Friend and Lover

by Angela Benson

  “That’s five nights, Reed.”

  “I know how many nights it is. Don’t worry, we’ll all be fine here.”

  She poked a finger at his chest. “Well, the next time you have the urge and I’m in the bathroom, take a quick trip down to the gas station.”

  He grabbed her finger and stopped her poking motion. “The nearest gas station has to be more than a mile away.”

  “I hope you’re in good shape.” She pulled her finger away and brushed past him.

  ~ ~ ~

  Willie Pearl slipped out of bed and padded to the door of Paige’s bedroom, grateful her granddaughter-in-law-to-be had finally left her alone. She’d thought the child would never leave. She put her ear to the door, trying to determine what was happening on the other side. She heard the voices of Paige and Reed. Though she couldn’t make out the words, she was pretty sure they were arguing. She moved her ear away from the door and slowly moved back to the bed.

  She eased herself back down on the side of the bed and shook her head. Something was wrong. Paige had looked more than surprised to see her; the child had been positively shocked. And Willie Pearl hadn’t missed the widening of Paige’s eyes when Reed had kissed her in greeting. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have bet the farm that it was the first time Reed had kissed Paige. Fortunately, she would also have bet the farm that they’d both enjoyed the kiss. She smiled at the thought.

  Her smiled drooped when she finally put her finger on what was bothering her. Paige wasn’t wearing the Lewis engagement ring. What is going on here? she wondered. She knew she was no longer a member of the now generation, but surely things hadn’t changed that much. Surely young people still respected and valued a family heirloom for an engagement ring.

  What was wrong with Reed? Why hadn’t he given Paige the Lewis engagement ring?

  Before she could muster up much anger toward Reed, another question popped into her mind. What if it was Paige’s fault? Maybe Paige was more interested in expensive baubles than the love and commitment signified by the family ring.

  Willie Pearl quickly dismissed the thought. Paige hadn’t seemed the type. She’d only just met the girl, but Willie Pearl sized people up pretty well and fairly quickly. No, Paige was an old-fashioned girl. The perfect girl for her grandson. She’d known it as soon as she’d met her. Paige and Reed were meant to be together. She was sure of it. But she was also sure something was wrong.

  She sighed and leaned back in the bed. God help her, she was going to have to teach these young people about love. She smiled before picking up the phone to call her best friend, Ida Mae Thompson. Between the two of them, they’d teach these pups more than they ever thought they’d need to know.

  Three

  “More cornbread, Grandma Lewis?” Paige asked, offering the older woman the platter.

  Grandma Lewis shook her head. “No more for me, child. I’m full.” She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth. “You’re a good cook. I didn’t know young people today took much stock in cooking, especially down-home food like cabbage and cornbread. I’m impressed.”

  Paige couldn’t help but smile. Her culinary skills had been acquired from her late maternal grandmother. Though the memories were vague, in her mind’s eye Paige could see herself standing on a chair in her grandmother’s country kitchen, helping her prepare supper for the family. Those had been good times. “Thanks so much, Grandma Lewis. It’s nice to know that someone appreciates my cooking skills,” she said with a meaningful glance at Reed.

  Grandma Lewis looked at Reed who was seated across from her. “You don’t appreciate Paige’s cooking?”

  Reed placed his napkin on the table. “I appreciate everything about Paige, Big Momma.” He turned his gaze to Paige. “Everything.”

  Paige looked down at her plate. The sincerity in that single spoken word went directly to her heart. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have believed that Reed meant what he said. But he didn’t. This was all a show for his grandmother.

  Grandma Lewis cleared her throat and Paige turned her head in her direction, glad not to have to look at Reed.

  “Then why isn’t the woman you’re engaged to wearing the Lewis engagement ring?” the small woman demanded of Reed.

  Paige looked at the dazzling five-carat diamond on her left hand, the engagement ring Dexter had given her. She’d told him it was too much, but he’d ignored her words and said nothing was too much for her. Her father had agreed. The bigger, the better. “Look for a man’s money and you’ll find his heart,” her father had said.

