Misconception

by Christy Hayes

  She knew he had a lot on his plate right now, with the jobs in Chicago and New York, but he’d never holed up in his office like he had lately. The boys had given up trying to lure him out at night and usually ended up playing quietly in one of their rooms. Their conduct since the big chat had been exemplary, as if their behavior had anything to do with their marriage troubles. They all pretended like everything was the same as it used to be. Pace was beginning to forget how things used to be.

  She and the kids arrived at her parents’ house Thanksgiving Day without Jason, who planned to come straight from the airport. She hadn’t let her parents know about his plans, as she didn’t learn of them until the day before when he finally managed to tell her his schedule. She felt upset he’d been gone all week, although she had to admit it was easier to keep the peace at home when he was away. If only the kids didn’t keep looking at her as if she was the reason Daddy was never home. Her only hope for keeping her mother’s suspicions at bay was to ply her with alcohol.

  “Pace,” her mother called as the housekeeper led them into the den. They’d already gotten their Christmas tree up and decorated. “Just who are these two handsome young men you’ve brought with you?” Tori leaned down to fix both of their crooked ties.

  “Grandma, it’s us,” Mitchell said. Dillon tried to loosen the tie she’d just tightened.

  “Well, I almost didn’t recognize you two, all suited up.” She glanced at Pace and raised her palms. With her alabaster hair and red dress, she looked like she came straight from Santa’s workroom. Pace felt distressed to see she hadn’t started drinking. “Where’s Jason?”

  “He’ll be here soon.” Pace put the wrapped present from the boys in her hands. “Business,” she said to Tori’s arched brows and accusing look. She’d always tried to make trouble between them. “Here, the boys made this for you.”

  Tori feigned surprise and opened it with much adulation. The homemade ornament with their picture wouldn’t ever grace the Whitfield’s professionally decorated tree. The boys usually made one for Pace and the fact that they wanted to give it to Grandma spoke volumes as to their feelings.

  “Where’s Dad?” Pace hoped to distract the boys from the fact that Grandma hadn’t placed the ornament on the tree, but set it back in the box on a side table.

  “He’s changing.” She furrowed her brows, still as brown as they’d always been, despite the lightness of her hair. She was the only woman Pace knew who defined the term striking. “He insisted on going to the gym this morning. I swear he’s obsessed.”

  Pace found it odd that she would criticize his choosing to exercise when, between the two of them, she was the one obsessed. She’d nagged him for years to work out. Why couldn’t she cut him a break?

  “Who wants to color?” Tori asked the boys. Dillon stared at Pace pleadingly. He’d complained the whole ride over that he didn’t want to go because there wasn’t anything to do at their house and because Grandma treated them like babies.

  “Mom, the boys aren’t really in to coloring.” Pace stood behind Dillon and grabbed his shoulders. He was getting so big, almost up to her chest. She’d had to buy him a new suit for the day. “Why don’t you guys see if there’s a football game on in the study?”

  They ran out as fast as they could over Tori’s sigh. “Pace, football on Thanksgiving?”

  “It’s what ninety-nine percent of Americans do on Thanksgiving Day. I’m sure Dad’s got some statistical research to back me up.”

  Tori moved to stand in front of her daughter, her perfect cupid’s bow mouth set in a stubborn line. “You’ve lost weight.” She slanted Pace’s face toward the light from the Palladian window. “And you’ve got shadows under your eyes.” She dropped her hands. “What’s going on with you? Are you sick?”

  What did it take, five, six minutes for her to notice? “No, I’m not sick. I’ve been busy and the weather’s been so cold…” She shrugged her shoulders, moved away from the light. She ran her finger over an ugly table lamp. “Is this new?”

  “Pace.” Tori turned her around. Fooling her mother was like trying to fool God. “What is it?”

  “Nothing, Mom. Jeez, just drop it, okay? I’m fine.”

  Tori walked to the bar. “Do you want a drink?”

  Thank God. “Yes, I’d love one.”

  As she made them both a martini, Pace realized she’d starting viewing her parents’ marriage differently since seeing Dr. Falcon. His words kept bouncing around her head. Once they’d gotten into it, she started thinking he was zoning in on her mother’s bossiness as a way to get Pace to confess to a secret affair or at least some manipulative behavior. She got angry and asked why he wouldn’t even consider the possibility there was a mistake at the lab. His answer nearly brought her to her knees.

