“Take the car. The keys are by the counter.” She motioned to a rack where Mariah kept keys.
“I’d get lost.” It looked like she was going to have to ask Lucy to take her whether she wanted to or not. Why didn’t they have decent public transportation out here?
“Call Soleil.”
Eve gulped the coffee she had just sipped. “We had an argument last night.” She hoped Lucy wouldn’t ask for any more details. “Could you take me?” She didn’t want Lucy to ask any more questions.
Lucy’s hands shook as she stirred sugar into her cup. She held up the shaking cup. “I’m not in a position to drive today.” She stared into Eve’s eyes. “And why would you want to be in the same car with me, anyway?”
Eve said nothing. She knew that Lucy had noticed the look of disgust she had given her last night. Was Lucy going to talk about it now? She took another sip of coffee and waited to see if Lucy was going to sit down with her.
Lucy took a drink from her cup and spilled coffee on her red Stanford sweatshirt. She seemed oblivious to the stain and headed out of the room. Eve heard the sun porch door squeak as Lucy opened it.
Eve looked at the clock. It was already ten-thirty. What was she going to do? She could imagine the lies Brad was already spreading about her. Maybe if she told Lucy about Brad, it would convince her to drive.
She went out to the sun porch and stood by the outside door, looking at the ocean waves. Lucy sat on the other side, on the top step. Without looking at her, Eve started talking.
“Did I tell you how I found out Brad was cheating on me?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, I was going to a friend’s wedding in Bethel Park and I wanted to videotape it. Brad had bought me a camcorder the previous Christmas. When I found it, I saw that it had a tape already in it. Brad used the camcorder more than I did, so I wasn’t real familiar with the controls. I meant to hit ‘eject’, but instead I hit ‘play.’ And there was my dear husband and my best friend, Darla, going at it like two dogs in heat.” She shook her head at the memory. “Can you believe it, he was stupid enough to tape himself cheating on me!” She glanced quickly to see if Lucy was listening.
Lucy stared into her coffee cup, but she spoke to Eve. “What did you do?”
Eve laughed. “Now you know that I have a temper. I went over to Darla’s house and beat the shit out of her. I knew that she wouldn’t call the police, because the whore’s father is a minister. Then I went back home. I took Brad’s precious, top-of-the-line computer and shot it.”
Lucy looked at her. “You shot it?”
“I took my gun, shot a hole in the monitor, shot a hole in the CPU, packed up my clothes and went back to live with my mother.”
“What did he do?”
“Nothing. What could he do when I had the evidence right on tape? The little shit was dumb enough to leave the date display on the screen, so I knew exactly when he made his little porno movie. And that is the last time I saw him. I sent the divorce papers to the apartment, which he decided to keep. He didn’t try to contact me, he knew I would have shot him if I had seen him.”
“So why is he here?” Eve could tell that Lucy was warming up to the story.
“Money, what else? He heard about the will and now he thinks that he can cash in. He told Lieberman that he is entitled to alimony from me. We had a no-fault divorce. I decided not to drag it out by bringing up the adultery. I just wanted to get him out of my life.”
“And now he’s back.”
Eve laughed. “Isn’t it funny how the past comes back to haunt us?” Before Eve had even realized what she had said, Lucy jumped up and ran back into the house. She heard her footfalls on the stairs as she went back to her room.
“Oh, shit!” Now how was she going to get there? She prayed that Mariah would return soon. If worse came to worse, she would have to try to drive there herself.
As Eve walked into the kitchen to get more coffee, she heard the back door slam.
“Eve, there you are.”
Eve turned around to see Mariah standing by the door. She couldn’t mask her annoyed expression.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen while I was gone?”
“My ex-husband Brad’s here.”
“Let me guess why.” Mariah got a cup and poured herself a cup of coffee. She sat down on one of the benches in the kitchen nook.
Eve continued to stand. “He wants part of the money, says he is entitled to it as part of our divorce settlement.”
