“Well, Nina, it’s nice to meet you,” Bennie said, extending her hand. As they shook hands, she added that she’d love to hear the story behind the Miss Parker moniker.
“John will have to be the one to tell you that,” Nina said demurely. “I’m sure you two have things to discuss. May I be of some help in the kitchen?”
Bennie glanced at John and smiled at Nina gratefully, pleased that she was making the situation a little less awkward. “I’m sure my sisters-in-law would love some help. I’ll take you into the kitchen and introduce you,” she said.
Nina waved her suggestion aside. “Just point me in the right direction, I can introduce myself,” she said in a cheery voice totally unlike her normal means of communicating. “See you soon.” She gave John a look that he would have sworn was meant to comfort him if he hadn’t known her better.
Now it was just he and Benita, something that should have made him uncomfortable, but didn’t. He was too curious and she was too disarming to let the moment become strained.
“John, Daddy’s in the study. I thought you’d want some privacy so I asked him to wait there.”She took his hand again and looked into his eyes. “Are you ready for this?” she asked with a tremulous smile.
“Never more ready. Let’s go,” John said with more assurance than he was feeling. They crossed the big living room and approached a wide paneled double door. Bennie knocked softly and released John’s hand to slide the doors apart. They entered the room and John was face-to-face with the man who’d given him life, Andrew Bernard Cochran, Senior.
Benita quietly made the introductions, saying, “John, this is my father. Daddy, this is John.”
The two men shook hands silently, each taking the measure of the other. John was struck by the resemblance that even he could see: the height, the coloring, the nose and mouth were just like his. So this was what he’d look like in his seventies. The thought made him smile his crooked smile that was so much like his half-brothers. Taking that as a show of relaxation, Bennie asked if the two men needed anything. When both said no, she said, “Well, then, I’m going to leave you alone for a while,” and discreetly left the room.
Benny sighed deeply as he looked at John. Even if he wanted to he couldn’t have denied that this was his son. He looked as much like Benny as any of this other sons. They looked at each other for a long moment, the silence broken by Benny, who gestured to the sofa.
“Why don’t we sit down? I’m sure you want to ask me a few questions,” he said with a sad irony.
***
Miss Parker, or Nina as she was properly named, had made herself useful when she got to the spacious kitchen. She introduced herself as Nina, a friend of John’s, and asked if she could be of any assistance. Angelique had gratefully welcomed her and introduced her to the other Cochran wives, Renee, Tina, and Faye.
“We could really use another hand,” Angelique admitted. “We didn’t get much notice for this, so it’s going to be pretty haphazard. Not that this crew will mind much, our husbands are known to eat anything. If it’s smaller than they are and can’t get away, they’ll eat it,” she said with a laugh.
Nina looked at the array of food in amazement; if this was a casually haphazard gathering she could only imagine what the holidays were like. The women had set up a huge buffet of potato salad, coleslaw, green salad, three-bean salad, fruit salad, and crudites with three kinds of dip. There were two smoked turkey breasts, a spiral-sliced ham with a brown sugar glaze, and a vast assortment of sweets, including a German chocolate cake, pound cake, and a huge array of cookies, all of which looked homemade. As Nina’s eyes roved the incredible spread, Renee shrugged.
“Alan and Andre are grilling the chicken and steak and all the drinks are set up out there. This isn’t much, but it’s such an impromptu evening I think it’ll be okay. As long as there’s plenty of food no one will really care what they’re eating. Do you mind helping me get the tables set up outside?”
She indicated a stack of colorful cotton tablecloths on a serving cart, along with packages of disposable plates, cups, and cutlery. They wheeled the cart outside where two long tables were set up on the patio, as well as several smaller tables. Folding chairs were also available, a huge row of them leaning against the garage. Nina’s eyes grew huge as she beheld more Cochrans; Alan and Andre were efficiently manning a huge grill and Andrew and Adonis were just finishing the arrangement of the last tables. Renee directed a couple of teenagers to get the chairs set up.
