Around the Bend

by Britney King

  “That’s irrelevant.” Spencer huffed.

  To her credit, Jess didn’t let up. “You can either tell me yourself, it’s your choice or I’ll track down a copy of our cell phone bill… but I need to know.”

  Myles heard the front door open. “You’re fucking crazy, you know that?” He heard Spencer remark followed by the door slamming so hard the paintings on the walls shook. He flew into the living room to find Jess staring at the door, her mouth gaping open, and her face drained of all color. Myles preemptively closed the gap between them, knowing she was about to sink to the floor. Sure enough, he caught her mid-fall and helped her down to the floor gently.

  Jess caved and began sobbing silently.

  He took her in his arms and held her. “Shhh. Good girl. You did good….”

  When the sobs finally subsided, Myles stood, untangled himself, went to the kitchen, and returned with a glass of water.

  “He’s going to fight me for the children. And it’s all going to come out… my drug use… everything… but you know what? I don’t even care about any of that. What bothers me the most, what I care about the most, is that he just might win…”

  “He won’t win.”

  “He could.”

  “You’re right, he could. And with that attitude, Jess, you don’t stand a chance. What you need to do is to strike preemptively. Have you actually consulted an attorney? Because if not, you need to do so... now.”

  She shook her head and exhaled loudly. “I need a drink… or something… an Oxy, Xanax… I don’t know. Just anything.”

  “What you need is a long walk and a damn good attorney. You’re letting him win, Jessica. Especially, if you let this crush your sobriety—which, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you, is still very much in its infancy.”

  “I just don’t understand. This just doesn’t seem like Spence—he’s always been a hard-driven businessman to the core, sure… but I can’t believe he would play this dirty… with me, with our children…”

  “Desperate people do desperate things.”

  Jess searched his face then stared at the floor. “Tell me about it.”

  Myles did his best to keep her busy over the next several days so as to take her mind off her dissolving marital situation and the cravings of needing to use again. The afternoon Spencer showed up, Jess had a bit of a temper tantrum. After her meltdown, she retreated to the master bedroom and had one of a different kind. Upon deciding that she found nothing of herself in it or in its contents, she began tearing clothing out of drawers and closets and paintings off the walls. Myles heard the ruckus and considered her actions, leaving her to it until she emerged from the bedroom disheveled holding a pile of her husband’s things. This was getting interesting. She was so beautiful when she was angry.

  He eyed her as she marched past, his expression giving nothing away. He watched her walk out to the fire pit on the back lawn as she dumped them in. Let’s see her try to start this thing. She hasn’t a clue. She took a step back and considered her next move. Myles walked out onto the patio and took a seat. “You’ve never lit the fire pit before?”

  She shook her head and stared at the pile of things she’d assembled.

  “Have you considered donating this stuff instead?” He nodded toward the fire pit and then glared at Jess. “I mean, I understand your reasoning and all… it’s just that I can see that your husband clearly has very expensive taste, and I know a whole heck of a lot of people who sure could use some of those items.”

  Jess cocked her head to the side. “But donating them would negate the whole point of burning them just to stick it to him.”

  “Either way, he’s without them, Jessica.”

  She smiled then and her whole face lit up. “Good point. I like you.”

  “I’m glad. You’re one of the few these days,” he said, playfully mocking her.

  Jess placed one hand on her hip. God, how he wanted to give her something to smile about at that moment. “So, who are these people you speak of that need this stuff? How would I find them?”

  Myles patted the chair beside him and beckoned her over. She walked over, eyed the seat, and plopped down in his lap instead, catching him off guard. Myles had adjusted himself and her on his lap before he answered. “Well, to answer your question, there are a lot of people who could use them. Hell, half of the town I grew up in could use them. But I was specifically speaking of men serving in the military. Some of them, like me, come back to nothing. Often times, there’s nothing and no one awaiting their return, and I’m sure a few things that might give them a chance at a fresh start would do them some good.”

  “Where’s this town you speak of?”

  “You’re asking where I grew up?”

  Jess pursed her lips and answered indirectly, being careful not to push too far.

  She was good, this one. “Just a small town in East Texas. They’re pretty much all the same.”

  “Tell me about your childhood. I don’t know anything about you…”

  He shifted. Fine, he’d give just a little. He figured she’d earned it. “There’s really not a whole lot to know. My mom got knocked up just out of high school. We didn’t have a lot of money, but she always did the best she could. And then she died when I was sixteen.”

  Jess frowned. “How did she die?”

  Myles sighed. “A broken heart.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, biting her lip.

  “My father… or the guy who got my mom pregnant, I should say, was some businessman who was a bit older and was apparently pretty well off. He was visiting the town she lived in scouting out places to build his next hotel and went into the diner where my mom worked. She waited on him and not long after, fell in love with him. He promised her the moon and stars, and she apparently believed him. He always told her that he was getting things settled back in Houston where he was from and would send for us. In the meantime, he gave my mom money, but not so much that she didn’t still have to pull doubles at the diner. And when I was around two or so, she found out the truth. That he was married with a wife and kids back in Houston. And probably, who knows how many more elsewhere. This was before the internet when it wasn’t as easy to find out so much about people. Anyway, she confronted him and he cut her off. We never heard from him again…”

  “Wow. Do you know his name?”

