Page 42 of Hearts Aweigh
E MILY PULLED OUT THE BATTLE-PLAN binder. She settled in the desk chair of her small inner cabin and eyed her friends. “Let’s get to work, girls.”
Althea lowered herself to the bed with a moan. “Can’t we warm up first? That campsite was like an icebox.”
“And noisy,” Gerry grumbled.
“But worthwhile.” Emily thumbed through the binder’s pages. “We know for certain now that Spencer’s got it bad for Abby, and Daisy’s agreed to let us match them. It’s time to create a dossier on Spencer.”
“Why bother with the paperwork?” Althea asked. “His own mother is right here.”
Emily shook her head. “We have to follow procedure. Everyone we match gets a full workup.”
Gerry remained standing. “I need to stretch these long legs.” She set her computer on top of the dresser, powered it up, and clicked a few keys. “Full name of the client?”
“Spencer. Randolph. Masterson.” Daisy sounded it out like she was placing an order at a staticky drive-through speaker.
Althea leaned on the headboard and propped her feet on the mattress. “Why is his middle name the same as yours, baby?”
“Randolph was my maiden name. My husband liked the idea of reminding everyone our son came from two powerful families.”
Emily scrawled in the binder. Daisy’s husband was a jerk.
“Age?” Gerry shot another question.
“Thirty-two.”
“Profession?”
“Attorney.”
“Personality?”
“Difficult, to say the least.”
Althea tugged a corner of the comforter over her legs. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. That boy is aggravating as a rock.”
“You mustn’t blame him too much.” Daisy twisted the gold watch chain hanging from her neck. “His father’s influence made him that way. And I was too cowardly to step in.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, dear.” Emily reached to grab her friend’s hand.
“It’s the truth. I was very young when I married Julius and allowed him to take the lead in everything.
As I grew older, I tried to assert myself more but soon found out how difficult life could be.
He cut off my credit cards, canceled my appointments without telling me, refused invitations from all our friends, and spread rumors that I was suffering from depression.
The term gaslighting has become quite popular of late, but there really were instances in that period where I felt like I was losing my mind. ”
A rumble of disgust issued from Gerry’s throat.
Althea thumped a fist on the bed. “I wish I knew you back then. I’d have helped you figure out how to get away from that monster.”
Daisy shrugged. “As long as I did things his way, he granted me a modicum of freedom. By the time I had Spencer at forty, I’d lost the will to fight my husband.
My poor son was raised in a stifling atmosphere of education and expectations.
When he was a child, his father wouldn’t allow me to baby him or show too much affection.
Julius said he didn’t want his son growing up to be a sissy.
He even sent Spencer away to boarding school at the age of twelve to teach him self-reliance. ”
Althea shivered. “I don’t know how you lasted almost fifty years in that nightmare.”
“By God’s grace.” Daisy sighed.
Silence descended on the room. The burden of their friend’s painful past weighed on the other Shippers.
Gerry’s voice wobbled when she tried to speak. She cleared her throat and asked another question. “Spencer’s marital status?”
Daisy sat on the bed near Althea’s feet and crossed her legs. “Recently divorced.”
“How recent?”
“Spencer said it became official two months ago, but they were separated for much longer. Priscilla was never happy in New Orleans. She grew up in Manhattan. To her, our Southern hometown was half a step away from Hicksville.”
Emily leaned forward. “How did they meet?”
Daisy gave a mirthless laugh. “Would you believe me if I said they had an arranged marriage?”
“You’re kidding.” Gerry stopped typing. “I thought those only happened in Regency romance novels.”
“Oh, my husband didn’t call it that, of course.
But he was behind everything. Spencer’s desire to please his father was a driving force for much of his life.
When Julius took him on a business trip to New York and introduced him to Priscilla, she and Spencer hit it off.
My beautiful ex-daughter-in-law can be a charming and captivating woman.
She grew up in a politician’s home and thrives on winning people over.
Unbeknownst to my son, Julius intimated to her that Spencer would soon be pursuing a political career of his own.
After the wedding, she learned how far from the truth that was.