“Prescott and Drew, when you get done with that I’ve got a couple of other things for you to do. You’re such a big help,” she said warmly. “And where is your sister?” She looked around in vain.
“I think she’s with the aunts,” Drew replied.
Renee nodded absently and began spraying the top of each table with an antiseptic cleaner and wiping it down with paper towels. Nina followed suit and soon each table was ready to be covered with a bright cloth, lending the backyard a festive air. The women worked quickly and efficiently, placing a large, heavy candleholder in the middle of each table to keep the tablecloths in place. Renee was saying something about lanterns that mystified Nina completely until Andrew and Donnie appeared with a couple of strings of large illuminated paper lanterns, which they strung up in next to no time. Nina watched in amazement.
“I take it you folks entertain a lot You seem to have this down to a science,” she remarked, waving her hand to encompass till the activity going on around them.
Renee smiled and agreed. “We do a lot of entertaining at home because there’s just too many of us to do otherwise. There aren’t too many restaurants that really enjoy seeing this horde descend upon them. Sometimes we go out to brunch after church or to celebrate a birthday, but not often.”
Nina looked around at the tall handsome men and asked curiously, “So which one of these is yours?” Andrew overheard the question and joined the two women, putting his arm around his wife and kissing her soundly.
“That would be me, I’m Andrew Cochran,” he said. “Renee, I can’t believe you didn’t introduce us. We can behave in front of company, you know.”
“I’m so sorry, “Renee said hastily. “Please don’t think we’re savages, I was just so happy to see another pair of willing hands I forgot myself. Guys, come and meet John’s friend Nina.”
In seconds Nina was shaking hands with Donnie, Alan, and Andre and trying not to gape as a tumble of children surged out of the house. Renee gamely tried to put a name to each child, but they were moving so fast it was all a blur.
“My goodness, are there any more of you?” Nina murmured as the backyard filled with Cochrans, many of whom seemed to look just alike.
“There’s one more son, Adam, and he should be here any minute with his fiancee,” Renee told her. “Oh, wait, here he is now.”
Adam and Alicia came around the corner of the house with two big bags. A roar went up as nieces and nephews surrounded the couple. Alicia took the bags from Adam and came over to Renee.
“These are empanadas, right out of the freezer. They just need to be heated up for about twenty minutes. Are there some big trays we can use?”
Renee said of course and they were about to go to the kitchen when Alicia noticed Nina and smiled.
“Hello, I’m Alicia Fuentes, Adam’s fiancee. Nice to see you,” she said. Nina nodded and was about to speak when Adam joined them. She stared up at the tall man and was struck by his resemblance to John. All of the men favored John to some degree, but there was something about this man that was unmistakably similar to the man she’d come to know over the past few months. A tiny weird tremor passed through Nina as she stared at Adam, but she tried to cover it up.
“I’m Nina Whitney. Nice to meet you,” she said casually, hoping that her face didn’t betray her. She watched closely as Adam retrieved the bags from Alicia and took them into the house. This was the reason she’d come, and it looked like her instincts were right. This could be the one, she thought.
/>
***
Adam watched his sisters-in-law and stepmother with affection and admiration; no one could top them when it came to pulling something together at short notice. Alicia was putting the little meat-filled turnovers on a large baking pan before putting them into the oven.
“Where are the aunts?” he asked of no one in particular.
“They’re upstairs getting ready,” Tina told him. “They should be down any time.”
Martha turned to him and asked for his assistance. “Adam, honey, I think I left a serving tray by the front door. Can you go see if it’s in there? It should be in a big Macy’s bag leaning on the umbrella stand in the foyer,” she told him.
Adam went off in search of the missing tray. He located it quickly and was about to pick it up when the doors to the study opened. Adam turned in that direction and felt his blood congeal in his veins. There in the doorway stood his father with the man he now claimed as his son, John Flores. Adam could hear his heartbeat resonating in his ears, but nothing else. For the first time he completely understood the meaning of time standing still as an eternity seemed to pass while he looked into the face of the man he would never call brother.
