Orange Blossom Days Read online

  ‘Don’t tell me what to do you . . . you . . . low down, two-timin’ snake, you and that big fuckin’ fat hoe of yours . . . that . . . that you’re screwing,’ Savannah roared, red-faced.

  Cal jumped to his feet, eyes glittering black. ‘Don’t you evah, evah speak to me like that again, Savannah Connolly Cooper. Don’t evah let me hear that vile language outta—’

  ‘It’s OK, Cal,’ Sally-Ann said firmly, raising her palm to him and moving to Savannah’s side. She went to put her arm around her.

  ‘Just leave me alone, Mom. I hate the two of you,’ her daughter shouted, pushing her away aggressively before running inside, crying.

  ‘Please don’t divorce, please Mom, please, Daddy,’ Madison implored, ghost white with shock, stunned by her father’s pronouncement and her twin’s hysterical and cuss-laden outburst.

  ‘I’m sorry, darlin’, it’s for the best.’ Sally-Ann was almost in tears herself. Should she have just put up with things, and waited until they were older, to save her daughters from this turmoil? Had she made a huge mistake? She wished now that nothing had been said. The fallout wasn’t worth it.

  Cal was grim faced. ‘Maddy, it won’t make any difference to how I feel about you and your sister. I love you. I always will. We’ll always be a family.’

  ‘No we won’t, Daddy, ’cos you’ll be with that other baby and Mom will be on her own with us so we won’t be a family, so don’t say we will,’ she protested before pulling away from Sally-Ann and following her twin inside.

  ‘That went well,’ Cal shook his head. ‘Did you hear that mouthful out of Savannah? I couldn’t believe my ears. Where did she hear language like that?’

  ‘Oh Cal, get real! All the kids are full of it. Y’all don’t know the half of it. They all know what blowjobs are, and who’s goin’ down on who, and who’s gettin’ licked out, or fingered,’ Sally-Ann said wearily.

  ‘Jesus wept,’ he swore.

  ‘But they’re only thirteen!’

  ‘And?’ she drawled sarcastically. ‘Remember y’all at fourteen and the reputation y’all had for making out behind the Lowells’ hay barn?’

  ‘That was different,’ he growled, horrified that his young daughters knew such things.

  ‘Nothing’s different really. Dianne Bennett got knocked up by Beau Sawyer and she was only thirteen and a half even though she looked about sixteen.’

  ‘Jeez yeah, I remember, she was sent to stay with her aunt over in El Paso.’ Cal shook his head and inhaled deeply.

  Sally-Ann sat back down and took a swig of cold coffee. She was shaking. ‘Let them calm down for a while and absorb it.’ She put her head in her hands, massaging her temple, which was beginning to throb.

  ‘Here, will I make us fresh coffee?’ he asked, desperate to be doing something. Grabbing the coffee percolator he disappeared into the kitchen.

  Sally-Ann sat alone, face raised to the sun. It was done. The words had been said. And everything had changed utterly. Maddy was right, now she was no longer part of a marriage. To all intents and purposes she was a woman on her own.

  The trip to Papa’s on the Lake was cancelled. No one wanted brunch, in fact Sally-Ann wondered if she’d ever want to eat again. The girls packed their bags in stony silence and marched out to Cal’s SUV without a backward glance. Cal and Sally-Ann locked up between them. ‘Say nothing, let them start a conversation if they want to,’ Sally-Ann suggested as Cal double-checked the door to make sure it was locked.

  ‘I need to head down to Galveston this afternoon,’ he said apologetically.

  ‘Thanks,’ she snapped. ‘You fire your ballistic missile and then piss off leaving me to handle the fallout.’

  ‘I’ll be with you for a couple of hours. We’ll be home by one. I’ll stay until around four,’ he offered lamely.

  ‘We’ll see how it goes. You might be better just dropping us off,’ she retorted, walking ahead of him down the steps of the deck.

  ‘Sally-Ann, thanks for your support. I appreciate it.’ He caught her by the arm and turned her to face him. She glanced across at the car where their daughters were watching them from the back seat.

  ‘I’m going to kiss you on the cheek,’ she said. ‘The girls are looking. It might ease their pain if they can see us behaving in an affectionate manner.’

