unreasonable!”
“Maddie…”
“Sorry, Mrs. Foley.” Maddie sinks in her chair. “It is though.”
“Maddie,” Brooke looks at her best friend. “What do you think?”
“This isn’t about me, B.” Maddie gives her a tentative smile. “You always thought Spencer Soirees was going to be yours. Do you still want to be a part of it when your name isn’t on the door anymore?”
“I think…I…I need more time to think about it. And I need to talk to Paige first.”