Chapter 4
Chapter Four
“ I talked to Thomas today.”
Cathy shot up in bed and stared wide-eyed across the room at her best friend. It was late in the evening, and she had just crawled under the covers to read a few chapters in her book before calling it a night after a very long day.
“What?” Cathy balked. “You talked to him?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say? What did he say? Why didn’t you bring this up earlier? We’ve been sitting around doing nothing for the last hour!”
“Well, I wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to tell you,” Anne said guiltily.
“You were going to keep this from me?” Now Cathy was even more upset. “Why?”
“Because honestly, I don’t know if telling you about this conversation is going to help,” Anne said. “I went through it in my head a couple of times and decided it was best to just keep it to myself. But the longer I sat here, the more I started to feel bad about hiding it.”
“As you should!” She flipped the covers off and went over to Anne’s bed. “Best friends don’t keep secrets.”
“Why do you think I’m coming clean?”
“Okay, so then tell me everything.”
“It was a short conversation,” Anne informed her. “I was at a coffee shop in town and I ran into him on my way home from the hardware store. Oh, I picked up some more of that earthquake putty or whatever it’s called. So cross that off the list.”
“Sure, sure, I will, but tell me about Thomas!”
“There’s not much to tell. I waved to him and we struck up a friendly, if not a little awkward conversation.”
“Awkward how?”
“Awkward in the way you’d expect.” Anne shrugged. “Like he knows that whatever he says to me, I’m going to immediately report back to you.”
“Ah. I see.”
“First it was mostly small talk,” she went on. “He asked me how things were going with the inn generally, and I asked how he was enjoying his vacation. After a while, however, there was no way we could avoid the elephant in the room. He asked me if I knew who the man was that you were hugging last night.”
“And you told him that it was my ex- husband, right?”
“Of course I did, but I don’t think he believed me.”
“Why not?” Cathy whined. “What reason does he have to think I’m lying?”
“He didn’t accuse you of lying,” Anne corrected her. “He just said you never mentioned being divorced, and I guess he sort of felt like you were keeping that a secret for a reason… Like maybe you two weren’t completely over. Combine that with what he saw in the kitchen, and I get the sense that he maybe feels like you weren’t being fully truthful with him.”
“I never lied,” Cathy said as if that really made much of a difference. “I just avoided the topic of Hunter.”
“Yeah, but you can see where he’s coming from, right?”
“Of course I can, but he’s got it all wrong! Did you explain that to him? Did you tell him that we’ve been separated for over a year and that I have no unresolved feelings for Hunter? Like, at all?”
“I tried, but they called his coffee order soon after we started talking about all this, and he said he had to go. I don’t think he was really interested in hearing me out. If I had to guess, I would say he’s still hurt, which is why I was going to wait to tell you all of this. I didn’t want you to try and talk to him yourself. Not yet. I have a feeling he needs more time.”
Cathy sighed and laid back on her friend’s bed, letting the weight of her body sink into the mattress as the feeling of defeat sank deeper into her stomach. “I want to give him space, I really do, but I’m worried about what’s going to happen in the meantime. What if he talks to Hunter?”
“Oof, yeah.” Anne sucked air through her teeth, hissing like she felt Cathy’s pain. “That wouldn’t be good. I do not trust Hunter to say the right thing.”
“He’s going to say the wrong thing! He already has! This morning, he was talking to Julie and totally offended her. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure he introduced himself as my husband. Not my ex. Although I don’t have full confirmation on that.”
Anne’s eyes widened. “That would be bad. We definitely can’t let those two men have any contact with one another. At least not before I get a chance to talk all of this throw with Thomas myself. Can you try to keep them away from each other?”
“I’ll do my best,” Anne said. “But if you want me to try and keep them apart and check everything off my to-do list this week, that’s going to prove fairly difficult.”
Cathy squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. “God, why are men so dumb sometimes?”
“I think it’s genetic.”
She rubbed her temples. “No, forget I said anything about keeping them apart. I care way more about this inn than I do either of their fragile male egos right now. If Thomas wants to make assumptions and not give me the benefit of the doubt, then so be it. And if Hunter is going to throw his weight around and misrepresent himself, then he can clean up his own mess when the truth comes out.” She sat up with a newfound determination to not let these two men negatively impact the first thing that had given her purpose since her children were born. “I have a bed and breakfast to run, and that’s all I’m going to worry about for now. Heck—I’m not even going to call the boys for Hunter. Not after the way he behaved this morning.”
