Woven Wishes (Whispered Wishes Book 4) (2 page)

 “Thanks, sis, I owe you one. I’ll call you later.” Tessa swiftly closed the door behind her without looking back or yelling good-bye to Sophie.

You owe me more than one.

“Jenna,” Ava called up to the second floor. “Jenna!”

No response. Her daughter was probably listening to music with her headphones on even though she was supposed to be doing homework.

“
Jenna,
” she yelled once more as she walked up the stairs.

Ava opened the door to her daughter’s bedroom without a knock, not that her daughter would have been able to hear her anyway.

“Jenna!” she yelled again with an impatient tone, yanking the ear buds out.

“Mom! What are you doing?”

“I’ve been calling you. I thought I told you no music while you do your homework.”

“I’m just taking a little break,” she replied.

“A break from what? You just got home from cheerleading practice. The rule is homework first. You know that.”

“Fine.” She turned toward her book bag, rolling her eyes.

“I saw that.”

Ava wondered, as she often did, when exactly her sweet little girl had turned into a pre-teen. According to everyone she talked to, eye rolling came with the territory.

When Ava had Jenna, she’d been so excited to have a little girl … a daughter of her own. Not that she would have been unhappy with a boy, but having grown up as the oldest girl herself, she knew how special that role could be. Once Jenna was born, Ava wanted her to have a sister, so she could experience the same bond she had with her own sisters. However, it seemed she was destined to be the big sister to two younger brothers instead.

“Can you stay with Sophie for a little bit? She’s here, and I have to pick up Ryan and take Logan to swim practice.”

“Okay, Mom,” Jenna said, smiling, obviously trying to get back on her good side.

Despite the occasional tween attitude, Jenna was a good kid. Ava chalked it up to one part raising her daughter correctly and two parts luck.

