Until the End of Time

by Schuster, Melanie

  Andrew nodded his head. “Yes, that Renee. And I’d appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut. We’re just kind of keeping it between us for right now.”

  Adam didn’t want to disabuse his brother of the notion that he had a secret, but Adam had suspected for years that there was potentially more to the Renee and Andrew story than either one of them let on. Grown people didn’t spend so much time picking at each other unless there were some other emotions there. Looking at the smile on his brother’s face, Adam was truly glad they had started to act on the fact. But that didn’t stop him from a little familial blackmail. “I don’t know, Bunchy, that’s a mighty big secret to keep. I mean, this is some fascinating news, bro. If word of this got out, it’d make for some good gossip for weeks and weeks,” he mused. Andrew squinted at Adam with little liking. “I might’ve known you couldn’t be trusted. What do you want, you opportunist?”

  Adam pretended to think for a moment. Then, as if it had just occurred to him, he snapped his fingers and said brightly, “The use of your car. One week for blocking Dana, and one week for keeping my mouth shut.” Andrew groaned, because he knew it would mean that he would be driving Adam’s Range Rover for two weeks. As an architect and builder, Adam needed something roomy to carry around loads of necessary effluvia. As a Cochran, he needed to do it with style. Unfortunately, the style and beauty of the SUV was lost in the fact that it rode as though it was on the plains of the Serengeti where it belonged. Andrew hated the damned thing. He was about to start bargaining anew when Donnie, their youngest brother, joined them.

  Adam seized the advantage by jumping in with both feet. “Donnie, guess what? Andrew is letting me use his car for two weeks. Isn’t that nice of him?” he asked in a voice of pure innocence.

  Donnie looked from brother to brother and immediately surmised that something was afoot. “What’s he got on you, man? You should have come to me. I’d have only kept it for a week.”

  Andrew shook his head in despair and started around the corner of the house. “Just do what I asked you to do and there won’t be any trouble.” Adam just laughed his butt off, to Donnie’s mystification. And due to everyone’s best efforts, there were very few rough spots. It was a most congenial group that convened in the beautifully arranged backyard setting. It was mostly immediate family. Andrew’s father, Big Benny Cochran, a legend in urban broadcasting, was there with his lovely fiancée, Martha. Of course there were Bennie and Clay, and the other Cochran twins, Alan and Andre and their wives and children. Renee rounded out the group, with Donnie and Adam. Donnie had a date, Aneesah. Other than that, the only person without a family connection was Dana. She was not the least bit shy about it, either. Renee didn’t revise her Safari Barbie assessment of Miss Dana one iota when she showed up in an animal print short set and the variety of laced sandal that used to be in vogue some years before. They were apparently making a comeback.

  Renee, on the other hand, was cool and lovely in a constructed sundress that bared her shoulders and back while revealing only a hint of cleavage. It was an unusual shade of jade green, and the tight bodice flowed smoothly down to her hips before flaring out into a full skirt that was almost ankle length. The straps met behind her neck in a bow that was as feminine as it was sexy. Andrew tortured himself all afternoon by imagining the bow coming loose in his hand. She also had on a pair of little mules with French heels, the kind that accentuated her ankles and drove Andrew mad. And she smelled divine, as usual. Renee was looking luscious enough to distract Andrew from the food, which was quite a feat. He was a dedicated omnivore as was the rest of his family. He would eat any and everything, although that was not difficult with the array of appetizing dishes that were served. There was grilled chicken and smoked brisket, as well as fresh green beans cooked southern style with onions and new potatoes. There was also potato salad and coleslaw as well as fruit salad and sliced tomatoes. Andrew was particularly partial to the fried corn and coleslaw, both of which he knew Renee had made. He said as much to her, surprising her with his knowledge of her cooking. “Yours just tastes different, that’s all. Nobody makes it quite the way you do,” he said honestly.

  Renee was touched that he had noticed. She was a good country cook when she got in the kitchen, which wasn’t often. The look of gratitude and satisfaction on Andrew’s face gave her the notion that cooking more often might not be a bad habit to cultivate.

