Something to Talk About

by Melanie Woods Schuster

  Some time later they were lying in his big bed, the only light coming from the platform of glass bricks. Now the music was Warm and Tender by Charlie Watts. The incredible vocals of Bernard Fowler floated through the scented air while Adam caressed Alicia. She was murmuring something he had to ask her to repeat.

  “I said, who knew that the drummer for the Rolling Stones was a fantastic jazz artist? I love this CD.”

  “I love you,” Adam said softly.

  “I know, isn’t it wonderful? I love being in love with you. This night was supposed to be all about you, you know.” She kissed his neck and rubbed her face against his shoulder. “It was all about making you feel wonderful. I was going to give you a massage and all kinds of things I learned at the spa.”

  “We can do that anytime, baby. And what makes you think I wasn’t having just as much fun as you were? Sex isn’t just about tit for tat or who got off and who didn’t. And by the way I did get off, way, way off. I’ve told you before that watching you is arousing in the extreme. I love it. But when I’m making love to you I’m communing with you, joining my soul with yours for a brief eternity. It’s not just about having an orgasm, my love.”

  A long kiss put a stop to further conversation for a time, followed by a comfortable silence in which they just relished being in each other’s arms again. “Thank you for washing my hair, Allie. That was kind of special to me. No one’s washed my hair since my mother died,” Adam murmured.

  “You’re welcome, Adam. You can get a shampoo from me any time you want.” Alicia snuggled closer to his warmth and yawned delicately. She was about to say something else when Adam’s voice cut through her lassitude.

  “Did I ever tell you about my mother?”

  Suddenly Alicia was wide-awake. “Some. I know she was very pretty and very smart.”

  “She was the most incredible person I ever knew. I was a real mama’s boy, believe it or not. I was the youngest until Donnie came along. I had her all to myself for three years because all the other kids were in school all day. Even after Donnie was born, I was her helper. I used to fetch and carry for her all the time, just so I could be around her as much as possible. Mama was so funny, she used to teach me little crazy songs and we played all kinds of games. We used to play catch every day. She was a great pitcher. Mama was also pretty handy on the basketball court. She was a den mother for our Cub Scout troop and she was absolutely fearless. She’d take us camping and fishing, she wasn’t afraid of snakes or worms or anything. I think that’s where Benita got it from; she’s tough like that, too.”

  Adam’s deep voice went on, talking to Alicia so softly she could feel the vibrations from his chest as he spoke. “I loved my dad, he was a great father, loud and boisterous and fun, but my mama was my heart. I was crazy about her. Even when I was in kindergarten, we were still running buddies. Kindergarten was only a half day back then, so I’d come home from morning kindergarten and there was always something great to eat and something fun to do. I don’t think anyone realized how close we were. It was like that right up until the day she died. That was the worst day of my life, for a lot of reasons.

  “Everyone else had gone off to school and Donnie was asleep. I had a doctor’s appointment and Mama was getting me ready when Daddy came home for some reason. I was upstairs but I could hear every word. They were having an argument, something that didn’t happen very often. They were screaming this time, though. I’d never heard Mama yell like that. She sounded like her heart was breaking; she was crying and screaming at the same time. All I can remember is that she kept saying, ‘He looks just like Adam, Ben. Just like Adam! How could you do this to us?’”

  Alicia’s arms tightened around Adam and she tried vainly to stop the hot tears she felt forming in her eyes. Adam stroked her body and kissed the top of her head before continuing.

  “I don’t remember exactly what happened next, but I do remember that Daddy left. Mrs. Johnson, the lady who helped Mama clean, came over and Mama asked her to watch Donnie while she took me to the doctor. She also had to take Benita’s science project to her school. We got into the car and she was still mad, I could tell, but she wasn’t saying anything. We hadn’t gone too far when there was this huge explosion, well, it sounded like an explosion to me. A truck had plowed into Mama’s side of the car. Everyone thinks she died on impact, but she didn’t. I was holding her hand and she was talking to me until the ambulance came.”

  A voice that didn’t sound quite like Alicia’s asked, “What did she say, Adam?” She winced, thinking it was a truly insensitive thing to ask, but Adam didn’t seem to think so.