“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Mariah looked towards the stairs.
Eve saw her look. “She came down and got some coffee, then she went back upstairs.”
Mariah headed towards the stairs. “I’ll take you to Lieberman’s office as soon as I check on Lucille.”
Lucy
Mariah knocked on the bedroom door. “Lucy, I’m going to take Eve to Lieberman’s office. Do you want to come?”
Lucy heard the voice from far away. “No.”
“Do you want someone to stay with you? I’ll see if Soleil is able to come over if you want.” Mariah stayed in the hallway, opening the door only a crack.
“No.”
Mariah sighed. “Okay, honey. We are leaving now. Don’t forget that I love you, that I love you no matter what.”
Lucy wondered what she meant by that. “Goodbye.” She heard her mother close the door and walk down the stairs.
If only she could stay in bed forever. If only she didn’t think. If only she didn’t dream.
Brad
Bradley MacRae looked around at the plush surroundings of the attorney’s office. He watched as Lieberman made the call to Eve. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. Finally, he had hit pay dirt, the mother lode. And all that it took was one dead rock star.
All of his life, Bradley MacRae had wanted to be rich. Ever since he was a little boy growing up in a working class family in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, he had wanted the better things in life. His mill worker father did the best he could for his family, moving them to a better area when Brad was a teenager.
The new move placed Brad in a new school district, Mt. Lebanon, where the rich kids lived. Now that he saw the “haves” up close, he aspired even more to become one of them, no matter what it took. He used his dark good looks to attract lonely rich girls who were more than willing to share their money and their bodies with him. He always knew the ones to look for—the plain, smart ones, the ones who had no self-confidence but wore the expensive clothes. When he turned on the charm, they melted in his hands.
After high school Brad had no interest in ever setting foot in a classroom again. With his distaste for hard work, he opted not to follow his father in the mill or do construction, the main options for good money. He worked for a while in a friend’s adult video store. He hated the job, but he got to watch all of the movies for free. He fantasized about being onscreen balling the beautiful actresses, or, even better, being behind the scenes, making the big money as a producer or director.
His next job was as a clerk in a South Hills appliance store, where he hoped to make big commissions. But he was placed in charge of the small appliances, items that did not garner commissions. He wanted to work in large appliances. In that area, a sales rep could make a fat commission from newlywed couples furnishing their first house. After a while, he was moved to the computer department, which did bring in some commissions.
And that is where he met Eve. He was attracted to the tall, pretty blonde with the striking blue eyes. There was a hint of sadness about her that appealed to him right away. When he met her, she was still grieving the recent death of her brother.
She didn’t have any money, either, but as a travel agent she could get him free vacations and airfare. And she had connections. Her estranged father was the famous rock star Mik DeSalle and his wife was the actress Sally Fountaine. Maybe they could get him a job in Hollywood. After a quick romance, he married her. Her father didn’t even send them a wedding gift.
&nbs
p; She ignored all of his attempts to persuade her to contact Mik. Brad quickly lost interest in her and returned to his videos. No woman could ever compare to the vixens that populated his growing collection of tapes, magazines and computer downloads.
When it became obvious that Eve would never contact her rich father, he knew it was time to move on. He diddled with her best friend for a while, but the new sexual conquest didn’t do much for him, either. He made sure Eve found out about it by leaving a tape in the camcorder.
When he got home that night, Eve was gone and his computer and videotapes were destroyed. But he didn’t care. He just kept paying the rent on the apartment and rebuilding his collection as he contemplated his next move. He was happy to sign the no-fault divorce papers, as Eve had nothing of value for him to ask for anyway.
But maybe he signed too soon. When he read in the Post-Gazette that DeSalle had died and left his fortune to his daughters, Brad was pissed off. If only he had waited it out a little longer. He went by Deidre’s house and found out that Eve was still in LA.
And now he was in Beverly Hills. The attractive receptionist had offered him expensive coffee, served in an expensive cup, as he sat in the expensive waiting room waiting for his ex-wife to show up.
