The Necklace V - Strawberries & Wine

Chapter 2 - James and Sherry

James hit the "End" button on his mobile phone, an annoyed expression on his face, before shoving it into his trouser pocket and sitting back down at the table in the kitchen of his Boston condo.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Sherry, his 13-year-old daughter asked, watching his expression. "Isn't Darcy going to come to California with us to visit Thomas? Carrie is still coming, isn't she?"

"Yes, sweetheart, Carrie is still coming, but Darcy is having problems at the newspaper so will probably be staying here in Boston."

"She always says she's having problems at the newspaper. Why can't she get them fixed and go with us? I have to go back to London in just two weeks and she's only spent one day with me since I've been here."

"I know, I know. I don't like it anymore than you do. Maybe I can talk to your mum and see if she'll let you stay an extra week or two."

"She won't, you know. She doesn't like me being with you at all. She says you put bad things about her in my head."

"You know I've never done that, Sherry. I would never try to turn you against your mother. We weren't suited, that's all."

"She says you were mean to her and got drunk a lot..."

James slammed his fist on the table hard enough to make his tea mug jump. Sherry sucked in her breath and looked at him, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, reaching out his hand towards her. "I didn't mean to do that. It's just that your mum and I agreed not to say bad things to you about each other or about the past. I'm upset that she didn't keep her word."

"It's okay, Dad. I try to ignore it when she says bad things about you. I like being with you better and I think she knows it and it gets her all upset."

"Well, it's not right for you to tell her that, you know."

"I know, but it's true. I do like being with you more. You do fun things with me, like take me places, just you and me, and maybe with Carrie or Robert...that is when Darcy isn't with us too, like when you're on tour. And, now we're going to California to visit Thomas and go to Disneyland. Mum would never take me to Disneyland."

"She's busy with her causes."

"And her boyfriends. It seems like she has a new one every week..." She paused and bit her lip as if she were going to say more but changed her mind. "I don't think they like me around."

"I'm sorry, Sherry. The custody agreement gave me a certain amount of time to have you and it gave you mum time. I hate having to share you, but that's the way it is. When you turn fifteen in a couple of years, you can decide if you want to be with me full-time, but until then, you need to split time with both of us."

"I know, but I keep thinking that when I'm with you, Darcy will want to spend time with me like a mum would, but she's always busy with that newspaper of hers. She told me last time I was here she'd help make chocolate chip cookies with me, but then when it came time to make them, she just sent me into the kitchen to have your chef guy show me."

"Darcy doesn't really like to cook all that much. She tells Phillipe what to make and he makes it. Don't you like his cooking?"

"Yeah, it's okay, but I think Robert is a better chef. Remember when you took me to his restaurant and he showed me how to make that Crème Brulee dessert? We even had to use a fire torch thing on it. It was fun! I'd like to learn to cook."

"Robert's mum loved to cook too. She even published a cookbook..." James sighed as he thought back to his first wife, Susan. She'd been the love of his life and he still missed her. Thinking of Crème Brulee, however, gave him a fleeting memory of another Susan. He quickly brushed it out of his mind.