Dorothy just sighed deeply and looked at Bob with moon eyes. Sam looked at her and shook his head. Dorothy was just a disaster of a wife.
“You should start hearing more about her whereabouts soon,” Sam said. “CNN is all over the world and never mind all the others. It’s out on the wires now.”
“Well, any tips are supposed to go to local authorities, right?” Buddy said.
“Yes,” Bob said, “that’s right.”
“Phones are no doubt ringing off the hook.” Sam said.
When they got to the marina and saw the launch there waiting, Bob realized the time had come to tell Gladdie something about the truth.
“You have to tell her something,” Olivia said on the ride back. “Tell her the truth, but just tell her gently and in general terms. You know say something like, ‘I know you know that Mommy isn’t here, but I want you to know that I am doing everything I can to bring her home as soon as possible.’”
“I don’t know. You’re probably right. Maybe I should ask Betty what to say. She’s a kinder, gentler soul than either one of us. She’ll give us a good answer,” Bob said.
“That’s an excellent idea,” Nick said.
Betty was in the living room, reading a book. When Bob approached her she said, “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed this novel. I finished the one I brought with me. I love a good book.”
“No, of course not. You can help yourself to anything you need,” Bob said. “Betty? May I ask your advice about something?”
“My advice?” Betty was instantly flustered. “Well, of course!”
Bob sat on the edge of the coffee table and looked at her. “You’re a mentally healthy woman,” he said.
“Well, thank you!” She laughed and closed her book. “I sure hope so!”
“Yes, and you see the thing is, I haven’t said anything to Gladdie about where her mom is, and I think it’s time to say something. This is going to be the third night without her. And even though Gladdie’s just a little girl, she’s still entitled to some kind of explanation. Do you agree?”
“Of course!”
“The question is, How much truth does she need to hear?”
“That’s an excellent question. I think you tell her very sweetly that there’s a problem, that her mother has gone away and you’re not sure why, but that you’re doing everything you can to find her and bring her home.”
“Yes. That’s almost exactly what Olivia said. That’s about as simply as I could put it. Thank you, Betty.” He stood to leave.
“Bob?”
“Yes?”
“Ernest and I don’t think you’re all a bunch of screwballs. Your lives are just the opposite of ours, that’s all. I mean, my brother and I have an old rowboat we like to paddle around at our lake house up in Tekamah. And we travel like most folks do—by car or sometimes we fly someplace. We went on a cruise one time to the Bahamas and I liked that. But we live quietly and modestly.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a quiet life. Or a modest life. I think my life and all of this . . .” Bob stopped and waved his arms around. “All of this doesn’t really make me happy. But being rich and unhappy is a lot better than being broke and unhappy. I’m not gonna lie.”
Betty laughed then and Bob laughed with her.
“Ernest said to me earlier that rich people put on their pants one leg at a time just like poor people do.”
“Ernest is right.”
“Everyone has their problems in life. It just seems like yours happen in Technicolor.”
“It sure does seem that way, today especially.”
“Well, it’s interesting for someone like me to see all of this, you know, grand living. I’m just a retired high school librarian. I have to wonder how my girl is going to fare as your daughter-in-law? And as Daniel’s wife?”
“I don’t know, but Kitty has a good head on her shoulders. And most important, she comes from a nice family.”
Betty smiled, and for the first time all week, she felt comfortable with Bob.
“Thank you,” she said. “And, Bob?”
Bob stood. It was time to go talk to Gladdie.
“Yes?”
“I hope you find Maritza very soon.”
“Thank you. I do too.”
Bob knocked on Ellen and Gladdie’s door. There was no answer. He went down to the media room and found them there eating popcorn and watching Frozen again. He flipped on the overhead lights. Ellen refused to meet his eyes and Gladdie complained.
“Turn off the lights, Daddy! We’re watching a movie!”
Bob flipped the switch and the room went dark, illuminated only by the large screen.
“Okay, well, when it’s over, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Tell me now,” Gladdie said.
“It can wait.” Bob closed the door and waited outside. He knew his daughter well.
“Pause it!” Gladdie barked to Ellen.
The movie went on pause and the lights were turned on. Gladdie ran to her father’s arms and he swung her high in the air, landing her on his hip. If Maritza had heard Gladdie so rudely giving Ellen orders, she would’ve said something.
“If you get any bigger I’m not going to be able to do this!” he said.
“Do you need me for anything?” Ellen said.
“No, I just want to have a word with my girl about her mother. Why don’t you give us a few minutes alone?”
Ellen shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes at him.
“Take all the time in the world,” she said, walking past him and heading toward the stairs.
Bob watched her walk away. It was over between them. He’d give her a big fat check and a letter of recommendation. He couldn’t wait to have her gone. Then he had a brief thought that Maritza knew about the two of them. Of course Maritza knew. She was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
“You want to walk?” he asked Gladdie.
“Yes.”
