Society Wives

by Renee Flagler

  Pearson looked at the digital clock on her night stand. It was almost noon. She had missed church—probably for the better. Trying to listen to a sermon through a hangover would be sacrilegious. Pearson swung her legs to the side of the bed and noticed the bottles of Tylenol and water. Niles always came to her rescue. She popped two pills and downed half the bottle.

  Pearson dragged herself from the bed and headed to the bathroom. That’s when she caught the scent of bacon wafting through the air.

  The sight she saw in the mirror was pitiful. Her eyes were red and encircled with deep creases. Her hair sat on top of her head like a tangled mess. She gasped and her breath was atrocious. Pearson brushed her teeth and washed her face. Before going downstairs, she covered her naked body with a nightie, and then slipped her feet into a pair of animal print slippers.

  The scent of bacon grew stronger as she approached the kitchen and her mouth watered. Niles had always been a great cook. His family owned a chain of soul food restaurants, named after his grandmother, Clara Mae, who loved to listen to jazz as she prepared meals. At ninety-three, Clara Mae was still kicking and running the Day clan like a mob boss runs his family.

  Pearson stepped into the kitchen, stopped and sniffed, taking in the delicious mixture flavoring the air. She smiled when she exhaled and then opened her eyes to Niles’ back as he stirred a pot of grits.

  “Morning, honey!” she said and climbed up on a stool.

  Niles didn’t respond.

  “Morning, honey!” She spoke louder, trying to be heard above the noise of the frying pan.

  “Hey,” Niles replied without turning away from the stove.

  Pearson frowned, slid down from her stool and went to Niles’ side.

  “What’s up with you?”

  Niles put down the spoon, drew in a sharp breath and blew it out.

  Pearson put her hand on her hip. It was evident that he was mad so she braced herself with her own attitude.

  “Let me finish making breakfast and we’ll talk.”

  “Talk about what?”

  “Pearson!” Niles threw his hands up. “Just. Let. Me. Finish.”

  Pearson grunted. “I don’t see what the big deal is. If you have something to say, then just come out and say it.”

  “Give me a minute.” He was exasperated.

  “Why can’t we just talk now? What’s the difference between now and a minute from now?” Pearson crowded him, waiting for an answer. When she was tired of being ignored, she sucked her teeth and then walked out of the kitchen.

  Pearson didn’t go far. She folded her arms across her chest, paced for a moment and then came right back. When he continued to ignore her, she grabbed the spoon from his hand and tossed it onto the counter. Clumps of grits flew across the stove. “What is it already!” she yelled.

  “Dammit, Pearson. I asked you to give me a minute, but since you can’t wait. Here it is. I’m tired!”

  Pearson’s heart dropped. Tired? She clamped her teeth together to keep from reacting to soon. “Of what?”

  “Your drinking!”

  Pearson tried to push down the lump that formed in her throat. Niles had made comments about her drinking, but she’d never seen him react like this. “What?”

  “You don’t enjoy a drink like normal people. No! You can’t just have one or two glasses of wine and have a good time. You have to keep going, and going, and going until there’s nothing left in the bottle. You go overboard every single time. Once you get drunk… whoa!” He punctuated his expression by raising both hands. “You embarrass me like you did last night!”

  Pearson’s mouth fell open. “What do you mean like last night?”

  “Oh, that’s another problem.” He hesitated. “The blackouts.”

  Niles’ pause was calculated. Pearson sensed that he opted against using stronger language to make his point.

  “What happened?” She wished he would just say it.

  “You don’t recall starting that whole thing between Anderson and Ryan? You asked everyone if you were the only person who saw Anderson ogling Nadalia’s ass.” Niles went on to recount the incident. “Clearly you owe Sage and Nadalia an apology for ruining their party.”

  Pearson tried hard to stir her memory.

  “You were out of line.”

  “Anderson shouldn’t have been ogling her ass in front of his wife anyway.” Pearson knew that wasn’t the right thing to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit the truth. Niles shot a bewildered glance in her direction. She looked away.

