Chapter 142
Claire and
Jamie were back on speaking terms by Dianna’s going away party for them on
Saturday, though just barely. They
hadn’t had a real conversation since the argument in the car earlier that week,
just polite small talk as they worked together to pack up the rest of their
apartment. And even this mostly
consisted of Jamie exclaiming, “Don’t lift that! I’ll get it!” and Claire rolling her eyes in
annoyance at his overprotection of her.
The night
of their argument, she had slept alone in their bed and woken the next morning
to find a vase of a dozen red roses sitting outside the bedroom door and a
pillow and wrinkled blanket draped across the couch, where Jamie had spent the
night. The note on the card had said,
simply, “I’m sorry,” and though it seemed like a nice gesture, Claire hadn’t
been nearly as touched as she had by the single rose Nick had sent her weeks
ago. It just seemed over-the-top and
cliched, the red roses with the written, generic apology. If Jamie was really sorry for what he had
said, he could apologize explicitly for it to her face. But he hadn’t.
She had let
him back into the bed that night, but she hadn’t forgiven him, nor had she let
him forget. She was cool and aloof
around him the rest of the week, and she was positive that he noticed, though
he never questioned her. They continued
to play games with each other, talking without saying anything meaningful,
avoiding the issues they’d fought over altogether.
Claire knew
the lack of communication couldn’t be a good sign for their marriage, but she
also realized how stressed they both were over the move and hoped that once
they were settled into their new house outside Des Moines, things would get
better. They would have fun decorating
the house and getting ready for the babies, and the stress would become a good
kind of stress, the exciting flurry of preparations that would proceed the
start of their family.
Yet with
the move just a day away now, Claire’s excitement was barred by the heavy
weight of apprehension. Tomorrow, she
would be leaving the comfort of everything she had ever known and driving
nearly fifteen-hundred miles to a new town with a husband she’d barely spoken
to all week, moving into a new house she’d never set foot in. She would be leaving all of the other
important people in her life behind – her family, her friends, her coworkers,
her doctors – and she hated the realization that, aside from Jamie, she would
be very much alone in Des Moines.
He had his
new job all lined up and would be starting work a week after they moved
in. She, on the other hand, had not even
bothered trying to look for work in the new city; no one would want to hire a
woman who would be on maternity leave in a matter of months, and besides, once
the triplets were born, she would want to stay at home with them. Though she liked the independence of having a
career of her own, Claire had always known she didn’t want to be one of those
working mothers whose children were raised in a daycare. Her own mother had been a stay-at-home mom,
and she wanted to be the same while the kids were young. Once they started school, she would want to
go back to work, at least part-time.
But for
now, she would be stuck at home while Jamie worked, and she dreaded the long
days of boredom and loneliness that would precede the birth of their
children. It made her fearful, too, to
realize that she would be on her own while carrying triplets. What if, later in her pregnancy, something
went wrong? She would have no one in the
vicinity to call except for Jamie and his mother, who was so neurotic that she
was the last person Claire would want around in an emergency.
She had
been worrying about these things often lately, and though she knew it wasn’t
healthy to get herself worked up, sometimes she couldn’t help it. She had always assumed she would have, at the
very least, her mother and sister-in-law around for support while she was
pregnant. And that was when she had imagined
herself carrying just one baby. Now she
was carrying three – a high-risk pregnancy, the doctors called it – and moving
far away from the both of them.
“We’re just
a phone call away,” her mother had told her reassuringly when she had once
brought this up, “and if you really need us, your dad and I have plenty of
flyer miles saved – we can hop on a plane and be there in a matter of hours.”
But Claire
knew it wasn’t that simple; she had had the experience of trying to fly between
Iowa and Florida to get home to Nick in a time of emergency, and ‘a matter of
hours’ had turned into one of the longest, most nightmarish nights of her
life. She couldn’t count on her family
being at her side if something did happen.
And none of the doctors she knew and trusted would be there either. She already had an appointment scheduled with
a new OB in Des Moines, one of the doctors Dr. Valerio had recommended, but she
would have preferred a physician who knew her and her medical history better.
