Truth (19 page)

Seeing his mother’s sudden agitation he
started to help. However, Marie immediately assisted. It surprised
Samuel to witness his mother’s sudden composure. Perhaps having a
non-emotionally involved assistant wasn’t a bad idea. Although
young, the girl seemed to possess a sense of calm the Rawls
admittedly lacked. In some ways it reminded Samuel of his mother,
before this terrible illness took hold.

In the face of the storm, otherwise known as
Nathaniel, Sharron calmed the winds, rains, and rough waters. His
entire life, Samuel wondered how she did it. Rarely, did he ever
witness a disagreement between them. Superficially, she appeared to
submit to his every demand. Yet, there were times when they looked
at one another and Samuel knew, without confrontation, Sharron had
made her feelings and desires known.

Samuel failed miserably in that category. He
didn’t have the ability to communicate nonverbally with his
egotistical father. Their confrontations were predictably loud and
boisterous. Perhaps, it was a two way street. Nathaniel needed to
want that communication. He accepted the glances and body language
from his wife, but not from anyone else, even his only son.

Samuel believed his parent’s union had a
history of rough patches, yet Sharron never complained. And now, as
her mental facilities slowed, hell – derailed -- the reality in
which she chose to dwell was not that of a mother, or grandmother,
or even a wealthy businessman’s wife. She saw the world as it had
been when she and Nathaniel were first married. She looked at her
handsome, yet aging husband and saw the twenty year old soldier she
loved.

Samuel supposed on some level, he resented
Anton for looking so much like his father. It wasn’t as though
Anton could control his genetics. That would be Samuel’s doing as
well. It was only that when Sharron looked at Anton, she smiled so
sweetly and her eyes melted into the liquid calm reserved for her
true love. Yes, it was Nathaniel she saw. Nonetheless, she never
asked Anton his name; she only called him Nathaniel.

How in the world Samuel found Amanda, and
had forged out some semblance of normalcy was beyond him. Talk
about nature verses nurture -- shit, he was screwed either way.
Peering at his son, Samuel prayed Amanda’s influence would
overpower the messed up Rawls blood flowing through Anton’s
veins.

Yes, although the mother he once knew was
rarely visible, Samuel knew Sharron’s influence was his saving
grace. Therefore, if this young girl helped Sharron transition from
her world of make-believe to the present, maybe Samuel could learn
to accept her.

A friend is someone who
understands your past,
believes in your future, and accepts you
for who you are today.
--Unknown

Chapter
12

The warm gulf water lapped the shore, as the
soft, moist sand enveloped their bare feet, and the sun bathed
their tanned skin. Clad in swim suits, Claire and Courtney picked
up the occasional shell as they walked along the beach. Although
the third morning of their secret get-a-way, neither friend had run
out of things to share.

Their reunion was everything Claire imagined
and more. When Claire arrived late Tuesday night, or early
Wednesday morning, to their rendezvous suite, Courtney was
anxiously waiting.

Courtney hadn’t changed. Her bright blue
eyes and brown hair were exactly as Claire remembered. Courtney
jokingly said, “Honey, my hair is only the same because my
beautician hasn’t decided to change colors!”

Claire’s commercial flight
to San Antonio took almost four hours. Flying first class, she
reasoned was a gradual downgrade from private jets. She also knew
some reporter could take her picture, and the penniless thing was
getting on her nerves. After landing in San Antonio, she secured a
rental car, drove to the Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, and checked into
her suite. It was truly beautiful, complete with a balcony
overlooking the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. While there, she
messed up the bed and threw some towels into the whirlpool
tub.
It kind of looks lived
in
. She thought, as she made her way back
to her rental car.

Next, she drove two and a half hours to
Corpus Christi. Along the way she stopped for a healthy McDonald’s
salad, anything fast to get her to Courtney. Thankfully the rental
car’s built-in GPS directed her around an accident on I-37, south
around Mathis. The voice knew about the back-up. And although
rerouting added about thirty minutes, it was better than sitting in
stand still traffic. By the time Claire reached their hotel, it was
almost two in the morning, local time.

