by Tori Brooks
“Why is she in New York when her camera stuff is here?”
“Keep walking,” Nicholas prompted. “She has a camera with her, Jess. Teri always has a camera with her.” It wasn’t an answer, but he didn’t expect Jess to notice. Nicholas smiled as Jess let it drop.
He thought of Cassie and Dev at home and stopped smiling. Dev wasn’t as easily fooled and tended to be difficult about – well, about things like this. Cassie already knew. Nicholas heard Teri giving a brief explanation that she had met someone, but he didn’t hang around to eavesdrop on how much Teri told her daughter. In retrospect, he really should have. Luck was with Nicholas as he arrived at Teri’s house. Dev wasn’t home and he managed to corner Cassie alone in the kitchen for a moment.
“Teri’s in New York,” Nicholas began carefully.
“For a couple of days with a guy she’s known for a while but just started seeing. Yeah, I know,” Cassie rolled her eyes at him. “Chill Nicholas, Mom deserves a little at this point.”
“Deserves a little what?” Jess asked, walking in and opening the refrigerator.
“Milk.”
Nicholas and Jess both looked to Cassie in confusion, the only difference was it looked natural on Jess’s face. Cassie sighed.
“Drink the milk, Jess. It’s going to expire soon.”
“Oh. Sure.” Jess pulled out a half-full gallon of milk and walked off, drinking straight from the jug. Cassie stepped forward and closed the refrigerator door for him.
“I would swear he was dropped on his head as a baby, but he’s just too cute. There would be a sign.” She turned back to Nicholas. “Don’t worry, I don’t care that Mom’s taking some personal time.”
“Just the same, Dev . . .”
“Would have a coronary. Yeah, I know. I’ve got her back.” Cassie smiled and turned to leave. Nicholas followed, but as they walked into the dining room, Kenny cleared his throat. Startled, Nicholas looked over to see him lounging at the dining room table with application forms spread out in front of him.
“You handle him,” Cassie patted Nicholas on the shoulder and went upstairs. Nicholas stood across from Kenny and looked him over.
The band, or “the boys” as Teri and Nicholas usually referred to them, consisted of Jess, Kenny, Bryan, and Dev. Bryan was the middle child to his very core: an intelligent, quiet peacemaker. Dev was undoubtedly the baby of the crew: spoiled and used to getting his own way. Part of that was because Dev was also probably the smartest despite being the youngest. There was never a doubt Kenny was the leader of their band. And Jess was simply there; they never asked more of him than that.
While Dev’s genius was spread out over a variety of interests and subjects, Kenny’s was all musical. If it wasn’t related to music in some form, he wasn’t interested and wouldn’t waste his time with it. He could glance at sheet music and correct notes without picking up an instrument and playing it, and played multiple instruments well. He could sing too, although not as well as Jess. What’s more, Kenny knew he was a going to be a rock star someday, accepting it with an unshakable belief that it was his destiny.
Kenny was practical in running his band and thought of the future. Bryan played bass guitar reasonably well, but when Dev came along, Kenny didn’t think twice before getting Bryan drum lessons and letting the new boy take the bass guitar spot. Even then Dev attracted more girls to their few shows than Bryan did. And the number was increasing as Dev got older. Of the boys, Kenny never turned heads and probably wouldn’t have wasted time with girls even if he had. He was too committed to his music.
With that in mind, Nicholas sat down at the table and picked up one of the applications Kenny was filling out.
“You’re applying for a job at a home improvement store?” Nicholas asked with interest.
“No, I teach private guitar lessons. I’m filling them in for Jess.”
“I thought he was working for a landscaping company.”
“The owner has a daughter, Jess met her, fill in the blanks.”
“Of course,” Nicholas nodded, they were back on familiar ground now. Teri didn’t mind the boys living there, but it made money tight. Jess and Kenny had to earn their own way as far as any little extras were concerned or for things the band needed.
“Teri’s got a boyfriend, huh?”
Nicholas thought he liked it when people got straight to the point. He made an exception in Kenny’s case.
“It’s a new development.”
