Sex Happens

by Carol Soloway

  “Now I’m sure Gabe did—or is doing—drugs. And drugs can make people do crazy things. They even think they can get away with anything.” She rubbed her wrist. “I can’t believe I never even suspected anything with Gabe.”

  “You couldn’t have known.” Seth put his arm around her.

  “Of course I could have. I mean, he went away for several weeks, and I believed it was a seminar. He was in a detox program. Now, I’m sure of that.” She fought back tears. “Before he went, he was irritable, but when he came home, he was a changed person. Oh, how could I have ignored everything?”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You were in love.”

  “And blind,” Alex said. Suddenly, she looked to the right and saw Gabe. “Is he coming over here?” she asked as her gut tensed.

  “Looks like it to me,” Seth said.

  Gabe walked up to her, hands folded across his chest, his beige suede jacket gaping open over his stomach. He smiled, that Gabe smile, the one without parting his lips, the one he used when he really didn’t mean to smile. “Alex, can I talk to you alone?” he asked.

  “I have no secrets from Seth,” she said. She wasn’t going to let Gabe bully her again. Accustomed as she’d been to reflexively responding to his requests in the past, now she was going to tell him what she wanted and act on it—even if it was something as insignificant as insisting he talk to her in front of Seth. It was a start.

  “Thanksgiving’s coming up.” Gabe tugged at his jacket, trying to close it.

  “So?” she said, marveling at how easily the calendar continued uninterrupted, even after their marriage had ended.

  “I’ve decided to allow you to see the boys during the holiday.”

  How magnanimous, she thought sourly. “Great. I’ll take them for the Thanksgiving weekend.”

  “No, just Thanksgiving day,” Gabe said in a harsh voice.

  “Why not the entire weekend?”

  He arched his eyebrows. “Don’t push it, Alexandra, or you won’t see them at all. This is an act of kindness.”

  “Why?” she asked, uncharacteristically challenging him.

  “Linda’s family is having dinner at her mother’s, and I thought, for your sake, it would be nice to allow you to have them.”

  “Doesn’t Linda’s family want them?” she asked.

  “Forget it,” Gabe said and started to turn away.

  “Wait,” Seth interjected. “Alex and the boys will be my guests for Thanksgiving.”

  “Someone has to keep an eye on her.” Gabe turned and made his way down the bleachers.

  “Don’t.” Seth gently put his hand on her arm as she started to get up. “Thanksgiving will be perfect.”

  ◆◆◆

  Spatula in hand, Seth opened the door and welcomed her into his pristine condo overlooking the ocean. With the sun streaming into the condo and the smell of turkey baking, she felt tranquil for the first time in months. She walked to the balcony.

  Seth turned her around to face him. “I’m worried about you.”

  “No need, I’m fine,” she said, attempting to reassure him, even though he probably knew she was lying. “We have to pick up the boys in a half hour.”

  “Let me check the turkey, and then we’ll leave,” Seth said.

  She followed him to the granite island in his stainless-steel-and-white kitchen. From the kitchen, she surveyed the artfully set dining table: silverware placed in perfect order, dishes and napkins beautiful. Norman Rockwell America beautiful.

  Seth insisted on driving, stating that she was his guest and had to relax today. He transferred Jon’s car seat to his car, and they went to pick up the boys. As soon as Alex and Seth pulled up to Gabe’s house, the boys stopped kicking the soccer ball across the manicured lawn and climbed into the car.

  On the way back to Seth’s house, Eric and Daniel argued over who kicked the ball farther. Alex tried to erase the picture of the boys’ perfect home, perfect family, perfect life.

  “Be good,” she whispered as they boys got out of the car and started to run to Seth’s condominium. Once inside, they immediately rushed to the patio to look at the ocean.

  “We can walk on the beach after dinner,” Seth promised. “Dinner’s ready.”

