Cougar Boss

by Kerry Belchambers

  “I love your house, but this place looks like such a lonely place to grow up,” Rex said when we left the house. I’d told my parents earlier that we’d be going out for a walk so they wouldn’t worry.

  “It kinda was. Most people made friends in school, church and any other place that had a large gathering.”

  “How come you didn’t get close to anyone?”

  “I was always afraid my family would find out the truth about me and making friends meant I’d have to lie and pretend to be something I wasn’t. I was scared someone would discover my sexual orientation and tell my parents, who were respected, church-going members of the community.”

  “That’s no way to live, Livvy.”

  “That’s why I wanted to start afresh in New York.”

  “Guess that makes sense.”

  He placed his arm over my shoulder and I automatically leaned into him, placing my arm around his waist. I’d never been so comfortable with anyone else apart from him.

  “So, where are we going?” he asked.

  “To one of my favorite places, Lake Phalen.”

  “Cool.”

  We walked in silence for a while and my thoughts somehow found their way to Mrs. Gallagher. I wondered what she was doing, if she was with her family or by herself at the penthouse. I wondered if she’d thought of me at all that day, if she missed me.

  “You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” Rex said.

  “How did you know?” I asked as I looked up to see his face.

  “The melancholic look on your face. When you talk about her, it’s usually with love, joy and sadness.”

  “Earlier on I was thinking about how small my world used to be when I lived here. I never imagined one day my life would turn out this way. Being here, where it all started is a bit overwhelming.”

  “I know what you mean. I feel the same when I go back home. New York feels like a whole different planet.”

  “I hope you have better luck at this whole love thing. One of us should be happy.”

  “Livvy,” he stopped and turned me to face him. “I’ll only seek out my own happiness when I know without a doubt you’ve found your own,” he said as he gently ran the back of his hand over my cheek.

  “You can’t put your happiness on hold for me. It’s a dumb thing to do.”

  He smiled and pecked my forehead. When he lingered, I closed my eyes and a selfish part of me wished he’d been a woman. I had no doubt I would’ve fallen in love with him.

  “Why couldn’t you have been a woman?”

  He laughed at the question.

  “Why couldn’t you have been straight?” he asked.

  I laughed at his question and we continued walking along.

  We got to the lake a few minutes later. Since it was in the fall, the weather was lovely, the leaves had changed color and started falling making the overall atmosphere look like something out of a romantic flick.

  “Wow, I see why you love it. I can see myself standing here with a canvas painting this entire scenery. The birds, the sky, the trees and homes in the distance, the lake with its changing colors when the sun hits it just right.”

  “I used to love coming here because I always found serenity. There was no chaos in my world, but there was always a storm in my heart and mind.”

  “What’s there now?”

  I reached for a rock on the ground. “A different kind of storm.” I bounced the rock four times on the lake, like I had so many times before in the past.

  “How did you do that?” Rex asked, trying to bounce a rock on the lake, only for it to disappear.

  “It’s all in the wrist. You have to flick it.” I reached for another rock and showed him how. He got two bounces when he tried and continued practicing as I went to sit down some distance away from the damp ground.

  He kept trying until he got three bounces, then he came and sat beside me.

  “For someone who creates such complex beauty by the stroke of your hand, you sure suck at bouncing rocks on water.”

  “Before I leave, I will have learned to bounce four.”

  “Try six and I’ll take you out to dinner on our last night here.”

  “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  I wasn’t sure how long we stayed by the waterside but when we left, it was a little late. We went back home to find Riley and Sandra had returned. Riley was a handsome young boy, but since he didn’t seem to remember me, he was a bit apprehensive towards me. I hoped to win over before we left.

  Sandra’s reception towards me was warmer than I expected, which was a little surprising. She wasn’t shocked to discover Greg was still in New York and I didn’t bother to explain why since I assumed they kept in touch.

  I went to help mom prepare dinner while Sandra went to clean up Riley. When she was done, she came to join us while Rex and Riley bonded. My father was at his usual chair watching something on television.

  The whole setup made me a bit nostalgic because I knew I’d greatly miss it when I went back to New York. We had a bit of conversation while we had dinner and Rex was kind enough to help with the dishes.

  Around eight, I went up to my room for my video chat sessions with my professors and by one, when we were done, I was drowsing off in my bed.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The following day after breakfast, I took my dad for his medical check up and though the doctor said his health had improved, I couldn’t help being worried because he expressed a lot of concern.

  We spent most of the morning together and in the afternoon, I took Rex around town in my dad’s truck to show him the area. I showed him where I’d attended elementary and high school, some of the other lakes around the area, a few waterfalls, and hang out joints where people went for leisure.

  When we went back home, I joined my mom outside where she was gardening. I tried to get her to tell me what was troubling dad but she kept a steady smile on her face and assured me there was nothing to worry about.

  Later on when Sandra came home from work, I went to play with Riley who was a bit more receptive towards me. It was hard to believe that something so beautiful had come from my brother.

