“Matter of fact, I did.”
“When did I lose control?”
“When you met Ms. Noki. After that you were always hers. Call her before I do. Kalindra says she won’t come out of her room. Everyone’s worried.”
Adam went back to the cabin and said hi to Laura.
“Let’s talk. But I have some calls, apologies to make first. I fucked something up before I left New York City. I need to make amends.”
“Tell them it was temporary insanity, you love them both, and can’t live without them. And admit what you already knew. Be sincere. They will forgive you. If you want, I can talk to them too.”
“Will do. How did you know?”
“Gaea hotline.”
“News travels fast.”
“And this Kalindra woman? Gaea says she wants your hide. She’s doing bullet points of curse words and insults. I think your women will forgive you as soon as you give them a hug and a kiss and tell them it will never, ever happen again. But Kalindra, that’s different. Let me guess, not an ex-girlfriend, never slept with her.”
“I’d say ‘bang on’, but that would probably be wildly inappropriate. But yes, correct. Advice?”
“Listen quietly, and don’t interrupt. Let her vent. Then say you’re sorry. Works every time with women.”
“Can you stick around and help. I mean to help with this stuff. Call it a trade.”
“Let’s shake old school.”
“Huh?”
“Spit in your right hand, then we shake.”
“I’m going to like you, I can tell. Do you curse much?”
“All the fucking time.”
“Finally. A woman I can work with.”
“We’ll see. I’m a huge pain in the ass.”
“So am I. This is gonna be fun. Back in a while. Call Gaea and let her know you’re fine and I’m in counseling.”
***
They arrived home late, actually early morning, and all were bone weary. Gaea was out of her mind happy to see Laura, while Adam took Misti and Noki into the bedroom to apologize and make promises of best behavior if they would forgive him and take him back. There was a lot of crying and mutual ‘we’re sorries’ for an hour or more, but in the end, although all thought they had been stung for different reasons, they were seemingly back on the path. Each now knew it was never going to be easy, but none thought it would be this hard this quickly. They agreed to go somewhere quiet and talk over what had happened, and for Adam to explain exactly how he was feeling, even though he acted like an idiot. It was more than enough for Noki, and over the top OK with Misti.
Adam said, “I already knew. Everything. About you Noki and the entanglements and your condition, about all the threats and the other bad stuff. I should have told you I knew, not the other way around. I’m so sorry I was such an idiot.”
Noki teared up and said, “Forgiven and closed. But, we still need to talk. The threats are real and my situation is not going to change. I’ve been to every doctor and specialist in the City.”
Adam said, “The Triads are all taken care of, including here, and there’s still hope for your condition. Please believe me. Believe in me. We can do this together. And if nothing changes, we adopt and have twenty kids instead of ten.”
Noki sunk her head into Adam’s chest, her sign of love for her man. Misti sidled up to Adam and did the same.
Misti said, “I’m sorry for what I said. I thought I could never tell you. I just thought you’d explode in anger and never love me. I’ll never do that again. I promise.”
“Me too,” said Noki.
To Misti he said, “Hating one’s putative father is overrated, plus you turned out pretty good in spite of being mentored by that fucking felon. No thanks to him but, still, pretty great.”
“I suppose you’ll try to take some credit?”
“Nope. It was all you and our parents.”
Kalindra knocked. “I’m sleeping here tonight. This is not over by a long shot. We shall speak in the morning.”
“I’m out of town.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to work.”
***
Adam tossed and turned all night, got up and wandered around the five-story, eventually ending up in his Lab, the one place that was his alone, and where he could think. He decided he needed to have one more talk collectively with everyone he loved in attendance. He wanted to clear the air and explain how he felt; the pain, the anger and the joy. He would wait for lunch time, as breakfast had come so early on the heals of a late night; breakfast would only be attended by him.
“Lunchtime in the kitchen, noon sharp,” the sticky note said. He put them on doors and bathrooms addressed to everyone. He called Hanford and spoke to his wife Edna and asked if they could come and bring the boys. He had something to say. A Scotswoman from Edinburgh, she was not given to taking guff from anyone, even Adam; she relaxed her normal gruff exterior and said they would all attend. Whatever was troubling her husband must be related to his last trip with Adam.
In her thick brogue, “I’ll make real Scottish scones, na tha crap yu get frozen and made in New Jersey. And some haggis for Sunday dinner.”
By noon, everyone was gathered around the kitchen table and on the barstools as Adam chopped, grated and cooked, having already taken individual orders. Whatever was missing that morning was quickly found and delivered, his shopper got right to work, making calls and hustling to the markets for ingredients.
“Yesterday I said and did some very dreadful things; things that were out of order and hurtful. I wish I could say that it was never my intention to be so stupid, but the truth is, in anger, I was. I was subsequently severely chastised by my friend, Hanford. I was counselled on the way home by my new friend, Laura. Naturally I never thought to ask her last name, but I would say that was the least of my many transgressions.
“Baldwin. Laura Baldwin.”
“I did learn she curses more than me, and her specialty vocabulary is, I understand, quite extensive.”
