by Olivia Reid
"No he didn't." But Tanae didn't sound so convinced.
"He called me nine times, but I never picked up." Harold said from the couch.
Pip offered up her own count. "He called me sixteen times, Tanae. That's just wrong and kinda rapey."
The color drained from my daughter's face. I finally broke ranks and grabbed her, pulling her into my arms. It took a few seconds but she hugged me back and I felt her shoulders shake against me.
I turned her down the hall and moved past April to Tanae's bedroom.
"I'll check on the turkey," Kyle called out as we shut the door.
Tanae moved from my arms and stood in the middle of the room, her back to me. Everything was like she left it. Purple. It was the one space Kyle and I didn't touch. "Why does he do this, mom? I thought when you guys divorced he'd move on. That he'd just," She lowered her shoulders again. "He just needs to let go."
"I know." I sat on her bed and caught a glimpse of myself in her dresser mirror. Yikes! Thank the stars Michael wasn't coming. I looked awful. "I hoped the same thing. But it's like he can't let go. He can't just let us live our lives."
"No he can't let you live yours." Tanae turned and sat on the bed with me. I put my arm over her shoulders as she leaned against me. "The reason I didn't text you back was because dad called me two hours before I got to town and he wouldn't hang up. I tried twice but he kept calling back, apologizing because we kept getting disconnected."
I snickered. "You hung up and he thought you were disconnected?"
She smiled. I could see it in the mirror. "Yeah. So I let it go. And I don't want to rehash everything he said because it upset me, but he did blame you for putting him in jail."
"He's mad about the restraining order. That's what he told April."
"Yeah."
"And just so you know, he filed a restraining order on me."
Her eyes widened.
I grinned. "He neglected to tell you about that, huh?"
"Christ mom. He says those things are for wife beaters and he's never struck you."
"Well he has, or he's attempted too. Your dad's not exactly a fighter. Not physically. The weapon he always used was words. Abuse comes in more forms than physical. The physical wounds can heal but the mental ones? Not so much. He used guilt. Always guilt. And finances. Finances were his claim to rights."
"Don't mince words mom. He's passive aggressive. Don't think he doesn't use it with me. He wanted me to come to Boston for Thanksgiving and not come here. Tried for weeks but I finally stopped answering his calls."
This made me smile. Inwardly of course. I'd done the same thing by blocking the bastard's stalker-like calls. "How many times did he call you?"
She sighed. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"You want to stay?"
"Well yeah?" She pulled away and looked at me. "Skyler, Phil, Marina and Sharon are all coming. Hoshi wasn't sure yet. Said he'd call to let us know if he'd be here. I gave him the home number."
I knew every one of her friends. They had spent so much time in this house during those last years of school and filled the house with laughter and mirth. Back then I was always inches from a precipice of failure and despair. Something I never wanted to admit to her or even to myself as my marriage fell apart.
"You warn them about your dad? As I recall they were all a little afraid of him."
"Yeah I warned them. And I assured them he wasn't going to show up. I'm not planning on joining him till later this evening, after my friends leave. Then we're planing on Black Friday shopping."
I made a face when her eyes lit up.
Someone knocked on her door.
"It's open."
I didn't expect to see Kevin step in. And my heart was warmed when Tanae ran out of my arms and gave him a hug.
"Officer Taylor! It's good to see you!"
He returned her hug and pulled her back to take a look. "Wow Tanae. You are growing up. I'd swear you've sprouted another inch or so. And I like the hair."
Och. I hadn't even noticed she'd cut it to her shoulders. I guess that was because it didn't matter what she did. She would always be my beautiful little girl.
"He's not Officer Taylor anymore, Tanae. Remember? Kevin's a detective now."
Her eyes widened. "Let me see the badge."
Kevin proudly showed her his badge as he looked over her head at me and winked. The two of them had always gotten along.
"When did this happen?"
"A while ago. So, you've got some friends in the yard. They pulled up just as I did."
