Secrets of a Small Town, page 7
She was in the middle of brushing her teeth and was still thinking about Gregg and Glynnis and the children and everything that had happened that day when her cell phone rang. It startled her, and her heart was beating too fast when she answered.
“Sabrina?” It was her mother.
Guilt immediately flooded Sabrina, almost as if her mother had somehow divined her thoughts. “Mom? Is something wrong?”
“No. I just thought I’d call and see how your day went.”
“Oh.” For a moment, Sabrina couldn’t remember where she was supposed to be and what she was supposed to be doing. That’s what happened when you told lies. “It…it was fine.”
“You don’t seem sure.”
“No, I—I was just thinking about something else, and had to get my brain in gear, that’s all.”
“You got your interview okay?”
“Yes, everything went like clockwork.” Sabrina’s guilty feelings intensified. She hated inventing stories about fictitious interviews to tell to her mother. “How about you? Did you have a good day?”
“How could I?” her mother said, the bitterness and anger that had been so prevalent lately creeping back into her voice. “Everywhere I go, people stare. They’re gloating over our downfall, Sabrina. Simply gloating.”
“I’m sure some people are, but our real friends aren’t.”
“I don’t have any real friends.”
“Oh, Mom, that’s not true. Leland is a wonderful friend. So is Florence. And what about Virginia and Katherine and Libby?” Sabrina had named her mother’s longtime bridge buddies.
“Those three are the worst.”
Sabrina sighed. “I think you’re exaggerating. If anything, I’m sure they feel badly for you.”
“That’s because you don’t really know them. Besides, I don’t want their pity!”
“Mom…”
“You don’t understand. It’s not the same for you as it is for me. Don’t you see, Sabrina? Your father might as well have hung a sign around my neck saying Cast Off For a New Model.”
“But you weren’t cast off. He didn’t leave you.”
“Don’t you dare defend him! Anyone who could do what he did doesn’t deserve any sympathy. I’m the one who deserves your sympathy.”
Sabrina couldn’t help but remember how compassionate and concerned Glynnis had been when Sabrina talked briefly about her mother, how Glynnis was able to put herself in another’s place, whereas Sabrina’s mother could only think of her own misery.
“I’ll never forgive your father,” Isabel continued. “Never.”
“It would be better for you if you could,” Sabrina said before she could stop herself.
“Don’t you start preaching to me, Sabrina. You have no idea what it’s like to be in my shoes.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I know I don’t. It’s just that I’m tired. It’s been a long day. A long couple of weeks. We should both get some sleep.”
“Yes, well…you’re coming home tomorrow, aren’t you? I told Bob Culberson you were.”
“Bob Culberson?”
“Yes, he called earlier today and wanted to talk to you. He said there were some decisions that needed to be made, and he wanted to discuss them with us.”
Oh, God. This was all she needed. One more thing dumped on her. Sabrina sighed. “When I get home, I’ll call him.”
“What time will you be back tomorrow?”
“I should be in the office by noon.”
“Call me when you get there. I worry about you on the road.”
“I’ll be careful. And yes, I’ll call you when I get to the paper.”
After the phone call, Sabrina continued getting ready for bed, but the conversation with her mother had unsettled her, and she knew it would be useless to try to go to sleep. She wished she had something to read. She’d forgotten to stuff a book in her overnight bag.
Picking up the television guide provided by the motel, she looked at the offerings. Nothing interested her. She looked at the clock. Eleven-fifteen. She eyed the phone again. Casey would still be up. A night owl, she rarely went to bed before midnight. Needing to talk to someone she didn’t have to pretend with, Sabrina picked up her cell phone and punched in Casey’s number.
“Sabrina! What’s up? Where are you? I called the paper today and they said you’d gone out of town.”
“I’m in Ivy.”
“So you decided to go, huh? Well? How was it? Or haven’t you met her yet?”
“I met both her and the children. I spent the day with them.”
“Tell me everything!”
Sabrina smiled. She could just see Casey getting comfortable, probably sitting Indian fashion on her futon and leaning forward eagerly. Sabrina felt better already. Talking to Casey always made her feel better.
“Well?” Casey said. “I’m waiting.”
So Sabrina started at the beginning and told her everything.
“Oh, man,” Casey said when she was done. “You’re in trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You like her. And you love the kids. Plus you’re attracted to the sexy brother. The way I see it, there’s no way you’re not going to see these people again.”
“Casey! I can’t see them again. It’s impossible. And I’m not attracted to the sexy brother,” she added as an afterthought.
“Is it impossible? And you are attracted to him. Don’t lie to me, Sabrina. I know you too well.”
“You know it’s impossible. Okay, I think he’s attractive, yes, but I’m not attracted to him.”
Casey chuckled. “Uh-huh. Tell me another one.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“Fine. Lie to yourself if you want to. For right now, let’s forget the brother and talk about Glynnis and the kids. Hell, Sabrina, you should be a part of their life. Those kids are your half sister and brother. I think it’d be a crime not to get to know them.”