  ‘OK,’ he agreed, bending his head. She kissed his cheek, feeling the hard plane of his jaw against hers and his arms tightened around her and she felt his breath against her ear as his lips touched her skin. She leaned against him for a moment, before taking a deep breath and drawing away.

  ‘OK. Let’s hit the road and see what happens—’

  ‘Sally-Ann, I think I still love—’

  ‘Don’t say it, Cal, don’t dare say that to me,’ Sally-Ann hissed. ‘We are done.’

  She walked down the path ahead of him trying not to show her fury. To bring them to this point and then tell her he thought he still might love her. Was it because it was true, or was it because Lenora was proving to be more of a handful than he’d expected and he wanted out and she and the girls were the perfect excuse for him to back off? No way, she decided. Cal could go to hell in a hand basket. She was finished. From now on it would be all about her and the girls. She climbed into the SUV and turned to her daughters.

  ‘Girls, we’re all in this together as a family. We can sink or swim. It all depends on our attitude. And I don’t know about you but I intend to swim, just letting y’all know.’

  They drove back to Houston in silence, broken only by the sounds of Madison’s quiet sobs as she huddled up in the back seat beside her sister, who was listening to Beyoncé on her iPod.

  ‘Why don’t you just head on down to your baby boy?’ Sally-Ann suggested coolly when they pulled up outside the house an hour later.

  ‘Let me help unpack, and I’ll have a sandwich and I’ll head off. Unless the girls want me to stay for a while.’ He looked over at his shoulder at his daughters.

  Savannah ignored him and jumped out of the car as though he hadn’t spoken.

  ‘I’ll make your sandwich, Daddy,’ Madison gulped, and Sally-Ann saw tears glitter in his eyes and almost cried herself.

  He ate the crab sandwich Madison prepared for him, drank a cup of coffee and stood up. ‘I’ll call tomorrow,’ he said.

  ‘OK, bye. Drive safe.’ She said that for Maddy’s benefit. He could end up in the creek for all she cared right now.

  ‘Bye sweetheart.’ He held out his arms and Madison ran into them and hugged him tightly. ‘Thank you for my sandwich. It was a lifesaver. And it was kind of you to make it because I know you’re upset and a bit mad with me. Call me on my cell if you want to talk,’ he murmured into her ear, squeezing her in a bear hug. ‘Don’t forget I’m your daddy and I love you and I’m always here for you.’

  ‘I love you too, Daddy.’ There was a break in her voice and he could feel her tears against his neck. He hugged her again and drew away. ‘Savannah, I’m going,’ he called up the stairs.

  There was no response. He took the stairs two at a time and knocked on her bedroom door. ‘Please come to the door and talk to me before I leave,’ he said.

  ‘Go away,’ she yelled.

  ‘If you need to talk to me, call me on my cell. I’ll see you later in the week.’ Silence greeted this pronouncement. Sighing, Cal walked down the stairs and glanced at Sally-Ann. She gave a shrug.

  ‘She’ll come around eventually. It may take time, you know what she’s like.’

  ‘OK, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.’ He looked so downbeat, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him and that irritated her again.

  She walked back into the kitchen and heard him open the front door.

  ‘Take care, Maddy, I love you,’ he said and his loyal daughter stood at the door waving, while her mother and twin cried silent tears, and the old grandfather clock in the hall chimed out the hour that Cal Cooper’s life changed irrevocably.

  As the electronic gates opened and he
drove past them, he remembered how he’d felt so tied down and oppressed driving between them morning after morning when the girls were little; and now that the ties that bound him were finally loosened, he realized that right now freedom wasn’t what he wanted at all. Freedom was where he was driving from. Lenora and his new son were at the other end of the journey and if she had her way there’d be no freedom for him in Galveston. He’d set himself a tough row to hoe and he only had himself to blame.

  Lying propped up against her pillows, alone in her marital, king-sized bed, Sally-Ann scrolled through her emails half-heartedly.

  She saw an email that she was cc’d in from Jutta Sauer with details of her monthly inspection of La Joya. The penthouse was currently leased out on a six-month rental until the spring, and all seemed well. The tenant was keeping the property in good shape, reported the German woman.

  A longing to run away to Andalucía, far from the trials ahead, swept over her. She flicked through her computer diary for the following year. The girls were scheduled to spend a week in Disney with their aunt and cousins in early summer. She was going to book La Joya for herself for that week, come hell or high water, she decided. A glint lit up her eyes. She’d book a meeting with her sexy banker too. Knowing that she had a week in paradise to look forward to would keep her afloat in the choppy seas ahead.

