“Oh my God! Colette? You almost gave me a heart attack,” Kim heard Annie exclaim behind her, as she put the phone to her ear, and she turned back, unable to believe her eyes. “You’re here—already? I thought you weren’t making it out until the launch day?”
“Well, I was, because Ed couldn’t get away till then, but then last minute I decided to come out on my own and he’ll follow. He has a lot going on at work and couldn’t get away,” Colette explained to Annie.
Kim rushed back to embrace her friends, delighted all three were reunited at last. The strain in Colette’s voice was evident, though—as it had been when she’d initially called to explain about her and Ed’s arrangements, and Kim suspected that perhaps she wasn’t the only one having family issues.
While in her own case there might still be a way to remedy those, she knew in her friend’s situation, it wasn’t so easy.
There was still no news on the baby front for them then, despite Colette’s confession during that call that her period was late—and her hopes that, on this trip, maybe she and Ed might have something to celebrate, too.
Again, whenever she talked to her, Kim felt guilty about how shocked and distraught she’d been when she fell unexpectedly pregnant with Lily, when she knew poor Colette would’ve given anything for a surprise like that.
“Where’s Charlie?” she asked Annie now, and Kim had to laugh when, as if on cue, a dripping-wet child dashed toward his unsuspecting mother and hugged her from behind.
“Ah, Charlie, you drenched me!”
“Oh, he’s just having fun.” Colette chuckled and kneeled down to say hello. “Hello there. You don’t know me but I’m an old friend of your mum’s. My name’s Colette.”
Kim smiled, watching her interact with Charlie on his own level. She truly had a natural way with children, which made it all the more heartbreaking that she couldn’t seem to have any of her own.
“So how have you all been?” Colette questioned as she took a seat at the table alongside Annie. “It seems much longer than five years.”
“I saw you guys in London just after I had Lily, remember?” Kim reminded. “So not that long for us.”
“But I definitely haven’t seen you since before our wedding,” Colette said to Annie. “Charlie was just a baby then. And look at him now...”
“I know. Again, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it,” Annie stated. “How’s Ed?”
Colette’s features twitched infinitesimally. “Ah, you know, all work, work, work,” she mused, as she tried to pass off her obvious unease.
Kim really needed to be getting back to work but she so wanted to stay here and linger over piña coladas and catch up with them for as long as she could. Even if hers needed to be a virgin one. She wrestled hard with herself, unable to believe that there was another snag, yet another fire to put out.
It was getting to the point where it would be a miracle if the launch happened at all.
“Charlie really is growing up so fast, Annie,” Colette was saying.
“I can’t believe it either. It’s as if he was born yesterday.”
“He doesn’t look so much like you, though. Perhaps he’s more like his dad?”
The color seemed to drain from Annie’s face at this and Kim was surprised that the topic of Charlie’s dad would have such an effect on her friend, given that she’d always been so open about the fact that it was just an ill-fated encounter.
“He’s a great kid,” Kim put in quickly. “So happy and fun-loving, and I have no doubt that he’ll make you really proud.”
“He already does,” Annie said with a smile. “And what about you, Kim? How are you finding motherhood these days?”
“Oh, where’s Lily? Is she here?” Colette chimed in, looking around.
“Aw, you just missed her and Gabriel, but you’ll see them later, I’m sure.”
“Do you have any pictures? I’d love to see them.”
Kim flipped the cover open on her phone case and entered her passcode. She flicked her finger upward in rapid succession as she looked for the most recent photos she had of her daughter.
The further down the list she went, the worse she began to feel. She really was her mother’s daughter.
There were tons of pictures of the villa project, some professional shots for social media, and other stuff she’d been sent for approval from the marketing department.
Finally, she found a few from a weekend trip earlier in the year. Gabriel had insisted she take a break from the seemingly endless villa preparations, and the three of them had headed to the Hamptons for a few days.
Kim still had to work most of the time but there were a few occasions when she took an hour or two away to focus on him and Lily.
“We went boating,” she commented, as she handed the phone to Colette, feeling a little on edge as she watched her pass the phone in turn to Annie, who seemed even more curious.