“Good!” cheered Anne. “That’s the spirit!”
Cathy nodded happily as she got up and returned to her own bed. “None of this is my responsibility. Thomas and Hunter are grown men! They can have tough conversations, be it with me or with their own children!”
“That’s right!” Anne clapped her hands together triumphantly. “I love this side of you!”
“I do too,” Cathy said, grinning. “And you know where I think I got it from?”
“Where?”
“Miranda.” She looked at the picture she had framed of her grandmother on her bedside table. “She never, not in a million, billion years, would’ve let a man stand in her way. I’m going to do what I should’ve done from the very beginning and channel her.”
“Brilliant,” Anne said. “I think I’ll do the same. I will also tap into my inner Miranda, and together, you and I baby—we’re going to be unstoppable.”
Technically, Cathy didn’t go back on her word. It was Aaron who called her the following morning, and she didn’t feel comfortable lying to her son, so she was forced to tell him about his father’s impromptu arrival in Martha’s Vineyard. But she wasn’t going to play mediator for the two of them. No way.
“He showed up out of the blue?” Aaron asked. “That’s pretty rude. What did he want?”
“Umm, well, it’s a little complicated,” Cathy said. It was early, and she was sitting alone in the kitchen sipping coffee. Though the free breakfast offerings had already started, nobody was downstairs taking advantage of it yet. She was happy to have a little quiet moment to speak with her son, but she wished she could’ve had more time to prepare. She had no idea what to say to Aaron. How could she honor her promise to herself and also be honest with her boys? “He needed to talk to me.”
“About what?”
“He’s just been having a hard time,” she said after a few seconds of thought. “For some reason, the loneliness really hit him hard recently, and I think… Well, to be perfectly frank, I think he had a little bit of a breakdown. Nothing serious, mind you, but I think he just needed to be around family.”
“But you’re not his family anymore.”
“I sort of am,” Cathy said, noncommittally. “We have a long history that means something to me. And we’re friends. Or, we’re trying to be.”
“Friends don’t do things like this,” Aaron said. “He’s been doing his own thing for a year and then bombards you the first time he needs emotional support.”
“That’s… That’s a good point,” Cathy said. “And if your father and I hadn’t been together for twenty years, I would agree with you. But we have been in each other’s lives for a very long time, and it’s unrealistic to expect that we would never need to lean on one another again.”
“Mm.”
“Your disapproval is noted,” she laughed. “But please don’t be too upset with your father. He’s struggling. I know he doesn’t have a lot of people in his life right now who he can talk to about serious stuff. Then there’s the stuff going on with you and Andrew.”
“What stuff? We’ve been nothing but cordial with him.”
Cathy snorted. “Did you really just use the word cordial? This is your father, Aaron. I don’t think cordial is going to cut it. He wants more than that. He wants a relationship with you boys, and I think it’s time we all get together and start working through what needs to be worked through.”
“I’ve done all the work I need to, thanks.” There was a sharpness in Aaron’s voice that Cathy immediately recognized as an attempt to hold back any real emotion. She knew her son better than anyone—save perhaps his twin brother—and she knew he was putting up a front. “And we promised we would spend time with him over break. What else can we do to appease him?”
“It’s not about appeasing him,” Cathy said. “I don’t want you or your brother to do anything just to appease him. Don’t do anything that doesn’t feel right for you. But I want to be one hundred percent sure that you’re not still hanging onto all this anger for my sake.”
“I’m not.”
But of course, Cathy knew that was only half-true. If that.
“I have an idea,” she said once she realized this was not something she would be able to convince Aaron of over the phone. “Since your father is already here, and break starts in a few days, why don’t you and Andrew come and stay in Martha’s Vineyard? This would give the four of us a chance to sit down and talk, and it would also be, like, neutral ground. You won’t have to be in the old house or at your dad’s new apartment, so maybe that would make everyone feel more comfortable about opening up.”
Aaron was quiet for a moment.
“Plus, this is going to be a much nicer place to spend your holiday than Buffalo. It’s gorgeous here, and in your free time, you can help Anne track down celebrity houses.”
