There was silence.
The therapist took off her glasses and looked back and forth between the two of us. “Okay, we clearly have a lot of work to do over the next few months....Let’s take a break and reconvene next week. Okay?”
“Great.” I stood up and offered a hug to my mother. Even though I was beyond furious with her, I always made a point to do that, just in case she relapsed before our next encounter and I wouldn’t see her for another eight months.
“Do you want to get dinner tonight?” She hugged me back. “We don’t have to say a word to each other. We could go to one of those restaurants that plays movies. We never watched any movies together...”
And we probably never will.
“Maybe some other time. I have a date tonight.”
I parked in front of Claire’s house and hit my emergency brake so my car wouldn’t roll down the hill. I’d been meaning to ask why the hell she’d bought a house at the top of a slope; it didn’t seem safe.
“You’re early...What type of car is that?” She texted me.
“A Murcielago. The meeting was cut short. Take your time getting ready...Wear a dress.”
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through a few of my emails, skimming through most of them. I’d been receiving at least five hundred a day since word got out about my company going public. I’d even had to hire a temporary email consultant to sort through them all.
This IPO is going to be the death of me...
I looked up and saw Claire locking the front door of her house. I stepped out of the car and walked over to the passenger side.
“Nice pantsuit.” I laughed. “I actually like this one.”
“Thank you. I figured I’d wear the outfit you liked me in best.” She slipped into the car.
I walked back over to my side and sped away.
“Where are we going today?” she asked. “Did you shut down Ocean Beach so we could eat there?”
“Would you like me to?”
She shook her head and smiled.
“We’re going to Pittsburgh Rivers.”
“What?” She paled.
“Pittsburgh Rivers. It’s a specialty restaurant a few miles from here. They have themed meals from the city. I was hoping you’d be able to suggest some things for me to try since that’s your hometown.”
“Oh...”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She turned her head towards the window. “I’m fine.”
I pulled into the parking lot minutes later and looked at her. She hadn’t said much of anything on the drive over. She’d been strangely quiet and hadn’t given me any of her usual sarcasm.
“Are you sure that you’re okay, Claire? We don’t have to eat here if you don’t want to. We can go to my beach house or—”
“I’m sure. I’m just a little tired...”
I knew she was lying, but I decided not to push the issue any further. I helped her out of the car and led her into the restaurant.
“Good evening, Mr. Statham. Right this way.” The host greeted me as soon as I stepped inside and ushered us into a private room.
The walls were painted in murals of all the popular Pittsburgh landmarks—Heinz Field, Cathedral of Learning, Carnegie Museum—and I thought Claire would start chatting about them, but she didn’t say a word.
“Welcome to Pittsburgh Rivers, San Francisco’s own version of the great city of Pittsburgh,” our waiter said. He pulled a few menus from his apron and looked back and forth between us. “Will you two require a full or a half menu tonight? The Hot Metal Bridge special is only available on the full one.”
“Full.” I noticed Claire wincing.
“Fine choice. I’ll bring out those menus right away sir. Would you be interested in the chef’s special wine? It was imported directly from a French winery.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a wonderful wine, a hand-pressed 1975 Bordeaux and—”
Claire started coughing and stood up. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I’ll be right back.”
“No, thank you...” I watched her saunter off. “We’ll have your best champagne.”
“Yes sir.” He walked away.
I scrolled through my emails again, waiting on Claire to rejoin me at the table, but twenty minutes passed and she never returned.
I stood up and headed to the bathroom, knocking before I walked in. “Claire?”
“I’ll be out in a minute.” She sighed.
I stepped inside and locked the door behind me. I walked past all the empty stalls and spotted her sitting at a vanity with her head down.
“What’s wrong?” I touched her shoulder. “Tell me.”
“Can we...” She slowly turned around to face me. “Can we please get the hell out of here?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere but here...”
I reached for her hand and led her back outside. I wanted to drive to my beach house, but it was forty minutes away so I headed for my condo downtown.
Once again, she said nothing to me during the drive. She kept her head turned towards the window and I caught her wiping away a stray tear.