Perfect Timing

by Brenda Jackson

  “So what do you think it means?”

  “It means he’s either stone crazy or he really cares a lot for her.”

  Mya nodded. “That’s the same thing I’ve been thinking. What kind of information did you find out about him?”

  “Mya, I didn’t go snooping around in Chandler’s business. Besides, he told us that he works for a construction company.”

  “Yeah, but did you take a good look at his watch? How many construction workers you know wear expensive watches like that?”

  Garrett agreed but decided not to add fuel to the fire by telling Mya that. “Well, whatever Maxi decides to do is her business. I just hope she thinks things through. There are too many issues involved like child support and custody rights and there will always be a bond between her and Christopher because of the child.”

  “And that’s why I think there’s more to it than him being grateful for the humane way she treated him all those years ago in school.”

  “Is that what Maxi thinks?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re right,” Garrett replied yawning. “There’s probably more to it than that.”

  There was a moment of silence and Mya felt Garrett dozing off to sleep. “Garrett, before you go to sleep, there’s something I need to tell you.”

  He yawned again and pulled her closer into his arms. “Can it hold until morning, baby? I’m beat tonight.”

  “Yes, it can hold but I prefer that it didn’t.” I’ve been holding it too long already.

  Garrett stretched his body into a reclining pose and rested on an elbow. He looked down at Mya, confused at what she’d just said, and even more confused with the nervous tension expressed on her face. “Okay, what is it?”

  She looked up at him, praying that he would take her news well. “I got a promotion at work.”

  As soon as her words registered, he smiled. “Honey, that’s great! Does that mean you won’t be doing any more traveling?”

  She inhaled deeply. “No, it means I’ll be doing a lot more traveling, Garrett.”

  He pulled away from her and settled back in the bed. “Sorry, but you can’t do that.”

  Mya frowned. He had made the statement like it was the end of the discussion. “What do you mean I can’t do that? I’ve already talked to Mrs. Butler and she’s indicated that she can handle the extra hours of taking care of the boys so I don’t—”

  “Yeah, but who’s going to take care of me, Mya? I don’t like being here alone when you’re gone.”

  “And I don’t like being here alone when you’re gone either, Garrett, but I’ve learned to deal with it. You act like it’s okay for you to be gone when you have those out of town games but it’s not okay that my job requires me to travel, too.”

  He glared at her. “It’s not the same and you know it.”

  She glared back. “And why isn’t it the same? They’re both jobs, Garrett. I enjoy my job as much as you enjoy yours.”

  “Your job is taking care of me and my sons, Mya. My job is taking care of everything including you and the boys, putting food on the table, and a decent roof over your heads. You know how I feel about you working. I never did like it, but to make you happy and to keep peace I put up with it. I don’t like Mrs. Butler raising our boys. That’s not her job. She’s here to take care of them, not to raise them. But that’s what she’s been doing for the past year. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they didn’t start calling her mamma.”

  Mya took a small breath. His words had hurt. “That’s not fair, Garrett, and you know it. No matter how long I’m gone or how often I’m gone, I still spend quality time with you and the boys. I give you double because of the guilt I feel about leaving.”

  “Look, Mya, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. You evidently took this promotion without talking to me about it first. You didn’t give a damn how I would feel about it.”

  “Yes, I did!”

  “Yeah, and you took the promotion anyway. To me that says a lot about how well you consider my feelings.” He got out of bed. “I don’t want to deal with this tonight.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “In the guest bedroom.”

  Mya didn’t say anything as she watched him snatch his robe off the bed and walk out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

  She threw the covers back and got out of bed, refusing to let him have the last word. She walked a few feet to the door before stopping. Her whole body began trembling in anger. There was too much anger in both of them for there to be any type of productive conversation. They would only end up saying words they would regret later.

  Mya went back to bed and slid beneath the covers. She wiped tears from her eyes when she thought about the fact that this was the first time during all the years of their marriage that she and Garrett had not shared a bed when they had been under the same roof for the night.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Maxi released a pleasant sigh as she entered her home. Her first day back at the university had been hectic at best. Had she known the summer class she’d volunteered to teach that highlighted great African-American women would contain a collection of newly enrolled freshmen, she would have thought twice about doing it. It had been all but impossible to hold their attention. After one student kept saying it was too beautiful a summer day to be stuck in class talking about some dead comedienne they’d never heard of by the name of Jackie “Moms” Mabley, she couldn’t help but agree with him and had dismissed the class early.

  Half an hour later, showered, refreshed, and wearing a caftan she had purchased in the Cayman Islands, Maxi left the confines of her bedroom and headed toward the kitchen to prepare something for dinner. Looking around her she noticed her plants hadn’t fared well without her personal attention during the week she’d been gone. Now she was back home and would take better care of them. It was business as usual.

  Not quite.

  There was no way things could be business as usual with Christopher’s offer lurking in the back of her mind, always finding the perfect time to work its way to the forefront, like now. He had offered her the very thing her heart desired—a child of her own.