  Dana did her best to monopolize Andrew’s attention, but she was failing miserably. Not only was Adam running interference as promised, but Andrew had eyes only for Renee. At every opportunity he was cornering her in the kitchen or the sun porch or some other secluded place trying to kiss her. It was silly; sweet and overheated in the way of a teenaged romance. Renee kept laughing and pushing him away, but every time his hands or lips connected with her body she would fairly sizzle. Thank goodness, no one seemed to notice their frequent absences except the eagle-eyed Dana.

  If Adam had been truly interested in Dana, he would have found her distraction to be annoying. Adam was as tall and handsome as the rest of his brothers, and downright sexy with his hair in a long ponytail. He was arguably the most creative of the Cochrans and certainly the most avant-garde in appearance. But Dana was not interested. She had apparently set her cap for Andrew and was not about to take no for an answer. She finally managed to break away from Adam and insinuate herself into a position at the table where Renee and Andrew were playing cards with Aneesah and Donnie.

  Donnie made the forgivable but regrettable mistake of asking Dana what she did for a living, and Dana was happy to regale them with tale after tale of her glamorous life. Renee gritted her teeth silently and tried to ignore the woman. But Dana wasn’t having it. After having told every Dana Pierson Girl Reporter story she could come up with, she turned to Renee and asked her what she did for a living. Renee looked at her through her dark glasses, which she had hastily put on so that her disdain would not be visible. Dana knew perfectly well that she owned Urban Oasis—she had heard Bennie telling her so the previous day. What was she trying to prove? After Renee referenced the spa, she got her answer.

  Dana leaned forward and conspiratorially touched Andrew’s arm. “Well you two are just polar opposites, aren’t you? I mean, Andrew rebuilds people’s faces and gives them a whole new life, and you give them a temporary illusion of beauty. Isn’t that ironic?” she trilled. Renee could feel a slow burning starting in her chest and it had nothing to do with indigestion. Out and out rudeness was a difficult thing to deal with. On the one hand, she didn’t want to whack the woman in front of witnesses. On the other hand, she wasn’t good at the kind of polished retort that Bennie would use. Bennie could rip a person’s legs off verbally and they would smile and say thank you when she was done. She, on the other hand, would leave them crumpled and bleeding. Renee had just opened her mouth to reply when Sandra came over to tell them that the cake was being brought out. Saved by a pound cake, was all Renee could think. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if she had opened her mouth little Miss Safari Barbie would’ve been as dead as if she had been attacked by a jungle predator.

  After blowing out the token two candles on the cake and opening presents, Andrew was ready to call it a day. He loved his family dearly and was truly pleased with the party, but he wanted to be alone with Renee. He waited until he saw her heading into the kitchen with an empty pitcher and followed her.

  “Meet me at my house in about an hour? Please?” He breathed into her ear as he kissed her along her neck.

  All the tension of the Dana incident eased away as she felt his soft lips on her nape. “Well,” she pretended to think about it. “I guess I could manage to stop by in a while.” She lowered her lashes and smiled.

  “An hour?” he repeated, kissing her temple.

  “Half-hour,” she whispered. “Maybe 15 minutes if you keep doing that.” And once again they were kissing wildly, this time observed by three inquisitive sets of eyes.

  Lillian turned to her bro
thers with a look of satisfaction. “I tol’ you. They were kissin’. They’re in love but it’s a secret.”

  Chapter Seven

  Out of the mouths of babes often come the most profound truths. Renee wasn’t ready to give her relationship with Andrew a name, but it was certainly fulfilling. What had transpired the day of the party at his duplex was the true beginning of whatever was going on between them. Renee had arrived at Andrew’s home bearing another gift, this time a homemade pound cake. Andrew was particularly passionate about pound cake in general and Renee’s in specific. When she made the cake for the party she had made another one just for him. She presented it to him with a flourish and a bottle of champagne for them to enjoy later.

  Andrew was moved by the sweet gesture, but then again, he’d been moved by the entire day. He told Renee that it was the nicest birthday that he could remember, and it was because she was celebrating it with him. The simple words put a huge smile on her face, one that she didn’t try to disguise. Maybe it was because of their long history or because of all her hard work with Yolanda, but Renee was finding it very easy to connect with Andrew. They went to sit out on the deck that he had built in the back of the duplex.

