Drawing Home

by Jamie Brenner

  “Your Honor, I do apologize. But I need to speak.”

  “You can wait outside and speak to counsel.” He glanced at his desk, jotted something down, and then dismissed everyone. Bea turned on her heel and walked out of the room, followed by Mark and his lawyer.

  “Who was that?” Andrew said to her.

  “Bea Winstead. She was a longtime friend of the man who left my daughter the house. She’s the one who has been staying there.”

  “What’s this all about?”

  Emma shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  They were about to find out.

  Mark, his lawyer, and Bea were already huddled in the far corner of the hallway. Emma wanted to pull Bea aside and talk to her alone. Whatever this was, it wasn’t something she wanted to deal with in front of Carter Shift, Mark, or even her own attorney.

  Kyle spotted them and made his way down the hall. Carter tried to shoo him away but Emma said, “He’s with me. I want him to stay.”

  Kyle gave her a What’s going on? look. She shrugged.

  “I’m Ms. Mapson’s attorney, Andrew Port,” Andrew said to Bea. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Lovely to meet you, Mr. Port,” she said, fanning herself with a silk scarf. “I was just asking Mr. Shift if he was aware of the agreement between his client and myself.”

  Emma looked at Mark, who stared at Bea with an expression she couldn’t decipher. Surprise? It was more than that. It was fear.

  “We should do this in a conference room,” Carter said, picking up on Mark’s unease.

  “I cannot stand to move to another drab room,” Bea said. “I don’t know why legal quarters need to be so dreadful. It’s as if you’re found guilty just by walking through the door.”

  “Bea, what’s going on?” Kyle said.

  Bea ignored him and addressed Andrew and Carter. “In the hopes of all of us getting out of here as expediently as possible—or at least, in the hopes that I can get out of here expediently—let me bottom-line this for you. Last month, Mark Mapson came to me with promises to sell me his daughter’s recently inherited mansion as soon as it was legally feasible to do so. In exchange for this transaction, he would get a fee upfront and a commission on the vast sum of money I would ultimately pay to acquire the house. Of course, in order to take control of the estate, he first needed legal guardianship of his daughter.” She smiled. “He asked me for a check for his legal fees, which I gave him. I suppose that’s where you come in, Mr. Shift.”

  Could this be true? Mark and Bea conspiring against her? And all this time she’d been letting the woman live under her roof! Emma wanted to scream.

  “That’s quite a story, Ms. Winstead,” said Carter, glancing at Andrew. “I’m sure my client takes issue with your interpretation of any conversation that might have taken place between the two of you.”

  Emma stared at Mark and he looked away, his head bowed.

  Bea was telling the truth.

  “I need to speak with my client,” Carter said. “Andrew, let’s adjourn for the day. I’ll be in touch.”

  Andrew signaled for Emma to follow him down the hall so they had some privacy. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw Bea had already left.

  “This is unbelievable,” Emma said.

  “I have to admit, this is a new one for me.” Andrew rubbed his jaw.

  “Does this mean it’s over?”

  “No, but it certainly gives us a stronger negotiating position for a settlement. I’m hoping Mark is now nervous enough to compromise.”

  “But this makes it so obvious this isn’t about Penny’s best interests—that it’s about money and an expensive house!” It took a lot of effort for her to keep her voice at just a loud whisper.

  “Still, we don’t want to end up before the judge. You just never know what might happen.”

  Wasn’t that the truth.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Penny stared at the pool, wishing for the thousandth time she hadn’t gone out and broken her leg. Swimming would have let her burn off her nervous energy. Her mother had been out all afternoon, and there was still no mention from Angus about what was happening with her “meeting.” With every hour that passed, the weight of what it could all mean grew heavier. And Bea wasn’t even around to distract her with her bossiness and complaints.

  She moved her pencil across the sketch pad in her lap, outlining the shape of the pool. Then she let herself just stare at the water. Henry always said if you want to draw something accurately, you have to really see it. What was the water doing? Was it still or moving slightly? Even Henry admitted that reflective surfaces were tough.

  “An easy trick is to let the light do all the work,” he said. It took her a while to understand what he meant by that, but that’s where all the hours of drawing side by side with him came in. How would she keep getting better now that he was gone? She could find an art class, but that was hardly the same thing.

  The sliding glass door to the house opened behind her. She turned around, expecting to see Angus checking up on her again. Instead, her mom headed down the path, dressed up in a skirt and blouse and high heels. She took off her shoes as she got closer to the pool, padded over to Penny, and gave her a hug.

  “Sorry I didn’t see you before I left this morning,” Emma said. “How was therapy?” She pulled sunglasses out of her purse and rolled up her shirtsleeves.

  Therapy? Who cared about therapy? Were they going to act like her mom hadn’t spent the day with lawyers? She was dying to know what had happened, but something held her back from pushing. She didn’t want to upset her mom—even if it meant having to wait a little longer for information.

  “Um, therapy was okay. The usual.”

  She tried to read her mother’s expression for clues about her day but her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses.