  “She told me how much she loved me, how much she loved us all. And she told me to be good always. Then her eyes closed and they didn’t open again, even though I begged her to please open them, just once. And that was the end of the sweetest woman who ever lived.”

  Alicia was weeping openly now, her head cradled on Adam’s shoulder. Adam kissed her forehead and lifted her chin up to kiss the tears away. “Don’t do that, baby. I’ve never told you this but I hate to see you cry. It feels like someone is tearing my insides out when you do that Don’t cry, Allie.”

  “I’m sorry, Adam, it’s just so sad. I’m seeing a sweet little boy left all alone and confused and my heart just breaks.”

  “Confused is the operative word, baby. I was convinced that something I did had caused the argument and it was somehow my fault that Mama was killed. Someone who looked like me had done something awful to her and it was therefore my fault she was dead. So I really had no choice.”

  “No choice about what, Adam?”

  “About doing what she said and being good always. I was terrified that my family would find out that I had done something to cause my mother’s death and I became the best child you ever saw. I think that’s why I’m so neat now; I was determined that no one would ever have to reprimand me for anything. I got straight A’s in everything; I was polite, punctual, and organized. I never broke a promise or a curfew. In a lot of ways I was like the invisible child. I was quiet and well mannered and never did anything to upset anybody. I tried to be superchild and in some ways I succeeded.”

  “But at what cost?” cried Alicia. “Adam, surely there was someone you could talk to about this. Your father or Bennie and Andrew, wasn’t there someone for you to confide in?”

  Adam shook his head. “Not really. Pop kind of fell apart after Mama died and Benita and Andrew took over the household until Aunt Ruth got there. We were all pretty busy trying to fill the gigantic hole Mama’s absence made. It was easier as I got older, I went to camp a lot and I was on the lacrosse team and the swimming team so I had ways to ‘sublimate my conflicted emotions.’ That last part is a quote. I’ve read a lot of books about displaced guilt and adolescent anxieties,” he said with a dry laugh.

  “But that’s why this is so hard for me, Allie. I’ve finally concluded that Mama must have found out about Cassandra and the baby. She had to, that’s what the argument was all about. That’s something Pop neglected to mention in his pretty, sweet sad story about his lost love,” he said bitterly. “Everybody else might be able to handle this, but I don’t know if I can because I know how much it hurt my mother, I know it made her last hours on this earth miserable, and I don’t know if I can find a way to deal with it I don’t care what Benita and the rest of them do; I’ll never be able to accept this John Flores as a brother. Never,” he said with finality.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Benita Cochran Deveraux was curled up in the big bed that occupied the guest bedroom of her brother’s home. When she and Renee shared the house, the third floor rooms had been Renee’s abode. Now it was used as a guest suite. The twins, Marty and Malcolm, were asleep on the convertible sofa in the sitting room of the suite and the babies, Isabella and Katerina, were in cribs brought down from the attic for them. Only Trey was still awake and he was sprawled across the bed talking to his parents. Clay was propped up against the head of the bed, waiting for
Trey to wind down so he could be alone with his wife. Trey, however, showed no signs of sleepiness.

  “What are we doing tomorrow, Mom? Are we going to the zoo or are we hanging out at the house? When do we get to go to Uncle Adam’s loft? Uncle Adam has a cool loft, Mom.”

  Benita smiled at her son. He was so identical to his father it was eerie. He was so much like a miniature Clay; he always tugged her heart in a special way. She was about to answer him when her cell phone rang and she grabbed it hastily, hoping it was John.

  “Hello?” she said breathlessly.

  “Benita, it’s John. I apologize for the way I left things tonight, but it was a bit overwhelming. Can we get together later and make some plans? You and Andrew and Clay, if they’re available.”

  Benita couldn’t conceal her joy. “That’s a great idea, John. How about we get together for lunch on Saturday if you’re free? Or breakfast or dinner, it doesn’t matter to me. Clay will definitely be with me and so will the imps, probably. I think Andrew and Renee are free, too, but I’ll check with them to make sure. Thanks for calling, John. I know this isn’t easy for you.”

  “Or for you and your family, Benita. I’m not ignoring the fact that this is pretty cataclysmic for everyone involved. What time shall we meet?”

