Something to Talk About

by Melanie Woods Schuster

  Miss Parker was silent as she inspected her silverware, making sure it was absolutely spotless. She slowly took the deep, gusty breath of the martyr and said, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to cancel my run, although I have to tell you I wasn’t planning on having this assignment encroach on my social life. What time are you picking me up?”

  “Picking you up?” John asked blankly.

  “Oh, so I have to come with you and drive, too?” she said in disgust. “I really need to renegotiate my contract. I’m ready to order now, where did that waiter get to?”

  John was speechless with gratitude. As hard as it was to believe, Miss Parker was his very own special miracle for the night.

  ***

  Adam and Alicia finally left her parents’ house, glowing with love and happiness. She couldn’t stop looking at her ring and telling Adam how much she loved it.

  “Adam, this is the most amazing ring I’ve ever seen,” she said with her hand extended for better viewing. “I love you so much, Adam, I can’t wait to marry you.”

  Adam reached for her hand as he drove the Range Rover toward Andrew’s house. “I feel exactly the same way, baby. And from the looks of it, so does your aunt Gigi. She was pretty excited about the prospect of a wedding,” he said with a smile.

  “Ha! That’s because she has her heart set on planning it. Honey, you need to get ready for this because it’s going to be a production, trust me. Remember that movie I’m so crazy about, My BigFat Greek Wedding? Well, this is going to be My Big Fat Cuban Wedding, so brace yourself,” she said with amusement.

  They talked about the upcoming wedding, about the reactions of her family, which ranged from total joy on the part of her parents, to calm happiness from Marielle, and affectionate teasing from her brothers. Adam didn’t tell her that Carlos and Raphael had taken him aside while everyone was talking and laughing and made him a promise that for every tear their sister shed, he would shed two. They said it with pleasant smiles on their faces, but he knew they were completely serious and he knew it was because of how Marielle’s husband had treated her. He had a sister of his own as well as sisters-in-law and dearly loved nieces, so he couldn’t blame them for being protective.

  It didn’t take very long to reach Indian Village, but when they approached Renee and Andrew’s house Adam was puzzled by all the cars.

  “What in the world is going on here? Where’d that limo come from?”

  Built just before the turn of the century by the lumber barons of the era, the huge homes in Indian Village didn’t have driveways. Most of the houses were relatively close together with only paved walkways between them. People either parked their cars on the street or used the garages that were behind the houses and accessed through the alleys that intersected most blocks in the community. Now the street was lined with cars, most of which he recognized. It looked like his entire family was in attendance. He and Alicia had to park a block and a half away and walk back to the house. When they reached the house, they went around to the back and were shocked into silence by what they beheld. Almost the entire family was there, Big Benny and Martha and all his brothers and their children and most surprising of all, the aunts from Idlewild.

  After greeting everyone and giving the aunts special hugs and kisses, Adam had to ask what was going on. Alan was happy to explain.

  “Well, Pop just decided to go get the aunts and bring them to us, so naturally we’ve found a way to turn it into a party. Our wives are out shopping for food right now and we’re having a big cookout at Donnie and Angelique’s house.”

  “What a coincidence, us having a party and something to celebrate,” Adam said with a grin. “Alicia and I are officially engaged.”

  Alicia blushed pink while the aunts all admired her ring and wished her well. Big Benny added his congratulations along with a big smacking kiss on the cheek.

  “Well, it’s about time you two got together. I was beginning to think we were going to have to work some roots on y’all to make you see sense.” He beamed down at her with pride and affection all over his face. Alicia hugged him and returned the kiss on the cheek. He was a demanding, manipulative, and totally exasperating old man, but she loved him, if for no other reason than he’d fathered the man she would love forever.

  She and Adam decided to go over to Donnie and Angelique’s to see what help they could be in putting the party together. All of Adam’s brothers congratulated them in turn and admired his taste in wives as well as jewelry, and the atmosphere was full a love and happiness until Andre stopped them as they were leaving.

