Bent

by HB Heinzer

  The ride home was spent discussing plans for Thanksgiving. Somehow, both of them had been so excited at the thought of Julia having a week back in Wisconsin that neither of them had thought about what to do for Thanksgiving dinner.

  Julia wanted to do a big meal for their friends and family. Micah pointed out that many of them might already have plans for the lunch. As a compromise, they decided to spend a low-key lunch at the house, only inviting Adam since Julia knew he didn't have any other plans, and then plan a casual get together for Thanksgiving night after the tree lighting ceremony downtown.

  Compared to the constant chaos of Manhattan, their plan seemed perfect. And that, Julia knew, was a big part of her problem. As many times as she told herself that she belonged in a big city and needed to have her dream career, there was something comforting about the thought of sitting at home with friends on a holiday with no pretenses. She was looking forward to the lazy life she'd once shunned.

  Walking into the dark foyer of her house, Julia almost tripped over a haphazard pile of shopping bags. "Sorry about those," Micah said sheepishly as he slid around her to move the bags into the living room.

  "I see you've made yourself at home," Julia quipped reaching for the lamp on the side table. Her jaw dropped at the changes she saw in the foyer once it was illuminated. All of the cracked plaster had been replaced by smooth drywall painted a relaxing cucumber green. The worn hardwood floors gleamed with a new coat of varnish and the original molding was stripped of layers of white paint and stained to match the floors. It was exactly what she would have done had the decisions been left to her.

  "You like?" Micah asked, walking behind Julia and slinking his arms around her slender waist. Without waiting for an answer, he urged her forward to show her the room he knew she'd be most excited about.

  He flipped on the kitchen light and Julia gasped. "Micah, it's amazing," she exclaimed. The harvest gold appliances had been replaced by a sleek brushed steel range and refrigerator. The dishwasher blended into the cabinetry thanks to a perfectly crafted face plate. The chipped Formica countertops had been removed and slabs of black granite that shimmered under the new task lighting sat in their place.

  Julia's heart sank a bit when she realized how much work Micah had gone to. She knew that this wasn't just another remodeling job to him. He was taking into account every thing she had ever told him she wanted in a house. There was no way Mrs. Stevens would have authorized these purchases, which left Julia wondering how much of his profits he had sunk into everything.

  Room by room, Micah watched Julia marvel at the completed renovations. It had been a Herculean effort and he was going to have to come up with one hell of a Christmas party for his employees to thank them for working so fast. They took it right down to the wire, putting the finishing touches on the master bathroom earlier in the day. The only thing left to do was paint the exterior but that would have to wait until spring.

  Once they had toured the common areas of the house, Micah led Julia through the door at the end of the upstairs hallway. Candlelight danced against the buttery yellow walls from atop two new dark mahogany dressers. Julia wanted to be upset that Micah had purchased the complementary pieces to her sleigh bed but she was too overcome with happiness to bring it up.

  "How did you do this?" Julia asked in wide-eyed wonder.

  A smug grin broke on Micah's face, "I have my ways," he said, pulling her gently to him. "Come on, there's one more thing," he said as he led her to the master bath. The long vanity was lined with tealights and a vase containing four long-stemmed roses.

  "One yellow rose," Micah said handing the first rose to Julia, "to tell you how happy you've made me by coming home, even if it's only for a while."

  "A pink rose," he continued, "to say thank you for allowing me into your life. I was an ass and even if I told you I'm sorry every day until I die, it wouldn't be enough."

  "This red rose," he handed her the third stem, "because I love you. I always have and I always will."

  He pulled the final rose from the slender crystal vase and placed it in Julia's hand, "And the orange rose to show you that you are the only woman I desire. There was a time in my life when I thought I could convince myself otherwise but I was wrong. It's only ever been you."

  Despite the wide smile on Julia's face, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Okay, who are you and where is Micah? I know there's some body-snatcher action going on here," she said sarcastically.

  "We'll call it trying to make up for lost time. And lost time is one thing you and I have a lot of." There was a hint of regret in Micah's voice. "It's all me, baby, except the elf I asked to light the candles and sneak out of the house before we came upstairs."

  There is a time and a place for sarcasm, Julia realized, and this was not that time. She placed the roses back in their vase and turned to the clawfoot bathtub that was steaming and capped with jasmine bubbles.

  "I like your elf," she whispered as she nipped Micah's ear. "Now, it looks like I have a bath that's getting cold."

  With the tone of the evening set by the candlelight flickering against the mirror, Julia slowly unbuttoned her white cotton shirt to reveal a lace bra she bought with tonight in mind. She could tell it had the desired effect as Micah groaned and shifted uncomfortably. When he started to take off his t-shirt, Julia pulled his hand away shaking her head. She gently stroked his sides as she pushed the shirt up his long torso.

  There was a level of sensuality neither of them had experienced before. Every move was slow and deliberate, taking time to explore each other's bodies. Micah reached for the button on Julia's jeans working them from her hips and swallowed hard at the sight of the lace thong that matched her bra. Resisting the urge to take her directly to the bed, he helped her slip out of the rest of her clothes and led her to the tub.

