Before the Storm (The Cochran/Deveraux Series Book 9)

by Melanie Schuster

  With every question another tomato missile was hurled and most of them met their mark, although the walls and floor weren’t immune to their red, ripe juiciness. Julian’s best defense was to try to stay out of her way and she had great aim, thanks to years of softball during her med school days. Throwing something was a great way to let off steam. How long it would have gone on was anyone’s guess but Corey and Paris returned with Kasey and the three of them stood in the doorway in total amazement. Corey was the first one to speak and she sounded stunned as only a small child could.

  “Mommy, you and Daddy made a big mess,” she said in a voice hushed with wonder.

  ***

  One week later, Maya was in the last place she ever expected to be—New Orleans. Once she and Julian had talked, after cleaning up the tomatoes, he insisted the only way they could get everything out in the open was to go back where it all began. Maya had no choice but to go along with him because she, too, wanted to know once and for all where the truth lay. Corey was simply thrilled to be going anywhere with her daddy and her grandpa. She had decided they were the most wonderful men on the planet and she was absolutely on her head with excitement about going to “N’awlins.” Julian had taught her to say it the way the locals did and she used it as often as possible. Maya was happy the child was so ecstatic, but she was just confused. She was thrilled that Ruth was going, too; she needed to have her stabilizing influence. Paris was back in Atlanta, working on the wedding and her television show, so she was only a phone call away. But Ruth was under the same roof and it made Maya very, very happy.

  Maya and Corey were staying in Mac’s big house, while Julian stayed in his town house, which wasn’t far from his father’s home. It was probably a good thing, too, because as angry as Maya was when she found out they weren’t divorced, it was nothing compared to Mac’s reaction. When Julian admitted to his father that he had tossed the divorce papers out, Mac had turned a deep red and asked his son if he’d been brain-damaged in an accident about which Mac knew nothing.

  “Son, what in the hell were you thinking? Are you crazy or did you think the judicial system was somehow going to make an exception for you because you look good or something? Why in the hell did you spend all that time and money going to law school if you were going to behave like the worst jack leg con artist in Louisiana? Do you understand that you have placed your entire law career in jeopardy, you idiot? If Maya decides to file a complaint with the bar association, something I strongly urge her to do, your ass will be hung out to dry and I’ll let it twist in the damned wind,” Mac had roared.

  Maya got all this information secondhand as she wasn’t present when Julian told his father what he’d done. She actually felt sorry for him when he related the very colorful way in which his father had reacted. They had been sitting in Corey’s bedroom while Maya packed her things. Corey was out with Ruth for a ladies day with her friends Capiz and Sylvia. Paris, declaring that her work here was done, had already left for Atlanta. Julian was watching the neat, precise way she was putting things away in the suitcase while he talked to her.

  “Man, I haven’t seen Pop that mad since we burned down the garage,” he said, shaking his head. At Maya’s quizzical look he assured her she didn’t want to know the details. “This was before we moved to New Orleans, while we were still in Lafayette. Just say it was a bad idea cooked up by me and my brothers and let it go. The judge was about to explode back then and he wasn’t too much better this time. He couldn’t decide whether he wanted to have me committed or medicated,” he said, tossing Hello Kitty up and down while he unburdened himself.

  Maya finished counting out underwear and socks for Corey, then turned her attention to the dresser drawers. “Julian, you have to admit it wasn’t like you to do that. You’re one of the most responsible people I’ve ever met in my life. Why did you just throw the papers out instead of signing them?”

  Julian stopped tossing the toy and got up from the bed, walking around the room until he came to the big rocking chair where Maya had sung Corey to sleep on countless nights. He sat down and looked out the window for a while before answering.

  “I had a lot of reasons, Maya. None of them made sense, but I had my reasons. The biggest one was that I wasn’t letting you go. If you thought you could just walk out of my life and send me some damned papers in the mail and that would be the end of our marriage you were gonna have another thing coming because I wasn’t about to let you go that easily. Oh, hell, no. The other reason, well, that was simple. I was drunk,” he said in a flat voice devoid of any inflection. “I was sloppy, pitiful, falling-down drunk. I got drunk the day I found your note and I stayed that way for about three weeks.”