  As Alex looked at her boys seated around the table in Seth’s high-back caramel leather chairs and smelled the fragrant turkey wafting through the air, her heart swelled with love. The boys were the most wonderful part of her. She smiled and was transported back to a time when her identity as a good mother remained unquestioned.

  “Does anyone know why we celebrate Thanksgiving?” Seth asked, his tone soft yet professorial.

  “I do,” Daniel said. “In 1620, the Pilgrims came to America to escape religious tyranny. We’re thankful they landed in the colonies.”

  Seth smiled kindly.

  “Can I have the money for my shoes?” Jon asked.

  Eric rolled his eyes. “What’s he talking about now?”

  “Mommy telled me about the colony days.” Jon glanced at her. “You know, the right foot and the left.”

  “Doofus,” Eric said.

  “He’s correct,” Seth said. “In colonial times, both the right and left shoes were the same, and, until the shoes molded to their feet, they’d put a penny in the right shoe to differentiate it from the left.”

  “See,” Jon said. “I remembered.”

  Seth winked at Jon. “Here’s a quarter. Be sure to put it in the right one.”

  “Thanks.” Jon took the quarter and smirked at Eric.

  Alex nodded and smiled, appreciative of how adeptly Seth interacted with her boys.

  “Can I get money for the other shoe?” Jon asked.

  They all laughed—a warm laugh, thanks to Seth’s lead.

  After devouring the turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and cranberry sauce, they walked along the beach. Pant cuffs drenched, they threw a Frisbee until it grew dark. Then all three boys climbed into the backseat of Seth’s Volvo.

  As Seth passed the pillars at the entryway to Gabe’s, or rather Linda’s, circular driveway, the sensor lights came on. Gabe is living our dream without me, she thought as she stared at the pillars of perfection at the front of the house.

  Seth went up to the door, rang the bell, and waited for the housekeeper to open the imposing, sixteen-foot-high door.

  “All out,” Alex said and opened the back door.

  “My belly hurts ’cause I eated too much,” Jon announced, a crooked grin on his face.

  “Let me kiss it.” She lifted his shirt and planted a noisy tummy kiss.

  Throwing his arms around her, Jon said, “Mommy, I wanna stay with you.”

  “I know, Cookie Face, but this is the way it is now.” She didn’t trust herself to say much more without dissolving into tears. Then she hugged each of the boys. “Love you,” she called after the boys as she watched them enter the house.

  Alex and Seth returned to his condo.

  “Like to come up for an aperitif?” he asked.

  Unwilling to let go of the day, Alex nodded. “Sounds good, but then I have to head home.”

  He reached for her hand to help her out of the car. She took it, savoring the gentle power of his grasp.

  While he poured some peach schnapps, she settled into the plush black couch beside the warm fireplace. He handed her a long-stemmed cordial glass, his fingers brushing against hers. Suddenly, she felt the setting change before her eyes from a comfortable family gathering to something else, something romantic.

  He sat beside her on the couch, their shoulders touching. “Alex, we need to talk.”

  She turned to him and studied his face. He looked at her softly, kindly, his sky-blue eyes twinkling. In her gut, she felt he was different from every man she’d ever known, but then again, that could just have been du
e to the fact that he was her partner, and business had always been an easier terrain for her to navigate.

  Seth glanced down at his drink. “I’m moving to Arizona to be with my children.”

  Stunned by the possibility that he, too, would leave her, Alex felt the familiar ache of loss. Until now, she’d never thought about his needs. “The practice needs you,” she said. She really wanted to tell him she needed him but didn’t.

  “That’s the reason I have to go.” He spoke with care, as though placing a porcelain doll on a shelf. “The practice is the only aspect of your life where you see me.”

  “You’re my court-appointed monitor.”

  “I’ll wait until the custody issue is resolved.” He brushed a strand of her hair back, his fingers lingering along the curve of her cheek. “I need to leave.”

  “Why?” she whispered. She couldn’t handle the practice without him. Maybe she couldn’t handle her life without him.

