29.
Graham
I decided to do what Tara said—I’d give it a few days before I got in touch with Chloe. Maybe I’d even decide that I didn’t feel like talking to her after those few days had passed, which was nothing more than wishful thinking. I couldn’t, in fact, seem to get her out of my mind.
I had her address; I’d go over to her house and talk to her. I’d tell her I was sorry and that I hadn’t really felt like this toward someone before and I didn’t quite know how to handle that. Maybe that sounded lame, but it was the truth. If she wanted to know what happened between me and Francesca, I’d tell her that too: absolutely nothing.
My phone rang as I was pouring my first cup of coffee of the day. I looked at the screen. My mother.
“Something is up with my
car again,” my mother said. “Are you at work?”
“No, I’ve got the day off.”
“Oh, good! So you can
come down there. Can you come down here now?”
“Just because I’m not going into work doesn’t mean I’m just sitting around on
my ass—I’ve got things I need to do.”
“It will just be a few
minutes, sweetie, please?”
“There’s no one there who can help you? I find that hard to believe.”
“If you left your house now, you’d be here in under five minutes. I think it just needs a jump again.”
“It sounds like you need to invest in a new battery if it’s going to keep dying.”
“Yes, I know. And I will. But for now, will you just come down here?”
I should’ve known better, but I agreed.
*****
My mother was sitting on the hood of her car, smoking a cigarette. Another woman that I didn’t recognize stood next to her.
“See, that hardly took you any time at all,” my mother said. “Now, come over here; I want you to meet Charlotte.”
She grabbed me by my forearm and pulled me over.
“Charlotte, this is my son Graham. Isn’t he as handsome as I told you? Graham, this is Charlotte.”
“Hey,” I said. Charlotte smiled. She was one of those women that might have been pretty, but it was hard to tell because she put so much makeup on.
“Your mom’s told me a lot about you.”
“I can just imagine,” I said. “I don’t really have time to chat though; I’m just here to jump start that piece of shit car. Again.”
“I have to go get something inside, I’ll be right back!” my mother exclaimed. She turned and hurried off before I could say anything.
“So,” Charlotte said. “I guess this is where I’m supposed to ask what you out.”
I looked at her. “Huh?”
“Your mom said you were single, and she thought ... she thought we might hit it off. But we won’t know that if we don’t go out, right? I just got out of a relationship myself, actually. Well, we broke up a while ago, but this is the first time I’ve really felt like getting back out there on the dating scene. It’s because—”
“Hold up,” I said. “I think you might have the wrong idea here. I came down because my mother said her car needed a jump.”
Charlotte smiled and shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”
“Right. I get it. Listen, I’m sure you’re a very nice person, but you can’t listen to my mother, okay? I shouldn’t have listened to her—if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here right now, on my day off.”
“I think she was just trying to be helpful.”
“Oh, I’m sure she was. Just like I’m sure there’s nothing she actually needed to go get inside, but just wanted to give us a little alone time to arrange our date tonight.”
Charlotte laughed. “Janice has good intentions.”
“Well, I think I’m going to take off before she comes back out here. You can tell her I appreciate her efforts at playing matchmaker, but I’d prefer to let these things happen a little more naturally.”
“I completely understand.”
“Great.” I started to get into my truck. “Good luck, though,” I said. “And do yourself a favor—don’t listen to what my mother says anymore.”
Since I was already out, I decided I’d just drive over to Chloe’s. That would keep me from thinking about the fact that my mother was batshit crazy and that I’d never in a million years go out with someone from The Finery.
I put Chloe’s address into the GPS and found it pretty easily. They stayed in a place that was right by the ocean, of course.
I knew Chloe came from a wealthy family, but I hadn’t been expecting this. The house was fucking huge. She lived here? My place must’ve seemed like a shoebox to her. I parked my truck at the end of the long driveway, which wasn’t paved but covered in crushed, white seashells. The lawn was a brilliant green and perfectly manicured, like it should’ve been a putting green. There were elegant flower beds and a brick walkway that led up to a Cape-style house. Except it was more like five or six houses that were combined all into one. Three people lived here? Insane.
I went up to the front door and knocked.
“Just a minute!” a woman’s voice called out from somewhere back in the house. She appeared a moment later, a tall woman with similar features to Chloe. The expression on her changed when she saw me though, from open friendliness to guarded skepticism.
“Who are you?” she asked. “This is a private residence.” She stood behind the door, as though using it for a shield.
Was she serious? Did she think I was about to pull out a knife or something and demand that she give me all of her money? I had to stifle a laugh.
“Does Chloe live here?” I asked.
The woman hesitated. “Why are you asking?”
“I just wanted to talk to her. I mean, I know she lives here because I see her car right over there.” I gestured behind me and the woman looked as though she didn’t believe me.
“What’s your name?”
“Graham. Graham Walker.”
“Chloe isn’t available to speak to you right now. Or ever, really. I don’t know who you are, Mr. Walker, or what exactly you might want with my daughter, but I think it’s best you just forget about it. I’m not sure how else to phrase this, but ... you’re not the type of person my husband or I would like our daughter to be fraternizing with. I apologize for putting it so bluntly, but I just want us to be clear here.”
She had stepped out from behind the door and was looking at me boldly, as if challenging me to contradict her.
“Excuse me?” I said.
Her mother looked over her shoulder, as if she’d heard something behind her. She stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind her.
“You can’t come here and try to intimidate me,” she said.
I held up my hands. “Ma’am, I am not trying to—”
“And don’t ‘ma’am’ me. Don’t act like you’re this refined person, because you are so clearly not. Listen, I am not trying to insult you.”
I laughed. “Oh, really?”
“I know it might seem that way, but I’m not—Chloe’s father and I just want what’s best for her, which I hope you can understand.”
“And I’m not what’s best for her. You know this how?”
“Look. We don’t have to turn this into something that it’s not. I’m not sure what’s going on between you and Chloe, if anything at all. But you are not the right person for her.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“You’re right, I don’t. But I don’t need to. Chloe is a good girl who might be a little confused about things. And I’m not trying to say that you yourself aren’t a decent person, but you are not the type of person that she’s going to end up with. You showing up unannounced at the house like this is entirely inappropriate, might I add.”
I was having a hard time believing that I was actually hearing all this. I kept waiting for her to start to laugh and say it was a joke, but there was a part of me that wasn’t surprised because I knew many of the rich summer residents thought like this. Most wouldn’t actually have the balls to come out and say it, but Chloe’s mom didn’t seem to have any qualms about it.
“She’s not going to come out here and talk to you. I think it’d be best if you just went on your way. And please don’t try to get in touch with her again.” She stepped back into the house and looked at me once more before firmly shutting the door in my face.
Right. Okay, then.