This made her son laugh. “That would be kind of fun. Being in Martha’s Vineyard, I mean, not stalking celebrities. I’m not interested in spending my break in a jail cell.”
“As a mother, I can’t tell you how good it is to hear that. Now, if you could only convince Anne that meeting Ted Danson is not worth getting a restraining order issued against her.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Anyway,” she said. “There’s plenty of other things to do in the area, obviously. I’ll take care of all the travel arrangements so you can focus on your last week of classes. I don’t want you and Andrew to worry about anything regarding spring break.”
“There’s one thing I’m going to worry about regardless,” he informed her. “And that’s the fact that Dad’s going to spend the entire time trying to buddy up to us again.”
“Then so be it,” Cathy said. She was not about to promise to do anything more than get the men in her life in the same room. After that, it was up to them to figure the rest of this out.
“What do you mean by that?”
She smiled, looking down into her coffee cup, thinking about what Miranda would say if she were in Cathy’s position. “You are an adult now, Aaron. You are capable of making your own decisions and standing up for yourself. If your father says something you disagree with, tell him. Or if he’s bugging you, let him know he needs to back off. I’ve been getting in the middle of you two for a whole year now, and clearly, my involvement hasn’t made things any better.”
“That’s not true, Mom,” Aaron tried to assure her. “I really appreciate how you’ve helped Andrew and I deal with Dad and?—”
“And I would do it all over again if I had to,” Cathy said. “But it’s time for me to take a step back and let you and your brother deal with this however you see fit. You know how I feel, you know how your father feels, so now it’s time to decide how you feel. And if you need time to figure that out, then communicate that to your dad and take that time for yourself.”
Aaron laughed softly. “Wow. So you’re really just pushing me out of the nest, aren’t you?”
“No,” she said, without any wavering in her voice whatsoever. “I think of it more as I’m finally leaving the nest. If you or Andrew want to stay there, I can’t make you go. You can continue to ignore your dad and pretend like you don’t need him in your life at all, it’s just that I’m no longer going to be there to help you deal with any complications that may arise from that decision.”
Her son drew in an audible breath and let it go before saying anything. “I hear what you’re saying, and I respect that you want to no longer be in the middle.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll talk to Andrew about coming to Martha’s Vineyard for our break, but I’m sure he’ll be on board. I don’t know if you heard, but they didn’t win their game, so his season is over.”
Cathy winced. “Oh no. Is he crushed?”
“Eh, maybe a little. He’s definitely disappointed, but I think a part of him is relieved as well. The team played really well, and he really shined, so he has a lot to be proud of. Now he can just focus on finishing the semester strong, and I think having that weight lifted off his shoulders has helped a lot.”
“Good. I’ll make sure to give him a call later though,” she said. “Just to check in.”
“Are you going to give him the same speech you just gave me?”
She laughed. “I don’t think I have to. My understanding is that Andrew is already further on his way to forgiving your father. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not wrong,” Aaron said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “They’ve been talking somewhat regularly lately, and he’s been getting on me to at least answer some of Dad’s text messages. So maybe it’s a good thing you’re taking a step back since I don’t think I could handle both of you being on my case.”
“There you go! That’s the bright side of all this. I’m no longer going to try and tell you what to do! You just have to deal with your brother, who by the way, only wants to help. You know that, right? He just cares about you and wants you to be happy.”
“I know.” Aaron sighed. “I want him to be happy too.”
“Alright then. It sounds like we’re all on the same page. That’s a good start.” The kitchen door swung open and Thomas walked in without seeing her at first. He headed straight to the coffee pot with his head down, and earbuds in. She drew back a little in her seat so he wouldn’t notice her just yet. “Hey, listen, sweetie, I have to go. But I’ll send you all the flight information soon, okay?”
“Sounds good. I’m excited to see the inn!”
“And I’m excited to show you around! Take care. Love you, bye.”
She hung up and slowly stood, shoving her phone in her pocket hurriedly. She felt like
a predator trying not to scare off her prey as she crept across the room towards Thomas. He had his back to her, fiddling around with the coffee machine. She knew it was wrong to ambush him like this, but she also felt like this might be the perfect time to talk to him. She could tell him, in her own words, what had happened the other night, and then leave him to decide how to proceed.
