Troublemaker

by Trice Hickman

  Ted shook his head. “In this particular case, my opinion is the only one that counts. Victoria might be slow to your game, but I’m not, so I’m going to be mindful for the both of us. I love my wife and she loves me. I’m going to keep her happy so there’s no room for you in our lives other than when we have to see you at family gatherings in the future.”

  “Why do you feel you have to defend your love and your marriage to me?”

  “I’m not defending it. I’m just stating the facts so you’ll know you need to back off.”

  “You’re crazy as hell if you think I’m gonna stand here and listen to you bark off orders to me about what you think I need to do,” Parker said, raising his voice.

  Victoria was tired of all the drama so she stepped in. “Oh, just stop it, you two! You’re both acting like geriatric school yard bullies and it’s really pathetic. We need to be civil because our actions will impact Alexandria and PJ.” Victoria let out a deep breath and turned to face Parker. “My husband is right. You’ve been disrespectful of him and of our marriage. I made a mistake with you long ago, but I won’t make the same mistake twice. Please respect our marriage just as much as you will Alexandria’s and PJ’s.”

  Parker looked off for a long moment, not saying a word. The three of them stood in silence as people buzzed around them. Finally, Parker spoke. “I’m going to leave now because I don’t want to cause any trouble for my son. But I want to say this.” He looked directly at Ted. “I’ve never hidden the fact that I care for Victoria because doing so would negate who I am. I know you two are married,” he said, turning his stare to Victoria. “I respect that institution, and I won’t do anything that I’m not called to do.”

  “You must be out of your mind.” Ted fumed. “I should kick your ass right here.”

  Parker’s jaw line tightened. “You give the word and we can do this.”

  Victoria’s eyes bucked wide.

  “I said I should,” Ted responded, “but I’m not. I’m not going to spend my time fighting a war that I’ve already won.” He took hold of Victoria’s hand and squeezed it.

  Parker’s eyes glanced down at their hand lock and then back up again. He opened his mouth to say something, but then decided not to. He looked at Victoria and smiled. When he saw her look down to avoid his eyes, an even bigger smile spread across his face. “I thought so,” he said. “I hear this exhibit is very interesting. I think I’ll check it out now.” He turned on the heel of his expensive dress shoes and walked away just as smoothly as he’d approached them.

  Once again, Ted and Victoria were left off-balance by Parker’s presence. She braced herself because she could feel Ted’s eyes positioned on her like laser beams. She knew he was questioning her reaction to Parker’s stare, along with his last remarks. “Ted, I’m too exhausted to go through what we went through last night.”

  He nodded. “So am I, V. I don’t want to spend another minute arguing, disagreeing, or second-guessing our love.”

  Victoria raised her brow, hoping this wasn’t some kind of trick.

  “I trust you, and I have faith in us. I’m not going to let anyone challenge that, ever again.”

  Victoria’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m grateful that you finally realize Parker’s not a threat to us.”

  “I am, too. As I listened to him, everything became so clear.”

  “What became clear?”

  “You and I were standing beside each other, united as one, while he stood there alone. As long as we’re standing together no one can tear us apart.”

  Victoria smiled and squeezed his hand. “You’ve just made me the happiest woman in Nedine. I can’t tell you how much what you said means to me.”

  Ted smiled back. “I’m glad I made you happy, V. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. This weekend has been an eye-opener for me in many ways. Not just for us, but for me, as an individual.”

  “Is there something else you want to tell me?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is.” Ted’s face became serious. “Being here in Nedine has had a profound effect on me. Being in your grandfather’s house and now seeing the rich legacy that he and so many others left behind for future generations has made me think about my own family, and the fact that my mother hid who she was for her entire adult life, even up to the day she died.”

  Ted had shocked Victoria for the second time today, this time by talking about his mother. He kept in close contact with his sister, Lilly, a few of his cousins, and most of his nieces and nephews. But rarely, if ever, did he mention a word about his mother, whose memory caused him pain and confusion. Victoria listened as Ted continued.

  “The brave people honored in this room fought every day to keep their dignity during a time when it could be taken from them without cause. Your father once told me that he’d had to fight against men who looked like me, and work twice as hard to get half the credit. I’ll never forget that, V. At the time I didn’t know that some of my ancestors could have been your father, in a manner of speaking. I can name nearly every relative of the New York and Boston Thorntons on my father’s side, but I don’t know one single member of the Louisiana or Mississippi Turners on my mother’s side, and that’s because I haven’t tried to find out who they are. But that’s going to change.

  “This trip has taught me a valuable lesson about the past, which can serve to hurt or help. For a long time I’ve looked at the past with hurt.” Ted paused, as if struggling to find his words.

  “Do you want to go outside?” Victoria asked gently. “So you can speak more freely.”

  He shook his head. “No, I want to get this out right now while I still can.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I was hurt by my mother’s deception and her shame crept over into me. I know it shouldn’t have, but on some levels it did. And I carried around the hurt I felt about you and Parker, creating stories in my head that weren’t even true. But I’m done with all that.”

