"Well, should we go?" Dean asks.
"Yeah." Reed gets up from the couch, holding his hand out to me.
We go down to the parking garage and get in Dean's car. It's a silver Lexus that's at least ten years old.
"I'm getting a new car," he announces as we drive to the restaurant.
"What kind?" Reed asks. We're both in the back seat and he's holding my hand.
"A Mercedes." He glances in the rearview mirror at Reed. "Brand new. You know I've never had a new car? Always bought used."
"Dad, maybe you should wait before getting a new car. You haven't even started the job."
"There's no need to wait. Besides, it's already on order."
"When are you getting it?"
"Not for a few months."
"Why'd you have to order it? There are plenty of Mercedes' dealerships around here. Couldn't you just go buy one?"
"This one is different. It has special features. I don't mind waiting. It's not that long. It'll probably be here in August."
Reed looks at me and I shrug, then whisper to him, "Maybe your dad caught whatever my family has. They're all acting weird."
"I know, right?" he whispers. "So it's not just me. You think he's acting strange?"
I just nod, not wanting his dad to hear us.
"So Lilly, does your father like his Mercedes?" Dean asks.
"I think so. Then again, it's all he's ever had so he doesn't really have anything to compare it to."
"What does your mother drive?"
"A BMW. Just like me, except hers is bigger."
"I would've guessed Mercedes," he says as he stops at the light. "Your mother seems more like a Mercedes type person to me."
"Really? I guess I never thought about it."
"She's so elegant and refined. Always dressed in designer clothes. Wearing expensive jewelry. A Mercedes just seems to fit her more."
What's he talking about? That's not Rachel at all. She always dresses casual, in jeans and t-shirts. She only dresses up when she's going to a big event, like one of her fundraisers.
"Wait, do you mean my real mom? Or Rachel?"
"Katherine. Your mother."
"Oh. Yeah. Actually she does drive a Mercedes. I thought you were talking about Rachel."
Why would Dean bring up my mom? He's never met her and I'm sure Reed hasn't told him much about her. I'm curious so I decide to ask.
"So um...how do you know so much about my mom?"
He pauses before answering. "I only know what I've seen on TV or in the papers. I get the New York Times and occasionally your mother is in the society news."
"You read the society news?" Reed asks.
"Of course," Dean says. "It's part of my job to keep up on who's making the papers and why. In my industry, you have to know who's being talked about. What's hot. What's trending."
"Yeah, in L.A., but why do you care about New York?"
"You have to know what's going on on both coasts. What's hot in New York may soon be hot in L.A. and vice versa."
"Was my mom in the paper recently?" I ask.
"I believe she was," he says, clearing his throat.
He believes she was? That's an odd thing to say. She either was or she wasn't.
"What did they say about her?"
"That she uh...let me think. I can't remember now. I think she attended some kind of event for the opera." He races up behind the car in front of us, then hits the brakes. "Yes, that was it. The opera."
My phone rings. It's my dad.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hello, honey. My meeting's going to finish up around four so I'll probably pick you up closer to four-thirty instead of five."
"Okay."
Great. Now I have even less time with Reed.
"Where are you right now?" my dad asks.
I told him that Reed and I were going to the movies. We didn't really plan to go there today but I needed an excuse so my dad wouldn't think I was spending the afternoon in Reed's bedroom.
"We're on our way to a restaurant," I say. "Reed's dad is taking us to lunch at some place near the zoo."
"Lilly!" he barks. "I told you to call me if you were going somewhere."
"I thought you were in a meeting."
"It doesn't matter. You still call and tell me."
"It's just lunch. It's not a big deal. And after we eat, we'll go home."
"Lilly, if you are not going to cooperate with my requests, then you will not be going out again."
"Dad, that's crazy. I'm not spending the summer locked up in the house." I feel Reed gently rubbing my hand. He knows I'm upset. My dad's being completely unreasonable and has been all week. He even threatened to take my car away if I didn't tell him where I was going.
"Why is Reed's father home?" he asks. "Or did you make that up? Are you really going to a restaurant or doing something else?"
I sigh. "I'm not lying, Dad. Dean is taking Reed and me to lunch."
"Put him on the phone."
"Who?"
"Reed's father."
I hesitate, then just do it. I hold the phone out over the front seat. "My dad wants to talk to you."
"Oh. All right." Dean seems surprised as he takes the phone. "Hello, Pearce. Forgive me if I've done something I shouldn't have. I just wanted to take the kids out for lunch." He listens, then nods. "Yes, I'd normally be at the office but I took the afternoon off to celebrate. I just found out I got the job I wanted. Executive Vice President of Promotions." He listens again. "Thank you. Yes, it was quite a surprise. Anyway, I felt the need to celebrate by taking Reed and Lilly out. I offered to take them someplace nice but they wanted hamburgers." He laughs and nods. "Yes. I'll make sure we're back by four." He hands me the phone.
"See?" I say to my dad. "I told you I wasn't lying."
"I need to get going, but I want you to promise me you'll tell me if you go anywhere else besides the restaurant. I need to know where you are."
