CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Jennifer’s cell phone rang right on time at ten o’clock in the morning. She knew before she answered that the caller was her mother, Debbie Lane. Hearing Debbie’s voice was almost like being with her. Jennifer pictured Debbie in her bright yellow kitchen with the curtains Debbie had made herself. Debbie would be fixing breakfast or pressing clothes while they talked. The aroma of freshly baked biscuits or cookies would fill the air. The imagined domestic scene pierced Jennifer’s heart.

Jennifer had always been close with her mother and the separation of fifteen hundred miles had the curious effect of bringing them even closer. They’d started using their business cell phones lately since weekend calling time was practically free. Sometimes, they’d talk at night during the week, too. Debbie was Jennifer’s closest friend, and Jennifer missed her under the best of circumstances. Now, Jennifer’s desire for her mother’s comfort was palpable.

“Hi, Mom,” Jennifer said, trying to keep the quaver out of her voice. She held the tiny cell phone to her ear with her shoulder, while she toweled off after her swim. She’d had a good workout. Twenty-five laps in the pool, managing to keep ahead of her demons. The cool water felt good on her skin.

“Good morning,” Debbie responded. “How are you? How was your week?”

“Good. How’s Dad?” Jennifer carried the towel and the phone across the patio and found a lounge chair shaded by a bushy palm tree. She unscrewed the cap of a water bottle and swallowed half its contents.

“Oh, he’s fine. He had a seven-thirty tee-off over at Mistwood this morning.” This was the usual Saturday opening. It never varied. Jennifer settled in to talk with Debbie for an hour or more, holding Debbie’s voice close to her.

Those conversations made her feel connected. Loved. Jennifer realized she’d left home seeking independence, but, paradoxically, she’d planned all along to return to where she’d come from someday. Jennifer thought of herself as being on a journey. What she would experience would change her forever. Change her from what, she didn’t know. This was one of many things Jennifer was still attempting to discover.

Right now, Jennifer put her feet up and finished her water as Debbie rambled on with quiet conversation. Debbie talked about Aunt Peggy’s recent bout of the flu and the women in Debbie’s bridge club whom Jennifer didn’t know. The normalcy of Debbie’s life surrounded Jennifer like a cozy blanket, warming her and making her feel secure in the world. Maybe, Jennifer thought, she should just go home to be with her family. Running away had great appeal right now.

Jennifer considered telling Debbie about her troubles. Her mother was always willing to listen. Jennifer could count on support from both her parents, actually, no matter what she did. As their only child, Jennifer had been treasured. They coddled her and made everything perfect, always. Jennifer counted on her mother’s kindness and her father’s protection. She needed them both still, even when she was almost thirty years old. Jennifer wondered when, exactly, one began to feel like an adult, capable of taking care of herself.

Yet she couldn’t, or maybe wouldn’t, admit defeat and run back to her parents. She hadn’t been fired yet. She hadn’t been disbarred. She hadn’t let them down yet. Maybe she could figure out a way to get the HepZMax formula back. If she could do that, neither the Waldens, Russell Denton, nor Stuart would be angry with her. Things could still work out. She had no idea how that could possibly happen. But she had hope.

“Mom, I’ve met the most incredible guy,” she offered a little tentatively. This was a change in their usual routine. Jennifer never had a man to talk about and Debbie never asked. The subject was one they tactfully avoided. Her parents just wanted Jennifer to be happy, but in her parents’ world, that meant married with children.

“Oh? What’s his name?”

“Blake Denton. His uncle is Russell Denton.” Jennifer thought it best to get this piece of information out of the way first. She knew her mother wouldn’t be thrilled. Debbie believed money in extremes corrupted everyone it touched. Debbie had lived a comfortable life, but both she and Jennifer’s father had worked for everything they had. They’d taught Jennifer to do the same. Debbie and Clay Lane thought making one’s own way in the world built character.