Despite all
her worries, Claire knew she had little choice about making this move. She had seen firsthand how distance could
drive a wedge between an otherwise happy couple and wasn’t about to let it
happen with her and Jamie. He was going
to Des Moines for the sake of his career, and like it or not, she was going
with him. Everything happens for a
reason, she assured herself often, trying to convince herself that this
move would prove to be a good thing for both their relationship and their
children. She just needed to arrive in
Des Moines with an open mind and try to make the most of it.
For the
sake of having a good attitude, she showed up at the going away party
hand-in-hand with Jamie, a smile pasted on her face. She wasn’t overly excited about the party,
dreading the emotional goodbyes that would follow it, but as she looked around,
her smile became genuine. She had to
appreciate the effort Dianna had put into making this party special.
Her best
friend, who had always had a knack for planning such things, had reserved a
section of beach along the coastline for the private party. A ways back from the water, a large white
awning had been set up, beneath which several long picnic tables were
positioned. A potluck had been set up at
the back of the tent, and a few feet away, several grills smoked with the scent
of lighter fluid and charcoal. Tiki
torches and strings of colorful, plastic streamers formed a perimeter around
the strip of sand, and here and there, Dianna had set up other decorations –
clusters of bright, tropical flowers planted in children’s sand pails were
scattered among inflatable palm trees, pink, plastic flamingoes, a large,
blow-up shark, and even someone’s old surfboard.
“I thought
it was only appropriate to spend your last night in Florida on the beach,” said
Dianna as she looped a plastic lei around each of their necks and then led them
around to admire her handiwork, explaining the decorating theme.
“It’s
awesome, Di! You’re so sweet for doing
all of this,” Claire replied as she walked around, taking note of the people
that were there, as well as the decorations.
Dianna had invited all of Claire’s family and Jamie’s brother Brad,
along with many of their friends and colleagues. Laureen and Carey had worked together to plan
a small office party for Claire on her last day at work, and Dr. Somers and Tim
and most of the hygienists had been there to give her a nice send-off, but she
saw several of the co-workers she was actually friends with here at Dianna’s
party too. Laureen was among them, of
course. She recognized a few of Jamie’s
co-workers as well, including Bill, who was his closest friend at work and whom
she’d met on several occasions, and his partner, Lance. She followed Jamie over to talk to them for a
few minutes, but headed in the other direction when he went on to greet his
friends from college, Greg and Jerr.
She sought
refuge in the company of Laureen, who immediately threw her arms around her and
wailed, “I can’t believe you’re leaving tomorrow!”
“I know,”
Claire sighed over Laureen’s shoulder, hugging her tightly. “I can’t believe it either.”
Releasing
her, Laureen stepped back and gave her a sad, crooked smile. “It’s not gonna be the same here without
you. You were my first good friend in
Tampa!”
Claire
smiled sadly. “You’ll have to keep up
the legacy at work – take my replacement under your wing, and make sure you
warn her to stay away from Tim!”
They both
laughed, and then Laureen sighed. “I’m
gonna miss you. But you know what? All of my family is still in Illinois, and
Iowa’s only one state over, so next time I go back to visit, I’ll be able to
make a little detour and see you!”
“And all my
family’s still here, so I’ll definitely be back to see you too,” Claire smiled.
Laureen
grinned back. “Perfect!”
She was her
usual happy-go-lucky self after that, as she walked around with Claire and
Dianna, making a point to avoid Jamie’s friend Greg. “Has anyone seen Nick yet?” Claire wondered
out loud; seeing Greg and Jamie laughing together had inevitably made her think
of him.
Laureen’s eyes widened. “Is he gonna be
here??”
“He said he
was. He was flying into Orlando for
Howie’s birthday, which I think was yesterday…”
“It was,”
Laureen chirped automatically, blushing at the identical looks of amusement
Claire and Dianna gave her. “Bit of
Backstreet trivia for ya,” she added with a sheepish smile. “So, have you guys heard Nick’s new song
yet?”
“I
haven’t,” said Dianna in a bored voice, but Claire immediately jumped on the
change in topic.
“I
have! I think it’s incredible; what
about you?”
Laureen’s
eyes brightened with enthusiasm, and they launched into an eager discussion of
the new single. They were so busy
gushing about the song that neither one of them noticed when the man who had
written it appeared on the outskirts of the party.