If they didn’t have a conversation now, though, there was a chance he would run into Hunter and all hell would break loose. She had resolved herself not to let them get in the way of her business, but technically, she wasn’t really on the clock yet. Now was her chance to clear the air.
She was only a foot away now, and she realized she was going to have to tap Thomas on the shoulder to get his attention. Even before she made contact with his shoulder, she knew he was going to be startled. He jumped a little when she touched him, whipping around with alarm. Their eyes locked, and he furrowed his brow.
“Sorry,” he muttered under his breath. “I didn’t know you were in here.”
“It’s okay.”
“Did you want to make yourself a coffee? I was just leaving anyway.” He moved out of her way, but she caught his arm.
“No, wait. I—I don’t need any coffee. I—Can we talk?”
He took out one of his earbuds. “Hm?”
“I was wondering if we could talk.”
“I don’t think there’s anything we need to talk about,” he said stoically.
“Please, don’t be like that,” she pleaded. “I know you already spoke to Anne and she tried to explain everything to you, but I would like to tell you my side of the story. If you wouldn’t mind hearing me out, that is. It won’t take long.”
“I’m telling you, there’s really no need,” he said. “I’m not angry or anything.”
“You’re not?”
“No,” he laughed. “Why would I be angry?”
“Because… what you say the other night,” she began, stuttering through an explanation that she had rehearsed so many times in her head. “It’s not what you think.”
“Isn’t it?” He raised a brow. “Someone from your past showed up out of the blue, and you wanted to spend time with him. It makes perfect sense, actually, and I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same if my ex came here looking for me.”
“But that’s the thing, I didn’t want to spend time with him. I didn’t even know he was going to show up here! I sure as hell didn’t invite him.”
“He came to surprise you. That’s sweet.”
“No, you’re misunderstanding,” Cathy said. “It wasn’t sweet. I’m honestly still a little mad at him for just dropping in on me like that.”
“You didn’t seem mad when I saw you hugging him.”
She groaned. “I was only hugging him because he’s having a rough time! He was on the verge of tears and I’m not completely heartless, so I got up and hugged him. But we’re not together anymore and we’re never going to be together again.”
Thomas shrugged. “It’s fine. You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“But what about dinner?”
“What about it? We were just two friends who were going to grab a bite to eat, but the plans changed. No big deal. I’m not going to hold you to that when you’ve got so much else going on.”
“I—I guess I sort of thought?—”
“And you know, it might be for the best anyway,” he went on, only now taking out his other earbud.
Had he been halfway listening to music this whole time?
“We wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea about us now would we.” Thomas winked at her, but unlike the other times he’d done this, the gesture didn’t seem flirty or sweet at all. Cathy had been under the impression that Thomas was hurt, but if that was the case, why was he being so flippant?
“Perhaps I had the wrong idea,” she said, despite how much courage it took to get the words out. “Because I was under the impression that maybe we—I mean—maybe there was something—” She motioned back and forth between herself and him, hoping he would catch her drift.
“You thought I asked you out on a date?”
“Didn’t you?”
He stared at her for a couple of seconds, though the time stretched out and felt like an eternity to Cathy. She wondered what he could possibly be waiting for, then cocked her head to the side once enough time had passed that she realized she was going to have to break the silence. “Never mind,” she said, tucking her chin into her chest as her face warmed. “I’m such an idiot. Forget I even brought this up, I’m sorry.”
“Hang on.” His eyes searched hers. “You’re not an idiot.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said in a strained voice. “You don’t have to placate me.”
“I’m not placating you.” His whole face began to soften, like he wasn’t angry anymore. He looked more worried than anything else. “This conversation didn’t go the way I thought it would.”
“Me neither.” She was trying to keep her cool, but she was finding it very difficult to draw in a full breath at the moment. “But really, let’s just pretend like I didn’t make everything super awkward. You’re just here on vacation, and probably tons of women have already thrown themselves at you. It’s not every summer that a handsome British man comes to town.” She forced a laugh. “I never should’ve been so presumptuous as to think you would want to go out on a real date with me .”
“Cathy, don’t do that,” he said. “Don’t put yourself down.”
“I’m just being realistic.” She bit back tears and smiled. “I had it all mixed up in my head. Here I thought you were angry with me because you felt like I had misled you, but really I’ve allowed myself to be misled. I got wrapped up in the fantasy of it all, and now I’ve made things horribly tense between us.”