  “Yeah, this is definitely going to be a big night. All of us together with our newfound aunts and our newfound brother. This is going to be a night we won’t forget,” he said with a big grin.

  ***

  “Allie, I’m not going and that’s final. There is nothing you can say that’s going to make me change my mind. I can’t do it; I’m not going to do it. If they want to have him in their lives it’s fine, but I can’t do it.” Adam was out on the roof garden with his back to Alicia, looking at the Detroit River but seeing nothing.

  Alicia would have felt a lot better if Adam was yelling or screaming, but he wasn’t. He was speaking in the calm, dead voice she’d come to know and dread over the years. This was the Adam who could shut the world out and keep it there indefinitely. They’d been having the same conversation for hours, going around and around about his flat refusal to go anywhere near the party if John was going to be there. Alicia had just about given up the fight; there was no point in trying to persuade him to do something he so obviously didn’t want to do.

  “Okay, fine, Adam. If you don’t want to go there’s no sense trying to make you. Just drop me at home and you can have an evening all to yourself,” she said resignedly.

  That got a reaction from him; he turned around and looked at her with something akin to panic in his eyes. “You’re leaving me,” he said hoarsely.

  “Adam, don’t be ridiculous, I’m not leaving you, I just need to go home. I haven’t been there for two days and I need to put my things away, I need to read my mail and check my messages and just chill. You’re not the only one who can use some time alone, you know.” She tried not to sound angry but she was so close to tears she couldn’t seem to help it.

  They gathered her things and drove over to the condo without saying a word. Adam turned off the ignition in the parking lot and they sat there for a minute or two, the silence thick between them. Finally Alicia spoke and her words were exactly what she’d been trying to tell him all along.

  “Adam, it’s not important to me that you and John become best friends or whatever. It doesn’t matter to me that your father wins this round, whatever that means. Yes, you might be doing something that he wants you to do, but so what? What’s important to me is that you not lose your family. Family is all we really have; it’s all that’s left when everything else has fallen away. Businesses fail, the things we possess get lost or stolen or just become obsolete, but family is everything.

  “I just don’t want what happened to Benny to happen to you, Adam. I don’t want you to go through life lonely and bitter because you can’t forgive your father. A life filled with regret isn’t a life worth living, if you ask me.” She stopped talking, both because she was afraid she’d said too much and because there was a huge painful lump in her throat.

  “Just remember, baby, I’m your family too and I’m not too easy to lose. I’ll be here for the long haul, nagging and complaining and telling you what to do until we’re both older than Emmaline,” she said with a shaky laugh.

  Adam gave her a wan smile in return but couldn’t manage to say anything. It took next to no time to get all her things inside and Alicia was genuinely sorry when everything was put in the condo. She didn’t like leaving things this way, but what else could she do? They hugged each other tightly and Adam gave her a quick kiss before saying he’d call her later. She didn’t want to, but she stood in the doorway and watched him as he wa
lked away.

  A few minutes later her cell phone rang and she answered it eagerly, but it was Bryant Porter. “I just got into town and what do you think I found out?” he said playfully. “You two have been real busy since I left, haven’t you? I just saw you a few weeks ago and before I can even start my summer teaching gig you two are engaged. Well, congratulations are in order but I’ll be giving them to you tonight. You know I’m invited to the party, right?”

  Alicia closed her eyes tightly and prayed for deliverance. How could things possibly get more complicated?

  Chapter Twenty-one

  John couldn’t help himself; he knew his mouth was hanging open, but there was nothing he could do about it. Miss Parker had just knocked on his door and her appearance was nothing short of amazing. She was wearing a white dress with a short full skirt and a wide belt that served to emphasize her tiny waist. The dress buttoned down the front with red buttons that looked like cherries and she was wearing a pair of flirty-looking red backless shoes with a sexy heel. The sleeveless dress had a wide collar that set off her face with its chestnut skin, skin that John just noticed was absolutely flawless, poreless and soft like a child’s. Her hair was swept up into a high ponytail that hung down to her shoulders and now that she wasn’t wearing those intimidating glasses he could see that her eyes were a soft golden brown. She was wearing big gold hoop earrings that accentuated her pretty face and seemed to give her a sensual gleam.

