when she had been so tired. It was all she could do to stay awake on these evenings when she worked at her laptop, trying to keep up with Harper Media content for her clients.
The doorbell rang out suddenly, startling both of them. Otis hopped up from the rug and danced to the doorway, then planted his haunches expectantly.
“Are you expecting someone?” she asked her mother. Olivia kept a detailed schedule of when the physical therapist and home care nurses were to come in and out but wondered if she’d missed something.
“I don’t think so.” She set aside her book as Olivia went to the front door and opened it.
“Oh, Jacob. How are you?” Juliet called to Caitlin’s friend, who stood on the doorstep holding a colorful bouquet of flowers.
“Good. Thanks.” His smile was sweet and conveyed a maturity that never failed to impress Olivia. She wished she had been half as composed as the young man. “Hi, Mrs. Harper. How are you feeling?”
“Fine. Thank you for asking.”
He suddenly seemed to remember the flowers in his hand. “Oh. These are for you, from my dad. He’s at a job site today but wanted me to bring over a bouquet from our garden. He said you are particularly fond of the peonies.”
“Your father knows me so well, doesn’t he?”
Juliet looked more annoyed than pleased by this.
Jake only smiled. “He was sorry he couldn’t stop this afternoon but said he will see you when he comes over tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Her mother looked slightly alarmed. “What’s tomorrow?”
“It’s Melody’s birthday dinner at The Sea Shanty. Remember?” Olivia said. “We talked about it a few days ago.”
“Oh. Right. I forgot which day it was today. They all seem to run together.”
“I don’t have to go, if you would rather I didn’t.”
“No. You don’t need to miss her birthday on my account. Melody should be out there socializing with her friends. It’s part of the healing process. I had just forgotten Henry was coming over, probably because it’s completely unnecessary.”
“It’s not. Caitlin’s babysitting for Melody’s boys and you can’t be alone that long. Henry offered to hang out with you. Problem solved.”
“So Henry is my babysitter,” Juliet said grumpily.
“You can look at it that way. Or you can focus on how nice it will be to spend time with your friend.”
“Is Caitlin in her room?” Jake asked, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. “I’m helping her study for a Spanish test.”
“She is,” Olivia answered. “You can go up.”
The boy bounded out of the living room and up the stairs with all the enthusiasm and grace of his father’s Labrador retriever.
“He’s a good boy,” Juliet said, admiring the flowers Olivia was arranging into a vase. “Always so kind and considerate.”
“Like his father,” Olivia said, earning a pointed look from her mother.
“I can cancel,” she finally said, when Juliet continued to look obstinate. “Mel has other friends who will be there to celebrate her birthday. I can take her out another night, just the two of us, when Caitlin can be available to stay with you.”
Juliet sighed. “No. Henry and I will be fine. We can watch a few more episodes of Doctor Who. We’re almost done with the season we’ve been watching and will be moving on to the next Doctor.”
Her mother and Henry were perfect together. Why couldn’t Juliet see what everyone else did?
CAITLIN
Jake looked over the list of names he and Caitlin had examined endlessly. She was sprawled out in the window seat overlooking the ocean while Jake was sitting in the hammock chair Juliet had let her hang from a support beam in her bedroom, the one where she did most of her studying.
“What are you going to do if your father turns out to be none of these guys?”
She wouldn’t even consider that possibility. “He has to be. I have scoured through every page of both my mom’s and Olivia’s journals. My mom mentions three names around the time I’m sure she got pregnant with me. One of them has to be my dad.”
Jake didn’t roll his eyes at her, but Caitlin could tell he wanted to. “I have to say this again. You’re being shortsighted. You can’t know that for sure. It’s always possible Natalie didn’t write down his name. And it’s more than possible that Olivia didn’t know everyone your mom was hanging around with. She was only thirteen or fourteen, right? I would guess there are plenty of things your mom never told her younger sister.”