“Can’t rely on anthropology alone for a living.”
Adam smiled. “When I got home I spoke to those I had hurt the most to apologise and say how sorry and regretful I was. I told them I had already known everything I wanted them to tell me, but it was I who should have gone to them to ease the pain of their anxiety. What followed was hurtful, arrogant and selfish. I made excuses in my mind that I was right when I clearly was not. You don’t test the ones you love; you trust them. And I do.”
He paused, chopping onions.
“What I want to do today is not just say I’m sorry to all of you, but to do so publicly, honestly and sincerely for the pain I caused. When I get this way, thinking I’m always right and always justified, I can hurt everyone in my path. I will never do this again. I expect my mates to help me stay on the right path. And my friends too.”
“Now, I will break a tiny oath I made to Noki and Misti, but I hope I do this for all the right reasons. I love Nocera Lee and have since the day I met her. She is my rock, my better angel who has changed her life and mine in every kind and loving way. For me, I have learned, not through words, but by her example, what true love and kindness really means. I adore her, and she returns my love ten times over. Without her, I don’t know what I would be today. ‘Sadness’ does not touch the depth of the misery I would feel if I ever lost her. And I know how much I mean to her and I now fully appreciate my duties as guardian of her heart; I will never hurt her again like I did yesterday. I am a penitent man who seeks only that you love me as before.”
“I do. I always have,” she said quietly.
“This you may already know, but what might be a secret is that I now have a second mate, Misti Suarez. Misti, Noki and I have decided to live together as one family, each bringing that part of ourselves into a relationship the others do not possess. I have known and loved Misti since she was eight and getting into schoolyard fights with boys. Older boys. We drifted apart; I’m not entirely sure why. But by fortuit
y, God or just the luck of Noki being in my life and seeing things clearly, we have, the three of us, decided to become one family. We ask not for your approval, but for your love and support. We have some adjustment and accommodation to make, but I am confident we have found what was missing in our collective lives; together I am confident we will find complete happiness.”
“I have been convinced by my women, including my work wife and life boss Kalindra, to begin our new life with forgiveness. I am hopeful you will all forgive me as I will try to do for those not present and who have angered me in the past.
“Finally, I wish to thank a friend and colleague I have known for many years. I treated him abysmally yesterday, though he was only speaking truth to power. In the end, he said if I could not apologize to Misti and Noki, he would have to leave my service. For his sons who are gathered here, and who I teach all the wrong lessons, please pay attention. The true measure of a friend is not just giving praise when things go well, but in telling your friend hard truths when no others will. It takes courage to be that kind of friend, and that describes your father. He dressed me down, told me what I had to do, and if not, I was not his friend and he had misjudged the true nature of my character. It takes a man to do what your father did yesterday; I am grateful. Hanford, please accept my apology and for all the shit you put up with for me, and others around me. We’re all prima donnas and take advantage of your kind and generous nature.”
“No, it’s mostly just you.” Everyone laughed, knowing it was true.
Chapter 13
A few days passed as everyone adjusted to their new normal, each spending time with the others talking about their past and other adventures with boys or girls, in lust or in love. Still, Laura has had not yet spoken openly about her situation and discovery; neither had Gaea. Adam had not pressed them and thought they each deserved some quiet time and a feeling of complete safety. Decompression. All the women seemed to get along well; at least Misti, Noki and the two anthropologists. Kalindra watched and stayed close to Adam.
Adam, Gaea, Laura, Misti and Noki were sitting on their respective couches snuggling warmly under covers, watching a British show they had all begun watching together, when the doorbell rang. Adam had adopted a real love of British TV, and though many of his friends didn’t get British humor, his family and their new archeologist friends thought this show was hilarious.
Anna and Edward, visiting, were sitting at the kitchen table discussing something about Adam and where Crissy was, who had promised to be at Adam’s for a special announcement that was supposed to happen three hours earlier. Adam had mellowed slightly after Boulder and his raft of apologies to everyone, agreeing to go easy on the outward hostility toward Edward and Anna if they played nice in the sandbox. All the women in the five-story, each of them, had spoken to Adam about family, even his rotten family. But they said the past did not have to be the future. Adam did not believe that people were capable of fundamental change, but he was persuaded that civility and more positive behavior might precipitate some change for the better, even with Edward and Anna.
Adam looked at the video feed of the building entrance; it was Crissy. She came up to five.
She burst in as she always did, confidant and chock full of apologies for her incessant tardiness. She was of the Edward school, that saying “I’m sorry” was enough and that once said, all was even with the world and back to normal. For Adam, who had endured this nonsense as a child, it was not. He was habitually punctual and when late called ahead. Adam believed most apologies for tardiness and all other manner of rude behavior were neither sincere nor heartfelt. They were just convenient, subject changing words.
Though Adam could be an ass, he admitted it and tried to correct his behavior. Adam’s issue lay around not understanding that he was being rude; not that he was knowingly rude and did not care.