  “Why don’t we play it by ear? I’ll give you a call at nine and we’ll take it from there, is that okay?”

  After ending the call, Benita turned to Clay, her eyes alight with excitement. That was Clay’s cue to encourage Trey to vanish. Clearing his throat, he stared meaningfully at his oldest son. Trey turned over and propped himself up on one elbow. Looking as grown and dignified as his summer SpongeBob pajamas would allow, he said, “Yes, Dad?”

  “Isn’t it about time for bed, son?”

  Clay was wearing a short navy blue cotton pique robe, the mate to the oversized pajamas Benita was wearing. He hated wearing nightclothes of any kind; he did it only because Bennie insisted on it when the children were still up or they were visiting someone. Trey could hear the edge in the question his father was asking, but he excelled in ignoring all hints.

  “Why, no, Dad, I’m not sleepy in the least. I could probably stay up for another five or six hours,” Trey said cheerfully.

  Clay raised one eyebrow and stroked his thick moustache with his forefinger. “Suppose your mother and I are sleepy, son. What then?”

  “There’s lots of room in this bed, Dad. You could just close your eyes and be asleep in no time and I can still be in here watching television. See how that works?”

  “How about I might want to be alone with your mother, who happens to be my most beloved wife, for a change? How does that work?”

  Trey grinned mischievously. “You just want to be alone so you can kiss and stuff,” he said knowingly.

  “Yes, that’s right. But I can also do that with you sitting here,” Clay answered with a steely glint in his eye. He then grabbed Benita and pulled her into his arms, planting a big juicy kiss on her very willing lips, which made Trey go, “E-w-w-w-w-w! ” and flee the room.

  “Good night, Mom and Dad, I love you,” he threw over his shoulder.

  “We love you too, baby. Good night and God bless,” Benita said fondly.

  “Alone at last, Peaches. Can I get out of this thing now? I can’t stand being in the bed with you with clothes on. I have to be able to feel every bit of you,” he confessed.

  Benita gave the sultry giggle that always stirred her husband’s blood and agreed they had on way too many clothes. “Just check on the children and make sure the door is closed and you may have your way with me without a single stitch on, I promise.”

  Clay stood up, preparing to make sure the children were all settled. “I take it that call was about meeting with John. So he’s okay with this? I mean, he’s willing to talk about it, at least, right?”

  Benita nodded and reached up to him for a kiss. “It’s a beginning at least. I can’t ask for more than that.”

  ***

  Alicia and Adam slept surprisingly well, considering the emotional depths they had plumbed the night before. They awoke refreshed and happy to be in each other’s arms. Adam looked down at Alicia and smiled. “This is why you need to move in, Allie. It would solve all our problems.” He grinned.

  “What problems? I didn’t know we had any problems,” she said with a smile.

  “Any time I wake up without you in my arms, it’s a problem. I say we solve it permanently by sharing the same abode. What do you say?”

  “I say not without benefit of clergy, that’s what I say. When no man can put us asunder, then we can live together. Until then, no way,” she said firmly.

  Adam surprised her by whipping the sheet off their heated bodies in one swift modon. “Okay then, get up. We’ve got a ring to buy and a wedding to plan, because I can’t put up with this much longer. Get up, woman, let’s hit it!”

  They had a wonderful morning together. First on the agenda was grocery shopping, which they accomplished by going to the Nino Salvaggio on Orchard Lake Road. It was a huge gourmet store with the most amazing produce in Michigan and lots of it. There was a butcher counter, a cheese shop, a bakery, a deli, and every kind of imported staple imaginable, all grouped by nation of origin. After eating breakfast at the counter of the restaurant area, they were ready to tackle some serious shopping. Alicia took her time in the produce section because she hated to miss anything.

  “Adam, what in the world is that? They have things in here that look like they came from other planets,” she said happily.

  After the groceries were purchased and stowed away at the loft, they ventured back out, this time to replace Alicia’s clothes, although they weren’t actually ruined.

  “They’re okay, Adam; they were just wet I wasn’t completely serious, you know, I was just giving you a hard time. You don’t have to buy me a new outfit,” she protested.