  “Are you ready? You’re not going to make me drive and keep me waiting, are you?”

  Yes, it was the same Miss Parker. She might look completely different, but she still had the same cranky disposition. He said he was ready to leave and she turned on her heel so he could see the dress had a halter top, which displayed her tautly muscled back to its best advantage. For some reason the words to “Sun Dress” by the Phat Cat Players started echoing in his head.

  They took off at a fast clip; Miss Parker was apparently an honors graduate of the Jeff Gordon School of Driving. She tossed a piece of paper at him and tersely remarked that it was driving directions she had downloaded from Mapquest.

  “You have one job and that’s to keep us on course,” she said in her usual charmless tone of voice.

  John knew he was risking his life, but he felt compelled to ask as he watched her jazzy ponytail flipping in the breeze from the open window, “Is all that your hair?”

  “What are you, the hair police? Of course it’s mine, you want to see the receipt?”

  She looked at him and, incredibly, flashed him a wicked grin. John was floored. Miss Parker had dimples! In minutes they had reached the expressway and his only thought was to stay alive as she demonstrated a talent for fast driving that was also life-threatening in his opinion. At least he didn’t have time to worry about what awaited him at the party; his only concern was getting there in one piece.

  ***

  Alicia was also trying not to worry, but she was trying not to worry about her man. She had taken a shower and was painting her toenails while she talked to Roxy on the phone.

  “Rox, it’s just too deep for me, it really is. On the one hand I completely understand how Adam is feeling, but on the other, I don’t want him to end up estranged from his family like his father did. But I can only go so far with the advice and support, you know? At some point it gets to be nagging or mothering or something and I just can’t do that. What would you do, Rox?”

  “For once I have no advice to offer, sweetie. This is one of the reasons I’m never getting married: true love is way too complicated for me to cope with. If I ever get that close to a man it would have to be a totally drama-free situation. You know me; I can’t handle all that stuff. I think you’re doing the right thing by stepping away from it for the moment. Why don’t we take advantage of your free evening and go to the movies? We can watch something hilarious and stupid and just forget our woes for the night.”

  That sounded like a great idea to Alicia and they discussed which movie to see. The doorbell distracted her and she went to answer it while still talking to Roxy. She looked out the peephole and made an exclamation of surprise.

  “Roxy, you’re not going to believe it, but Adam is at the door. Hold on for just a second, okay?”

  She put on what she hoped was a nonchalant expression and casually opened the door. Adam looked wonderful in a pair of black pleated slacks, black closed-toe sandals, and an off-white linen shirt with no collar. He tried to look cool and collected, but he gave it away with a sheepish grin.

  “You’re not ready. Should I wait or come back for you?” he asked as he handed her a sheaf of highly scented gardenias with white roses, freesia, and baby’s breath.

  “Roxy, my fiance is here and he’s brought me a bribe. I’ll call you later,” she said, but the phone was plucked from her hand before she could end the call.

  “Hello, Roxanne,” Adam said formally. “My family is having a party tonight. Would you like to come? We can pick you up if you like.”

  Alicia suddenly realized that she was wearing a truly ratty pair of drawstring pants and a paint-spattered MIT T-shirt and those funny rubber things to separate her toes so the nail polish wouldn’t smear.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said as she sprinted out of the room.