Just like her suite in San
Antonio, the floor of their suite was only accessible with a key.
Claire’s key was waiting for her at the front desk, under the
name
Julia
.
(Courtney’s future daughter-in-law)

When Claire opened the door and stepped onto
the tiled entry, she heard the familiar scream resonating from one
of the two bedrooms. She barely had time to see the lovely white
living area and brightly colored furniture before her entire body
was encased in Courtney’s full embrace. In no time, their joyous
reunion became tearful. Perhaps it was sleep deprivation; more than
likely, it was their eighteen month separation and the
circumstances surrounding it.

Leaving her unpacking until morning, the two
sat on the sofa, knee to knee and talked until dawn. Their
conversation focused more on the future than the past. There would
be plenty of time for that as the week progressed.

Courtney told Claire all about the
preparations for Caleb and Julia’s upcoming nuptials. She
desperately wanted to have Claire attend the event; however, as
long as their relationship remained secret, they both knew it
wouldn’t happen. Courtney also told Claire about Caleb’s recent
entrepreneur endeavor. “He’s doing very well in Chicago. It’s an
investment firm and he already has some great clients.”

Claire couldn’t hide her surprise, “I’m
shocked he’d want to leave Rawlings. I mean with Brent and Tony’s
friendship, I’d think Caleb’s future would be set. Tony always
liked your children.”

“
Tony was very supportive.
Being an entrepreneur himself, I think he admired Caleb’s desire to
succeed on his own.”

Somewhere deep inside,
Claire thought:
Yes, I’m glad he can be
understanding... I know it’s possible, just not usual!
“I’m glad it’s working out.”

Claire told Courtney all about California,
Amber, and Harry. Of course, they’d discussed much of this on the
phone, but face-to-face was so much nicer. The subject of Claire’s
financial backing slipped into the conversation as they talked
about some of the recent reports of Claire’s life. She assured
Courtney she wasn’t living with Harry, and she wasn’t penniless.
She even divulged the information about the mysterious
$100,000.

“
Where do you think it
came from?” Courtney asked as she sipped her wine. It was their
second bottle of Cabernet, something which likely added to their
honesty and freedom of dialogue.

“
I really don’t know. It’s
weird. At first, both Jane and I feared it was from
Tony.”

“
Why’d you think
that?”

“
Well, who else has that
kind of money to throw away?”

“
Good point, but maybe the
donor didn’t feel they were
throwing it
away
?”

Claire smiled, “I hope not. Whoever it was,
I can never thank them enough. They gave me my life back.” She
continued thoughtfully, “Prison wasn’t as bad as it could have been
– I guess. I kept to myself a lot.” Claire fell silent as she gazed
out the dark balcony doors to the still black sky.

Courtney put her hand on Claire’s knee, “You
can talk to me.”

Claire fought the tears,
“I know. It’s just -- I haven’t spoken to
anyone
about this. I mean, I like
Amber and Harry, I really do. They’ve been wonderful, especially
considering we hardly knew one another when Amber went out on a
limb and sent a jet to get me. I want to open up to them, but I’m
so confused about so many things. I just don’t know.”

“
Did you have anyone to
talk to in prison?”

“
There was a counselor,
actually a psychiatrist. Her name was Dr. Warner. She took an
interest in me. We met three times a week. At first I didn’t say
much. It’s just hard to know who you can trust. But, over time I
said a lot.”

“
But, no other
prisoners?”

Claire shook her head, “No. Once people
found out who I was married to... well they’d be... not nice.”
Looking down into her lap, she explained, “I never felt like I
acted better than anyone else. I mean, I was a prisoner there just
like everyone else. But, apparently they thought I did.” Claire
inhaled deeply, “It was just easier to stay by myself.”