  “That’s none of your business. If his wife didn’t say anything, what gave you the right to?” He was in Pearson’s face. She stepped back. “You start drinking before we even get to where we’re going. By the time we arrive, you’re already halfway drunk. You talk loud, you’re obnoxious and you’re crass!” Niles walked away. Pearson watched him. She hadn’t realized how deeply he was affected before now.

  “Life hasn’t been the same,” he continued and Pearson wished he would stop. “I don’t know what happened to you, but I want my wife back.” Niles walked back over to the stove and pulled out a pan of shrimp wrapped in bacon. “It’s ready, let’s eat.” Niles tossed the plates and food on the table. “Get the glasses and the juice,” he said.

  Pearson closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to get her emotions in order. They sat down and ate in silence. The food was delicious, but she couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it. Part of it was due to the hangover, but the other part had everything to do with the unsettling feelings that whirled in her stomach. Taking only small forkfuls, both of them pushed their food around on their plates, leaving most of it scattered. Pearson’s headache still thumped. The Tylenol wasn’t helping. She put her fork down and rubbed her temples.

  “Eat the bacon, you’ll feel better.”

  “What?”

  “I said, eat the bacon. Greasy food helps you get over your hangover faster for some reason. I’m not sure why, but I know that it works.”

  “Oh.” Pearson was grateful that Niles was at least talking to her in a more civilized manner. She reached for her bacon and nibbled, watching Niles while he ate. She wondered if she was even capable of fixing this.

  Niles stared back for a moment. Pearson still had no words. At least she felt confident that Niles wasn’t leaving. She knew she was a lot to handle at times, but what would she do without him.

  Pearson had come into their union with piles of emotional baggage and he accepted her just the way she was. Apparently something shifted.

  Yet, Niles was the only person in her life who didn’t cause her pain. People always thought being rich solved life’s problems. They didn’t know that money couldn’t buy attention from a mother. It couldn’t keep her from feeling abandoned after her father’s death. It surely didn’t comfort her, un-break her heart or soothe her soul.

  Until Niles appeared, she had forgotten what love even felt like. When she drank, it didn’t matter. If she could give up all the money she had for a slightly dysfunctional, yet loving family of her own, she would do it without hesitating. Niles was the closest she came to having that.

  “Pearse.” Niles broke the silence and her heart fluttered. He’d called her by her pet name. “You really pissed me off last night. I’m concerned. I feel like I’m sitting back and watching you destroy yourself.”

  “Niles, I was drinking when you met me.”

  “Not like this. You used to have limits and your tolerance has changed. I remember when we could enjoy a glass or two of wine over dinner and that would be it. Now you can’t control yourself.”

  “I—”

  “No!” Niles held his hand up. “Let me finish. I’ve been waiting a long time to say this. I need you to see reality. You have a problem.”

  Pearson dropped her head and blinked back tears.

  “I don’t want to lose you. I meant it when I said until death do us part.”

  “Niles—”

  “Promise me, Pearson!” he inte
rjected.

  She remained quiet. After a few beats she looked into his eyes. She could see his pain and hated that she caused it. The tears she held back, now rolled down her cheeks. “I promise,” she said, wiping them away.

  Niles got up, made his way around the table and embraced her.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  Pearson laid her head on his chest and let the weight of her life fall on him. She wanted to stay there forever, coddled in his haven, unreachable by the rest of the world. She settled deeper into his arms and he kissed the top of her head.

  The house phone rang, snatching them from the beauty of their moment.

  “I’ll get it,” Niles said.

  Pearson made herself busy clearing the table. She was serious when she said promised to work on her drinking. Niles always made her happy and she was going to return the favor.

  “Pearse.” The cautious tone of his voice alarmed her.

  “What is it, babe?”

  Niles held the phone out to her. “It’s your mother.”

  Chapter 17

  Nadalia

  After all the effort she had put into making her party fabulous and making Sage happy, Pearson ruined it all. She couldn’t shake the anger she felt for that woman.