  In a record twenty minutes she was ready to rejoin Adam and she had the air of a woman who knew she was looking her best. The look on Adam’s face said that he agreed with that assessment entirely. He was sprawled on the sofa waiting her return but stood up as soon as she entered the room. He felt a huge surge of desire as she slowly turned around for his approval. She was wearing the beautiful sundress he’d bought for her with the spectacular shoes and she looked fresh and sexy, too sexy to be going to a family party. Her eyes sparkled with the addition of some kind of shimmery stuff that made them look bigger and brighter, and as always her lips looked like an invitation, glossy and delicious. Her small diamond studs were her only adornment other than her engagement ring, and her smile was for him alone.

  “Will I do?” she asked coyly.

  He crossed the room and put his hands around her waist. “If I didn’t know you,” he said slowly, “I’d fall in love with you tonight. Sometimes I look at you and wonder what I ever did that was good enough to win your love.”

  Alicia’s pulse began to race as she tilted her head back for his kiss. “You were my friend, my shelter, and my heart. You didn’t have to do anything special, Adam; you just had to be yourself. And you’re awfully pretty.” She smiled. “How could I not love you? You’re the best person I know, Adam, and I’m honored to be with you.”

  “Let’s stay home, Allie. Let’s get some champagne and just stay in together,” he entreated.

  “Not on your life. We look good and we’re going to show out, so get to stepping, Papi.” She executed a perfect pivot turn and flounced toward the door with him following. “We’ll go put in an appearance and if it gets really rocky we’ll leave early. Promise.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that,” he said glumly.

  ***

  John’s calm demeanor evaporated as they pulled into the circular drive in the front of the big brick house. It had suddenly dawned on him what a bad idea this was. He must have been out of his mind to agree to meet the entire Cochran family at once. He didn’t move from where he was seated in the car, he just stared at the front door of the house and felt his stomach plummet to the vicinity of his ankles. Miss Parker, however, wasn’t in an understanding mood.

  “I see that look on your face and you can forget it. I invested valuable time to get this dressed up. It took me a good fifteen minutes to hook up this phonytail, much less the rest of this ensemble, and if you think we’re going to skulk back to Ann Arbor without meeting these people you’ve got another think coming,” she said in a voice that would tolerate no nonsense.

  He was watching her face while she told him off and was struck again by how pretty she really was. For some reason the words slipped out of hi
s mouth before his common sense had a chance to catch up.

  “Miss Parker, you amaze me, you really do. Where have you been hiding all this beauty? You’re quite lovely, you know that?”

  “How utterly charming,” she said in a disinterested deadpan voice. “Now get those long legs out of this car and come open my door so we can go into the house. That woman is going to die of anticipation if we don’t. You have a choice of socializing for an hour or two or listening to me bitch all the way back to Ann Arbor. Which do you prefer?”

  In two seconds he was out of the car and opening her door like the perfect gentleman he’d been raised to be.

  The woman Miss Parker was referring to was Bennie, who’d stationed herself by the front door so she could watch out for John. The first thing on the agenda was to introduce her father to the son he’d never acknowledged, and that would require privacy. She opened the door as soon as John rang the bell and stood there smiling for all she was worth.

  “Welcome, John.” She extended her hands to him and he took them, smiling down at her. “I’m so glad you were able to come,” she said warmly, accompanying the words with a kiss on the cheek. John couldn’t seem to stop himself; he gave her a hug, a safe, brotherly hug.

  Bennie was the first to recover herself and smiled at Miss Parker. “Your friend is going to think we’re terribly rude,” she said apologetically. “I do apologize, I’m Benita Deveraux but almost everyone calls me Bennie,” she said winsomely.

  John had the grace to flush at forgetting his manners. “I’m sorry, too. This is Miss Parker, Benita. She’s been ghostwriting my book and doing just about everything else she can to help me get settled here in Michigan. I wouldn’t be here without her,” he said with an honesty that only he and Miss Parker recognized.

  “It’s nice to meet you, but don’t pay him any attention. My name is Nina, Nina Whitney. Miss Parker is an invention of his,” she said, giving John a look devoid of any expression.