“Cassie knows.”
“Yes, and Dev doesn’t.”
“She didn’t tell him.”
Nicholas wasn’t sure if Kenny was referring to Teri or Cassie. It was the same answer either way. “No.”
“Bitch.”
Kenny was referring to Cassie then. They had an almost unprecedented dislike for each other, but Kenny liked Teri. She let him use the basement for his band and didn’t fuss about the hours if it wasn’t a school night.
“Well, it’s Teri’s job to break it to him, so let’s leave it to her, shall we?”
“I’m not telling him, he’ll go nuclear,” Kenny agreed.
“An apt description I suspect. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll get out of here before Dev comes home and is reminded I’m back and his mother isn’t.”
Kenny looked at the clock on the wall over Nicholas’s head. “Better hurry. He’ll be back soon.”
“Give me a hand then, will you?” Nicholas picked up his suitcase and one of the camera cases. Properly motivated, Kenny grabbed the rest and they quickly walked out to Nicholas’s truck.
“Go now, he’ll be home any minute,” Kenny urged.
Nicholas didn’t need to be told twice. He started the truck and pulled out of the driveway as Dev’s ride pulled up. He gave Dev a friendly wave and breathed a sigh of relief that it wouldn’t be him having to tell Teri’s son about her new boyfriend.
Chapter Eight
Teri sat on the flight home and sighed. She hated flying alone. It was boring and there was only so much Sudoku she could occupy herself with. After awhile, she just gave up and lapsed into daydreams about her weekend in New York with Paul.
Paris went well, professionally. Personally, she was a wreck the entire time. The city didn’t seem the same. Granted, things had changed in the years since she was there with Allen, but that wasn’t it. She loved the Arc de Triomphe, but its noble elegance seemed faded. Notre Dame felt dusty, and if Teri didn’t know better, she would have sworn the Eiffel Tower was shorter.
Teri was sure her client thought she was awkward and anti-social. The woman even tried to soothe her raw nerves by telling her anti-depressants were common in America. In petty revenge, Teri took shots of the exhibitionist in a trench coat. It was such a cliché Teri had to glare at Nicholas to keep him from laughing.
Teri sat up in her narrow seat, bumping her knee on the tray table and losing her place in her forgotten Sudoku book. Being forced to leaf through the book again redirected her thoughts.
Paul met her when her plane disembarked at JFK with a single red rose and a kiss that made her weak in the knees. They went directly from the airport to Paul’s apartment.
Teri closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of her seat as she recalled the look on the elevator man’s face. They repeated the deep, almost pornographic, kiss as soon as the elevator doors closed. Paul pinned Teri against the wall and his hands ran up her body to caress her breasts. Parts of Paul seemed to rise at almost the same rate as the elevator.
Teri forgot about the elevator man, Karl, until the doors opened. Karl’s eyes were firmly fixed forward and determined not to make eye contact. He did smile and wish them a pleasant evening as they disembarked.
Paul’s apartment opened directly into an elegantly-decorated living room with a large dining room immediately off to the right. As soon as they were alone, Paul sat Teri on the dining room table and proceeded to take her breath away. The caress of his hands, the movement of his lips against her lips, neck, chest
, and finally her breasts made Teri blush slightly as she remembered the sensations - particularly against her breasts. She could still almost feel his lips pinch her nipples, each in turn until they were on fire. Then he doused the fire by slowly circling the areola with his tongue, flicking her nipple, then blowing on it. It may have cooled her nipple, but the fire just sought refuge elsewhere.
He took his time undressing her and exploring her body thoroughly. Finally she sat completely naked with Paul’s shirt unbuttoned and only his undershirt separating his bare skin from hers. She wrapped her legs around him and pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. He cooperated as she pulled his undershirt up and over his head. The feel of her breasts against his chest as they kissed seemed to motivate Paul, but he wouldn’t be rushed even though Teri felt ready to scream. He gently laid her back on the table and worked his way down her body.