  “Yes, but I want to,” he said reasonably. “I want to buy you something intimate and personal and extremely sexy, so just accept graciously.”

  “Only if I can buy you something,” she insisted.

  “We’ll see,” was all he’d say.

  Hours later, Alicia surveyed the results of his noncommittal “we’ll see.” The sight of so many things just for her was positively embarrassing, but at the same time, totally endearing. Adam had gone nuts in the mall. One thing that Nordstrom’s specialized in was capable sales staff who catered to the customers’ every whim and they were more than thrilled to assist the tall, devastatingly handsome man outfit his blushing companion. Adam had bought her a beautiful black silk sundress with a full circle skirt with incredible ivory gardenias all over it. It had a tight bodice and a halter neck and with it he bought a sexy pair of black peep-toe shoes with ivory flowers on the sides.

  He also selected a fabulous pair of high-waisted, wide-legged pants in a silk and linen blend that had deep cuffs and looked like something Kathryn Hepburn would have worn in an old movie. To complement this was a delicate ivory silk blouse with a matching camisole. The blouse with its wide lace portrait collar was sheer with tiny pindots and deep cuffs trimmed in the same Belgian lace as the collar. It buttoned with tiny pearl drop buttons and it was ethereal and sexy at the same time. He also insisted on buying a magnificent skirt made by the same designer as the blouse, a full skirt that came to mid-calf with deep pockets and was made entirely of the same Belgian lace as the blouse. He selected a pair of delicate ivory T-strapped shoes with princess heels to go with this confection.

  She begged him to stop but he wasn’t satisfied until he’d gotten several sets of underwear and a couple of truly scandalous nightgowns. Now she surveyed the bags from Neiman’s and Nordstrom’s and Macy’s and wondered what she’d gotten into. There was also a bag from Sephora where he had personally selected a Philosophy fragrance for her to wear. Since he’d also picked out the fragrance she wore now, Sugar Blossom, it was easy for him to pick another. She sniffed her wrist and sighed. The scent was per
fect for her. Adam was smiling at the dazed expression on her face.

  “You know me too well, I think. Adam, thank you from the bottom of my heart, but don’t ever do this again. This is too much!”

  Adam was touched and amused by the picture of Alicia surrounded by the evidence of his indulgence. She looked adorably flushed and happy despite her protests.

  “You’re not one to talk, Allie. You got me pretty good in the end,” he reminded her.

  She brightened immediately, agreeing with him. “Yes, I did! Can we set it up now?”

  She had managed to get a sweet form of revenge on Adam by buying him a magnificent telescope, something she knew for a fact he’d always wanted but never got around to purchasing. That, with a couple of beautiful books on astronomy, was her gift to him, although Adam had told her she’d already given him the most precious thing in the world.

  “Allie, you’ve given me your heart, I don’t need anything else. Except maybe a few babies, that would be nice.”

  Alicia sighed with happiness at his sweet declaration. She was so light and airy with elation she didn’t think anything could bring her down. She and Adam were happily engrossed in setting up the telescope of the roof garden when he made another declaration that warmed her heart. “Baby, I think it’s time we got the ball rolling on the wedding. I think we should make an announcement to your parents and to my family, don’t you?”

  Her heart caught in her throat for several seconds before she answered yes. “That sounds like a wonderful idea, Adam. I’ll call them and see if they’re free tomorrow.”

  Adam grinned. “I already did and they are. We’re going to have breakfast over there tomorrow.”

  ***

  The next morning was a study in the fine art of delicately balanced domestic chaos as Benita and Renee were getting breakfast for the family. The twins were chasing each other through the house in their Spider-man underwear, Trey was teaching himself to juggle with apples, and Isabella and Katerina were getting a bath from their father with close supervision by Renee’s inquisitive Yorkies, Patti and Chaka, who thought all babies were their personal responsibility. Meanwhile, Andrew was trying to get ready to leave the house aided by his identical triplet daughters, Benita, Ceylon, and Stephanie, who were all trying to help him, slowing his progress considerably. The most composed person in the group was Andie, Renee and Andrew’s oldest daughter. She was trying to get his attention while he was trying to get his keys from one of the triplets.