Page 12 of The Lake House

“Perfect. Because I can’t sit in that place for more than five minutes…”

“You and me both,” I say.

Weddings and all that jazz gives me reminders. Reminders of something that took a toll on me. Honestly, I don’t know why I’d let my ex, Claire, fool me into thinking she wouldn’t cheat on me when she had the track record of giving prostitutes a run for their money.

Why had I dated her? I thought she was pretty, and she seemed sweet. All the rumors I’d heard about her didn’t phase me. I knew this was a small town and people loved to talk and make shit up. So I gave her a chance.

Why had I married her? I thought I was in love. But after a couple of months after our blissful day, Claire began to change. I thought the reason was because she wasn’t getting pregnant right away. She turned moody and, well, not so nice to me. I tried my damnedest to make her happy. But everything I did would fail. I’d show her an infinite amount of affection, spending any second I wasn’t working with her, taking her out, and wining and dining her, but it didn’t make a difference. After we’d get home, she’d go right back to being grumpy. I’d buy her flowers, candy, jewelry, send her on shopping sprees, spa days with her girlfriends all paid for… but nothing. Nothing seemed to help.

We went to doctors to see why we weren’t getting pregnant, and they found nothing. They just told us to keep trying and if after a year of trying nothing happened, then we could start looking at our options. Fertility treatments would be expensive, but with me having my own construction company, it wasn’t something that I couldn’t afford. Claire didn’t work. She didn’t have to. I was able to take care of all our bills with money left over for fun and play. She always had her hair and nails done.

Then one day, after ten long months, she missed her period and took a pregnancy test. Two pink lines showed up, and bam! She got pregnant. She was happy then… at least for a little while, probably until the nausea set in. Then she went right back to being miserable.

Countless doctor appointments and eight months after taking that test, little Lilienne Bell was born. My beautiful baby girl, who I thank the Lord for every second I get. Lily was the only good thing to come out of my marriage with Claire.

Once our daughter was born and Claire could start going back to her regular activities, she signed up at the local gym. And she always went to the gym. Like night and day. It was so much that we ended up having to put Lily in a nursery in town. It’s a shame that Mrs. Abner’s nursery and daycare had closed by then because that’s exactly where I would have loved to have Lily go. Instead, we had to find a different one. I wasn’t thrilled about leaving Lily with people I didn’t really know, but Claire insisted she needed time to make her feel like herself once more.

But the gym sessions started getting longer and longer. When she would once leave Lily only for only two or three hours, she started leaving her for four and five, and ultimately, all day long. I would have to leave work early numerous times to make sure I’d get there before they’d close. And even being the owner of your own company, you don’t always get to leave at five on the dot.

I mean, there were days when I wouldn’t even see Claire by the time Lily and I’d get home. That should have told me right there. But I thought nothing of it, even knowing the rumors that had gone around about her before I started dating her. I never imagined she’d cheat on me and wasn’t happy with the life we created. But obviously, she wasn’t.

One day, I got home from work to find her in our driveway with Lily on her hip, leaning against a Ferrari. Three suitcases were packed and sat to her left. A man in his early thirties sat behind the wheel, sunglasses on, even though the sun had long since set. Come to find out, it was her personal trainer, and she was leaving me for him. Lily was only a year old then.

For a second, fear gripped at my heart. Sweat built up on my forehead. I thought she was taking my little girl from me.

But I should have known better than that.

Claire wasn’t the type of woman who looked at motherhood as a blessing. Even after all we’d been through, trying for months on end to get pregnant, she was treating it as just another notch on her belt of things she wanted to accomplish.

Without more than two words, she walked up to me, handed me Lily, and said goodbye. She didn’t even kiss her daughter on the cheek.

It hurt really badly for a long time. But there was nothing I could have done. In a way, I think my baby girl and I are better off. If Claire could so easily leave us without more than a few words, never looking back, then I think we hit the jackpot.

Now, it’s been three years, and my daughter and I are doing just fine on our own. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve got family and friends who love us, and I know if Lily ever needs a female in her life to ask questions about her cycle and boys, she will have my mother, sister, Roger’s mother and Rachel who adore her more than anything else in this world. And for that, I’m thankful.

“All good?” Roger asks, bringing me out of memory lane.

I snap my head up at him with a smile. “Yeah, everything is perfect. Ready to head out?”

“Sure am.”

“Great, let’s go.”

ChapterSix

GIULIANA

If I never get to spend another day anywhere else besides this back porch, I’ll die happy. I love the serenity and quiet of the lake and its surroundings.

Still, as much as I’d love to just sit here watching the wind blowing through the trees, I know it’s time I start getting my life back on track.

So, in my promise to Liv to start my life over, the first step I should probably take is to get a job. Immediately, I think back to Mrs. Abner’s wonderful offer of allowing me to work there. What would be better than doing something like that around people I’m already comfortable with for a couple of hours each day? It’s a start for sure.

I pick up my cell phone and look for the phone number of the store. Once I find it, I hit the call option, and it starts ringing.

“Abner’s Convenience Store… how may I help you?” An older gentleman, who I recognize to be Mr. Abner, answers the phone.

“Mr. Abner? Hi, it’s Giuliana Bianchi. How are–”

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