Still Waters...

by Crysal V. Rhodes

  “We’ve got a problem.”

  Janice proceeded to tell her that one of their best clients was threatening to withdraw all of his funds from Bev’s company. He had investments with them in the millions of dollars. Her intervention called for a face-to-face meeting with him. She had to be in Chicago ASAP. She booked a flight that would leave L.A. that evening. It was while she was at Ray’s home hastily packing that he received his telephone call. Thad was on the other end.

  “Man, I need a tremendous favor.” There was desperation in his voice.

  A pipe had burst in one of the bathrooms in their family home in Carmel. Their housekeeper, Mrs. Sharon, had reported the problem and had made an appointment with a plumber and a contractor to make the necessary repairs. However, a family emergency made her unable to be at the house when the repairs were to be made. They were scheduled for the next day, and a delay could mean additional damage to the house. Normally, Thad or Darnell’s personal assistants might take care of the situation, but neither was available.

  “I would never ask you to do this if there was anyone else we trusted in our house,” Thad told him. “Nedra and her family are in New York…”

  Ray stopped him there and volunteered to fly to Carmel. “If you can’t count on a friend, who can you count on?” He called the airplane charter service that he used and booked a flight to leave L.A. thirty minutes after Bev’s flight.

  As Ray and she said their goodbyes at the airport, both were struck by the melancholy that gripped them at their parting.

  “You know what,” Bev told him softly, “I’m really going to miss you.” She couldn’t believe the intensity of her feelings about their parting.

  He placed a quick kiss on her forehead. “Don’t sound so surprised. I’ve grown on you.”

  She chortled, “Like bright, green ivy—all fresh and good.”

  “I like that,” Ray hugged her to him. “I’ll miss you, too.” His heart was full.

  After fervent kisses and ardent promises to call each other on their arrivals, they reluctantly separated. Bev watched as he moved in the opposite direction until he disappeared from sight. She felt bereaved. Turning, she went through the gate to catch her own flight, wondering when this man had become so important in her life.

  * * *

  Having arrived in Carmel, Ray opened the front door to the Cameron-Stewart home and disengaged the silent alarm. Dropping his overnight bag, he stood in the sumptuous entranceway and looked up the lavish stairway where Bev had been standing the first time that he saw her. She had been looking down at him with utter distain, but even under those circumstances he still had been mesmerized by her majesty. She had looked like a Nubian queen, and she still did.

  As he trotted up the stairway, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. They had parted only a short while ago and he missed her already. Moving down the hallway, he gave a wistful sigh. There had been a time in his life when he was the one who was being missed by a woman who craved him. When had that changed? Now he knew how it felt.

  Turning into his goddaughter’s beautifully decorated bedroom, he passed through it into the adjoining bathroom where the broken pipe had made a mess. Briefly surveying the damage, he left the room and headed back down the stairs to wait for the plumber. But instead of sifting through the work that he had brought from home, Ray found himself wandering through the opulent house aimlessly, glancing at his watch now and then as he calculated the time when Bev would arrive in Chicago. After a stroll around the grounds, he decided that he could wait no longer. Whipping out his cell phone he pressed her number, realizing that her voice mail might be the only response to his call. He was right. Disappointed, he left a message.

  “It’s me. I’m in Carmel. I just wanted to make sure that you landed safely. Call me.” He hesitated, wanting to leave an endearment. Instead he disconnected.

  “Coward!” he uttered aloud.

  The sound of the buzzer from the front gate startled him out of his self-flagellation. The plumber was here. As he went to answer the summons, Ray found comfort in the thought that maybe it was too soon to say how he really felt about her. When he did tell her he hoped that it wouldn’t be over the telephone. When he said the words “I love you,” he wanted to say them to her face to face.

  CHAPTER 16

  Bev’s plane had arrived at O’Hare Airport on time, and she was in a good mood when she walked into Freedom Financial Services.