Bob put her feet on the ground and took her hand. Her hand was so tiny in his, and it was such a pretty little hand, her fingers shaped exactly like Maritza’s. He tried to remember if his father had ever held his hand. As he searched his mind he realized he had no memory of any tender moments with his father at all. His mother, though, had held his hand countless times. She ruffled his hair, kissed his head, and tucked him in with a beautiful Italian lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she was a child. He remembered then that he had heard Maritza singing to Gladdie too. What was the song she sang? Wasn’t it “Moonlight in Vermont”? Or was it a Beatles song? The memory was a fragmented one. He hated that he couldn’t recall the title.
“Let’s go to my room,” he said.
“Okay,” she said.
When they got there, two of the crew members were pressing his sheets on the bed, wrinkled from the previous night’s tossing and turning.
“Oh! Sorry! We thought you were ashore!” one of them said.
“We’ll get out of your way!” the other one said.
They were pretty young girls from England. Pretty young girls from England made up about half of his crew. The other half were male. England seemed to have an endless supply of young people who wanted to sail the world. Captain Jack made sure the male/female ratio was well balanced to keep life happy belowdecks. They hurried past him with their irons and quietly closed the door.
Bob turned to Gladdie. “Let’s sit on the sofa, okay?”
“Okay,” she parroted.
She climbed on the sofa without his help, and for the first time in a while, he noticed what a tiny thing she was. She was too small for her legs to hang over the cushions when she sat back.
“So, what’s up, Daddy?” She said it like a much older child, and it surprised him.
“Well, Gladdie, we have a problem. It’s about your mom.”
“Is Mommy gone forever?”
“No! Heavens no! But she is gone. We just don’t know where quite yet.”
&nb
sp; “Do you want me to help you look for her?”
“Oh, sweetie, Daddy is turning the whole world upside down looking for her. And I’m going to find her and bring her back to us.”
“You hurt her feelings, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Mommy fell in the cake, you said you were disappointed in her. I remember because you told the same thing to me when I was riding the big turtle.”
He wondered then who was it that said little pitchers have big ears?
“Well, sometimes grown-ups get excited and say things they don’t really mean. I love your mother. And I’m going to find her. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
“Yes. I love you, Daddy. Can I go now?”
“Yes. You can go, and Gladdie?”
“Yes?”
“I love you too! Come give your daddy a hug!”
She threw her skinny arms around his neck and hugged him for all she was worth. He could feel his heartbeat against hers and he knew that wherever Maritza was, she had to be plenty miserable without the hugs of her only child. Bob vowed to himself again that he would find Maritza if it was the last thing he ever did. And then he realized he had been so focused on himself that he had not notified Maritza’s mother. If she saw it on CNN before he called her, Maritza would never come back to him.
Chapter 15
Lost and Found
Bob appeared on the deck where everyone was gathered for cocktails, including Betty and Ernest, who sprang themselves from solitary confinement on deciding that Bob was not the prince of darkness. The table was opened to its fullest diameter and set for dinner with yet another pattern of china, crystal, and flatware. Beautiful flowers graced the center of the table and were surrounded by tiny tea candles nestled in scallop shells.
“You all are not going to believe what I did!” he said.
“You got rid of Colette, which was real progress in my book,” Sam said.
“I can’t believe you were ever married to that dreadful woman,” Michelle said.
“She makes me look like a cupcake,” Dorothy said and smirked.
Bob said, “I never should have let her attend Daniel’s wedding. I should’ve Skyped her in. Or at least had her stay in a hotel on shore.”
“True, but what? You were going to tell us something?” Olivia said.
“Well, I’m cooked, that’s for sure. I forgot to call Maritza’s mother to tell her what was going on. Can you believe that? Like, where is my brain? If she turns on her television, I’m a dead man,” Bob said. “I just came out here to tell all of you to go on and have dinner and I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
“Wait!” Olivia said. “I know her mother. Remember? I spent all that time with her at the wedding. Can I help you make the call?”
“Absolutely! Come to my office with me. What time is it? Okay, it’s noon there.”
“Go!” Nick said.
A crew member was behind the bar pouring wine and champagne for everyone.
“I’d like a very generous pour of Grey Goose on the rocks, and please bring it to my office as fast as you can,” Bob said.
“Yes, sir!”
“And bring the bottle,” Olivia said, knowing Bob well enough to know if he was drinking vodka to deal with his mother-in-law, he was going to need additional reinforcement.
As quickly as it was humanly possible, Bob looked up Maritza’s mother’s phone number and dialed it from his satellite phone, because it gave him a superior and clearer connection than his smartphone. He put the call on speakerphone so that Olivia could help if needed.
“Hello?”
“Martha Ann? It’s your son-in-law, Bob. I’m here with Olivia Ritchie.”
“Bob Vasile. Well, what do you all know? Oh, hello, Olivia! I hope you’re well?”
“I’m okay, all things considered. You?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Bob was getting antsy and said, “Martha Ann? Do you have a moment?”
“Bob? Should I try and take a wild guess why you’re calling me? I’ve got a kitchen full of casseroles and every woman I know in this town is in my living room. Do you think we don’t watch the news down here in Mississippi? I almost had a heart attack! I turned on Anderson Cooper and there you were running your mouth like a teenage boy!”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t call you first, Martha Ann. Please accept my deepest apology.”