  I experienced a certain kind of peace I hadn’t felt in a long time during dinner, and realized it was the warmth that came from being surrounded by family.

  That night around eight, I was on my computer studying, telling myself I’d try as much as possible to make trips back home when my world stopped being so crazy.

  On Saturday, Rex, Sandra, Riley and I went out to the Mall of America for some fun. Sandra and I only went for a few rollercoaster rides, but Rex and Riley continued on.

  When we were seated some distance away having coffee, Sandra finally asked what I knew my parents were still wondering. “Is he your boyfriend?”

  I hesitated in my response because I didn’t want to lie. “He’s my best friend.”

  “He’s a good guy and he seems to care a great deal about you,” she said.

  We’d never really been much of friends, but since she was making the effort, I tried to meet her halfway. “How are you and Greg doing?” I asked.

  She pursed her lips, took a breath and exhaled. “It hasn’t been easy. Your brother can be very difficult to deal with.”

  I was surprised to hear her say so because she’d always been loyal to him. “I’m sorry, Sandra.”

  “Don’t be. I knew the type of person he was when we got together. I don’t know, I guess I thought I could change him. When I failed and discovered I was pregnant with Riley, I thought he’d change.” She released a painful laugh.

  “Maybe one day he will,” even as I said it, I knew it was wishful thinking. Greg would always be a selfish screw-up. I didn’t even understand why Sandra continued to stay with him.

  “That look in your eyes, I see it in so many people who know us,” she said.

  “Why not leave him?”

  “Because of Riley, and your parents.”

  I looked at her in confu
sion.

  “I never used to be like this. I was hotheaded, reckless and selfish. I didn’t care about anything or anyone. When you’ve gone through countless foster homes, knowing that no one wants you, the constant rejection gets to your head. Greg and I, we were never meant to be anything serious. We were just having fun. But we never got to the finish line where we were meant to part ways.”

  I was surprised she was opening up to me. I had never known this about her.

  “I knew your parents thought I was trouble, but they never treated me differently. When I discovered I was going to have Riley, I realized I had to clean up my act. I wanted to be a proper parent for him and I thought Greg would want the same thing too. I didn’t realize until later on that he was already the best version of himself. By then, I’d bonded with your parents and Riley had been born. I had nothing to go back to.”

  I couldn’t believe how much I’d misjudged her over the years. I’d never thought much of her, but she seemed to genuinely care about my family.

  “I have the family I never had while growing up. I got a chance to change my outcome. If you were me, would you leave?” she asked.

  I shook my head.

  After a short while of silence, she asked, “How is he doing in New York?”

  “He’s okay,” I said.

  “What’s he doing?”

  I bit the side of my lower lip and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. He just said he was going to try out his luck.”

  “Do you think he’s capable of change?”

  I wanted to say yes to cheer her up. “To be honest, I don’t know.”

  She leaned back against her chair and turned her attention back to Rex and Riley.

  “I’m sorry I failed to make the effort to be more understanding towards you,” I said.

  “It’s fine.”

  I watched Rex and Riley as they screamed while the rollercoaster did a three-sixty degree turn and my heart almost stopped in fear.

  I thought about everything Sandra had said and it suddenly occurred to me that she might have had an idea of what was happening with my dad. “Do you know why dad has been getting sick?” I asked.

  She looked at me and asked, “You don’t know?”

  I shook my head, hoping she’d tell me.

  “He took a loan and he hasn’t been able to meet the payments so the bank is putting a lot of pressure on him, threatening foreclosure on the house.”

  “Oh, my God. What was the loan for?”

  “After he used up the savings on your studies, he took a loan to keep helping you out. With both his salary and Judy’s, he thought he’d be able to cover the payment but it wasn’t enough. Extra shifts haven’t done much to help either.”

  “Why didn’t they tell me? I could’ve helped out.” I felt horrible, but I was pissed at the important information they chose to keep from me.

  “I guess they felt like they had failed you.”

  “That will never be possible.”

  “I thought Greg would’ve told you. He was so angry when he found out about it. When he came to New York after you sent that cheque, I assumed that would be the purpose of his visit.”

  Why hadn’t he told me? Or was this the reason he’d been snooping into my life, trying to find an angle to exploit in order to get some money?

  “I’m not going to let anyone take the house,” I said.

  I didn’t ask my parents about it when we got back home. I just looked at them with more love than I could possibly put into words and vowed I’d make everything right.

  On my last day there, I went out shopping with Sandra and Riley. I got the kid a lot of toys and managed to penetrate Sandra’s pride, getting her some new clothes and shoes.

  Afterwards, we did some shopping for household items, and since it was Sunday and my parents were out, I went to my dad’s study and got a few of the foreclosure letters from the bank.

  In the afternoon, Rex and I went back to the lake. I told him everything I’d learned and as usual, he was a wonderful supportive friend. After staying there for a while, he reminded me of the deal we’d made.

  He threw two rocks, only managing to bounce it four to five times on the water but on his third try, he succeeded and bounced it six times as per our deal.