Chapter Twenty-two
Everyone was on his or her best behavior and the gathering wasn’t nearly as awkward as it could have been. After being sequestered in the study, Big Benny and John joined the family in the spacious backyard. John was formally introduced to everyone from the youngest, Lily Rose, to the oldest, Aunt Emmaline, and received genuinely sincere greetings from all. The Cochrans managed to be welcoming without being overwhelming, no mean feat for a family as close and demonstrative as they were. It was a warm and celebratory evening and Adam seemed to be tolerating it, even to Roxy’s observant eye. She commented on this to Alicia when they were alone in the kitchen.
“Adam seems to be handling this pretty well. From the way you were talking I thought he’d be sweating bullets and swinging from the chandelier right about now. He seems fine,” she said.
Alicia made a small face. “He’s doing okay, Roxy, but he’s shutting down, I can feel it. You should have seen him about an hour ago when Angelique introduced Lily Rose to John. She’d just awakened from a nap and you know how cranky babies can be when they wake up. She was fussy and when Adam reached for her she screamed and wanted to go to John.” She sighed unhappily at the memory. “She saw his ponytail and thought for a second he was Adam. As soon as he took her she realized he wasn’t Adam and started crying again, but, honey, that hurt Adam to his heart.” She made a sad face, remembering how Lily had gladly turned to her uncle Adam’s arms but kept looking from John to Adam with puzzled and teary eyes.
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Roxy said sympathetically. “He’s a big softie, isn’t he?”
“When it comes to his nieces and nephews he’s a total marshmallow, but he’d never admit it. I hope he’s able to laugh about it one day, but this ain’t the day, Rox. We’ll be cutting out of here pretty soon.”
“Not too soon, I hope. I barely got a chance to say hello to you,” a deep voice said.
Alicia turned around and gave an exclamation of joy. “Bryant it’s so good to see you! When did you get here?”
“Not too long ago. I’ve been outside talking to Benita and Clay and checking out the kids. They have some beautiful children,” he said admiringly. The admiration turned toward Alicia as he beheld her new look. “Alicia, I just saw you a month ago and now look at you! I didn’t think it was possible for you to be any more gorgeous, but this new look just floors me. You are one incredible woman and Adam is the luckiest man on this earth,” he said sincerely. He walked all the way around the blushing Alicia, making a low sound of approval. “It’s a good thing I never saw you in a skirt before this, I’d have fought Adam for you.”
Alicia was pink with pleasure and laughing at Bryant’s nonsense when she remembered that Roxy was in the room.
“Bryant, please stop being silly and meet my best friend, Roxy Fairchild. Roxy, this is Bryant Porter.” As the two of them said hello and shook hands, Alicia’s eyes brightened. “Hey, you two are homies! Bryant, Roxy is from Chicago, too.”
Bryant’s eyes lit up and he turned his sexy smile on Roxy. It was evident that he liked what he saw because the smile lingered. Roxy was looking exceptionally pretty in a pair of gauzy deep rose palazzo pants and a matching long-sleeved formfitting top that came down to her hips and showed off her trim waist and luscious curves. The top had a deep scoop neckline and was worn off the shoulder so the sexy line of her neck was on generous display without being vulgarly exposed. Her shining hair was styled to perfection and the glow of her warm brown skin was accentuated by the soft makeup she was wearing, especially the glistening watermelon-pink shade on her generous lips. And she smelled wonderful, something else that wasn’t lost on Bryant
He immediately moved in to get acquainted with Roxy, something that was made easier by Alicia excusing herself and leaving the room. She wanted to make sure that Adam was okay. Roxy gave Bryant a cool and slightly disinterested look, even when he asked what part of Chicago she was from.
“The North Side,” was all she said in response.
“Hmm. You know, Fairchild Cosmetics is based in Chicago. You wouldn’t be related to those Fairchilds, would you?” he said teasingly.
“Unfortunately, yes, I am,” she said tersely. Adding a very insincere “Nice to meet you,” she turned and left him alone in the kitchen.
