Until now, apparently.
“I know,” she said, smiling. She motioned to her ex-husband with a well-manicured hand. “I was just explaining to Jake that I ended up needing to fly to Chicago for a work meeting and decided I could scoot on over here to watch the play. I thought I’d mentioned it to you both at one time that it was a possibility.”
It sounded vaguely familiar and she probably had. But she said so many different things that both Jake and I had started letting most of her words go in one ear and out the other. Stella was a nice enough person, but she was not exactly a pillar of dependability. Her work always took precedence. More than once, we’d had to reschedule a trip for Sophie because Stella’s schedule had changed. While it irked me, Jake would just shrug and roll his eyes, having become accustomed to it during their marriage.
So it was a bit disconcerting to see her in Minnesota, standing in the middle of my world.
“I hope it’s okay that I just showed up,” she said. “I think you sent me the info a few weeks ago, Daisy, and when I realized I was going to be done early in Chicago, I just decided to hop on over here.”
“Oh, of course,” I said, biting back an amused smile. No one “hopped” from Chicago to Central Minnesota – it was at least an 8-hour drive. Even the flights, when you factored in security and the drive from MSP to Moose River, took several hours. “I was just surprised, that’s all. I’m sure Sophie will be excited to see you.”
She looked at Will. “You must be Will, right?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
This was the first time he’d met his stepsister’s mother and I could tell he was curious about her. He’d seen photos, of course, and even exchanged a few words with her when he walked by during one of their Skype conversations, but this was the first real-life interaction. I could tell he was dissecting her appearance, making note of her similarities to Sophie. They both had blond hair, although Stella’s was about six inches shorter. She wore it in a blunt bob that accentuated her blue eyes and square chin, both features Sophie had also inherited.
If she noticed Will was staring at her, she didn’t let on. “Sophie has said a lot of nice things about you,” she said. She added, “About all of her new siblings.”
“New?” Will asked.
It was a valid question. Jake and I had been together long enough for the term “new” to raise an eyebrow.
Stella’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I guess it has been a couple years, hasn’t it?”
Jake rolled his eyes and I could tell that he was annoyed not only with her comments but by her surprise appearance. My interactions with Stella had always been benign and pleasant, but we usually communicated from a distance. And I’d never been married to her. Jake, however, had zero patience when dealing with his ex-wife and had a hard time hiding his feelings, even at a distance.
“Are you staying through the weekend?” I asked, changing the subject.
Stella shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. I need to get back to Miami tomorrow, so it’s just a quick trip.” She nodded at Jake. “I mentioned to Jake that it would be great if I could take Sophie out after the play tonight. Just for ice cream or something. I wouldn’t keep her out too late.”
“Of course,” I said, glancing at Jake. His expression was impassive. “I’m sure that would be fine.”
I couldn’t tell by his expression whether or not that would be fine with him, but I wasn’t sure what other response was appropriate. Even dropping in at the last minute, Sophie had a right to spend time with a mother she saw very little of in the first place.
Stella’s eyes rested on me. “That’s a nice hat.”
My hands flew to my head. I’d forgotten I was wearing the beanie. I debated pulling it off, but knew my hair would be a total mess underneath.
“My mom is banned,” Will blurted out. “She thinks the hat is disguising her.”
Stella raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. “Banned?”
“It was a misunderstanding,” Jake said quickly. “That’s all.”
“Ah, okay,” she said, nodding, clearly not interested. Then she pointed at the theater entrance. “I’m going to head in so I can make sure I get a seat up front. I can’t believe so many people are here for a dress rehearsal.” She looked at me, then Jake. “I’ll find you after?”
We both nodded and she smiled again and joined the crowd of parents walking into the theater. She looked foreign, out of place in her tailored black suit and designer heels, and several moms wearing yoga pants and Moose River sweatshirts stared at her as she passed them.
“Why would that be fine?” Jake said, lowering his voice. “Why would it be fine that she just shows up and can take her out for ice cream or chicken nuggets or coffee or whatever?”
“Uh, because Sophie doesn’t get to see her that often?”
He jabbed a finger in the direction of the theater. “Because that’s her choice. Let’s remember, when I broached the subject of moving up here, her response was ‘Oh, that wouldn’t be a problem at all.’ Do you recall that?”
I did because it had shocked me so much. Even though Jake had full custody of Sophie, he hadn’t felt right about just picking up and moving their daughter without her mother’s consent. And I’d agreed. The last thing any kid needed was to get caught in a war between their divorced parents, and Jake and I had gone to great lengths to avoid those wars, as had our former spouses. So I hadn’t gotten my hopes up when he told me he was going to bring it up with Stella.
To my surprise, she hadn’t objected in any way. When we’d found out shortly after that she’d accepted a job in Miami, Jake surmised that she’d already been considering the move and that he’d essentially cleared the way for her to do it without looking like she was bailing. I hadn’t cared what the reason was. I was ecstatic, because it meant there were no obstacles to Jake and Sophie moving to Minnesota.
“Yes, I recall that,” I said to him. “But right now, I think we should focus on the fact that she made the effort to get here.”
“First time since we moved here,” Jake muttered.
“But she made the effort,” I pointed out. “Even if it’s just for tonight. That’s good. For Sophie.”
He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment.
“Look, you have other things you need to focus on,” I reminded him. I smiled. “Like keeping me hidden so Eleanor doesn’t follow through on the ban. Jake?”
He grunted and looked at me, a frown permanently etched on his face.
“Knock it off,” I said to him. “Sophie will appreciate that her mom is here. It’s one night. Now tell me how ridiculous I look in this hat.”
He shifted his gaze to the top of my head. “You look completely ridiculous. Like that kid on Fat Albert who wore that pink thing pulled down over his face.”
“Perfect. So no one knows it’s me?”
“Except for the fact that you’re standing with your husband and your son,” he said. “And Eleanor’s staring right at you.”
I leaned into him and tried to make myself smaller. My eyes scanned the hall. “Where? Where?”
“Kidding,” he said and Will snickered. “Just wanted to see what you’d do.”
I elbowed him in the gut.
“I told you,” he said. “Everything will be fine. Nothing’s going to happen.”
And he was right. Nothing did happen.
Until intermission.
THIRTY NINE
The first half of the dress rehearsal went off without a hitch.
The kids remembered their lines, hit their marks, and the songs sounded good. For a dress rehearsal, it was very polished and Eleanor had to do very little from her perch near the front of the stage. Both Sophie and Grace were excellent as dwarfs. Sophie sneezed on cue and Grace’s facial expressions were spot-on for mute Dopey.
There was only one thing that wasn’t actually polished.