What Happens in Paradise - Elin Hilderbrand Page 0,23
Ellen because, really, theirs is the closest relationship, and Ellen is a single mother by choice, so she is savvy and resourceful by nature.
He tells her everything—including the esoteric menu items at dinner—and with each new revelation, she gasps.
Louisa offered job at Cleveland Clinic.
Anna offered job at Cleveland Clinic.
Louisa and Anna moving to Cleveland.
Louisa and Anna offering to move Baker and Floyd to Cleveland.
Louisa and Anna offering to take on the role of Disneyland parents while Baker keeps Floyd in Houston.
Louisa having a baby with sperm donor, Anna agreeing to co-parent. Anna and Louisa promising to support Baker and Floyd financially.
At the end, Ellen says, “On the surface, this sounds…great for you. Really great. Anna and Louisa are out of your hair, you get to keep Floyd and the house, and they’re going to pay you…”
“But?” Baker says.
“Doesn’t it seem too good to be true?” Ellen says. “Like something doesn’t add up? I know Anna isn’t the most hands-on mother, but is she really going to move twelve hundred miles away from her son and see him only at Christmas?”
“And summers,” Baker says weakly. He, too, feels uneasy now, but he can’t tell if it’s because he thinks Anna is going to renege and possibly sue him for custody—which is what it would take for her to get Floyd—or if he’s just embarrassed about marrying a woman who really just isn’t maternal. At all. “Listen, I know it sounds unconventional, but think about Anna. This scenario is perfect for her. She doesn’t have time to parent. I’m concerned about Floyd spending the entire summer with her because you and I both know that means he’ll have a full-time nanny. He’s better off with me.”
“Agreed,” Ellen says. She takes a sip of what he can only assume is 8th Wonder IPA (she’s a craft-beer fanatic) and says, “So my brilliant-best-friend mind now wonders why you would even stay in Houston. With Anna leaving, you’re free to go wherever you want.”
Ellen’s tone is heavy with innuendo. She’s the only one in the group that he’s told about his father dying in the Caribbean, the fifteen-million-dollar villa, and…Ayers. She’s the only one he’s told about Ayers.
That night, the carnivore tasting menu churns in Baker’s stomach as he scrolls through every reason why he shouldn’t leave Houston for good and move down to St. John. He starts with the reasons he gave Anna.
They have a house here.
Well, the house is a house. He can sell it or rent it or leave it be until he sees how things work out down in the islands. He and Anna bought it outright when they moved from Chicago, so there’s no mortgage, only taxes, insurance, and maintenance.
Floyd has school. They have friends, a community, a life.
Floyd is four. He goes to Montessori. He’s not a sophomore in high school; he’s not even in middle school. If they leave Houston now, it’s possible Floyd won’t have any memories of the place, much less feel resentful about moving. Floyd can already read and count to a hundred. Baker should investigate the schools in St. John, make sure there’s somewhere suitable.
Friends. Community. Baker is chairperson of the Children’s Cottage annual benefit auction, which is in two weeks. Baker’s work on the auction is basically done; all of the items have been solicited. He bought a table for three thousand dollars and invited all his school wives. He should really attend.
But it’s not necessarily a reason to stay. The auction will happen, the school will make money, the auction will be over.
Would Anna object to Floyd living in the Virgin Islands? She’s seen the villa; she knows it’s comfortable. She’d be concerned about the schools. Baker will look into it first thing in the morning. Maia goes to school. Maia is…Floyd’s aunt. Okay, that’s a little weird. But maybe not. It’s late, Baker is tired, everything seems weird.
Louisa wants to have a baby, essentially a half brother or half sister for Floyd.
Baker would love to have more kids.
Ayers. Baker knew the instant he saw her that he wanted to marry her. They’d ended on bad terms—really bad—and she said she was back with Mick. That means she’s having sex with Mick, Baker thinks, maybe even this very second, which is enough to make him sick. But he needs to think realistically about sex. Sex is ephemeral. Once it’s over, it’s over. Sex is not a lasting connection; it’s only real while it’s happening. It’s not love.