Sitting at his desk, mindlessly scrolling through his e-mails, Parker sighed as he thought about life’s irony. When he had come to Victoria in those dark nights five years ago, it was the closest he’d ever felt to her, yet the most far away she’d ever been....
On the day his son was born,Victoria had been heavy on Parker’s mind. As he looked at his new “mini me” lying in the hospital nursery, he was overjoyed. But in that joy there was also sadness, because although he instantly loved PJ on sight, he knew that having rebound sex with Pamela had been a bad idea.
He had regretted it almost from the start. They’d hooked up a few weeks after Victoria had gotten married. Seeing her wedding announcement in the newspaper had sent him into a mild state of depression, a very sobering experience for a man as admittedly confident and ego driven as he was.
After moping around and shutting himself off for days, he decided that he had to get on with the business of living. He knew he was a damn good catch and that he could have practically any woman he wanted. After all, who wouldn’t want a tall, handsome, Harvard-educated surgeon who was cultured in the ways of the world, sophisticated in his taste of the finer things, and who knew how to please a woman in the bedroom?
Parker decided that the best way to get back out there was to throw himself headfirst into the sea. When he ran into Pamela one night at a mutual friend’s housewarming party, she chatted him up and they agreed to have dinner the following evening. Over the course of the next week Pamela worked her charms, skillfully applying just the right amount of emotional salve to his wounds, helping to ease his painful breakup with Victoria. She pulled out all the stops, luring him back into her bed. That night was a blur for Parker after too much cognac and too many sweet whispers in his ear, but Pamela knew exactly what she was doing. A month later she announced that she was pregnant.
Even though Parker clearly wasn’t in love with her, he wanted to do the right thing by Pamela, so instead of giving her the engagement ring she’d been hoping for, he presented her with a carefully structured legal document that spelled out his financial commitment to their unborn child. Pamela was furious but kept her true feelings tucked away while she patiently plotted to get the ring and marriage proposal she so desperately wanted.
During the months leading up to her delivery, Parker was ever diligent and caring, attending all her prenatal appointments and joining her at Lamaze classes. Pamela’s enthusiasm about her impending bundle of joy began to wane as she grew bigger with each passing month, an emotional state that her ob-gyn attributed to stress. So Parker took it upon himself to order the crib, shop for baby supplies, and even decorate the baby’s room in her house. “I don’t want you to worry about a thing,” he’d told her. “Our baby is going to be happy and healthy, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure you have a safe delivery.”
When the big day finally arrived, Parker was overjoyed to cut the umbilical cord of his newborn son. His mother and Pamela’s mother had come to town and were equally as happy to welcome their grandchild. For them, it was a dream come true because the two women had been best friends for over forty years. They’d been making wedding plans for Parker and Pamela since they were children building sand castles on the beach when their families vacationed together during summers on Martha’s Vineyard. Now they were ecstatic because they saw their new grandchild as the bridge that would finally unite their two children in matrimony. Everyone had high hopes except Parker, because he knew that his heart still belonged to someone else, even if she was married to another man.
The day after PJ was born, Parker noticed a new baby in the nursery when he went to visit his son before starting his morning rounds. The baby was a tiny, beautiful little girl who trembled from head to toe inside an incubator. Normally, he would have paid no attention to any baby other than his own, but there was something about the helpless, angel-like infant that drew him in. He walked up to the side of the plastic encased bubble and stared at the little girl inside; then he looked at her name tag and realized why she’d captured his attention.
“Nurse,” Parker called out to the floor nurse on duty. “Can you pull the chart on the Thornton baby?”
After reading Alexandria’s chart, Parker immediately became concerned. She’d been delivered by cesarean section due to placental abruption. She was full term but underweight, and was suffering from severe jaundice, fluid buildup in her tiny lungs, and a weakened immune system. But his worry subsided a little when he saw that Keith Bloomberg, one of the best pediatric surgeons on the East Coast, was already on the case.
“She was delivered early this morning,” the nurse said as she stood near Parker, attending to another infant. “She’s a tiny little thing, and she’s got some breathing problems, but she’s a real fighter.” She smiled. “She gets it honest. I think she and her mother will both be all right. She’s a fighter, too.”
Parker froze but kept his outward expression calm and casual. He knew he had to find out the extent of Victoria’s condition. Placental abruptions could cause major bleeding and serious complications for the mother. After some quick snooping, he learned that she’d hemorrhaged badly by the time she arrived at the hospital and even more during the emergency cesarean. Her blood pressure was dangerously low, and she was still in intensive care.
Parker searched the floor for her room and finally found it. As he approached, he glimpsed Victoria’s mother and heard the unmistakable baritone of her father booming through the room. John Small had always been an intimidating figure, but hearing him speak now, Parker could feel the worry and fear in the older man’s voice. He wanted to rush in and let John and Elizabeth know that Victoria would be just fine, that he’d make sure of it. But he knew it would be a bad idea to insert himself into the situation, especially since he had no doubt that Ted was in the room with them. He tugged on his stethoscope and eased by the open door, looking inside as he passed. Ted was sitting at the edge of Victoria’s bed, while her parents were camped out in two chairs against the window.