Ave returned the smile. “Thank you.”

~~~

Logan didn’t seem to mind that his mom wasn’t coming inside for swim practice. He’d always appeared to be more independent than Ava remembered Jenna being at that age. She supposed eye rolling from her second child would be coming any day now as well. At least Ryan still enjoyed her company. Ava smiled, thinking about how he climbed into her bed every morning to snuggle. Reminding Logan she’d be back after she picked up his younger brother, she watched as her middle child entered the building. She had a few minutes before she had to go and sat in the parking lot with her head back and eyes closed. Miraculously, it seemed she had everything under control. For the next five minutes at least.

Chapter 3 - Holly

Holly sat in the doctor’s office anxiously waiting for the results, clutching her husband, Ben’s hand tightly. She didn’t understand why they were having so much difficulty. It seemed unfair. Her older sister had three children she could barely manage, and her younger sister had one she never wanted … well, she had wanted her, just not so soon. There was no doubt Tessa loved Sophie. They all loved Sophie, and of course Ava could manage her kids just fine. Holly was just feeling bitter. She so wanted a child of her own to love. She’d dreamt of having children for years. It seemed wrong that she and Ben had to work so hard to make that happen. She loved being Aunt Holly, but more than anything wished someone would also call her Mom.

Dr. Rowe closed the door before sitting behind his desk. He opened the manila folder and adjusted his glasses, unable to look Holly and Ben in the eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he began.

Holly didn’t hear anything the doctor said after that. She and Ben had saved every penny to pay for the in vitro fertilization. She was thrilled when the tests came in positive … her prayers had finally been answered. As much as she wanted to tell her family the good news, they decided to wait. The doctor had warned them the first trimester could be risky. Seven weeks into the pregnancy, Holly started to bleed. They rushed over to Dr. Rowe’s office and had an ultrasound.

She was too numb to cry.

Ben squeezed Holly’s hand even tighter, bringing her back to reality.

“If we try again,” Ben asked the doctor, “what are the chances?”

“Nothing changes,” Dr. Rowe explained. “The risks are the same. We don’t always understand why women miscarry. In your case, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to carry a healthy baby to term. Many couples who miscarry go on to have successful pregnancies.”

They sat in silence in the doctor’s office as the tears began to stream down Holly’s face. Ben stared straight ahead, looking stoic. After a few tortuous moments, Dr. Rowe stood.

“Again, I’m so sorry. I’m afraid I have another patient to see, but please take all of the time you need, and let me know what you decide.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Ben said on their behalf.

Making their way through the parking lot toward their cars, Ben tried to tell Holly he would figure out a way to get the money. She knew he was just trying to cheer her up. They’d been through their finances a million times already. The situation was bleak. Ben kissed his wife good-bye and told her not to worry as he got into his car and headed back to work. One day they had a baby, the next day they didn’t. Holly couldn’t help but wonder why her husband wasn’t as shaken up as she was. Why wasn’t he there with her to grieve? He had plenty of vacation time accumulated. She needed him … with her.

She dug her cell phone out of her purse as she walked to her car.

“Hi, it’s me. What are you up to?” she asked, holding back another round of tears.

“I’m on my way to pick Ryan up.”

“You sound frazzled.” Dealing with her sister’s problems seemed to be the best way for Holly to ignore her own.

“No. Well maybe a little,” Ava laughed. “It’s just that Max hasn’t been home in days. Then Tessa decided to drop Sophie off without any notice—
as usual
—because she had some glamorous party to go to. Thankfully, I have Jenna to watch her, because Logan has to be picked up in thirty minutes, and Ryan needs to get picked up in between getting Logan. Plus, the house is a disaster, and I have no idea what I’m making for dinner. You know, just a typical day in my fabulous life.”

“Why don’t you let me get Ryan? I could use a little baby therapy,” Holly suggested.

“Don’t let him hear you say that. His favorite thing lately is to remind anyone who will listen that an almost four year old is
pwacticawy gwown up
. That kid kills me some times. If I didn’t have him around to keep me giggling, I swear, I don’t know how I’d stay sane. Some days I wonder why I even had children. My life could be so calm.”

Holly’s building tears suddenly burst into free flowing sobs.

“Hol, what’s wrong? Are you home? Where are you?”

“I’m in the parking lot. Dr. Rowe’s parking lot. The IVF didn’t hold. I’m not pregnant.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I really am. I’m a heel … that was so insensitive of me. I don’t know what I was thinking just then. Where’s Ben?”

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s okay. Ben was here, but he left,” Holly managed as she tried to catch her breath.

“What do you mean
left?”
Ava asked, concerned.

“No, not like that. He had to go back to work. He told me not to worry. I know he’s just trying to be strong for my sake. I really thought … it all feels so final now.”

“Don’t give up, Hol.”

“I feel like we’ve tried everything within our reach.” She held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder while trying to find her car keys.

“You know what Dad would say right about now don’t you?” Ava asked.

“Straight up, hold the olives?” Holly knew what was coming.

“No, he’d say …”

“You only fail if you stop trying,” they both said together.

