Chapter Twenty
Sailing
My
sisters were determined to go; my cousins were already on their way. There was
really no way I could get out of going sailing... even though it was truly
obvious Ben wanted nothing to do with me. Besides,
why would I let him steal my cousins and stalk me out of town?... Confessions of a Post-teenage
Hermit
Melissa sat on the couch at my father’s house,
covered in baby items: clothes, diapers, cream, bottles and a rattle, waiting
for the afternoon nanny to arrive.
“Hey Missy, I’ve rarely seen you so hands
on,” I said sarcastically as I arrived home.
“Here, take him,” my sister said, handing me
the baby. “I have to change. I just finished feeding him before you arrived and
he promptly threw up all over my new top. I’m coming sailing with you. Word
spreads quickly by text.”
I washed my hands and took the baby who
gurgled and instantly sucked on my finger. Sitting on the side of the couch I
prepared myself for my sister’s diatribe.
“I cannot believe the afternoon nanny is this
late!”
“We could always go to Farmer’s Markets
instead and just take him with us… “
“Are you insane? I’ve pumped enough milk to
stay out of this place for at least three hours and we are getting out of here
and going sailing, like I said we would. Besides, I’m not going home to Venice
Beach until Fred apologizes and I’m fed up with staring at these walls.”
Fred had forgotten their wedding
anniversary and Melissa was mortified. I listened to her complain for the
twenty minutes it took her to get ready and hand me a new top to wear, more
because she didn’t want to be embarrassed in public than because she actually
wanted me to look good.
Finally, we were ready. The nanny arrived,
the sleeping baby was kissed and we loaded up the car and took off to the
marina with a quick stop at Wentworth’s Farmers’ Markets.
We were an hour early and Melissa was
starving. I was hoping she’d forget all about sailing if she was side tracked
at the Farmers’ Markets near the Wentworth Marina. Eleanor and Liz were meeting
us there. I drove. I loved driving to this part of California. The Marina and
the markets were lovely. I drove right on the speed limit which went against my
usually withdrawn personality. I was excited about lunch and the loud stereo
drowned out Melissa’s nasal voice.
“I’m looking forward to eating,” Melissa
said, above the whirr of the engine. “Feeding babies makes you so hungry and
the good news is, you don’t put on any more weight.”
These were the gems of advice my younger
sister supplied me with and I supposed one day I’d be grateful for them.
“Yes,” I replied. I particularly liked the
hot turkey sandwiches they sold at the Farmers Markets for lunch. That was
exactly what I looked forward to as Melissa giggled and proceeded to tell me
how thrilling it all was to be out of the house and “back in the outside world.”
“Of course, my husband and children are
everything to me. I don’t know how you can go through your life without them,”
she added, as if I had a choice but no hope of ever finding a man of my own.
Realistically, she was right. There was
only a chance you’d meet the one in
this life or that person wouldn’t be the
one. Maybe there were twos, threes, sixes, eights and beyond. I knew, for
some people, there were.
Melissa continued, “Even if you joined every
dating site on the planet, in the end, unless you wanted to sleep around indefinitely,
men still seem to have the upper hand. Percentage wise, there are more straight,
available females than straight, available, eligible males, once you get beyond
a certain age. Of course, you haven’t reached that age, yet, but who knows?”
“Thanks Missy. Thanks for your great
advice. Considering you’ve been married since you were eighteen, your insights
are really valuable,” I said sarcastically.
“Well, I’ve been doing some online
research – for you.”
“Thanks Melissa.”
Perhaps Missy was right, although her criticisms
of my choices always made her questionable ones seem more valid.
I’d had one choice when it came to Ben,
years ago, when I was unready to make it. Back then, I hadn’t seen through my
family for the uncaring and ungenerous people they were. Even my sisters had
treated me a lot worse the past few years when they both seemed to have the
upper hand with daddy.
Dad thought Liz was everything he would
have wished a son to be - ruthless and driven, in a much prettier package.
Their closeness was claustrophobic, I thought, as I ate my turkey roll once
we’d parked and found a table at our favorite cafe. I wasn’t jealous. I was
just lost. Melissa snapped me out of my silence.
“I heard all about that handsome Air Force
officer you used to date in high school, Jane. You never told me about him.”
The fact that Melissa had sought out my
company on this occasion was unusual. I should have known she wanted extra
gossip to relay to Liz.
“Uh, huh,” I said, checking my cell for
messages.
“Well?”
“You were younger and I was away at school,
so there seemed no point in discussing it.”
“Well, Eleanor seemed to know all about
him. I hate the way you and Liz always leave me out of everything. You two are
so close!”
“As if. If you must know, I’m over it,” I
lied.
“Good, because I think Lia likes him…”
“Really? What makes you say that?”
“Oh, she was asking if you guys were close…”
I bristled but said nothing. Of course,
it would be natural for him to like Lia. Everyone liked my cousins.
“Oh Jane, you have to keep trying to meet
someone or else how will you ever have a family of your own? Sure, you could go
to a clinic…”
“What? I’m really over this, Melissa. Your
obsession with my romantic life is a joke. Maybe you should take care of your
own. I’m in my twenties, not one hundred and nine and the discussion regarding
my desire to marry and have children is over!”
Both of my sisters and my father (to tell
the truth) made me want to catch the first flight out of LA for good. I think I
would have by now if I’d kept enough savings to buy a ticket.
“Oh Jane, there is no need to get upset. I’m
just trying to help.” Melissa stuffed her face with chips from my plate as she
finished her lunch. “I really needed that.”
There was silence for a moment as we
waited for everyone else to arrive.
“Keira is having a party for Lia and
Hailee’s birthday next month. No excuses, I promise to keep my children safe.
Besides, I already accepted the invitation for you.”
My younger sister prattled on like a
teenager as I mentally did the sums and tried to work out when I’d have enough
money to rent a place of my own again.
Melissa checked her text, “Now, I have to
be home at six, but that gives us a good few hours, Jane, let’s go. Everyone is
meeting us at the jetty.” Liz had been
working and taken the afternoon off also, at Melissa’s insistence. It was
easier to do that when you directed the family company. My cousins texted me to
let me know everyone was already there, including Ben and Harley.
“I don’t know…” I hesitated. I tried to
think of an excuse.
“Oh well, we needn’t go,” Melissa paused.
“Mmm…”
“Are
you kidding? I’ve hardly been out of the house all week – I have at least two
unused bathing suits in my purse. We can go swimming on Worth Island. C’mon,”
my sister literally dragged me from the table.
“I’m doing the evening shift, remember. I
changed it all around so we could go to lunch but I’m not sure when we’ll be
back…”
“Jane, you’re the best sister in the world
but it’s time you stopped being such a stick in the mud. Live a little.”
“Whatever,” I said. Liz waved at me in the
distance. Harley and Ben were talking to Lia and Hailee. I noticed Lia was
leaning in close to Ben and giggling. Melissa was probably right. They were
made for each other. I could care less; I was so over these so-called
coincidences.
“I don’t know, Liz. I think I might just
get going. I just realized I have to get to work earlier than I thought.”
Melissa spun around, “Are you nuts, Jane?
They have an amazing yacht!”
“I could care less,” I said.
Big deal, I thought, men with money
didn’t exactly equal a good value system as far as I knew. Just look at my
father, an obvious example. I pulled on my sunglasses and plastered a smile on
my face as we walked towards the boat. There was safety in numbers, for sure.