Late that evening, long after visitors’ hours had ended, Parker found his way back to Victoria’s room. He remembered that she’d always been a sound sleeper, and now, with the help of sedative drugs, she was out for the count.
He stood watch as she slept, checking the updates on her chart and monitoring her vital signs. He even ventured to hold her hand, then kiss her lightly on her forehead. This became his nightly ritual until she was released, safe and well....
As Parker logged off his computer and went into his bedroom to undress, he felt a heavy weight sitting in the pit of his stomach. He reached in his pants pocket and fished out Victoria’s business card, which he’d picked up from the gift table at the wedding reception. He looked at her business address, phone number, and e-mail, committing them to memory before sitting the card on his nightstand. He let out a small sigh. Just when he thought he’d finally gotten Victoria out of his system and off his mind, she was back again, live and in living color.
Chapter Seven
What’s Inside That Box ... ?
It was early Sunday morning, and the waiting was finally over. Shortly after midnight, Carolyn Thornton breathed her last breath of life. It had been a tumultuous twenty-four hours.Ted and his sister had stood vigil over their mother’s bed for most of the day, taking turns in between cafeteria breaks. Charlie had arrived late that evening, crying and grieving like the devoted son he never was.
Once all her children were gathered around her bed, Carolyn went quietly, but with a pained expression on her face. She’d awoken briefly, looked at Ted, Lilly, and Charlie, and summoned the strength she needed to speak one last time. “I did the best I could. I loved you all.” And with that, she was gone.
Carolyn’s attorney had been posted at the hospital for most of the evening, too. Abe Brookstein was more than just a legal advisor; he was a trusted and valued family friend. Abe had been the Thorntons’ attorney for over thirty years. His uncle and Charles Sr. had been classmates at H
arvard and had enjoyed a long-lasting personal and business relationship. After his uncle passed away, Abe took over where he’d left off. Watching Carolyn go was like losing an aunt, and although at the moment all he wanted to do was grieve, he knew that he had serious work to do. He pulled Ted to the side, not hesitating so he could get to the bottom of the business at hand.
“Ted, can I speak to you for a minute?” Abe asked, inviting him to step into the hallway.
Ted could hear Abe’s voice, but he felt numb as he looked at his mother’s lifeless body. He’d braced himself for this moment, knowing it would come, but it still felt unreal. He’d also braced himself for the conversation with Abe that he knew was coming. He stepped into the hall, leaving Lilly, Charlie, and the nurse inside to wait for his mother’s doctor. Charlie glared as the two men walked out of the room, wondering what they were up to, but not having the nerve to question them at such a delicate and sensitive time.
“Ted, I know this isn’t a good time,” Abe began, getting straight to the point. “But I need to give you this.” Abe handed Ted a small envelope with a number written on it. “Inside this envelope is the key to your mother’s safe-deposit box. She instructed me to give it to you the moment she passed.”
Ted temporarily laid down his grief and picked up his focused mind. “Abe, what’s this about? What’s inside that box?” he asked, folding the small envelope before tucking it into his pocket.
“I have no idea. Carolyn never told me. You know how private your mother is,” Abe replied, still referring to her in the present tense. “All I know is that she was very adamant that I give you the key the moment she passed.”
Ted shook his head, trying to deal with loss and newfound worries. He knew that whatever he found in the safe-deposit box, it wouldn’t be good, and the thought that he’d have to wait another day until the bank opened on Monday morning made the situation even more taxing. He didn’t like the feeling of having no control over things, and as his fingers gripped the envelope in his pocket, his senses told him that this was the first of many situations that would leave him feeling helpless to the events around him.
After the doctor made the official death pronouncement, Ted began taking care of the solemn details that death required: signing hospital documents, making phone calls, and organizing funeral arrangements. Charlie wanted to hold a family meeting right away to discuss their mother’s will. Lilly was too despondent to be outraged that her brother wanted to talk about divvying up their mother’s material possessions, instead of mourning her loss. But even though Ted was grief-stricken, he was still his commanding self. He told Charlie in a brutally firm tone that not a thing would be discussed concerning their mother’s estate until Monday morning, and for the moment, they’d have peace on the Sabbath and mourn her death.
After signing the necessary paperwork so the morgue could release his mother’s body to the funeral home, Ted was exhausted from stress and fear of the unknown. For the first time since he’d arrived in town, he drove over to his mother’s house. He didn’t know if it was because of his mood or if it was a result of the years of quiet sickness that his mother had suffered, but the once grand Thornton home had taken on the look and feel of a mausoleum. It was the same house he had grown up in and had visited frequently on holidays, but now his mother’s death had turned it into something else.
He climbed the spiral staircase, managing to drag his body up to his mother’s bedroom. His thoughts were moving so fast, they made his head swim. All he could think about was his mother’s last words and the key in his pocket to the safe-deposit box at Boston Private Bank. “What was Mother hiding?” he whispered to himself.