Crissy said, “I’m so sorry, but I got caught up with my colleague Phil Poulet and before you know it, we were working on something and the time just got away from me. But good news! I’m here now and we can get started, though I don’t have much time. Got to get back to the office.”
The room went quiet.
Crissy looked over at her second parents, at Misti whose eyes were glued to the TV, and Gaea and Laura who were suddenly captivated by instructions on how to assemble nightstand furniture.
“Is something wrong?”
Adam started to talk, then Anna intervened.
“Sweetie, you’re almost three hours late for our walk and talk. Adam already made dinner for us and we sat down hours ago. We’re in for the evening now, and Edward and I are just getting ready to leave. We’ve had big news today and when you didn’t show, I asked Adam to wait until you arrived to share. We were just watching TV and talking just now. We were going to tell you the news when you got here. And who’s Phil? You never mentioned him to me before.”
“Phil? Just a guy; a lawyer at the firm. A friend. I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t keeping track of time. I … I just wasn’t …”
Adam intervened.
“Thinking? About us? Or giving us the courtesy of a call to let us know you were running late?”
Crissy normally did not have a short fuse, but disliked Adam’s tone and obvious hostility. She was defensive and indignant.
“Your hand doesn’t seem broken. You could have called me.”
“I did. Right to voicemail.”
“Oh, right. I guess I turned it off. It’s not what you think, really. Phil and I were just working.”
Anna, Laura and Gaea weren’t buying what Crissy was selling, so they got up, moved to the kitchen to get out of the line of fire. Anna knew what was coming next. Noki and Misti, on the other hand, cuddled close together on the couch to watch the show – Adam and Crissy fighting. It’s not that they delighted in watching Adam lose it, just that they couldn’t help themselves. It was like the fascination of driving slowly by a car accident. You want to look, but you know you shouldn’t.
“It’s nothing. Phil … he’s just a guy, that’s all.”
“A lawyer?”
“Yes.”
“Young, handsome, smart as whip?”
“I guess. But that’s not …”
Adam held up his hand. “I don’t care about this Phil or what he is to you. I truly don’t. That’s your business. But what I do care about is that we didn’t matter enough, or I didn’t matter enough, for you to show up on time or for the consideration of a phone call. You asked for our help, then you blow us all off. The least you could do is get your ass here on time.”
He paused, “Working late is part of your job; we all get that. I had important news to discuss, which I made abundantly clear, but that didn’t matter to you. I’ll discuss it with those who are here later, and it won’t include you. You need to get back to work and to Phil, well that’s fine. Don’t have time for us tonight? Peachy. Then I invite you to get on with your important business and get back to your colleague. You aren’t needed here, and my news does not concern or include you any longer.”
“But it’s not like that. I like him; it’s just work.”
“You seem to think your relationship with Phil, or anyone else in your life, matters to me. You are incorrect.”
“That’s not fair. Work is work. You know that.”
“You needed him to stay? To work on a tax item? Or did he ask you for your help? You’re both tax attorneys and this couldn’t wait; deadline tomorrow?”
“No. He asked me to help him, and I said yes.”
“He must be another LL.M.? NYU, Florida?”
“No. He’s a real estate lawyer. An Associate.”
“So, an Associate, far junior to you, asked you, a senior Partner to stay and help him out with something you know little about. Well, that makes it all clear then. Must have been a big a rush? Heavy tax implications?”
“No.”
“In the past, the occasional lunch, dinner, or rare all-nighter to get the job done. Penetrate the law and t
hrust that solution forward?”
“I guess. Some. More than a few.”
“Go back to work, Crissy. It’s where you really want to be. Seriously, I don’t mind.”
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t. Just go back to work. And your friend.”
“What about your news, can you at least tell me about that?”
“Not your concern. Not anymore.”
Crissy felt the chill in the air and left.
***
Gaea and Laura, who had no experience with this emotional deep freeze side of Adam, came up to him right away.
Gaea asked, “Are you OK?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Because that was both amazing and frightening, all at the same time,” said Laura. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“Not possible for either of my favorite anthropologists. Under the age of forty.”
Laura continued, “I know I shouldn’t say this in front of … everyone, but I’m a little … turned on.”
Gaea just smiled, leaned into Adam, and whispered. “Niagara Falls. Bad boys; I don’t get it.”
***
Things were quiet after that. Anna and Edward left for their hotel while the remaining souls watched TV for a while, read and talked a little about the news and the excitement of meeting real Immortals and Adam’s children. It was well past midnight, but everyone was too wound up to sleep and still had a million questions. Niona, Fionna, the Sari blade, Hecate the Immortal, Kendra Boles and Hana the Princess; it was all so exciting.
The doorbell rang, unusual for a building which needed a code to enter through the front entrance downstairs, so Adam suspiciously looked through the keyhole. There was a man standing outside, well dressed and pacing.
Adam opened the door.
“Can I help you? This is a private building and I don’t recall inviting you in, whoever you are.”
“My name is Phil Poulet, and I’m a friend of Crissy Chance. In fact, she’s back on her way up right now, but I thought I’m come on up ahead, so we could have a little chat first.”
Crissy Chance Page 10