  The only persons she had told about his offer had been Mya and Garrett. Neither had given her an indication of what they had thought, saying the decision would have to be hers and they would not influence it in any way.

  The loud ringing of the telephone cut sharply into Maxi’s thoughts. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was too early for her mother’s daily evening call. Crossing the room she picked up the phone. “Hello?”

  “Maxi, how are you?”

  Maxi smiled, recognizing the voice immediately. “I’m fine, Mya. What about you?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  Maxi lifted a brow. She could tell by Mya’s gloomy response that something was wrong. It didn’t take her long to guess what. “You’ve told Garrett about your promotion, haven’t you?”

  “Yes, and he’s not happy about it.”

  “Well, you knew that he wouldn’t be.”

  “Yes, but I had hoped he would try and understand my position and be supportive. He’s not doing that. It’s really affecting our relationship, Maxi.”

  Maxi hated hearing that. “Then the two of you should try and work things out. Mya. Just give him time, he’ll probably come around.”

  “I’m not so sure. He’s acting like my decision to take the job was an affront to his manhood or something.”

  “And maybe to him it is.” Maxi paused briefly before saying, “Hear me out and let me play devil’s advocate for just a moment. You’ve known Garrett a long time, and you’ve always known the Rivers men had a policy that their wives didn’t work. His momma never worked outside of the home and when his older brothers got married, none of their wives worked. I’m sure at some point you knew Garrett would be no different.”

  “Yes, but I thought he would change.”

  “The die was cast early, Mya. I think it’
s a Rivers thing and you can’t fault him for that when you knew about it in the beginning.”

  “Yes, I can fault him for not being fair to me, and for not being flexible to my wants and needs.”

  “Come on, Mya you need to be fair too. I’ve never known Garrett not to be flexible to your wants and needs. For as long as I can remember he’s always catered to you, treated you like a queen. His queen.”

  “But that doesn’t excuse how he’s handling the situation with my working now, Maxi. Garrett is a wonderful husband, the best. He’s also a wonderful father and a great provider for his family. What’s wrong with me having another interest outside the home?”

  “Nothing, other than the fact that Garrett may be feeling threatened by that interest.”

  “That’s ridiculous and irrational.”

  “And who says men are rational? Just think about it. For years your life has been filled with Garrett. You’ve always made him your number one priority and now you’re sharing that number one spot with a job. He’s going through changes, Mya. Just be patient and understanding.”

  “I don’t know how long I can. He’s sleeping with his back to me every night in bed and he hasn’t said more than two words to me in a week. We’ve never gone this long without communicating or bringing our feelings out in the open by discussing them.”

  “Then discuss them.”

  “We tried and all we did is end up screaming and yelling at each other. It wasn’t a nice scene, Maxi.”

  “Then give it some time and try again. But don’t give up. You have too much to lose if you do. Have you started your new job yet?”

  “No, I don’t start for another couple of weeks.” Wanting to change the subject Mya asked. “Have you made a decision on Christopher’s offer yet?”

  “No, in fact I was just thinking about it.”

  “It’s pretty tempting isn’t it?”

  “Very.”

  “How do you feel about being a single mom?”

  Mya’s question was one she had asked herself a thousand times since Christopher’s proposal. “The thought of being a single mom doesn’t bother me although I believe a child should have both parents. That’s the kind of family structure I’m used to. I’m surprised that he doesn’t want to be a part of his child’s life since his own father was never around either while he was growing up.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t think he’ll know how to be a father or even a good one.”

  “But I think he would make a wonderful father if he gave himself a chance. But all he wants is to get me pregnant and step out of the picture.”

  “And how do you feel about that?”

  “I guess it’s no different from using an anonymous sperm donor. But in this situation I’ll know the identity of the man who fathers my child.”

  Mya thought about her words. “If you decide to go through with it, how will you get pregnant? Will you do artificial insemination or will you sleep with Christopher?”

  Maxi sighed. That was something else she had thought a lot about. “I get cold chills at the thought of being impregnated on some table at a clinic. That’s not how I envisioned my child to be created. But then on that same note, I don’t know if I’m ready to share a bed with him for the sole purpose of getting pregnant. When Jason and I slept together it was for love.” There was no doubt in Maxi’s mind that she would enjoy sleeping with Christopher, love or no love, since she had already gotten a taste of ecstasy in his arms from a mere kiss. But still, she wanted more between them than a night filled with orgasms…although the thought of that was pretty tempting.

  “I’ve only made out with someone I love too, so I can understand you there, girl,” Mya was saying. “I can’t imagine sharing a bed with someone I don’t love, although there are women who do it all the time. You and I are different, Maxi.”

  Maxi smiled. “Yeah, we’re different. I’m going to think about Christopher’s offer some more before making a final decision.”

  “When is he expecting you to call him?”