***
Nick felt a
sense of déjà vu as he walked down to the stretch of beach where the going away
party for Claire had been set up. It was
his second time going alone to a party for Claire and Jamie in a period of just
seven months. The atmosphere of this
party was much different than the wedding reception, much more casual and fun,
but he figured the crowd would be about the same – mostly people he didn’t know
or didn’t particularly like. It was a
mark of how much he cared about Claire that he had even bothered to come.
He had
tried to coax Howie into coming with him when he had been in Orlando the day
before, but Howie had a charity event to attend with his story Pollyanna that
night. Figures, thought Nick,
kicking at the sand as he stopped to survey the luau-themed party. He could smell meat cooking over charcoal and
hear music playing over the sound of the rolling tide in the background. Everyone was standing in little clusters
around the beach, talking and laughing.
He looked around for Claire, wanting to find her before he went mingling
through her party.
Though he
knew he shouldn’t, he felt slightly self-conscious. Seeing as how the party was being held on a
sandy beach in the middle of August, he’d had little choice about how to dress
for it. Going the practical route, he’d
put on his water leg (which, thankfully, fit again) and a pair of cargo shorts,
knowing he would swelter in long pants and deeply regret getting sand stuck in
his regular prosthesis. On the other
hand, he knew he was going to get a lot more stares with his artificial leg
showing, and this one was not as stable as the C-Leg he normally wore, which
meant he walked with a more noticeable limp.
He didn’t want to attract any more attention than necessary, especially
from Jamie and his friends, who would surely toss some snide comment his way if
they caught him when Claire wasn’t around.
This was
just one of those times when being Nick Carter was a huge pain in the ass. Nonetheless, he braced himself and walked
into the party, reminding himself that he was here for Claire, and Claire
only. He didn’t care what other people
thought of him, especially not Jamie.
He found
Claire talking to Laureen and Dianna.
The last time he’d seen Laureen, it had been the morning after he’d
gotten drunk and made out with her after Claire’s wedding reception, and the
last time he remembered actually talking to Dianna was right after she had
bitched him out for running off on Claire when she thought she was rejecting
her transplant. So that was awkward, on
both accounts, but he approached the trio anyway.
As Claire
and Laureen appeared to be deep in conversation, gesturing wildly as they
talked to each other, Dianna was the first to look up and spot him coming their
way. She gave him a little wave and a
smile and said, “Well, hey there, Nick.
Long time, no see.”
“Hey,
what’s up?” Nick asked, offering a casual smile in return.
Claire and
Laureen, who had both looked up at the sound of his name, grinned. “You came!” Claire exclaimed, coming forward
and pulling him into a hug. “I’m so glad
you could come,” she added, as she released him, beaming up at him.
He smiled
down at her, feeling more at ease. She
looked pretty, dressed in a pair of lightweight capris and a peach-colored
peasant-style blouse that was soft and feminine. Coupled with her red hair, it made her blend
in with the sunset behind her quite nicely.
“You look good,” he told her off-handedly.
She grinned
at the compliment, a pink blush rising on her cheeks. “Thanks, so do you!”
Smiling, he
turned his attention to Dianna and Laureen and added, “You ladies are lookin’
fine tonight, too.” He winked at
Laureen, his eyes lingering on her a few moments longer than they had
Dianna. She looked cute in an ocean blue
top and a flowing, summery skirt, her soft, auburn hair curling around her
face, which was now in a full-on blush.
“Aww,
you’re sweet,” said Dianna, fluffing her dark hair. Offering a coy smile, she added, “Well, I
should go check on Todd and make sure he’s not burning the food. Glad you could come, Nick.”
Nick
blinked in surprise as she walked away, caught off-guard by her sudden
hospitality. He turned back to Claire
and Laureen, at which point the awkwardness settled in. He didn’t know what to say to either one of
them, Claire, who was pregnant with Jamie’s babies and leaving for Iowa in the
morning, and Laureen, whom he’d practically slept with and hadn’t spoken to
since.
Laureen
seemed at a loss for words as well, but Claire, never one to keep her mouth
shut for long, filled the silence by saying, “Hey, we were just talking about
your single and how much we like it!”