***
Alicia rejoined the outdoor party, her eyes scanning the crowd for Adam. She was only slightly relieved when she saw him; he was sitting with Daphne and Dahlia and wrestling with Malcolm and Marty, who were showing off for the aunts. To anyone else he looked relaxed and at ease, but Alicia could tell he was wound as tightly as a coiled spring. Big Benny, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. He was sitting at a table with Andre and Angelique while holding Lily Rose, who looked like she was about to fall asleep. Alicia knew she’d have to get Adam out of there soon and started looking for a tactful way to do it. Her eyes suddenly fell on Clay, who nodded in her direction. He walked over to her casually but he seemed to know what was on her mind.
“I think he’s had about all he can take tonight I’ll go get my hellions and you can tell him Benita’s looking for him. Then you two run for your lives,” he said drolly.
Grateful for his perception, she did just that. Adam looked relieved for about a second, then his normal neutral expression returned. He rose and went with Alicia into the house, taking refuge in the large butler’s pantry off the kitchen. Alicia put her arms around his waist and almost had the breath knocked out of her when he hugged her so tightly she couldn’t move.
“Are you ready to leave, baby? Because we can, we’ve been here long enough.” She assured him.
Adam leaned into Alicia’s loving warmth and agreed it was time to go. They left the pantry and said their goodbyes as they made their way to the Range Rover. Once inside Adam took a deep breath and leaned forward, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. Alicia reached over to take his hand, which he gripped like a lifeline. She brought their joined hands up to her lips and kissed the back of his hand before rubbing it against her cheek.
Adam smiled at her and started the engine. “Let’s get out of here, Allie. Let’s go home.”
***
John could have echoed Adam’s sentiments; he was being swallowed up by sensory overload. He had taken refuge in the living room to get away from the sea of oddly familiar faces. His solitude didn’t last long, however, as two small girls joined him, one on either side of the armchair in which he was sitting. He looked from one face to the other and had to smile. They were completely identical.
“Hello,” he said softly. “What’s your name?” he asked the one on his right.
“Benita,” she answered shyly.
“And what’s your name?”
“Ceylon,” she said. They stared at John with the unrepentant curiosit
y of children. One dainty hand patted his knee as Benita asked him a question.
“Are you ours?”
John raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What do you mean, sweetheart?”
“My daddy said you was our uncle. Are you really ours?” she asked innocently.
John’s surprise showed on his face, but it went unnoticed by the girls. “Yes, I guess I am. Is that okay with you?”
Ceylon assured him it was. “Yes, we like our uncles. We like you, too.”
Nina entered the living room in time to overhear this exchange. “Well, well, look at this, another set of twins,” she said briskly.
“No, we’re not,” they said in unison.
Oh, great, the whole family is psycho, not just the old ladies. Nina had already encountered Daphne and Dahlia and heard their version of why they were merely sisters. She gave them a tight-lipped fake smile and went along with it, figuring it was the easiest way.
“I’m sorry, I thought you were twins, since you look exactly alike,” she said in a saccharine voice. Whatever else she was about to say was forever lost as Stephanie entered the room and joined her sisters.
Ceylon turned a kindly eye on Nina. “See?” All three of them burst into giggles, joined, unfortunately, by John.
Nina raised an eyebrow and shot him a look that would have caused fear in a lesser man. “I’d cut that out if I were you, Ann Arbor is a long walk from here.”
For some reason, that amused John even more and as it was with most small children, the sight of a laughing adult made them laugh even harder. Even Nina flashed her amazing dimples at the sight of the four of them collapsed in giggles.
“Don’t test me, John. This could have a detrimental effect on my normally sunny disposition. Remember, I have the car keys,” she added.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said meekly, only to have the girls echo him.
“That’s it; I’m taking you home now before you giggle these three to death. Tell your uncle good night ladies.”
They surrounded the chair and crawled up on its arms to give John wet, noisy kisses and lots of good-byes. As they ran out of the room to find their mother, Nina looked at John, who was slumped back in the chair looking totally wiped out
Something to Talk About Page 24