  “You’ve been practicing, haven’t you?” I asked.

  “I had to. I wanted to beat your record.”

  “My record?” I asked.

  “Yeah, have you ever bounced more than six?”

  I laughed and took a couple of rocks. I’d been bouncing rocks all my childhood. “Stay alert, count this,” I said, positioning my body at an angle and relaxing my wrist. When I threw the first rock, it bounced off seven times. When I threw the second one, it bounced off nine times. From my memory, the best I’d ever done was twelve and I had never beat that record.

  “How the hell did you do that and what was that position? You didn’t show me how to do that,” Rex complained.

  “Does a magician reveal his tricks?”

  He groaned as we started heading back to the house. My parents were probably already back home and I wanted to spend a little more time with them before I took Rex out for dinner because afterwards, we were going to head straight to the airstrip.

  “Don’t worry, you still get your dinner,” I said.

  When we got back home, I sat both my parents down and explained to them how important they were to me. I tried to put them in my position and asked them how they would feel if something were to happen to me and no one told them about it.

  They were not too pleased by the idea so they promised to be more transparent with information. I talked to Sandra as well and told her I’d keep in touch in case my parents failed to divulge any important stuff.

  Afterwards, I played with Riley and his exciting new toys and when it was time, I tearfully said goodbye to them. Leaving was harder than I thought it would be and when Rex and I were having dinner, he seemed to sense my sadness.

  “You have a wonderful family, Liv,” he said.

  I almost broke into tears because it was just occurring to me how much I’d taken them for granted.

  “They all love you so much,” he said, reaching for my hand over the table.

  We stayed at the restaurant for a couple of hours and when we were done with dinner, we took a cab to the airstrip where we found the pilot waiting for us.

  We slept through the short flight to New York and when we woke up, I asked Rex to spend the night at my apartment. He wanted to take the guest bedroom but since neither one of us was able to sleep when we got to the apartment, he came to my bedroom and we fell asleep watching a movie.

  Instead of going straight to the office on Monday, I attended some of the meetings I’d been forced to put off because of my travel. Sometime around two in the afternoon, I headed to the mansion hoping to run into Mrs. Gallagher. I was disappointed to find her absent, so I resumed with my duties.

  Around six when I was heading home, I asked James. “How’s everything been around here?” I’d only been gone a few days but it felt like it had been longer.

  James met my gaze over the rearview mirror and said, “Everything’s been fine.” He focused back on the road.

  I nervously fiddled with the items on my lap. “How’s Mrs. Gallagher? I didn’t see her today.” I wanted to know if she’d traveled or if she was around.

  “She’s okay, but well, you know how busy her life is.”

  I wanted to inquire more but there was no point because James probably didn’t have the answers I was seeking. When he dropped me off, I felt like my life had gone back to its normal routine.

  The following day, I called the bank my dad owed money in order to figure out how to settle the loan and learned that payments for the loan had not been made for the last nine months.

  In order to fix the problem, I paid a one-off lumpsum that would keep my dad’s bank foreclosure threats at bay, and had them deduct three quarters of my salary for the next six mont
hs until the loan was fully settled. I didn’t have many expenses so I knew I’d survive on what remained.

  I was leaving the office that evening when I ran into Mrs. Gallagher down the hallway. My heart immediately picked up pace at the sight of her and it felt like forever since I’d last seen her, and I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her until that very moment.

  She silently observed me and a small automatic smile rose on my lips. She looked as beautiful as usual in a black pantsuit that hugged her firm sexy body. Seeing her reminded me of our sexual encounters and something animalistic in me fought to reach out and take her in my arms.

  “Hello, Olivia,” she said. “Would you mind stepping into my office?”

  I nervously followed after her, wondering how she still had that effect on me. After closing the door, I approached her desk and stopped some distance away as I exhaled in an attempt to calm myself.

  “How was your trip?” she asked as she turned to face me, effortlessly leaning against her desk.

  “It was good,” I said.

  “How’s your dad?”

  “I took him for a checkup and the doctor said he’s doing well. I think everything is going to be fine.” Without the pressure from the bank, he could relax and focus on other things that were less stressful.

  “That’s good to hear. How’re you doing?”

  “Much better,” I said, slowly placing my purse on the seat right next to her. I wished we were at the penthouse so that I could tell—. No, show her just how much I’d missed her. “Uh, Rex accompanied me to St. Paul,” I said, trying to focus my mind on the conversation.

  “Oh, he did?” she said.

  I thought I saw something flicker in her eyes but I wasn’t sure. “My nephew, Riley is in kindergarten. He was a baby last time I saw him and now he’s all grown up.”

  She nodded with a faint smile and asked, “Did Greg come too?”

  I shook my head. “No, I didn’t want him to think…” It immediately occurred to me what I’d just been about to say and shook my head again. “No, he didn’t.”

  She continued looking at me. I was dying to go to her, to tell her how much I’d missed her, to just touch her. “Mrs. Gallagher,” I said nervously.