Hearing her Gram call for her from the front of the house, Colette rubbed her eyes and wondered when she’d fallen asleep. Ouiser, Clariee and Truvy were scratching and barking at the screen door to get into the house to their owners. Colette got up and let the dogs into the house, following them in to the kitchen where gram was putting a kettle on for tea.
Grampa was busying himself with the mail in front of the trash can. Charles Hughes was as tall as his son Theodore, the Colonel. But where Charles was grey, the Colonel had his blonde hair still. Charles was essentially just an older version of his youngest son, except that his eyes were hazel. He was impeccably dressed in slacks and a button down shirt, open at the neck. Colette had known Grampa to wear jeans maybe once or twice when they had a boat, before Colette sank it one summer.
Where Grampa wore slacks and button downs, Gram Eloise was his match in skirts and blouses or sweater sets. The woman lived in them. She was a slight woman, but strong as an ox. Her light brown hair was streaked with grey and the blue eyes that were passed down came from her. Hers were more of an aqua blue. That was what Gram said drew Grampa to her. Tall for the women in her family, Eloise Hughes was all of five feet seven inches, and she kept her slender frame after two boys.
Neither Charles nor his wife spoke in a frail voice. It was always clear, articulate and strong. And although they dressed well, and held an air of wealth about them, they were the most down to earth people that anyone had ever met.
Colette watched as her grandparents moved about the kitchen like it was a dance. Open cabinet, get dog treats, another step, another cabinet with teabags, shift around, grab mugs, and make dogs sit for treats. Shift and wash hands, then shift again to another cabinet for tea cookies. Then, another shift to take the screaming kettle off the burner to pour boiling water in mugs. Another move and tea bags are in mugs. Everything on the tray in the hands of Gram, and Grampa is behind her with a big plate of assorted cookies, following her to the front room where Gram had the biggest, cushiest chairs that you just sank in to.
Following her grandparents into the front room, she sat down and waited for Gram to let the tea bags steep before she pulled them from each mug and set them on an empty saucer. She scooped sugar into each mug and stirred, then handed a mug to first, Grampa, then to Colette. After the plate of cookies was passed around and Colette took one and popped it in her mouth chewing, Gram settled back into the dark brown fabric of the chair.
“Now, my darling Colette Amelie,” Gram began, “tell us what has you so upset that you had to leave Savannah.”
Grampa took a sip of his tea, holding a finger up to Colette so that he could talk. “Feel free to leave nothing out. If things are bad at home, I want to know about it.” Colette looked down into her lap. Charles used his authoritative voice to bring his point home. “I’ve never agreed with the way your father, Theodore makes you all call him Colonel. I don’t like the way Bunnie treats you either.”
“I don’t know how many times we’d asked your father if he would just let you live with us,” Gram began. “but, he wanted you near him I guess. A reminder of your mother perhaps.”
“Bullshit!” Grampa exclaimed.
“Charles,” Gram said softly.
“She’s old enough to hear it,” he said, extending a palm up in Colette’s direction.
With a stern look, Gram got her point across and then looked over at Colette. “Tell us what has you so upset that you had to leave Savannah.”
Colette finished chewing her cookie and launched into the sordid tale that was currently her life. She’d decided to leave all parts of sex with both Carter and Gabe out. She started with Gabe and how he’d made her feel. How he’d brought her cupcakes and they built on their relationship. She touched briefly on Carter, what’d happened while he was deployed and how confused she felt for both men. How could she feel this for two men at once?
Then, she started the telling of the afternoon in Bunnie’s office, leaving nothing out. From Bunnie threatening her, to Colette telling Bunnie off, how Lannie had a mark on her face, Clair lying, and finally, Colette smashing what she’d found out was a four thousand dollar vase.
And finally, she told her grandparents about Rosa. There were some questions that Colette had about Rosa and Gabe’s past, but thought that it was better kept there in the past instead of coming between them and their future. And what had it all come down to? Rosa had come between them anyway. So really, what difference had it made by not asking in the beginning before she’d lost her heart to him?
Throughout the telling, Charles and Eloise sipped their tea and listened intently. Nodding when their granddaughter paused. At the mention of Lannie having a mark on her face from Bunnie slapping her, they both shifted uncomfortably. It went without saying that they weren’t beyond paddling a behind, but no slapping in the face.
Now done, Colette gulped her cold tea, set the cup on the tray, leaned back and looked down at her hands. Her grandparents silence, at first, made her feel stupid. Like, ‘that’s the reason you left?’
“Oh sweet girl,” Gram said smiling. “You are in quite a situation aren’t you?”
“Colette,” Charles began, “the only reason your Gram and I are still together is because we communicate. Without that, there is nothing.”
“That and he’s dashingly handsome,” Eloise said, smiling and winking at Colette. “But, the answer to your situation is to communicate with Gabe. Sit down and get the history, the whole history. If he can’t provide you with the history of why Rosa is up his behind, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your relationship with him. But step back…take a moment to breathe. You have nothing but time. You’re young.”