“Your deepest apology ain’t worth diddly-squat to me. The one you owe the apologies to is Maritza! Tell her!”
“Believe me! That’s exactly what I want to do!”
“How’s my granddaughter, Bob?”
“She’s fine, but she really misses her mother. I’ve been such a fool!”
“Hmmm. Yes, you certainly are! About the biggest fool I ever met in all my days. Let me see if she’ll talk to you.”
“What? She’s there?”
“Where else would she be? I’m her mother! Who else should she go to for solace and succor? Some stupid shrink that would charge her a thousand dollars a minute? That’s probably what you do! Like it would ever do you a lick of good. You’d probably lie like a cheap rug to them too! Hang on.”
Martha Ann slammed the phone on something, probably a wooden table, and walked away calling Maritza’s name at the top of her lungs.
“Thank God she’s safe!” Olivia said and burst into tears. “Oh! What a relief!”
“Oh God yes! But I’m astonished that she’s there! How in the hell did she get back into the country?”
“Bob?” Olivia snatched a tissue from a box on the side table, blotted her eyes, and cleared her throat. Then she chuckled, thinking about Maritza and how clever she was. “Maritza is a lot smarter than everyone thinks. Don’t let the magnolia-speak fool you.”
“True. I know. But boy, Martha Ann’s pissed,” Bob said to Olivia.
“Which means Maritza is beyond pissed. That’s her only child, you know.” Olivia sank into a chair, thinking about how she was back in the money hole again. But there was just no way she could’ve worked with Colette. She could work with tough clients, but Colette was too horrible. “You can’t blame her for taking her side.”
Bob’s drink was delivered then.
“Thanks,” Bob said and had a sip. “I don’t. Did you like the way I played the guilt card?”
“About Gladdie? I hate to admit it, but that was a stroke of genius.” Olivia looked at the crew member and said, “You know what? I think I’d like a big fat vodka on the rocks as well.” Bob had said he would find her work, but where and how soon?
There was a lot of noise coming from the background in Martha Ann’s house as though troops were marching through the rooms, but through all the racket, there was no Maritza coming to the phone to speak to Bob. Then it got quiet.
“Just how in the hell did she get the whole way to Mississippi? Was she a stowaway?”
“I have no earthly idea,” Olivia said. “I am just as surprised as you are!”
They heard footsteps again through the telephone receiver and the phone was picked up.
“Bob?”
“Martha Ann?”
“She says she doesn’t want to talk to you. And I don’t blame her.”
“What do you mean? She has to talk to me! I’m her husband!”
“Only on paper, sonny boy! Only on paper! Maybe you should call another time.”
The next thing they heard was the dial tone.
“That old bitch hung up on me!” Bob said.
“I know. Bob, let’s not lose sight of the fact that Maritza is alive,” Olivia said. “That’s what really matters.”
“You’re right, of course, but can you believe what just happened?” Bob said. “She actually hung up on me!”
“Bob, nobody behaves like they’re supposed to behave anymore. People are rude and horrible. Now, drain your glass and let’s go tell everyone the good news, especially Gladdie.”
“I guess I’ll call her back later?
”
“After you call the florist down there and fill her mother’s house with flowers!”
“Right! She called me sonny boy!”
“It could’ve been a lot worse!”
“You’re right. I’m surprised she didn’t call me every curse word she knows. Come on. Let’s go tell everyone,” Bob said. “Thank you, God! I am so relieved!”
“I am too!” Olivia said and meant it.
“I’ll tell you one thing, Olivia.”
“What’s that?”
“If I can get this mess sorted out? I’m going to be a changed man.”
“That’s good, Bob,” Olivia said and hoped it was true. “Maritza is worth changing for. She really is.”
“It would be a lot less complicated to just devote myself to her and Gladdie and of course now Daniel and Kitty.”
“Yep. It sure would be easier and I’m going to tell you something. Marriage is a lot more rewarding and satisfying when you have someone you can rely on. But it has to go both ways.”
Bob stopped and looked at Olivia, staring into her eyes as though there was an answer there.
“When did you get so smart?”
“I’m not. Nick is. A good marriage can open your eyes to a lot of things.”
They stopped by Ellen and Gladdie’s room. There was Maritza’s little girl, sitting in her child-sized chair, wearing a ruffled nightgown, rocking a baby doll. She was quiet and very clearly sad. Ellen was reclining on her bed, reading a magazine. There was no interaction between them. Even though Olivia was not a huge fan of Gladdie’s undisciplined behavior, she didn’t like what she was seeing either. And it was bad enough that Ellen had come so close to ruining Bob’s marriage, but she obviously wasn’t good for Gladdie either.
“Great news, Gladdie! Mommy is at Grandmomma’s house in Mississippi!”
Gladdie jumped up and clapped her hands.
“Really?” Her face lit up with surprise and happiness. “Yay! When’s she coming home?”
“I don’t know,” Bob said. “I think it might be a good idea to go down there and get her! Do you want to come with me?”