Hyde (Dark Musicals Trilogy)

by Laura DeLuca

  “Coming, Mary, coming.”

  Rebecca tried to pull herself together and hoped her eyes wouldn’t look too blotchy. She rejoined the party with a few bottles of champagne in hand. Just as she finished replenishing the refreshment tables, she noticed someone who seemed lost among the crowd of partygoers. Victoria was standing alone in a corner, looking nervous and out of place, but still elegant in a pretty yellow sundress. She held a little boy in her arms and shifted his weight nervously from side to side as she scanned the room for a familiar face. As soon as the food was in order, Rebecca waved and jogged over. She was greeted with a shy half-smile.

  “Victoria, I’m so glad you came!”

  Her surprise guest shrugged. “I didn’t have any other plans.”

  “And who is your dashing young escort?” Rebecca teased, giving the doe-eyed boy a wide smile. He grinned back bashfully then buried his face in Victoria’s chest, but kept sneaking a peek at Rebecca every few seconds while he sucked on his fingers.

  “This is my son Elliot,” Victoria explained matter-of-factly. “Al is his father.”

  Rebecca already guessed as much. The little boy shared the chocolate skin of Albert instead of the fairer complexion of his Hispanic mother. He had a sweet, timid smile, and he watched Victoria with pure, unadulterated adoration in his eyes as he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. His presence explained a lot. Maybe it wasn’t for her own sake Victoria put up with Albert’s abuse. Maybe she was trying to protect her son. Perhaps she was afraid she couldn’t support him on her own. Rebecca had seen it before when she volunteered at C.A.R.A. Nonetheless, no matter how good Victoria’s intentions were, the abuse almost always spread to the children. Even worse, those kids often grew up believing the cruelty was acceptable.

  As much as Rebecca longed to help Victoria escape the cycle of violence she was trapped in, she knew it wasn’t the right time to bring it up. Victoria had to want her help, and the first step to getting to that point was simply being her friend. No strings attached. So for the time being, she tried to make the mother and son feel welcome.

  “And how old are you, Elliot?” Rebecca asked.

  He only giggled, so Victoria answered for him, “He’ll be four next month.”

  “He’s a very handsome young man.” Rebecca smiled. “I’m glad you were both able to join us. My parents set up a play area in the family room for all my little cousins. A few of the teenagers are babysitting them. If you want to let him play over there, you can mingle with some of the other guests. Tom and Carmen are right over there.” She gestured to the buffet where Tom was busy shoving a deviled egg into his mouth. “I still have to play hostess for a while, but I’ll be joining you as soon as I can get away from my duties.”

  Victoria nodded. “Okay. Thanks again for inviting me.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Victoria dropped her son off in the play area but stayed close by until she saw Elliot was happily engaged playing trucks with one of the other boys. When she finally inched her way over to Tom and Carmen, she was welcomed by an overly affectionate embrace, thanks to the champagne Carmen had been enjoying since she’d arrived. Once Rebecca saw Victoria was settled in and chatting, she moved on to greet a few of her other visitors. She was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. No one else heard it over the music, so Rebecca ran out to the foyer to answer it. She expected it to be another aunt or uncle in the ceaseless parade of relatives who had been marching through the front door. Her heart gave an unexpected flutter when she saw it was Justyn. He took her hand and lifted her fingers to his lips in greeting.

  “You look beautiful this evening, my love.” He traced the outline of her fitted dress, and instantly her arms prickled with gooseflesh. “Absolutely ravishing.”

  Rebecca felt her breath catch, and for a moment she couldn’t find her voice to reply. Justyn looked amazing as well—absolutely irresistible. He was decked out in plain black dress pants with a sports jacket over a black button-down shirt. He had left off his regular facial piercings and makeup, but he hadn’t been able to resist adding a tie with a skull and crossbones. It was classy and sophisticated without compromising his personal style. Rebecca was half-tempted to forget all about the party and sneak him up to her bedroom. Instead, she pulled him into the library before anyone noticed he had arrived. Once they were alone, she couldn’t suppress the urge to take advantage of the moment and tease him a little. She put on her most serious face and crossed her arms.

