by Drea Stein
“His girlfriend had just dumped him and Stevie was having a hard time. So I tutored him and listened to him talk about her. And well, I guess I was a good listener. And nice. We started to talk about other things besides his ex and math. We weren’t dating or anything even though, to be honest I did have a huge crush on him, in sort of a high school rom com kind of way.”
“And then what happened?”
“He asked me to the prom, which was totally unexpected. You know as friends. Part of me knew it was because his ex was going the star pitcher and Stevie really needed a date. The other part of me had begun to spin up a pretty elaborate fantasy about how this was all going to go.”
Colby tried to quiet the rumbles of foreboding he was feeling.
“And so I went dress shopping, I even agreed to get my hair cut and styled and the big night came.”
Tory paused and then rushed on. “He didn’t show. Well it wasn’t quite that bad. About day or two before, he called and said that he and Heather had gotten back together. And they were going to the prom. He was really sorry, offered to pay for my dress and everything.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. I mean we’d only be going to go as friends, you know like each other’s back up. So I wished him good luck and settled into a movie marathon.”
“That’s it?”
Tory did laugh. “No. I was upset, furious, sad, all the things you could think of. Guess what movie I saw that night?
“Carrie?” Colby said and wondered if Tory had decided to get even.
“God no. Can’t Buy Me Love. Remember, the one about the nerd who pays the cheerleader to date him and she gives him a makeover?”
Colby nodded, “I suppose I might have heard of it.”
“Well that’s when I decided I wasn’t going to take it. Operation Tory Makeover was born that summer. I went out and bought every book and magazine on how to dress. I started running. I lost weight, I got a really good haircut. I started wearing jeans without holes in them and became slightly addicted to shoes.”
He didn’t say anything, just tightened his arms around her. It was just like his Tory to be methodical about everything, including revenge.
“And it worked. By the time I was ready to leave for college, I was still a geek but more like Trinity from The Matrix than Miss Congeniality. Now there were guys who wanted to date me. Just because I had nicer clothes and better body.”
“Tory,” he was getting ready to reassure her.
She laughed it off. “I’m not upset by it. But it’s just the way it was. Sure I dated some of those guys, but I just couldn’t trust them. It became clear to me that, guys all guys, pretty much want one thing. It wasn’t like they were noticing me for my great personality before.
“I turned the table on them. It became kind of a power. To have guys want me but to never let them get too close. I wasn’t going to let one of them get the best of me. I had a plan, to teach everyone that Tory Somers wasn’t to be laughed at.”
He felt a tinge of sadness at that. He understood what it was to have someone use you for all the wrong reasons.
“Things were fine until I came home from college. It was the summer after graduation and I was only going to stay for a few weeks. I had a job offer with this great software firm. I’d be sent all over the place, setting up new computer systems. But first I came home, got a job working for Chase at the store – discount on clothes, after all - and hung out, waiting. One day, I’m getting coffee and who do I see but Stevie Wilder.
“He bought me a coffee to say he was sorry. Called the next day and asked if we could get drinks. He and Heather had broken up – again – and well the chemistry I thought we had when we were in high school just came right back. He begged forgiveness for standing me up at the prom and well, let’s just say he was quite appreciative of Tory 2.0.”
“So you and Stevie?”
“Before I knew it I had given up my job offer, finagled one with Chase and agreed to move in with Stevie. Needless to say my parents weren’t pleased.”
“Oh.” Colby could only imagine Linda Somers displeasure at that turn of events.
“Everything was great for a while. A year or two. Stevie had dropped out of college and started a landscaping business. He worked hard so at first I didn’t notice he wasn’t around much. I took some extra classes, kept taking on more work and well I just didn’t see it coming.”
“He backed out of the prom again?”
“No, he knocked up Heather and kicked me out so he could be her baby daddy.”