  “Pace,” he’d said, with what seemed like genuine compassion. “If there was a mistake at the lab and you were never pregnant, chances are, you’ll never be able to prove it. The only way to deal with healing your marriage is to rebuild trust as if you did have an affair. Whether you did or not, Jason thinks you did. That’s all that matters now.”

  Hearing what she’d panicked about since the whole ordeal started, knowing he was right, didn’t make her feel any better. It just made her numb. If Jason really thought she’d had an affair, he wouldn’t ever get over it. Pace thought she’d find an ally at therapy, someone who could see her side and help Jason see it too, but instead she felt like she wouldn’t ever find someone who believed her.

  “Is it strong?” Pace asked when Tori handed her the martini glass.

  “What do you think?” Tori sipped her freshly made drink and sat in her favorite chair. She carefully placed her glass on a beaded holiday coaster. Pace felt a strange affinity with the olive she’d pierced with a toothpick in the shape of a sword. She sat on the couch facing her beautiful mother. Pace’s friends used to tell her how lucky she was. “Your mother’s so pretty, Pace, so young and cool. I wish my mom was hip like yours.” They had no idea Pace would have done anything to have an ordinary, cookie baking, PTA mom. Tori micromanaged every aspect of Pace’s life—from forcing her to take years of piano even though she had no talent or inclination to forcing her to ask disgusting Alex Barneby to the club’s Sadie Hawkins dance because he came from a good family. Pace took a small sip and tried to let go of the bitterness. She didn’t need to get drunk and say something she’d regret.

  Fortunately, her father waltzed into the room and scooped Pace into a huge hug. The familiar scent of his aftershave, the feel of his strong arms around her, made her want to cry. She hung on extra long when he would have pulled back. No matter what happened between her and Jason and with her mother, her father loved her.

  “Darling,” he said to Tori when Pace took her seat. He sipped Tori’s drink before kissing her on the cheek like a precious possession. Pace knew he thought of Tori as an untouchable diamond, worth more than he could ever pay. She needed to remember that her father’s behavior—his groveling to meet her every demand—had always been his choice.

  “Where’s my son-in-law? I saw the kids in the study and they said he wasn’t here.”

  “He’s flying in from Chicago this afternoon. He’ll be here in a little while.” He raised his brows at Tori. Just because she keeps you on a short leash doesn’t mean I have to do the same for my husband, Pace wanted to shout. She put her drink down. A few more sips of that and she wouldn’t be able to stop herself. She only hoped Jason was in the right frame of mind to pretend everything was fine for a few hours.

  Colin sat on the opposite end of the couch and crossed his legs. Jason hated it when he sat like that. He said it wasn’t manly. “Your mother tells me you’re going to start working again.”

  “Freelancing from home.”

  Tori cleared her throat. “If you need extra money, sweetheart, you know all you have to do is ask.”

  Thank God Jason wasn’t around to hear her quip about money. He hated it when they offered to help out. �
��There’re strings attached, Pace,” he always said. “And I won’t be their puppet.”

  “We don’t need money, Mom. I like to work and now that Mitchell’s in school, it gives me something to do.”

  “How is Jason’s business?”

  “Busy, which is why he isn’t here yet. He’s got a couple of big projects going on right now.”

  “Colin?” Tori gave her husband a saccharine sweet smile, one that clearly meant he was about to be dismissed. “Why don’t you go check on the boys so Pace and I can have a few minutes to talk?”

  He nodded, hopped up from the couch, and sauntered into the foyer toward the study. They both knew they wouldn’t see him again until they went looking for him. “Subtle, Mom. Why don’t you just tell Dad you’d like to grill me for minute?” Pace resented the way she treated her dad and yet they never talked about it. Was it any wonder she’d ended up in therapy?

  She was granted a reprieve from Tori’s questions by the highly unexpected appearance of Trey Conway, her father’s campaign manager and Pace’s high school boyfriend.

  “Trey?”