“But how? You know my mother. She’d go ballistic if she found out.”
“Why don’t you just tell your mother the truth? She’s not made of glass. She won’t break.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy. Just say, Mother, I’ve met Dad’s other family and I intend to continue seeing them. Yeah, she’ll go ballistic, but she’ll get over it.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Casey…”
“Well…maybe not. But she’s not gonna cut you out of her life. How can she? You’re all she’s got.”
Unsaid was what they both knew Casey thought: that Isabel March could have had a fuller, richer life if she’d been a different kind of person. That it was her own fault Sabrina was all she had. And that Sabrina had suffered for it long enough.
“So I say go for it,” Casey continued. “And the sooner, the better.”
Sabrina sighed.
“You never told me what she said about the kids. She does know about them now, doesn’t she?”
“Yes. Leland told her.”
“Were you there when he did?”
“No. He said he thought it would be easier on her if I wasn’t.” That he was willing to do so still puzzled Sabrina, even though she’d been so glad to escape having to see the pain the knowledge would bring her mother, she’d been cowardly and taken him up on his generous offer.
“Has she talked to you about them since?”
“No. It’s like she doesn’t know.”
“And you haven’t pushed it.”
“No. We’re both pretending the children don’t exist. I guess it’s easier for her that way. Maybe she’s hoping no one else will ever find out about them.”
“She could be right. I mean, if Leland says nothing and you say nothing…your father didn’t leave them anything in his will, did he?”
“No. There was no mention of either Glynnis or the children in his will.”
“Are they gonna get anything?”
“He had an insurance policy in Glynnis’s name.”
“Well, she could be right, then.”
They both fell silent. Then Casey said, “So tell me about this brother that you find attractive and sexy but aren’t the least bit interested in.” There was teasing laughter in her voice.
“I really don’t know much to tell. The two times I’ve been in his company, we’ve either talked about what my dad did or we’ve talked about his sister and the kids.”
“Well, is he sending any vibes?”
Sabrina thought about the way Gregg looked at her. “Kind of. I think.”
“You think? Girl, when a guy is sending vibes, you know it. So is he or isn’t he?”
“I guess he is, but he knows as well as I do that it’s a go-nowhere kind of thing, so it doesn’t mean anything.”
“If you told your mother the truth, it could go somewhere.”
“Casey, I’ll concede that it might, in the far distant future, be possible for me to have some kind of relationship with Glynnis and the children, but it will never be possible to have a relationship with her brother. So can we please talk about something else now?”
When Gregg walked into his apartment after dropping Sabrina off, the first thing he spied was the blinking light on his answering machine.
He pressed the play button. “Gregg? It’s Glynnis. Call me when you get home. I’ll be up.”
Frowning, he quickly punched in her number. “Glynnis?” he said when she answered. “Is something wrong?”
“No, no, I just… I wanted to talk to you.”
Sinking down into his favorite lounge chair, he kicked off his loafers and settled back. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“You got her back to the motel okay?”
“Yeah. But that’s not why you called.”
“No. I—I just wanted to say how much I liked her.”
“She liked you, too.”
“Oh, Gregg, this is such a mess, isn’t it?”
“What is it, Glynnie? You seem more upset now than you have been since the day I told you about Ben.”
She was silent for a few seconds. “I don’t know. Somehow meeting Sabrina, it just brought home to me how complicated everything is. The thing is, I want her to be a part of our lives. I want the children to know her. I want us to be friends. And I’m afraid that’s an impossible wish. I’m afraid we won’t see her again, and that makes me sad.”
Gregg wished he had some magic words for her, but all he could think of to say was what he’d told Sabrina, that somehow things would work out.
“Do you really think so?”
He heard the hopeful note in her voice. Torn between being honest and making her feel better, he decided on honesty. “I don’t know. I hope so. Maybe, with time.”
“Gregg, you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but—”
“What?”
“Has Sabrina said anything to you about her mother?”
“Not a lot.” He hesitated, then decided Glynnis deserved to know as much of the truth as possible. “I do know her mother is in a wheelchair.”
“Oh, my God. What…what’s wrong with her?”
“She had a skiing accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down.”
“No wonder Ben couldn’t leave her.”
He wanted to tell her to quit making excuses for Ben, but once again he told himself there was no point.
“Do you think—?” She abruptly stopped.
“Think what?” When she didn’t answer, he said it again. “Think what, Glynnie?”
She sighed deeply. “I just wondered. Maybe I could call her.”
He frowned. “Call who? Sabrina?”
“No. Not Sabrina. Her mother.”
“What?”
“Well, maybe she’d like to talk—”
“Don’t even think about it, Glynnis.”
“But Gregg, you don’t know her. Maybe she’d like to talk to me. Maybe it would bring her some comfort or something. I just feel I should do something to try to make things better.”
“It’s not a good idea.”