  “He didn’t give me a time frame, although I’m sure he doesn’t expect me to drag things out forever.” Maxi reached across the table and picked up the business card Christopher had given her on their last day on the cruise. After studying the card she hadn’t been surprised to discover that he was one of the CEO’s of the company. On the cruise he had led everyone to believe he was employed as a construction worker, which wasn’t a total lie but still, he had intentionally left out a number of details; like the fact that his company, the Regency Corporation, was nationally known and financially successful. She smiled. She was proud of his accomplishments and had always known he would succeed in life. “I’m going to pray about it some more.”

  “And while you’re praying, how about remembering me and Garrett.”

  “I will, but I know the two of you will work things out. You have too much history behind you and too much of a wonderful future ahead of you.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am right.”

  Mya sighed. “It’s so good having you to talk to, Maxi. It’s like old times. You don’t know how good it feels having you back in my life. I missed the friendship and the closeness of being able to share things with another woman I can trust. Although I’m friends with the wives of the guys on Garrett’s team, I’m not real close to any of them. There are too many differences in personalities and attitudes, not to mention jealousy and pettiness to deal with at times. But our relationship has always been genuine, right from the beginning.”

  Maxi smiled, remembering that day in the schoolyard. “Yes, it was. I love you, girl.”

  “And I love you. Now let me hang up this phone before I find another thing to cry about.”

  “OK, you take care.”

  “You, too.”

  After Maxi hung up the phone she couldn’t help but think that both she and Mya had big issues to deal with and wondered how they would go about handling them. She decided to do just what she told Mya she would do.

  Pray.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  As far as Christopher was concerned, this had to be the longest week of his life. After being out of the office for the past seven days, he was too deep in correspondence he needed to answer, phone calls needing to be returned, and faxes needing to be read, to have his mind on anything but business. Yet Maxi and the offer he had made to her were never far from his thoughts.

  That night after he’d made the offer, they had left the cabin. Deciding not to rejoin the others at the banquet, they had walked along the deck holding hands, enjoying the beauty of the moon-kissed ocean. They had sat at a table in a restaurant and over a cup of cappuccino, they had talked about a lot of things—other than the offer he’d made earlier. It had been close to three in the morning before they’d finally left the restaurant to return to the cabin. He had gone back on deck to visit the casinos to give her the private time she needed to prepare for bed. He had deliberately stayed away, not returning until he’d known she’d be asleep. And just as deliberately, he had purposely been packed and gone when she had awakened the next morning, leaving her a note that simply said, “The decision is yours,” along with his business card on how to reach him.

  Christopher pushed away from the conference table and walked to the window when the other four men in the room began an intense debate about something he couldn’t remember. He was in the middle of an important board meeting, yet his mind wasn’t focused on the business at hand.

  “So what do you think about that proposal, Mr. Chandler?”

  He slanted a thoughtful glance across the room at the man who had asked him a question. “What proposal, Crawford?” He didn’t miss the looks that passed between the men. There had never been a time they’d not had his absolute attention when discussing business. Even Gabe was looking at him strangely.

  “He was asking about the land that might interest you at the North Pole, Chris,” Gabe said, amazingly straight-faced.

  But sti
ll, Christopher caught on, especially when the other three men at the table tried hiding their smiles. “How about if we meet on this again in the morning. It’s been a rather long day,” he said, glaring at Gabe.

  Less than five minutes later the room had cleared of everyone except Gabe. At first Christopher tried ignoring his presence, but after a few annoying minutes he turned his head toward his best friend and caught him staring at him with those dark, curious eyes of his. “Is there a problem, Blackwell?”

  “Evidently there is, Chandler. Do you want to tell me about it?”

  “No.”

  Gabe glanced down at his watch. “All right.” But he remained sitting at the table and watched as Christopher threw items into his briefcase. He stared at him for what seemed like ages, when in fact it had only been a few seconds when Christopher gave in—just like Gabe knew he eventually would. Christopher was not one to let anything interfere with business. Yet today he had. In fact, Gabe had noticed him being rather preoccupied since returning from the cruise. He had encouraged him to go on the cruise to relax, not to come back dense.

  Christopher’s gaze, which had been staring blankly at a document he’d picked up off the table, shifted abruptly to Gabe’s. “I saw her on the cruise.”

  Gabe wasn’t sure who he meant, although it was obvious Christopher thought he should. “Who did you see?”

  “Maxi.”

  Gabe lifted a brow. “Your Maxi?”

  Christopher smiled. He remembered the time when he and Gabe had first met and become close friends that he’d told him all about Maxi. “Yeah, my Maxi.”

  “Was her husband with her?”

  There was a lifting of Christopher’s eyebrows before he also remembered he’d mentioned to Gabe a while back, after he’d received the news from Mr. Thompson, that Maxi was getting married. “No, she never married. Her fiancé was killed in a car accident the week before the wedding.”

  “How tragic.”