Chapter 28
The next morning at six thirty-six, I sat at my dining room table dressed in yoga pants, a tank top, and a pair of sneakers. The night before, I’d had a revelation after emptying a wine bottle without a glass and drowning in my own hot mess tub of sorrow. I’d cried so hard, and somewhere in the midst of it, I’d had a reckoning with myself.
The morning would bring a new day.
A new beginning.
A few blocks from the rehabilitation hospital, I’d noticed a gym.
“It begins with you Brooke,” I told myself emphatically. I grabbed a bottled water from the fridge, wireless ear-buds, and a cute pink bag containing a change of clothes.
No more coming home and sulking my life away on the couch, eating bags of chips and living like a pig. I tossed the empty sparkling white wine bottle in the trash, along with empty snack packages.
“Be at the office at seven AM—my ass. I no longer work for you, asshole.” I let out a strangled laugh at the ridiculousness of his demand.
I was going to get my life back in order, and that included searching for a job. I didn’t need Mitchell Enterprises, and I sure as shit didn’t need Garrett Mitchell. I may have still wanted what would never be, but I didn’t need him.
Inside the gym, I looked around the cardio section, taking in the intimidating machines. People glistened at all different stages of workout regimens as I surveyed the space.
“Finding everything all right?” A young guy with dimples and solid muscles walked toward me.
“I don’t know yet, maybe ask me tomorrow—I only joined this morning,” I said, rethinking my game plan. Maybe I should have gone to the park and jogged the trails.
He let out a chuckle. “I’m Paul. My wife, Vanessa, and I are the trainers for this facility. If you need any services, you’ll find our brochure over there, and of course, if you have any questions, we’ll be glad to help.”
“Thanks.”
I found the lockers, secured my things, and ventured over to the treadmills, a safe first-day adventure. After reading a few directions, I popped in my ear-buds, found the right music for motivation, and set the machine to start with a warm-up before graduating to a slow jog.
Watching some people using weights of various sizes and others doing pull-ups, leg presses, and stretches, I wanted to release endorphins like all the magazine articles I’d read talked about. I was intrigued when Paul escorted a lady about the same age as Garrett’s Gammy to a machine. As he stood facing her, she pressed weights toward the floor, working her triceps, and I grinned.
Twenty minutes later, I did a cool-down until the programmed machine stopped. My skin glistened, and I understood why all the literature advised to start small.
I approached Paul. “Do you or Vanessa have any openings tomorrow?”
He pulled a tablet from behind the counter and scrolled on the screen.
“Van has a cancellation at ten in the morning.”
“I’ll take it.”
When I left, freshly showered, I had an extra skip in my step, and it felt good. Walking the rest of the way to the hospital, I pulled out my cell before entering.
A notification indicating a message from Garrett lit up my screen, and I rolled my eyes. Figures.
Garrett: I’ve given you more time off for personal reasons than policy allows. If you need additional time, you’ll need to file leave of absence paperwork with HR. It is imperative you show up for work tomorrow or I won’t be as understanding.
Me: Are you crazy?
Garrett: Some say I am.
Me: I no longer work for you. Please remove my number from your phone so I don’t have to block yours.
Garrett: I miss you.
Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh and whispered, “I miss you too.”
Switching gears, I scrolled down my contact list until I found Jennings.
Me: Whenever you have free time, I’d love to have lunch or dinner with you.
Jennings: This afternoon? Or tomorrow around six?
Me: Tomorrow is best. Where?
Jennings: I’ll let you know.
I answered with a simple thumbs-up then jogged up the red brick steps, entering the facility. My gait was confident, but my insides were still filled with sadness. I wondered if I’d ever really get over Garrett.
Mom sat on the side of her bed as one of the physical therapists worked with her. She drew her knees together, squeezing a spring-like device, then slowly released it.
“Looking good, Mom.” I smiled.
“It’s harder than it looks.”
“Tell me about it—I just left the gym.”
“One more, Ms. Sheridan.” The merry voice cheered her on as Mom squeezed her knees one last time.
“Whew, that was something.”
“You did well. I’ll see you same time tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
When she left, I plopped down in the rocker and pulled out a bag of jelly beans. “I smuggled in your favorite.”
“Gym, huh? I’ve never known you to work out.”
“I need a new me.”
“You’re skinny as a rail.”
“It’s not about being thin. It’s about toning, getting fit, and—excuse the language—being badass. Tomorrow I have an appointment with a trainer at ten. Do you want me to bring you lunch after? Maybe a nice salad loaded with apples and cranberries? That should be pretty heart healthy.”
Mom cracked a smile, and I was glad. Things had been tense, and I expected things would get even more awkward between us. “Would love a nice steak, seared with a medium rare center.”
“Rules, Mom. We have to stick to a low-salt, low-fat diet.”
She snickered. “Salad it is then, but I want ranch dressing, even if it is fat-free.”
“I’ll be here around noon—that okay?”
She nodded. “How are you, Brookie?”
I stared long and hard, calculating my response before giving her the best answer I could. “I’m having dinner with Jennings tonight.”
I watched her throat move with her hard swallow. “Good. Spend as much time as you can with him, Brooke. Get to know your father, and try to gain as much as you lost.”
A tear slipped from her lashes and she quickly grabbed a tissue from the bedside table to wipe it away.