“Mom, he’s really the most down-to-earth man I’ve ever met. Having money has relaxed him. He’s not so bent on making his mark.” Jennifer tried to defuse the issue of Blake’s wealth before it became a concern to her parents.

“Working for what you have is a good thing,” Debbie said in response. She wouldn’t judge Jennifer’s choice, but Debbie had her own views, too.

“I know. He does work. In his uncle’s company.” Jennifer was a little sorry she’d brought this up. Since nothing would probably come of the relationship, she shouldn’t have said anything. But her pattern was to tell Debbie about whatever was going on in her life. The idea of drawing boundaries around such an important piece of news as her feelings for Blake just didn’t occur to her. But mentioning him was a commitment.

“Tell me about him.”

“He’s wonderful, Mom, really. So polite and sweet. He’s the nicest man I’ve met in a long, long time.” Jennifer remembered Blake’s kiss, his caress. She could imagine the smile on her mother’s face as Debbie listened to Jennifer describe Blake’s virtues.

Jennifer understood her parents’ concern for her. Debbie and Clay had been high school sweethearts. Their love had endured for more than thirty years. Jennifer wanted for herself the deep emotional connection her parents shared, and had been looking all her life for a man who could measure up to her girlhood view of Clay Lane. She let herself believe that maybe, with a little luck and lots of prayers, she’d found that man in Blake Denton.

Eventually, Debbie said during a lull near the end of the call, “Did I tell you that we’re going to take a little vacation?”

“Really? Where are you going?” Jennifer was surprised. She was glad she hadn’t suggested she might want to come home. She would never want to disrupt her parents’ lives.

“Your Dad’s finally going to take me to Alaska this summer. We’ve been considering a cruise for quite a long time. Our anniversary is coming up and we never really had a honeymoon. So we thought this would be a good opportunity to do both.” Debbie seemed shyly pleased that Clay had surprised her with the trip.

“Mom, that sounds great.” Jennifer’s workout had made her hungry. She gathered up her towel and the empty water bottle and walked back toward her apartment. “How did Dad ever think of that?”

“Oh, you know. One of those telemarketing things. He can’t ever turn anybody down,” Debbie said with affection.

They talked about the vacation for a while, and then Debbie returned to the subject they most often discussed. “What’s up with Stuart and the office?” Debbie didn’t really understand everything about the work Jennifer did, but she was always willing to lend an ear.

When Jennifer didn’t respond right away, Debbie asked her, “Honey? Something wrong?”

Jennifer stopped walking and leaned one shoulder against a wall on the way to the elevator. She closed her eyes to keep her composure. “No, not really. It’s hard to say much about what I’m working on.” Why didn’t she just tell her mother about Annabelle James, the HepZMax theft? Why evade the subject? But she held back. She lowered her voice.

“Stuart is Stuart. We got a big new case we’re working on which should be pretty exciting. I’m getting a fairly big role.” That was an understatement. In fact, Jennifer still didn’t feel comfortable with the size of the task she’d undertaken.

Debbie interrupted her. “Jennifer, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the time. I’ve got to get ready for a funeral. One of our friends from church died this week and the funeral is today. We’re at that age when we attend more funerals than weddings.” Debbie’s tone was rueful. “I think that’s one of the things that prompted your father to buy this cruise when that woman called. Life is too short. We won’t be around forever, you know.”

Jennifer ignored this piece of reality. She couldn’t consider losing her parents. Not right now. “Okay. I’ll talk to you next week then. Love you, Mom,” Jennifer signed off.

“Love you, too, dear. Bye.” After Debbie hung up, Jennifer stared at the phone in her hand, bereft of the one link that tethered her to a world where she belonged, where she felt comfortable. She imagined Debbie and Clay at home, having dinner together, watching television in the evening. The scene made her homesick in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. She missed her parents. She’d left home seeking adventure and to create her own life. Right now, she thought leaving had been a terrible mistake.