  “Alex, I need more. The practice isn’t enough.”

  “But we’re doing so well.”

  “You’ll have the entire practice,” he said.

  Shocked, she looked deep into his blue eyes. She’d thought of him only as the classmate with whom she’d gone to chiropractic college years ago and then her trustworthy business partner. But, in all the years, she’d never thought about her feelings for Seth, the man. Instead, she’d been consumed by Gabe and then Luke. She looked up at him. “Seth, I need you.”

  He moved close and kissed her lips.

  She liked it.

  He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Let me take you out for a farewell dinner.”

  She withdrew her hand. “I can’t.”

  “Alex, I don’t mean to pressure you.”

  “That’s not it,” she stammered, unable to reveal the truth about Luke and the danger he posed to everyone around her.

  “What is it?” Seth rubbed her back.

  She looked at her watch, fearful that Luke might call. “I’ve got to go home.”

  Seth followed her to her car, transferred Jon’s car seat, and opened the door for her.

  As she started to slip into the driver’s seat, she stopped and turned to him. He drew her into his arms, embracing her with more tenderness than she’d ever experienced. “Alex, even when I leave Orange County, I’ll always be here for you. Always.”

  CHAPTER 42

  Alex pressed the garage door opener and pulled into the garage. As she entered the house, she saw a dim light flicker within the family room. She headed in that direction, trying to remember whether she’d left the lamp on. Then she heard rustling. Suddenly, the springs of the big white chair in the family room squeaked.

  She froze.

  Luke grabbed her. “I know where you’ve been.”

  She stepped back. “I was with my boys,” she said in the calmest voice she could manage, heeding Terrie’s warning.

  “At this hour?”

  “How’d you get into my house?” she asked.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He laughed. “After you started to get all uppity, I did a little research on your locks. I can get a duplicate key made very easily.” He pulled her closer.

  Smelling booze, she decided she had to stay one step ahead of him. He could harm her. She recalled Clay’s warning about PTSD and knew that could account for his irrational behavior. “It’s Thanksgiving, and I spent the afternoon and evening with my children.”

  “You were with Seth.” He glared at her, rage in his eyes. “Did he fuck you after the boys went home?”

  Stay calm, Alex told herself. “Nothing happened between us.”

  “Don’t even think of lying.” Luke shook her.

  She understood his warning: mock me or lie to me, and you’ll suffer. Ever since Luke had morphed into this monster, she’d been counting the minutes until the judge ruled on the custody case. As soon as she gained custody of the boys, she’d go to the police and proceed with a restraining order. Then she’d be finished with Luke, brotherhood or not. She’d even hire a bodyguard if necessary. Now, she needed to placate him so that nothing could besmirch her character. If she reported Luke to the police again, there was a chance Gabe’s attorney would find out.

  “I’ll tell you how it’s going to be.” He pushed her down on the couch and sat next to her, not even a hair between them. “You’re the one I want.” He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. “Now, I discover that you were out all night with him.”

  “It’s only midnight.” She wondered if she’d ever be able to make him understand the most he’d ever get from her was a pyrrhic victory, taking her without having her.

  He twisted her wrist, fragile under his enormous calloused fingers. “I’m as attuned to you as a hunting dog is to his prey.”

  “Nothing happened,” she repeated, fearful the wrong word would push her closer to danger.

  “Alex, I’ve never let a woman reject me.”

  She knew he meant he wouldn’t allow her to leave him. Terrified, she longed for the rhythm of life where every day was a mirror image of the preceding day—not this horrific roller coaster, first with Gabe and now with Luke. She whispered, “Please, we can work everything out in time.”

  He put his arm around her and pulled her to him. “Alex, I’m not a toy you can play with for a while and then toss away.” He let go of her. “Pour me a drink. I need time to think. Do I help Alexandra or destroy her?”

