Full Circle (16 page)

“Sounds
great. See you tomorrow, Mom.”

“Okay
sweetie.” She watched her daughter drive off. She seemed to be doing that a lot
lately...watching people leave.

She fell
asleep without tasting Mrs. Andersen’s casserole.

Bella’s hand
shook as she applied mascara the next morning. Melissa was still asleep but her
father had already left. That suited her just fine; she preferred not to answer
questions about where she was going this morning.

She phoned
the Economic Development Commission offices shortly after nine and was
surprised when Jeffrey answered the phone himself.

“Jeffrey
Lambert.”

For a moment
she couldn’t speak.

“Hello?” To
her surprise, the familiar voice helped her recover her composure.

“Jeffrey,
it’s Bella.”

“Hello,
Bella.” His voice was warm. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,
thank you. I was wondering if I could have a bit of your time this morning.”

“Certainly. I
know this is a big day for you, so you choose the time.”

“How about
right now? Could I pick you up?”

“Sure, you
know where the office is, right?”

“Absolutely.
See you in five or ten minutes.”

Bella stopped
for a couple of coffees, and at the last minute picked up two donuts as well.
She hadn’t eaten since a small snack on the airplane yesterday. It was doubtful
she could eat now, but Jeffrey was right...she did have a big day today and
she’d need the energy.

The door
opened as soon as she pulled up, and he ran down the steps.

“Get in,” she
said, trying to hide her nervousness. “I picked up some coffee and donuts.”

He raised both
eyebrows but didn’t make any comment.

Bella drove
to the park and motioned to an empty picnic table under the shade of a live
oak. “Let’s sit over there, if you don’t mind.”

Jeffrey
picked up the coffees and led the way. “Just a sec,” he said, and brushed the
seat on Bella’s side of the table. Bella stirred cream into her coffee and
watched him do the same.

“You look
good, Bella.” He smiled across the table. “Success sits well on you.”

She flushed
at the compliment. “Thanks, Jeffrey. To tell you the truth, I’ve been nervous
about opening here, but Carla tells me everything is going smoothly, and Dad
and Melissa inform me that all the systems are working.” She fiddled with her
coffee cup. “I didn’t want to talk to you about business, though.”

A wary
expression crept into his eyes.

“I met Todd
yesterday.”

He nodded.

“I understand
that he and Melissa have been going out together.”

He put the
coffee cup down and clenched his jaw. “What is this about, Bella? Are you trying
to tell me you don’t want your daughter to go out with my son?”

She looked
up, startled. “No! Not at all.” She exhaled noisily. “I’m not doing a very good
job of this.” She looked around the park. There was no one else in sight.

“Bella, what
are you trying to say?” His voice had softened. “What is it?”

“Jeffrey.
Melissa is your daughter.”

He looked at
her, blinked several times. “My daughter.” Now it was his turn to look around;
he seemed to be searching for someone to help him understand what he was hearing.
He brought his gaze back to Bella. “Melissa is my daughter?”

Bella nodded.

“That’s the
last thing I expected to hear.” He picked up the coffee cup but didn’t drink,
and set it down again.

“So that’s
what it was,” he said, almost to himself. “The first time I saw her with Carla
I couldn’t take my eyes off her, and yet I didn’t know why.” He looked down at
the table, and she could almost see the thoughts scrolling through his mind.
“Of course I didn’t know then that her birthday was so close to Todd’s, but
there was something about her...” His voice trailed off and when he looked up
again, his face was bleak. “Why didn’t you tell me, Bella? I had a right to
know.”

“I was wrong,
Jeffrey. I know that now, but at the time I was so hurt I couldn’t think straight.”
She stared into her coffee. “Do you remember that day?”

He nodded,
not trusting himself to speak.

“I’d just
found out that I was pregnant. I came to tell you, but you said you were going
to marry Angela.”

Jeffrey
winced, but made no comment.

“And when you
get right down to it, what would you have done? It had already been decided
that you were going to marry Angela.” Bella paused. “At least that’s the way I
saw things back then.”