"Yes!" She hugged him again, threw me a kiss and ran out the door.
I stood and joined him at the door as we watched her run down the stairs to pull her friends in. "Well, we'd better get out of their way. They'll be piling in this room along with Pip."
Kevin squeezed my shoulder before we moved out of their way. Pip's eyes lit up as Tanae motioned her to join them and Harold never looked up from his tablet.
"Harold you need anything?"
"Aw no, Aunt Grace. I'm good." He gave me a grin and I shook my head. He was going to grow up into a good looking man once he got past that gawky preteen age.
I proceeded Kevin into our kitchen. April had just pulled the rolls from the oven and was brushing them with butter. The turkey sat in the center of island over the stove. I made sure none of the eyes were on and they weren't. A glance at the dining room table and I realized over half the dishes were already in bowls and ready to serve.
"Kevin!" April put down her brush and bowl of butter and held out her arms. She and Kevin hugged and he stepped back to stand beside me. "Nice to see you again."
"The kids are getting big."
"Not kidding. So where are yours?"
"With their mom. I pick them up at six for my Thanksgiving." He put a hand on my shoulder again. "I was going to see if Grace wanted to come with me. The kids always liked her."
Damn. Damn him. And me too. I realized at that minute Kevin didn't know Michael had come back, that Michael had explained it all to me and the reason Michael wasn't here was to avoid awkward.
And here Kevin was laying that awkward all over me and my kitchen. It didn't help that Kyle choked on his cocktail the minute Kevin said that.
April put her hands on her hips. "That sounds like a great idea, doesn't it Grace? Spending a bit of time out of this house and with an old friend? Kyle and I can clean up."
"Oh…no…" I said, shaking my head. "Tanae just got here and I wanted to spend time with her."
"Isn't she going to spend some time with crazy boy this afternoon?" April looked concerned and her brow ran straight across her eyes as if to say "woman, this man still likes you."
"Yeah but she's supposed to spend the evening with me." Kyle came to my rescue. "My date had to cancel and I'm all alone so we're going to have left overs, binge on cheesecake and drink wine with old movies."
I pointed at Kyle. "Yep. I did promise Kyle I'd do that." I clapped my hands together when Kevin looked disappointed and April looked suspicious. "So, Kevin…would you like a drink?"
"Yeah. I brought beer."
"Oh we have a nice Sam Adams collection in that fridge. I suggest the October Ale," Kyle pipped up. "It's amaze balls."
April laughed at that and Kevin seemed to loosen up as he opened the fridge and perused the beer collection. I avoided eye contact as I checked on food. I was shocked to learn we were nearly there. And it was just 12:15 pm.
The door bell rang and I figured it was Gerald. He was the last guest on the list. I met him at the door and he had a smile on that chubby face. He handed me a bag as he brought in a box. I recognized it as the French Press Michael bought at the Trade In Bean.
"Well hello!" he called out as he spotted Kevin at the top of the stairs. "My name's Gerald Almondrode."
Kevin offered the man a hand and took the box from him. "I'm Kevin Taylor. Put this in the kitchen?"
"Yes, yes please."
I followed them in
and the kitchen became even smaller with Gerald's girth. Kevin set the box on the floor since the counter space had become limited.
"Oh…what's that?" April asked as Kevin stepped back. "A French Press? Grace you get that from that place you work? Oh hello…" She spotted Gerald and wiped her hands on her apron before she offered one to him. "April Porter. I'm Grace's sister."
"So nice to meet you. I'm Gerald Almondrode. I'm Kyle's and Michael's supervisor." He looked around one he relinquished April's hand. "My my…I can see the cooks have been in the kitchen, haven't they?"
"Yes we have," Kyle said as he gave me a glare. I was ready to throw my hands up and run out of the house. Seriously.
"Who's Michael?" April asked to no one in particular.
"Is he here yet?" Gerald asked as he squeaked his way to Kyle by the sink. "You know he had to leave suddenly and I was hoping he'd be here so I could ask him if everything was okay."