Tory sighed. “I shouldn’t say it like that. He and Heather, well they were meant for each other. I was just an in-between. Stevie didn’t know how to break it to me, so Heather finally did, in no uncertain terms. They got married and live together over in Nattick and have a beautiful baby girl.”
“Oh,” Colby said. What else was there to say? Except for how much he wanted to hurt Stevie Wilder.
Tory turned to him, propped herself up on her elbow. “And so that’s why I don’t believe in fairy tale endings and moonlit kisses. In my story, the girl get a makeover and stills get dumped. After I moved out or should I say, got kicked out, I moved back in with my parents. It took a little while to get, well over things. It got better as I got to know Lynn and Phoebe and work kind of kept me going. But I wasn’t in a good place. I was a wreck for a while. And I learned another lesson. I’ll never let that happen to me again.”
Colby felt a slow burn of hatred for what Stevie had done and how he had hurt Tory. He had to say something, make her believe that there was more to a relationship than the practical.
“Not every guy is like that. Some of us do want more, want all of a person. Who believe in…”
She cut him off with a wistful smile on her face. “Happily ever afters and white picket fences? Colby, I just don’t know if I can give you what you want.”
“I want you.” He wanted to ask for more, but knew she wasn’t ready. “For tonight. I won’t ask for anything else, all right?”
She kissed him in response, and he pulled her closer, kissing her back, his hands already finding the body that he knew and wanted. He made love to her slowly, teasing her with gentleness when she wanted to push him faster, all the while taking in the glow of moonlight on her body, the way she moved under him and responded to his touch.
When they were finished and she was asleep in his arms, he twirled his fingers through her hair. He loved Tory, more than just for now or for tonight. He wanted Tory, all of her and forever. Maybe he had known it from the moment he saw her, with her eyes full of anger, or when he had first wanted to kiss her, but she had made him wait. She wasn’t easy, Tory. She was smart and vulnerable and perfectly capable of taking care of herself. He wanted her forever, but knew if he said such a thing, she would run.
Just how could he show her that they were meant to be together?
Chapter 42
“Isn’t it lovely?” Her mother said it with a real note of pride in her voice.
“Did I miss something?” Tory said. She knew her mouth was open in shock and that she was staring. She closed it quickly and looked at her mother in disbelief. Then she looked again at the cherry-red BMW two-door sedan her mother was standing next to.
“Like what?” Her mother put her bag carefully in the backseat and looked very much like she was raring to be off, hand on the roof of the car, one elegantly booted foot on the running board. Tory blinked, feeling dazed. Her mother, with the head scarf she had whipped on and the oversized glasses, looked like some sort of old-fashioned movie star. And, judging from the looks her mother was getting, Tory wasn’t the only one sensing that vibe.
“That’s quite a birthday present.” Tory swallowed. She had thought she was surprising her mom by buying her a nice candle, but clearly her dad had gone overboard. It wasn’t even a big birthday, certainly not a decade one or anything like that. She had wanted to meet her mom, see if they could have coffee together and to give her t
he candle. But her mom had surprised her by pulling up to the waterfront in this…vehicle. Here, under the blue sky and in the light breeze with the whirling and twirling of seagulls in the background, her mother was preening with her new car.
“I suppose you could consider it a birthday present.” Her mother laughed, sounding not at all like the dour Linda Somers Tory was used to.
“You mean Dad bought it for you?” Tory asked, though that statement was plainly ridiculous.
Her mother must have thought so, too, because she laughed, but this time is was with a touch of hilarity.
“Don’t be silly, dear. Your father would never spend this type of money on a car. Besides, it’s a lease, and you know how he feels about those.”
“You mean you leased it?” Tory asked, feeling as if the whole of the world was shifting. It was a big deal when her mother bought a new winter coat, which happened approximately once every three years, like clockwork, at the after-season sale. It was always something that was within the budget. Her mother was not prone to excess or impulse buys, and this car was both.