He had talked to attorneys in Pittsburgh, who told him that he didn’t have any claim to the money, but he figured that it was worth a trip to Los Angeles to give it a try. And if he couldn’t get money from Eve, there were her two sisters, who were just as rich.
He thought about the two sisters. He had seen their pictures in the latest People. He had never dated a black woman before, but many of his favorite movies featured bronze, buxom babes performing magic with their thick, sexy lips. Both of the sisters were beautiful. The photo of Lucille Williams showed a tall, slender, medium-brown woman with shoulder-length dark hair. The younger sister, Soleil, was pictured as having her hair in those wild twigs they called dreadlocks. She appeared to be a little rounder than her sister, with a fuller bosom and wider hips. She was lighter in color, but she had a tattoo. He hated women with tattoos. But for more than two million dollars, he could learn to like almost anything for a little while.
He asked the receptionist for more coffee and looked out the window at the land of milk and honey.
Eve
Eve was fuming as she thought about seeing Brad again. How dare he think he could get money from her, benefit from the death of her father? She knew Brad was opportunistic and money-hungry, but she didn’t think he would stoop this low. But why not? Look what Soleil’s mother had done. What was next?
Eve looked at the famous designer names adorning the buildings they passed. To her, shopping meant going to a good sale at Macy’s, not going to Versace. What kind of people had enough money to shop in these stores? She shuddered when she realized that she soon would be one of those very people.
“Eve, are you all right?” Mariah glanced over at her as she parked across from the attorney’s office.
“I’m fine. Just thinking.” The money was like a weight on her shoulders. When would it end?
She slowly got out of the car and looked at the office building. She could just imagine Brad sitting there, waiting to get his hands on her money. She wasn’t sure if she wanted the money, but she definitely didn’t want any of it to go into the pockets of her ex-husband.
Brad was sitting in the waiting room, wearing a cheap suit and drinking coffee. He looked startled when he saw Mariah, but he quickly covered up his reaction.
Lieberman smiled warily. “Ms. Williams, it’s good to see you again. How have you been?”
Mariah smiled back warmly. “Hello, George.” She extended her hand.
After Lieberman shook hands with Mariah, he extended his hand to Eve. She smiled at him, and avoided looking at Bradley. Lieberman led the way to a conference room that was smaller than the room she had been in before. He motioned for everyone to have a seat. Mariah sat next to Brad and smiled at him. He looked at her as if she were an alien.
Eve turned her attention to Lieberman. He put down the papers in his hands and started to talk. “Now, I have been reviewing the divorce decree of Bradley MacRae and Evelyn Shelton, and there is no basis for Mr. MacRae’s claim of a property settlement. The decree states that each party leaves the marriage with their own personal belongings. Mr. MacRae decided to remain in the apartment the couple had rented, and the lease has been changed accordingly. There were no other contracts entered into as a couple. Any inheritance received by Mrs. MacRae is her property, not Mr. MacRae’s.” He looked about both Eve and Brad. “Do you understand, Mr. MacRae?”
Brad looked around the table at the women and then at the attorney. “Yeah, I understand.”
Eve stole a look at him and he met her eye. “You owe me some money for putting up with your shit!”
“My shit? I didn’t fuck your best friend!” She could feel her face start to heat up.
“You couldn’t fuck anyone, Eve. I doubt if you could even fuck yourself, you frigid bitch!” Brad stood up.
Eve could tell that Lieberman didn’t want another fight in his office. She was sure that he remembered her left hook from the last visit. “Please, Mr. MacRae, Mrs. MacRae…”
Mariah stood up. “I think that we are done here. Aren’t we, George?” Eve felt Mariah’s hand grab her arm as she started to stand up. “Let’s go, Eve.”
Eve wanted to slap him, wanted to wipe that smug expression off of his face. She had once thought of that face as handsome. She had professed her love to this man. And now she hated him.
