Break In Two (33 page)

London – Present Day

Ted arrived at their townhouse thirty minutes after Janet had texted him. He had been teaching music at a secondary school nearby. He had just wrapped up his last lesson for the day when the text arrived.

He saw Claire sitting on their front step, now wrapped in a blanket over her clothes, singing softly to herself what sounded like Maroon 5. Her eyes were closed and she was swaying back and forth, "In the daylight, I'll be all alone, but tonight I'm gonna hold you so close..."

"I had no idea you could sing, Claire. Those aren't the words but, you have the tune anyway," Ted said, smiling at her.

Ted was tall and wiry with long blonde hair pulled back in a low pony tail. He had on a dark grey wool coat with a purple, black and white striped scarf tucked in and black dress slacks.

"Teddy!!!! Theodore!!!" Claire screamed, "My favourite broooothhherrr!! Come here you," she slurred, pointing at him with her last bottle of beer, causing some of the liquid to spill on her shoes.

Ted climbed the steps two at a time and gave Claire a big hug as she teetered on the top step, "Well, this is a surprise, Claire. How are you?"

"Teeerific. Never better!" she said as he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

Claire slung her purse over her shoulder, picked up the nearest box and carried it into the house. "Oh shit - I forgot... Surprise! I'm here!" she giggled.

"Why don't you go sit down, I'll bring your things in for you."

"Sure, my balance is a bit off - I haven't got my land legs yet."

"I thought that was only from a long time at sea."

"Right. Then it must be because I am hammered," she was talking in a loud voice and over-pronouncing each word as she flopped onto the couch.

She sat humming to herself as Ted brought all of her luggage and boxes and placed them down in the front hall. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Janet, "
Claire is her and is wasted. From the amount of luggage, it looks like she's planning on staying
."

By the time Janet got home, Claire had managed to drink a good portion of her gift to Ted. She got up when she saw her big sister come through the front door and stumbled over to her.

"Janet!!! Surprise!!!" She then turned back to Ted, "I remembered to say it that time," she said in a stage whisper, winking at him and giggling to herself as though she was a genius.

Ted and Janet exchanged stunned glances. Janet had only seen Claire this drunk once in her life, during her senior prom. She had managed to down a ri
diculous amount of rum and coke before she got to the dance and partied hard for about thirty minutes before spending the next twelve hours vomiting.

After giving Claire a long hug, Janet walked over to the kitchen and retrieved a cleaning bucket from under the sink, bringing it into the living room.

Claire watched her and shook her head and her finger at her, "Oh no. You think I'm going to puke, but I'm not. I'm fine, sista! Just a little 'welcome to my new life' party I'm having. You two are invited...." her voice trailed off as she stumbled over to the kitchen in search of two more glasses. Janet and Ted followed her.

"Claire, honey, what's going on?" Janet asked finally.

"Nothing, I just can't remember where you keep the ice. I wanna make you a nice drinkaroo for celebating...brating... celebrating.... the freezer! Same as in America!" she said, tapping her head and nodding.

"...Oh! you meant why I am in England! I had to get away from Gabriela. Did you know Cole has a son? Weird right?" she said, opening random drawers.

"He has a son named Gabriela?" Ted asked.

"No, silly. That's his ex. Do you have a lemon zester? I want to make you a Cuban - mmmmmmmm, Cubans..." she said, walking over to the liquor cabinet and rooting around for some peach schnapps and gin.

"...So you want to know why I'm here and I'm gonna go ahead and Dr. Phil it for you..." she paused, trying to remember what she was looking for.

Ted gave Janet a confused look, "Dr. Phil it?"

"She's gonna tell it like it is," Janet said quietly to him.

Claire looked up at them, "I'm gonna make you supper tonight. Something delishish...delisus - shit - something yummy. It's the least I can do since you are letting me stay here for a while."

Claire paused, "Thanks for that by the way," she said winking at them and making guns out of her fingers and thumbs and pointing at them. "Now, I was going to tell you something. Why I'm here...I flew here to get away from Mr. Perfect and his adorable baby and his sexy Brazilian ex-lover."