“No, that’s not true. I wasn’t being totally fair to you just now, and I think I might’ve confused you.”
A real laugh escaped her lips this time. “You’re right about that. I am confused. Though, I’ve been confused by just about everything and everyone for the last few weeks. Until last night, that is, when I finally felt like I found a little bit of clarity. Now that we’re standing here talking, however, I’m thinking perhaps I came into this conversation without having all the information.”
“I can relate.”
They shared a smile, and Cathy felt some of her anxiety dissipate. “Maybe we can start this whole thing over.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
“Okay,” Cathy said. “So, to reiterate, Hunter is my ex-husband. Nothing more. He came here because he needed a friend, and I guess I’m the only person in the world who currently fills that role in his life.”
“Got it.”
“I was trying to finish talking to him in time to meet you for dinner,” she went on. “But I didn’t realize just how emotional Hunter was going to be. He’s really hurting, and as the father of my children, I couldn’t just dismiss him.”
“No, I understand. That’s not the kind of person you are.”
She laughed under her breath. “Sometimes I wish I was that person though. Last night, I was so looking forward to going out with you. Perhaps I mistook what was a friendly offer of dinner as a date.”
“You didn’t,” he said quickly. “I?—”
“There you are!” Hunter came into the room right then and walked directly toward the two of them. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Now’s not a good time, Hunter,” Cathy said, her face falling in dismay. It’s actually the worst time you could possibly have chosen to interrupt us. She was desperate to hear what Thomas was about to say. “I’ll come find you in a bit.”
“I wasn’t looking for you,” Hunter said, chuckling. “I was looking for my new friend,
Thomas.” He patted Thomas on the back and grinned. “I thought you were going to meet me outside of the lobby five minutes ago?”
Thomas checked his watch. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize how late it was.”
“Wait… you two know each other?”
“Not really,” Thomas said. “We met last night. In passing.”
“But I can already tell we’re going to be the best of friends,” Hunter chimed in.
“Uh, okay… And you’re going to do something today? Together?” Cathy’s stomach lurched.
“Yup!” Hunter beamed. “Yesterday, I saw that Thomas was sporting some pretty nice hiking shoes on his way up to his room. So I asked him if he knew of any good trails in the area. It turned out, he was planning on going for a long hike today and he invited me along.”
Cathy glowered at Thomas. “You did?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, well…” He trailed off, apparently not able to come up with a good excuse for inviting Cathy’s ex-husband on a hike in due time.
“It was very nice of him,” Hunter said. “And exactly what I need to clear my head.” He squeezed Thomas’s shoulder. “Plus, he promised to tell me some of his best stories from the other side of the pond. Did you know this man is something of a musician? He was in a band that toured all over the UK in his twenties.”
“Is that true?”
“He’s making it sound a lot more interesting than it really was,” Thomas assured her. “It was really just one summer.”
“A summer of touring with your band?” she asked, wanting to make sure she fully understood what he was telling her. This was something Thomas had never brought up before.
“Again, that makes it sound impressive, but it’s not. We were a garage band with only two or three decent songs. There’s a reason our music never went anywhere, and why I don’t bring those stories up to people I just met.”
“He means he doesn’t bring those stories up to women he just met,” Hunter said. “Which makes sense, considering a lot of the stories are a little, shall we say, salacious. But can you blame him? With that accent and a thick head of hair—it’s no wonder the groupies were always following him around.”
“I made a joke about one girl who liked me,” Thomas clarified. “And I wouldn’t say she followed me around.”
“He’s just being modest,” Hunter said, laughing. “You can tell from that smirk of his that he’s had some wild times in his past.”
Cathy took a step back from both men, thoroughly amused with this topic of conversation that Hunter at least, seemed to find so tantalizing. “Well, if the stories are really too much for my delicate feminine ears to handle, I better go.”
“No, Cathy, wait?—”
“It’s alright,” Cathy said, waving Thomas off with a flick of her wrist. “It sounds like the two of you have a very fun day planned. Have a nice time.”
“Oh, we will,” Hunter said happily.
She walked out of the room and let the door swing shut behind her. Cathy waited until she was outside of the kitchen and halfway up the stairs before she allowed the first of many tears to fall.