Chapter 164
Claire’s
suspicions were confirmed when she was indeed put on bed rest.
According
to her doctor’s orders, she was to spend most of her time in bed or on the
couch, getting up only to use the bathroom, shower, or eat. After a long hospital stay that had made her
stir crazy already, she wasn’t happy about it, and Nick couldn’t blame
her. But secretly, a part of him was
glad.
Claire’s
not being able to leave the house meant something else: she also could not leave the state. Flying back to Des Moines was completely out
of the question, and her doctor wouldn’t even okay the long car ride
north. This had caused quite the
interesting predicament, which Nick had watched unfold with amusement.
Jamie had
managed to get a few extra days past the holiday weekend off, but being new to
his position, he had not accumulated enough sick days to take any kind of
extended leave, and so, after only a week in Tampa, he was faced with only two
options: fly home without Claire, or
risk losing his job. As his was the only
income supporting his and Claire’s fledgling family, he opted for the former
and left on a Sunday with a one-way ticket back to Des Moines.
Nick
couldn’t say he was sad to see him go, and he was even happier about Claire’s
being stuck in Tampa. She would be
better off here, he reasoned, surrounded by her family and friends and away
from her asshole husband. Claire didn’t
seem to see it that way at the beginning, but he had faith that she would
eventually. He knew how much she had
missed Tampa. Once she got used to the
idea of being stuck here while Jamie worked back in Iowa, a part of her would
be glad.
She didn’t
need Jamie anyway. She had him, Nick,
and he was bound and determined to do everything he could for her while she was
here. He saw it as a way of returning
the favor, being there for her the way she had been there for him when he was
at his lowest point, years ago. And
maybe, just maybe, through doing so, he would make her see that she didn’t need
Jamie in her life anymore.
***
Claire
flipped aimlessly through a magazine, glancing at the pictures without really
looking at them, not even bothering to read the articles. She found it hard to care about the gossip
and pettiness inside the pages of the crinkled US Weekly, though it had
been a nice gesture for Dianna to bring her copy by. There wasn’t much else to do in the hospital,
but read, watch TV, count heart monitor blips, and time IV drips.
It’s an exciting life I lead, thought Claire sarcastically, looking
up at the ceiling in dismay. Her eyes
followed a long crack in the tile that was one forward and two to the left of
her head. She’d studied the crack often
in the two weeks she’d been in the hospital; she knew every inch of it by
now. If someone put a blank piece of
paper in front of her and told her to draw that crack, every branch and
tributary, she was sure she’d be able to do it.
It was really quite sad.
She never
thought, when Amber had rushed her to the hospital on Thanksgiving, that she
would be confined to a bed there for the next two weeks, but that was how it
had ended up. Dr. Valerio had wanted her
under close observation for two weeks, just in case the twins decided it would
be a good time to be born again.
Thankfully, that hadn’t happened, and after a blissfully uneventful
hospital stay, she was being discharged.
But even after she went home, she would be on bed rest (or house arrest,
as she and Nick had been joking), unable to get up and move around except for
when it was necessary. And as Dr.
Valerio had insisted that she remain in Tampa, close to the hospital just in
case she should go into labor again, the location of her “home” away from home
had become an issue.
Of course,
her parents wanted her back with them in Gainesville, but as it was a two-hour
drive from Tampa, that was out of the question.
At first, Claire had been relieved; her mom had a tendency to hover over
her like a mother hen whenever she was sick, and the thought of having to put
up with that for the next four months was a little overwhelming.
The next
option had been Kyle and Amber’s house in St. Petersburg, but even that was
further away than Dr. Valerio wanted her.
Dianna and
Laureen had both offered up their apartments, which seemed like a good option,
as they were both located right in Tampa, until her mother had pointed out that
both Dianna and Laureen worked during the day and that Claire would be
alone. “It’s not like I need
babysitting; I can stay by myself. If
anything would happen, I could just call for an ambulance,” Claire had
reasoned, but even Dr. Valerio had told her she would need a support person
around to stay with her.
“As your
doctor, I won’t feel comfortable discharging you until I know you’ll have a
place to stay and someone to stay with you,” she had told Claire, her eyes
serious.
In a way,
Claire was glad for a good excuse not to stay with either of her two
girlfriends. As much as she loved both
of them, she couldn’t help but worry that she would just be in the way. Dianna was in a serious relationship, and
Laureen seemed to be heading in that direction with Nick, and Claire hated the
thought of lying in bed in the spare room while either one of them made out
with her boyfriend in the next room over.