"Oh no he's not coming," Kevin volunteered. "He had other plans with someone else."
I closed my eyes and prayed like hell this day would end. Soon. I know Kevin was just being helpful because he didn't know, but could we just move past Michael?
"Michael who?" April asked again.
"Gerald do you want a drink? We've got a variety in the fridge." I started to the fridge. "I can get you one."
"Oh I can help myself." And he did manage to get to the fridge faster than me. I was amazed at the speed this man could move sometimes. "And it's such a pity you know. I brought the press so he could make some of that wonderful coffee like he did that first night. I can't say I'm not disappointed. Maybe you can make some, Grace? Since you work at the coffee shop?"
"I can try." ARGH!
"Good." I saw the fridge open as Kyle moved in front of me and narrowed his eyes. I had no idea what he was trying to convey other than he was an angry queen at the moment. Pfft. I was having my own crisis.
Then, "Grace…are these pictures of you and Michael on the side of the fridge?"
I froze. Kyle froze. The world slowed down. I thought I'd gone through the house and removed evidence of Michael. There had been shots of us on the front of the fridge but I'd completely forgotten about the side.
And the worst was I couldn't remember if there were any pictures of us kissing!
"Let me see them," April said as she reached out to take the photos from Gerald's hands.
I moved in a not so fast manner, trying not to seem too guilty and probably failing. Gerald moved away from April to Kyle as I looked over April's shoulders and felt an overwhelming blanket of relief on my shoulders.
No kissing pictures. These were shots taken in the back yard when I wanted to plant some pansies and Kyle didn't want to get dirty. Instead he stood on the deck and took shots as Michael and I got on our hands and knees and planted.
There were four shots in all. One shot was of our asses as we bent over the bed along the right fence of the back yard. The second was of me shooting Michael with the hose. The third of me getting shot with the hose and the third of was the two of us, muddy, giving Kyle the camera operator, the finger.
"Kyle…if I could have a word with you?" Gerald said in a not too quiet voice.
I looked up from the pictures at Kyle who nodded to his supervisor and then gestured for Gerald to proceed him out of the kitchen. My room mate gave me a quizzical look before he left the kitchen too.
"Grace…" April began as she looked at the pictures and I moved away to put the rolls in baskets. "What's up with this guy? Who is he? And more important," she said as she looked at me. "How old is he?"
Kevin set his beer down and held out his hand to April. She handed him the pictures and he looked through them. "Michael's a friend of Kyle's. They work together and Gerald brought him over a few times because he's new in town. He's just a friend."
But April was looking at me with a seriously concerned frown on her face.
Tanae walked into the kitchen at that moment, her phone stuck to her ear. "…and Skyler came. No we we're still waiting on Hoshi to call…" She moved around April to the fridge, apparently intent on getting something to drink when she saw the pictures in Kevin's hands. "Oh…" She stepped and pulled his arm down so she could see them. "Who's that with mom? He's cute."
"He's a friend of Kyle's," Kevin said as he looked at me with a questioning look on his face.
I gave him one of those no I never told her looks and he winced.
"He's good looking. But why are he and mom planting flowers?" She paused and angled her phone back to her mouth. "Hello? Hello?" Tanae pulled it back to look at the face. "He hung up on me."
"Who was it?"
"Dad."
Oh. Fuck.
I smiled and just kept piling rolls into baskets and then put the baskets in the cooling oven. I tried to convince myself Burt got disconnected or he hung up because Tanae was talking to someone else. That was one of his pet peeves. Having his victim on the phone and they weren't giving him 100% of their attention.
Too bad no one ever did when he was on the phone because all he ever did was complain about his life, his job and me. Only to me he complained about our daughter. Or he used too.
I never took his calls if I could help it.
But if he heard what she said then he hung up because he was pissed because Tanae said there was a good looking guy planting flowers with mom. So he was either going to start calling my phone again or he was going to call the house. I waited for the phone to ring.
