Truth (66 page)

Claire compliantly stayed within the grip of
the sleek bucket seat, struggling to quell her growing anxiety,
until Tony parked the LFA and chivalrously came around to open her
door. Upon seeing her expression, Tony whispered, “I’m not leading
you into the den of lions.”

“
No, you’ve already done
that.”

His polished expression wavered, “This time,
I won’t leave you. I’ll stay by your side. You won’t be alone.”

His valiant tone strengthened her. Nodding,
Claire grasped his extended hand. Being alone was always her
greatest fear. As their fingers intertwined she realized she wanted
his support and presence. Walking toward the house, Tony leaned
down, “I’d hoped seeing everyone here first would be easier than
seeing them for the first time in a crowd.”

“
It probably will be;
nevertheless, I think I’m going to be ill.”

He stopped their forward movement and
assessed the woman before him. “Your color looks good. You look
amazing. I promise,” he squeezed her hand, “I’m right here.” His
grin broadened, “A man of my word.”

She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Thank
you.”

Before they could push the door bell, Tim
opened the wooden barrier. With Sue by his side, he politely
offered, “Welcome to our home. Tony, Claire,” he nodded with a
smile.

“
Please come in,” Sue
added. She motioned toward the large sitting room full of familiar
faces. Feeling the cool insincerity, Claire secured her mask and
clung tighter to Tony.

Silence prevailed as Tom,
Bev, Brent, Courtney, Mary Ann, and Eli turned and watched Tony and
Claire enter with Tim and Sue. Courtney was the first to move.
Without speaking she sat her wine glass on the large square table
before the sofa. Ignoring Tony, Courtney approached Claire, her
blue eyes glistening with tears. It wasn’t as dramatic as their
reunion in Texas, but Courtney’s embrace squeezed the air from
Claire’s lungs. Helpless, Tony released Claire’s hand as the two
women clung to one another weeping. Courtney whispered in Claire’s
ear.
Could others hear?
They didn’t know.

“
I’m so sorry; I’m so
sorry.”

Claire nodded, swallowing her sobs. This
wasn’t an act. It was the reunion of two friends. The ice was
broken, another release. Eventually the rest of the room began to
talk. Sue, Bev, and Mary Ann led the women to the kitchen. Dabbing
their eyes, all the women gave Claire the support she’d feared
Tony’s friends would withhold. Everyone claimed to have doubted
Claire’s guilt. They all apologized for not being more supportive.
Claire knew the man in the other room was the reason for their
disobliging behavior. Nonetheless, she bashfully accepted their
belated validation.

When they returned to the living room,
Claire devotedly sat beside her ex-husband. His expression
displayed genuine pleasure with the ladies’ response. When he
reached for Claire’s hand and gently brushed her knuckles with his
thumb, their faces bowed toward one another and their noses
touched. The light contact provoked an approving smile from her
lips.

Their Oscar worthy performance was
outstanding, possibly under serious consideration for nomination.
Throughout the entire evening Tony was Claire’s anchor. By the time
dinner was complete, even Claire believed the words coming from her
mouth.

With Tony engrossed in
conversation in the living room, Claire made her way to the
kitchen. She’d spent the evening nursing a glass of wine, for
appearances; however, water seemed to be the only liquid capable of
quenching her ever present thirst. Leaving the others behind,
Claire wondered,
is thirst another symptom
of pregnancy?
She stood at the sink,
filling her goblet when Brent approached and nonchalantly
whispered, “Did you get my message?”

Claire looked nervously
toward the other room, “No, I left
that
phone in
California.”

He continued, “I saw some paperwork on a
recent Rawlings hire. The man’s name caught my attention.” Claire
looked questionably at him. Brent whispered. “Burke.”

Her mind twirled; there were so many things
going through it. She tried to make a connection. “I’m sorry,
should I know that name?”

Brent glanced to the other room to see
everyone still talking. “Jonathon Burke worked with your
grandfather...”

Claire’s eyes opened wide, “Yes, the
securities officer.”

