Unexpected Interruptions

by Trice Hickman

  Ted Thornton wants to be friends with me? Victoria was a little shocked, especially when she heard herself say, “I’d like that.”

  They walked out to the parking garage and stood by her car, laughing and talking for another hour before they each drove off to live their lives in different worlds.

  I Hope That’s Not A Bad Thing...

  Later that evening, Victoria stood in the middle of her closet trying to decide what to wear. It was cold outside and the forecast called for rain the entire weekend. She wanted nothing more than to curl up on her couch, sip herbal tea, and read through a few cooking magazines. But her friends were expecting her at Sambuca and she’d told them that she would be there.

  “What am I going to wear?” Victoria pondered out loud, looking over her neatly organized garments draped on wooden hangers. “I have to make sure I look good. You never know who you might meet!”

  She decided on her black silk jumpsuit with wide leg bottoms. She slipped a pair of Swarovski crystal cuff links into the French cuffs of her sleeves, fastened the posts of her diamond earrings securely into place, and completed her look with an antique pavé diamond cocktail ring. Victoria loved accessories and believed they were the finishing touch to any outfit. She slid on her sling backs, spritzed a whiff of Cartier behind each ear, and did a once over in the mirror before throwing on her wrap and heading out the door.

  Sambuca was a hip jazz supper club with a sophisticated clientele and a reputation for great live bands and killer martinis. When she arrived, her friends were already there. Debbie, Rob, Tyler, and Allison were sitting at a table in the middle of the room. Victoria was painfully aware that she’d become a hopeless fifth wheel, but she put on a smile and sashayed over to the table, snapping her fingers and moving to the beat of the music surging throughout the room. “Hey gang, what’s up?” she said, sliding into the empty seat they’d saved for her.

  A minute later, the server came over to take their order for appetizers. Debbie asked around the table to see what everyone wanted. “It doesn’t matter to me,” was the response from Rob and Tyler, two men who were easy to please. But before Victoria or Debbie could offer a suggestion, Allison turned to the waitress and ordered for everyone. The two friends looked at each other and counted to ten, knowing it would be a long night.

  After thirty minutes of lively conversation over appetizers and a second round of drinks, Debbie and Rob hit the dance floor. The band had just announced the beginning of the love song set, which meant the next set of songs would be slow and romantic. Tyler and Allison didn’t move. Victoria knew they probably wanted to dance, but out of courtesy, at least on Tyler’s part, they remained seated. “Why don’t you two get out there on the floor?” she coaxed.

  “Nawh, we’re cool,” Tyler nodded, giving Victoria a sincere smile. But the look that Allison shot him clearly said, speak for yourself.

  “I know you’re just sitting here so I won’t be alone, but I’m fine. Besides, maybe if I’m solo I’ll get some action,” Victoria teased, giving Tyler a wink.

  “Great, come on, Tyler,” Allison said, grabbing her husband by the elbow as she practically pushed him onto the dance floor.

  Victoria looked at them and shook her head. She couldn’t stand Allison. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago she and Tyler had celebrated their first wedding anniversary. Tyler and Allison had met at a fundraiser for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Allison had been there with her parents, who were faithful patrons of the arts and long-standing members of Atlanta’s tightly woven black bourgeoisie community.

  Victoria had asked Tyler to accompany her to the event against his protests. “It’ll be stiff and boring as hell,” Tyler had complained about the affair. As the executive director of the Youths First Initiative (YFI), a successful non-profit organization he’d founded for at-risk youth, Tyler was more interested in grassroots organizing than blue blood social events, so he’d prepared himself for a dull evening.

  But when he and Victoria found their numbered table, he brightened at the sight of Allison sitting there. Her pretty, oval shaped face was framed by a sophisticated pageboy that distracted from the coldness behind her eyes. Cordial greetings were exchanged before the inquisition from Allison began. Tyler said he thought it was refreshing to meet a woman who was interested in getting to know him. But Victoria saw through her shallowness. Then her parents jumped in, asking questions about Tyler’s profession and his background. They deemed Victoria inconsequential to their conversation. It was clear to her that they were interviewing for a son-in-law, and she didn’t understand why Tyler couldn’t see through these people, who she thought were about as comforting as an ice water bath.