I roll my eyes. "Fine. I will."
"I'll see you soon. Love you."
"Love you too." I put my phone away, then say to Dean, "Sorry about that. He's a little overprotective."
"I understand." He glances at me in the mirror. "If I had a daughter, I have a feeling I'd be the same way."
"Meaning he doesn't care about protecting me," Reed says, laughing. "Sons are on their own."
His dad shakes his head. "That's not true. I worry about you all the time, but I also know you can fight if necessary."
"Yeah, let's not talk about that," Reed says. Back in high school Reed got arrested for fighting, so it's something he'd rather forget.
"Here it is," Dean says as he pulls into the diner. "Reed's favorite childhood restaurant."
I smile and kiss Reed's cheek. "This'll be fun. Do we get to color hats?"
"If they let us, then yeah. But it might be limited to kids only."
It's not. The waitress brings us both a paper hat and we decorate each others. Reed draws unicorns and rainbows on mine, an inside joke. I draw skulls and guitars on his, because it seems like something a rock star would like, and when I first met him, I thought he was in a rock band. I even called him Rocker Guy until I knew his actual name.
While we're coloring, Dean texts people on his phone and goes outside a couple times to make calls. After lunch, we return to the apartment. Dean gets his laptop out to do some work while Reed and I watch TV. At one point Reed leans over and whispers in my ear, suggesting we go in his room, but I can't do it, not with his dad here. His dad would know what we were doing and that's too embarrassing.
So we watch TV until my dad arrives at four-thirty. He says a quick hello to Reed and Dean, then tells them we need to get going. I think my dad's worried that if he stays any longer, Dean will ask him for another favor.
On the drive home, my dad says, "I'm going out of town this weekend."
"You and Mom?"
"No, just me. I have a meeting to attend in Connecticut."
"When are you coming back
?"
"The following Monday. While I'm gone, you and Rachel will be staying with Garret."
"Why would we stay with Garret?"
He glances at me. "Remember when you were younger and I'd tell you that sometimes it's best if you don't ask questions?"
"Yes." And I never understood why. I still don't.
"This is one of those times." He grips the steering wheel tighter and raises his voice. "I don't want you arguing with me about this. You'll be staying with Jade and Garret."
"I wasn't arguing," I say quietly. "I just wondered."
He reaches over and puts his hand on mine. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm just a little stressed right now. I didn't mean to take it out on you."
I nod, and keep quiet the rest of the drive home. My dad's quiet too, seeming lost in his thoughts.
I have no idea what's going on, but something is, and I know my dad won't tell me. Neither will Rachel or Garret. Or maybe it's nothing and they're just being weird. But I feel like it's more than that. Like it's something they don't want me to know. And it's a feeling I've had before, many times.
I always feel like my family is hiding something from me.
Chapter Six
Pearce
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rachel asks as I add my tie to the suitcase. We're in the bedroom and she's helping me pack for the trip.
"Sweetheart, we've talked about this. This isn't something I want to do. It's something I have to do. I don't have a choice in the matter."
"Isn't there someone else William trusts to attend this meeting? Or maybe you could have someone plant microphones and listen in instead of actually being there."
"They check for microphones. And as for someone taking my place, there IS no one. I'm the only one William trusts."
She sighs heavily, sitting down on the bed. "I don't want you doing this, Pearce."
"I know you don't." I sit beside her. "And I'm sorry it's come to this. But hopefully, it's only temporary. I'll go to a few meetings and that'll be it."
She turns to me. "You know that's not what'll happen."
"Rachel." I hold her hands. "We have to stay positive. The organization that existed when you and I were first married is not the same organization it is today. Things have changed."
"I know you keep saying that but I don't believe you. They still commit crimes. They still hurt people."
"I won't be doing those things. I'm simply going to a meeting."
"What if they force you to do something? What if they start giving you assignments again?"
"If that happens, we'll deal with it then." I cup the side of her face. "For now, I need you to stay positive and try not to worry."
"Easier said than done."
"It's what you need to do. I don't want Lilly suspecting something is wrong, which she will if she sees the concern on your face."
She nods. "You're right." And yet her concern is still evident on her face. I haven't seen her look this worried and frightened in years.
"Sweetheart, it's one meeting," I say, trying to reassure her. "Just a few short hours. I'll sit in the back and try not to be noticed. I'm just there to observe and listen in on conversations. And when it's over, I'll leave."
"Are you going to visit your mother?"
"I haven't decided yet."
I didn't tell my mother I was coming. I didn't want her alerting her friends, which might get back to one of the members. But once the meeting is over, I might stop by and see her.
"When are you going to see William?"
"Not right away. I don't want someone to follow me there and know what we're up to. After the meeting, I'll either go visit my mother or go to the hotel. I'll drive to William's house on Sunday."
She nods, then wraps her arms around me. "Please promise me you'll be safe."
"I will," I say, although I'm more concerned about her safety than mine.