Spencer had no interest in politics. It was a source of great contention between them. ”
Gerry rubbed her temples. “I feel like I’m listening to the recap of a soap opera. When did Maddie come along?”
A soft smile appeared on Daisy’s face. “They’d been married about two years. Madeleine was born in 2020.”
“2020?” Emily lowered her pen. “You mean—”
“Exactly.” Daisy nodded. “Smack-dab in the middle of COVID. The country shut down in March, and Madeleine was born in April. To avoid the contaminated hospitals, Priscilla opted for a home birth with a private doctor. Afterward, she insisted the governess and all the staff wear masks around the baby and wouldn’t even let Spencer hold her for the longest time.
Needless to say, no outside visitors were permitted. ”
Althea swung her legs off the bed and scooted to Daisy’s side. “That must have been hard for you.”
A watery sheen filled Daisy’s eyes. “Madeleine was almost two when I finally got to meet her. By then Spencer and his father had experienced a falling out, and Spencer didn’t associate with us much.
I suspect he and his father fought over the fact that Priscilla wanted to separate.
I saw Madeleine only a few times before Spencer and Priscilla separated.
Maddie was three years old when her mother packed her off to New York.
They didn’t even return for my husband’s funeral. ”
Gerry counted on her fingers. “They were married for two years before Maddie. Your granddaughter’s five. That means—”
“They were officially married seven years”—Emily scribbled in the binder—“but only lived together for five.”
“If you call that living.” Althea clicked her tongue. “I’d go crazy in that kind of environment.”
A tear trickled down Daisy’s pale cheek. “I know I’ve dragged my feet on allowing y’all to match Spencer with Abby, but”—her voice cracked—“please help my baby. He’s suffered enough. I want Spencer to experience the kind of marriage I never had.”
Emily tossed the binder on a nearby table and stood in front of her friend. “Daisy Mae Randolph Masterson”—she took both of Daisy’s hands—“I swear to you on my honor as a matchmaker, I’ll do everything I can to help your boy find true love.”
“Me too!” Althea stretched her hand on top of theirs.
“Gerry, get over here.” Emily motioned.
“Coming.” Their official scribe finished entering the information on her laptop, joined them, and laid her hand on the pile. “Don’t worry, Daisy. Abby is just the girl to make up for all those hard years. Love spills out of her like a waterfall.”
“‘Waterfall’?” Emily’s brain ignited. “That gives me an idea, girls. We need to make sure Spencer and Abby spend some quality time alone together.”
Daisy’s hand flew to her mouth. “Please don’t tell me we’re going to lock them in the lost and found.”
“Of course not.” Emily dug her phone from her purse and pulled up the contacts.
“Abby’s wise to that tactic. She’s the one who let Lacey out when we used that trick before.
No, this requires something new, and I know just the man who can help.
” Emily found the right number and hit Call.
As she placed the phone on speaker, the Shippers gathered around. It rang once, then twice.
“Hello?” A young voice with a thick accent answered.
“Hello, Fernando.” Emily grinned at her friends. “Do you know anywhere in Cozumel with a waterfall?”
Bam.
The battered white minivan struck a canyon-sized pothole, cracking Spencer’s spine like a chiropractor. He shifted on the worn vinyl back seat and muttered low. “Why are we doing this again?”
The rough dirt road did nothing to dim Abby’s natural enthusiasm. She answered with her usual bright smile. “The Shippers wanted to go on a shore excursion and asked Maddie to come. It will do her good to spend time with her grandmother.”
Bam.
Another pothole jarred Spencer’s teeth. “I’m well aware of the circumstances that led to this torture,” he growled. “But why did it require my presence? I could have stayed on the ship and worked.”
Her eyes widened in exaggerated innocence. “And miss the fun? When’s the next time you’ll get to frolic with your daughter in a Mexican waterfall?”
“‘Frolic’?”
Two potholes in quick succession rocked the minivan from side to side.
“Woo-hoo!” Althea, seated in the middle row, raised her hands in the air. “This is better than a roller coaster.”
Maddie giggled in the car seat between Althea and Daisy.