Mariah continued to hold her arm as they headed to the elevator.
“That motherfucker!” she muttered under her breath as the elevator descended.
“I don’t think that we have seen the last of him,” Mariah whispered.
Eve looked at Mariah. So far, she had been right about everything. Would she be right about that as well?
Brad
Brad sat at the bar and nursed his drink. As he had expected, things hadn’t gone well at the attorney’s office. He had no claim to the millions Eve was to inherit, and now he had spent almost all of his money on this trip. Maybe I should go to Vegas, he thought, and spend the rest of it, double or nothing. What do I have to lose?
After the ordeal in Beverly Hills, he had gone back to his hotel, changed into a tee shirt and jeans, and drove his rent-a-wreck to the first dive he saw on Sunset. He had already downed one drink, and he planned to make a night of it.
“Pittsburgh? Are you from Pittsburgh?” He had on an old Steelers tee shirt.
He looked around at the light-skinned multi-ethnic woman with the short platinum blonde hair. She was too old and too skinny for his taste. “Yeah, I’m from Pittsburgh. Are you?”
She smiled, showing a missing tooth. “No, never been to the place. My ex-husband was from there. Used to talk about it all of the time. Is it nice?”
He chuckled. “It’s a nice place to have been from.”
The woman slid into the seat next to him. She smelled like she had started drinking even earlier than he had. “I heard that.”
What did this woman want, he wondered. Was she a prostitute? He wasn’t interested in sex right now, from her or anyone else. He just wanted to get good and drunk. But she continued to sit next to him, smiling. “Would you like a drink?” He hoped that she would say no.
“Thanks. Gimme a JD on the rocks.” She wrapped her leather coat around her slim frame.
Now he had an unwanted drinking buddy. He held out his hand. “I’m Brad MacRae.”
She smiled back. “Nice to meet you, MacRae. I’m Faith DeSalle.”
“Excuse me,” he asked, “did you say ‘DeSalle’?”
She laughed again. “Yeah, my ex-husband was Mik DeSalle, the rock star. I mean, the late rock star.” Her drink had arrived and she took a long swig. “And a lot of good that does me.”
He was shocked. “Are you Soleil’s mother?”
“Soleil? How do you know Soleil?�
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“I don’t know her. I just heard of her. I used to be married to Eve Shelton, Mik DeSalle’s oldest daughter.”
Faith moved her chair closer to him. “Yeah, I’m Soleil’s mother.”
He had to ask her. “Have you heard about the money?”
“Of course I have. Have you got any of it?” She took another powerful swig.
“No, have you?”
She gave another drunken chuckle. “No.” She looked at him with a glint in her eyes. “Maybe we should try to do something about that.”
He smiled back. “Maybe we should.” They clinked their glasses together. He bought them another round. Maybe he would stay in Los Angeles for a little longer.
Chapter Seven
Eve
Mariah and Eve walked back to the car in silence. Eve once again thought about Mariah’s last statement. What would Brad do now? Would he just slink back to Pittsburgh or would he try a new tactic? What could he do? As far as she knew, he didn’t know anyone in California. He wouldn’t be able to stay out here long with no money, would he? She felt a chill. For some reason, she knew in her bones that Mariah was right. She just wished she could prepare for his next move.
“Is there anywhere you would like to go while we are out?” Mariah drove expertly on the crowded freeway. “I should have said something sooner. I guess I was preoccupied.”
She knew Mariah was still worried about her daughter. “No, I’m fine. I think I’ll go sit on the beach again.” She wondered about Mariah’s job. “I hope that my being here isn’t affecting your job in any way.”
Mariah laughed. “Oh, no! I just teach one class in the summer, and my teaching assistant is taking my place. I went by there early this morning to pick up my mail. I told them that I was taking a month off so I could be here for Lucy.” Her smile faded.
“You and Lucy are really close, aren’t you?” Eve thought about her relationship with her own mother.
Mariah nodded her head. “She is all that I’ve got.”
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