Page 26 of A Mother’s Love

“I’ll call the locksmith tomorrow,” he growled, and slammed the door, and she could hear him banging pots and slamming things even more loudly inside his apartment, as she walked to the front door of the house.

She had that same uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach she’d had as a child, when she knew she was in trouble and going to be punished, and she hadn’t done anything wrong, but she got beaten anyway.

It was a terrible feeling, and she didn’t know why she felt that way.

She had been the victim of a crime, not committed one.

It didn’t compute in her head, but awoke feelings in her she hadn’t felt in years.

She was nervous entering the house, but all was quiet and in order.

Henri had not volunteered to check it out with her, and she didn’t ask him.

She had a cup of tea after she looked around.

She double-locked all the doors from inside and turned on the alarm.

She knew she would be safe that way, but the idea that someone might try to get in was terrifying.

She checked all the windows to be sure they were secure, and they were.

She was just starting to unwind when the girls called her, and Olivia picked up on something immediately.

“What’s wrong, Mom?” she asked. “You sound stressed.” Olivia always picked it up, it was uncanny.

“Do I? No, I’m fine. Great, actually, I went shopping today on the Avenue Montaigne.

I missed you.” She wasn’t going to tell them about the stolen bag, they’d worry about her, especially if they knew the thief had the keys.

Olivia had heard it in her voice, though.

She told them about the things she saw shopping, and after they hung up, Olivia looked at her twin.

“Something’s wrong with Mom,” she said, frowning.

“Oh, stop it. She’s fine, she sounded great. She’s not a child, and she’s having fun. She went shopping.”

“She had that catch in her voice she gets when she’s really worried about something, or scared.”

“How many times have you seen our mother scared in our lifetime? She’s not afraid of anything. She’s the calmest person I know. And that’s how she sounded.”

“She’s faking it, Val, I’m telling you, she was upset about something.”

“Maybe she has jet lag,” Valerie said blithely. “Go have a margarita and relax. Where’s Peter?”

“He’s talking to his daughters on the phone.

” Valerie had noticed that Olivia and Peter were together a lot, which could have been purely coincidental on the boat, but she didn’t think so, and the forgotten thong on deck hadn’t slipped her mind.

She wondered if they were having a fling, but if so, they were being very discreet, and Olivia looked totally blasé whenever she was with him with everyone around.

Maybe even a little too much so. But Valerie didn’t want to say anything and scare Olivia off.

She knew how skittish she was about relationships, and how private about her life.

Valerie had thought they were perfect for each other from the moment she met him, and it had taken three years to trap them in ideal circumstances for them to get to know each other.

She noticed them swimming together off the boat, all the way to nearby beaches sometimes.

And they’d gone out on the dinghy together alone the day before.

Peter said they went fishing, which sounded even more unlikely to Valerie.

Olivia had teased him one more time the previous night about switching with her twin. But it was when they were playing cards, and Valerie had gone along with it. They had confused him for the entire game, and Seth laughed at his younger brother.

“You have to watch out for those two,” he warned him, “they’ve done it to me a hundred times. Too bad we’re not twins so we could get even.”

“So who would we both look like?” Peter asked, musing about it. “You’re taller, but I’m more handsome…on the other hand, you have more hair.”

“They love being twins,” Seth said.

“I can see that,” Peter said. “It must be fun.”

“Or weird. So what’s going on with you two?” Seth asked, trying to sound casual in a brief moment alone.

“When I have something to tell you, I will. Nothing earth-shattering to report for the moment,” Peter said coolly. So far, no one on the boat thought they were involved, which was a major victory. He and Olivia liked sharing a secret. It brought them closer together.

—

The night Halley’s bag was stolen, she had a bath and tried to relax.

She lit candles and put on music, and then turned it off.

She wanted to be sure that she could hear an intruder if one arrived.

She checked the windows again, and all were locked, and the alarm was on.

She was wide-awake at midnight, and turned on the TV, but all she could get was CNN in English, and French TV.

But there hadn’t been a sound anywhere in the house.

She was beginning to think she was perfectly safe and worried for nothing, when she thought she heard the back door being rattled, and she said loudly in French, “Oh, go away!” And the noise stopped. Her heart pounded for half an hour.

She left the lights on in her bedroom that night, and felt better that way.

If something did happen during the night, she wanted to be wide awake and able to see what she was doing, not stumbling around in the dark in an unfamiliar house.

She finally fell asleep sitting up in bed at three a.m .

, and woke up at ten in the morning, when her cellphone rang.

She was surprised to hear an unfamiliar male voice on her new cellphone. It was Bart Warner, the man she’d met on the plane.

“Did I wake you?” he asked apologetically.

“Not at all, I was just having a lazy morning,” she said politely.

“How did the house turn out? Is it a good one?” he asked pleasantly.

“It’s lovely,” she said, smiling. It was nice to hear from him, although she was exhausted by the day before.

“I just thought I’d check on you, and make sure that you’re okay on your big adventure.

You’re brave to be here all alone. It’s different staying with my son, and having family here.

I’m not sure I’d have the guts to just go to a city on my own during the holidays.

I admire you for that. Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch.

I’m sorry to be so rude, and call you on such short notice.

Are you free for lunch today?” he asked hopefully.

She was startled by the invitation. He had really surprised her, but she wasn’t busy, and he made it sound relaxed and appealing.

It was nice hearing from him, especially after the trauma of the day before.

“Yes, I’d love that,” she said. She wanted to go to the embassy for her new passport, but other than that, she had nothing to do, and she had no money until her new credit cards arrived.

She’d been thinking about going to some galleries, all in walking distance of the house.

She was calmer than the night before, after the bag theft, the police station for many hours, and worrying about intruders all night who might have the keys and succeed in entering, despite the alarm.

“That’s wonderful.” He sounded delighted. “Shall I pick you up?”

“I can meet you, I might be out doing errands before lunch,” like the embassy, or she could go after lunch.

“Great. Meet me at the Ritz, at the Bar Vend?me. We can have lunch in the garden under the glass dome.” It sounded very elegant and fun.

She hadn’t expected to meet a man and have a date in Paris.

She felt a little rusty. She hadn’t had a date since she met Robert, and not since he’d died either.

She saw friends socially, but hadn’t felt ready for more than that.

She wasn’t sure if she was now, but lunch sounded just perfect, and very appealing.

Bart Warner was a pleasant, upbeat person.

And the normalcy of it was a relief after the traumatic day before.