Charles nodded his head. “And with that answer, I’m going to make a phone call.” He got up, kissed his wife on the cheek and Colette on the head as he made his way down the hallway to his office and quietly closed the door.
Colette’s hands in hers. “Sweetheart, your heart is shattered. I understand that. I had a torrid affair when I was your age with a bold Italian man. He swept me off my feet and six months later, left without a word, crushing my hopes for any kind of relationship after that. Charles swept me off my feet. He was so dashing in his Navy Officer’s uniform, and when he told me I was the woman for him, it was within just a few short months that he courted me, we married and were off to Europe.”
“But Gram,” Colette protested, “back then, things seemed so much simpler. I think I was born in the wrong era.”
Eloise smiled. “No honey, you were born in the right era. You have an old soul, but that’s what’s going to get you through this.”
Ding! Dong!
“That’ll be Mrs. Winters with the programs for tomorrow. I’ll be back in a moment honey,” Eloise said, as she squeezed Colette’s hands and then let her go to get the door.
Colette got up, put the plate of cookies on the tea tray and took it to the kitchen to clean up. When she set the tray down, she could overhear her grandfather in his study yelling at someone. Whoever was on the receiving end of that was in a world of hurt. If anyone could deliver a verbal ass whipping, it was her Grampa. After she loaded the dishwasher, she walked back out toward the hall and heard her Gram still in conversation with Mrs. Winters, so she turned around and walked down the hall toward the backdoor to sit on the porch swing when she heard her grandfather yelling again.
“Theodore, I don’t give a shit about what you think you know is going on in your house. I am telling you from my granddaughter’s mouth to mine and from mine to yours…Bunnie is being a manipulative bitch.”
That certainly grabbed Colette’s attention. She turned so that she could see when Gram would walk to the door from the formal front room but keep an ear peeled for what her Grampa was saying.
“She is twenty-one years old. There was nothing in that agreement with the Richeliu’s that she stayed until she was twenty-two…I read it remember? I was your legal counsel. And by manipulating her in staying, what does Bunnie
get in return Theodore? Other than to torture her by telling her what she can and cannot do? It’s bullshit.”
Legal counsel? What was that all about?
“Fix it Theodore. Fix it, or I will.” There was a long pause. “I’m sure the Richeliu’s would love to see Colette. Why don’t you think that would be a good idea? You can’t tell me? Theodore…I’ve had about all I can take with the secrets about Colette and why you needed legal counsel. You better start opening up, it’s been fifteen years since your mother and I took a six year old girl from a chapel in France back here to Maryland. It’s time for this shit to make sense.” Another long pause. “Really? You can’t tell me...that’s your only reason? You can’t tell me, son, is a piss poor reason.”
Colette had heard enough. She turned on her heel, made her way out the back door, through the screened in porch and out to the dock where she sat in one of the four red Adirondack chairs that sat out there. Her mind was a whirlwind of what she’d just heard. An hour later, this is where Eloise found her with her legs drawn up on the chair, her arms around them and her chin sitting atop her knees.
Chapter Five
“Your mum would sit like that on the beach and watch you play when we went on vacation.” Eloise sat down in the chair next to Colette. “Your grandfather isn’t a very quiet person when he speaks with his youngest son is he?” she offered. Colette didn’t move. “Everything with your mother’s illness is shrouded in mystery. Grampa and I don’t even know all of it. There are privacy laws that protect health matters.”
“I heard Grampa say that he was the Colonel’s legal counsel. What did he mean?” Colette asked. She was watching two boys playing with their remote control boats from their canoe on the lake.
“It was some agreement that Theodore pay for Amilie’s care while she was in the hospital.”
“Oh,” Colette whispered.
“Whose idea was it for you girls to call Theodore, Colonel?”
Colette snorted, “Bunnie.” She sighed heavily now. “I think Lannie and Chloe’s first word was Major. From when he had just made Major, and they had started talking later. She was always obsessed with his rank. Kind of makes you wonder what she’ll do now that he’s going to retire. Maybe she’ll leave him and go make some other poor sap’s life miserable.”
Eloise was quiet for a moment. “He loves her.” She paused a moment longer. “Theodore really loves her.”
_____
The rest of the weekend went by in a blur. The Breast Cancer Fundraiser Ball was a successful blowout. The ballroom of the hotel was decorated in pinks ranging from dark hot pink to the palest of pink…the lights, the roses, the swaths of cloth and then the colors from some of the dresses of the ladies attending, added to the ball.
Colette wore her deep red strapless dress that was ruched around her waist, and fell down to the floor with a foot long train. Her hair was curled loose around her shoulders. Grampa gifted her with black diamond drop earrings and a necklace that matched. It seemed over the top, but with this gown, it fit. She decided on a pair of three inch black heels and a little clutch to match.