  Less than a year later, Allison made the perfect bride. Some cried during the ceremony, but it hadn’t been tears of joy that flowed. Everyone who knew Tyler wanted it to be his ex-girlfriend, Juliet. She was the one he should’ve been standing beside, reciting his vows. Juliet was sweet and caring, full of fun and laughter. She was the one who got away.

  If Tyler’s parents had been alive, they would have undoubtedly been opposed to him marrying a woman like Allison. But they’d been gone for over twenty years, so the show went on. Sitting in the second row pew beside Allison’s parents and her new fiancé, Victoria smoothed the wrinkles in her silk dress and glanced down at her sparkling engagement ring. Silently, she prayed for the best as she watched Tyler slide the platinum band onto Allison’s finger, but deep down she knew it was the beginning of the end for her best friend.

  Watching them now, she still wondered what Tyler saw in his wife. That’s how they should be, Victoria thought as she watched Rob holding Debbie in his arms, whispering and smiling into her ear as they danced cheek to cheek. Tyler was holding Allison, but there was no intimacy in their rhythm. He seemed distant. His dinner with the in-laws must not have gone well.

  Victoria noticed a few men looking her way, but none had come over. She was about to return the stare of a fine brother sitting three tables over when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and was shocked by who she saw. “Hey, what’re you doing here?” she asked Ted, surprised and strangely happy to see him. “I’ve seen you more in the last two days than I have since you’ve been at ViaTech.”

  “I hope that’s not a bad thing.”

  “Oh no, it’s not a bad thing at all.” She gave him a warm smile to prove it.

  Ted pulled out the chair beside her and took a seat. “I come here at least once a month. The bands are great, and the martinis . . . well, they speak for themselves.”

  Victoria nodded in agreement. “I didn’t know you liked jazz. I figured you for an Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen kinda guy.”

  “I like them too, but my real love is jazz. My roommate in college played the sax. One weekend he went to New York to scout a few clubs for jam sessions and asked me if I wanted to tag along. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

  “Do you play?”

  “No, I wish I did. Jake, he was my roommate, he taught me a few tunes but I was never any good. I’m a lousy musician, but an excellent listener,” he joked.

  Victoria smiled. “I grew up on jazz. My father loves it, so our house was filled with the music. There’s something freeing about it,” she said, realizing the irony of her words. The man who’d introduced her to that freedom was the same person who made her feel completely loved, yet at times utterly suffocated.

  Ted nodded. “Yes, I know what you mean.”

  “Are you here by yourself?” Victoria asked. If the rumors she’d heard about his marriage were true, she knew that chances were he was flying solo tonight.

  “No, I’m here with a good friend of mine from Boston. He loves this place too, so we come whenever he’s in town on business.” Ted looked over his shoulder in the direction of an average looking middle-aged man sitting at a table tucked away in the back of the room. The man had his eyes fixed on them and smiled when he saw them look his way.

  Why is his frien
d staring at us like that? Is that a smirk or a smile on his face? Victoria wondered. Then a thought came to her . . . I wonder if Ted is gay? As she gave it more thought, she realized it would explain a lot of things. Like his estranged marriage, and why he’d never so much as glimpsed in the direction of any of the women at work. And even today when they were in the office, he’d paid no attention to her attributes, and she knew that most men took a second look when she wore her booty huggin’ jeans. It would also explain his friend who was sitting in the back of the room, staring at them like a jealous lover.

  Now it all made sense to her. That’s why she felt so comfortable with him, not threatened in any way. It explained why he’d noticed the décor of her office, and even the scent of potpourri. Like they say, the good ones are either married or gay. Good Lord, he’s both! Victoria thought. “So, are you two having a good time?” she asked with a knowing smile.

  “Yes, we are. The band is really hot tonight.”

  The band began playing a rhythmic melody that Victoria instantly recognized as her favorite. Ted’s voice softened when he heard it too. “This is my favorite song,” he said, tilting his head to let the music float into his ears. The band was playing “In a Sentimental Mood.”