That would be almost as bad as sharing a dorm room in college, but
without the booze and midnight pizza deliveries.
Nick, too,
had volunteered his house, and in many ways, it seemed the best choice. It was right in Tampa, there was plenty of
room, and as Nick would be home on break until his tour rehearsals began after
the holidays, he could be around during the day in case she needed him.
But then
there was the fact that it was just too weird, the idea of her moving back into
Nick’s house and staying with him while pregnant with Jamie’s children and,
more importantly, while Jamie was a thousand miles away. She hadn’t even run the idea by her husband
because she knew he would never go along with it. He would find it all too convenient and
invent a scenario in which she and Nick had planned it all in order to carry
out an illicit affair behind his back.
It was bad enough that she and Jamie had to be so far apart during all
of this; she knew she could not torture him by staying with Nick.
So in the
end, her parents had booked a two-bedroom suite at the Chase Hotel and would be
staying with her there for the time being.
It would do, for a temporary living situation; the hotel was nice, and
there would be plenty of space for her and her family and Jamie, when he came
back down. But it wouldn’t be cheap, and
Claire hated to burden her parents. Of
course, they had assured her that they were happy to pay the expenses and would
have no problem affording it; they’d saved up plenty from her father’s
dentist’s salary. Still, Claire didn’t
like feeling dependent on them, physically or financially. She’d be turning twenty-nine in a few months,
and here she was living with her parents again.
She wished
Jamie didn’t have to be so far away. She
wished they’d never moved out of Tampa.
She wished she could just stay in Jamie’s old apartment, with him as her
support person, the way it should have been.
He was her husband, and even though they’d been on shaky ground lately,
he was the one with whom she wanted to go through her pregnancy.
But her
wishes could not be a reality, and so she let her mother help her pack up her
things at the hospital, in preparation of checking into the hotel. A nurse brought the usual discharge papers
and home care instructions with clear orders from Dr. Valerio about what kind
of activities she could and couldn’t do.
Just as Claire had expected, the “couldn’t” list was a lot longer than
the “could.”
Assuming
she could hold out until her due date, it was going to be a looong fifteen
weeks.
“Well…” Her mother took a sweeping look around the
room before her eyes settled upon Claire.
“Are you ready to go, hon?”
“Yep. Let’s blow this joint,” replied Claire. She was eager to leave, even if she would
just be moving from a hospital bed to a hotel one. At least she’d be escaping the IVs and
antiseptic smell.
She carried
her belongings in her lap while one of the nurses pushed her in a wheelchair
downstairs, and her mom ran out to pull the car around. It felt good to get out into the fresh air
and ride in a car again, like a normal person.
That was always the best part of leaving the hospital after a long stay;
she would know.
Looking out
the window as her mother drove, it occurred to her that she hadn’t actually
seen her hometown since she and Jamie had moved in September. It was nice to be home in Tampa, even if she
wouldn’t get to be out and about in the city for awhile.
“I brought
a bunch of my books from home, in case you run out of reading material – you’ll
probably be reading a lot,” her mom chattered as she drove. “And I grabbed a few movies too, but I
figured we can just rent some too.”
“Nick’s got
a huge collection; I can just borrow some from him,” Claire mumbled.
“Oh, that’s
a good idea. I also picked up a
crossword puzzle book and a Sudoku book at the grocery store, so you’ll have
some puzzles to do. And Dad’s got his
laptop so you can use the computer. And
maybe Jamie can bring some of your scrapbook things down next time he comes to
visit so you’ll be able to work on that.”
“That
sounds good.”
“I think
you’ll find plenty for you to do. It
won’t be as bad as you think.”
“I know;
it’ll be okay. I’ll do whatever it takes
to make sure the twins are healthy.”
Her mother
smiled over at her. “Of course. That’s what a mother does - whatever it takes
to protect her children.”
Claire
returned the smile, swelling with maternal pride. She understood why her parents were so
willing to leave their home in Gainesville and come to stay with her in Tampa –
they would do anything for her, just as she already knew she would do anything
for her babies. She loved them with all
her heart already. Bed rest was a
sacrifice she was totally willing to make, for their sake, and it would be a
small price to pay if it ensured they would be born fully-developed and
healthy.
Lost in
thought, she didn’t notice her mother turn left when she should have turned
right. Only after a few minutes did
Claire realize they were in the wrong part of town. “Hey, Mom?
Isn’t the Chase closer to the airport?” she asked, confused. “We’re heading the wrong way.”