  Julia leaned forward as if to make room for Micah to join her but he had a different plan. Micah knelt beside the tub reaching for the small basket he had stashed behind the tub. First, he swept the long blond hair away from her back and into a looped ponytail high on her head.

  With her hair safely out of the way, he dipped a white bath poof in the water and began to caress her toned back. By the time he finished washing every inch of her body, the water was beginning to cool. Micah wondered if she'd fallen asleep with her head resting on her knees. He shook her gently and she looked up at him dreamily. She stepped out of the lukewarm water and he dried her with the same care and attention he'd shown while washing her.

  It was painful to maintain his pace but Micah was determined to show Julia the depth of his love by taking his time. It was well into the middle of the night by the time Julia drifted to sleep, smiling and fully sated. After sliding out of the bed to extinguish the candles, Micah pulled her close to his chest and fell into a deep sleep.

  Saturday morning, Julia woke to the smell of fresh coffee wafting up the stairs. She shot up, realizing it was almost ten o'clock. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept that late but she was pretty sure it had been in this house. She had to admit that the bedroom was even more stunning in the light of day than it had been in candle light.

  Julia shook her head at the new dressers and nightstands that replaced the second-hand furniture she had picked up. She would have to talk to Micah about the purchases. Looking around the room, she saw the summer quilt Micah bought for her displayed on a rack under the windows and there was a new wine colored down comforter on the bed.

  Carefully planning what she wanted to say to Micah so he wouldn't be upset, Julia went to the bathroom to wash her face. She smiled as she was reminded of the new, romantic side he'd chosen to show her. It was almost too romantic, like he was trying to get her to move back to Wisconsin without asking. It had been almost a month since he'd asked her if she was ready to come home but he knew it was never far from the front of his mind.

  Dressed in a sapphire blue cashmere sweater and white jeans, she felt ready to face the day. "Hey, Romeo," she called o
ut as she walked down the stairs, "the fire department called and asked if you could cut back on the candles. Three people called in a house fire on us last night." There was no reason to make her first morning serious, she decided.

  "Baby, that had nothing to do with the candles," he said, raising his eyebrows devilishly. He walked around the counter to give Julia a lingering kiss. "Here, drink this and I'll be back." He handed her a mug filled with coffee sweetened with her favorite white chocolate raspberry creamer.

  "Love 'em and leave 'em, huh?" Julia smiled over her steaming mug. It was nice having coffee brewed when she came downstairs. Even better was the cinnamon roll from Schneider's sitting on the table waiting for her. Her iPad, which she'd forgotten to plug-in was sitting on the counter connected to the charger.

  He'd put everything she needed right there for her. She hated these small gestures as much as she loved them. It was the little things that made it hard to think clearly.

  Micah pulled her into his arms fixing his rich brown eyes onto hers, "No, I have to get Caleb." He kissed one cheek and then the other. "He stayed with friends last night so we could have some alone time. I'm going to run a few errands too, so it might be a little bit."

  And with that, Julia was thrust back into reality. Less than twelve hours after the most passionate night of her life, she was thrust back into the domestic life she'd run from.

  While she still couldn't admit it to anyone, she knew she would still be in Brooklyn if it wasn't for Caleb. She wrestled daily with trying to minimize the hold he had on her heart. There was a time when she could tell herself she'd never be Caleb's mother but she couldn't stop the love she was starting to feel for him.

  One look in the refrigerator told Julia there was some truth to Caleb's constant complaining over the phone that there wasn't any food in the house. She refilled her coffee cup, found a note pad and made a shopping list. Even if she couldn't be in Brooklyn full-time, the least she could do was fill the freezer for her guys while she was home.

  Armed with the shopping list, Julia headed out to her trusty little Pontiac and said a prayer that it would start after sitting for so long. Luckily, it turned over right away and she was on the road after a quick scrape of the windows. That gave her one more thing to put on the list of things she loved about living in the city. As much as being reliant on public transportation or the charity of friends could be a drag, it was nice to never worry about freezing while clearing the windows of the car.

  Micah's truck was parked along the curb as Julia came to the center of town. It seemed like an odd place for him to be parked since there weren't any errands she could think of that he'd be running down here. When she slowed to a stop at the main intersection, bile rose in her chest. Just around the corner she saw Micah and Caleb but they weren't alone. They were standing on the sidewalk talking to Karen.

  Julia tried to tell herself that Caleb had every right to see his mother. There was no questioning that. She tried to convince herself that's all it was. But if that was the case, why didn't Micah tell her where he was going? Why would he keep this a secret when he knew how many of the problems in their relationship involved Karen?

  She wanted to get out of the car and ask what in the hell was going on. Julia really wanted to get out of the car and pummel Karen for everything she'd done to her. She wanted to scream at Micah. The only thing that stopped her was Caleb. It wasn't fair to him for Julia to cause a scene.

  By the time she finished grocery shopping, Julia's blood was boiling. She had asked about Karen several times over the last two months. Micah said he wasn't sure what was going on with her. Julia knew she had made a plea bargain for everything that had happened and was ordered into counseling and put on probation but Micah said he didn't know anything beyond that. When she had asked if Karen saw Caleb, he was quick to change the subject.