Every kiss seemed to singe her skin, his touch somehow electric. Teri arched and inhaled sharply as his tongue gently tickled the indentation of her belly button. Paul laughed and did it again. Her eyes flew open when Paul continued moving down, pushing her legs farther apart.
A baby fussing on the plane brought Teri back to the present. She opened her eyes and sat up. Teri realized she’d been smiling and felt flushed. And moist. Teri looked around self-consciously.
The businessman to her left was still busy typing on his Blackberry. On her right was an elderly woman Teri imagined to be a grandmother off to visit a new grandchild, she assumed anyway, since the woman was diligently crocheting a pink blanket. Neither seemed to be paying any attention to Teri. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Picking up her Sudoku book again, she tried to concentrate on the puzzle.
Paul had never tried Sudoku before Teri introduced him to it in New York. He wanted to spend all of his time with her, but still had to hold the hand of the CEO whose company he was buying. Teri understood, to the point of sitting quietly with Paul during lunch with the uneasy little man, then waiting in Paul’s office for almost two hours afterward. She felt sorry for the soon-to-be former boss. It was a small company, and he just wanted to be sure his employees would be taken care of. Considering his neediness, she wondered if it would have been a larger company had someone else been in charge.
It annoyed Paul that business kept interfering, but Teri took advantage of the time to try to get to know him better. At lunch, Teri watched as Paul devoted his attention to the concerns being raised, and patiently and sincerely offered his assurances. Paul’s hand resting on the inside of her thigh, well above the knee, didn’t distract him so much as her. Once she was in his office, Teri took the opportunity to look around.
From her perspective, Paul’s office screamed wealth and power: a large corner office with glass walls on two sides looking down on the city. The other two sides were nothing but doors and cabinets. Tim showed her the one that had a large TV set in it when he escorted her here, but Teri declined. He showed her the bathroom too, but got called away before he could finish the tour. It was fine, Teri was comfortable snooping. She found a full bar, a coat closet, trade magazines, files, and boxes of product samples before Tim returned.
“Why no personal items?” Teri asked as soon as Time stepped into the room.
Tim’s eyebrows rose marginally.
“Nothing that shows he has a life outside of work. Tim, please tell me he has a life outside of work.”
“Yes, he has a private life.” Tim motioned for Teri to follow and opened a door beside the bathroom. Teri saw that it opened into another office.
“Is this your office?” Teri asked. It was smaller and more informal, but still professionally decorated. The wall with the windows was pulled back into the room to create a covered balcony. Teri smiled at the small barbecue on the balcony.
“No, this is Paul’s other office. One he uses to project a certain image, the other is where he gets his creative thinking done. Fewer people have seen this one. My office is just on the other side, first door. This is where his personal things are. I think you’ll be more entertained waiting here.”
“He won’t mind?”
“No,” Tim smiled. “He might be a while still. I put some Dr. Pepper in the mini bar for you. I’ll be back in a bit. I need to get a couple of things done to help him get out of this meeting.”
“Thanks,” Teri called as Tim slipped out of the office’s official door. Alone, she took another look around. The door they’d just come through was the only one on the wall otherwise dominated by bookshelves. She ran her fingers along some of the old books there; some bound in leather, others appeared close to disintegrating. Kipling, London, Lee, Poe, Twain; Teri noted some classics that appeared well read.
A series of simple wood picture frames caught her eye: Paul and his children. Now that she noticed, Teri couldn’t see how she’d missed them. There were baby pictures of each of the kids, and it looked like, most of their school photos. Paul mentioned that he had kids and now Teri racked her brain to remember what little he said about them. All three were adults now, she knew that. They didn’t like Paul. He’d said it casually, but looking at the number of pictures Paul had in the bookshelves, it had to hurt.
The plane passed through a bit of turbulence, reminding Teri she was supposed to be working on her Sudoku puzzle, not putting herself through an emotional roller coaster in a public place. The puzzle book is what started this she realized.
After she finished snooping around Paul’s private office she sat down at his desk to do a puzzle. He snuck up on her somehow and scared the hell out of her. In revenge she made him learn how to do the puzzle. And he did it easily. A hard one. She hit his arm for being so smart and he made it up to her. Right there on the desk.
