“Chica, what are you doing? You just went to bed an hour ago. Now what are you up to?”
“I’m going to Seattle, Marielle. Adam needs me. I know it’s not my cat, but he’s my man and he needs me,” she said resolutely.
“Oh. Okay, well, call me when you get there,” she said with a yawn.
Alicia stopped her packing to stare at her sister. “Aren’t you going to tell me this is crazy and I shouldn’t interfere? Aren’t you supposed to tell me to let him come to me if he needs my help?”
Marielle sprawled across the foot of the bed and laughed at the look of shock on her sister’s face. “Alicia, sweetie, you’re a grown woman and you make your own decisions. You’ve done pretty well so far. The only serious error in judgment was getting engaged to that idiotic pretty boy Preston, and you were smart enough to get rid of him. As far as you and Adam are concerned, well, you two seem to be doing just fine. You know him better than anyone and you know yourself. Who am I to be putting my two cents in? This is not my cat, chica, this time it’s all yours. Do you need me to call the firm tomorrow and let them know you won’t be in?”
Alicia told her no as she quickly dressed in jeans, a black scoop-necked sweater that buttoned with tiny jet buttons, and black leather ballet flats. “I was taking tomorrow as another personal day anyway; I’m just putting it to better use. She put her small leather purse over her shoulder and picked up the two bags. “I’ll let you know when I get there. Just keep us in your prayers, okay?”
Marielle rose from the bed and gave her sister a fierce hug. “You never have to ask for that, you’re always there.”
She went downstairs after Alicia, ready to close the door behind her. Alicia opened the front door and gasped as she looked into Adam’s face. His hand was raised to ring the doorbell and he looked just as surprised as Alicia. “Where were you going?”
“I was coming after you,” she said breathlessly.
Adam took the bags from her hands. “Then let’s go.” With a nod to Marielle, he transferred both bags to one hand and put his arm around Alicia’s slender waist. In minutes they were in the Range Rover, driving through the night-swept streets of Detroit.
***
John lay on his bed, fully clothed. He’d left the restaurant and driven around Ann Arbor for a while, then returned to the university-provided housing that was his temporary home. He took off his shoes and socks and piled the pillows at the head of the bed and just lay there, staring into space. Finally he picked up his cell phone and punched in a familiar number. He was relieved when the line was answered after three rings.
The voice on the other end said hello, and John responded in kind. “Abe, it’s John Flores. I’ve just found out something that will solve part of a mystery. I had dinner with an old friend tonight and she told me a pretty amazing story. It seems that besides being a good friend of several years, she’s also my half sister. I was adopted as an infant, can you believe it?”
Abraham Gold, besides being a good friend of John’s, was a physician to whom John had turned in recent months. He was rendered speechless by John’s words, but he soon found his tongue.
“Damn, John. We knew something was off, since your father’s blood type made it impossible that he fathered you, but this explains it all. It also explains a few other things. So how are you taking the news?”
John laughed, more from the need to relieve tension than from mirth. “I’m still pretty stunned right now, to tell you the truth. Benita’s family lives in Detroit and she’s visiting up here with her husband and children. Her father decided to make this big announcement that he’d fathered a child outside of his marriage, and I, apparendy, am the bastard prince.”
“Whoa. That’s pretty deep, fella. So this guy, your friend’s father, well, your biological father, I guess . . .” Abe’s voice faded but quickly regained its composure. “So the father told you all this? What did you say to him?”
“No, Big Benny wasn’t the bearer of the glad tidings. He coerced Benita into doing it. He’s always had a huge influence on her and he can still wrap her around his little finger, I guess. Anyway, she and her husband and her twin brother were the messengers. They did it quite nicely, as a matter of fact. They told me the story their father told them and it just so happened I was the punch line to this huge cosmic joke.”
“Actually, John, that doesn’t sound much better. How did you react? It must have been pretty uncomfortable with all three of them sitting there with expectant looks on their faces. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being remarkably shocked and upset, what number did you register?” Abe’s customary dry humor came through loud and clear.
John laughed bitterly. “Probably about a fifteen.”
He’d been fascinated by the story Benita and Adam told him about Benny Cochran, his growing up in Idlewild and the rift that caused him to leave town. To a large extent it explained the determination that propelled Benny into the seat of power he’d occupied until his retirement, and the influence he still wielded over his family. It was actually a poignant story until Benita got to the part about her father’s chance encounter with Cassandra that fateful night in Gary, Indiana. At that point, Benita’s voice had faded and she’d become distinctly uneasy. She had turned to her brother Andrew, who quickly explained the rest of the tale.
“So, Pop and Cassandra had one night together. It was a mistake, they both realized it, but the love they’d once shared was too powerful to be put aside. They gave in to the memories they shared and they came together for one night, just one night to assuage all the loneliness and the love they’d lost. And the result was a child. John, according to my father, that child was you.”