  Maya covered her mouth with her hand and turned away from him. It was too unbelievable, too painful to hear. She heard the rocking chair give its familiar creak as he left his seat and came to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

  “Don’t do that, sweetheart. I was pretty pathetic for a while, but I got over it. Believe it or not, Monica helped me.” She stiffened when she heard the name and he turned her around to face him. “I keep telling you, she’s really a good friend. You never had to worry about anything between the two of us. When we get home, you’ll see,” he promised. “The truth will all come out, trust me.”

  Maya’s shoulders relaxed and she allowed him to comfort her, but she had to ask him another question. “But if it was all lies, why didn’t you come after me? You had to know where I was, Julian.”

  He tipped her chin up so he could look her directly in the eyes. “Pride, for one thing. I was tired of defending myself for something I hadn’t done and if you had that little trust in me, I wasn’t going to beg you,” he said softly. “The other reason was fear, pure and simple. I didn’t want to see the look in your eyes when you told me you didn’t love me anymore. I couldn’t have taken it, Maya—it would have killed me for sure.”

  He pulled her closer to him and held her tenderly. “I wish I had come after you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t with you when your father died. I should have known about it. Maya, you shouldn’t have had to deal with all of that. You should have had your husband with you. I know how close you were to your dad and I’m really sorry he’s gone.”

  Maya expelled a long shaky breath into his shoulder. “Julian, please stop apologizing for that. That’s the fourth time you’ve told me how sorry you are and I believe you, honey, I really do. Corey and I are okay, we really are. Mom is happy in her high-rise in Atlantic City. She lives very well because Daddy knew how to invest his money. She and I aren’t any closer than we ever were, but I’ve been very lucky. I have the most beautiful little girl in the whole wide world and I have you to thank for her. Every time I look at her I remember how much you loved me, once upon a time,” she said softly.

  “What do you mean, ‘once’?” he replied as his lips began to close on hers.

  They were about to kiss when Corey came home and interrupted the magic moment. They really hadn’t had any time alone since then, what with packing and traveling; now they were all in New Orleans and it was almost time for what Julian called “the moment of truth.” Maya wished he wouldn’t use that phrase because it sounded so melodramatic. But if it was going to put an end to all the misunderstandings and lies that had destroyed their lives she was all for it. That didn’t mean she was ready for it, though. Julian had gone to the office to take care of some business, and he would be back soon so that they could confront the culprit together. Maya was a mass of nerves. She wasn’t ready to handle this, but Julian insisted it had to be done and the sooner the better. She needed to talk to someone and only one person would do. Ruth.

  Mac was at his office and Ruth and Corey were in the solarium looking at bridal books. Ruth wasn’t sure how big a wedding she and Mac wanted to have, but she liked looking at the different ideas presented in the books. When Maya went to find her, she and Corey were drinking lemonade and deciding which dresses they liked best. Ruth looked up with a big
smile for Maya and invited her to sit down. She accepted, sitting down close to the older woman and opening her arms wide for Corey, who never missed an opportunity for a hug. It was about time for lunch and Mac had called earlier to say he was bringing it home and for them not to lift a finger. Maya held Corey on her lap and listened to her. talk about being a flower girl. Paris had asked the child to be in her upcoming wedding and Corey was so pleased that it was, after her father, her grandfather and Bojangles the cat, her main topic of conversation. Maya really wanted to talk to Ruth, but not where Corey could hear. Luckily Mac came in the side entrance and Corey ran off to greet him, leaving the two women alone.