After I finish packing, I drive Rachel and Lilly to Garret's house, then go to the airport. During the flight, I try to prepare myself for the meeting but there's nothing I can really do to prepare. These meetings are always unpredictable. You just have to go and hope for the best. I don't even know what's on the agenda.
When I arrive in Connecticut, a heaviness comes over me. A darkness. Despite having many good memories here—meeting Rachel, our first marriage, our old house, having Garret and Lilly—there are many other memories, horrific memories, that still haunt me. Like the day I watched my father shoot a homeless man. The day I killed a man simply as a test arranged by my father. The day I received the call saying Rachel was dead. The day I was forced to marry Katherine. And the day the organization told me they were taking Garret.
There were so many bad days, so many bad memories, that I find it hard just being here. Perhaps I'd feel better if Rachel were here with me, reminding me of all the good days, the days I spent here with her.
As I'm driving to the hotel, I give Rachel a call.
"Hello, sweetheart," I say when she answers. "How's everything going?"
"Good. We've been out in the pool all day." She lowers her voice. "Lilly keeps asking why we're staying with Garret. I don't know what to tell her."
"Tell her I've recently had some threats made against me that have caused me to have concerns about her safety. And yours."
"All right. At least that's something she'll believe. So are you going straight to the hotel?"
"I'll probably stop for dinner first. I was thinking of going to that restaurant we went to with Royce and Victoria the first time you met her."
"I remember that night. Victoria kept telling me you were cheating on me and that you always would. We ended up leaving before we even had our meal."
"So we got a pizza and brought it home and ate dinner in front of the fire."
"Which led to us doing other things."
"Yes." I smile as I think back. "That was a good night. Far better than having dinner with Royce and Victoria."
She laughs. "That's for sure."
I drive past the mall where Rachel used to take Garret to get his Halloween costume. Just beyond it is a billboard advertising the fitness center where Rachel taught swimming lessons. She took Garret with her, even when he was just a tiny baby. It's where he learned to swim.
That all seems so long ago.
"Being here," I say, "seeing everything again...brings back so many memories of our old life."
"Is it hard for you?" she softly asks. "Seeing those things again?"
"Yes," I say honestly. "That was such a different time in our lives."
"We were different people back then."
It's true. I was a man living a lie, deceiving my wife, pretending to be someone I wasn't. And Rachel was the eternal optimist, only seeing the good in people, believing the world was a better place than it really is.
Now all that has changed. Rachel knows the real me. She knows what I've done. She knows I lied to her. But thankfully, she's forgiven me, and accepted me for who I am. As for her? She now believes what I've known for a very long time. That some people are just pure evil. You can't save them or change them or fix them. And realizing that has changed how she views the world.
So yes, the people we were when we lived here years ago are for the most part gone, but the memories remain.
"I wish you were here," I tell her.
"Pearce, you know I couldn't—"
"Yes. I understand, but maybe some other time we could come back here. Drive by the old house. Eat at the diner you and Garret liked so well."
"Yes, we should do that."
"I'm at the restaurant now so I suppose I should say goodbye. I'll call you in the morning before I leave."
"Could you call me later tonight? After dinner?"
"Of course. Is there something we need to discuss?"
"No. I just...I just need to hear your voice. I'm worried, Pearce. I'm so worried about you going back there."
"I'll be fine. As I said, it's just a meeting."
"I'm wor
ried what happens after the meeting."
"Rachel, nothing is going to—"
"Will you please just call me?"
"Yes. I will call you and we will talk as long as you'd like."
She sniffles. "I love you."
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
These past couple weeks have been hard on her, and Garret and Jade. They've all been worried about this meeting and the fallout that could occur from me being around these people again. We've all been acting on edge, so I understand why Lilly suspects something's going on. But I still have no plans to tell her the truth. If at all possible, I want her to live her life without ever knowing the organization exists.
When I get to my hotel, I call Rachel again and we remain on the phone until almost midnight, sometimes talking, sometimes not. It isn't about talking. It's about feeling connected, because right now, we feel very far apart.
Since being reunited, Rachel and I haven't spent more than a day without each other. When I travel for speeches she almost always comes with me. To some people it may seem odd that we're together so much but if they'd been through what we have, they'd understand. We lost each other once, but we won't let it happen again. That's another reason I wanted her to be with Garret while I'm gone. I have this constant fear that someone will take her from me, but if Garret is with her, I know she'll be fine.
The next morning, I drive to the mansion where the meeting is being held. They don't know I'm coming, which is against proper etiquette and will upset the older members but I didn't want them knowing ahead of time. If they did, they might've tried to change the meeting agenda. I have a history of speaking my mind and initiating discussions, so if they knew there was something I might disagree with on the agenda, there's a chance they'd remove it.
The majority of my fellow members don't bother speaking up at meetings, even when they disagree with something. It's just easier to go along with it. Besides, they know whatever's decided can be vetoed by the upper level members, so why bother discussing it? Speaking out gets you labeled as a trouble maker, a label I was given long ago and still carry to this day, which is probably why they've allowed me to keep my distance all these years.
Lilly and Reed: A Kensington Family Novel Page 6