A thick silence fell over the table, silence that John couldn’t have broken if his life depended on it. It was up to Benita to start the flow of words again. “Cassandra kept her word and she didn’t contact my father again until months later. She was about to give birth, and she also knew she didn’t have long to live. She wanted to make sure her baby, you were taken care of and she didn’t have any family to turn to. So she called Daddy, who enlisted the aid of our aunt Ruth, my mother’s younger sister. Aunt Ruth knew a wonderful couple who couldn’t have children; a couple she knew would give a baby the best possible life. And she got her friends Consuela and Nestor Flores to adopt you,” she said in a hushed voice. “It was, she said, the fulfillment of a dream for them, they were deliriously happy to have you.”
John felt as if he were watching a movie. He was completely detached from the reality of the situation, as though he were observing the table with the three good-looking people from far away. So far away that he couldn’t hear their words, he could only see their lips moving. It was as if the volume were turned down or they were speaking a language with which he was unfamiliar. His ears were buzzing and his chest was tight; he couldn’t breathe properly.
He could feel three sets of eyes staring at him, watching for a reaction, waiting for him to speak. Finally he found his voice, but what he said wasn’t what he meant to say; it was all he could get out.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but you’ll understand that I need some time to put this all together. The meal was excellent It was nice meeting you, Andrew, good to see you again, Clay.” He rose, and leaning across the table, he kissed Benita on the cheek. “I’ll call you, Benita. Good night”
Abe’s low whistle resonated through the phone. “So you basically just got up and left?”
“Yeah, basically. I couldn’t think or focus on anything. It was surreal, man. I’ve been lying here thinking about everything and trying to understand all of it and in a very weird way, it does make sense. My mother was killed outright in the car accident. When my father was in intensive care and I tried to give blood, it was obvious he couldn’t be my father because of the difference in our blood type. I kind of wondered then if I could be adopted since you can’t make me believe that my mother was ever unfaithful to my father. Those two were so much in love it was unreal, Abe. Th
ey lived for each other and for me and that’s the truth. In fact, that’s what lets me know that there’s probably no doubt that the story is one hundred percent true.”
“What do you mean, John? How does that play into anything you were told tonight?”
John sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “My parents were the most incredible people in the world. They were kind and loving and they were so proud of me. Anything I did, they supported me. I once heard someone ask my mother why they didn’t have more children and she said they didn’t need any more; that they had the best child any parents could ask for and I was more than enough for them. I think that I really was the answer to their prayers for parenthood. On one level hearing the story tonight was a very humbling experience, Abe, very humbling, to know that my accidental birth was the best thing that happened to my parents.”
Abe probed deeper with his next question. “And on another level, what was it like, John?”
“It was freaky, man. I’ve never told anyone this but for years I’ve had like a huge crush on Benita Cochran Deveraux. From the first time I met her there was something about her that got to me. I’ve always thought she was the most beautiful, the most brilliant and the sweetest woman I ever met and if I thought I had a ghost of a chance of getting her away from that husband of hers, I would’ve made a complete fool of myself over her years ago. And it turns out she’s my sister, Abe. How sick is that? This is like an episode of one of those really twisted late night talk shows. It’s just sick and wrong, man, sick and wrong.”
Abe chuckled and acknowledged that it was a unique situation. “But it’s not like you knew she was related, c’mon now, give yourself a break. Look at it this way, I’ll bet you don’t have a crush anymore.”
“You got that right. It was better than having ice water poured down my pants; whatever vestiges of inappropriate affection were there have vanished permanently. All gone, my man. Poof, they all disappeared.”
“Well, John, all kidding aside, this could be the answer to your problems. Instead of being a huge cosmic joke, as you put it, this could take care of everything,” Abe said in a voice serious with concern.
“Abe, I can’t go there, man. Can’t do it,” John admitted.
“At the very least it could be another big part of the puzzle. Did they say what your birth mother died from?” Abe groaned as he realized what he’d said. “I’m sorry, John, I’m not trying to be crass, but you know...”
“Yeah, Abe, I know. But I can’t go there right now,” John said solemnly.
“So what’s your next move?”
Sighing deeply, John curled his bare toes into the carpet and stared at his long feet. “My next move? Buy my sister some flowers, apologize for being a jerk, and make plans to meet the family. Seems like the mature thing to do and I’ve got to grow up sometime, I guess.”
“I never thought I’d hear you admit that,” Abe said delightedly.
“Aw, you’re just jealous of my youth, you old goat. Kiss your wife for me and tell the kids I said hello. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Do that. And, John, don’t forget what I said. This could be your only hope.”
***
Without any conversation, Adam drove Alicia to the loft. They entered in silence and stood facing each other, waiting for the next thing to happen. The next thing was them reaching for each other, embracing tightly and fiercely.
“Allie, I missed you so much,” Adam breathed into her hair.
“I missed you, too. I was worried about you,” she said, pulling away from him far enough to be able to look into his eyes. “And it looks like I had a reason to be worried; you look terrible.”
Adam gave her a last tight squeeze before reluctantly letting her go. He didn’t want to stop touching her; the sight of her, the smell of her filled his senses. Alicia’s hair was tousled, her face was makeup-free, but her skin was dewy and moist and the slight scent of her usual fragrance enticed him. He kissed her forehead and rubbed his cheek against her skin, marveling once again that anything so soft could exist. “I’m okay, Allie. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days, that’s all; a lot of thinking and a lot of remembering.”
