Page 31 of Chasing the Horizon

Valerie swatted him and laughed.

“So you think we should name the baby Alfred Hitchcock?” Alex teased.

Valerie groaned.

Halfway to Manhattan, they stopped for a big brunch. Valerie was almost always starving, which meant that her appetite finally matched Alex’s. Alex was pleased with this factor. At the little brunch spot off the highway, they ordered two three-egg omelets and a stack of blueberry pancakes to share. Valerie had never eaten so much, and she laughed at herself as she poured the syrup.

“I’ll miss living like this after the baby comes,” she said.

“Breastfeeding!” Alex reminded her. “You’ll have to eat like this for a while, I think.”

Valerie smiled, imagining herself with her baby in her arms, breastfeeding, her hair curly and wild, her face without makeup, the house more or less a mess. It was a version of happiness she’d never known.

Live in the here and now, she reminded herself. Appreciate every step.

When they first saw the city skyline, Valerie’s heartbeat quickened, and she reached for Alex’s hand. “I’m nervous,” she confessed. “I don’t know why.”

“You’re going to do great,” Alex said.

Valerie squeezed his hand. “So are you.”

Valerie wasn’t the only person going to Manhattan for work. Alex had a number of meetings lined up with potential investors, and he planned to spend all afternoon today and tomorrow pitching, schmoozing, and pitching some more.

“Imagine if I actually get funding?” Alex said breathlessly as they entered the city. “Imagine how that would change my career?”

“It would be incredible,” Valerie said.

Their first stop was Catherine’s Greenwich Village brownstone—a place that Valerie knew had cost Catherine and her husband upward of four million dollars. It was an unfathomable amount of money, even to Alex and Valerie, who’d lived in one of the wealthiest cities in the world. When they reached the brownstone, Alex grabbed a parking spot out front, and the two of them spent a good three minutes gazing up at the beautiful building and marveling at what kind of life Catherine and Max lived.

“Imagine having both this and the place in Nantucket,” Valerie whispered.

“I can’t,” Alex said with a laugh. “If I was like them, I’d be able to fund my own movie.”

Valerie got out and went to the door to ring the bell. Alex waited behind her, ready to haul up the baby shower decor at a moment’s notice. But Catherine didn’t come to the door.

“I told her we’d be here at this time,” Valerie muttered, checking her messages again to make sure Catherine had confirmed. She’d texted:see you then!But she wasn’t coming to the door.

“Weird,” Alex said. “Should we go check into the hotel and come back?”

“I don’t want to have to drive all over the city,” Valerie said. Annoyance—and fear—welled in her stomach.

The Catherine she’d met a few months ago never would have done something like this to her. The Catherine she’d met a few months ago was organized and personable and eager to work with Valerie. It didn’t make sense.

But after the fourth ring of the bell, it was clear that Catherine wasn’t coming.

Valerie was stricken with anguish. What if they’d driven all this way only for Catherine to cancel the baby shower? What if Catherine was ghosting her? Catherine hadn’t paid Valerie the full amount yet, and Valerie had been banking on that money.

She and the baby and Alex needed it.

And what if Valerie had already done something “wrong” in Catherine’s eyes, something that would ruin Valerie’s reputation with Catherine’s friends?

Valerie’s palms were itchy. She balked.

But just as Alex was going to suggest they go to the hotel to calm down a little bit before they figured out the rest, someone called from the corner, “Oh, Valerie! You’re early.” Valerie turned to see a very pregnant Catherine waddling toward them, dressed in a big winter coat and a knitted hat and a pair ofgloves. There was a light dusting of snow on her shoulders, and she smiled beautifully, her lips aglow with red.

Immediately, Valerie calmed down. But internally, she thought,I’m not early. How did she already forget what time we agreed on?

Catherine and Alex had met briefly before but shook hands again.

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