  Ted took a step toward Victoria and drew her into his arms right there in the middle of the room. “That was the part of my past that hurt. But the part of my past that has helped me, and has given me life, is the part that lies in you, and what we’ve created together. I’m ready to bury that old hurt, and I want you by my side when I go to Louisiana and Mississippi in a few months to start a new path toward my mother’s family.”

  Victoria felt as though they were the only two people in the room as she and Ted stood in a warm embrace. She saw a few people stare, but she couldn’t care less. Right now she was thankful and overjoyed. “I’ll always be right here by your side. I love you, Ted.”

  “I love you, too, V.”

  Chapter 34

  Alexandria

  Alexandria smiled as she looked around the ballroom of the Nedine Convention Center. Hundreds of people had gathered for the final night of the town’s fiftieth annual Flower Festival celebration. The men were decked out in tuxedos and custom-tailored suits, while the women wore everything from ball gowns to tea-length dresses. The room was filled with lively chatter, glowing candles adorned each table, and best of all, Alexandria and her family were seated at a table with a prime location next to the mayor.

  After Victoria had called Percy Jones to ask him to prepare the house for her family’s visit, word had spread that Isaiah Small’s granddaughter was coming to Nedine for the grand, time-honored festival. The local newspaper had called Victoria last week and conducted a telephone interview that had run in the Nedine Chronicle the very next day. Following the phone interview, a representative from the Flower Festival committee had also contacted her, apologized for the obvious oversight of not extending an invitation to a descendent of one of the town’s leading African American business pioneers, and offered prime seating at the gala for Victoria and her family.

  Their table of ten was complete with one addition whom Alexandria was a little shocked, but overwhelmingly happy, to see, and that was Parker. He was seated between PJ and Samantha, looking as dashing as ever in a tuxedo s
he knew had to have cost more than most people’s mortgage payments. She and PJ had been delighted when her parents told them that they’d seen Parker earlier that day and had invited him to be a guest at their table tonight. At the time, she hadn’t been sure if he’d show up, and now she was glad he did.

  Everyone was having a great time, and as usual, Uncle Maxx continued to garner attention from people, who came up to him to shake his hand, take a picture, or simply say hello.

  “You’re a celebrity,” Chase told him. “I’m gonna take a picture and post it on Facebook.”

  “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds good to me,” Maxx said as he smiled at Chase’s camera phone.

  Alexandria was glad that her family was so happy—that is, everyone except Christian. She didn’t want her brother to ruin her evening, and she’d wanted to put him out of her mind, but she couldn’t because of what she knew. She’d tapped into his thoughts earlier today.

  She had seen that Christian had been so furious after being thrown out of the house that he’d packed his rental car and headed back to the airport. But a few miles outside the city limits he’d decided to turn around. A short time later he’d found himself checking into the Nedine Express, wishing he could go back to the family homestead, but knowing he had work to do before he’d be welcomed into his family’s fold. He’d unpacked his things and hadn’t left his room until it was time for the evening gala.

  Alexandria wished he would have arrived at the event sober, but he’d snorted two lines of cocaine while sitting in the parking lot right before he came in.

  When he’d walked up to their table an hour ago, well after everyone had been seated, both Victoria and Ted had looked at him with caution, not knowing whether he was there to cause trouble or make peace.

  Ted had risen from his seat beside Victoria and greeted his son. “For the sake of family and your great-grandfather’s memory, let’s put what happened this morning to the side and celebrate tonight.”

  “Agreed,” Christian had said.

  She knew that Christian ran hot and cold. He could either sit at the table and behave himself, or jump up and make a scene that would cause her father to handle him physically in public.

  Alexandria was about to entertain a fresh wave of worry when a sharp feeling hit her in her gut and changed everything. As quickly as she could blink, all of her fears vanished. In that instant, she knew that no matter how Christian chose to behave, there was nothing he could do to ruin the evening, or the remainder of the weekend for that matter.

  She smiled to herself as she looked around the table from one person to the next, and thought about the words Allene had spoken to her in a vision that had started this journey. It’s time to bury the past so we can all start new beginnings. Each one of them had traveled to Nedine with a purpose, and as they sat around the table eating, drinking, and enjoying the night’s event, she knew they would all leave tomorrow with a new path to travel.

  Samantha, Tyler, and Chase now had the clarity they each needed to move forward. Samantha no longer had to worry about burdensome secrets, Tyler would no longer keep things from his wife, and after the news Alexandria had delivered to them earlier this afternoon, Chase would no longer act irresponsibly, especially since five months from now he’d have a baby daughter who would look exactly like him.

  Parker had traveled to Nedine to protect his only child, and to see if there was any inkling of a chance for rekindling love with the only woman he’d ever loved. He was satisfied and felt good knowing that PJ was going to be safe, and he was thankful that even though Victoria would always hold a place in his heart, he was now able to move her from the forefront of it so he could make room for someone else.