  “Dr. Wang left me a message that you need to keep up with your positivity board and your worksheets.”

  Penny sighed and held up her drawing pad. “This is my positivity board.”

  Her mother looked at her skeptically. “Penny, it’s really important that—”

  “I’m serious. I’ve written almost a whole graphic novel. You know how I have a hard time sticking with things, not starting over. But I pushed through it for this and I feel so much better when I’m working. And I’ve been able to keep the same mind-set when I’m not drawing. See?”

  She held out her unblemished hands, and her mother looked down. She reached for them and clasped them in her own.

  “Mom,” Penny said, swallowing hard. “Where did you go today?”

  Her mother nodded, as if she’d been expecting the question. “I met with lawyers and your father about the custody issue.”

  “And?”

  “And…I’m working on it. We’ll see. Don’t you worry.”

  From the tight set of her mother’s mouth, Penny understood that she was absolutely worried.

  “It’ll be okay, Mom.”

  “I know,” she said quietly. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure nothing changes. Except, actually, one thing will be changing. Bea won’t be living here.”

  Penny looked at her in surprise. “She said she’s leaving?”

  “It’s not up to her,” Emma snapped.

  Had something happened to make her mother hyped up again about getting rid of Bea? She couldn’t imagine why her mom was even thinking about that when she had the more serious stuff going on with her dad. Did everything have to do with the house?

  “I heard you say once that Dad was only spending time with me for this house. Is that true?”

  “Penny, you shouldn’t eavesdrop.”

  “The house is all open, Mom.”

  Her mother sighed. “I don’t know what goes on in your father’s head.”

  Penny looked out at the pool. The sun was really dancing off the water. Let the light do the work.

  “Where is Bea going to go? Back to New York City?”

  “
I really don’t know, Penny. And frankly, I don’t care.”

  Penny had been thinking a lot about Bea Winstead’s story about leaving home as soon as she turned eighteen. Bea understood Penny’s feelings about wanting to leave, but her mother never would.

  “She’s lucky she gets to go,” Penny said.

  Her mother looked at her sharply. “We live in this beautiful house now and you’re still complaining?”

  Penny shook her head. “No. I mean, not about the house. It’s amazing. But I don’t know. Someday I might not live here. You know what I mean?”

  “I understand,” Emma said slowly.

  “So you’d be okay with that?”

  “Penny, you could live on the moon and it wouldn’t change the fact that I’m your mother, that I love you more than anything in the world. But for now, I’m so happy you’re right here with me.”

  Her mother still had her sunglasses on, but Penny spotted a wet streak on her face. Penny leaned forward, bracing herself on her good leg, and hugged her. Her mother’s arms felt like they’d never let go.

  Emma vacillated between feeling that some of her rage toward Bea was misplaced and also thinking she wasn’t angry enough.

  She couldn’t get her mind around the idea of Bea sitting down and writing Mark a check. How had that even happened? She had every intention of asking Bea the minute she walked into the house. The opportunity to confront her was the only thing keeping Emma from changing the locks.

  Emma paced in the kitchen. She poured herself a peach iced tea from a glass pitcher in the refrigerator, resisting the urge to turn it into a Long Island iced tea. As soon as she heard the click of the front door opening, she rushed to the entrance hall.

  Bea’s face was shiny with perspiration, her white hair frizzing slightly at the ends. She dropped her straw Chanel purse on the foyer side table with an uncharacteristic weariness.

  “I want to talk to you,” Emma said.

  “I suspected you might,” Bea said. “Perhaps we should go outside. For privacy.”

  “Privacy. Yeah, I’m sure you don’t want anyone to hear what I have to say. Luckily for you, Angus already left and Penny’s by the pool.”

  “Very well, then,” Bea said. “Can we at least sit down?”

  She strode ahead to the kitchen, Emma keeping pace right behind her. Why was Bea still acting like she was in charge, even in this interaction? It was infuriating!

  Bea poured her own glass of the iced tea, then sat at the island. Emma stood directly opposite her, the width of the table between them.

  “How could you give Mark money to take my child away? Actually, back up—how did you two even meet?”

  “He came to the house,” Bea said, twisting one of the ropes of pearls.

  The audacity of it, the premeditation of it all, took her breath away. “When?”

  “Before Penny’s accident. I’m truly sorry, Emma. In my defense, I did not give him money to take Penny away from you. My motivation was simply to help him gain control of the estate. It was just a business decision.”

  “Business is not more important than family. And you almost ruined mine. You still might have!”

  Bea shook her head so vigorously her large pearl earrings wobbled. “Mark’s case is completely undermined.”

  “No, it’s not! We still have to settle. And you don’t know him. He’s like a dog with a bone. You gave him this opening and he’s not going to give up easily.”

  She knew, even as she said it, the court case was not entirely Bea’s fault. Mark would have made his play with or without her. But she certainly made it easy for him.

  “I’ll give you any amount of money you need to see it through—”

  “I don’t want your money! Did you ever think that maybe the reason Henry didn’t leave you this house is that you’re a bad person? All you care about is money and things. You have no idea what really matters.”