“No… you’ll
see,” her mother replied vaguely and refused to say anything else. Claire watched out the window, perplexed, as
she drove. She seemed to know where she
was going. They drove down Bayshore
Boulevard, along the perimeter of Tampa Bay, its waters steely-looking in the
overcast December day. Her mother passed
the gated entrance to one of the ritzy neighborhoods, but swung into the turn
lane at the next intersection.
As she made
the turn, Claire frowned, perplexed. She
knew vaguely where they were – a few blocks or so from one of the many touristy
parts of Tampa, where the many luxury waterfront condos began. It was not a part of town she visited often;
like most Florida natives, she tried to stay away from the tourist traps. But they were not quite to the tourist part
yet; this part of town was still inhabited by normal residents. Okay, rich, normal residents.
“This isn’t
the Chase,” Claire said obviously, as her mother guided the car through the
gated entry of what appeared to be a six-story condominium complex. “What are we doing here? You didn’t rent a condo, did you? A condo right on the bay; are you
kidding?? I don’t want you and dad’s
life savings to go to this!”
Her mom
simply ignored her as she parked the car and got out. Curious, Claire shut her mouth, unfastened
her seatbelt, and carefully climbed out too.
As her mother led her up a nicely-landscaped walkway to the entrance of
the building, Claire asked once more, “Mom?
Seriously, what are we doing here?”
“We’re
meeting someone,” her mom replied finally, and left it as vague as that.
Claire gave
up and simply followed.
They walked
into a lavish foyer, and Claire immediately looked around for someone she might
know. But there was no one. And apparently that “someone” wasn’t meeting them
in the foyer, because her mom headed straight for the elevator. Once inside, she punched the highest number,
and they traveled to the sixth floor.
Upon
walking out of the elevator, they found themselves on a long balcony. They didn’t walk all the way down it, though,
for her mother stopped at the second door.
And to Claire’s astonishment, she pulled out a key from her pocket,
stuck it in the door, and turned. Claire
heard the door click, and before she knew it, it was open, and her mother was
ushering her inside.
She
couldn’t help but look around in fascination.
The condo was beautiful, spacious and richly decorated, with walls
painted in bold colors and trim of light, Sanibel wood. They walked through an entryway which was
adorned with some tropical plants and paintings and entered a kitchen with
granite countertops and gleaming appliances.
Claire’s mind was full of questions, but for now, she could only look,
as they passed through the kitchen, into the living room and dining room, which
opened up to a balcony overlooking the bay.
“This is
amazing,” Claire murmured, shaking her head.
“But honestly, what is all of this?
Did you really rent it?”
Her mother
shook her head as well. “No,” she said,
then beckoned with a smile. “Come see
the bedrooms.”
Realizing
she wasn’t going to get any real answers, at least not for now, Claire
complied. As it turned out, there were
three bedrooms, all with walk-in closets and two of which had their own
bathroom. The master bedroom was huge,
and its bathroom was even more impressive, with a built-in jacuzzi that made
Claire practically weak in the knees with longing.
“You
haven’t seen the den yet,” said her mother as they left the master bedroom.
“There’s
even a den?”
“Sure there
is; we passed it on our way in.” They
walked back up the hall, and her mother stopped outside a door to their right,
a door which had been closed. Claire
hadn’t even noticed it when they had first come in, but if she had, she would
have guessed it was a closet.
It wasn’t.
“Check it
out,” her mother urged, motioning for Claire to open the door and peek inside.
Claire
turned the knob slowly and inched the door open, wondering what she was going
to find behind it. She didn’t know what
to expect, and yet, a part of her did.
Because as soon as she saw what – or rather, who – was sitting inside
the den, she understood. Only one person
could be responsible for all of this, and there he was, sitting in the
executive chair behind a big, polished wood desk with a huge, shit-eating grin
on his face.
Nick, of
course.
***
Nick
grinned at the look on Claire’s face as she inched into the den of her new
condo. She didn’t know it was her condo
yet, at least not officially (though she had probably guessed by now), but of
course, it was.
“Nick!” she
cried, “What is this?!”
“Surprise,”
he said, slapping his hands down on the slick desktop. “Welcome home.”
“Welcome
home?” she repeated, raising her eyebrows as an astonished smile spread across
her face. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m
just shitting you.” Nick rolled his
eyes. “Of course I’m serious,
dummy! The place is yours.”
She just
gaped. “And by that, you mean…”
“It’s
yours,” Kris Ryan chimed in, emerging from his hiding place in the corner of
the room. Claire hadn’t even noticed him
yet and gasped when she saw her father.