  “Alex,” she whispered. She wasn’t Alexandra anymore—or was she? Terrified, she went to the kitchen, picked up the phone, and started to punch in 911. She thought she heard him walk toward the kitchen. She quickly put down the phone. Trying to collect herself and plan her next move, she slowly pressed the ice button on the refrigerator door and let the ice clunk into the glass.

  “What’s taking you so long to mix my drink?” he called from the family room.

  “One second,” she said. She poured scotch and soda into the glass, returned to the den, and put his glass on the coffee table.

  He grabbed the glass, drank it in two gulps, and demanded, “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

  She remained perfectly still.

  “Alex, what are you thinking of doing? Calling the police? Response time’s twenty minutes. I’ll be done by then. Remember, my nephew’s in the force, and he knows how irrational you are. My nephew told his buddies how you sometimes get violent and force me to have sex.”

  “That’s a lie,” she said. No, she couldn’t tolerate the feel of his body on hers, not tonight, not ever again. She ran to the vestibule, grabbed her keys and purse, and dashed into the garage. She got into her car and pressed the button to open the garage door. As she backed out, she caught a glimpse of Luke running out the front door to his truck. She stomped on the gas. Her car careened backward into the street, and she sped away, tires squealing.

  She started to drive to Seth’s but stopped. Luke would look for her there. After driving for an hour, certain Luke had not followed her, she realized she was near Knott’s Berry Farm. She spotted a motel with a vacancy sign flashing in neon lights. She got a room.

  She washed her face with the harsh soap, brushed her teeth with her finger, and climbed into bed. The sheets were coarse, so unlike the silk–cotton blend at the Bellagio Hotel, the place where her life had unraveled. This stark room, void of the stuff people thought defined a person, felt safe.

  ◆◆◆

  The next morning, Alex called a security specialist to have an alarm system installed. Even though it was the Friday after Thanksgiving, when she told them she was in danger, they agreed to send out a technician immediately.

  By the end of the day, the technician had installed the alarm, placed the signs on all of her doors and windows, and explained how safe she’d be with the alarm that went directly to the police station.

  “S
afe,” she repeated. Wanting to believe him, she closed all the doors and windows and waited. Luke didn’t call, nor did he come to her house.

  Saturday afternoon, Alex and Seth picked up the boys for their supervised visitation. Since the boys didn’t have any football games scheduled on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Alex and Seth took them to the park with the tennis courts. She couldn’t chance taking them to the tennis club. The possibility of seeing Luke at the club was too terrifying.

  After the park and a trip to McDonald’s, it was time for the boys to return to Gabe’s house. They all got into the car. With his usual ability to engage the boys, Seth asked them to come up with two rules about playing tennis that they should obey.

  Daniel and Eric called out, “If you hit the other person with the ball, even by accident, then the person who hit the ball gets the point.”

  “Right,” Seth said. “And the other one?”

  “No talking,” Jon said.

  “Right, but it’s a little more complicated than that,” Seth said. “Hint: when the ball is …”

  “Yellow.” Jon grinned.

  “You can’t talk while the ball is on the other side of the net,” Daniel said.

  “Excellent,” Seth commended Daniel.

  Alex recalled the time when Seth had told her about being afraid of the white tennis balls—the ones that don’t exist anymore—and how he overcame his fears. But now it seemed she was afraid of everything, especially things that hadn’t yet happened.

  As they drove up the long driveway to Gabe’s house, the automatic lights went on. Gabe came out to greet them.

  On the ride back to Alex’s house, Seth told her how much he enjoyed spending time with the boys, but it made him yearn for his children in Arizona. He told her now that his son was in little league and his daughter in ballet, it was too difficult to remain in California.

  “Seth, please don’t make a final decision without talking to me one more time.”

  He squeezed her hand. “How about dinner tomorrow?”

  She agreed.

  CHAPTER 43

  While dressing for dinner with Seth, she reassured herself there’d be no problem going out with him. If Luke saw the signs from the alarm company on the doors and windows, it was unlikely he’d take a chance breaking in.