  Paige looked from the ring to Reed, surprised when he turned and flashed her his most charming smile. She felt an immediate pang in her belly. What was wrong with her? she wondered.

  She also wondered, as the silence between them lengthened, how Reed was going to answer Grandma Lewis’s question.

  Looking flustered, Reed passed the buck. “Maybe you should ask her?” he said, pointing to Paige. “I did what I was supposed to do.”

  Paige kicked him under the table. It took all her strength to keep from screaming at him. How dare he throw the question back in her lap? This was the first she’d heard about a Lewis engagement ring. This was Reed’s problem. She was doing him a favor. She was tempted to tell Grandma Lewis the truth, but the look on the older woman’s face stopped her. She didn’t want to hurt Grandma Lewis; she wanted to hurt Reed. So she kicked him again.

  He winced, and Grandma Lewis saw it. “So, what is it, Reed? Is it so painful that you can’t talk about it?”

  Reed nodded in the direction of Paige’s hand. “It had to be resized. It kept falling off her hand. The jeweler gave us that one as a loaner.”

  Paige shook her head, glad Grandma Lewis’s attention and question were again directed at Reed. No way was the older woman going to fall for that. She frowned at Reed. That was a dumb thing to say, she mouthed silently.

  Grandma Lewis’s eyes widened. “A loaner ring? I’ve never heard of such. Besides, it’s so big.”

  Paige knew exactly what Grandma Lewis meant. The ring was big. So big it was almost gaudy.

  Reed laughed. “It’s costume jewelry, Big Momma. The jeweler’s a friend of mine. He made it up for Paige. She didn’t want to wear it, but I told her it was a test of her love. As you can see, she’s willing to make any sacrifice to show her love. Even to the point of wearing that godawful ring.” He grinned confidently.

  Paige threw him a withering glance that said, “Don’t go too far, buddy.” She knew Reed was taking potshots at her ring. It wasn’t the first time, either. But since Grandma Lewis seemed to accept his answer, Paige had to respect Reed’s quick thinking. But she didn’t have to like it.

  “So, when are you getting her real ring back?” Grandma Lewis asked.

  Paige shot a quick glance at Grandma Lewis. She was a sharp cookie. She looked again at Reed, wondering how he was going to answer that question.

  “I’m glad you asked.” Reed scooted back in his chair, got up, and went for his jacket, on the back of the great room sofa. When he returned to the kitchen, he had a box in his hand. A ring box.

  Paige looked up at him. What was he doing now? she wondered. But she knew. In that box was the Lewis engagement ring.

  Reed’s gaze met hers as he walked to her. Paige’s eyes followed his every movement as if she was entranced.

  When he reached her seat, she’d turned around so that she faced him.

  He dropped to his knees in front of her. Paige wasn’t surprised. It was as if they had done this before. In some other life, maybe. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. What was she thinking?

  Reed opened the box, pulled the ring out, and placed the box on the table. He held the ring out to her, and she was immediately taken with its simplicity. It was a small diamond, no more than a quarter-carat, and the band was worn from years of wear. It was the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen.

  “This ring has been in my family for more than four generations. It’s passed
down to the eldest son in each generation.” He paused and looked over at Grandma Lewis. “Big Daddy gave it to Big Momma.” He turned warm eyes back to Paige. “My father gave it to my mother, and I give it to you. It is a token of the love I feel for you, a love that will last generations. As long as there is breath in my body, I will love you. And when my body no longer breathes, I will still love you. And with each future generation of Lewis men that gives this ring as a token of their love, it will be a symbol of the love that I still feel for you.”

  Paige couldn’t speak and she couldn’t take her eyes from Reed. His words had taken hold of her heart and squeezed. She knew if she opened her mouth, she’d begin to weep. She didn’t know why. She just knew that those words were words she’d been waiting a lifetime to hear. But this wasn’t real, was it? She and Reed were playing a game for his grandmother.

  Reed didn’t wait for her to say anything. He picked up her hand resting on her knee and slipped the engagement ring Dexter had given her from her finger. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Paige knew she should stop him, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. She had to think about Grandma Lewis.

