“You strike me as a very independent, adventurous woman, and probably fearless in the bargain.”
“Not fearless,” she confessed, although she had been in some very dicey situations that would have terrified most people. “But independent and adventurous, yes. My older daughter has been complaining about it and thinks I should slow down.”
“I don’t believe in that. I think you’ll stay young forever if you keep doing what you love. There’s plenty of time to slow down later, much later, when you have no other choice. But until your arms drop off and your legs fall off, there’s no valid reason to slow down.” She beamed as he said it. He was a year older than she was, at fifty-nine, and was an only child like her.
“That’s what I think. My fall off the ladder was the excuse she’s been waiting for to try and get me to sell the house I love.”
“Nonsense, that’s a terrible idea. I think you should go right on, at full speed, trying to get up the hill on a narrow rocky path with a cast on. It’s quite the right attitude about life,” he said, and she laughed at him. He was nice to talk to and very knowledgeable on a number of subjects that interested her.
“I’ll tell her you said so.”
“Excellent. I’ll send it to her in writing, if you like. Think of all the famous people who went on at full tilt into their eighties and nineties. You have decades ahead of you before you think of slowing down. Keep the house!”
“That’s my theory,” Maddie said happily.
“Stick with it. By the way, would you want to have dinner with me tonight? There’s a very nice little restaurant quite nearby, if you have no other plans.” She liked the idea, and she followed him in her car to a small French restaurant. They had a delicious meal and a lively conversation, and then he drove behind her back to the hotel to make sure she got there safely. He suggested a walk the next morning, and she accepted. It was more fun being with him than taking nature hikes on her own.
He picked her up the next day at eleven, and they walked for two hours, and then had lunch at her hotel. They talked nonstop, laughed a lot, and covered everything from literature to history and art.
She was going to San Francisco the following day, and she agreed to have lunch with William before she left. He took her to a funny hippie place that had been popular in the sixties, and there were a lot of aging surfers there in tie-dyed shirts.
William said he was sorry she was leaving and hoped to see her again sometime, which seemed unlikely.
“I’ve really enjoyed talking to you, Maddie. I get a bit rusty here with nothing but my work.”
“Do you ever come to New York?” she asked hopefully. He had made her stay in Big Sur infinitely more pleasant, and less mournful, after learning of Andy’s death.
“There’s an American publishing house that reprints my work, but my agent and main publisher are in London,” he said in answer to her question about New York. “But I hope our paths will cross somewhere.” She had told him that she was going to Shanghai soon. And now she had a shoot booked in Madrid too, and possibly one in London.
She was all packed when she met him for lunch, her bags were in the car and she planned to leave immediately after. She was having dinner with Ben that night. Laura was going to a benefit with a friend and had agreed to let Ben spend time with his mother, although she wasn’t happy about his not going to the black-tie event with her. The press never paid attention to her when Ben wasn’t there, although she didn’t tell him that.
Maddie had also sent an email to Milagra, telling her that she was going to spend three or four days visiting Ben and his family, and asking if Milagra had time for her mother to visit after that. But she hadn’t heard back from her yet. Maddie knew that if she was writing, she didn’t check her emails, and in that case Maddie would go back to New York without seeing her, but at least she had tried to connect with her.
“Where are you staying in San Francisco?” William asked her as he walked her to her car after lunch.
“The Fairmont. It’s big and kind of fun. I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you, William,” she said, smiling up at him. He looked as though he wanted to kiss her, but didn’t dare, which seemed just as well to her since she’d probably never see him again. It had been a pleasant interlude and he was good company, interesting and intelligent and low-key, with a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at himself. He was very English, despite how much he liked living in the States.
“I’ve enjoyed it too,” he said. “One doesn’t meet a woman like you very often. In fact, never. I feel like a bit of a recluse here.” She could see why. Spending too much time there would have depressed her, between the weather and the isolation.
“Well, if you come to New York, call me,” she said brightly. She was in good spirits after spending four days with him, and he was easy to talk to. She had given him her numbers in New York, and her cellphone number and email address. He had what he needed if he wanted to reach her, although she didn’t expect it. There was no future in it geographically. It was obvious to both of them. And they were too old to fool themselves about that.
“Take care of yourself, Maddie.” He kissed her on the cheek, and she got in her car. She waved as she drove away, and she could see him in the rearview mirror watching her, then he got in his own car.
She was excited about seeing Ben when she got to San Francisco. They were going to have dinner alone, just the two of them, and she could hardly wait.
There was a message from him when she checked in to the hotel. “Pick you up at eight.”
Minutes after she got to her room at The Fairmont, the doorbell rang and a bellman staggered in with an enormous vase with three dozen long-stemmed pale pink roses. She gave him a tip after he set it down, and she opened the card and smiled.
“To my favorite damsel in distress. Stay off the steep trails until you get the cast off. Call if you need help. And never slow down!—William”
No one had sent her flowers like that in years, and she was delighted as she went to run a bath and dress for dinner with her son. William Smith had style, and even if she never saw him again, the four days she had spent with him had been fun. The roses were gorgeous. It was nice having a man take her to dinner and send her flowers. Jacques was right! It made her feel young, whether she ever saw William again or not.
Chapter 10
Maddie was waiting on the front steps of The Fairmont when Ben drove up in the Range Rover Laura usually used to drive the children. She had taken his Mercedes to the benefit with her friend. She had been chilly with him when she left for the evening. She didn’t like being preempted by his mother, and it had never happened before. But Maddie had never jumped ship for two weeks before either, driving cross-country alone, and avoiding communication with her children. Ben had gotten the point that he needed to pay more attention to her, after his older sister had handled the situation so badly that their mother had literally run away from all of them. He needed to take matters in hand and he had. He wanted Maddie to know now that they cared about her, she wasn’t just the forgotten mom, even if she felt that way. And he wanted to see if any of Deanna’s outrageous claims about her had any truth to them. If so, he wanted to discover it for himself.