  “You sure are looking chipper,” Janice noted after greeting her boss with a hug. “I wish that I could be so calm about the possibility of losing millions.”

  “It’s only money,” Bev quipped as the two of them headed down the hallway.

  “How’s Dana doing?” Janice followed Bev into her office.

  Bev had kept the office updated about her sister’s medical progress through Janice, who was her friend as well as her employee. She had been with Bev for over a decade. At sixty-six, Janice looked as though she were in her forties. As stylish and sophisticated as her employer, she was the height of efficiency and solely responsible for keeping the office running so smoothly. Bev didn’t know what she would do without her.

  “She’s getting better, thank God.” Bev slipped into the white leather swivel chair behind her glass-top desk. “She’s talking a little bit more each day.”

  “Does she remember what happened?” Janice took a seat in one of the fashionable chairs opposite the desk.

  “All she knows at this point is that she’s waking up in a hospital. It’s going to take time, but we’re hopeful that she’ll be as good as new after some therapy.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.”

  The two women engaged in some small talk before getting down to the business that had brought Bev back to the office. Janice explained in detail the reasons that the client had expressed for wanting to withdraw his investment funds. Bev assessed the situation and went over a few strategic scenarios with Janice. A Plan A and Plan B were devised, and Bev spent the remainder of the day analyzing data and making telephone calls. By nightfall she had a solution to the dilemma that was causing her client concern. She made arrangements for lunch with him the next day to make her presentation. She was exhausted by the time the last call was made.

  Janice stuck her head in the open office door. “Are you ready to go?” She was dropping Bev off at her Hyde Park home.

  “Finally.” Bev turned the light off in her office and shut the door behind her. It wasn’t until she was following Janice down the hall toward the elevator doors that she remembered that she hadn’t called her mother or Ray to inform them of her arrival.

  Checking her messages, she saw that she had missed calls from both. By the time that she and Janice had gone downstairs and climbed into Janice’s car, Bev had contacted her mother and her daughter. As Janice drove out of the parking garage and headed toward the Dan Ryan Highway, Bev called Ray.

  “Hey there.” She couldn’t help smiling when he answered his cell phone.

  “Hey there,” he echoed. Ray had been sitting in the kitchen using the laptop that he had brought with him and thinking about her. “Guess who’s been on my mind.”

  “Hmmm, let me guess.”

  “No need.” Ray rose and wandered across the room to the patio doors where he stood looking out at the sweeping cypress trees. “Just look in the mirror and you’ll see who I’m talking about.”

  “I just might do that, as long as you look in yours.”

  Ray liked the sound of that. They spoke for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes.

  “I miss you already.” Ray’s confession was husky with memories. So was Bev’s.

  “I miss you, too.”

  They disconnected.

  “Humph.” Janice’s grunt brought Bev out of her stupor as the older woman threw her a look. “It sounds like a new relationship is in bloom. What’s his name?”

  Bev chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  Janice had met Ray in the
past, and she was more than aware of the years of acrimony between them. For the past few years Janice had served as a sounding board for Bev’s complaints about Ray.

  “That means that I know him.” Janice pulled into a parking spot in front of Bev’s two story house. Turning the ignition off she turned to Bev. “Don’t I?”

  “Yes.” Bev gave her a smug smile. “But I still don’t think that you’d ever guess.”

  Janice didn’t hesitate. “Ray Wilson.”

  “How did you know?” Bev couldn’t believe it. Was the woman a psychic?

  Janice threw her a dismissive wave. “Oh, please, it didn’t take a genius. You were in L.A. and he lives there. He’s a friend of your sister’s, plus he’s had the hots for you since forever. Who else could it be? I’m just glad that he finally won you over.”

  “You are?” That was another surprise. Janice had never registered an opinion about Ray one way or the other. “Why? I wasn’t aware that you even liked him.”

  Janice shrugged. “I really don’t know him, but the few times that I’ve been in the same room with the two of you I’ve noticed the chemistry…”

  “What chemistry?” The woman wasn’t a psychic, she was psychotic.