  Bea, looking stricken, pressed her hand to her chest. “I apologize for hurting you, Emma. I mean it sincerely.”

  “You need to get out.”

  “I understand, but—”

  “No, Bea. This is over. Leave. Today.”

  “I would like to suggest, if you would consider it, that I stay until after the auction next week. There’s work left to be done and I can at least take that off your hands and see this event through to the end.”

  Emma was so emotionally drained, she couldn’t imagine even attending the auction, let alone managing the last-minute details. “Fine,” she said. “But that’s it. You’re out of here the day after the auction. Not packing, not starting to leave—you’re out of the house. Or the next time you’re in court, it will be for trespassing.”

  Bea was not typically one to hide from her problems, but she was not above hiding from people who were angry with her.

  During a solitary, early dinner at Wölffer Kitchen, she mentally replayed the conversation with Emma over and over. She sipped her rosé, picked absently at her cod, and had the realization that if Emma had such a horrible opinion of her, so must Angus.

  Bea pushed her plate away, her stomach churning. She had to talk to him.

  “Young lady, the check, please,” Bea said, hailing the waitress impatiently.

  “Would you like that to go?”

  “No,” Bea said. “I’m finished.” But it gave her an idea.

  She walked around the corner to Dockside Bar and Grill. A breeze blew off the water, the air particularly fragrant. The gulls squawked, couples walked by holding hands, and all the while Bea felt like a virtual criminal. She had made a mistake. Now she had to find a way to make it right.

  The outside patio was already full, and she felt a pang to see the table where she had happily sat with Angus not that long ago.

  After checking in with the hostess, she ordered the pulled-pork dish with cheddar and black beans to go. While she waited, she debated whether to call Angus first and tell him she was stopping by but decided against it. Why give him the opportunity to tell her not to come?

  The food took quite some time, enough of a wait that she nearly lost the nerve to visit him. But once the hostess placed the package in her hands, the idea of simply retreating back to Windsong, sticking the food in the refrigerator to stand as a shameful reminder of her aborted mission, was equally as distressing. And then the task of apologizing to Angus would still be ahead of her.

  She called a taxi to take her to Mount Misery. The sun was just beginning to set but it was still close to ninety degrees. The taxi driver somehow hadn’t thought to put on the air-conditioning, so that unpleasant exchange added to her roiling nerves. At least when she was back in the city, she would have her regular driver. She would, of course, need to start looking for a new assistant. At the moment, her former assistant was probably yet another person who was angry with her. Well, that was one apology she had no intention of making. She might have made a mistake, but she still didn’t answer to Kyle Dunlap.

  The front of Angus and Emma’s old house looked different. The decorations and trinkets that had once hung outside—had it been a whale above the door?—were gone. She wondered if Angus had already moved out.

  Holding the dinner package in the crook of one arm, she rang the bell. Long minutes passed before Angus opened the door.

  “Oh, good! You are still here,” she said.

  “What are you doing here?” he said through the screen.

  “I’ve come to apologize.”

  He hesitated. She hadn’t considered the possibility that he might close the door in her face.

  “I realize it’s an imposition to show up at dinnertime but I’ve brought you food from Dockside. It would be a shame to let it get cold.”

  Angus shook his head but opened the door and stepped aside for her to enter.

  The house was nearly empty. In the living room, the only remaining furniture was the couch and an end table. All of the picture frames, vases, magazines, and knickknacks that had cluttered the place during her
last visit were gone.

  “Have you decided where you’re moving?” she said.

  “Don’t pretend to be my friend, Bea. That’s over.”

  The comment hurt—a lot. “I’m not pretending,” she said quietly. She handed him the bag from Dockside, and he took it from her, stone-faced. She followed him into the kitchen, standing awkwardly in the doorway while he shoved the food into the refrigerator. He turned to her, shaking his head.

  “You think you can just show up here as if nothing has happened?” he said.

  “Of course not. I’ve come to apologize. That’s why I’m here.”

  “The part I can’t get past is that during all of our talks, during all the time we spent together, you were secretly helping Emma’s ex-husband. How could you even look me in the eye?”

  She swallowed hard. “There were times when I couldn’t. It bothered me—it did. I felt conflicted but I was looking at the transaction with Mark as a business decision. It took some time for me to see things through a different lens, but as soon as I did, I set out to make it right.”

  “Did it occur to you that it might be too little, too late?”

  “No, because it’s not. It’s going to get fixed. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  Angus seemed not to have heard her. He pulled a chair from the kitchen table and sat down. When he finally spoke, it was while looking down at the braided cloth place mat in front of him.

  “The worst part for me is that it had been such a long time since I enjoyed the company of a woman my own age. I had thought maybe…”

  “Angus—”

  “It’s just very disappointing.” He looked up at her, and their eyes met. “I need for you to leave.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Bea woke before dawn and wandered the still house like a ghost.

  For once, she took no pleasure in the quiet of the early hour. Days after the court hearing, she had never felt more alone. She moved from room to room, staring at the art, trying to find peace of mind standing in front of the relics of her past.