  He’d startled her yet again. “It’s my favorite too,” Victoria said with surprise.

  They shared a brief stare before she looked away, listening to the seductively hypnotic beat of the music.

  Ted wondered if she knew how much he wanted her, that he was basically putty in her hands. His friend Barry had to talk him into getting up the nerve to go over and say hello.

  “Ted, what the hell’s wrong with you? I’ve never seen you act like this,” Barry had said. “But I have to say, you were right. She’s stunning, but she’s still just a woman, so get some fucking balls and go over there before someone else beats you to the punch. You’re her boss for Christ sakes. You’re the one with the power. You’re the one in control.”

  Boy was he wrong, Ted thought.

  “Penny for your thoughts? You look a million miles away,” Victoria said.

  “Oh . . . just thinking.”

  “I can see. It must really be something.”

  Ted looked into her eyes and smiled. “Yes, something wonderfully unexpected.”

  Victoria stared back at him, wondering what his life was really like. They’d talked for an hour after they walked out to their cars earlier that afternoon. They even ventured a little further into each other’s personal lives and laughed about Victoria’s horror story of a lunch date that she’d had the day before; although she gave him the abbreviated version, leaving out some of Vincent’s more colorful moments.

  “Give me some advice, Ted. As a married man, how do you know when you’ve found the right one?” Victoria had asked.

  “I’ll let you know when I find that out myself,” he replied as they shared a nervous laugh.

  Now, Victoria knew where his strange comment had come from. “Well, Ted, I guess that’s what makes life interesting . . . the unexpected,” she smiled.

  “Yes, Victoria, it does.”

  After the love song set ended, the band broke for intermission and everyone returned to the table. Victoria’s friends exchanged friendly hellos with Ted before he excused himself and headed back to his table. After he left, all eyes were on Victoria.

  “Who was that?” Debbie asked in an excited voice.

  “Oh, Ted? He’s the acting CEO of ViaTech,” Victoria answered.

  “Yeah, and he wants to get with you,” Tyler grinned, taking a sip of his Ketel One.

  Victoria laughed. “I can assure you he’s not interested in me. But you or Rob, on the other hand, are probably more his flavor,” she whispered with raised brows.

  “He’s gay?” Debbie whispered back.

  Tyler shook his head. “Gay men don’t look at women the way he was lookin’ at you.”

  “What do you mean? How was he looking at me?”

  “Like someone just handed him a one-way ticket to heaven. Trust me, I’m a man, and I know that look.”

  “Well, you’re wrong. As a matter of fact he’s here with his boyfriend. They’re sitting in the back, in the far left corner. But don’t look now,” Victoria cautioned.

  But as soon as she finished her sentence, the entire table turned and looked at the same time. “He looks so masculine. He doesn’t seem gay,” Debbie commented.

  “Not all gay men are effeminate,” Victoria said, taking a sip of her cosmopolitan.

  Tyler spoke up again. “He might be here with another dude, but that doesn’t mean he’s gay. I’m tellin’ you, he was lookin’ at you the way a man looks at a woman when he’s interested.”

  Rob nodded his head in agreement. “I’ve got to agree with Tyler,” he said, “he looked like he was into you.”

  “See, I told you. I know that look,” Tyler said again. He knew it because it was the way he used to look at Juliet—the one who got away.

  “Is that the way you look at me?” Allison asked abruptly. Tyler didn’t answer. His avoidance was blatant, causing a heavy tension to fall over the table.

  Debbie cleared her throat, breaking the chilly mood. “We have some good news,” she announced with a cautious smile. “Rob just got a promotion. He’s the new director of accounting.”

  “Congratulations!” everyone said in unison.

  “Thanks, I’m really excited about this opportunity,” Rob smiled. Debbie tried to share his enthusiasm but her mood was growing tepid.

  Victoria could sense her friend’s change in disposition. “Debbie, what’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Oh, Victoria, she’s fine,” Allison smirked in her usual crass manner. “What wife wouldn’t be when her husband is finally moving up? That’s a look of relief if you ask me.”