Something about the tone of his voice made Alicia take a step back and look at him intently. He looked tired, almost haggard. The strain of trying to deal with his father’s revelations showed all too clearly. She knew what she needed to do, what he needed more than anything right then. She took him by the hand and told him to come with her.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to the spa,” she replied.
In a very short time, Alicia had drawn a bath for Adam in his bathtub. Bathtub was hardly the right word for the edifice; it was a huge, custom-built structure of black marble. Round, with whirlpool jets all around, the tub was easily big enough to hold four adults, which meant it was just the right size for two people who were madly in love, something Adam pointed out to Alicia as she leaned over the side of the steaming, fragrant bath. The huge tub wasn’t built-in, only the part where the faucets were was flush to a wall and the rest was freestanding, which allowed Alicia to kneel at the side of it, which she was doing now. The room was dim, lit only by exotically scented candles, and flooded with the exquisite sound of Love Songs by Miles Davis. A feeling of utter peace filled Adam, except for one small detail.
“You know there’s enough room for both of us, right? You’re not going to make me stay in here all by myself, are you?”
“Yes, mi corazon, I am. You need to relax and this is a good way to do it,” she said firmly. “I’m just here to help in that process.”
She used the hand-held shower and let a cascade of warm water flow all over his body before aiming it at his thick hair, smiling as the rivulets streamed down his face. Then she picked up a bottle of shampoo and began to apply it to his hair, massaging it into a fragrant mass of lather. He moaned with contentment as her clever fingers lulled him into a euphoric state. She rinsed his hair with the hand-held shower, rinsing all the shampoo away. He sighed with contentment and she took it as a cue to continue her ministrations. Picking up a bottle of citrus-fragranced Italian bath gel, she poured some into her palm, sniffing it appreciatively before she began smoothing it over Adam’s big shoulders. He smiled and suggested she stop what she was doing before it was too late.
“Too late for what, querida?”
“For you to stay dry,” he answered. Suddenly he sat up straight, turned around, and pulled her, fully clothed, into the tub with him. She screamed in surprise and then started laughing helplessly. He looked so pleased with himself and so much more at ease that she couldn’t be angry. She stood up with difficulty, fussing the whole time. “Do you know how hard it is to take off wet clothing? You so owe me, Adam Brantley Cochran. You owe me big time for this one. And it’s a good thing I didn’t have on my cute and very expensive shoes or I’d have to beat you up.”
Adam was laughing as he watched her unbutton her black silk sweater and drop it on the floor, then start to take off a soft ivory half-cup bra whose delicate cups had become transparent after getting wet. His laughter stopped at once and he suggested she take off her jeans first. Alicia was softly muttering uncomplimentary phrases in Spanish, but she stopped messing with the bra and peeled out of the jeans.
“You are taking me shopping tomorrow and buying me an outfit to replace this, a whole new outfit, Adam.”
She was sitting precariously on the edge of the tub while he helped her out of the heavy wet denim. Free from the cumbersome pants, she rose, clad only in the now transparent bra and equally transparent bikini panties that barely covered her bottom; moreover, the enticing black triangle of curly hair that shielded her femininity was quite visible.
Adam looked his fill at her beauty; she looked incredibly sexy clad in bits of foamy spray and glistening with moisture. She was about to exit the tub when his voice stopped her. Holding out his hand, he said, “Come here, Allie. Come be with me,
baby.”
His voice, low and sexy, gave Alicia no choice but to comply. He looked so handsome and seductive it was as though her legs had no will of their own. She slid down into the warm soapy depths with her beloved. He settled her in his lap, turning her face to his for a long, lingering kiss, while his big hands roamed over her body. She sighed raggedly while his lips pleasured hers and his tongue melted against hers in a rhythm as sexual as it was tender. He caressed her breasts through the thin wet silk, kneading the firm globes until her nipples stood out in hard relief against the flimsy fabric.
“I need to take this off, Adam,” she whispered.
“No, you don’t. You look so sexy, baby, leave it on for a while,” he coaxed.
By now he’d turned her so that she was cuddled next to him and he had full access to the center of her womanhood. The ivory silk panties were no barrier at all to his skilled fingers as he pushed past them to cup warm, yielding flesh. Her legs parted to allow him more access and she had to bite back a scream as he gently savaged her nipple, licking, sucking, and teasing it with his teeth. As her moans became more passion-filled, Adam moved the wet silk aside with his unshaven cheek and rubbed the bristly skin across her breast several times, loving the sounds of pleasure she was making. His fingers continued to explore her, massaging her hot, pulsing jewel until she was on the brink of a shattering release. He turned back to her erect, engorged nipple and began a sweet torture, sucking her with the same rhythm he was applying with his fingers until her body was a continuous pulsing mass of sensation. Her release was long and intense. The shudders that racked her body rendered her mindless with the most profound pleasure she’d ever felt, but at the center of it all was Adam; it was Adam who made her feel like a creature of light and energy and love. It was Adam whose strong arms cradled her and brought her back to earth to rest in his embrace as he whispered her name.
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