doing when a friend told him about it. He’s gay, and his partner is a decorator. It’s a great setup for them. They’re married and have two adorable adopted little girls. Only one of them is the investor, but they’re both really nice guys. They already have a great roster of potential clients, mostly corporations bringing people to New York from other cities, or internationally. That’s where we really shine.” Leslie had done most of the work for the past year when Coco was away, but before that they had both put a lot of effort into building the business, and Coco had invested the most money. It had really paid off for both of them.
They’d given Sam’s children an early dinner. He gave the baby a bottle, and knew they’d sleep most of the way home.
“I had a really nice day. I’m glad you’re keeping this house. It reminds me of when we were kids.”
“Me too.” She smiled nostalgically. “It reminds me of my parents mostly. They loved it here. They were so great together. Why can’t we find people like that?”
“They weren’t complicated,” Sam answered her. “Most people today seem to be. There are too many options and choices and wounded people running around. Like Ian, although he was an extreme case, and fame makes it all harder.” She nodded. He was right, except that Tamar wasn’t complicated. He just hadn’t loved her enough to marry her, or at all. She had always been a mistake.
“My parents were always perfectly clear about how much they loved each other. That never changed. It just got better,” Coco said with admiration, wishing she could find a situation like theirs. “They believed in each other.”
“We make odd decisions, and pick difficult people. Anything is acceptable now. You have to get it right in the beginning. I don’t think you can take an impossible situation and make it work, no matter how hard you try. None of your choices were the right ones, no matter how appealing they seemed at the time,” Sam said to her. “And neither was mine. It was never right with Tamar and I knew it, and it wasn’t that appealing, except to my parents. I should have followed my instincts. Instead, I tried to do the noble thing.” She nodded. He was right about that too. He was a smart and a good man and he was going to be fine, Coco was sure of it. Women were going to be crawling all over him when he was free, although the four kids might scare them at first, but he was a great dad, and a good husband, or had tried to be.
He left the house in Southampton with a wave, after he hugged her, while Coco and Bethanie stood in the driveway waving back. They had had a wonderful day.
On Sunday, Coco and Bethanie drove into the city. Monday morning she left Bethanie with Theresa, met with Evan, their investor, and got to work. The storefront office they had in SoHo was great looking, and Jack, his partner, had done wonders with it, to make it inviting. They worked hard, and she liked the staff they had hired. It suited their image, and the style of the brand. They were bright young people with lots of enthusiasm and energy and were going to be a credit to Leslie and Coco’s business. Evan and Jack were going to visit them in London in December, and bring the crew so the staff of the two offices could meet, and get to know each other, to make things run more smoothly.
It was a long week. They were officially going to be open in seven weeks. She wanted to go to the Hamptons again that weekend but it was pouring rain on Friday, so she didn’t. It was after seven when she got home, and Sam called her as she walked in the door. He sounded grim.
“Can I come over?”
“Sure. Something wrong? You sound pissed.” She looked in the fridge after they hung up, there wasn’t much there, but she could make him a salad if he was starving.
He arrived twenty minutes later, and he looked livid when he took off his dripping raincoat, and followed her into the den, which was her favorite room. The living room was beautiful but always felt too fancy. Her parents had loved the den too.
“What happened?” she asked him. He looked furious.