Talking to Courtney was so easy; it had
always been.

Courtney scooted closer and squeezed her
friend’s hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you while you were
there,” then in a quieter voice, “or, to keep you out of
there.”

“
I really understand.”
Claire smiled at Courtney’s sad blue eyes, “But you did do
something. When your letters started to arrive, I can’t tell you
how much they meant to me!”

“
I’m so glad. And I’m sure
our entire correspondence went under the radar. Believe me, if Tony
knew, Brent would’ve heard.”

Fighting her emotions, Claire said, “I know
it was a big risk. Thank you.”

“
So, you’re convinced it
wasn’t Tony, the money, I mean?”

“
Yes. Well, you helped
convince me. You sent me a text saying how upset he was when he
learned about my release. I mean, if he’d sent the money and letter
to Jane, he’d have already known. I know it wasn’t in the papers,
which is just another of the amazing miracles, but I know Tony. If
he’d spent $100,000, he would’ve followed up to learn if it paid
off.”

“
I think you’re
right.”

“
And... when he called me,
he said he’d just learned of my release. No, I don’t think it was
him.”

“
Any other ideas?”
Courtney asked.

“
No, not really, but
whoever did it, took quite a risk. Not just with Tony, but also
with Governor Bosley. That isn’t all; Jane could’ve refused to file
the petition. There were a lot of pieces of a puzzle that needed to
fall into place.” Claire sipped her wine and settled against the
soft sofa cushions, “I don’t know who my angel is or how it all
worked; I’m just thankful it did.”

“
I can’t believe Jane
Allyson gave you the money. Was that
your
angel’s
request?”

“
I don’t think so. I think
it was supposed to be her payment for filing the petition. I tried
to refuse the check, but she said it was a ridiculous amount of
money for such a small amount of work. Apparently, the petition was
complete except for her signature. All she did was sign and walk it
to the governor’s office.” Claire took another drink. “I don’t
mean
all--
obviously that’s a lot. But, she told me to consider
it
seed money
to
start my new life and pay her an appropriate fee. I could hardly
refuse. I really believed I had nothing.”

Courtney’s eyes glistened. “You did have
something, didn’t you?”

“
I did.” Claire answered
slyly. “It was actually Emily’s idea. I hadn’t considered selling
my jewelry and had no idea of its value.”

“
Do you miss
it?”

“
No! – Oh,” Claire played
with the rim of her wine glass, “I answered that too quickly. As
you know, I haven’t worn any of it for over a year. The rings were
beautiful and when I received them, I loved them. Wedding rings are
supposed to be a symbol of a feeling. Without the feeling, they’re
just metal and stones.” A little more empathically, “I always
disliked the journey necklace.”

“
Really? It was lovely and
you wore it often.”

“
Yes, I did.” Claire
allowed the rim of her glass to loiter on her lips, less than a
subtle hint she’d said all she was saying on the
subject.

“
And, the
earrings?”

“
They were beautiful too.
Tony gave them to me for my birthday, right after that party we all
attended. Remember, at Eli and MaryAnn’s?”

Courtney knew, from the copy of the
preliminary brief Brent obtained, what happened in California. She
knew when Tony and Claire were alone on that trip he’d physically
abused her. Claire didn’t know she knew. Courtney planned to share
that during this visit, however, now didn’t feel right. “I remember
the party. Afterwards, the two of you went to Yosemite, right?”

“
Yes.” Claire’s expression
lightened as her lips turned upward and her eyes began to sparkle.
“I’ve considered buying myself some diamond studs. Everyone needs a
nice pair, don’t you think?”

Courtney smiled, seeing
her friend’s pride, discussing
her
ability to do as
she
pleased. “Well, yes! Everyone
needs a nice pair of diamond studs!” Courtney agreed.

Courtney also talked about Tim and Sue.
Their baby, Sean, just turned one! She showed Claire a picture on
her phone from his first birthday party.