  The huge deck offered a lot of privacy since there was a high partition between the two back doors. So each tenant had an opportunity to relax and enjoy a portion of the nicely kept backyard without worrying about disturbing or being disturbed by a neighbor. Andrew seldom used the yard due to his over-committed schedule, so this was a rare treat for him. Plus, his tenant was out of town, which made it all the nicer. It was just he and Renee with his new CDs playing softly and the sweet summer evening surrounding them. They were sitting side by side in a huge Adirondack style recliner that was extremely comfortable as well as intimate. Andrew was playing with Renee’s hand, enjoying the feel of her long, cool fingers entwined with his.

  “I want to ask you a question about something that’s probably none of my business,” he said. “In fact, I know it’s not my business but I want to know the answer anyway. Is that offensive?”

  Renee was feeling so mellow that she just shrugged. “Go ahead and ask. If I don’t want to tell you, I won’t,” was all she said.

  Andrew plunged ahead. “Okay, then, I got the impression that you weren’t comfortable around Dana. You know me well enough to know that I would have no lasting interest in someone like that, so it’s kind of hard for me to believe that you were jealous, flattering though that may be.” He paused to wince, since Renee elbowed him sharply just about then.

  “What I want to know, Renee, is what was going on in that convoluted little mind of yours regarding Dana?” Andrew asked curiously. Renee sighed briefly. Normally she would have told him that he was full of it and refused to answer such a demeaning question, but for some reason she was willing to discuss it with him.

  “Okay, Andrew, since you asked I’ll tell you. I didn’t like Dana not at all, but not because of you, at least not completely. I despised her because she has my dream job, the one I went to school to study for and the one that I couldn’t get because I don’t look like her,” Renee said frankly.

  She went on to explain to him how she had graduated with honors and done everything possible to be the best reporter in the business but she wasn’t considered marketable because of her appearance. “That’s what it all boiled down to; I wasn’t cute enough to be on television,” Renee finished ruefully. “And when you came sauntering home with Miss Paper Bag Perfection on your arm, well it was just a bit much to take.”

  Andrew was silent for a moment while he took it all in. There was definitely more to Renee than met the eye. When he finally could speak, he said words that came straight from his heart.

  “Renee, I hope you realize that you are way beyond cute. You’re exactly what God had in mind when he invented beauty,” Andrew said, pulling her closer to him. “I think it’s terrible that you were victimized by that kind of prejudice, but you certainly didn’t let it keep you down. You have a great career, you know. You’re so smart and talented that you could do anything you chose to do and do it well,” he added.

  Renee was warmed by his words, but she could not resist pointing out that the lovely Dana had a different take on the situation. “According to her, all I do is paint people up for a few hours. And compared to what you do, it really is insignificant.” She said honestly. “I mean there’s no comparison between running a spa for pampered women and giving a person a chance at a normal life.”

  Andrew shook Renee slightly to emphasize his next words. “There shouldn’t be any comparison! Look at my family; we each do something different. Andre and Alan practice law, Bennie writes and runs the stations, Donnie’s in marketing and Adam is an architect. Does that mean that I’m somehow a god because I chose to study medicine? No, it means that we’re each lucky enough to pursue careers that we find interesting. And I have to admit that I don’t find news reporting to be that edifying,” he added.

  Renee looked shocked while Andrew enlarged on the theme of media hype and overload and the impossibility of finding honest, unbiased reporting. They debated amicably for a while and Renee admitted that what she really missed was the opportunity to travel. She had to agree with Andrew on the larger picture, which was that news reporting was not the noble endeavor it was at one time. Now it seemed more like a three-ring circus. Which brought Renee back to what she felt was a very salient point. If he was so not crazy about Dana, why was he accompanying her to a wedding?

  Andrew looked bemused and confessed that he didn’t know. “I don’t remember her asking me, although she might have on the plane when I was half asleep. All I know is that somehow I agreed to go, I guess, so I can’t back out of it. You’re still going, aren’t you?” he demanded with a hint of panic in his voice.

