Chapter 19
“You’re going to have to do something with the extra money. It’s been lying on the kitchen table for over a week, Iz.” Cara’s mouth had specks of coffee-flavored cupcake icing across it.
“Don’t remind me.” She’d left Shoemoney’s cash lying around and hadn’t come to any suitable conclusion about what to do with it.
“I’m going to spend it if you don’t. We’re running out of toilet rolls.”
Izzy groaned.
“I can’t believe he had the audacity to come here and try to pay you off.”
“Me neither.”
Izzy shrugged. “He can’t buy me off.”
“No he can’t. But it’s not as if you were going to tell anyone. Have you told your parents yet?”
Izzy shook her head. No way. She had no intention of telling them at all.
“Why don’t you mail it back to him? That way you won’t have to see his ugly face again.”
Izzy nodded. “Or I could slip it into one of those charity donation boxes next time I see one?”
“But you’re not in a position to donate ‘unwanted money’ to charities. We’re a charity case right now.”
Cara was right. Izzy cradled her head in her hands. “I hate people like that. I hate people who think they can treat people like dirt and use them for their own sick perversion, and just walk away like nothing happened.”
They sat on the couch sharing a plate of cupcakes that Cara had bought. They were a day past the best before date, but they tasted fine. It wasn’t the healthiest thing to eat, but it was exactly the type of sugary lift Izzy needed.
“Xavier’s on to you,” said Cara, bringing the conversation back around to him again. Her friend was convinced that he was interested in Izzy, and she now regretted telling her about everything that had happened last week.
“He’s not on to me,” said Izzy. “He’s just being nosey.”
“He obviously knows that something shady’s gone on. When are you going to tell him the truth?”
“I’m not.”
“But he seemed so concerned.” She had told Cara about his suspicions and about their subsequent row at his place when he’d gotten the wrong end of the stick about the money.
“He’s a charmer, a player. I’m not falling for it.”
“He might really like you.”
She let out an irritated huff.
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop going on about it. Here,” Cara pushed the plate towards her. “Have another cupcake. You look like you could do with it.”
“If you’re going to shove the plate in front of my face like that I can hardly refuse.”
“Go on. You know you want it. It’s a lazy weekend, and you don’t need to rush over and entertain that kid either.”
She picked up another cupcake with half an inch of icing on top. She peeled back the paper casing on one side and took a huge bite, getting a mouthful of rich coffee flavored buttercream and soft, moist juicy sponge cake.
“But Savannah still wants to see me.” She had called yesterday. The Stones had arrived back from their honeymoon a few days early, and Savannah had told Izzy there was no need for her to go over as she and Tobias wanted to spend time with Jacob. So Izzy had lain in bed this morning, having a rare weekend where she didn’t have anything to do. Even her homework assignments this weekend weren’t too bad.
But then she’d called again, an hour ago, asking Izzy if she could come over as there was something she wanted to discuss. “I better start making a move.”
“Are you going now?”
“I’d better go and find out what it is.”
“Maybe they’ve pampered the kid as much as they can and now need you to take over while they recover from jetlag.”
“Jacob’s not a spoiled child at all,” Izzy replied, defensively. “And they’re good parents. Jacob’s really humble and really sweet. Even you would like him.”
“I doubt it.” Cara licked off the cream from her cupcake. “Maybe she wants to pay you?” Her lips were smudged with buttercream.
“Yay!” Payday was always good. And Savannah’s rates were generous. She got paid for a few hours looking after Jacob what would easily take double the amount of time at the diner.
~ ~ ~
“Mom’s back!” Jacob announced with a beaming face. “She said for you to come through.” He lead her towards Savannah’s bedroom.
It was only when Izzy stood at the open bedroom door, that she saw a heap of suitcases lying in one corner of the huge bedroom. It was nearly triple the size of her and Cara’s entire apartment.
“Hi,” said Izzy, knocking on the door.
“Hey.” Savannah’s smile said a thousand things. “Come in.” Her skin was the color of golden honey and the reddish highlights in her hair glinted even redder.
Izzy walked in and tried not to stare at Savannah’s stomach discreetly, trying to work out whether Savannah was pregnant or not, but it was hard to tell with the loose t-shirt she wore. She seemed the same as ever, only more tanned, and more glowing. Izzy couldn’t tell if that was from the honeymoon or if she might be pregnant, if Jacob’s words were to be believed.
“How was the honeymoon?”
Savannah closed her eyes momentarily, and smiled, as if reliving that moment. “Like a dream. It was everything I could have imagined and more.”