“Dad! What is going on?!”
“Like they
said… welcome to your new condo. It’s
yours,” her mother reaffirmed, joining them in the den. Her face was shining, the very same way it
had once Nick had finally convinced her to accept the condo on Claire’s
behalf. “Thanks to Nick.”
“And no,
that doesn’t mean I just paid the first month’s rent. There is no rent,” Nick stressed. “It’s yours.
All paid for, no strings attached.”
“What?! You mean, you bought this place??”
Nick
couldn’t help but smile; she sounded a lot like her mom had when he had told
her, only louder and more blunt.
“That was
my reaction,” said Kris with a guffaw, and Nick’s smile grew. Now he remembered where – or who, rather –
the loudness and bluntness came from.
“Yes,” Nick
answered. “Is it okay? Do you like it?”
“Oh my god,
are you kidding?? I love
it!! But Nick! You can’t just… You bought me a condo?!” Her voice was incredulous. “Why would you do something like that?!”
Because I love you.
Nick cleared his throat and forced the thought away. “Because you need a place to live, and I
didn’t want you and your parents to have to stay in a hotel. This place is bigger, nicer, and closer to
the hospital. And it’s all yours,” he
answered, smiling benignly.
Claire
still looked stunned, as if even she, who had known him for almost six years
and had even lived with him, could not quite believe that anyone would just buy
a condo as a gift for a friend. And the
look didn’t quite disappear from her face, even as Nick and her parents
explained how it had all come to be. How
he had taken it upon himself to find a place for her to live, a place that
could be permanent if she wanted it to be, somewhere comfortable and spacious
and with a good view, a place in which she could spend her bed rest and to
which she could bring her babies home once they were born. How he had bought this condo in her name,
paid for it in full, and then told her parents.
“It’s too
late,” he had said to them with a smile on his face, when, in shock, they
insisted they and their daughter could never accept such an extravagant
gift. “It’s in Claire’s name, so if she
really doesn’t want it, she’ll have to sell it, I guess.”
That had
worked; there was really no way they could turn down his offer. A beautiful condo, free of charge? They were in, and together, the three of them
had planned how they were going to surprise Claire with it.
Standing in
the den of the condo less than a week later, Claire was definitely
surprised. The word “surprised” was an
understatement of the greatest kind. She
was completely floored, even flabbergasted.
“I can’t
believe this!” she gasped, and then she screamed. “I can’t believe this!!!” Nick watched her shock and disbelief
transform into giddy excitement, as reality seemed to set in, and she squealed
and rushed – sort of waddled, actually, as she was supposed to take it slow –
around the desk to hug him, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a
smacker of a kiss on his cheek. “You are
amazing; did you know that? I can’t
believe you!”
Nick
offered her a toothy smile, flushing where she had kissed him. “I know.
But I think you’re amazing too, and you deserve an amazing place to
live. I hope you like it.”
“I told
you, I don’t just like it; I love it!!!
Wow, I can’t wait to move in!!!”
“Your dad’s
already got some stuff in his car to bring up, and Kyle’s going to bring the
rest of the things you brought from Des Moines over later this afternoon. Jamie will have to bring some more things
from your house next time he comes to visit, but until then, we’ll just buy
whatever you need.”
“Jamie!”
exclaimed Claire, and her eyes went wide.
“Does he know about this yet??”
A smirk
spread across Nick’s lips, and he looked to Claire’s parents. He wasn’t sure if Jamie had been told about
the new living arrangements yet either.
Carrie
cleared her throat, giving her husband a furtive look. “Well, no… we haven’t said anything to
him. We thought it’d be best if you
called him today and explained.”
Claire
started to giggle. “Oh-ho, that’s gonna
be an interesting conversation. ‘Guess
what, Jamie? Nick bought us a place to
live!’” She shot Nick a devilish
grin. “He’s going to hate you forever
for this. But he’ll love the condo. I mean, come on… how could he not?”
Nick
returned the evil grin, quite pleased with himself and, admittedly, a little
eager for the fireworks that would surely be on for tonight. Ignoring the awkward looks that passed
between Claire’s parents, he and Claire laughed together.
He watched
her as she laughed; she looked radiant, happier than he had seen her in
months. For the moment, it seemed
nothing could quell the good mood her had put her in, not even the promise of
her husband’s wrath toward Nick and his infuriating level of generosity.
And to
Nick, that was more than worth the price he’d paid for he condo.
***