Page 14 of Shining Pearls
Josie
Icouldn’t tell if Aunt Mimi was trying to make me jealous, or if she was just being a busybody, but she couldn’t seem to stop gushing about Molly Malone. “I heard that Dean just had his third date with that lovely doll, Molly. They were spotted holding hands as they walked right through the middle of town on Blueberry Cove Street. I think things might quickly turn serious between the two of them, since they’re being so open about their relationship.”
“I’ll alert the news outlets.” I hated my new sarcastic streak that kept rearing its ugly head, but I couldn’t seem to control it.
I was up and had brushed my teeth. I had officially resumed my regular work schedule. That was as close as I could get to being a useful and productive human for now. Being pleasant was too much of a stretch when all I truly wanted was to go back to bed and sleep for a few weeks or months.
I’d finally given in to my aunt’s incessant requests and gone to the doctor. She had told me what I already knew. I was pregnant. The little nugget growing inside of me was the only reason I was able to drag myself out of bed. I needed to stay healthy for my baby.
For now, the only people who knew about the baby were Aunt Mimi, Dean, and my doctor. Alex had been through enough emotional turmoil over the past couple of weeks. He didn’t need the added burden just yet of knowing his mistress was pregnant.
Of course, in a town as small as Brunswick Bay Harbor, it couldn’t remain a secret forever, but I wanted to give him some time to fully enjoy his wife’s return before hearing the news that would burst their happy little bubble.
This certainly wasn’t the way I would have hoped things would work out for any of us, but it was the hand we had all been dealt, so we would have to try to make the best of it.
In the shower, I looked down at my stomach. I was already starting to get a bit of a baby bump. It wasn’t anything that couldn’t be explained away as an overindulgence in chips and guacamole, but it was quickly going to become an issue. It wasn’t like I could easily camouflage my expanding belly with bulky sweatshirts, since my job as a trainer at the pool required me to wear an unforgiving bathing suit.
With the way gossip spread like wildfire in this town, I needed to get ahead of the story. The rumor mill would start churning soon and cast me as a homewrecker, if I didn’t do something to control the message. I just needed a little more time before my pregnancy became public knowledge. Sighing and turning off the warm spray from the massaging shower head Dean had installed for me, I decided that soon I would need to give Alex a heads-up about the firestorm that was heading his way.
After I dried off, I pulled up my racer-back Speedo and realized the stretchy fabric was already almost at capacity. I’d have to go online after work to find some more forgiving bathing suits.
It’s not like I could easily find a job outside of the pool until after the baby was born. My short, but disastrous, stint as a waitress at the diner had proven I wasn’t cut out for that line of work. As much as I loved being Hannah’s nanny, now that Claire was back, she likely wouldn’t want me anywhere near her child––or husband. I wasn’t qualified for much else, so I would have to find a way to make my job at the pool work.
Deciding the exercise would be a good thing, I walked to the gym where I helped others hone their swimming skills. I was looking at the tree line along the edge of town, taking note of the sudden burst of orange, yellow, russet, and bright red leaves that seemed to have made an appearance overnight when Claire’s younger sister, Meg, turned the corner and started heading up to me on the sidewalk. I was tempted to veer off in the other direction, but decided instead that I would have to face them all at some point.
Steeling my resolve, I made direct eye contact with the tiny she-devil. She was glaring poison-tipped eye darts in my direction. Despite how hate-filled her angry stare was, I was relieved to see that some color had returned to her cheeks and that her face wasn’t nearly as drawn and weary-looking as it had been while Claire was missing.
Apparently, all of the anger she had aimed at Alex while Claire was missing had been redirected at me after her sister’s return. When we drew near enough to each other to speak, Meg practically hissed at me. “Well, if it isn’t the seductress herself.”
It was all I could do to contain the bubble of laughter that wanted to erupt out of me. I was a people-pleasing, over-achieving workaholic, but no one had ever before referred to me as anything remotely resembling a seductress. I suppose it could be considered a compliment, if it hadn’t been so far off base and uttered with so much venom behind the words.
My expression must have relayed my amusement over the wildly inaccurate accusation because Meg sneered, “Oh, you think it’s funny?”
“No.” I shook my head to back-up the word.
Ignoring my denial, Meg went on. “Claire has been through a horrific year––worse than we can even imagine. Then when she finally makes her way home, she discovers that you have weaseled your way into her family and are trying to steal her husband and daughter.”
“That’s not at all the way it was,” I started, but Meg held her palm up near my face to stop me.
“I don’t want to hear your lame excuses. You stay away from Claire andherfamily, or you’ll have to deal with me.” Meg had moved her hand to shake her pointer finger directly in my face.
I leaned back away from her aggressive maneuver and the underlying threat. Although Meg was much smaller than me, I didn’t doubt that she would be a formidable opponent. I certainly didn’t want to fight her and find out, especially not while I was pregnant.
When I failed to take the bait to respond to her aggression, she moved to the side to go around me. I took that as a small win, even though it probably wasn’t one.
Once she moved beyond me, I took a deep breath and allowed my shoulders to sag with relief. Since the night of her return, I had been dreading running into anyone related to Claire. The anger in Meg’s eyes was awful to see, but it was likely minimal compared to the hatred Claire would aim in my direction the next time we saw each other. I needed to mentally prepare myself for that because in a town as small as this, it likely wouldn’t be long before it happened.
As much as I despised and tried to avoid confrontation, my life was bound to be full of it for the foreseeable future. It was unavoidable at this point, unless I picked up and moved someplace where I didn’t know a single soul. Although the prospect of that was tempting in this moment, I didn’t think being all alone with me in a strange city was what would be best for my baby in the long-term. Like it or not, Brunswick Bay Harbor and I were stuck together for the time being.
My time to get my mind ready to see Claire again was destined to be short. When I finished my first private swimming lesson of the day, I climbed out of the pool only to see Hannah and Claire sitting on the bench along the side, obviously waiting to speak to me.
12
Claire
As I watched Josie work with feeble, old Mrs. Krunk in the pool, I realized the young woman wasn’t just pretty and athletic. She was also kind and patient. Dammit. I didn’t want to see any of her redeeming qualities. It was much easier to view her as the villain of our story than as a likable human.
Hannah was practically bouncing with anticipation as she swung her legs back and forth on the bench beside me. There was no denying that she was beyond excited to see the young woman again.
