Page 89 of Second Chances
She had hoped to hear though.
Because that would mean she wouldn’t be going crazy right now. She tried to call Jane this morning - no answer. Frustrated, she’d left the apartment to head over to the gallery to make sure that everything was being set up according to plan, stopping to pick up some last-minute supplies on the way. Thankfully, Caro wasn’t there; Beth had told her not to be, told her that it would just make her less focused on what was important, and that was confidently selling her work to a bunch of people who had never seen it before. It sounded good, but it was mostly BS; she just couldn’t bear to have to be in Caroline’s presence all day.
Why isn’t Jane responding to me?! She knows how important this is.
Which meant that Jane probably had a good reason for why she wasn’t calling. Suddenly, her phone buzzed.
Jane!
- Call soon. Sorry.
Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Well, at least she knew that Jane was alive, because she was really starting to get concerned.
Her anxiety about tonight was really starting to overwhelm her. She was grateful that Darcy was going to be there.No more hiding.Going to the exhibit together,Caroline’sexhibit, was more than just for support; it was making a statement, to Caroline, that Beth hadn’t backed down and that she wasn’t going to back down.
God, she couldn’t wait to see the look on Caro’s face when she introduced Darcy to her as her boyfriend.
Hopefully, it didn’t backfire.
Following the checklist she had made for herself, Beth efficiently made her way through the exhibit construction, making sure that everything was in order. Not that there was much she had to do, as the decor was pretty sparse, allowing the focus to remain on the art. The pieces were still covered in cloth in the back; Beth and Caroline agreed to arrive half an hour before the doors opened to set them up, this way they wouldn’t be damaged during set-up. Caroline had already numbered them so she knew where they were going to go.
Thirty minutes.
That was all that would be left for this charade; thirty minutes before the exhibit opened and then Beth would have the refuge of Darcy and the other guests to isolate her.
The sound of something vibrating against metal stirred her. Beth could have kicked herself for leaving her phone and purse on the small, metal table by the entrance. Picking it up she saw a voicemail from Jane.
Thank God.
“Hey, Beth. Sorry, it took me so long; Caroline stopped by this morning. Anyway, if you can come over, we can talk. I know what happened.”
Beth’s heart stopped at her sister’s words. Relief and anticipation coursed through her veins as she quickly grabbed her things, texting Jane that she was on her way over. It was a good thing she’d packed her clothes for the evening, just in case this happened.
Hailing a cab, she needed to let Darcy know what was going on. She crossed her fingers as the line began to ring, knowing that he’d scheduled meetings for today but hoping she was catching him in between them.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Beth replied, a little breathlessly, in relief that she’d gotten ahold of him.
“Are you ok? What happened?” Darcy asked, his voice immediately heightened with concern.
“What? Oh… no, sorry, I’m fine. I just wasn’t sure if you were going to answer,” Beth quickly explained. “I’m on my way to Jane’s. She just texted me that Caroline was there this morning and that’s why she never called.”
“Oh, ok.” His relief was palpable through the line.
“She said she knows - she knows why Caroline is doing this,” Beth said, unable to stop the glimmer of hope from entering into her tone.
“Hopefully, it’s something we can handle,” he replied, less optimistically.
“It will be,” Beth reassured him definitely, “I’ll call you when we’re done.”
“Ok. I have another meeting this afternoon. I don’t know when I’ll be done, but I’ll meet you at the exhibit as soon as I can.”
“Ok.”
“And Beth… I don’t care what Jane tells you. Don’t do anything rash before you talk to me,” he ordered, unable to stop the controlling side of him from reappearing at such a time.
“I won’t,” she promised as her eyes looked up at the roof of the cab, hoping she would be able to keep her word.