  “Why, Lord Justyn, it appears you’re tardy for your own engagement party, just like the illustrious Dr. Jekyll. Do you always have to mimic the plays we’re performing in our real lives?”

  Justyn gave her a cocky smile. “I guess I can’t help myself. I even have a similar excuse. I was working and got stuck with a late table. You aren’t angry with me, are you?”

  “Of course not.” Rebecca smiled and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “I’m glad you agreed to come at all. I know this isn’t your thing. Honestly, it’s not mine either. I would prefer a more private celebration, but it meant a lot to my mom. She’s been planning my wedding since I was a toddler.”

  “I know.” Justyn smiled as he slipped his arms around her waist. “And the last thing I want to do is alienate the one future in-law who sort of tolerates me.”

  “My dad is coming around too,” Rebecca promised. “He’s just—”

  “Your dad,” Justyn finished. “I know.”

  “Speaking of dads…” Rebecca started, growing more serious. She cleared her throat and suddenly found it hard to look him in the eye. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Uh-oh. Did Matt try to go skinny dipping in your neighbor’s pool again?”

  Rebecca giggled. Matt had actually done that at their Fourth of July barbeque the year before. Rebecca’s mother almost passed out, and her father was struck dumb for the first time in his life. However, Rebecca had a more serious agenda to discuss with her future husband.

  “No,” Rebecca told him. “Matt seems to be on his best behavior this evening. This is something more personal. I was waiting until we had some time alone to tell—”

  Rebecca’s mouth snapped shut when the pipe organs erupted from Justyn’s pocket. Some things never changed, and her fiancé’s Phantom ringtone was one of them. Justyn rolled his eyes as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

  “Always at the worst possible times. Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of th—” He stopped himself in midsentence after he checked the number. “Actually this is kind of important. Give me a second, okay?”

  Rebecca didn’t really have much choice. Justyn had already flipped open the phone and started talking. She resisted the urge to feel annoyed.

  “Dash? Yeah, sure. Do you know Tamilio’s in Cape May? Yeah, I work there. Can you meet me outside around six tomorrow? Yeah, I’ll have the things you wanted. Sounds good. See you then.”

  Rebecca raised an eyebrow as Justyn shoved the cell back into his pocket. “Who’s Dash?”

  “No one important. It’s a business thing.” Justyn shrugged nonchalantly. “Now what was it you wanted to talk about?”

  “Well…” Rebecca felt as nervous as she did on opening nights. She wasn’t exactly sure where to start. “I ummm—”

  “Justyn, there you are! I was wondering if you were going to show up.”

  Before she could even finalize her thought process, Darlene’s voice interrupted Rebecca for the second time. She wanted to be annoyed, but instead, she was sort of relieved to be able to put off the conversation she didn’t really want to have. Darlene practically sprang into the room and wrapped her son in an excited hug. Matt shuffled in behind her with his hands in his pockets. He cocked his head to the side as he studied his stepson.

  “Not getting cold feet already, are ya, kid?”

  Justyn rolled his eyes and squeezed Rebecca’s hand. “Of course not, Matt. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

 
“Oh, stop teasing them, Matthew!” Darlene ordered, nudging her husband with her shapely hips. “You know as well as I do that this was all meant to be. The first time I met Becca, I knew she would be my daughter-in-law someday. “ Then she turned to her son. “Justyn, I have a big surprise for you. It’s the best engagement gift you could possibly ask for!”

  Justyn rolled his eyes. “Darlene, unless you’re going to tell me we won the lottery, I doubt I’m going to share your enthusiasm.”

  “Oh, stop being so grumpy,” Darlene insisted. “Trust me. This is way better than the lottery.”

  If Justyn was about to make a typical cynical comeback, the sarcasm died on his lips as Darlene gestured an older couple into the room. Despite the fact she was in her early sixties, the woman had hair the color of the sunset, and the man beside her modeled the same crooked grin Justyn wore so well. Rebecca saw her fiancé’s face light up as soon as he set eyes on the familiar faces. He let go of her hand to run over and greet them.

  “Sherry! Bruce!”