Tory took a step closer. Bright red paint job, shiny, gleaming chrome and leather interior. She imagined her mother driving with the top down and almost smiled. It was a sunny, warm spring day in Queensbay, a very nice day for a drive.
“It’s very nice,” Tory said. And it was. And her mother was clearly happy. And that, as they said, was priceless.
“Thank you, it’s something I’ve always wanted,” her mother said, running a hand over the hood of the car, clearly in the thrall of possession.
“It was nice of Dad—,” Tory started to say, but her mother cut her off.
“Your father didn’t pay for this. I did,” her mother said firmly.
“But how? Does he know?” Tory asked before she could stop and then reminded herself that it was probably none of her business.
“I do have some of my own money, you know, Tory,” her mother said airily. Tory nodded. It was none of her business the exact financial arrangements that her mother and father had, whether her dad had paid his wife for all the work she had done in the accounting office, or if her mother had made money babysitting, or plant sitting or helping out Joan at the Garden Cottage.
“Well, well, my dear, are we ready to go for a spin?”
The voice was hale and hearty, and Tory turned to see that man, the one who was Colby’s client, the one who had promised to buy her mother a drink, Alfie Landau, dapper in a crisp white linen suit, strolling down the boardwalk. The hairs on the back of Tory’s neck went up.
“Absolutely.” Linda Somers was beaming as Alfie came up to her, took her hand and kissed it.
“You remember my daughter, Tory, don’t you?” Linda said.
“Of course, you’re the young lady that’s lassoed our dear Colby’s heart.”
And with that, both her mother and Alfie laughed uproariously. Tory froze, and they must have seen the frightened look on her face.
“Oh dear, you shouldn’t tease her, Alfie dear. She takes everything so seriously.”
Tory almost choked on this. She wanted to cry out, ask who this woman was and what she had done with her mother, but she didn’t have the time.
Without much more than a wave goodbye, Linda and Alfie hopped into the sporty sedan. With a toot of the horn, they took off, her mother driving much too fast.
Tory felt her knees grow weak. Luckily, there was a bench nearby, and she sank down onto it. Her whole world felt upended, and she wondered just what was happening, and if she needed to speak to her dad. A new car, a new … friend. Gosh, Alfie had to be just a friend. Her mother had to realize that … well, Alfie was…. Tory considered. She was almost certain Alfie was a confirmed bachelor, the kind that wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend. But her mother was sort of sheltered. So maybe that made it all right that Linda was out for a drive with a man who clearly wasn’t her husband.
“You look like….” Lynn and Phoebe were strolling together, Lynn eating an ice cream cone, and Phoebe holding a shopping bag from one of the boutiques in town.
“Like what…? I don’t even know where to begin,” Tory said and knew that she sounded desperate.
“What happened?”
“My mother just drove off in her new BMW convertible with a man who isn’t my father.”
“What?” Lynn and Phoebe both sat down. Lynn automatically offered Tory a lick of her ice cream cone, but Tory declined.
“What flavor is that?” Tory looked at the sky blue ice cream.
“Cotton candy,” Lynn said.
“Is it good?” Tory asked dubiously.
“Not really,” Lynn said as she licked a smooth ring around the mound of ice cream.
Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Trust me, it’s an acquired taste.”
“That doesn’t sound like your mom,” Lynn said, deftly moving the conversation back to the topic at hand.
“There’s something up,” Tory said, her eyes narrowing. “She’s been acting weird, plotting something with Joan Altieri, now this new car…. I mean, how is she paying for it? And Alfie….”
Phoebe glanced over at Tory. “I don’t know Alfie that well, just seen him around town, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“I know. I know. I don’t think my mom is his type, but still … the new car, where did she get the money for it?”
“Maybe from the business she started?” Phoebe offered.
“What?” Tory asked. Lynn was suspiciously silent.
Chapter 43
“What business?” Tory asked slowly as if she couldn’t quite understand what Phoebe was getting at.