Emily was up front in the passenger seat, conversing with their local driver like he was an old friend.
Gerry sat with Abby and Spencer in the last row, attempting to read her book.
They hit an extra-large pothole, and her spectacles bounced on her thin nose.
Abby leaned her head close to Spencer’s and spoke softly. “Sometimes the Shippers require more supervision than Maddie. I remember once, Emily and Gerry took a trip to a lighthouse and missed the return boat. They almost didn’t make it back in time for sailing. We need to keep an eye on them.”
Her whispered words brushed Spencer’s ear. The gentle sensations blew all thoughts of work from his brain. In fact, every thought vanished. He swallowed and inched away.
The van rolled to a stop, and the driver silenced the asthmatic motor and announced in a chipper voice, “We are here.”
“Thank you, God.” Spencer slid open the rusty door and scrambled from the vehicle.
The other passengers climbed out and looked around. A weathered wooden sign reading Tacos pointed to a run-down convenience store. Beside it sat a booth with woven ponchos, sombreros, and souvenirs.
Madeleine pointed at the colorful display. “Can we go over there?”
“ Shopping time ,” Althea sang. She and Daisy took Spencer’s daughter to peruse the trinkets.
Spencer took stock of their surroundings with a wary eye. “Are you sure we’re at the right location?”
“One hundred percent.” Emily pointed at an overgrown path running alongside the store. “That trail will lead us to the waterfall. Few tourists venture this way because it’s so secluded, but our guide assured me it’s worth the walk. Right, Fernando?”
“Yes.” The young man winked at Emily. “You will see something amazing if you follow the trail.”
Abby observed the rutted track through the grass and motioned to Emily’s cane. “Can you handle the uneven ground?”
“Don’t worry about me.” She waved her stick in the air. “I just keep this with me to make Dr. Grant happy.”
“Here.” Abby moved closer and looped her arm around Emily’s. “Let’s walk together.”
“Daddy, look!” Madeleine ran up with a pink wooden step stool. Paintings of bright purple orchids adorned the top.
Daddy?
Spencer’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe two. It was the first time his daughter had called him that since the divorce.
He lowered himself to her level and examined the purchase with care. “How colorful. What’s it for?”
“To stand on.” She pouted like he should have already known.
Abby gave her a thumbs-up. “What a smart buy, Maddie. You can use it to reach the sink when you brush your teeth.”
His daughter hugged the stool tight. “And I can sit on it. And use it as a table for my doll.”
“I hope you don’t mind.” Daisy joined them. “I promised to buy her a gift, and that’s what she picked.”
“I don’t mind.” Spencer straightened. “Here, Madeleine.” He took the stool. “I’ll carry it for you.”
“I wish my grandson was here.” Althea walked over with a plastic bag swinging at her side. “I found something Jayshawn will love. His birthday’s in a few weeks.” She pulled an oval wooden mask from the bag and held it up.
Gerry yelped at the garish red disguise with black circles painted under the eyes and half-rotted teeth sticking from the bottom. “That thing is ugsome.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s a compliment.” Althea held the mask to her face and made a wailing sound.
“Won’t it give him nightmares?” asked Gerry.
“Not Jayshawn.” She chuckled. “He was born for trouble. I bet he’ll have a heap of fun scaring his sisters.”
Lips twitching, Abby met Spencer’s gaze.
“Let’s not waste time.” Emily pushed Abby toward the trail. “We want to visit the waterfall and get back to the ship before dark.”
The ladies took off. Spencer moved to follow but stopped when their guide didn’t join them.
He eyed the young man. “Aren’t you going to show us the way?”
Fernando shook his head with a grin. “I must do a favor for Mrs. Emily. Do not worry. I will be here to drive when you finish.”
Spencer studied Fernando as if the man were a hostile witness. Something was off. Spencer looked over his shoulder and noted the women disappearing with Maddie among the trees. He considered Fernando. “I expect to see you when we return.”
“Yes, sir.” His smile was a little too broad.
Spencer hesitated but took off after the women, hoping against hope the pinch in his gut was wrong.