  Most people wouldn’t have guessed it from the casual greeting, but Rebecca knew Sherry and Bruce were Justyn’s grandparents. She had met them before on one of their holiday breaks. The pair had spent the first years of their early retirement touring the country in a jumbo-sized mobile home. Even though Justyn’s family was a close-knit group, his grandparents’ constant travels and lack of a cell phone made it difficult to keep in touch with them. Rebecca had no idea how they’d found out about the engagement, let alone the party. Obviously, their appearance was a huge surprise to Justyn as well.

  “I can’t believe you’re here!” Justyn exclaimed as Sherry wrapped him in an inescapable bear hug. “Shouldn’t you be in the Grand Canyon right now?”

  Sherry waved her hand. “We decided the ocean was a much better place to spend the summer, especially after we heard the big news.”

  Sherry beamed at Justyn, and he was happier than Rebecca had seen him in weeks. As she listened to them catch up, she couldn’t help but admire the beautiful flame-haired woman in her colorful green-and-white Celtic sarong. She certainly didn’t appear old enough to be Justyn’s grandmother. Nor was there any resemblance between the very Irish Sherry and her raven-haired offspring. Justyn was actually a much younger version of Bruce. They had the same thick black tresses—though Bruce’s was peppered with gray—the same dark eyes, even the same calm mannerisms. Physical appearances aside, Justyn and Darlene both took after Sherry far more than the conservative Bruce. He stood silently on the sidelines, waiting patiently for his turn to greet his grandson with a modest embrace and a firm hand shake.

  Darlene’s bubbly personality had definitely been inherited from her mother, even though their style of dress was vastly different. Sherry was an eternal flowerchild who liked to dress in bright colors and was always draped in lavish costume jewelry. She was filled with an abundance of energy that radiated from her in waves and overflowed to those around her. As soon as she entered a room, the whole atmosphere changed. People would smile for no reason. Sherry had that effect on them. It was impossible not to like her.

  “We’re both so happy for you!” Sherry gushed and ran over to give Rebecca a hug as well. “It’s such a blessing to have you as part of our family, Becca dear.”

  Rebecca returned the enthusiastic embrace with a smile. For the next few minutes, they all chatted about Sherry and Bruce’s most recent escapades through the Pocono Mountains. Somewhere in the interim, Rebecca’s parents joined the impromptu assembly in the library. Her father shook Bruce’s hand, obviously relieved at least one of his future in-laws met his description of normal. Once proper introductions were made, Rebecca and Justyn were ushered back to the festivities. They opened their gifts while everyone toasted to their future. Rebecca had to make sure she had a glass of sparkling cider instead of champagne. Luckily, Justyn’s abstinence from alcohol made it easy to avoid explanations. She simply poured both their glasses at the same time and no one ever realized she was refraining as well.

  Eventually, things settled down, and Rebecca and Justyn were able to escape the fanfare. They joined Carmen, Tom, and Victoria outside by the firepit, where they were roasting marshmallows with the kids. Victoria and her son Elliot were enjoying themselves most of all. They laughed as one of the gooey marshmallows fell off the stick onto Tom’s shoe. When he tried to wipe it away, he only made it worse, which got the rest of the crowd giggling as well.

  Rebecca was glad to see everyone having fun, but she realized she wasn’t going to get any time alone with Justyn again that evening. Of course, if she were honest with herself, she knew it would be easy enough to sneak off into some secluded corner. The chance of another interruption was less likely when Darlene and her parents had retired for the night and Rebecca’s family was busy cleaning up. The truth was, Rebecca didn’t want to ruin the night with what might be unwanted news. So she joined her friends by the fire and tried to forget that in a few months, her life would be changing forever.

  Chapter Ten

  The rest of the week flew by. Between work and spending time with family members who lingered to take advantage of the local beaches, Rebecca barely saw Justyn outside of the theater. Before she knew it, it was Sunday, and she was glad at least her nights would be free for a few days. Working two jobs was getting harder as the fatigue from pregnancy started to set in. She was also hoping to get some time alone with Justyn. She yanked on the ends of her hair nervously and glanced over at him in the driver’s seat as they headed to the theater. She wondered if she would ever find the right time to tell him about the baby. Just thinking about it made her heart start to pound. She forced herself to take a deep breath. Worrying about it wasn’t going to do anyone any good, and she certainly couldn’t make any big announcements while Tom and Carmen were lip-locked in the backseat.