  Myles nodded slowly. Did he ever. “Samuel Ingram.”

  Jess did a double take. “The Samuel Ingram? As in Ingram Enterprises? The hotelier?”

  “That would be the one.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my God, Myles. Do you have any idea what this means? You’re entitled to a big piece of that fortune.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve never been interested in money, Jessica. It’s not what makes people happy.”

  She sighed. “Clearly.” She quickly repositioned herself on his lap and then smiled half-heartedly. “Tell me something I don’t know…”

  “Okay.” He paused and eyed her. “My mom didn’t actually die of a broken heart… she drank herself to death.”

  Jess inhaled sharply. She hadn’t expected that one. “That’s why you don’t drink.”

  “That’s one reason.”

  She swallowed, suddenly seeing things so clearly. “I see. Why did you leave the Navy?”

  He cocked his head to the side. That’s enough. Game over. “You’re full of questions today, aren’t you?”

  “So long as you’re full of answers…” She grinned.

  Myles lifted her off of him and stood. He needed to fuck her. About twenty minutes ago. “I’m done with this game. Is there anything else you wanted to accomplish today aside from interrogation?”

  She considered his question for a moment before responding. “Yeah, actually… I want to repaint the master bedroom. I didn’t choose that color and to tell you the truth, I’ve never much liked it.”

  “You want to paint?”

  She narrowed her brow. “Yeah, I’ve never p
ainted a room before.”

  He snorted. “I figured as much. You don’t strike me as the type who likes to get her hands dirty.”

  She glared at him ruefully. “Things change you know, people change.”

  “Really? You’ve never painted? Ever?” he asked, toying with her, feigning shock. Of course, she hadn’t.

  Jess turned to go inside and paused in the doorway. “Never.”

  There’s something very beautiful about doing the ordinary things in life, he’d said to her..

  He laughed. “Well… grab the keys because there’s a first time for everything.”

  Myles drove Jess to the hardware store where he picked out the supplies they would need while she picked out a paint color that was more suited to her tastes called Gray Area. A fitting name they ultimately decided and that was it, the deal was sealed. And no matter how much time had gone by, whenever Jess looked at that paint on the wall, she would forever remember the feeling of standing in that store beside him on that summer day and know what it felt like to be both staring down the unknown and at the same time, to feel such hope for the future. It was both an ending and a beginning. It was everything.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Myles and Jessica lay there in silence on the floor of her half painted bedroom, inhaling each other, dizzy from paint fumes, and love, lost and found. They stayed like that, talking, and then made love, painted, and then made love again. The next several days went on like this, though once the painting was finished, they decided that it was time to get out of the house, each of them a little too scared at the intensity at which things were developing. To distract themselves, they paid a visit to the local aquarium, went for drives, and took long walks along the beach. It was on one of those walks Jess brought up bringing the kids down from Austin.

  “I think it’s time,” she’d said. “I’m ready.”

  “Are you sure?” Myles asked.

  They walked the shoreline in silence for a few paces before Jess answered. “I think so. I need to make amends with two of my most favorite people, and it just feels like now is as good as time as any.” She eyed him and smiled. “No, scratch that—it feels like now is the best time.”

  “Then you should go for it. I’ll call Dean and have him drive them up tomorrow if you want...”

  She stopped and fidgeted with the hem of her shorts. “Thank you, Myles.”

  He studied her with a smirk upon his face, sensing there was more she wanted to say, but couldn’t, or wouldn’t let herself go there—yet. “It’s no problem.”

  Jess focused on the water pooling around her feet. “I know, but still. I’m nervous. It’s a big job and I’m not sure I even stand a chance…”

  “I think you can do whatever you put your mind to.”

  “I wonder if I’m capable, that’s all. I mean there’s a lot to make up for when you consider all of the mistakes I’ve made… and obviously, there have been many…”

  “They’re children. They’re resilient. Every parent makes mistakes, Jess. But when you know better, you do better. So, do it. It’s only as hard as you make it, just my two cents. Just make sure you make it meaningful. They really only want what we all want.”

  She appeared confused. “And that would be?”

  “I don’t know… Love. Resonance. To be understood.”

  Jess laughed. “Yeah, so, in other words, no big deal, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Oh, yeah, before I forget… I had Addison pick them up, so they’re with her. When you talk to him, tell Dean that I’ll let Addison know that he’ll be picking them up.”

  “Smart move.”