  Reed caressed her fingers, then lifted them to his mouth and kissed each one, never taking his eyes from hers. She began to get warm all over. What was Reed doing to her?

  After he kissed the last finger, he slipped his ring, the Lewis engagement ring, on her ring finger. He kissed the palm of her hand and placed it back on her knee. She knew from the expression in his eyes that he wanted her to say something, but she couldn’t form the words. She had an overwhelming desire, no, an overwhelming need, to pull Reed into her arms and hold on forever.

  As if he’d read her thoughts, Reed leaned toward her and wrapped her in his arms. Until he had touched her, she thought that was what she wanted. Now, she knew she wanted more.

  Reed pulled back from the embrace and she felt bereft. Thankfully, the feeling didn’t last long. The slight nod of her head answered the question she saw in his eyes. He leaned in again, and this time, he captured her lips in a kiss.

  And then Paige knew this was what she really wanted.

  She leaned her body into his, seeking to lose herself in him. It felt so right. It was so right. And then it was over. Reed was pulling away from her. Why? She wasn’t ready for it to be over. She wanted more.

  Grandma Lewis’s voice brought her back to reality. “If you two keep this up, it’s going to be a long few days and I’m going to feel like I’m in the way.”

  Paige tore her eyes from Reed and looked back at Grandma Lewis. The tears in the older woman’s eyes pushed her over the edge.

  She quickly stood. “I have to go to the bathroom,” she said, and fled the room. She felt Reed’s eyes on her with each step she took.

  ~ ~ ~

  Rooted in his kneeling position, Reed stared after Paige long after she’d closed the bathroom door. He’d done it. He’d told her how he felt, and a part of him believed she knew he wasn’t acting, that he was speaking of his love for her. And, God help him, he thought she had feelings for him, too. He’d guessed that she did, he’d hoped it, but he’d never been sure. Now, he was. He just wondered what she was going to do with those feelings.

  “Do you want me to go to the grocery store?” Big Momma asked.

  Her words pulled Reed’s thoughts from Paige back to her. The tears in her eyes conflicted with the smile on her face. “Why do you need to go to the grocery store?”

  Big Momma wiped at her tears with her dinner napkin and inclined her head toward the bathroom door. “I don’t need anything. Maybe you and Paige need some time alone.”

  Reed shook his head. That was what he and Paige didn’t need . . . at least, not now. He got up from his knees and went and placed a kiss on his grandmother’s cheek. “No, ma’am. Stay right here.” He smiled. “I love you, Big Momma.”

  She patted his head as she had done so many times when he was a child. “And I love you, too, Reed. I’m so happy for you and Paige.”

  Reed sat down in the chair next to his grandmother. “You’re happy for us, huh?”

  Big Momma practically beamed at him. “All I’ve ever wanted, Reed, is for you to be happy. You worried me for a while there, but now it seems like you’re on the right road, and I believe Paige is a big part of that.”

  How Reed wished that were true. He now believed that he’d only be happy with Paige in his life. As his friend. As his lover. As his wife. “Well, I’m glad you’re not worrying about me anymore. I’m a big boy; I can take care of myself.”

  “That’s what had me worried,” Big Momma said.

  Reed knew what his grandmother referred to. “I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

  Big Momma nodded. “You were worse than that.”

  “But I’ve got it together now,” Reed defended. “I know what I want.”

  Big Momma stood up, pushed her chair to the table, and stood behind it, placing her hand on its back. “You’ve always known what you wanted, Reed, but it’s only been the last few years that you’ve decided to live the life you wanted instead of the life that was expected of you. Now that you’re living the life you want, I don’t have to worry about you.”

  Reed smiled. His grandmother knew him very well. Too well, sometimes. She was as right this time as she usually was. She’d been the first one in his family to understand his reasons for leaving McCurdy and McCurdy for a job as a lowly public defender. Everybody else, family and friends, had thought it was the craziest move he’d ever made. They’d only thought of the money and the prestige that Reed was giving up, instead of what he’d be getting. Only Big Momma had seen that. And she’d been the one to give him the encouragement he needed to make the decision of his heart.