Holly wiped her tears and sighed. She knew Ava meant well, but she didn’t get it. Not really. She had three kids, which she’d had no problem conceiving. How could she truly understand?

“So, is it okay if I get Ryan?” Holly asked again. “Ben’s going to be working late, and I’m not really up for going home to an empty house tonight. Don’t worry about dinner. We can order pizza. It’s on me.”

“Okay, Holly, if that’s what you want. Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

Chapter 4 - Tessa

Stella snapped her fingers three times before the waiter, an older man who had worked at the restaurant for years, finally made his way over to their table.

“Yes, ma’am?” he asked with a disapproving tone. She might have been accustomed to treating folks like that in Hollywood, but here in Forest Hills, people acted a bit more respectful.

“I ordered medium. This is rare. If I wanted a plate full of bloody meat, I would have asked for it.” She pushed the dish toward the waiter, who thankfully caught it before it crashed to the floor.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” he replied, obviously wanting to say something entirely different to her. “I’ll return it to the kitchen at once and have the chef prepare a new filet for you.”

“Don’t bother. Your establishment is obviously incompetent when it comes to preparing premium steaks. I’ll take a Caesar salad instead. I want the Parmesan cheese shaved thin, not shredded or grated, and I want exactly three anchovies and no croutons. Dressing is to be prepared fresh and on the side with a wedge of lemon. Do you think your chef can handle that?”

“Of course, ma’am,” he insisted, while looking at Nicholas who mouthed, ‘I’m sorry’.

The waiter scurried away, shaking his head.

“Honestly. These small town restaurants are something else, aren’t they?” Stella asked, looking directly at Tessa.

“Actually,” she said with a forced smile, “this place is one of our favorites. I think you’ll be quite pleased with your salad.”

Stella Russo might be a big-time star, but that didn’t give her the right to be rude. Tessa hoped that attitude of hers didn’t carry over onto the stage. If it did, they were going to have major issues. Was Nicholas really friends with this prima donna? Between this and arriving an hour late for dinner, their first business meeting was not getting off to a great start.

After Stella did finally arrive, she spent the first thirty minutes talking non-stop about … well, herself. She began by describing the most
amazing
role she’d landed on Broadway when she had first started working, followed by her many
amazing
movie roles, and morphed into her sharing a very extensive list of
amazing
leading men she’d
worked
with over the years. All of which were due to her
amazing
talent … of course. The waiter had to come back three times before she stopped talking long enough to give him her order. Her first order, that is.

“Oh.” Stella waved her napkin at Tessa and Nicholas before placing it on her lap. “I’m so sorry. That was a bit harsh. I flew in on the red-eye and am going on forty-eight hours of no sleep. Between that and the limousine driver who apparently had no idea where he was going, my nerves are completely shot. I feel so foolish. When that charming waiter returns, I’ll be sure and apologize.”

Tessa smiled and nodded. Perhaps she had misjudged Stella. She’d had more than her share of bad days over the years and at times was not always the most polite. It was time to put it all behind them and get to business. “So, Ms. Russo, we’re very excited to have you on board,” Tessa began, “but I’m afraid we’re kind of on a tight schedule. I’m sure Nicholas told you that our former leading lady walked off set in the middle of rehearsals? Opening night is just a few months away.”

Stella ignored Tessa and looked only at Nicholas, taking his hands in her own. “Yes. We had a lovely talk about it already, didn’t we, darling? You
will
be there during rehearsals, won’t you?”

“Oh, um, probably not,” Nicholas answered, pulling away to wipe imaginary crumbs off his mouth with his napkin. “I’ve got my own business to attend to. But I assure you, Tessa is a top-notch director.” He looked lovingly over to his wife. “The best actually. Everyone loves working with her. You’ll be in very capable hands.”

“Well,” Stella said, looking first at Tessa, then to Nicholas all the while keeping a sly grin, “I suppose that will do, but I’d rather be in your hands.”

Was she serious?
No, she hadn’t misjudged this woman one bit. She was unbelievable. Tessa watched as Stella moved her arm under the table, shifting her body closer to her husband.

Nicholas suddenly jumped up and back with wide eyes, pushing away what was no doubt an unwanted advance. “Actually, Stella,” he said, clearing his throat, “I’m not sure this arrangement is going to work out after all.”

“Oh, darling,” she exclaimed, placing her arm back on the table, laughing as she took a long sip of her wine. “I’m just playing with you.” Stella looked at Tessa with a purposeful stare. “Nicholas and I go
way
back. Anyway, dear, you apparently have a lot to learn about what it means to work with a Hollywood actress. There’s more to it than what’s happening on stage. There are also the little extra backstage
perks
I’m entitled to, if you catch my drift. Now, Nick, stop being silly, and sit back down so we can finish discussing the details.”

Nicholas caught Tessa’s eye as he sat, pulling his chair in and away from Stella. She knew exactly what she needed to do.

“Ms. Russo,” Tessa began, her fingers forming tight fists around the napkin on her lap as she tried her best not to lose her temper. If there’s one thing she’d learned over the years, it was to not burn bridges, especially with someone as influential as Stella Russo. As much as it killed her, she’d have to swallow her pride on this one. “With all due respect, this is a small town, with a small town theater. I appreciate your offer, but I think Nicholas is right. I don’t think this arrangement is going to work.”