  Renee demurred for a moment before committing to being there on the following Saturday. “After her charming invitation to ‘tag along’ how could I not? Besides, if she lays a paw on you, her little butt is mine,” Renee growled.

  Andrew was delighted with her answer. “You know, she had a lot of nerve making a crack about your spa,” he remarked. “Cause that woman owes a lot to a surgeon’s knife.”

  Renee was positively thrilled with that information, but she was even more thrilled when all conversation stopped and a different form of communication started. There was no pressure, just promise and sweetness and fire in the kisses that she and Andrew exchanged. The fact that she was boiling inside was no one’s concern but her own, she felt.

  ***

  She did have to share the news with Yolanda, though. Yolanda knew immediately that something was up with Renee as soon as she floated into her office. Yolanda worked out of her home in a large brownstone house. Part of the first level had been converted into office space for her clients, but it still retained the warmth and charm of a home. It was easier, Yolanda felt, for her patients to open up and confide in her if they didn’t feel the constraints of a clinical setting. The deeply cushioned sofa and loveseat had seen many breakthroughs and breakdowns in their day. The pumpkin-colored walls with the deep green and brick red accents of the pillows and area rugs made the space feel like a safe haven.

  And it had been a haven for Renee for many months now, something for which she was profoundly grateful, so grateful in fact, that she brought Yolanda a nice bouquet of wildflowers. Yolanda was pleasantly surprised by Renee’s impulsive gesture. Renee was truly blossoming, she thought. In the not too distant past, it would have never occurred to Renee to do something like that ‘just because’. And now, without even thinking about it, she had done something sweet and generous for fun. The changes did not stop with the gesture, either. Renee was positively glowing and eager to talk about the events of the past week or so.

  “Yolanda, Yolanda. It’s just like that Cole Porter song, “How Long Has This Been Going On”? I have been having fun, actual fun with a man. With the man, with my nemesis, Andrew Cochran, of all people. I feel like I’m 16 again
. No, better than 16, because my skin is clear and I don’t have a curfew,” she sighed happily.

  Yolanda gave her a smiling look to encourage further discussion. Renee told her about Andrew coming home early, about Safari Barbie and their frank discussion on her reaction to Dana and so on. Yolanda was particularly interested in that aspect of their talk.

  “So did you feel any real jealousy towards Dana as a woman? Was all your rancor due to the fact that she, as you put it, has your job?” Yolanda asked quietly.

  Renee didn’t have to hesitate on that one. “Well, I have never dealt with jealousy well. I’m not one that likes a crowded playing field. In fact, I prefer it if the field is fixed in my favor, to be honest,” she said ruefully. “I guess it stems from when I was chubby and I had such horrible skin. I wasn’t about to put myself in a position to have to compete with another woman. When I went out with a boy, I had to be the only one or there was no go.

  “Which is probably the reason I started dating older men after…well, you know. Much older men who were fascinated by me were the only ones I would date. I was sure I could keep their attention because they were, let’s say…thrilled to have a younger woman on their arm.” Renee stopped and sighed reflectively.

  “That’s not terribly nice, but it is accurate. But I have to say that despite the obvious physical difference between me and Dana, I wasn’t the least worried about her being able to get her hooks into Andrew. Isn’t that amazing?” She turned her eyes to Yolanda to gauge her reaction. But before Yolanda could speak, Renee had to fill her in on the most telling part of the adventure, the much-dreaded wedding of Dana’s cousin Deirdre.

  Andrew had been able to duck and dodge Dana for most of the week following his return to Detroit by burying himself in work and by spending as much time as possible with Renee. He spoke with Dana just enough to assure her that yes, he would still accompany her to the wedding and that was about it. Not for nothing, though, was Dana Heloise Pierson a news reporter. She would have made an excellent bounty hunter in another life because she possessed the right combination of attributes to get the job done. Dana had gall, determination and an overwhelming confidence in her ability to get what she wanted when she wanted it. And that certainly applied to Andrew Bernard Cochran, Jr.