  The sound of sobbing caught at her heart and she flung back the comforter to hurry to Maddy’s room.

  ‘Don’t cry, sweetie,’ she urged. ‘Everything will be OK, honestly.’ She sat on the side of the bed rubbing Madison’s hunched-up form under the bedclothes. A movement at the door caught her eye.

  ‘Is Maddy OK?’ Savannah looked young and vulnerable with her hair tossed over her shoulders, all traces of the sullen teenager evaporated in drowsy weariness.

  ‘She’s sad, like we all are, darlin’. Why don’t I make us all some hot chocolate and we’ll all have it in my bed and sleep there tonight?’ she suggested.

  ‘Thanks, Mom,’ hiccupped Maddy, emerging from under her covers.

  ‘And you know what, let’s bunk off work and school tomorrow and have a girls’ movie day in our PJs. It’s gonna be raining, first time in weeks. Perfect for a bunker-in day.’ Sally-Ann linked her two daughters to walk across the landing to her bedroom.

  ‘Can we have hot dogs and popcorn?’ Savannah enquired, always one to wring every advantage from a situation.

  ‘Sure, sweetie,’ Sally-Ann agreed, trying to banish the thought that she was a bad mother for allowing her kids to skip school and comfort-eat junk food as an antidote to life’s hardships. She’d need to watch out for the comfort eating jag, otherwise she’d waddle over to Europe and no man, let alone her sexy banker would find her attractive and she’d be alone for the rest of her life. On that gloomy note, Sally-Ann tucked her daughters into her bed and went downstairs to make hot chocolate.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ANNA / AUSTEN

  ‘Look, Dad, if you and Mum are giving us money as a gift, we should be able to spend it as we wish!’ Chloe MacDonald said heatedly, glaring at her father over the rim of her coffee mug.

  ‘Twenty-five thousand euros is a lot of hard-earned money, Chloe; I don’t want to see it all wasted on one day—’

  ‘It’s our wedding day!’ Chloe shouted, green eyes flashing with indignation.

  ‘I know that, madam. No need to shout. I’m just saying the wedding day is only one day in a lifetime of marriage. After that, real life begins and it’s good to have some sort of safety net beneath you, if you get a chance of it, instead of frittering it all away on a day out to impress your friends.’

  ‘I’m not trying to impress my friends, Dad. This is going to be the most important day of my life. I want it to be really special and you’re ruining it already,’ Chloe raged, marching out of the kitchen in high dudgeon.

  ‘For crying out loud, that one is beyond reasoning with,’ Austen exploded.

  ‘Austen, will you calm down, you’re going at this like a bull in a china shop,’ Anna said wearily.

  ‘If our parents had given us that amount of money we’d have been able to buy two friggin’ houses.’

  ‘It’s all relative—’

  ‘Relative my arse, Anna. Ten thousand of that at least should go towards putting a deposit on a house.’

  ‘Don’t be rude; I was just pointing out that when we got married the amount our parents gave us would be the equivalent in today’s money, so don’t make comparisons because it’s meaningless and getting us nowhere.’

  ‘But Anna, she’s spending crazy money on nonsense.’ Her husband couldn’t hide his irritation. ‘How can you spend three thousand euros on a dress you’re only going to wear once? And why does she need four bridesmaids?’

  ‘I know,’ Anna sighed. ‘I’ve tried to point all of this out to her – in a diplomatic way,’ she added pointedly. ‘She’s set on having a big wedding and there’s no getting around it.’

  ‘Right then, if that’s what she wants let her do what she wants, but she needn’t come running to me when things get tight. If she wants to fritter away the money we gave her fine, she won’t be getting any more—’

  ‘OK, give it a rest, I’ve heard it all before.’ Anna stood up from the table and took the cups over to the sink. She felt like crying. If it was like this now, what was it going to be like in the weeks leading up to the wedding?

  ‘Will we nip over to Spain for a couple of days and spend some of their inheritance?’ Austen came over to her and put his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest, loving the sound of his steady heartbeat at her ear. Austen was so solid – in every way – she’d always felt the worries of the world drift away when she was in the circle of his arms.

