George was not kidding when he said we were all going to get buggered. By the time the cab dropped us back at my house, Robert had passed out. I say a prayer that our antics won’t make the papers the next morning, I don’t need to be sanctioned by the club this early in the season.
The only thing that wakes me up the next morning is my phone vibrating somewhere next to my head. Practice isn’t until later this afternoon, thankfully, or I would be in a world of trouble. Sliding my reading glasses on, I try hard to focus on what the message says.
Claire: She’s really pretty.What the fuck!
A few minutes later Claire sends me a picture. It’s of Rory and I leaving one of the clubs where we attended a benefit. Staggering into the kitchen, I send a silent prayer of thanks to Rory for setting up the coffee maker yesterday before she left. Settling on the couch with my coffee, I type a response.
Alex: Aye, she’s okay. She can be a bit of an arse, though.There’s a long pause before her response is sent.
Claire:You said it would always be you and me! You said you’d wait for me! What do I do now, Alex? How could you do this to me? How do I put the pieces back together now?
I sit in shock for a minute, trying to understand in my hungover brain what’s going on.
“Oh fuck!” I yell, quickly hitting speed dial number one on my phone. It never occurred to me that she’s never seen a picture of Rory and I together as adults. The ones in my apartment are us as kids. She thinks I’ve found someone else.
“Shite!” I roar out when my call goes straight to voicemail. Jumping out of my seat, I quickly try again, with the same result. When George comes staggering in, I’m running through my contacts.
“Whit’s wrong?” he asks quickly, catching the panic in my face. I hold up a hand at him hunting the number I need.
“Matt? Can I speak tae Lily?”
“Yeah, hold on,” I know Matt can hear the urgency in my voice. When she comes on the phone, I have to concentrate on not screaming into the phone.
“Lily, is Claire still there?”
“No Alex, we took her to the airport earlier. What’s wrong?” Fear laces through her voice matching my own.
“She sent me a picture of my sister and me at a gala this morning. Lily, she thinks I’ve found someone else. She disnae know whit Rory looks like. She’s turned off her phone. I’m scared, Lily. She sent me a really bad message.” George watches me with alarm as I pace the living room. Robert joins George, handing him a cup of coffee.
“Alex, there’s something wrong with Claire but we couldn’t get her to talk about it. It’s like she’s in another place going through the motions of living. She is supposed to land in Portland at seven. Aiden is picking her up. I’m going to call the airport to see if I can have her paged. Let me know if you hear from her.” Lily hangs up as I turn to George. Taking my phone out of my hand, he hands it to Robert.
“Keep trying tae call her every five minutes until we reach her,” he says. Nodding, Robert walks back into the kitchen with my phone. “Now,” he says, pushing me back down onto the couch. “Tell me everything that’s happened starting from right before the miscarriage.”
Taking a deep breath, I tell him everything. I tell him how happy we were, how she was making friends, about her new job she loves. I tell him how it felt to rush to the hospital where I found out I was a dad before having it stripped away from me in a matter of seconds. I explained how she seemed to be getting better when Bryce was here but then left quickly after Bryce went home. I told him about every phone call and text we had exchanged, including the one that sent me into a panic this morning.
George listens to everything without interrupting me. I could see Robert watching us from the doorway of the kitchen, returning to my phone every five minutes. When I’m done, I stare at the TV.
“I’ve fucked everything up, George. Everything is so messed up and it’s my fault,” I say, resting my head in my hands.
“Naw,” he says, placing a big hand on my shoulder. “Ye’ve done nothing wrong. Neither has she. She’s suffered a tragedy, ye both have. It might naw seem huge tae someone else, but tae her it is. I think she’s suffering from depression. Dae ye know where she’s gan?” I start panting again, feeling my chest tighten.
“Christ, straighten up! When are ye gaun tae lose yer lady bits and grow some real balls?” he says, his words bringing me back. It’s the exact same thing he said to me when I was sniffling on the train to Glasgow. I took a swing at him then, but he just grinned at me knowing I’d be okay.
“Now George, I’ll find those balls now. Tell me whit I need tae dae. She’s flying tae her brother’s house today. Lily was going tae try the airport, but thought she had already left.”
“Dae ye have her brother’s phone number? Is he the doctor?” I nod, grabbing my phone when Robert hands it to me. “Ye need tae tell him exactly whit ye told me. If he’s worth a damn as a doctor, he’ll know whit tae do.”
Finding Aiden’s phone number, I reach him on the second ring. After talking to him about George’s suspicions for forty-five minutes, he assures me he will call me back as soon as he has Claire. Now all I can do is wait.
15
Claire
The flight to Portland is bad, really bad. I cry in my seat off and on until most of the other passengers have labeled me as crazy. The flight attendant keeps bringing me water, I guess hoping I won’t dehydrate at least.
I don’t understand why I can’t pull myself together. I know in my heart, Alex would never cheat on me, but I can’t get the picture of the two of them out of my head.
When we finally touch down, my fellow passengers are hot to get away from the crazy woman in aisle twenty-three. Grabbing my bag off the carousel, I walk outside right into Aiden’s arms, sobbing. After helping me into his car, he hands his phone over to me.