“I’ll never understand why you did what you did, but I don’t hate you, Mom. I’m mad and hurt, but I will never hate you.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Jennings, Garrett, sending you off to St. Thomas so you wouldn’t be here for my surgery…I didn’t even tell your Aunt Jilly what I did because I was too ashamed.”
“Of which part? Hiding my father, letting me believe he was dead, or selling me to the highest bidder?”
She turned her gaze toward the window and shook her head. “All of it. She never knew your dad was the drummer in Indigo Whiskey. She always thought it was the star quarterback on the college football team. Jennings had the prettiest blue eyes, coal black hair, and tan skin. He often had a cigarette hanging from his lips, taking sips from a beer between keeping tempo as he beat the hell out of those drums. He was unlike any boy my mother had pushed down my throat at the country club. I did what I did to spite her, though ironically she never knew because I didn’t tell her. It’s hard to produce a father when you tell your mother you slept around under the influence and couldn’t remember.”
“Did you ever stop to think about what you were doing to me?”
“All the time. We didn’t have social media like now. I looked him up a few times, and the last I knew he was in Nashville. I didn’t know the band fell apart, and I swear I didn’t know he was in Dallas.”
“We should wait to talk about this.”
“No. I’m going to go bat-shit crazy if you don’t talk to me.”
“After the Jason ordeal, I had never felt prouder of the mother I’d been blessed with. It was then I realized how strong you were, filling the role of mother and father. I want to feel grateful, but I don’t. I feel like you stole a part of my life, and I don’t know if I’m ever going to get over it. Then there’s the issue of selling the land—land I didn’t even know you owned—to Garrett because you were making shitty decisions for me again.”
She nodded. “I always had your best interest at heart. Jennings would have been gone more than he was home. I didn’t want you to have an on-again, off-again father, one you might not even remember with the long months of him being away. It wasn’t the life I wanted for you. As far as you not being here when I had the surgery, I’m not really sorry about that, but looking back, I should have talked to you about it instead of manipulating the situation.”
“I wanted to be here, Mama. I needed to be here for me just as much as for you.”
“Until something goes wrong and you watch them take me off life support, you don’t get to say it’s for you. I’ve read where some family members try to revoke advanced directives. It’s hard letting go of people you love, Brookie—I know that. Growing up, I resented my mother, but I loved her. Letting her go was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“You sold me to Garrett Mitchell. He never told me any of this while we were on the island. He had so much charisma and played the game well.”
“He’s a good man.”
“Really? A good man? He’s a liar. He’s out for himself. Does it not bother you that he used me? That he paid a lot of money for me? I was bought!”
“Is that what you think? That man was furious when he came to me about Jennings being your father, but it was about you, not Jennings. He said—and I quote— ‘This is going to tear her apart, and she deserves nothing but happiness in her life.’ A man doesn’t say something like that unless they are good. I knew I’d made the right decision to send you off with him. I knew because it was your chance to be happy again.”
I held my breath in silent shock.
“I don’t believe this. I never wanted to—”
“Fall in love? I knew there was a chance of that, because a blind person would sense the chemistry between you two.”
“He deeded the land back to you.”
“I know. He came to see me yesterday.”
Before or after he came to my house?
“What time?”
“Around seven.”
Before.
“What did he say?”
Another smile played on her lips. “Why does it matter?”
“I want to know, that’s why.”
“He said he had other business to attend to that was more important than that piece of land. He made me promise not to sell it to anyone else because of its value, and if I did, to reach out to him first. Pretty easy request, so I said yes.”
“Thank God you haven’t spent the money he gave you.”
“That’s the thing—I did spend some of it by paying off the second mortgage on the house because I didn’t want you to be burdened with my bills. Anyway, he refuses to accept any of it back. I told him I plan to pay him monthly installments until my debt is clear, but he’s adamant he won’t accept a penny of it.”
We talked a couple more hours and ate lunch before I left. It felt as though a ton of bricks had been lifted from my chest. We were far from okay, but we were closer to normal than we had been the day before.
My phone chimed, and I held my breath before looking at the screen. I wasn’t ready for Garrett.
Jennings: Reservations made at Aurora’s for tomorrow night. Would love to pick you up at 5:30.
I smiled. Aurora’s was a really nice black-tie restaurant I’d never been to, but I’d longed to splurge on it because I’d heard the famous chicken marsala and signature chicken piccata with savory artichokes were delicious.
Me: Sounds nice. I’ll be ready.
Next, I had one more stone to turn over. I tapped on Greta’s name.
Me: Hey you. I’m guessing you’ve figured out by now I’m not coming back. It’s a long story, but I will fill you in soon. Thinking we could go to Lola’s.
Greta: Garrett said you’re coming in the morning.
Me: He’s full of shit.
Greta: No really, he had me replenish your snacks, among other things.
Me: Definitely not coming back. I need a favor—can you meet me on the first floor at the main entrance with my small box of things tomorrow afternoon at 2?
Greta: Not if you’re not coming back. ;)
Me: I’ll just get my things some other time. Let me know when you want to catch up at Lola’s. Would love some of your crazy company.
Greta: The bear is getting off the elevator. Should I tell him you’re not coming tomorrow?
Me: No. He’ll figure it out. XOXO