“But I had a
right to know, Bella.” The muscles in his jaw were working overtime. “I like to
think I would have found some way to support you.”

“You were
just a kid, Jeffrey, going into a marriage of your own. And if I’m not
mistaken, your father and mother wouldn’t exactly have encouraged you to keep
in touch with me, let alone support me.”

He took a
deep breath. “You’re probably right about keeping in contact; they were very
status-conscious. But my father would have wanted me to support you. I’m sure
of that.”

He gazed into
the distance for a moment, then a broad smile transformed his face. “So that
terrific girl is my daughter?” He looked as though he’d just won the lottery.
“Isn’t that amazing?”

“But Jeffrey,
don’t you see? She can’t continue to date Todd.”

He frowned.
“Why not?”

“Jeffrey!”

A series of
expressions crossed his face. He was alternately angry, confused, and then
relieved. He smiled again. “I get it. You don’t want them to date because you
think Todd is her half-brother.”

“Well, he
is...” Why was he smiling like that? “Isn’t he?” Bella was thoroughly confused.

“What’s that
line, Bella? Something about a tangled web?”

She waved his
comment away. “Forget that. What are you talking about?”

“Bella. Todd
is my son and I love him, but he’s adopted.”

Bella absently
tore a piece off a donut, put it in her mouth and washed it down with a sip of
coffee. “Run that by me again?”

Jeffrey
chuckled. “Don’t ask me why I’m laughing, ‘cause this isn’t funny, but it’s so
convoluted it almost sounds like a daytime soap.” He looked at her for a long
moment. “Todd is adopted, Bella.”

The words
finally sank in. “Adopted.”

“Yes.” He
reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m glad you left town, Bella. If
you’d stayed, things would have become really messy.”

“I’m not sure
what you mean.”

“It’s
simple.” He looked into her eyes. “I wouldn’t have been able to stay away from
you. You see, Angela lied about being pregnant. She knew that you and I were
getting serious, so she pretended to be pregnant.”

He was right;
this didn’t sound real. She took back her hand. “But you
did
have sex with
her.”

“Guilty.” He
shrugged. “Not my finest hour, I admit. Anyway, it wasn’t until after we were
married that I found out she wasn’t pregnant. She got hysterical and insisted
that we adopt. I think that was the beginning of her mental instability.”

Bella felt
like she was trudging through molasses. “But how did you get away with it?” She
paused to think. “There must have been someone who knew she wasn’t pregnant. You
know how people gossip in this town.”

“It was
surprisingly easy. When you’re a newlywed and you tell people you’re pregnant,
they believe you. After the first few months she started to wear loose
clothing, and then she told a few people she was going to stay with an aunt up
in Delaware for a while.” He sat back, a sad smile on his lips. “Then she came
back with Todd. For the first couple of years after he arrived she was fine.
She took him out everywhere and showed him off, but then she seemed to lose
interest, and she went out of the house less and less. She never goes out any
more.”

Bella shook
her head. “I’m so sorry, Jeffrey. At least you have Todd. He seems like a nice
young man.”

“He is. I’m
proud of him.”

“Does he know
he’s adopted?”

“Oh yes. I
told him as soon as I thought he was old enough to understand.” He opened his
mouth to speak, and then closed it. Bella waited. “Angela has become so
delusional that she refuses to believe Todd is adopted.” He blinked rapidly,
fighting back tears. “I stopped mentioning it a long time ago.”

They sat for
a moment, each lost in thought. Jeffrey stirred first. “This is a lot to take
in,” he said. “I don’t mind admitting that I’m disappointed you didn’t tell me
about Melissa, but on the other hand, I’m thrilled to know that I’m her
father.” He paused. “But my first instinct is to protect Angela. If she knew about
Melissa, it would push her right over the edge.”

“I agree. But
I have to tell her. I’ve kept this from her too long.”

Jeffrey
nodded. “Thank you, Bella. It looks like I’ll be seeing a lot of her around
here anyway...no matter what happens between her and Todd.”

