The Tattered Thread

by B. A. Braxton

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Watching Tasia pack up her things was upsetting for Elaine. They’d grown quite close, and the feeling had never been stronger than it was today. And leaving seemed just as hard for her. All of a sudden, between stuffing cocktail dresses and expensive lingerie into a suitcase, Tasia stopped what she was doing and gave Elaine a big hug. It was easy to return the favor. When Tasia pulled away, she held Elaine at arm’s length and looked at her.

  “You’ll be missed,” Elaine told her, and that made her smile so beautifully. She never looked better.

  “And so will you,” Tasia said, wiping a tear away from her cheek. “Stop it, now. If I start crying, I can kiss my mascara good-bye.” She turned to stuff more dresses into the suitcase.

  “Do you think Sam Giles will get into trouble for knowing about Nicolette but not coming forward?”

  Tasia laughed. “Maybe for awhile,” she said, “but Sam is the smoothest talking devil I’ve ever met. He could sweet-talk his own mother out of her pension. Guys like him don’t stay in trouble for long.”

  Elaine nodded. “When do you have to check into the drug treatment center?”

  “By noon tomorrow. I guess they wanna try and finish me off by forcing me to eat one of their lunches.”

  “What, all the drugs haven’t killed you but the food will?”

  “That’s about the size of it. Don’t worry, though: the first week will be the toughest. By then, I will have weaseled my way into the kitchen.”

  “You sure can cook.”

  “I’m going to be the best thing that’s ever happened to those junkies, let me tell you.” Sniffling, she rubbed the back of her neck and shoulder blades as if they felt stiff. “I love you, Elaine.”

  “I love you, too. I also respect and admire you more than you’ll ever know.”

  “Don’t make me out to be some kinda hero. Most people won’t see it that way when they find out about how I’ve been living my life for the past fourteen years.”

  “I don’t care what other people think. You shouldn’t, either.”

  “Elaine, I never thanked you for saving my life.”

  “Oh, yes you have. Many, many times, and in so many different ways.”

  Tasia smiled again and nodded her head. “Detective Connery ordered me to see a shrink for at least a year over the incestuous experiences I’ve had. You know, the abuse and all the psychological bullshit. I hadn’t realized how much all of that bothered me, but I guess being mistreated by anyone at such a young age leaves its mark.”

  “It certainly does. Zach will help you through it.”

  “Zach…. I’m gonna die waiting to get out of rehab to be with him. It’s a six-month program.”

  “Think about how much better things will be when you’re off the drugs. Life is going to be so wonderful for the two of you.”

  “Yes, but then again there’s Vic. What will become of him?”

  “I think Silas has plans for him in the company.”

  “I’ve heard those rumors, too. But in Vic’s condition, I don’t think he’ll be well enough to work for anybody.”

  “Ever since Mr. Kastenmeier was killed, he doesn’t drink nearly as much as he used to. With a little help, I think he can stop drinking altogether.”

  “I hope that’s true,” Tasia said as she closed the last case and snapped it shut. “Well, I’d better get going if I’m going to catch my plane.”

  “Do you have your ticket?”

  “I sure do.” She pulled it out and looked it over. “One way. I’m never coming back here again.”

  “Let me help you carry your bags.”

  “Thanks,” she said, lifting the larger of the two, and then waiting for Elaine to pick up the other. Only pausing once to give the black beeper on the nightstand a good, hard look, she sighed and gave Elaine an encouraging nod.

  As Tasia left the room, Cameron met her in the hall. “Let me have those,” he said, taking the suitcase out of her hand and then taking the one Elaine was carrying. “I’ll put them out in the car.”

  “Thanks, Cameron.”

  He hesitated, standing in front of Tasia with a case in each hand. “So tell me something,” he said. “Now that you’re worth about three hundred million dollars and are technically one of my employers, what do I call you? Ma’am? Ms. McAvoy? Your Highness?”

  “Tasia will do,” she said. “I’m going to be a silent and very invisible partner in this operation, I assure you.”

  “And I assure you, you will be missed.”

  She smiled, taking him by the neck to draw him near. After kissing him on the cheek, she wiped the lipstick away with her thumb. He didn’t say anything more; he took off down the stairs to put the suitcases in the car with the rest of them.

  “I have made one decision for the company, though,” Tasia told Elaine when they were alone again.

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you remember the steak joint I worked at for awhile? The one Carl bought to smoke me out of it?”

  “Yes, I remember.”

  “I sold the building to the man who owns the restaurant for one dollar.”

  “One dollar? You’re kidding me!”

  “Nope. Mr. Dalmasio was a very happy guy after those papers were signed, believe me.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  They descended the stairs together. When they entered the kitchen, Heather and Betty were waiting there for Tasia’s sendoff. Exchanging hugs and kisses, they told one another how much each would be missed. Tasia accepted the good tidings from Heather, but she seemed amused by Betty’s newfound consideration.