  It was Justyn’s turn to drive again, but for once they were actually going to be on time for work. When they pulled into the driveway of the municipal parking lot, it was only a quarter after six, but Justyn still seemed anxious to be on their way. Before slamming the driver’s door, Rebecca noticed him pulling something out of the glove compartment that he shoved deep into the pocket of his cargo pants. She was going to ask him what it was, but he and Tom started chatting about the antique car show coming to town. Then as they were walking toward the restaurant, Carmen grabbed her arm and forced her to slow her pace. They lagged behind until there was no way the guys could hear her heated whisper.

  “You didn’t tell him yet, did you?” Carmen demanded. She gave a fanny pack-toting tourist a dirty look when they bumped into her before turning her unforgiving gaze back to Rebecca.

  Rebecca refused to meet her eyes. “I haven’t had a chance.”

  “That’s a load of crap. We both know if you had so much as a hangnail, Justyn would blow off the rest of the world just to kiss it and make it better. If you told him you needed to talk, he would make time. All these stupid excuses are because you’re scared.”

  Rebecca flinched. Carmen always did know how to call her bluff, and she was nothing if not blunt. Finally, Rebecca consented with a sigh. “I know you’re right. I’ll tell him tonight. No matter what happens. I promise.”

  Carmen was still annoyed. “I sure hope you mean that. You can only keep this a secret for so long, you know.”

  Rebecca grunted. Carmen had an annoying habit of pointing out facts Rebecca would have preferred to ignore. In between bouts of morning sickness, it was easy for her to pretend the whole thing wasn’t happening. Still, Justyn was too perceptive not to catch on eventually. The only reason he hadn’t noticed how much she’d been sleeping and puking lately was because he was working so many hours and they weren’t sleeping in the same house. Sooner or later, that was going to change. Rebecca knew Justyn would be hurt and maybe even angry she hadn’t been honest with him from the get-go, but even that knowledge didn’t stop her from procrastinating. Maybe it was because telling the father about the baby would finally make
it irrevocably real.

  “What are you two up to back there, looking all serious and junk?” Tom asked. “It always makes me nervous when girls start whispering behind my back.”

  Rebecca felt her cheeks flush. They sideswiped a few sightseers as they jogged to catch up with the guys. She didn’t dare stutter a reply. She was never good at lying, but the middle of the tourist-encrusted street was hardly the place for any serious conversations. Justyn gave her a curious look, but good old Carmen was quick to cover for her.

  “Guilty conscious, Tom?” Carmen curled her lip. “If you haven’t done anything wrong, there should be no reason for you to be nervous.”

  “What? I-I…” Tom stammered, his eyes wide.

  Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh at the flustered look on his face. There was no question about who wore the pants in that relationship. “Just a little girl talk, Tom,” she assured him. “Carmen is busting your stones. It really wasn’t anything that would interest you.”

  “Whatever you say,” Tom agreed. “I’ve learned girl talk is something sacred that should never be questioned by guys. If we try, we always wind up looking like morons.”

  “That’s a good boy,” Carmen teased and patted Tom on his rump. “I love that I’ve trained you so well. You know exactly when to butt out.”

  Carmen looped arms with Tom, but Justyn didn’t seem convinced by their girl talk excuse. He’d always been more perceptive than Tom, and he looked Rebecca over with concern in his dark eyes. He squeezed her hand as they waited on the corner for a horse and buggy to trudge past.

  “Is everything all right with you, Becca? I know we haven’t had much time together lately, but I feel like you’ve been a little … distant. I hope you know if you need me, I’m here for you. You come first with me. Always.”

  Rebecca fought back a dozen different emotions his words stirred in her and refused to let herself cry. She should have known Justyn would sense something was wrong. She might have made her big reveal right then and there if Tom and a half-dozen vacationers weren’t listening to every word they said. Instead, she clutched his fingers and smiled.