  “The one he tried to be cool about and that you denied all together. So, how do you feel about him?”

  Bev hesitated. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

  “Because of the age thing.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “You’re much too wise for your age,” Bev said in admiration. “I’ll admit that I tried to make it a problem in the beginning…”

  “But he wouldn’t let you, and you’re still trying to come up with an excuse.” Boldly, Janice made her point by thumping the ring hanging on the chain around Bev’s neck. “How foolish you are to let a chance for happiness slip away.” As she pulled up in front of Bev’s house, she released the passenger door lock. “Go get some rest. You’ve got a long day tomorrow.” With that she indicated that Bev should exit. There would be no further discussion.

  Perturbed, Bev got out of the car without a farewell. She didn’t know whether to be angry with Janice or not. The woman had always said what was on her mind, but how dare she have the nerve to put her hand on Colton’s ring!

  As she unlocked the front door, stepped inside her foyer, and disarmed the alarm, she thought of a thousand things that she should have said to her. She muttered them aloud as she stomped up the stairs, entered her bedroom, and dropped her bag at the door. By the time she walked across the room to belly flop on her bed she was stripped down to her underwear, and still fuming.

  Turning on her back, she listened to her uneven breathing. Gradually, she grew calm and clarity returned. She knew that it wasn’t Janice who had fueled her anger. It was the truth that she had spoken. She wasn’t used to being considered foolish. She took pride in the decisions that she had made over the years. Each one had helped mold her into the woman that she had become.

  Lying alone in the silent darkness, she recounted the accomplishments of which she was so proud. After her husband died, she had raised her child alone, attended college all the way through graduate school, and started her own business. She owned this house and the one she had built in Stillwaters. She owned property all over the place. Hell, she was worth a fortune! By all definition she was a very successful woman. Fear and foolishness were not part of her DNA. Yet lately she had been experiencing both. She was scared to let go and foolish not to do so. Janice had been right about that. But how could she give Colton up? He had been her life.

  They had met in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry. She was there researching a school project. He told her he was there because he liked the place. She had found him to be courteous and polite. It took her three months to fall in love. He claimed that for him, it was love at first sight.

  Her parents liked him. He was well spoken, well mannered, and respectful, but that had not been enough. Colton was five years older, plus he had graduated from high school and had no plans to further his education. In the high-achieving family from which Bev had descended, that was unacceptable. Yet her parents hadn’t interfered in their relationship, although they made her aware that they were concerned about its intensity. They had a right to be. A week after Bev graduated from high school, she and Colton flew to Las Vegas and got married. She was eighteen years old.

  As young as they were, they lived well. Colton worked in construction, and he worked steadily. His jobs often took him away from her for days, but money was plentiful and so was their love. Bev had planned on enrolling in college the coming semester, but then she discovered that she was pregnant. She and Colton were ecstatic. Life was perfect. And then he was suddenly gone.

  Even now the tears flowed silently down Bev’s face. The depth of her grief at the time couldn’t be contained. Over the years, the memories of her life with Colton had wrapped around her heart like a blanket, keeping her warm and secure. They had been perfect together. He had been perfect. It was so hard to let go of those memories—to let go of him.

  * * *

  Ray sat at the computer staring blankly at the screen. He was trying to concentrate, but the call from Bev had rendered that nearly impossible. “I miss you, too,” had been her whispered reply. That was all he could think about. The love bug had bitten him a long time ago, and it seemed that it just kept on chewing.