  Silas and Vic were the last people she met up with, and she seemed glad to see them. Stopping out in the entrance hall, they took a few minutes to chat.

  “We’d like to wait with you at the airport, Tasia,” Vic said, scratching his chin with a trembling hand. “It’s a sad day to see you go.”

  “You know how much I hate saying goodbye, especially in public places. Let’s just say it here and be done with it.”

  “I’d wanted to tell you about the changes I plan to make in the business,” Silas said.

  “That’s all up to you,” Tasia told him. “I don’t wanna have anything to do with the company.”

  “You control as much of it as I do.”

  “Whatever you decide, I’ll back you one hundred percent. You can count on it.”

  “There is something you should know. I want Uncle Vic to become the Executive Vice President of Research and Development.”

  Vic gave Silas a bug-eyed pause, and then slowly started shaking his head. “I don’t think I….”

  “You could if you tried,” Silas told him.

  Tasia looked at Vic with much affection, but she had to admit, “He’s not up to the task right now, Silas.”

  “I realize that, but if he lays off the booze, he could be an asset to the company. After all, he’s the one who got the whole thing started in the first place. Without him there wouldn’t be a company.”

  “I agree,” she said, turning to Vic again. “And when you do get sober, I want you to control my share. To me, the business has been yours all along.”

  “It has,” Silas agreed, and Tasia reached over and gave the boy a hug.

  “I don’t want to let you kids down,” Vic said. Glancing over Tasia’s shoulder, he peered through the leaded sidelight next to the front door. “How much room do you have in that tub outside? May I come with you?”

  “To rehab? You mean it?”

  “I do,” he said. “I’ve got a lot to offer you kids. My days of messing up are over. Now that Carl’s gone, my responsibility is to you now, and it’s time I dried out and helped you.”

  Tasia hugged Vic and gave him a kiss. “I can’t think of anything I’d like better,” she said, caressing his shoulder. “I love you, Daddy.”

  “I know you do, little girl. I know it.”

  “Let’s go.”

  “We’d better get going before I change my mind.” />
  “Take care of yourself,” Silas said. “Both of you.”

  “You, too, son,” Vic told him, tousling his hair.

  “And I’ll expect you back, Uncle, as soon as you’re well enough to leave that place.”

  Vic shook his head. “I won’t let you down. Not this time.”

  Tasia grabbed Vic’s arm and walked down the entryway with him. Digging inside her purse, she pulled out a set of house keys and put them into a mahogany wall pocket. Letting them drop looked as if it felt good. Before they passed through the front door, Silas said, “See you soon.”

  “You bet,” Vic said, allowing Tasia to step through first before going out himself.

  Pausing at the threshold, Tasia stared up into the hazy morning sky. After drawing in a deep breath, she descended the portico steps. Sam approached her, so she stopped and spoke to him. He seemed sad to see her go. They ended the conversation with a hug, and he watched as she went to the limousine Cameron had waiting.

  Cameron held the door open for her until she got in, and then closed it after giving her a wink. The windows were tinted so that Tasia could no longer be seen. Vic helped himself to the front seat beside the driver, laughing and joking with Cameron before getting in. After nineteen years, both father and daughter were finally off to a good start, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

  As Vic and Tasia drove off together, moving slowly through the newsmen still camped by the gate, Lois emerged with a client she’d been interviewing since early morning. She was trying to fill the position of painting the walls and ceilings of the house that Zach Cutteridge had vacated. As she and the bearded young artist passed by, she stood beside Elaine for a moment. The lady of the house smelled great, like jasmine and Grasse roses, and she was wearing a very elegant, lavender dress. The entire foyer smelled of Jean Patou’s Joy.

  Surprisingly civil, Lois bowed her quietly aging head in greeting, and Elaine did the same to her. The show of respect was welcome, of course, but only done to acknowledge the changing of the guards. Elaine’s importance grew only because Lois wanted to stay in Tasia’s good graces.

  “Now over here is a most dreadful center dome that I want made livelier, more attractive,” she told the man as they walked on. He nodded and looked extremely attentive, but he didn’t say much. Already he’d learned that all the sweet-talk in the world wasn’t going to take the place of what only his hands could tell the lady of the house. If he didn’t measure up, he knew he’d be out by this time next week.

  Betty stepped over to where Elaine was standing, and Heather followed her. “There’s a real mess waiting for us in the office,” Betty said. “The blood is soaked through and there’s soot and ash everywhere. We’ll do the best we can at it, is all. We’re not miracle workers.”

  “A man’s coming to survey the damage at noon,” Heather said. She used her fingers to help her count, her lips moving with each number. “That’s four hours from now.”

  “Yep,” Elaine agreed, looking at Betty and nodding her head. “We’d better get started if we want a chance to break in the new chef by lunchtime.”