“What's he going to do with a hundred orphans?” Charles looked amazed. Why would anyone do a thing like that? Even with Blake's money, it seemed like a crazy thing to do.
“House them, educate them, take care of them. Send them away to college one day. He's setting up a foundation for the orphanage. It's a nice thing for him to do. It's an amazing gift to those kids. He can afford it, it won't make a dent in what he has.” That, Charles could believe, just from looking at the boat, and all he had read about Blake. He had one of the biggest fortunes in the world. It still amazed Charles that Maxine took nothing from him, and was content with her far more human-scale life. Not many women would have resisted the temptation to stick it to him when they left. And he suspected that was why she and Blake were such good friends, because he knew what a good person she was. Charles was well aware of it himself.
They lay on the sun deck for a while then, and the children joined them for lunch. They were planning to anchor outside Portofino that night. The boat was too big to go into port, and the kids were never that interested in going ashore. From there, they were going to Corsica for several days, Sardinia, Capri, and Elba on the way back. They had a nice trip planned, and they were going to spend most of it on the boat, at anchor.
Much to Maxine's surprise, Charles played card games with the children at night. She had never seen him so relaxed. Sam had just had both his casts off, and his ribs were feeling better, so he could get around the boat with ease. And Charles took him on one of the Jet Skis the next day. He looked like a kid himself. He went scuba diving with one of the crew members afterward, since he was certified. And he went snorkeling with Maxine after lunch. They swam to a small beach together, and they lay on the white sand. Jack and Daphne were watching them with binoculars, and Daphne set them down with a look of disgust when they kissed. Daphne was still giving him a tough time, but it was hard to avoid him on the boat. And eventually even she relaxed, particularly after he taught her how to waterski. He was good at it, and taught her a few tricks that made it easier for her.
It delighted Maxine to see Charles warming up to her children. It had taken a long time, and they hadn't made it easy for him, except for Sam, who got along with everyone and felt sorry for him. He thought Daphne was being too mean, and said as much to Charles.
“You think so, eh?” Charles said, laughing. He had been in great spirits ever since they'd been on the boat. Despite his earlier trepidation, he conceded to Maxine that it was the best vacation he'd ever had, and she had never seen him look more relaxed.
Blake had called them the second day out. He just wanted to be sure the trip was going well, and told Maxine to give Charles his best. She relayed the message, but a cloud crossed Charles's eyes again.
“Why don't you relax about him?” she suggested, and Charles nodded, and said nothing. No matter what she said to reassure him, he was still fiercely jealous of Blake. She could understand it, but it seemed so unnecessary to her. She was in love with Charles, not with Blake.
They talked about their wedding, and she got emails from the caterer and the wedding planner. Everything was under control.
They swam in beautiful coves off Corsica, and lay on white sandy beaches. And then they went on to Sardinia, which was far more social, and there were other big boats there as well. Maxine and Charles had dinner ashore, and the next day they left for Capri. It was always fun for the children there. They rode in a horse-drawn carriage, and did some shopping, and Charles bought her a beautiful turquoise bracelet that she loved. And he told her again on the way back to the boat what a good time he was having on the trip. They both looked happy and relaxed. Blake had given them a great gift with the boat. And the children were finally beginning to enjoy Charles, and not complaining as much about him to Maxine, although Daphne still said he was uptight. But compared to her father, everyone was. Charles was a grown-up to the core. But he still managed to have a good time, tell some jokes, and he danced on deck with Maxine one night, to some good music the crew had put on for them.
“It doesn't bother you to be on his boat with another man?” Charles inquired.
“Not in the least,” she answered. “He's been on board with half the women on the planet. It's been over between me and Blake for a long time. I wouldn't be marrying you if that weren't the case.” Charles believed that was true, he just felt that everywhere he went, Blake was looking over his shoulder. There were photographs of him everywhere, a few of Maxine, and many of the kids. They were all in beautiful silver frames.
The weeks sped by too quickly, and suddenly it was the last night. They had anchored off St. Jean Cap Ferrat and were going in to Monte Carlo the next day, to fly home. It was a beautiful moonlit night, the children were watching a movie, and she and Charles sat on deck chairs, talking softly.
“I hate to go home,” she admitted. “Leaving the boat is always like being cast out of the Garden of Eden. Reality hits hard after this.” She laughed as she said it, and he agreed. “The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy before the wedding,” she warned him, but he didn't look worried or upset about it anymore.
“I figured they would be. I'll go hide somewhere if it gets to be too much for me.”
Maxine was planning to work for two weeks, and she had a lot to do in the office and many patients to see, before she took August off, for the wedding and the honeymoon. Thelma and her practice were covering for her again, as they always did.
When they got home, the wedding would be four weeks away. She could hardly wait. Maxine and her children were all moving to her house in Southampton on the first of August, and Charles was coming too. So were Zellie and her new baby, and Maxine hoped that would be okay. It was going to be a powerful dose of reality for Charles, but he said he was braced for it. They were both excited about the wedding, and her parents were staying with them for the wedding weekend too. It would give Charles someone to talk to, while Maxine tended to the final details. The only time Charles wouldn't be staying with them was the night before the wedding, after the rehearsal dinner. She had made him take a room at a hotel, so he wouldn't see her the morning of the wedding. She was superstitious about that, which he said was a nuisance, but he was willing to indulge her for one night.
“It might be the only decent night's sleep I get, with all the people you'll have in the house.” It was a far cry from his peaceful cabin in Vermont. Maxine never wanted to go there because they couldn't take the kids with them, unlike her rambling old house in the Hamptons, which housed them all and still left room for guests.
The captain pulled the boat into port in Monte Carlo early the next morning, and they were already moored there when everyone woke up. They had a last breakfast on board, and then the crew members were going to drive all five of them to the airport. Just before they left, Maxine stood looking up at the beautiful sailboat from the dock.
“You love her, don't you?” Charles asked as she nodded.
“Yes, I do,” Maxine said softly. “I always hate to leave.” She looked at him then. “I had a wonderful time with you, Charles.” She leaned over and kissed him, and he kissed her back.
“So did I,” he said as he slipped an arm around her waist, and together they walked away from the
Chapter 22
The two women had lunch together right after Maxine got back from the boat trip, and Thelma asked her about Charles. She had met him twice, but didn't really have a sense of him, other than that he was very reserved. She had met Blake once too and commented that the two men were as different as night and day.
“You sure don't go for a type,” Thelma teased her, “and if you do, I'm not sure which one it would be.”
“Probably Charles. We're more alike. Blake was an early mistake,” Maxine said glibly, and then reconsidered. “No, that's not true, or fair. It worked when we were young. I grew up, he didn't, and it all went down the drain after that.”
“No, it didn't. You got three great kids out of it.” Thelma had two, and they were gorgeous. Her husband was Chinese, from Hong Kong, and the children had exquisite caramel-colored skin, and huge slightly Asian eyes. They were the best of both. Her daughter was a teenage model, and Thelma always said that her son broke every heart in school. As his mother had done, he was going to Harvard in the fall, and heading for medical school after that. Her husband was a physician too, a cardiologist and head of the department at NYU, and theirs was a marriage that