  ‘That sounds like heaven,’ she murmured, ‘but it’s only six weeks to Christmas and I’ve nothing done—’

  ‘We could do our Christmas shopping in the market—’

  ‘Ha, you mean I could do our Christmas shopping in the market while you play golf!’

  ‘Well let’s not quibble about minor considerations,’ he teased. ‘Will I go online and book us a flight and let’s just take off? That’s one of the reasons we bought the apartment . . . to be spontaneous!’ He grinned at her, his eyes glinting in challenge and amusement.

  ‘OK then,’ Anna agreed impulsively. ‘Let’s be “spontaneous” for once in our lives.’

  ‘That’s my girl.’ Austen’s eyes lit up and he headed for the computer to make the bookings.

  ‘You’re going to Spain again!’ Chloe exclaimed later that evening, while she pressed her VB jeans to go out on the town with her fiancé. ‘When are we going to sit down and do the guest list, and you said you’d get your friend to make the cake, have you organized that yet? And you said you’d sort the flowers. We need to get going on stuff, Mum. I want those little mini trees at the entrance and a red carpet, I really think I should hire a wedding planner.’

  ‘And how much will that cost?’ Anna said drily. ‘I’ve spoken to Aideen about the cake—’

  ‘Five tiers including red velvet and biscuit cake layers,’ demanded her daughter.

  ‘Yes. And Malone’s will—’

  ‘Malone’s! They’re so old fashioned. I want a florist with a cutting edge and something out of the ordinary!’ exclaimed Chloe.

  ‘Chloe, will you listen to yourself. I suppose you’ll be telling me next you want Hello! or VIP to cover it. Your dad is right about frittering away money. You’ll be in the church for an hour and a half max – the most you’ve ever spent in it in years,’ she added drily. ‘And what will you do with your cutting-edge flower arrangements then? They’ll wilt and be thrown out and that’s hundreds of euros down the tube. Be sensible about some of it, love,’ Anna urged.

  ‘But Mum, I want something different. I don’t want boring old flower arrangements, I want the ooohhh factor,’ Chloe said earnestly.

  ‘I understand that,’ Anna tried not to show her exasperation. ‘But think
of all the lovely things you could buy for the house—’

  ‘We’ll get all that on the wedding list,’ Chloe dismissed that notion airily. ‘Look, you know all the weddings we’ve been to and they’re all very samey; Will and I don’t want that and you and Dad are being wet blankets and making us feel bad.’

  ‘Well that’s the last thing we want to do, Chloe, but we’re just trying to point out that twenty-five thousand euros is a huge amount of money and it shouldn’t all go on one day,’ Anna said firmly. ‘It’s far from cutting-edge florists you were reared, don’t forget that, and there’s more to marriage than the wedding day.’

  ‘Yeah well it’s far from pads in Spain you and Dad were reared and look at you hopping back and forth there,’ Chloe said sulkily.

  ‘True,’ Anna said calmly. ‘The difference is your dad and I worked our asses off for that luxury – and investment, I may add – in our retirement years. Which, I might also point out, will be part of your fairly substantial inheritance – unless we blow every penny, and believe me we’re very tempted to. If you and Will can do as well as your dad and I have done for ourselves and our family you will be doing very well indeed,’ Anna snapped, furious at her daughter’s selfish attitude.

  ‘I suppose,’ her daughter grudgingly admitted. ‘Can we please just stop talking about it now because it’s depressing me and taking all the good out of my plans.’

  Anna looked at her daughter’s dejected expression and wondered where had she gone wrong in rearing her. Such a sense of entitlement, and not just her; it was endemic with her daughter’s generation. Chloe was indeed a child of the Celtic Tiger era and lack or prudence was not in her vocabulary. All she and most of her generation had known was the privilege of affluence. She would never understand where her parents were coming from, and Anna didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.

  ‘I just don’t get it, Will, Mum and Dad are supposed to be paying for the wedding and now they’re banging on about not spending all of the money they’re giving us on it. I mean we’ll be buying a house, ourselves. We’ll get our own mortgage without having to ask them for anything, so what’s the big deal about spending the dosh on our wedding?’ Chloe moaned, nibbling on the strawberry that garnished her daiquiri. They were having cocktails in the Clarence before meeting up with a few friends for a meal later on. ‘Don’t they realize that you won’t get a decent wedding for anything less?’