The smell of Carolyn’s softly scented talcum powder filled Ted’s nose. He looked around the large, neatly kept bedroom, as if answers would jump out at him. “What am I doing here?” he questioned. He knew that being there was a waste of time and that nothing would be accomplished by searching for a mysterious secret in a dark, empty house.
He’d considered contacting Bo Powers, the private investigator he had hired years ago to uncover his first wife’s sordid past. But upon further contemplation, he thought better of it. He knew that whatever his mother was hiding, it was something that was intended for him alone.
It was nearly 3:00 a.m. by the time Ted arrived back at his hotel room. He thought about calling Victoria but decided against it. It was late, and he knew she’d probably had a long, hard day with Gigi’s wedding. She hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and he knew she needed to rest. Besides, the bad news he had to share could wait until the sun came up.
Riddles and Games ...
Even though Victoria was surrounded by the serenity of her opulent hotel suite, a peaceful night’s sleep had eluded her yet again. Now she was up early because her mind was in a constant loop. She was thinking about Parker and their encounter. She could no longer skirt around what she hoped her head could trick her heart into believing—that she was over him.
More than a few times she’d wondered what their future would’ve held if Parker had never cheated on her. It was an act that had driven her straight into Ted’s arms. Even though she and Parker had had their problems, and it had frustrated her that he wasn’t supportive of her entrepreneurial dreams, she’d loved him, and he had loved her, and in the back of her mind the thought of “What if?” challenged her to question what could have been.
She shivered when she thought about how close she’d come to embracing him, rather than calling hotel security, as she’d threatened. And when he finally left her room, a quiet longing engulfed her, because a part of her wanted to ask him to come back. Victoria knew that her thoughts were dangerous, and added to her worries was the fact that she could also see trouble ahead for Debbie and Tyler as well.
Debbie was clearly swimming in unfamiliar and dangerous waters.Victoria knew that her friend had always been wild and unpredictable, but never stupid and reckless. She prayed that Debbie would come to her senses before it was too late. All it took was one careless slip, one tiny mistake, and her life as she knew it would be over in a snap. She knew this because it was the very thought that kept repeating itself in her mind about her own tenuous situation.
And then there was Tyler. For months, she’d been trying to get him to start dating again. She could see that he was lonely and hadn’t been his usual upbeat self for some time. But his fear of getting close to anyone, only to lose her, had kept him locked away in his own world.Victoria had tried to steer him in the direction of a few single women she knew through her Black Business Women’s Association group, but he hadn’t shown any interest. Now, to both her delight and chagrin, it appeared that he’d found someone who had captured his attention.
When she called Tyler late last night to see how his dinner with Samantha had gone, she was surprised that the two were still together. “She’s there with you? It’s almost midnight.What are you two doing?” Victoria had asked.
“Minding our own business, like you should be doing,” Tyler whispered into the phone. “Sam and I are still hangin’ out. I’ll hit you back later.”
Victoria heard the unmistakable, beguiling laughter of a woman in the background and knew it could mean only one thing. When the dial tone rang loud in her ear, she hung up and hoped that Tyler knew what he was getting himself into.
All Victoria could think about was how time had changed so many things. Six years ago she and her friends were all so happy. They were in love with their spouses and didn’t entertain the thought of being with anyone else. They were all living their dreams, and everything seemed so perfect. But as she knew all too well, there was no such thing as perfection, and if one was able to glimpse it briefly, there was a hefty price to be paid for the experience.
Rather than sit in her restless state,Victoria decided to get on her laptop and tackle yesterday’s backlog of e-mails. When her cell phone rang, she looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. No one calls with good news before seven in the morning.
&
nbsp; Ted’s voice came through on the other end. “She’s gone,” were his first words.
Victoria wanted to weep, but she knew he needed her to be strong, supportive, and rock solid. “Oh, Ted. Honey, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“We were all there at her bedside when she passed shortly after midnight.”
“She went quietly ... no pain?”
“Yes, thank God.”
“How are you holding up?”
Ted let out a deep breath. “Honestly, I don’t know. On one hand I’m relieved that she’s not suffering, but on the other ...”
Although Victoria knew this was coming, it was still hard to believe that Carolyn Thornton was dead. So if it was hard for her, she knew it must be traumatic for Ted. “I know it’s tough.There’s nothing that ever prepares you for this,” she said, trying to comfort him.
“You’re right. There isn’t. But the truth is, and this is going to sound really terrible, I’m pissed.”
Victoria moved over to the couch by the window as she watched the sun struggle to make an appearance. She prepared herself to deal with the onslaught of her husband’s emotions, which were about to come rushing out. “I know it’s natural to feel angry when you lose someone you love, especially a parent ... your mother.”
“It’s not that. I’ve been thinking about the last two days of my mother’s life, and the secret she talked about. All the riddles and games she laid out leading up to her death. I know she wanted to get things off her chest, but I wish she had just come out and told me whatever it is that she was hiding.”
Victoria had been afraid of this. “She didn’t get a chance to tell you her secret?”
“Well, yes and no. She told me that the answers would be in a safe-deposit box that I’m supposed to open only after her death, but I can’t get to it until the bank opens tomorrow morning.”
Keeping Secrets & Telling Lies Page 12