  Julia tried to convince herself she was reading too much into what she had seen. If there was nothing going on, Micah would have told her where he was going. Julia felt sick to her stomach. She needed to find time when Caleb wasn't around to ask him about it.

  There was no way Julia could go on with her day pretending everything was fine. She reached for her cell phone as she sat in the parking lot of the small strip mall on the edge of town. She dialed the first number in her contacts and prayed it wouldn't go to voicemail.

  "Hey Jules," Annie answered after one ring.

  For a moment, Julia wondered if she was doing the right thing by bringing this up to Annie. She hated putting her friend in the middle of things but she knew Annie would know what was going on, if anything. "Hey, got a question for you," she said before she had time to talk herself out of it.

  "Sure, what's up?" Annie asked, sounding concerned.

  "Is Karen still around?" She hated baiting Annie, but Julia needed to know what was going on without her friend knowing what she had seen.

  There was silence on the other end of the line. "Annie?" Julia looked at her phone to see if she'd lost the call.

  She heard a heavy sigh through the receiver, "Oh, Jules..." And it was quiet once again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The good thing about grocery shopping in November in Wisconsin is there's no rush to get home. Had Julia still been in Nashville or had it been the middle of summer, she wouldn't have been able to spend the afternoon trying to calm down.

  The home that seemed nearly perfect when she pulled out of the driveway this morning was the last place she wanted to be right now. She couldn't talk to Micah until she sorted through her own thoughts. Caleb was home and she was beyond livid. She wouldn't go home until she could keep her promise to shelter him from more fighting. He had already listened to too many fights in his short life.

  Julia wanted to plant herself on a stool at The Oasis and drink herself into oblivion. If she was sitting back in New York and had this bomb dropped on her, she and Jose Cuervo would have had a long talk. Unfortunately, going home was going to mean walking into a house with a minor who had already dealt with warring parents and substance abuse. When she finally decided to get back in her car, she would do it completely sober and with a clearer head.

  If it had been the middle of summer, she would have filled the gas tank and driven aimlessly through the hills and curves of southern Wisconsin. In late November, the day after the first snowfall, that was only a slightly less dangerous option than getting drunk. So, Julia did what she figured any woman would do in her situation. She went shopping.

  Most days, Julia would have gone out of her way to avoid the mall crowds. She had little patience for spoiled teens spending copious amounts of their parents' money. Little children running from their parents reminded her of the dreams she once held for the perfect life with a man she loved.

  She had planned on marrying the man of her dreams and having a child of her own by thirty. That was an especially painful thought right now as she was faced with a man she loved who had a surly pre-teen son and more baggage than the cargo hold of a 747.

  Luckily, there were some great sales that made up for the emotional torture.

  By four o'clock, the incessant ringing of her phone made it seem like Hard to Love was on a continuous loop in her purse. A pattern of four calls and one voicemail quickly emerged. Eventually, Julia tired of listening to the song playing and answered her phone, "Yeah?" she snipped.

  "Where in the hell are you?" Micah questioned. His tone was a swirl of anger and concern. "You've been gone all day and you haven't been answering your phone."

  Julia sighed. She was still upset but she couldn't blame him for worrying. The last time she wasn't home when he thought she would be, she was on a plane to New York. "I had some things to do in Madison."

  Her words did nothing to calm him. "What's going on? Caleb's wondering where you are. Is everything okay?"

  Julia weighed whether it was worse to talk to Micah at the house or over the phone. She hated having intense conversations over the phone but it would minimize the opportunity fo
r Caleb to overhear. "I'll be back shortly. Tell Caleb I had to save him from starvation." She wanted to talk face to face, that way he had to look her in the eye when he tried to come up with an excuse.

  She cursed her decision to venture into Madison as she was faced with unfamiliar roads and deteriorating driving conditions on the drive home. Nothing about this trip was going according to plan.

  Silently, Julia carried the groceries into the house and began putting them away. As if he sensed something was wrong, Caleb quickly disappeared into the living room. Julia waited for Micah to say something because she was still clueless as to how to approach the situation. Rationally, she knew it was Karen's right to see her son. She didn't have a problem with that. Well, she did if Karen wound up hurting Caleb again, but she had no evidence of that so she had to assume everything was going well. The problem was that Micah had lied.

  "Hey, are you okay?" Micah inquired looking utterly confused by the tension that followed Julia into the house.

  Julia slammed the refrigerator closed and started making dinner without saying a word to him. Caleb was in the next room and she didn't trust herself to not scream if she opened her mouth. The slamming cupboards should be clue enough that everything was, in fact, not okay.

  Micah eased his way into the kitchen, reaching for Julia's hand. "Hey, will you talk to me?"

  She shrugged his calloused hand away and glared at him before quickly turning away. She felt tears welling in her eyes. How could she feel so much pain caused by one person and still love him?

  Julia felt herself unraveling as both of his hands landed on her shoulders. "Julia, what in the hell is going on? Talk to me," he begged.

  "Garage," she seethed as she headed to the sliding glass door behind the table. Micah followed without questioning her.