  Sighing, he turned his attention back to the computer screen. He had moved to Darnell’s downstairs office, where he could hook his laptop up to her printer. There was business that he had brought with him and he knew that he should attend to it, but he chose procrastination. Remembering how he had tried to Google the Stillwaters family and had been interrupted, he tried again. Their story was fascinating and he wanted to learn more, but while the achievements of individual members of the family were well documented, there was no information on the family as a whole. He tried to find the website for The S and F Financial Consortium. He knew that there was some sort of monetary connection to the family, but again he had no luck. There was no website. Thad had been correct when he had informed him that the Stillwaters clan was discreet. Losing interest in that effort, he decided to look up Renee Ingram, who was proving to be such a good friend to Dana. Not only had she monitored Dana’s progress by telephone and visited the hospital, but she had sent a beautiful flower arrangement. Everyone had been touched by her concern.

  Having confirmed that she was the wife of Russell Ingram, CEO of Stark Enterprises, he discovered that she was quite the socialite. The mother of a young son, the family lived in Westchester, New York, and she had headed several charitable events supporting national and international causes. Ray clicked on another article and, to his surprise, there stood Mitch, posing with the young couple. Renee was standing between him and her husband. Ray recalled that Bev had informed him that Mitch had worked for Stark Enterprises, and he was about to read the article when he was interrupted by the ring of the buzzer from the entrance gate. The plumber had returned to finish his repair. Hitting print, he hurriedly snatched the single sheet of paper from the printer and went to answer the call.

  * * *

  Early the next morning another call summoned Ray. Bev was on the other end. There was a smile in her voice that made it obvious that she was aware of the time difference.

  “It’s six in the morning,” Ray groused, barely awake.

  “So why aren’t you up and at ’em?” She laughed as she made her way down the stairs of her home to the kitchen. “Shouldn’t you be jogging or shadow boxing or something? I’ve already taken my bath and dressed. My housekeeper stocked my refrigerator with goodies, so I’m getting ready to eat breakfast and start my day. I’d say that you’re lagging behind.”

  “You think?” Now wide awake, Ray rolled out of bed and slipped into his robe. The sound of her voice was just what he needed. “And what are your plans for today?”

  “I’m going to have lunch with my disgruntled client an
d talk him into staying with my company.” Bev left no doubt about that.

  “You’re going to work that Bev magic, huh?” Ray felt sorry for whoever it was. If she whipped it on the client like she had whipped it on him, the poor guy didn’t have a chance.

  As Bev and Ray got ready for their day the smiles on of each of their faces confirmed the affection that had developed between them.

  “When are you flying back to L.A.?” It was Bev’s plan to fly back as soon as she could settle her business.

  “Let’s see, today is Friday.” Ray slipped his feet into his house slippers. “I probably won’t get back there until Sunday evening.” He started to rise from the bed when he froze. “You are going back, aren’t you?” It wasn’t until that moment that the possibility that she might stay in Chicago occurred to him.

  “As soon as I can wrap things up here, I’ll probably fly back on Sunday, too.”

  “Great.”

  Bev could hear the relief in his voice. “Why are you waiting until Sunday? I thought that the contractor was coming to fix the drywall in the bathroom today.”

  “That’s right, but I plan on borrowing one of Thad’s cars and driving up to Tiburon to check on my house.”

  Bev knew that he had purchased the house from Thad, but she had never been there. “Do you get there often?”

  “I try to get there at least once a month. It’s my resting place.”

  The chit-chat continued and then goodbyes were said, but before they disconnected, once again, Bev whispered the words to Ray that warmed his heart. “I miss you.”

  With that she was gone, leaving him standing in the middle of the bedroom in her daughter and son-in-law’s house as hard as stone.

  * * *

  Bev moved around her ultra-modern kitchen humming a vintage Aretha Franklin song, “Call Me”. It had always been one of her favorites, and that it had popped into her head hadn’t surprised her. Each word now seemed to hold a special meaning since it was the song to which Ray and she had danced.

  She missed him more than she could ever have imagined. He was the last person that she had thought about when she fell asleep last night and the first one she thought about when she awakened this morning—not her sick sister, not her overstressed mother, not her daughter who was working thousands of miles away, or her granddaughter who was with her parents, but Ray Wilson. It was disturbing. Family was always first.