“The web design one,” Phoebe said in a slightly strained voice, her cheeks flushing pink, a tell-tale sign of embarrassment. She didn’t look Tory in the eye.
“My mother is doing what?” Tory asked.
Phoebe sighed. “Remember how I asked you for some help with my company website a few months ago? It was something little, but you were in the middle of something at work.”
“You said you figured it out,” Tory said, remembering. Phoebe had asked for her help, but she had been busy. Before she could get around to it, Phoebe had said everything was ok.
“Well, not exactly. Your mom overhead, and she said that maybe she could help. Before I knew it, it was fixed.”
Tory looked at her friend. “So, all of those little changes you were having me do?”
“I’ve kind of hired your mom to do them. She’s great. And she’s doing Joan Altieri’s, at the Garden Cottage, and then the Maritime Center asked for some help, and that’s how she met Alfie because he has some sort of collection of artifacts and he wanted to start a blog about them.”
Everything swirled into place, and some of it started to make sense.
“So, my mother has a web design company?”
Phoebe nodded. “And tech support. She’s been advertising in the paper—‘Osprey Web Design’. Haven’t you seen it?”
Tory shook her head, then nodded. Maybe she had seen something like that in the local paper, come to think of it.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tory asked.
Phoebe shifted uncomfortably, and next to her Lynn squirmed.
“Your mom kind of asked me not to. She said she was just trying it out, didn’t know if she was going to make a go of it, wanted to wait and see.”
“Did you know?” Tory turned to Lynn, who seemed to be having a laughing fit. “What’s so funny?”
“You. You were getting all upset when nobody needed your help anymore, but you’re so busy with work—rightly so—that we’ve all been asking your mom.”
“So, you did know?” Tory asked.
Lynn held up her hands. “Not exactly. The clinic’s director told me that she found someone reasonable to make some changes to the website and that we didn’t need to bother you for your help anymore. I have a feeling that would be why I saw your mother at the clinic the other day talking to the Sadie, the director.�
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Tory slid down a bit in her bench as she mulled this all over.
“What’s the matter?” Phoebe asked. “You should be proud of your mom. I mean, at her age, not that she’s old, but after having raised you and then been out of the work force a while, to jump right in and start a business. Pretty smart, if you ask me. And one that the rest of us business owners need. I can’t tell you how much I’d rather be thinking about color patterns than my website.”
“I am proud of her,” Tory mumbled, though she wasn’t entirely sure that was all she felt.
“Then what is it?” Lynn asked. Her mirth had evaporated as had her ice cream, and she sat still, her hands folded on her stomach, looking slightly ill.
“I’m just wondering when she decided to stop talking to us,” Tory said and pushed herself up. She needed some time to think. Her mother was making big changes, and hadn’t seen fit to tell her or her dad about it. Her mother had every right to live her own life. Tory didn’t know any more if her mother wanted them in it.
“I need to….” She looked around at the harbor, the gulls wheeling overhead. The marina was beginning to show signs of life, with boat owners starting to prep their boats for the summer ahead. There was a hustle and bustle of a small town entering tourist season and a touch of heat in the breeze, yet she wondered why she felt so cold.
“Of course,” Phoebe said. “Call later, ok?” Tory nodded, and she sort of stumbled off, hands jammed into the pockets of her jacket.
#
“I feel like a jerk,” Lynn muttered. Her hands were still on her stomach, and Phoebe looked at them pointedly.
“You know, you’re not fooling anyone,” Phoebe told her.
“Fooling? About what?” Lynn asked, but she turned a light shade of pink.
Phoebe was glad, since it added a bit of color to her face. Lynn had been looking unusually pale the last week or two.
Phoebe arched one of her eyebrows in what she hoped was a convincing look.
“Ok, fine.” A smile broke across Lynn’s face, foiling her attempt to look bored. “But you can’t tell anyone yet. How did you know?”