  His Italian suit seemed nearly iridescent in the sunlight and Pace could only imagine the look on her face as he moved to embrace her in a hug. “Pace, you look beautiful as always.” He held her at arms length. “I see your mother didn’t mention I was coming.”

  To describe Trey as handsome would be like calling Georgia’s summers balmy. He’d always been as smooth as he was good looking and all Pace could think when she saw him was why, why, why did he have to be there today of all days? Jason couldn’t stand Trey. He’d hated him in college, hated that he now worked for her father, and hated that he was forced to deal with someone she’d once had a relationship with, no matter how many years had passed. Jason conjured up some of his grandfather’s favorite sayings when talking about Trey. He’d called him slicker than snot on a doorknob, useless as tits on a bull, and, her personal favorite, that Trey thought the sun came up just to hear him crow. The fact that he described Trey in those terms only exemplified the differences between them. Her father loved Trey and she knew her mother had had high hopes they’d eventually marry. “No, she didn’t. How are you?”

  “I’m very well. Tori.” He gave her mother a kiss on her cheek and she beamed under his spell. “You’re the picture of holiday cheer.”

  “I’m glad you could join us, especially considering Colin is the reason you’re not sailing the Mediterranean with your parents.”

  “And miss an invitation to the legendary Whitfield Thanksgiving?”

  “What’s going on with the campaign?” Pace asked. Her father’s senate bid was usually nothing more than a forgone conclusion.

  Trey returned his eyes to her after accepting a drink from her mother. “There’s a young state senator from Gainesville who’s going to announce his candidacy before Christmas.” He took a sip and winked. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “Daddy hasn’t had serious opposition in awhile. Are you worried?”

  Trey shrugged as if the suggestion were ridiculous. “He’s young and spouts off about change and the next generation as if your father’s two decades in Congress mean nothing. We’re…adjusting our strategy, that’s all.”

  “Mrs. Whitfield?” The housekeeper said from the doorway. “May I see you for a moment?”

  “Certainly.” She rested a hand on both of their arms. “I’ll just be a moment.”

  Pace watched her leave and sat down. Trey followed suit.

  “So, how have you been?” Trey asked.

  “Good. I was just telling my parents about some freelancing I’ll be doing after the first of the year.”

  He eyed her suggestively over the lip of the ruby red tumbler her mother pulled out every year for the holidays. “I never could see you happy as a suburban housewife.”

  It was a jab, one he volleyed whenever she saw him, and one she expected. She knew Jason’s feelings about Trey were mutual. “I am happy, I just want something of my own now that Mitchell’s in kindergarten.”

  “Ahhh, the children. Are they here?”

  “In the den watching football. We let them out of their cages on major holidays.”

  “Pace…” He reached his arm along the sofa and touched the ends of her hair.

  She tilted her head out of his reach. She should have taken a seat in the chair where he wouldn’t be tempted to pull one of his stunts. “What are you doing?”

  He reached for her hair again and shrugged when she stood up. “It looks like you’ve dipped the ends in gold.”

  “Pace.” It was Jason, standing in the archway. From the look on his face, he’d witnessed Trey’s attempt at flattery. Shoot.

  “Jason.” She walked toward him on unsteady legs and reminded herself she had nothing to feel guilty for. “You’re back early.”

  “I went standby.” He breezed past her and whispered as she reached him, “Surprised?” He stood in front of Trey, but didn’t offer his hand.

  “Jason, you remember Trey Conway?”

  They looked like two prize fighters, eyeing each other from their respective corners. Trey, the blonde golden boy and Jason, her dark knight. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so…not funny.

  “Jason,” Trey said jovially. He couldn’t resist stoking the fire. “Glad you could join us.”

  “Am I interrupting?”

  Pace grabbed Jason by the arm and ushered him to the bar. “Don’t be silly. Let me get you a drink.”

  Tori came back in and engaged Trey in some conversation that, from the snippets Pace overheard, involved the club and one of Pace’s old sorority sisters. Jason stood next to her, quietly furious, nearly quaking with anger. When she poured him a bourbon, he nudged her aside and poured more. It splashed over the sides of the tumbler when he threw in three cubes of ice.

  “How was your trip?” Good Lord, she sounded guilty. Get a grip, Pace.