  He hadn’t regretted it for a moment. Leaving McCurdy and McCurdy had been the start of a new life for him. The work he did every day now meant something more to him than the payment on a luxury car or the mortgage on a house that would never be filled with the laughter of his happy children. No, his paycheck now was a bonus for doing the work he loved, work that made a difference in people’s lives. Some people wondered if they made a difference. Reed knew he did. He knew it when some kid, using a tough-guy persona to hide his fears, was able to admit, after a close game of one-on-one, that he wanted more out of life than a prison sentence and children from one coast to the other. He knew it from the tears of joy in a mother’s eyes when she saw the son she’d almost given up hope on get his GED.

  Even with all that, Reed had felt something was still missing from his life. And it hadn’t taken him long to figure out what that something was. Paige. At first, he’d thought he was only missing his best buddy. But slowly, he’d begun to realize that Paige was so much more than his buddy. She was the best friend he’d ever had. It wasn’t until her relationship with Fine had moved to an engagement that he’d realized he wanted more than friendship with her.

  He hadn’t known how to handle this discovery at first, but seeing the careless way Fine treated her affections made him realize he had to let her know of his feelings. He wanted to be open with Paige and tell her how he felt, but he knew that wasn’t enough. He knew that Paige’s relationship with Fine had more to do with her love for her father than her love for Fine. Because of that, he knew any decision to end the relationship would be doubly hard for her.

  Reed thought about Paige’s father. He knew Mr. Thomas didn’t like him. Oh, he’d tolerated him well enough until he’d quit the M & M job. But as soon as he’d made the move to the PD’s office, Thomas had given up all pretense of civility. Paige never said anything directly, but he knew Thomas didn’t think he had “success” in him, at least, not success as Thomas defined it.

  It had been around that time that Paige’s relationship with Fine had intensified. Thomas liked Fine. Oh, yes, indeed. Fine had even done some work for him. And Thomas had decided that Fine was the right man for his only daughter. Paige had fallen into the trap her father had laid for her. She had become engaged to a man she
didn’t love, just to please her father.

  Paige was an intelligent woman, but she was being naive about this. Sometimes Reed wanted to yell at her to “wake up and smell the coffee,” but he didn’t because he knew the struggle that she waged internally. He’d waged it himself. Paige needed to decide to live her own life, not the life her father wanted for her. He’d done it, and he knew she could, too. Eventually. Unfortunately, he couldn’t wait that long. He wouldn’t wait that long.

  “I think I’m going to get ready to turn in, Reed. I want to take a bath. Do you think Paige will be much longer in the bathroom?”

  Reed didn’t know how long Paige would be. “I’ll go check on her,” he replied. He looked toward the bathroom door, in no rush to get there. He was unsure of Paige’s response to the scene they’d played for his grandmother. He knew she was running from her feelings. How long would she run?

  When he reached the bathroom door, Reed raised his hand to knock, but before he could, the door opened and he came face-to-face with Paige.

  “Excuse me,” he said hesitantly, dropping his hand to his side. Her face was freshly washed and he had the feeling she’d been crying. His heart nearly stopped. He hadn’t meant to make her cry.

  She brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “Don’t you remember what I told you about that gas station?” she asked.

  Reed stared at her for a quick two seconds before silently acknowledging that he understood what she was doing. She was going to pretend that it hadn’t happened. “It’s not me. Big Momma wants to take a bath. Actually, I think she was worried about you.”

  Paige focused her eyes on Reed’s brow, and though he willed her to look him in the eye, she didn’t do it. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine. Why don’t we get back to the kitchen so Grandma Lewis can see that for herself?”

  When she moved to brush past him, Reed caught her arm. “Thanks,” he said simply.

  She snatched her arm away as if he’d burned her. Her eyelids fluttered closed, then quickly opened. She looked straight into his eyes and said, “Anything for Grandma Lewis.”