  Ruth reached over and took Maya’s hand, which was ice-cold. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

  Maya nodded vigorously. “I really am. So much has happened so fast, you know? Just a few weeks ago I knew who I was and what I was doing. I was a divorced single mother about to complete her residency and go into practice at a pediatric clinic not too far from the house. My daughter was healthy and thriving and everything was safe and secure. I knew that one day I’d have to contact her father and let the two of them meet, if that’s what he wanted, but all of this,” she waved her free hand vaguely “this was just not in the plan.

  “I wasn’t expecting all this, Ruth. I thought I had all the answers and I’d done the best things I could do given the circumstances. But hearing Julian’s side of the story...1 never thought, I mean I never considered the fact that someone was lying to me.”

  Ruth squeezed her hand gently. “It’s understandable, sweetie. If someone you trust and admire, someone you care for tells you some very credible sounding lies, why wouldn’t you believe them? And you were much younger at the time, too. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

  Maya tried to smile and failed miserably. “When my parents met Julian after we eloped, my father was very pleased with my choice. He told me that Julian really loved me, he could see it in the way he looked at me, the way he talked to me and about me, and he said it was obvious that this was the right man for me. He said that Julian would love me and take care of me forever. My daddy was happy for us, he really was.

  “My mother wasn’t though. She pulled me to one side and told me that I had ruined my life. She said I had no chance of holding onto a man like Julian and I needed to get ready for a lifetime of heartache just like she’d had. She told me my father had been cheating on her for years with anything in a skirt and that I was due for more of the same. I remember her very words: ‘All God gave you was a brain. You don’t have the looks or the personality to keep a man interested in you. You should have never gotten married because all you’re going to get is pain.’ Can you imagine a mother saying that? And I found out later it was a lie, the part about Daddy cheating on her.

  “When he was in the very last stages we talked a lot and he told me how Mother used to accuse him of cheating. He said he never had, but she seemed to want to believe it. He told me that if I ever had another chance to get back with Julian I should grab it and run because the love we had was worth keeping.” She looked lost for a moment and then she looked resolute.

  “Ruth, I swear I have no idea what to do next. I just don’t know. I can’t separate Corey and her daddy. That would be cruel and unusual, not to mention impossible. But what do I do? How do I deal with the fact that I’m still legally married to Julian? What am I supposed to do, just leave everything I’ve built in Chicago behind and start over here?”

  She was pleasantly surprised when Ruth laughed softly. “Join the club, sweetie. That’s just what I’m doing, remember? It wasn’t an easy decision, but,” she paused and looks amused at her own words. “Ooh, let me stop lying. I love being with my Julian more than anything Chicago has to offer so I’m very happy to be moving here. But let’s not jump the gun. My best advice to you is to take it one step at a time. First, you and Julian have to do your thing this afternoon. Concentrate on that, Maya, think about getting to the heart of the wound between you and Julian. And once that’s over you can concentrate on tonight.”

  Maya made a face. She’d forgotten, or tried to forget that Julian’s brothers were coming over that evening. They wanted to meet their niece and they were going to do the cooking. “Ruth, I don’t know which I fear most, to be honest with you. I’m dreading this afternoon, but I know I’m not ready for tonight. What are they going to think about this mess? They probably all hate me and I can’t blame them.”

  “One step at a time, Maya, just one. Julian won’t be leaving your side, remember that.”

  As if he’d heard the whole conversation, Julian walked into the solarium looking like the warm, protective man she remembered. He held out his hand to her and said, “It’s time, Maya. Let’s get this over with.”

  When she put her hand into his, all she felt was comfort.

  Chapter 22

  Maya had no idea that she was holding Julian’s hand in a death grip. Their fingers had been entwined since they left the house. She had been virtually silent on the short ride to their destination and now that they were standing at the door, she could feel the last vestiges of her courage deserting her. Until Julian let go of her hand and put his arm around her waist. He kissed her hair and the soft skin of her forehead, telling her without words that everything was going to be all right. He rang the bell and in a few moments, the door opened. He was standing in such a way that Maya couldn’t be seen, which is what he wanted. The woman in the doorway beamed happily and greeted him affectionately.