Teri shook her head and put the puzzle away. She didn’t need to go down that road again. Maybe later, when she was alone. Teri briefly wondered how Paul felt about phone sex. Having never tried it she wasn’t sure how it worked, but she was pretty sure they’d figure it out.
“Excuse me, can you help me?” The elderly woman next to Teri asked, holding up a tangle in her yarn.
“I’ll give it a shot.” Teri took the yarn and started to untangle it. The woman told her about the new great-granddaughter she was going to see in Anchorage. Teri grabbed onto the lifeline the superficial conversation offered. She didn’t want to think about Paul and his kids just now. With only minimal interest and encouragement on Teri’s part, she managed to keep the woman talking until the plane landed in Seattle. With a sigh of relief, Teri headed home to face her own troublesome brood.
“So, he has three kids from a previous marriage who don’t talk to him,” Nicholas shrugged as he ripped up lettuce for a salad.
Now that she was back, Teri was determined her own kids weren’t having pizza for dinner again. Her sister-in-law, Becca, watched the kids while she was gone, but she wasn’t much of a cook.
“Are you worried he’s a horrible father?” Nicholas asked.
“No, actually I think he’d be decent at it. He could be someone for Dev to look up to. You know, set an example. Paul’s office was practically a shrine to his kids. His study at home was the same way. Paul doesn’t even know Cassie or Dev, but he takes an interest in them anyway. When we talk, he listens and I think it makes him think of his kids when they were this age. It’s just that I don’t get it, Nicholas. I mean, I know he can’t make adult kids talk to him, but why don’t they?”
“If he didn’t want to talk about it, I’d say messy divorce.”
“You’re probably right. Speaking of not wanting to talk and things getting messy, Paul’s flying out in a week and I’d better prepare the boys. I want Dev to like him, and my darling boy does not like surprises.”
Teri put a casserole together in record time and now it was almost finished baking. She started to think about dessert. Maybe banana splits would make Dev more amiable to the idea of her dating. Of all the kids, he the most sensitive. He was also the most trouble when he got upset.
“I know. Nicholas, is it wrong to ask Cassie to throw a fit so when Dev takes the opposite stance he’ll be where I want him?”
“Sounds like good planning to me.”
“It’s manipulation.”
“And you’re the parent of a teenage boy. No court would crucify you for a little harmless manipulation. Plus you’re a woman. He’s going to have to learn eventually that it’s what you do.”
“Cynic,” Teri laughed. “Never mind, I don’t want to give Cassie bad ideas.”
“Look at it this way,” Nicholas put on his wise-and-knowledgeable face for her. “Cassie’s on your side, which means Dev won’t be. It’s just not cool to agree with your sister, it seems. But,” Nicholas held up a finger to indicate he was onto something, “Jess has a crush on Cassie. If Cassie’s on your side then so is Jess.”
“Oh that makes me feel so much better.”
“It’s a start. If you get the band on board, Dev will follow.”
“But,” Teri held up a finger to imitate Nicholas, “Kenny is the boy in charge of the band in question, and he’s certainly not going to fall in line just because Cassie supports me.”
“Kenny knows.”
“How did that happen?” Teri looked at him suspiciously.
Nicholas shrugged. “He overheard me talking to Cassie. He didn’t want anything to do with it.”
“Uh huh.”
“Bryan’s reasonable,” Nicholas said.
“Yes, he is. What’s more, Bryan will understand it isn’t his problem. I can’t have Dev be the last to know.” Teri stopped, listening to the quiet house. “They knew I was coming home today, where are they?”
“Skateboarding event of some kind. They’re showing their support for Dev.”
“Ah, I should go so I can escort him to the hospital.” Teri turned off the oven. The residual heat would finish cooking the casserole.
“Why do you do that? You always fuss about it and you’ve never had to take him. Minor scrapes, that’s it,” Nicholas said. Taking a cue from Teri’s move to grab her purse, he put the lettuce and chopped tomatoes together and put them back in the refrigerator.