“I have some plans too. You don’t really need me here anymore. The business is taking off. You’ve got Claudia to help you, and she’s very good. And you know how to run this business without me. I’ve just been along for the fun and the ride, and to support you in the beginning. I’m still going to back you, but I think it’s time for me to go home.”
“To San Francisco?” Claire looked stunned. “I thought you love it here.”
“I do. And it’s been a fantastic five months. It’s been the best thing that ever happened to me, other than having you. Your father and I have been talking. He’s really been trying. He stopped drinking two months ago, and he wants to start traveling and doing some things together. It may not be perfect, but I love him and we’d both like to try, and see how it goes.” Claire looked both happy and sad. She had so loved having her mother there with her. It had filled a huge void for her, and given her an opportunity she would never have had otherwise. She was eternally grateful for that. And now she’d be living in the loft alone. It felt suddenly too grown up.
“When are you going?” Claire looked wistful. Her mother gave her a hug.
“I thought after the wedding might be a good time, in a month.” Claire nodded. It was a lot to think about, but she could see that her mother thought it was the right thing to do. And her eyes lit up when she talked about doing things with Jim. And Claire knew she couldn’t hang on to her mother forever. The past five months had been a wonderful reprieve from the blows that had come before that.
“You know, you need to think a little more about getting out too.” They both knew what she meant, but Claire always said she wasn’t ready. It had been six months since George had spun her around and dumped her, and she hadn’t recovered yet. Her mother thought she should try. All Claire wanted to do was work, which had been her style before George too, and now even more so. But if her father could change, Claire wondered if she should too. It was a thought.
Claire and Sarah went to bed that night, in the bed that they shared, and it made Claire sad to think about her mother leaving. She turned over on her side in the dark and saw that Sarah was awake. “I’m going to miss you, Mom,” she said softly. “Thank you for everything you did. I couldn’t have done it without you. Everything had gone so wrong, and then you fixed it with the biggest gift of my life.”
“That’s what mothers are for,” Sarah answered, and kissed her daughter’s cheek, and they fell asleep holding hands. It was like being a little girl again, and she felt safe.
Chapter 23
The day of the rehearsal dinner, Sasha and her bridesmaids all went to get manicures and pedicures at a place Valentina recommended. Sasha had gotten her hair cut in a stylish bob for the wedding the day before, and it was all blond now. She couldn’t wait to wear her new short sexy black dress that night. The girls were all laughing and talking at the nail salon when her father called her. They had arrived from Atlanta that morning, with the children and their nanny. Muriel was due in that afternoon, and the Scotts had arrived the night before. Alex and Sasha had stopped by the hotel to give them a hug. They were staying at the Plaza, and Ben went out with them afterward, and they stayed out too late, but had fun.
“What’s up, Dad?” Sasha saw his name come up on her cell phone. She was off call, and officially on vacation since the day before, and had two weeks off for a honeymoon in Paris. She couldn’t think of anything more romantic than Paris in June, with Alex.
“We have a little problem,” he said to Sasha in a falsely calm voice.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha was instantly on alert.
“Charlotte’s having contractions, some pretty strong ones, and she’s only seven months pregnant. This shouldn’t be happening. She thinks she’s in labor.”
“Did she call her doctor?” Sasha asked in her professional voice.
“Yes, but she can’t evaluate her over the phone. She thinks she should be seen. And to be honest, so do I. The pains are pretty powerful, and they’re five minutes apart.”
“Do you want me to recommend someone?” Sasha was instantly the doctor, and no longer the daughter.
“Would you take a look at her?”
“Does Charlotte want me to?” Sasha asked fairly.
“Yes, she does. We both do. Are you busy?” Sasha was stunned. Me? Getting married tomorrow? With a rehearsal dinner for a hundred people tonight? Of course not. Just sitting here eating bonbons waiting for you to call.
“That’s fine. I can meet you at the hospital in twenty minutes,” she recovered. Her nails were dry, and she was wearing sandals so she didn’t mess up the polish on her toes, which was a pale shell pink, called Ballerina, by Chanel. When she told the others she had to leave, they pleaded with her to stick around—they were going back to the apartment to drink champagne.
“Charlotte has a problem. I promised my father I’d see her.” She looked serious as she said it.
“Is she pregnant?” Morgan asked her, surprised.
“Seven months.”
Claire rolled her eyes. “Your mother will love that.”
“Won’t she ever,” Sasha agreed with her, and she left the nail salon and found a cab. She was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and she got to the hospital ten minutes later and put on scrubs. Her father and Charlotte were right behind her. She was in a wheelchair and hunched over in pain. She looked like a woman in labor. At seven months, that was not good.
Sasha took them to an examining room in labor and delivery, and told the nurses she was there.
“Aren’t you supposed to be getting married?” one of them asked her.
“Not till tomorrow. I was bored at home. Nothing good on TV,” she said, and went to join her father and his wife. Charlotte was crying and scared.
“Were the girls early?” Sasha asked her calmly.
“No, they were late,” she answered through another pain.
“What did you do today? Did you lift anything heavy? Your suitcase? The kids?”
“No…well…kind of. I picked Lizzie up for a minute, but I’ve done that before. And she’s pretty light.” Sasha nodded. Normally that shouldn’t have done it, unless she had a predisposition for preterm labor, which she didn’t, and she was young.
“Did you have sex? Any fooling around?” she asked them, pretending to herself that he wasn’t her father, and he looked sheepish, and Charlotte giggled. Oh Christ.
“Could that do it?” Charlotte appeared instantly guilty, and Sasha’s father cleared his throat.
“It could. Orgasms can set off labor. Let’s check things out.” She smiled easily at both of them, as she would any patient, and Steve stood next to his wife’s head as Sasha examined Charlotte. There was definitely some bloody show, but her waters were still intact, and her cervix was closed, so nothing major had happened yet. She reported her findings to them, and they were both relieved.
“But we’re not in the clear yet. Those contractions will get things going if we don’t stop them. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a shot and see if that will stop the contractions. And I want you on bed rest for a few days.”
“But I’ll miss the wedding,” she said, crushed.
“What would you rather have?” Sasha asked her gently. “Wedding cake and a baby born two months premature tonight or tomorrow, or a nice healthy baby in two months?”
“A baby in two months,” Charlotte said sadly, and Steve leaned down and kissed her. “But I bought such a pretty pink dress for tonight, and a gorgeous red one for tomorrow.”