  Now Sage was walking around in a weird mood. She couldn’t put her finger on just want it was. Anderson had called him first thing this morning to apologize. He’d accepted, but the whole thing still bothered him.

  This was the weekend before Christmas and one of the first weekends that he’d been home in months. She was determined to make the best of it. They still hadn’t had sex and not only was she starving for his touch, but her imagination had become overactive.

  She found herself more and more wondering if he had been unfaithful, even though that was hard to believe. The two of them together were a match made in perfection. She was beautiful. He was handsome. They were rich. What more did they need?

  But something was wrong and she had to warm things up before they got too cold. Her marriage wasn’t going down without a fight. What would people think?

  Nadalia went into the family room where Sage sat in his favorite chair, yelling at the television screen about how incompetent the coach was for the ridiculous plays he was calling.

  “Did you see that crap?” he yelled into his phone. He laughed at whatever the person on the other line said. “Shut up, punk? Just wait until the fourth quarter. We got this, man. Don’t count us out just yet. You’ll see. What! You’ve got be kidding me.” He directed that last comment at the television. “I need to focus. I’ll call you back,” he said. Sage ended the call, stuffed his cell phone between his leg and the chair, and then suddenly jumped to his feet holding his head in his hand, releasing a cry of agony. No!”

  Nadalia smiled as she watched his usual Sunday afternoon football antics.

  “Who’s winning?” she said as she walked into the room.

  “Not the damn Jets! Man!” He sat back down.

  Nadalia came and sat on his lap. He kept his eyes on the television, looking around her. She grabbed his head, holding him by the sides of his face, made him look at her and laughed.

  Sage laughed with her and she felt her heart beat.

  “My Jets are screwing up bad, Dali.”

  “I can see that.” She rolled off his lap and sat beside him. “Let’s take a vacation.”

  “Okay,” he said, only half listening.

  “Let’s take one now!”

  “Now!” Sage reared his head back. “Babe, I can’t leave work now. It’s too busy. Besides, I…” Sage stopped talking.

  “You what?”

  “It’s just not a good time.”

  “I know, but I’m talking about a quick excursion. Some place quiet, secluded and sexy.”

  “How about right after the Super Bowl?”

  “No, Sage. We need this getaway now. I barely see you and by the time you get home at night, you’re so exhausted you go right to sleep. We haven’t made love in weeks. I miss you.”

  Sage sighed. “I’m sorry, babe. Work has been…crazy.”

  “I know. It’s been crazy for me, too, which is why we could use this.”

  “Let me think about it.”

  Nadalia pouted. She was used to getting what she wanted from him. “Sage,” she whined.

  “The Super Bowl is just a few weeks away and then I’ll take you somewhere for a quick getaway or maybe even a whole week.”

  Annoyed, Nadalia stood, blocking the TV with her hands on her hips.

  “Are you cheating on me, Sage?”

  “What?” Sage grabbed the remote, hit mute and looked at Nadalia with his entire face scrunched into a curious knot. “What would make you say that?”

  Nadalia crossed her arms. “You love sex and you haven’t touched me. If you’re not screwing me, then who are you screwing?”

  “Now you’re just being ridiculous!” Sage shook his head and held Nadalia by the shoulders. “Babe. I’m not cheating on you!” Sage threw his hands up, exasperated.”

  Nadalia searched his eyes for any indication that he was lying. She surmised that her heart would cloud her judgment anyway and stomped off. If he was cheating, she’d need proof.

  “Dali!” Sage called after her. “Jeez!” she heard him say behind her back. “Okay. Let’s go somewhere.”

  Nadalia almost ran back to the room. “Really!”

  “Yes. Put something together right after the New Year. Something quick.”

  Nadalia yelped. “Okay. I have the perfect getaway lined up.” She kissed Sage. “It will be great.” Nadalia headed out to make the plans. “I hope I don’t have to wait until then to get some from my husband,” she teased.