  “Julian, honey it’s been too long! How have you been? Come on in,” she said merrily.

  “Hello, Aunt Charmaine. It has been a long time. You remember Maya, don’t you?”

  It was then that he moved so Maya could be seen all too clearly by the older woman. Her mouth dropped open in shock and her complexion turned the color of congealed rice just before she passed out cold. It was at that exact moment that Maya knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything Julian had told her was true.

  After a period of chaos in which the woman was revived, propped up on a sofa next to her bewildered husband and Julian and Maya were seated on a settee in the living room, the truth finally came out. Julian opened his mouth to start talking, but Maya wanted the floor.

  “Mrs. Montclair, you lied to me. You lied to me about the most precious thing in my life, my husband. I was young and stupid because I listened to those lies, but it was because I was a little insecure and because I trusted you,” she said in a cold, level voice. “Why wouldn’t I trust you? Julian and his brothers call you Aunt Charmaine. You were so nice to me when Julian and I eloped. You made me feel welcome, like part of the family. You took me shopping, you introduced me to your book club, and you treated me like I’d want an aunt to treat me. You were one of the people I felt closest to here in New Orleans. You knew I was shy and gawky and you kept telling me how pretty I was and you helped me look my best.” Her voice was as cold as ice now, with real disdain creeping in.

  “So when you came to me in tears and told me that your daughter Monica was having an affair with my husband, why wouldn’t I believe you? Especially since I didn’t go for the bait the first time.”

  Charmaine actually shrank into her seat when Maya stood up and walked toward her. “I didn’t believe you at first, remember? I said you were wrong, there was no way Julian would ever cheat on me, not with Monica, not with anyone. But you kept it up, didn’t you? You had hotel receipts, you had pictures, you had all kinds of things to back up your story and you wept bitter tears every time because you didn’t want her father to know what she’d done. You do remember telling me those things, don’t you? You finally got me to believe your lies and I started in on Julian,” she said angrily, her eyes beginning to flash with real anger.

  “I accused him, I nagged him, and I confronted him until he must have thought I was crazy. And when I couldn’t stand it anymore I left town, like an idiot. What a fool I was! I’m smart enough to be a damned doctor, but I’m w
ay too stupid to be a wife because I let you and your vicious, pointless lies destroy my marriage. Well, that’s my bad, because I was a big enough sap to fall for it,” she said in low, dangerous tones.

  “But when I found out I was pregnant, I called you,” she spat, pointing her finger in the woman’s face. “I called you, because Julian’s number was disconnected and I was too embarrassed to call his father or his brothers. I told you I was going to write to him and you told me not to because he and Monica were in Jamaica together. But I wrote him anyway. Too bad for you I keep copies of everything because I have copies of all the letters I sent him. And I have copies of the letters he supposedly sent to me. He’s seen them, by the way, and he says he didn’t write them. I have a pretty good idea who did, though. Wanna take a guess?”

  By now Charmaine was weeping loudly and it was not a pretty sight. Her auburn hair, which was normally styled perfectly, was a mess from her running her hands through it. Her mascara was streaming down her face and it was mottled with red from her sniveling. Her poor husband was completely mystified by the goings-on and said so. He was the head deacon of the biggest A.M.E. church in New Orleans, as well as the owner of the biggest mortuary in the city. The Montclairs were an old and socially prominent family and the kind of thing that Maya was describing couldn’t have happened, never in a million years. Alden Montclair sprang to his wife’s defense.

  “Now look here, it was a shame that you two young people couldn’t keep your marriage together. Charmaine and I spent time in prayer over that because we thought you were going to make a go of it, we really did. But where you got the idea that my wife had anything to do with this is beyond me,” he said forcefully. He was about to address Maya when the glint in her eyes convinced him it would be better to talk to Julian.

  “Julian, your family and mine have been close since you first moved to New Orleans. How could you possibly believe something like that about Charmaine? She’s never showed you anything but love and affection, son, and for you to believe what this woman is saying is beyond my comprehension.”