“You all take such perfect pictures,” she sighed as she handed the phone back, but Kim thought she noticed an edge to her tone. “Lily looks sooo like her dad. No offense, Kim, but I can’t really see you in her except for the color of her hair.”
“That’s probably for the best,” she chuckled ruefully. The fact that her daughter looked more like Gabe and called for him when she was frightened or couldn’t sleep didn’t really bother her. Kim had work to do and she did it. He had more time.
“Kim?” Colette’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Sorry, what?”
“I was just saying that it might be nice to head over to Positano for dinner for old times’ sake later, if you can spare an evening. A good excuse for the three of us to catch up before everything gets too busy for you. What do you think?”
“Ah, for goodness’ sake, Charlie!” Annie yelled then, as her son dive-bombed into the pool, sending a huge spray of water in their direction. Kim jumped back just in time for it to miss her but Colette and Annie, who were both sitting poolside, got soaked. “What the hell were you playing at?” she scolded.
Colette laughed it off. “Ah, don’t worry, Annie. He was just doing exactly that—playing. It’s what kids do.”
“Thanks for the advice, Colette, but maybe save it for your own child,” she snapped, brushing water off her clothes.
Kim’s stomach twisted at the statement. She knew Annie hadn’t meant anything callous by it, but still the words had been uttered, and while Colette tried to hide the effect they had on her, Kim had seen the hurt flash in her eyes.
“Excuse me a moment,” she mumbled. “In all the excitement, I forgot to call Ed when I got in. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Kim watched as she hurried off into the hotel building, wondering if she should go after her to check if she was OK. But then she saw her raise her mobile phone to her ear and figured there was little point in interrupting her conversation with Ed.
“Why did you say that?” she whispered harshly to Annie, who looked duly pained.
“It just came out, I didn’t mean it. You know I wouldn’t hurt Colette, it’s just...she doesn’t really understand what it is to be a parent. She’s used to having children that she can give back when they misbehave, but you can’t give back your own child, you know that.”
“Still, it was a bit mean, considering.”
“I know. I’ll apologize when she comes back. I was just a bit frustrated, and tired after the journey, maybe,” Annie admitted.
“What’s really going on?”
“Nothing.” But her eyes turned to her and Kim could see the conflict in them. She waited for her friend to explain as the sound of Charlie’s splashing continued in the background.
“Things are a little...stressful just now,” Annie admitted finally. She gave a dispirited grin. “For starters, it not always easy being a single mother.”
“I can imagine. But I still don’t know why you refused to ask his father for help. It could’ve made life so much easier.”
“I doubt that. Anyway, Charlie and I are just fine on our own.”
“It’s not just Charlie, though, is it? Something else is on your mind.”
Annie shook her head. “I’d almost forgotten who I’m talking to. Always Miss Perceptive.”
“And you’re always Miss Stubborn. What gives?”
“It’s nothing—honestly.” Whatever was going on, Annie clearly wasn’t ready to tell her. Or maybe she never would be. “Anyway, I am who I am.”
“I know, and that’s why I don’t understand this attitude.”
“Hey, Kim, give it a rest, OK? You have always got whatever you wanted. Always. You’ve never had to struggle with anything a day in your life. You have a super successful business, a gorgeous husband and a beautiful daughter, with your big California house, millions in the bank, and now the villa, your crowning glory. What exactly is it about your life that could possibly equip you to understand mine?”
With that, Annie stood up and stormed off to the other side of the pool, where she grabbed a towel and urged Charlie to get out of the water.
What the hell was that? Kim thought, reeling as she sat alone, three abandoned, half-finished cocktails on the table in front of her, debating whether she should try to rescue the situation with Annie, who seemed to have flown off the handle for no apparent reason. Clearly something was going on with her, but in time-honored Annie fashion, she was insistent on rowing her own boat. And she had already said she was tired after the flight, so perhaps Kim would only worsen things by pushing it and making her even more irritable.
And it wasn’t as if she didn’t have enough problems to deal with.
She sighed heavily. This reunion was supposed to be a happy time, reliving fond memories of the summer the three of them had shared, and reaffirming their friendship.
Yet another example of Kim’s grand plans going awry.