“I can imagine.” Life as the wife of a billionaire was probably a 360 degree turn from what Savannah’s life had been before.
“Let’s go into the living room,” Savannah suggested, “this room is a mess. And, thanks for coming over at such short notice.”
“It’s not a problem,” Izzy replied. “I wasn’t doing anything.” Except vegging on the couch with my friend and a plate of cupcakes.
Savannah motioned for Izzy to sit down on the couch. Already Izzy was wondering what was going on, because Savannah didn’t seem her usual carefree self. She seemed more business-like, more forced, as if there was something of a serious nature she needed to discuss.
“I could have come earlier, if you needed me to look after Jacob.”
“It’s not that. And, the reason I want to see you is because of Jacob.” She lowered her voice, leaving Izzy with a distinctly uneasy feeling. She tried to think if she had done anything wrong, by mistake, that could be the reason for Savannah summoning her.
“Jacob?”
“I missed him so much when we were away, and coming back to him now, I think it would be wrong of me to ask you to take him out and about when I can do that, for now at least. It’s nothing you’ve done,” she rushed to reassure her. “It’s me. I finally had the time and quietness to think things through and I believe I need to spend more time with my son.”
Izzy clasped her hands together. She had an idea of what this was about, and she wondered if Jacob had said anything to his mother.
“I don’t know how to say this,” said Savannah, clasping her hands together, and looking uneasy.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Oh my goodness,” gasped Savannah. “No. Definitely not. You’ve been amazing, Jacob said, and Xavier said.”
“Xavier?”
“Yes. He came here earlier, not knowing we were back. He was ready to go out with you and Jacob. He said you’d had a good few weekends.”
Izzy forced a smile.
“This just makes it even more harder for me to say.”
“Just say it, Savannah.”
“Okay.” She took in a deep breath. “You know that Jacob is the most precious thing in my life, along with Tobias, obviously. And, I don’t want my son to feel pushed out.”
“Of course not.” She’d wanted to tell Savannah about the conversation with Jacob in the pool the other day, but hadn’t wanted to do it over the phone.
“I hate to do this,” said Savannah—and Izzy knew that a ‘but’ was coming—especially when Savannah couldn’t look her in the eye. “But I think it would be better—for the next few months at least—if I spent as much time as possible with Jacob.”
She could see that Savannah felt bad, even though she completely understood. It seemed that Jacob might have told her or hinted his worries and Savannah had picked up on something.
“I’m glad he told you,” said Izzy, feeling happy that Jacob had expressed his concerns to his mother. “That’s quite a mature thing for a young child to do.”
“Jacob didn’t tell me. Xavier did.”
“Xavier?” Why would he mention something like that to Savannah?
“He mentioned it, and I’m glad he did, otherwise I would have had no idea.”
“I was going to tell you,” said Izzy. “But I wanted to do it face to face, because I didn’t want you to worry too much, and I didn’t think it was the kind of thing to tell you over the phone yesterday.”
“I know you would have, but, now that I know, I have to fix it, and this is how I’m going to go about fixing it.”
She recounted the conversation back to Savannah. “I tried to tell him it wouldn’t be like that and that you would both continue to love him as much as you love the new baby—whenever it comes, but he seemed to worry most about Tobias not being his real dad, and not loving him as much as he would love the new baby, whenever that comes.” She looked away, and it was hard not to look at Savannah’s stomach, and try to guess.
“I feel bad I wasn’t there to listen to him, and I’m glad you were. I knew he would open up to you. He trusts you, Izzy, as I do, and that’s why this is so hard for me to do, to ask you to step away.”
It was going to hit her hard, losing the easy money that came from looking after Jacob, but it wasn’t Savannah’s fault, and it wasn’t hers. She would simply have to find a way around it. She didn’t blame Savannah, and if she was in her shoes, she would have done the exact same thing. Jacob was her priority, not Izzy.
“I’m sorry, Izzy. I hate to do this to you, especially since I was the one hounding you to come and work for us. I promise you it’s only temporary because I will need help in a few months’ time. Just not right now. Could you give me until after the New Year?”
“Sure.” She was being let go, and sweetly. While she could understand Savannah’s dilemma, her own dilemma was brewing up inside her. She tried to laugh it off. “Don’t feel sorry, I understand, and I have exams to cram for before Christmas. I’ll be okay.”
The fate of Shoemoney’s extra cash had been decided. It would go to the Izzy and Cara fund.