Pictures were snapped of Colette with her grandparents and other guests. She ate, she danced, and she donated to the research fund. It really was a fun atmosphere if you weren’t worried about the things you left home for. As of eleven thirty this evening, Gabe still hadn’t texted back. She’d texted him again that Saturday morning saying she was sorry and that she’d really love to hear from him. Nothing came. So, she decided not to tell him that she would be home early evening on Monday. Instead, she texted Harrison, and he texted back saying that he would be at the airport to pick her up and hoped that she had time to rest and recuperate.
_____
So, here she was walking into McGruder’s Tuesday at three. She had already spoken to Hamish and he said that June said she didn’t want to work the bar as much as she used to. It was all Colette’s, except for her two days off, and Colette was happy to agree with that. No more trading tables with Sara or Caroline for the hot guys that came in. Sliding her purse into her locker, she pulled out her short black apron and tied it around her waist. Turning, she assessed herself in the mirror behind the door that lead to the rest of the pub. Her freshly dyed crayon red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail. She had on light makeup and decided on faded, ripped skinny jeans with her tank top and signature Dr. Marten’s boots.
Opening the door, she walked through the hallway past the restrooms on the left and the kitchen on the right. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath as she held her head high and walked over to the bar. The sound of June’s laughter filled the air. Colette glanced over and almost crashed into the table that was in her way as she saw a brilliant smile on Gabe’s face, his hand on June’s waist. Brock’s smile brightened as his eyes collided with Colette’s. She gave a stiff lipped smile before she turned and cleared the last table before she hit the bar area.
“She’s home!” Sara cried as she ran from the front door. “Bring it here girl.” She opened her arms as Colette cleared the tables in front of the bar and hugged her tightly.
“Thanks Sara,” Colette whispered, “for covering down.”
“No problem hun,” Sara said, pulling back just a little. “Are you feeling better?”
Colette nodded her head. “It was a good little break.” Her eyes slid over to the table that June was at, between Gabe and Brock.
“Be careful there hon. That’s a new development,” Sara cautioned.
“Development?” Colette asked, looking into Sara’s sad eyes.
“Come on. I’ll help you set up and explain,” Sara whispered, as Colette led her behind the bar, where they started rotating beer in the fridges below the bar.
“After you left, June explained that Gabe was just devastated. He wouldn’t eat, he tried to call you several times, stuff like that.” She was still bent down stocking beer and looked up above her to make sure that June wasn’t within ear shot. “Then, Friday she comes in with this shit eating grin on her face. None of us thought anything of it.”
“So…” Colette started. Her mind was putting things together now, the uneasy feeling on Friday, Gabe not texting her back. Had June stepped in? Would Gabe let her?
“Gabe didn’t step foot in here until Friday night.” Sara interrupted Colette’s thoughts. “So, I asked her about it on Saturday and…”
“Hey Letty.” June came over and leaned across the bar to look down at the two women stocking the almost empty fridges.
Colette glanced sideways at Sara quickly and up at June. “Hey June.”
“Sorry that it’s not done back there. Was in kind of a hurry to get home,” June explained, hurriedly. “Then, Hamish said that you were going to be back today, and I hadn’t gotten to it yet.”
“Yeah,” Sara said, sarcastically, standing up now and punched through the bottom of the box she was breaking down. “Ever since Friday …”
“Oh shoosh Sara,” June interrupted loudly and rushed to continue. “So, how was your little vacation from your breakdown?” June was an actress. From her tone of voice, to the smile that she put on her face. She looked genuine, but Colette couldn’t help to think that June was less than that now.
“It wasn’t a breakdown, but everything is fine now, thanks,” Colette said, looking at June sideways. “I learned a lot.” She faced June now, smiling, like she knew something that June didn’t.
Colette caught on real fast to her surroundings. Never in a million years, if Gabe thought he and Colette were together would he put a hand on another woman. That is what she was going to tell herself until she was told otherwise anyway.
Colette looked at Sara who took the box from her and then looked back to June. “You look…sated, June.” She tilted her head.
“Sated?” June asked, curiously.
“Sated. Satisfied. Taken care of. Content,” Colette offered.
The look on June’s face was priceless. Her jaw opened and her eyes glanced at Sara for
an instant, then back to Colette, almost...pleading. Colette looked over at Gabe and felt the familiar sizzle all over when he looked at her. The look on his face showed something more though. An apology, regret maybe. She wasn’t sure. She didn’t smile or anything. Just gave him a blank look. Colette looked back at June, really assessing her for just a minute.
“Excuse me,” Colette said quietly and walked away to get ice from the ice maker from the kitchen.
Once there, Colette rested her head against the ice machine and had to take a few deep breaths before she went out there again. She straightened as got the bucket and scoop from the stainless steel stand, opened the lid and started scooping out ice.
“Letty?”
Pick Me (Wait for Me Series Book 2) Page 3