  Rob and Debbie shot Allison a look that could’ve killed a rattlesnake, while Tyler shook his head in frustration, taking a big gulp from his glass.

  The nerve of this heifer, Victoria slowly simmered, giving Allison a death stare. “Well, I wasn’t asking you” . . . bitch, she wanted to say, but refrained. “I was asking Debbie.” The tension returned, and the table fell silent as Joe Sample’s piano serenaded in the background.

  Debbie turned her glare away from Allison and began to speak. “Victoria, you know me so well.” Rob took her hand and held it tight. “Rob’s promotion is for a position in his company’s Miami office. We’ll be moving in a few weeks. It’s all happening so fast. We have to find a new home, and we’ll be leaving you guys,” Debbie sighed.

  “Debbie,” Tyler said, “you’ve been saying you need a break from teaching, so maybe this’ll be an opportunity for you to do that. You’ll even have time to start painting again.”

  “Yeah, girl. Look at this as a new beginning,” Victoria encouraged. “I’m going to miss you, but miles can never separate us. Besides, ViaTech has an office in Miami, so you know I’ll be down there to see you, at least through next June,” she teased, leaning over and hugging her friend.

  “Let’s order champagne to celebrate,” Tyler roused. After everyone’s glass was filled with bubbly, Tyler made a hilarious toast that put everyone back in a good mood.

  “I have some news to share that’s . . . quite interesting,” Victoria announced.

  “Oh, you finally found a man?” Allison asked, causing the table to fall silent again.

  Victoria took a deep breath and ignored the comment. “I’m being nominated for a prestigious year-long executive mentoring program at work.”

  “But you’re leaving next June, right?” Debbie asked.

  “Yeah, that’s my plan. But I have to admit, it’s a flattering offer when I think about it. But of course I’m going to turn it down because my future isn’t with ViaTech. I have to devote my time to building my business.”

  “Victoria, I’m a little concerned that you’ll be stretching yourself too thin,” Allison said as she reached for a stuffed mushroom.

  “Why’re you
concerned about anything that I do?” Victoria asked, surprise and caution lacing her voice.

  “You spend so many hours at work that you barely have time for a social life, let alone to meet anyone new. And now with your little party business . . . ”

  “It’s called Divine Occasions,” Victoria corrected.

  “Yes, that. Anyway, given all the work you’ll have on your plate, you definitely won’t have time for a relationship.”

  Victoria’s forehead was getting hot. “Thank you for your concern. But my life is made up of more than just sitting around waiting for Mr. Right to come along.”

  By this time Debbie and Rob were watching the exchange like dialogue from a movie, while Tyler stared blankly into his drink.

  “True,” Allison retorted, “but nothing beats having someone to come home to. I know it’s been hard since things between you and Steven ended, but you have to move on with your life,” she said, feigning a look of concern that hid a conniving smile.

  “Be quiet, Allison!” Tyler hissed at his wife.

  There . . . she’d said his name. Everyone who knew Victoria firmly understood that Steven’s name was off limits. To Victoria, his name was like a spinning tornado, or a wild fire out of control, or an erupting volcano—it was a natural disaster. Her heart raced and her face turned hot. His name hung in the air like Gulf Coast humidity. Tyler looked at Victoria, his mouth didn’t move, but his eyes said I’m sorry.

  The good mood was broken once again, and this time no happy announcement or bubbly drink could bring it back. They remained at the club just long enough to pay the bill before their “friends-night-out” came to an abrupt end.

  Chapter Four

  Like Alka-Seltzer In A Glass of Water...

  Victoria’s fun evening out had turned into another disappointing disaster. “I need a bubble bath and a drink . . . bad!” she said to an empty room. She peeled out of her clothes and wrapped herself in her silk robe. She walked into the bathroom, lit her favorite Jo Malone Black Vetyver candle, then sprinkled her special home concocted blend of scented bath foams and sea salts under the running water. She went downstairs, grabbed the last two chocolates in the Godiva box, and poured herself a glass of wine before heading back to her private spa retreat.