Claire took on a horrible imitation of a Brazilian accent, "Meu amor, here iz your baby. Doesn't he look just like you? And my body iz exactly as amazing as before. I can resume my career as a swimsuit model, escept I don't need to work cuz I'm really reech."

Ted and Janet stood staring at her with their mouths gaping.

"You prolly think I'm bitter, but I'm not. Lemons are bitter though and I need one for our drinks..."

"Ummm, Lemons are actually sour..." Ted started, holding up one finger to Claire.

Janet put his hand down, "Nope. No point, babe."

Claire rambled on, not noticing them. "I can't believe it's taking me so long to make these Cubans. Ridiculous. How are you guys doing? I haven't even asked you yet. Rude Claire, just rude."

"Fine. We're doing fine," Janet said, nodding her head.

"Good. Good. You know what? Fuck it. Let's just go out and I'll buy you dinner. Quite honestly, I don't think I should operate the stove right now."

Claire closed her eyes and pointed one finger up in the air, "I'm just gonna say one more thing about Cole and then I won't ever mention him again, okay?"

With that she turned her head and vomited in the sink.

*              *              *

The next afternoon Claire woke up in the spare bedroom laying on the top of the bed, rather than in it. She was still wearing the clothes she dressed in almost two days earlier, except now they reeked of vomit, booze and body odour. The smell caused her to gag as she sat up. She had spent most of the night in the bathroom, either with her head in the toilet or laying with her face pressed against the cold tile. Now she felt like someone had driven an axe into her skull and her abdominal muscles quivered as she stood up. Her throat burned and her mouth tasted like something had died in it.

"Fucking hell," she mumbled as she opened the door to the hallway allowing the light to come in. She looked ahead to the embarrassment she would feel as soon as she stopped feeling so ill. It wasn't going to be pretty. She wandered down to the kitchen, where she found Ted and Janet having a late lunch.

"She lives!" Ted said, grinning at her.

Claire gave him a deadpan look, "Barely," she croaked.

"Mimosa? A little hair of the dog might do the trick," he said.

Claire gagged and turned back down the hallway, "Shower. Must shower."

Over the following week, Claire spent most of the day sleeping. She would come out of her room in the late afternoon to cook for Janet and Ted. She drank glasses of wine back to back and barely ate more than a few bites at each meal. At night, she would lay awake crying or staring into space, restlessly.

Janet hadn't brought up Cole, waiting for Claire to be ready to talk. She watched her sister with concern; by the time Janet arrived home each evening
, she found her sister already three sheets to the wind. She could see Claire spiralling down at a furious pace, almost as if she was
wishing
to self-destruct.

On Friday night, Ted had a gig. He left earlier to get set up, allowing Janet and Claire to have some time alone for the first time since she got to London. Claire had been feigning enthusiasm about getting out for the evening, but it was obvious that her heart wasn't in it. As the two got ready in Janet's large bathroom, Janet decided to approach the subject that was so clearly being avoided.

"So Claire, when do you think you'll be ready to talk about what happened?"

Claire looked down at her makeup bag, rooting around for her mascara, "Never."

"Okay. I want you to know that I'm here if you want to talk. I'm worried about you, sweetie. I've never seen you drink like this and you don't eat. Ted said you haven't gotten up before two in the afternoon all week and you somehow manage to be drunk by the time I get home."

"It's fine. I just can't sleep at night right now. I think it's the time difference. I'll get it together though," Claire still hadn't looked at Janet, who was staring at her.

"You know you don't have to handle this all on your own. Ted and I are both here for you. We love you so much and you know you can always talk to either of us. It might help to get it off your chest."

Claire's shoulders drooped suddenly as she dropped her eyelash curler on the counter, tears pouring down her cheeks. She sobbed into her hands as Janet wrapped her arms around her, letting her cry into her neck. After a few minutes, Janet led her over to a love seat in her bedroom. She helped Claire sit down, still holding her as she cried. Claire let tears of humiliation and anger pour out of her as she started talking, spilling the entire horrible story. Janet listened without saying much.

"Shit. Now I've made us miss Ted's gig," Claire said, blowing her nose.

"They have another gig tomorrow," Janet said with a shrug.

Claire nodded, "Thank you. I needed that."

