“Strike out. Um, I don’t know.”
“Katelyn?”
“She’s here, but refuses to sit with me right now.”
Liam laughs, but I don’t find it funny at all. My best friend should accept me no matter how crazy I get during my son’s sporting events.
“Two outs, Liam. He has one more and we’re on to districts.”
“I’ll be sure to be back for those games.”
“He’ll like that. I know he misses you.” Noah doesn’t say much about Liam being gone. It’s been a week and our lives have been pretty normal. I think it’s easier knowing Liam’s just a plane ride away, not that he can’t hop on a plane when he’s on tour but it’s different. If I call him now and ask him to come home, he will. He doesn’t have any scheduled obligations in LA right now.
“Ball.”
“Strike.”
“Foul ball.”
“One and two with two outs. I think I’m going to have a panic attack.”
“Don’t worry; Katelyn is on her way over.”
I look up and sure enough she and Peyton are walking toward me.
“I had Harrison text her, asking her to fill in for me.”
“You do love me,” I say as Katelyn and Peyton sit down. Katelyn wraps her arm in mine and gives me a side hug. I know why she doesn’t sit with me; I’m bat shit crazy and Nick often has to tell me to zip it. I can’t help it. That’s my boy out there.
“I love you more than words, Jojo.”
Before I can respond, I’m standing and screaming in his ear again. Everyone is rushing Noah on the mound with Junior being the first one there. The kids are jumping up and down, cheering loudly.
“We won!”
“I figured, baby. Tell Noah I’m proud of him and I’ll call him later. I love you.”
“Love you too, bye.” I hang up and make my way to the field. Peyton is hot on my heels as we walk out to congratulate Noah and the rest of the boys. I’m not the only parent out here; Candy Appleton and her current beau of the month, plus some others are also on the field.
Candy offers me a smug smile and a stupid finger wave. I mentally flip her off. I’ll never get over finding her and Liam sitting next to each other, smoking, at her party. Of course, every chance she gets, she twists the knife a little deeper on how she spent graduation with him while I was too busy with my family.
Noah runs to Nick first and I try not to let that bother me, but it does a little. I’m his mom. He should be looking for me first. Nick picks him up and swings him around. I know he’s proud of Noah. They both worked so hard to get here.
I’m lost in thought when Noah starts yelling my name. “Mom, did you see my home-run?”
“I did!”
He stalls and looks at the stands. “I wish Dad saw it.”
“Well, he heard it. He’s been on the phone with me for most of the game. I was giving him the play-by-play.”
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah, it is.” Sadly, it’s the best he’s going to get right now, but Liam did say he’d be home for Districts and that’s more important.
“Hey Peyton, do you want to come over and shoot hoops or something?”
I watch the exchange between them and the way Noah looks at her. He’s so patient and caring. I know they’re going to grow up and will likely part ways the older he gets, but seeing him with her now shows me how much he’s like Liam.
The late afternoon shines through the windows of Whimsicality adding sparkle to the flowers that are on display. Standing across the street, it’s easy to see the patrons move in and out of both the florist on one side of the shop and the café on the other. As I watch them, I realize that my dreams are coming true, even with the minor detour for construction; I’m living a life that couldn’t be any better. Except for Liam being away - but even if he were playing football, he’d be gone a lot. I think I was destined to have a traveling husband. At least we’re not always moving, or he’s not always being sent from team to team. Having his office in our house is the perfect set-up.
“Hello, Josie.”
I turn at the sound of my name and find Bianca standing behind me. Everything about her seems off. She’s dressed in a 1950’s skirt suit with matching hat, white gloves and is clutching her purse with both hands in front of her stomach. If I didn’t know better I’d say she’s hiding a scandalous pregnancy, but we all know that’s not the case.
She tries to smile, but it’s forced and looks almost painful. “Do you think we could sit for a minute and talk?” Bianca walks toward one of the open benches in the park and sits down. Looking at her, I can’t help wondering if she’s even the person Sterling married anymore, or if her robotic ways were all his doing to create the perfect wife and family. From the outside that’s what he had and was almost able to pull it off until Liam ditched out on Sterling’s idea of life and bailed.
I sit down next to her but keep a safe distance. Everyone knows how the Westburys feel about me, they’ve not kept it a secret, and the last thing I need right now is town gossip. She can stay on her end and I’ll stay on mine.
“You had a very lovely shower.” She speaks without looking at me or taking her hands off her purse. If I didn’t know better, I’d think today was Sunday by the way she’s dressed.
“Thanks.”
“It’s too bad that Liam wasn’t there.”
“He’s working. Besides baby showers aren’t really for guys. If he had been here for it, I’m sure he, Harrison and Jimmy would’ve been doing band stuff.”
“I shouldn’t have come. I upset you on your day.”
I let out a sigh and think about the answers I could give. “You’re right, you shouldn’t have. But my mom invited you and you came. What’s done is done.”
Bianca stares straight ahead, showing no emotion, just holding her purse like it carries her life inside.
“I’m not a very good person.”
I scoff without intending to. She drops her head and continues to speak. “Sterling had this fantasy for Liam as soon as he started carrying on about football. He molded him into a copy of himself, but what he thought was a better version. What he didn’t bank on was Liam having a heart and following it, whether it was you or his music career.
“I had a dream once, too, but then I met Sterling. I was destined for stardom. My mother was a beautiful actress and my father a well renowned musician. We lived an amazing life and even after they divorced, my father was still in love with my mother. I started acting at a young age. As soon as I hit my teens, the movie roles started coming in fast and furious. I had my whole world in the palm of my hand until I met Sterling.
“He was this strapping young man who was visiting Los Angeles one summer, working for his uncle who was the President of the bank that we used. He was older, out of college and well on his way to owning his own branch. His uncle convinced my mother that his nephew would make a great escort to a birthday party I had to attend. My mother thought it wouldn’t hurt to give the boys around town a little run for their money.
“And boy did he ever. Sterling romanced me with the best of them. Operas, parties, trips on his uncle’s yacht. He was good looking and all my friends had eyes for him. Plus, he was rich. When the summer ended, we parted ways. But I was pregnant and my parents were livid.”
I cover my mouth to hold in a gasp, but Bianca doesn’t stop talking.
“I was barely sixteen and pregnant. In my era, you didn’t have unwed or single mothers. Pregnancies and children were hidden away. And in Hollywood they just didn’t happen. My father was so angry he withdrew all of our money from that bank and went to a competitor. Back then, it was a status thing for banks to hold celebrities money and my father did the worst thing he could to the bank.
“Sterling, of course, wanted me to move with him to New York. He was starting a job there and would be able to provide for me and the baby. Still, being underage, my parents were adamant that I did not speak to him.
“I was given two options: Have an abortion or go to a home for unwed mothers and give my child up for adoption. I wanted neither, but I also didn’t want to have a child or live in New York. I wanted to make movies and win Oscars. I wanted everything to just go away.