Bella smiled.
“Speaking of which, I’d better put on my business hat and do a proper
inspection of the new facility. I was too tired to see much of anything
yesterday.”

“It’s great
to see the old place come alive again. Rafael certainly knows how to do things
right. I never would have thought of the retail aspect; all of the shops except
one are occupied and I understand a couple of businesses are interested in the
last space.” Jeffrey stood up and started clearing away the cups.

Bella stood as
well. “I’d better move fast, then. I’ve been thinking of making it a retail
outlet for
Bella
. I don’t think a location here would have a negative
effect on our store in Atlanta.” They sauntered across the grass. “I could call
it
Bella at the Mill
, or
Bella on the Bend
.” She looked up at
him. “Which do you prefer?”

He laughed.
“Either one sounds good to me. I’m all for anything that will bring more jobs
to Willow Bend.”

Bella turned
to Jeffrey when they pulled up in front of his office. “I dreaded telling you
about Melissa, but you made it easy. Thank you for that.”

He gave her a
long, searching look. “Does Rafael know?”

She pulled
back, startled by the question. “Yes, I told him a couple of days ago.”

A gentle
smile transformed his face. “He’s a good man, Bella.” He opened the door. “See
you later at the party.”

She pulled
away. What had that been about? But she didn’t have time to puzzle over
Jeffrey’s remark now. She had to find Melissa.

* * *

Bella
couldn’t help but be proud as she looked over the production floor. Carla had
set up a training area in the far corner and she was there now, speaking
quietly with a new employee.

There were
times – like right now – when Bella was tempted to pinch herself. With the help
of Sofia, and then Rafael and Carla, she had created a small empire. She had
done what she set out to do, and it felt good, even if her personal life lacked
the presence of someone special.

Maybe it was
coming home, but she had the feeling that something good was going to happen.
She had no idea what form that might take, but there would be time to dwell on
that later, when
Bella on the Bend
was up and running.

“Good
morning, Carla. Have you seen Melissa?”

Carla looked
up. “She’s in her office, and Rafa was looking for you earlier.” She looked at
her friend. There was something different about Bella this morning...something
lighter, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She shrugged
her shoulders and turned her attention back to the trainee.

* * *

“Hi, Mom.”
Melissa looked up from her computer. She appeared to be working on the company
website. “Be with you in a sec.”

Bella stopped
for a moment to look at her daughter. There were times when she thought she
knew her daughter better than she knew herself, but she had no idea how she would
take the news she was about to impart.

Melissa
finished what she was doing, stood up and gave her mother a quick hug. “You
look good this morning.” She brushed something from Bella’s cheek. “Looks like
sugar. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’ve been eating donuts.”

“I have,
actually. I just had coffee with Jeffrey.” Bella looked around. “Is there
somewhere we can talk?”

Melissa
pointed to the extra chairs in her office. “Why don’t we just close the door?”

Bella nodded,
pulled up a chair beside Melissa’s desk and glanced at the computer. Bubbles
floated across the background, a photo of
Bella on Third
. She motioned
toward the screen. “Do you remember when we opened the first store?”

Melissa
glanced at the picture. “Seems like yesterday, doesn’t it?” She looked back at
her mother. “Mom, much as I’d enjoy a trip down memory lane, this isn’t really
the right time for it.”

Bella smiled.
That was the daughter she knew...forthright and to the point. She wouldn’t
appreciate talking all around the subject.

Bella took a
deep breath. “Have you ever wondered who your father is?”

Melissa
stilled. “Yes.”

“It’s
Jeffrey. Todd’s father.”

Melissa
seemed to retreat for a moment while she absorbed this information. Her head
tilted to one side, as though she were listening to a faint voice whispering in
her ear. She remained silent for several long moments. Bella would have given
anything to know what her daughter was thinking.

Melissa
turned to her mother, a gentle smile playing around her lips. “Thanks for
telling me, Mom. This must have been hard for you.”

Bella didn’t
know what to make of her daughter’s reaction. “Aren’t you angry? Even a
little?”

“Why? What
good would that do?”

“None, I
guess. But I should have told you a long time ago.”