Part 8 (1/2)
”I don't think so.” Blake laughed along with Jakob. ”We have to figure out exactly where he is. I'll make some calls and we can all go tomorrow morning.”
”Why don't we try to find Penny first?” Jakob suggested. ”If we can get some concrete facts from her, then maybe we can approach Larry with someone real. Then maybe he can prepare us for what Steve and Rosie have planned.”
”Or what he has planned.” I sighed. ”If Larry is the mastermind behind it all, he's not going to tell us what's going on.”
”Yeah, but if he's the mastermind, there is something he wants,” Jakob said. ”And if my father is alive, then Larry is still number two.”
”If your father is alive, then what does he want? Why pretend to be dead?”
”Heaven only knows.” Jakob sighed.
”Heaven and Penny Case.” Blake tapped his forehead. ”Even if Mrs. Renee isn't Penny Case, she has a story.”
Jakob stood there, a distant look in his eyes. ”Why do I have the feeling that no matter what we find out, we're still going to be blindsided at the ball?”
”My mother used to dream of being a famous writer,” Jakob said as we got dressed to go out to dinner later that night. ”She told me that when she was younger, she would write poems for everyone she met, but she knew her parents wouldn't approve of her trying to be an author.”
”What were your grandparents like?”
”I don't know.” He shook his head. ”They died before I was born.” He took out a crisp white s.h.i.+rt. ”Sometimes I wonder what would have been different for my mother if she hadn't had to fend for herself from such a young age.”
”I didn't know that.”
He started to do up his s.h.i.+rt, and I watched as his fingers deftly handled the b.u.t.tons. ”Black or red?” He held up two ties to me.
”You have to wear a bow tie.” I grinned. ”A black one.”
”Yes, ma'am.” He winked at me. ”What are you going to do to me if I don't?”
”Spank you.” I winked back at him, and he laughed.
”Ooh, I think I'll wear a pink one, then.” He turned around and bent forward. ”I'll take my spanking now.”
”You wish.” I laughed. ”So how did your mom meet Jeremiah?”
”She used to work in the cafeteria at Harvard,” he said softly. ”They had a relations.h.i.+p, and he ended up marrying someone with a name and money to match his family's.”
”David's mom?”
”Yeah.” He nodded.
”And she was okay with the fact that he already had a kid with another woman?”
”I don't think Macy Vanderbilt cared.” His lips twisted scornfully. ”My mom said she would have done anything to be with Jeremiah. In fact, she stole him from someone else.”
”Oh?”
”Yeah, he was a player.” Jakob shook his head. ”Typical man, my mom always said.”
”That's sad.”
”I know.” He sighed. ”I wish she hadn't gotten involved with him. I just don't understand what she saw in him, why she loved him so much. When she died, I found a book full of poems, and most of them were about her love for him.”
”That's so sad. He wasn't even worth it.” I could feel tears coming to my eyes. ”Why does the heart always fall for the wrong person?”
”It doesn't always.” Jakob grabbed my hands and pulled me toward him. ”Sometimes the heart falls for exactly the right person.”
”Do you ever think about the fact that if it wasn't for all of this, we wouldn't have met?” I said softly, and gazed up at him.
”All the time.” He nodded and sighed. ”And I don't know what to think about that. If it wasn't for my mother's heartbreak, I might never have found you.”
”Maybe we would have found each other in a different way.”
”Maybe.”
”Do you think your dad is still alive?” I changed the subject as I thought about the night ahead of us. ”Do you think he's the one pulling all the strings?”
”I don't know.” Jakob sighed, and I could see that his eyes had hardened. ”It wouldn't surprise me. For all intents and purposes, he died in a plane crash.” He looked up at me. ”But I wouldn't be shocked if he faked his death.”
”Why would he do that?” I asked him softly, and he pulled me into his arms and held me close to his body. I could feel his heart racing as he stroked my hair.
”That's what we need to find out.” He pursed his lips. ”Something seems off though. Why would Steve and Rosie want you to meet my dad?”
”I don't know.” I bit my lower lip. ”And does David know? He would have to, right?”
”I don't know why they would keep it from him,” Jakob said, looking thoughtful. ”But yeah, I don't think that David knows anything. To be honest, I think Rosie's playing David.”
”And she's being led by Larry?”
”Yeah.” He looked at me with puzzled eyes. ”But I don't know what Larry gets out of it.”
”Money?”
”He has money.” Jakob shook his head. ”Unless my dad really is alive, and he's the one calling the shots.”
”Larry seems like he would do anything for your dad.”
”Yeah. I guess.” He shrugged. ”I guess we'll find out tonight.”
”Yeah, I hope so.” I suddenly thought of something and grabbed his hand. ”Will you be okay if he's still alive?”
”It wouldn't matter either way to me.” He shook his head, his eyes hardening. ”Hold on, I want to read you one of my mom's poems before we leave.”