  She swallowed. “I didn’t want Spencer to get them until we’d had another chance to talk. I want to make sure that he has calmed down and isn’t going to pull anything funny. I’m pretty sure he’s all talk, but I wasn’t going to take any chances…”

  “Makes sense,” he said before he paused and stared at their feet in the water. “I think you and I should cool it when the kids arrive.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “They’ve been through a lot—a lot of changes, and I think it’s best if what we have here doesn’t add to that or take away from what you’re trying to accomplish.” He looked up at her then and smiled. “I’m sure you understand.”

  Jess stepped forward and pressed her body against his, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him before pulling back. “Smart move.”

  Myles threw his head back and laughed. “I’m full of ‘em. Come on—” He took her hand. “Let’s get back and make up for some of this time we’re about to lose.”

  Jess placed her hand in his. “You’re a good guy, Mr. Ingram.”

  He smiled. “You’re probably one of the few people who thinks so.”

  She looked over at him. “You keep saying that… but I don’t buy it.”

  Myles took her hand, raised it up, and twirled her around, wrapping her up into him in one of his long forgotten dance moves. “I’m glad,” he’d said, leaning in, and kissing the tip of her nose before pushing her back out.

  “Not bad,” Jess exclaimed, surprised at his ability to direct her exactly where he wanted her to go. “I suspect you’re talented in more areas than just the bedroom.” She thought for a second and then added. “And the kitchen. Oh, and the bathroom…”

  Myles grinned. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

  Myles lit a fire in the pit while Jess sat on the edge and watched as he made it come to life. He’d encouraged her to burn at least one of Spencer’s shirts, given that had been her intention to begin with, and maybe she’d needed to do it, he’d said. Plus that one is so ugly no one would want it anyway, he’d said. You always see it in movies, there’s nothing like a woman scorned, he teased. But men, or most men, don’t really care about clothes, he’d casually mentioned. Spencer cares, she’d retorted as she tore off the buttons, one by one, and threw them in. She held onto the shirt for a while and for reasons unknown to her, maybe instinct, she brought it up to her nose and inhaled one last time before she released it down into the flames and watched it burn.

  “I think I’m going to give him the money,” she finally said. “On the condition that I get full custody of the kids and a quick divorce… I just want to close this chapter of my life as smoothly as possible and if that means giving him the money in order for his cooperation, then so be it.”

  Myles watched the flames dance. He wasn’t surprised. “That’s a very mature position to take.”

  She snorted. “I don’t know whether it’s mature or stupid.” She offered up a tight-lipped smile and then continued. “But it seems like the right thing to do for me… and especially for the kids. They’ve been through so much already. Seeing their parents go through a bitter divorce battle isn’t something I want.”

  “This sobriety thing looks good on you. You know, you’re a lot wiser than you give yourself credit for, Jessica.”

  She smiled wryly... “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

  He poked the fire and then met her gaze. How could he have ever not loved her? “No, I’m sure I haven’t.”

  The following morning, they were awakened by a loud and urgent knock at the front door. Jess sat up, her expression panicked as she eyed Myles. “It’s too early to be the kids, right.”

  He checked his watch. “Dean said around one o’ clock or so.”

  Jess frowned. “I’ll get it.”

  She tossed a robe over Myles’s t-shirt that she had thrown on, walked to the alarm system, and punched in the code. There was more knocking followed by the doorbell. “Coming!” Jess called as she hurried to the front door. She looked out the peephole and her heart sank. Oh, no. This couldn’t mean anything good.

  Jess slowly opened the door and eyed the uniformed officers. “Mrs. Clemens?”

  “Yes,” she answered her voice quivering. Myles was quickly at her side.

  “Can we come inside?” the female officer asked, h
olding up her badge. “I’m Agent Hewitt with the FBI. And this is my partner, Agent James Lewis.”

  Myles opened the door wider and Jess stepped aside.

  She eyed the officers expectantly.

  “Why don’t you take a seat, Mrs. Clemens.”

  “How can we help you?” Myles asked his voice steady.

  The female officer cocked her head and studied Myles for a moment before answering. In her black pantsuit, not a wrinkle in sight, trim with her red bob, not a nary hair out of place she looked as though she were ready to pounce. “And you are?”

  He extended his hand. “Myles Ingram. I’m on Mrs. Clemens’s staff.”

  The red head didn’t blink and the male officer tipped back on his heels, and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Right,” the woman finally said.

  Jess took a seat. “All right. I’m sitting.” She folded her arms across her chest. “What’s this all about?”

  The woman took a seat adjacent to Jessica. The male officer stood at the red head’s side, looking over her shoulder. It was obvious who ran the show here, Jess thought.

  “Your husband is Spencer Clemens, is that correct?”

  Jess swallowed. “He’s my soon to be ex-husband, yes. Why? Is everything okay?” Her hand flew to her mouth.

  “We have your husband detained, Mrs. Clemens. He’s been under investigation for embezzlement for several months now. Given new information we received this week, we’re also considering extortion and attempted murder charges, among others.”

  Jess cocked her head and narrowed her gaze. The room was spinning. Myles took a seat beside her. “I don’t understand…”