"I know. I'm so sorry you've had such shit luck with men, Claire. Seriously, this is just fucking awful."

"I know, right? It's just so shitty. We were perfect together and now I don't know what it will take to get over him. I don't know how to do this," Claire sighed heavily.

"I don't know either, sweetie. I wish I knew what to tell you."

"You know something weird? I met this French guy on the plane over here who said to give myself two weeks to get over him and then to seek every pleasure life has to offer. Lots of sex with lots of people, food, booze, dancing, whatever."

Janet considered the notion, "Maybe he's right. Hanging around here won't help. Whatever you do, you need to start eating more and drinking less."

"I will. I just don't have an appetite these days."

"Well for tonight, why don't I make a huge bowl of buttery popcorn and we could snuggle up and watch a movie."

Claire nodded, "Sounds good."

*              *              *

Colorado

It was mid-afternoon as Cole sat in his office waiting for the day to be over. He stared out at the window, watching the snow fall in swirls, wondering where Claire was at that moment and what she was doing. His chest felt the crushing weight of his anguish every time he thought of her. He had never in his life felt this type of pain before; it was nothing like when Gabriela had gone back to Brazil. That time he was hurt but also a part of him took comfort in the fact that they weren't really right for each other. Other than in bed, they had little in common. This time, there wasn't even a hint of relief for Cole, knowing that Claire was out of his life for good. He felt somewhat less worried that he would lose Tomas, but other than that, he felt an overwhelming sense of grief
.

Gabriela, meanwhile, had been struggling to contain her pleasure. Her smile was a bit wider, she wore more perfume, a bit more makeup and her clothes seemed to get tighter and more low cut as they days wore on. She knew it would only be a matter of time before she was back in his bed for good. She had to be patient and show due respect for him losing Claire but she would be ready for him when he finally returned to her. That evening, when Cole went over to give Tomas his bath and bottle before bed, Gabriela answered the door in a tight red tank top and black yoga pants, the combination showing off her curves perfectly.

"Cole," she purred, as she opened the door, "You look tired. Come in and sit down. I made some seafood jambalaya, I remembered it was your favourite. Tomas had a long nap, so he's not ready for bed just yet."

"Oh," Cole said, taking off his boots and coat, "That sounds nice, thank you."

Tomas was sitting in his exersaucer with a huge grin for Cole. He cooed and laughed when Cole walked over and crouched down to see him.

"You're still wide awake, buddy? How's my boy?" he asked picking him up in he air and blowing a raspberry on his chubby little neck. Tomas squealed with laughter and grabbed Cole's nose. Cole played with him and chatted happily for a few minutes before sitting down at the table in front of a bowl of soup. Gabriela poured two glasses of wine and brought over a basket of buns.

Tomas sat contentedly on Cole's lap, playing with a napkin as Cole picked up his spoon and started eating. Gabriela beamed, watching the domestic scene unfold in front of her.

"This is delicious. Thank you for inviting me, Gabby," he said having a sip of wine.

"You don't need an invitation. You are welcome here anytime, Cole, day or night," Gabriela said, her eyes locked on his. Her meaning was unmistakable.

Cole looked quickly back down at his soup, feeling somehow trapped. Gabriela took no notice and continued to chat as they ate. She told Cole about some of the cute and funny things that Tomas had been doing lately and she asked Cole about how the ranch was doing. Cole didn't say too much about it, just enough not to be rude but not enough to bore her. Gabriela somehow managed to eat her entire meal without smudging her lipstick. When they were finished eating, Cole stood up with Tomas in one arm and cleared his plate and wine glass with his other hand.

"Well, I should get this little guy in the bath," he said walking out of the kitchen, "Thank you for dinner."

Gabriela watched him walk into the bathroom, feeling rather satisfied with herself. It was their first real meal as a family and in her mind it had gone very well. She hadn't been positive that he would even accept her invitation to dinner, but he had. She had managed to remind Cole that Claire wasn't the only one who could cook and soon she would remind him of all the other things she could do.

She quickly tidied up the kitchen and warmed up Tomas's bottle. Bringing it to Tomas's bedroom, she leaned against the door watching Cole attempt to get their baby into his sleeper, while Tomas squirmed around.