Brent nodded and
whispered, “I understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. But
please remember who you’re dealing with
and
be careful.”

Ignoring his warning, Claire asked, “Is
there a connection between the Rawlings employee and Jonathon?”

“
I haven’t had the chance
to follow through, but I will.”

“
Oh, there you are...”
Courtney came loudly into the kitchen with Tony close behind.
Claire finished putting ice in her water glass, grinned, and walked
toward Tony.

“
What are you two in here
talking about?” Tony asked. Claire heard his question, but at the
same time her mind tried to process the new information. Are other
people suffering because of Nathaniel and Tony’s
vendetta?

“
Monterey,” Brent said.
Claire pushed her new concern away and turned toward Brent with a
grin. Brent continued, “Yes, Courtney and I’ve been there a few
times and really enjoyed it. I wondered, with Claire living in Palo
Alto if she’d been.”

Claire interjected as she smiled toward
Tony, “I was telling him the only time I’d been there -- was with
you.”

Tony placed his arm around her back. “We did
go there, didn’t we?”

Courtney said, “I hate to leave this
get-together, but we have a lot to do before the rehearsal and
dessert celebration.” She addressed Tony and Claire, “You two will
be there, won’t you?”

Unsure of their plans,
Claire looked to Tony. He replied, “Of course, we will. That’s why
we met tonight. I hoped Claire’s reintroductions would be easier if
she could meet first with friends. Hopefully this will allow her
additional support with increased people.” His arm gently squeezed
his ex-wife to his side. She smiled appropriately to
his
friends.

“
Well, you have ours. Oh,
Claire,” Courtney asked, “Could I have your cellphone number? I’d
love to talk more after the wedding.”

A flashback of a similar situation years
earlier entered Claire’s thoughts. Before she could answer, Tony
responded. “Courtney, I’ll give her your number tonight. She can
call or text, and then you will have each other’s number.”

The women nodded. “We will
do that.” Claire said with a smile.
Maybe
things do change,
she pondered.

“
Now if you’ll excuse us,
we need to say our good-byes,” Brent offered as they turned to
leave.

Tony stopped them. “Wait, we should probably
go, too. Claire’s had a pretty emotionally packed day. Besides, I
believe the four of us need to speak privately. Perhaps, out by the
cars?”

Claire’s insides suddenly twisted. She
refused to look toward the Simmons; what could he want to discuss
privately? Did he know about their clandestine relationship and
support?

“
All right,” Courtney
managed, “But we do have a lot to do.” Her tone sounded as if she
were agitated by the delay; however, Claire knew the same concerned
inflections would be present if she spoke. So she
didn’t.

Tony thanked Tim and Sue for hosting the
dinner and the four of them said goodbye to the others. However,
before they could leave Sue and asked, “Could you please wait just
a minute?” Without waiting for an answer she hurried away toward
the stairs.

Courtney seized Claire’s hand. “I think
she’s going to get Sean. He’s upstairs with the nanny.”

A lump developed in Claire’s throat,
recognizing Sue’s ultimate gesture of acceptance. Through pleading
eyes she looked to Tony, silently conveying her desire to stay and
see Tim and Sue’s son. He shrugged. Claire turned back to Courtney,
“Can you stay for a few more minutes. I know you have a lot to do,
and Tony wants to talk...”

“
Oh, I always have time
for babies. Wait until you see him.” Turning to Brent she asked
expectantly, “How long do you think it will be until Caleb and
Julia make us grandparents?”

“
I’m not old enough to be
a grandparent.”

Courtney laughed, “You
are, and so am I. But
I
don’t look like it!”

“
No you don’t.” They all
lightheartedly agreed.

Moments later, Sue appeared with a pajama
clad, very blonde, little boy in her arms. He alternated nestling
into his mother’s shoulder and peering at the people around him
while all the while, his little arms wrapped tightly around Sue’s
neck.

“
Claire, I wanted you to
meet Sean. I’m sorry. This is past his bedtime and the poor little
guy is getting tired.”