“But—”
“Here’s why it’s not. Sabrina said her mother was very bitter and very angry.”
“Oh.”
“I hope you and Sabrina will be able to build some kind of relationship in the future. But if you were thinking it might eventually include her mother, that all of you might end up one big, happy family…that’s a fantasy.”
Later, in that twilight zone between wakefulness and sleep, Gregg realized that he, too, had been entertaining a fantasy, one where he and Sabrina might also have a relationship. He wondered what Glynnis would say if she knew. She’d probably tell him his fantasy was no more attainable than hers.
Chapter Six
Sabrina was ready and waiting when Gregg pulled his Explorer into the parking lot. Grabbing her overnight bag, she took one last look around the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, then let herself out the door.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning.” Today he wore a brown leather bomber jacket and aviator sunglasses. She thought about how she’d told Casey he was attractive. Gregg Antonelli was more than attractive. He was gorgeous. Why, oh why did he have to be Glynnis’s brother?
He reached for her overnight bag.
“I’m just going to follow you to the restaurant,” she said. “That way, when we’re finished, I can hit the road.”
“Okay.” He smiled. “You look nice this morning.”
Her heart skipped under his smile. Those dimples were enough to make any woman melt, Sabrina thought helplessly. “Thanks.” She unlocked her car.
As he opened the driver’s side door for her, Sabrina caught a whiff of his cologne or maybe it was his aftershave. Whatever it was, it was woodsy and masculine and sexy and it suddenly made her want to fling her arms around him and tell him to carry her off somewhere. She couldn’t help it, she laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m just being silly this morning.” She knew she was blushing and hoped he couldn’t tell.
“I’ve embarrassed you.”
Oh, shoot. He could tell. Settle down, Sabrina, before you make a total fool of yourself. “I embarrass easily.”
He grinned. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
“I’m dying for coffee, personally.”
“Well, let’s go, then.”
Once they were in the restaurant, seated across from each other in a booth, Sabrina felt a bit more in control of herself. Having the table between them helped.
“Do you want to look at the menu? Or do you want to try the buffet?” he asked.
“What are you going to do?”
“I love the buffet. The biscuits and cream gravy are enough to make a sane man go crazy.”
She laughed. “You’ve talked me into it.”
Once they’d filled their plates and were again seated, he said, “Did you sleep okay last night?” He shook out his napkin.
Sabrina shrugged. “Yeah. Took me awhile to get to sleep, though. My mother called and after we talked, I couldn’t settle down.”
His blue eyes studied her. “Does your mother know where you are?”
“No. Whenever I go anywhere I tell her to call me on my cell phone.” She sighed. “She thinks I’m in Columbus on a story.”
“Do you plan to tell her about coming to Ivy?”
Sabrina shook her head. “I wish I could, but I’m afraid she’d come unglued.”
“Listen, if I’m out of line, tell me, but I’d like to know more about your mother.”
“What do you want to know?”
“For starters, what kind of injury does she have?”
“She damaged her spinal cord.”
“Boy, that’s rough.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think that’s why your father—?”
“No. Their…their marriage was in trouble before the accident. In fact—” She stopped. She shouldn’t be telling him this. And yet, why not? Who would it hurt now? Her father was dead. And her mother was never going to meet Gregg or Glynnis. They certainly weren’t going to spread gossip about her. “My father had asked my mother for a divorce. She got very angry and left for the ski trip the next day. While there, she had her accident. After that, Dad was very devoted. But I know he was lonely. My…my mother is not a warm woman. And I think she blamed him for the accident.”
“Was it his fault?”
“No, he wasn’t even there. But she blamed him, anyway.” In a burst of honesty, she added, “My mother always blames other people for her problems.”
He didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Sabrina picked up her fork and began to eat. After a moment, he did, too. She couldn’t imagine what had possessed her to say such a thing, especially to someone who was almost a stranger. And yet, Gregg seemed to have that effect on her. She found herself wanting to tell him all kinds of things. And she wanted, in return, to know all kinds of things about him.
“What about your parents?” she said after a while. “When did they die?”
Gregg cut a piece of sausage. “They died in a car accident when Glynnis and I were sixteen. They were both in their early forties.”
“How terrible.” Sabrina couldn’t help thinking of her father, who had also died young.
“Yes. It was hard on Glynnis, especially. She and Dad were especially close.”
“But at least you have each other. And now you’ve got Michael and Olivia, too.” Sabrina tried not to feel envious, but it was hard. He had someone with whom to share the tough times, and she had no one.
She ate the last bit of biscuit and gravy on her plate. “How’d you get into the restaurant business?”
“I worked as a waiter the summer before college, then part-time for the next couple of years. When I found myself looking forward to the hours at the restaurant more than the hours in school, I knew somebody was trying to tell me something.” He grinned. “I’ve been working in the business ever since.”
“How long have you owned Antonelli’s?”
“Six years.”
“Did you buy it from someone?”
