The Copperfield House by Katie Winters

Author:Katie Winters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: women's fiction, later in life, women's divorce fiction, contemporary fiction, clean and wholesome
Publisher: Katie Winters
Published: 2022-04-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

By the time nine-thirty a.m. chimed on the ancient grandfather clock in the living room, both Danny and Laura were stretched out on two of the living room couches, twitching in their sleep. Ella and Julia discovered them when they stepped out of the study and gave a wry laugh.

“I guess they ate too much toast,” Julia offered.

“It’s my fault. I kept them awake all night long to get here,” Ella said. “I would wake them up, but I’m terrified of grumpy teenagers.”

“Yeah. We have enough problems without that kind of attitude,” Julia joked.

Julia and Ella took quick showers and met in the foyer a little after ten. Julia jangled her keys from her spring jacket and led Ella wordlessly to her SUV, where it remained stationed at the side of the road. Ella’s station wagon, which was parked directly in the driveway, was clunky and vintage-looking, like a prop for a seasoned New York artist. By contrast, Julia’s SUV was fit for a soccer mom. If only she still had someone to drive to soccer.

“Wow. Heated seats?” Ella hissed excitedly a minute or so after Julia turned on the engine.

“It got so cold in Bartlett,” Julia explained. “When I was driving Henry to basketball, Anna to play practice, and Rachel to gymnastics, I spent a lot of time in this car.”

“On top of your publishing house in the city?” Ella asked.

“For a while, I felt like I had two lives,” Julia told her. “I wanted to perform all the duties of Super Mom, and I wanted to be a top-grade businesswoman. I probably failed at both.”

“It doesn’t look like you did. Not from here on your heated seats.”

They drove the rest of the way to the hospital in silence. The clock next to the speaker system told her the date— April 7th. When was Jackson taking off for Beijing? Was it April 8th? Sometime that weekend? As she’d once known the ins and outs of everything from Jackson’s writing schedule to his underwear drawer, her heart yearned to know the intricacies of his schedule. That feeling wouldn’t go away quickly. She knew that.

Once in the hospital's foyer, the smell of sterilization equipment and bad hospital food wafted through the room. Julia’s stomach twisted with fear. The woman at the front desk greeted them as they checked in, saying, “I don’t know the last time I saw so many Copperfields at once.”

Julia and Ella glanced at one another, simmering with the same feeling: Haven’t you people learned to just leave us alone? Haven’t we been your sideshow long enough?

Julia and Ella took the steps to Room 417. The door was propped open, and sunlight brewed out from the large window, drawing a halo around the doorframe and into the hallway. Julia watched as Ella stepped into the hospital room first, her hands clasped tightly behind her back.

“Is that my Ella?” Greta Copperfield’s voice was twice as bright as the day before, flowing with happiness.

“Mom...” Ella rushed to the bedside as Julia stepped in to join them.

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