The Suite Spot by Trish Doller

Author:Trish Doller [Doller, Trish]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

I don’t sleep. The panic in my chest is alive and writhing as I pace the condo from kitchen to lanai, and back. I sit down on the couch. I turn on the TV. I get up again. Turn off the TV. Mom has been in bed for hours, and Anna and Keane left for their hotel not long after Brian took Maisie. I consider driving to his apartment to get her. I even put on my shoes. Shouldn’t I trust him? He’s never done anything to hurt her, but I can’t shake the fear. Instead I go outside and walk along the seawall until light breaks the horizon. When I return, Mom is on the lanai having her morning coffee.

“You’re up early,” she says with a frown. “I saw you walking. Are you okay?”

“No. I’ve spent the whole night terrified that Brian won’t bring Maisie back.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“How do you accuse your ex-boyfriend of attempted kidnapping without sounding unhinged?”

“I meant to me, Rachel,” Mom says. “You didn’t have to spend the night alone.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Well, I’m worried now, so you didn’t spare me anything.”

“I’m sorry.”

She pulls me into a hug, rubbing my back like she did when I was a little girl. I break down, sobbing against her shoulder.

“I know you’ve always hated it when I say you can do better than Brian,” she says. “But regardless of how I feel about him, I don’t believe stealing Maisie would ever cross his mind. Long-range planning and execution are not in his skill set.”

“But you heard him: he’s going to college and got a decent job.”

“You told him he needed to get his shit together,” Mom points out. “Seems to me that he listened.”

“That doesn’t explain why he was acting so sketchy last night.”

“Brian was comfortable with your relationship because you never challenged his behavior. When you moved to Ohio, you broke the cycle. I suspect he’s hurt and angry, and has no idea how to manage that,” she says. “Not making eye contact and refusing to speak to you makes perfect sense for someone who has the emotional depth of a teaspoon.”

She takes my chin firmly in her hand. “And if you had come to me with this last night, you would not have spent the night worrying about something that Brian Schroeder is not smart enough to pull off.”

When I laugh, it’s wet and snotty from crying. “You’re right. I let my fears get away from me.”

“You’re a mother,” she says, kissing my forehead. “It happens.”

Mom goes into the kitchen to start breakfast and I nap on the couch until the security system beeps and I see my daughter on the video screen.

Maisie comes bursting into the condo, hopped up on pancake syrup and orange juice, Brian on her heels. His sunny smile fades and he averts his eyes. Maybe Mom was right.

“Hi, Brian,” I say, but his gaze won’t stick. “Do you have a minute? We need to talk.”

“I, uh—I really don’t have time right now,” he says.

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