“Yeah,”
Laureen chimed in finally, grinning. “I
love it!!”
“Wow,
thanks,” said Nick, feeling a rush of pride.
He grew more comfortable as they got him talking about the album and the
promotion he’d done that week; that was something he could talk about without
feeling awkward.
After
awhile, Claire said, “I should probably go mingle… I haven’t talked to half the
people here yet, and who knows when I’ll see them again.” She made a glum face, and Nick nodded.
“Yeah,
sure, go ahead. Laureen and I can chat,
maybe grab some food in a little while?” he said, giving Laureen a questioning
look.
“Yeah,
sounds good!” she replied.
When Claire
walked away, he moved closer to her.
“It’s good to see you again,” he said.
Figuring he might as well tell her now what he knew he would have to say
at some point, he launched right in with, “Listen, I just wanna apologize for
not keeping in touch at all over the last few months.”
“It’s
okay,” Laureen quickly started to say, but he shook her head.
“No, it’s
not. I feel bad. I treated you like some groupie who I fooled
around with for one night and pushed out the door the next morning, never to
see again. And that’s not… I mean,
you’re not a groupie. You deserve better
than that, and after what happened after Claire’s wedding, I should have at
least called.”
Laureen
shrugged; she was blushing again. “I
know you were busy.”
“Yeah, but
that’s not an excuse. I wasn’t too busy
to call,” Nick insisted. “Honestly, I
felt bad about what happened; I guess that’s why I didn’t call.”
“You
shouldn’t feel bad. I was the sober one;
I knew what I was doing,” Laureen said quietly, blushing redder.
Nick smiled
a little. Claire was right; Laureen had
wanted the kisses. She looked
embarrassed about it now, but he could tell by the expression on her face – she
had enjoyed herself that night. In a
way, that made him feel worse, like he’d exploited her crush on him. He liked Laureen just fine as a person, but
he’d never looked at her that way before, never intended to kiss her, let alone
make out with her. It had just happened,
in the heat of the moment, in the aftermath of watching the woman he loved
marry someone else. He knew now that it
meant a lot more to her than it had to him.
“We should
hang out again sometime,” he suggested impulsively, wanting to make it up to
her. “Just maybe take things a little…
slower… this time.”
Laureen
laughed. “I would love that,” she
replied, smiling sweetly.
“I dunno
how much I’ll be able to hang out for the next couple of months,” he warned her. “I’m heading back to LA in a few days, and
things are gonna be crazy for awhile, until the album comes out. But maybe we can hook up when I’m back for
longer. And in the meantime, I’ll try to
call you this time.” He offered her a
sheepish smile. “I think I’ve still got
your number saved.”
“Okay. That would be cool,” said Laureen, her voice
breathy, her eyes sparkling in a way that told Nick she thought it would be
much more than “cool.”
He
smiled. “So you wanna go check out the
food?” he asked, motioning to the large tent where all of the food had been set
out.
“Sure,”
Laureen laughed.
Together,
they made their way over to the awning, Nick stumbling slightly in the uneven
sand. He didn’t fall, but naturally, he
looked up to find Jamie standing only a few feet away with a couple of the guys
who had been groomsmen at his wedding.
His stomach clenched as he saw Jamie smirk, then turn to his friends,
putting his back to Nick. He leaned in
and said something, and the other two guys started to snicker, both of their
heads turning in Nick’s direction.
Nick felt
his face redden with anger and embarrassment.
For a moment, it was as if he were a child again, getting teased and
threatened on the playground at school by the other boys, who thought he was
weird because he liked to sing and dance and was always missing school for
auditions or shows. It was hard to
believe he had just witnessed twenty-eight-year-old men doing much the same
thing, but it still hurt.
He felt
someone touch his arm and jerked instinctively, but it was only Laureen. The look in her eyes told him that she had
seen Jamie too. She didn’t say anything,
but wordlessly took hold of his elbow and held onto him lightly as they went
under the awning.
“He’s an
asshole,” she whispered finally, as they got into the food line.
“I’m glad
someone else can see it,” he muttered back, offering her a grateful smile.
Neither one
of them said anything more about it then, but several meaningful looks passed
between them after that, the anxious looks of two people who both thought their
friend was making the biggest mistake of her life.
***