  “Fine.” He looked over her shoulder at Trey and she wouldn’t have been surprised to see him vaporize under the intensity of Jason’s gaze. When he zoned back in on Pace, he flicked his eyes over her like he was checking to see if she looked disheveled. “Keeping busy while I’ve been away?”

  There was no mistaking what he implied. “Jason…that was nothing. You know how Trey likes to flirt.”

  “Actually, Pace, I don’t. Why don’t you enlighten me?”

  The boys rushed in to greet their father. They dragged Jason toward the study where one of their favorite singers was performing the halftime show. Pace felt both relieved he was gone and upset she couldn’t defend herself. She knew she shouldn’t, but as she glared at her mother practically salivating at Trey’s feet, she blamed her for causing yet another rift in her marriage.

  * * *

  Colin walked up to Jason and handed him another drink that could have singed the hair from his body. He could always count on a good buzz at the Whitfield house. At dinner, after a lengthy blessing from Colin, the staff presented them with a picture-perfect turkey. Jason was usually bothered by the overabundance of food for their small gatherings, but today he didn’t care. He needed food to stem the alcohol in his otherwise empty system. All he could think about was his wife and her ex and the possibility that she’d had an affair with him.

  Pace sat next to him, quiet as a mouse, while her former boyfriend and possible lover sat across from them filling in the awkward breaks in conversation. He’d expected Pace to overcompensate in front of her parents, but she just sat there, moving food around her plate. Guilty, was all he could think. She was guilty as sin and uncomfortable with the fact that her husband and lover were sitting at the same table.

  He’d actually spent the better part of his business trip thinking about their marriage and all the things Adam and Dr. Falcon had said before he’d left. He came home early because he wanted to talk to Pace, maybe pull her outside in her parent’s garden and tell her that he was willing to move beyond their stalemate. Jesus, what a fool he’d been.<
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  “So, Jason,” Colin began his usual interrogation. After all the years he and Pace had been together, his father-in-law’s tone and questions still pissed him off. “Pace tells us you’ve got two big projects going on right now.”

  “Yes, Sir. I just came from Chicago and I’m heading to New York tomorrow.”

  The kids groaned and Dillon actually dropped his fork onto the china. “Dad, you just got back.”

  “I know, bud, but I’ve got to go. I’ll be home Saturday.”

  “The game,” he said with a huge smile. Obviously Pace hadn’t told them they’d have to skip their planned trip to the Georgia-Georgia Tech game.

  “I don’t think we’re going to make it this year, guys.” The look on their faces was enough to make him want to change his flight right then.

  “Why don’t you come up with us?” Trey said to Pace. “There’s a big group going up early, some guys from the club and their wives. You know most of them.” Before Jason could tell him what to do with his offer, Pace flashed Jason a sheepish look and said, “We’re going with some neighbors, thanks.”

  He stared at her profile. It never occurred to him that she’d go without him.

  “Becky called yesterday to see if we were going.” She shrugged and looked down at her plate. “They’ve got a tailgate with tons of kids. The boys will have fun.”

  “Great.” Jason glanced up to find Tori staring at him. If she expected him to make a scene, she was going to be disappointed. “You guys will have a great time.”

  “Daddy, I want you to come,” Mitchell whined.

  “I won’t be back in time, but it sounds like you’ll have fun. Just bring back a victory.”

  The topic of football led Colin to a story about meeting a former professional player running for Congress, which led to another Washington insider story, and had Jason reaching for his wine. His father-in-law didn’t know when to turn it off and Jason wished he’d just shut the fuck up. If he started in on one of his anecdotes where he, as chairman of the ethics committee, had to ride in and save the day, Jason would get up and leave. He found himself sneaking glances at Pace and Trey. They looked so good together it made him sick. Trey was the perfect match for the senator’s daughter and had never missed the chance to mention that Jason was way out of her league. When they’d first met, at some barbeque Pace insisted he attend back in college, Trey actually had the nerve to tell him to enjoy her while he had the chance, that he’d be there for her when she’d finished slumming. The only reason Jason hadn’t punched him was because, for some stupid reason, he didn’t want to embarrass his girlfriend. He should have broken his nose.