  Christian had come to Nedine with the twisted intentions of seizing control of his mother’s property and real estate holdings, but now he was leaving a partially broken man, knowing that the only people who’d ever supported him were ready to put distance between them unless he cleaned up his act. He knew that his next step wasn’t graduate school, it was going to be a rehab facility, and after that, one day at a time in rebuilding the trust and love he’d torn from his family.

  Victoria and Ted had both been hoping that this weekend would give their daughter the understanding she needed, and that it would serve to bring their marriage back to where it had once been. They’d weathered storms that would have torn most couples apart, and they’d forgiven each other for past hurts and misunderstandings. But most of all, they rediscovered what had brought them together nearly thirty years ago, and that was an unselfish love for each other that would never die.

  Uncle Maxx had come to Nedine to say good-bye. He was tired, and he was ready to move on to a place where he would no longer feel lonely or have to worry about living in a changing world that had passed him by. The last two days had taken him back to a time in his life that had been filled with good friends and good times, and he was glad that he’d been blessed to come back to where his life had begun, helping him to feel at complete peace in anticipation of its end.

  Alexandria was so full of emotion that she could hardly contain the feelings flowing through her body. She’d come to Nedine to protect her family and pay final respects to the ancestors who’d come before her. Tomorrow was going to be a big day that would bring this visit full circle, and as she looked around the table, knowing exactly what lay ahead for every one of them, she felt both joy and sadness.

  “You done good, baby girl,” Allene said. “Everything’s gonna be all right. Just remember to always trust your gut, and know that I’ll be here to help you.”

  Alexandria’s heart was full of joy, and as she sat at a table filled with love and hope, she was grateful that even though tomorrow held sorrow, new beginnings had already taken flight.

  Chapter 36

  Victoria

  Later that night after the big gala had ended, Victoria and Ted lay in bed talking about their busy weekend and the events of the day.

  “It’s been a very eventful weekend,” Ted said as he yawned.

  “Yes it has.” Victoria didn’t want to beat around the bush, she wanted to get to the bottom of why their intimacy had disappeared. “I want to talk about our love life,” she said.

  For the first time in a very long time, Victoria could see that Ted was very uncomfortable, and this wasn’t like him. He was always in control of his emotions and the way he expressed his feelings, even when pushed to the edge. No matter how pressing or complicated the situation, he could always manage to find the right words or solution to abate the problem. But now, as he sat propped up on the fluffy pillows beside her, Victoria saw a look on his face that she’d never seen. He was uncertain, and not only that, he was scared.

  “Ted, talk to me,” Victoria pleaded. “I know in my heart that something’s wrong. What you told me about Christian yesterday is just the tip of the iceberg. I know you’re upset about what our son has done, but there’s something else that’s been holding you back from me and making you distant. There’s no intimacy between us, and every time I’ve tried to initiate anything you brush me off. Tell me what’s going on”

  Victoria hadn’t realized she was trembling until she felt Ted reach for her and pull her into his strong chest. Being in his arms felt good, and she wanted to stay there for as long as she could. But that comfort didn’t quiet her need for answers. She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. “We’re not going to sleep tonight until you talk to me. I mean it.”

  Ted inhaled sharply and exhaled loudly before he spoke. “The truth of the matter is that I can’t perform the way I used to. I think you noticed that the last few times we were intimate, didn’t you?”

  Victoria nodded her head. She remembered that it had taken Ted quite a while to get an erection, and then it only lasted a few minutes before he lost it. When she’d asked him if everything was okay he’d told her that it was, and that he still found her stimulating, even though there was physical proof that that wasn’t necessaril
y true.

  Ted cleared his throat. “I’m ashamed of the way I’ve handled this situation, V. I’ve felt a lot of pressure ever since Parker came back into our lives. No man wants to think that he can’t please his wife, and then when there’s the threat of another man who can, it messes with the mind.”

  Victoria blinked several times. “Do you think you have erectile dysfunction?”

  “I don’t know.” Ted looked straight ahead again, as if he couldn’t bear to see the expression on Victoria’s face.

  They sat in bed without saying anything for a few minutes. This time it was Ted who broke their silence. “V, say something. Please.”

  “If you’re having physiological problems why didn’t you just tell me, or go to the doctor and get some medicine? Hell, there’s an erectile dysfunction commercial on every five minutes. You had me thinking that you were having an affair or that you didn’t want me. Either way it hurt me, Ted”

  “I know, and I’m sorry,” Ted sighed. “I’ve always been able to please you, and the thought of not being able to any longer sent me into a loop. On the one hand I wanted to please you, but on the other I was afraid to try because I didn’t want you to be disappointed like the last few times we made love.” Ted let out a heavy breath. “I know I’m getting older and things won’t work the same way they used to, but when a man can please his woman it makes him feel like he’s still got it. You’re so beautiful and loving, and I want to show you that I can still satisfy you.”

  Victoria put her hand on top of his. “This is something we can work on. When I was battling breast cancer I learned about so many natural approaches for healing the body through holistic medicine. If it could help me heal and beat cancer, it can certainly help you get it up.”

  Ted shook his head. “You’ve always had a way with words.”