Page 74 of Babies at Coconuts

Chapter 52

Cheri heard her phone chirp and recognized the Skype call from Victoria Van Buren, her wealthy, gorgeous, absent mom. As the fuzzy image cleared, Cheri squinted and frowned.

“Mom, I thought we talked about plastic surgery months ago. You promised you wouldn’t go over—”

“Hello to you too.” Victoria rolled her eyes. “Geeze. Between you and your dad, I feel like I’m alone. He’s always . . .” After a long pause, she muttered, “Oh, never mind.”

Cheri scowled into the phone. “He’s always what? I hate it when you do that, Mom.”

Victoria shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s probably my overactive imagination.”

Feeling a sinking feeling, Cheri pressed. “What? Tell me.”

Waving a manicured hand in the air, Cheri noticed her mother’s ring fingers were painted a glittery silver while her other nails were burgundy red.

Sighing, Victoria said, “Your dad is still working out. A lot.” Lighting a cigarette, she blew smoke into the screen. “Between the gym, his meetings, and business dinners, I rarely see him these days.”

“I hate it when you smoke.” Dread overcame Cheri. She drummed her fingers on the table. Her parents had always been the perfect couple. Her mind worked fast as she attempted to find a positive solution. “Working out is good, right? He probably wants to stay fit and healthy, simple as that.” After hesitating, Cheri offered, “Maybe you should join him at the gym.”

Sipping a martini while alternately taking a long drag, Victoria said dryly, “He told me in no uncertain terms he wants to work out a-l-o-n-e.”

“Oh.” Cheri studied the two-inch-long ashes perilously dangling above her mother’s elegant white pants. She felt herself holding her breath as she stared fixated on the glowing embers.

Just in time, Victoria tapped her cigarette and the ashes fell into a crystal Tiffany’s bowl.

Cheri blinked. “That was close.”

“What, darling?”

“Nothing.” Glancing at a huge clock on the wall, Cheri knew she had to broach the difficult subject and took a relaxing tone. “Mom, I know there’s a six-hour time difference between the Midwest and Europe, but isn’t it a little early to drink?”

Defiantly, her mother took a big gulp. “It’s never too early, darling.”

“Okay, fine.” Cheri’s mind raced as she considered her mother’s frozen forehead. She decided to let any plastic surgery lectures go, for now. Brightening, she asked, “Why don’t you travel? Maybe you could plan a surprise trip for Daddy. Don’t you have an anniversary coming up? Or a birthday? There has to be some event to celebrate. Sorry, you know I’m horrible with dates.”

Victoria smiled mid-sip. Setting her martini glass down, she licked her lips and said, “That’s not a bad idea. I’d have to catch him between business dealings but surely he could manage seven or ten days away.”

“Do it. Plan something really cool that he can’t resist. Something other than Europe. I know you love it there but this needs to be out of the box to get Dad’s attention. Want me to send you some ideas? I can research destinations or ask my friend who is a wedding planner. I’m sure she knows of several romantic des—”

Victoria peered over her cocktail and batted her false eyelashes. “No need, darling. I have an idea. In fact, it’s a place I’ve dreamed about since I was a teen—somewhere that’s been on my bucket list for eons.” She giggled. “Not that I’m that old.”

Wriggling in her chair, Cheri fought the urge to check the time again. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Mom. Where are you thinking?”

Crossing her toned legs, Victoria said, “I want to surprise you. Hopefully, I can tear your dad away. Don’t worry. We’ll send photos if I can pull this off. Thank you for the pep talk, darling. Gotta run. I want to get right on this. Ciao.”

The call ended before Cheri had a chance to say goodbye, as usual. Bye, Mom, and good luck with your secret vacation.

She texted her new girlfriends and asked Alex, Suzy, and Hope to meet her at Coconuts, writing:

Hi, ladies. Coconuts at 6 tonight? Parental trouble. Maybe. Angry Balls on me.

After everyone responded affirmatively, Cheri changed into a denim shirt dress, leopard print ankle wrap sandals, and braided her hair into a side braid. Climbing into her grandmother’s red Mercedes, she drove to Coconuts with her parents’ relationship on her mind.

Turning up the volume on the radio to drown out her worries, she eased north onto Highway 65. Finally having real girlfriends for truly the first time meant getting valuable feedback on all aspects of her life. She pushed on the gas pedal. I can’t get to Coconuts fast enough.

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