Claire’s heart melted, “Hello, Little Guy,
it is nice to meet you.” She looked at his small frame, calculated
Sean’s age and asked, “He is what, about fifteen months?”

“
Almost,” Sue smiled.
“He’s so much fun, getting into everything and learning new words
every day.”

Tim approached the group; Sean held out his
arms. Tim lovingly swung his son into his embrace and added,
“Believe me; it makes you think about every word, when little ears
are listening.”

The attention made Sean awaken. He smiled
mischievously at the Simmons, Tony, and Claire, while
intermittently hiding his face in Tim’s shoulder.

“
Thank you.” Tears
teetered on Claire’s lids as she reached out tussling Sean’s soft
curly hair. “I think you might have some difficulty getting him
back to sleep.”

Everyone scoffed jokingly and said
goodbye.

Tony and Claire followed the Simmons’ out to
the cars. Stepping away from the brightly lit home, Claire noticed
the black velvet sky sprinkled with millions of stars, exactly as
she’d remembered. Pulling her attentions away from the beautiful
sky, Claire braced herself as Tony began to speak addressing all
three of them.

“
I am doing my best to be
honest with Claire. And I expect the same from her.” Swallowing,
she attempted an innocent expression as he looked down at her and
continued, “That is why I thought we should get this out in the
open.”

There are two mistakes one
can make along the road to truth...
not going all the way, and not starting.
- Buddha

Chapter
44

“
Tony, I think the
Simmons’ need to...”

Tony interrupted Claire’s attempt to avoid
this discussion. “This won’t take long.” He turned to Brent. “I’ve
trusted Brent with many things through the years.” Claire saw
Brent’s stance stiffen. Were they all about to be reprimanded? Tony
went on, “That’s why I wanted him to be the one to tell you about
his progress regarding your brother-in-law.”

Brent visibly exhaled. Apparently, Claire
hadn’t been the only one holding her breath. “Yes,” Brent said,
looking at Claire as relief shone from his tired eyes. “Well, it
seems some new information has come to the attention of the New
York State Bar Association. This hasn’t been released to anyone,
not even John. If my informant is correct, this new information
will cause his case to come up for review soon. We are hoping the
review will result in the reinstatement of his law license.”

Claire sprung skyward and clasped her hands
with the news. “Oh, thank you.” The tears teetering in the house
now spilled onto her cheeks. “Thank you, Brent. Thank you, Tony. I
won’t say a word. When will you know if it will be up for
review?”

Brent answered, “It’ll take a few months. I
should be kept apprised of updates.”

Tony offered his hand to Brent, “Thank you,”
he shook Brent’s hand. “I apologize for delaying your departure,
but I wanted Claire to hear it from you.”

Courtney’s relief made her giddy, “That’s
all right. However, now we need to go. I’m so glad this was good
news.” Reaching out for Claire’s hand, “Now you need some rest.
Tony’s right, you’ve had too many things thrown at you. Look how
emotional you are.”

Claire nodded and managed, “We’ll see you
tomorrow night. And, I’ll call.” The words spoken out loud felt
liberating.

Tony grasped Claire’s hand, and they walked
back to the silver Batmobile. As he opened her door, he bent down
and whispered, “A man of my word.”

She smiled all the way to her emerald eyes
and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, I really mean that.”

The country roads wound like a ribbon before
them. Claire closed her eyes and tried to comprehend the evening.
There were so many things to think about. Yet, the only vision
which managed to find its way to her consciousness was Sean, the
way his pudgy little arms encircled Sue’s neck, his giggle as Tim
propelled him in the air, and his security at landing on Tim’s
strong stable shoulder. Would their child ever have that? Would
Claire’s baby have a father willing to embrace him
unconditionally?

Tony’s squeeze of Claire’s knee brought her
back to the present. She focused on his words, part of a statement
already in progress. “... it takes longer than you would expect.
But, Brent thinks it can be resolved before the end of the
year.”

Claire turned, “That’s a long time away. How
long did it take to set him up?”