But it didn't.
Maybe it was just a chance disconnection.
Gerald and Kyle came back in the kitchen at that moment and I grabbed up a plate of appetizers and handed them to Gerald. "Will you put these in the living room for me?"
His gaze slid off my face and onto the little treats. I was pretty sure I saw he was salivating. "Oh…sure thing, Grace." He left the kitchen.
Yeah that was a strategic move. I figured he'd start eating them the instant he was past the kitchen door and Harold, who was still in the living room, would never see them or taste them.
Kevin clapped his hands. "Anything I can help get to the table?"
"Yeah," April said. "Grab that green bean casserole and I'll put my soufflé on the table."
Once they left the kitchen I yanked on Kyle's sleeve. He'd started messing with the turkey. We needed to get it transferred to the serving platter. "Well?"
"Just calm down, Gracie. I gave him a little story about how you two were getting close because he reminded you of your brother."
"I don't have a brother."
"You did."
"He died in a car accident when I was three."
"So it isn't a lie."
This was getting ridiculous. I finally just gave up and helped Kyle transfer the bird to the plate of stuffing and cranberries. We got it over with no problems and he carefully carried it into the dining room.
I wanted a quick shower before we ate. I was still in my morning clothes.
The home phone rang and Tanae yelled out from the bedroom. "That might be Hoshi!"
True. So I wiped my hands and grabbed the wireless. "Hello."
"What the hell did she see? Was it naked pictures of you with Kyle? Was it you with some guy in bed and planting flowers was some kind of code?"
Burt.
"They were pictures of me planting flowers with a friend, Burt."
"Right. You expect me to believe that. You don't have friends."
I took the phone from my ear and glared at it.
Kyle came back in the kitchen. "Is that Burt?" he mouthed.
I nodded and put the phone back to my ear. "She'll call you when she's done. And don't pick her up. She'll come to you."
"You're just pissed off because your ploy to keep me from my daughter for Thanksgiving didn't work. You couldn't keep me in jail."
It was being married all over again, with the crazy accusations that no one in their right mind believed but him. "Burt, that was never my intention. You can see
your daughter when ever you want. She's eighteen. She makes up her own mind."
"You took out another one of those ridiculous restraining orders, Grace."
"Because I don't want you here. She'll be done this afternoon and she'll call you and then you two can have fun this evening and spend all the time you want. Just. Not. Here."
"You can't keep me from her."
It was like a broken record. I didn't understand his logic. No one did. "No one is keeping you from her, Burt. She's spending time with me then she'll spend it with you."
"I want to see her there."
"No."
"Mom! Your cell phone is going off!"
I pulled the phone away. "Bring it to me, please."
"Hang up on him, Grace. He's crazy." April said as she came in the kitchen and realized who was on the phone.
"Is that April? You convinced her to block my calls didn't you?"
Tanae came back into the kitchen but instead of holding my phone, she was talking on it. She'd answered it. I told her to never answer my phone. I looked at her and mouthed "who?"
She pointed to the fridge where Kevin had put the pictures back up.
Fuck…
"Burt," I interrupted one of his non-sensical diatribes. "She'll be done by five. I'll have her call you so you'll know when she's on her way to you." I disconnected and yanked my phone from my daughter. "Hello?"
I was instantly worried because I knew Michael wouldn't call today unless it was an emergency.
"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you. But is your cop friend there?"
I looked at Kevin and he was looking at me. "Yeah he's here. What's wrong?"
"Melissa's boyfriend followed her here. We woke up to someone breaking into my house. It's him. He broke a window and fired a gun off. She and I got away in our pajamas on my bike but he followed us. I think I gave him the slip but we're freaking out."
Holy shit.
"Where are you now?"
"I'm near the Trade In Bean. We're hiding and she's keeping a look out."
"Michael, I'll tell Kevin. You stay put, okay? And keep the phone clear. Call the police."