  Nadalia took the stairs two at a time as she ran up to her bedroom to retrieve her iPad to book their getaway. She noticed she had missed a few calls on her cell phone and thumbed through her missed notifications. The one that surprised her was the missed call from Pearson. Curious to see what she had to say after her less than becoming behavior the night before, Nadalia dialed her back and stood with her hand on one hip as she waited for her to answer.

  “Nadalia,” Pearson said when she answered.

  “What do you want?”

  “You’re mad, of course. I just called to apologize for last night. I didn’t mean to raise a ruckus.”

  “Pearson. You always mean to raise a ruckus. You ruined my party.”

  “Nadalia, please…” She heard Pearson sigh. “I’ll make it up to you. In fact, I’ll make it up to all of you. Dinner. My treat—over at Monty’s by the pier. When would you like to go?”

  Nadalia didn’t answer right away. She thought about it for a minute. Did she really want to go to dinner with Pearson? “Fine, but not Monty’s. I’ll choose the place.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Pearson!”

  Pearson laughed. “I’m kidding, geesh. Loosen your panty straps. Relax.”

  Nadalia found herself chuckling, too. When Pearson wasn’t getting on her nerves, she did manage to make her laugh. She was the only wife besides her who had the courage to speak her mind, although she didn’t doubt the Vonnie had it in her. Ryan didn’t. “How about this Friday, right after Christmas. I’ll let you know which restaurant I choose. Does seven o’clock work for you?”

  “Works just fine. I’ll call the other girls to invite them.”

  Nadalia thought about it. In all the years that their husbands had been friends, this would be the first time that the wives would be hanging out without them. She wasn’t sure how she felt about having Ryan come after last night, but if the men were fine, then she’d be fine.

  “See you then,” she told Pearson and ended the call without another thought.

  Nadalia planned to find the most expensive restaurant along the gold coast and enjoy every morsel on Pearson’s dime.

  Chapter 18

  Ryan

  Christmas had finally come and this time, Ryan was particularly anxious
as she prepared for the evening. Anderson told her that his parents had flown in to spend the holidays in New York this year and would be joining them for dinner. His mother especially enjoyed the lively vibe that electrified her home town during this time of the year. They were to spend a few days in their condo down in Battery Park, and a few days at their home in the Hamptons before flying back to LA right after the New Year.

  She was under tremendous pressure to cook or have an impressive meal catered, as well as serve as a referee between Frannie and Anderson’s mother. From the moment those two met, they were enemies, exchanging snarls instead of smiles. They were polar opposites in terms of their upbringings. Phoebe, who was brought up under the bright lights of Hollywood, was cultured and had traveled the world by the time she was ten. Frannie on the other hand, hadn’t seen an airplane up close until after Ryan had married Anderson. As far as Frannie was concerned, all that fancy talk and fancy clothes didn’t make Phoebe any better than anyone else.

  Ryan was still on a little bit of a high since this morning when Anderson showered her with lavish gifts for Christmas. He’d done better this year than in the past and that made Ryan both happy and nervous. She was happy about the beautiful tennis bracelet, diamond earrings and custom designed fur coat from Miso Furriers, but it also made her question his motives. After their intense sex the other night following the blow up at Nadalia’s house, Ryan woke up the next morning to find the house empty. Anderson showed up later that night without an explanation of his whereabouts. She gave no resistance other than a cold shoulder. Everything had returned to normal until he surprised her with all those great gifts earlier.

  The doorbell sent a jazzy tune reverberating throughout the house and Ryan ran to the door to let in who she thought were the caterers.

  “Merry Christmas, honey,” Frannie choked out with her raspy voice. “I came early to help with dinner.” She walked past Ryan. “Where’s that husband of yours?” she said, heading to the kitchen with bags.

  Ryan stood, still holding the doorknob, willing her insides to stop twirling. She was already anxious and her mother’s early presence would only add to that. “Merry Christmas, Ma.” Ryan closed the door and sighed. “Anderson is upstairs taking a nap.”