"He's always on the go, isn't he?" she said.

Cole looked up at her, "That's for sure. I don't know how you keep up with him all day."

"He keeps me in good shape. Better than the gym!" she laughed. "You are really amazing with him. Such a natural at being a dad."

"Well, I guess we're figuring it out as we go," Cole said, snapping up the final snap. He picked Tomas up off the change table and rubbed his nose to his son's, "Isn't that right, buddy? We're figuring it all out."

He walked over and took the bottle from Gabriela and sat down in the rocking chair. Gabriela grabbed a receiving blanket and brought it over to Cole, letting her fingers linger on his hand as she passed it to him. She leaned down to give Tomas a big kiss, knowing that Cole would get a nice view of her cleavage and lacy black bra if he bothered to look.

"
Boa noite, meu amor
" she whispered to Tomas as she rubbed his little forehead with her hand. She glanced at Cole to see if he was looking at her chest and was disappointed to see that he was staring at Tomas instead. She walked out of the room, flicking her long, straight hair behind her as she went.

When Cole left Tomas a little while later, Gabriela was sitting on the couch with her legs curled under her. She had two glasses of wine on the coffee table in front of her and the lights were low.

She patted the seat next to her, "Come and sit a while. Have a drink with me."

Cole walked over and sat down. He wanted to talk about the next steps in him gaining parental rights and getting Tomas his American citizenship. Gabriela reached down to the coffee table with both hands, picking up the glasses. She handed him his wine and took a sip of hers.

"Thank you for putting him to bed again. He gets so excited to see you. I think he gets bored of being with just his dull old mom all day."

Cole ignored her obvious attempt for a compliment, "It's what I want to do, Gabriela, he is my son and I want to take care of him."

"And you do it so well," she gazed into his eyes, "Cole, I know this has been such a difficult time for you. You must be so lonely now and I want you to know I'm here for you. If you need to talk or anything..." she traced his shoulder with her fingertip.

Cole swallowed the wine in his mouth and shifted a little away from her on the couch. "You know, I bet you could use a break. Maybe one night soon, Tomas could stay at my place for a night or the weekend so you could go out or get some sleep or whatever."

"I'd love that! How thoughtful of you!"

"Do you think he'd be okay without you for a night?"

"I'm sure he'd be just fine with you."

"Okay, great. Just tell me when and we'll set it up," he drained the rest of his wine and stood up, deciding that leaving was the safest choice for that night. "I should go. I need to get some sleep. Thanks again for supper."

Gabriela sat on the couch pouting for a long time after he left. Part of her thought she could get him into bed that night. She wasn't used to having to work so hard for a man's attention, certainly not for Cole's. After a while, she realized that she could use the sleepover to her advantage. She sent Cole a text later that evening, "
Maybe Tomas can stay at your place next Saturday afternoon and night? I could use some time to go shopping
."

"
Sounds great - I'm free
."

Cole felt a hint of contentment; having Tomas there would be the best way to distract himself from how miserable he was. He sat on the couch with Otis asleep on his feet. Sports highlights were on but he hadn't really taken any of it in. He wished it was warmer out so he could go swimming to help alleviate the restlessness he was feeling. Picking up his cell phone, he checked for a message from Claire, but nothing had come. He scrolled through his phone so he could look at pictures he had taken of her. Seeing her image was like torture for him and yet he couldn't stop himself. He needed to see her beautiful face. He came to the picture she had sent him from the dressing room at Victoria's Secret. He could feel himself getting hard, as he stared at in her in the blue frilly lingerie. He could remember the feel of it under his fingertips the first time she wore it for him, how they had made love late into the night.

He regretted promising not to contact her. He would never break his word no matter how badly he yearned to hear her voice. She was the only one who could comfort him right now, but he had to do without that and he knew it. He had to let her forget. Shutting off the TV, he wandered restlessly around his cabin, finally going to bed.

When he turned the light off, he laid his head down on Claire's pillow like he did every night since she left. It still smelled like her. He knew he should stop this but he just couldn't bring himself to wash her pillow case yet. He lay awake, hoping to dream of her so he could feel happy for a while, even if it was when he was asleep.