A Family Affair (15 page)

T
RISH WOKE TO SEE HER SISTER STARING AT HER FROM THE BED
across from her. For a moment she was a child again, sharing a room with her big sister. She smiled at her, and Emma smiled back.

“What am I going to do with you, Trish? This is all so . . . I don’t even know what the word is. Beyond generous. You don’t even know my friends, and yet you took us all under your wing and turned our lives upside down in minutes. When I opened the door and saw you standing there, I almost blacked out. And then you said you needed me. Did you just say that so I wouldn’t turn you away? Why would you suddenly need me, of all people? I guess I am stupid, like Jeff says, because I don’t understand.”

“I do need you, Emma,” Trish said, turning and propping herself up on one elbow. “But I wanted to . . . to help you first. We can get to me later. Remember when you said you never saw it coming? You said it was the same with your friends. Was that true, or were you trying to convince yourself you didn’t see the signs? It’s important for me to know the truth, Emma. I never understood how you could have missed those signs everyone talks about.

“I came here, Emma, because I am experiencing those signs, and I need my big sister to help me out here.” Trish’s eyes pooled with tears. “I thought I had the love of all time, you know, the kind they write books about and make movies out of. Our love was so special, and it never wavered or faltered. I was Malik’s life, and he was mine. Forget the money, the wealth, the power. None of that mattered to me. I would have lived in a tent in the desert with him if that was all I could get. He said he felt the same way. I suppose it’s easy to say words like that when you know it will never happen.

“Malik is torn between two cultures, his and ours. His time here in the States won over, I think, but duty is something else. And we somehow weathered that together. Three months ago, possibly four, things changed. Malik was away more and more. For years he would call and would send charming, witty texts to me no matter where he was. Then that stopped, almost on a dime. When he returned, he was withdrawn,
spacey,
kind of, if you know what I mean. Like he had things on his mind and was on overload.

“He used to leave me little love notes on my desk, under my pillow, on my vanity. He would bring me silly presents that made us both laugh. We’d go for rides in the rattletrap. Then it all stopped, but it was a gradual process, almost unnoticeable if you weren’t paying attention. Fortunately, I was paying attention. I tried talking to him, and all he would say was that it was palace business or emirate business, and he would try to do better.

“And, of course, the fact that I haven’t been able to get pregnant wore on both of us. I expected him as the ruler to change that man-made law, but he didn’t. In eleven months, I will be banished from Dubai, as antiquated as that may sound. I’ll have to leave because I can’t give Malik an heir. I knew that going in, but I was so in love, I never thought I wouldn’t have a child. It was ridiculous to think such a thing. Both of us were tested by the best doctors in the world. None of them could find a reason why I couldn’t get pregnant. I was told to relax, that I was too tense, and Malik was told to slow down and go on holidays where we could unwind and relax. We did that a dozen times, and I still didn’t get pregnant.

“I came here on a whim. But the more I think about it now, the more I’m convinced Soraya goaded me into it. Trust me, it didn’t take much to convince me. I didn’t leave a note or anything. I just left. Tit for tat, that kind of thing. Very sophomoric on my part, but at the time, I didn’t think so. I didn’t call Malik or text him, either, that I was leaving. He burned up the wires once he found out.

“Soraya took matters into her own hands and kicked Rashid out of their apartment, and as far as I know, he’s still living in the bowels of the palace as we speak. She did that because he is not supposed to keep secrets from her, and yet he did not tell her anything about what’s going on, and we both know he’s Malik’s right hand and knows everything. There are not supposed to be secrets between married couples.

“That’s why I’m here, Emma. I see the signs. I’m doing something about it. Did you or didn’t you see the signs when things went awry with Jeff? I need to know, Emma.”

Emma swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Let’s order some room service. I need coffee before I can deal with this. You order, and I’ll hit the shower. Order some yogurt and fruit, too. By the way, I don’t want to go to New York today, and neither do the girls. Can we cancel and do it next week? This is all just way too overwhelming for us. We need time to catch our breath.”

“Sure, no problem. Go ahead. I’ll order and use the other bathroom. Let’s have our breakfast in our robes, like we used to.”

Emma leaned over and hugged Trish. “You are such a romantic. That’s why I love you so much.”

Both women were seated in the sitting room, in the hotel’s fluffy white robes, when room service rang the bell thirty minutes later.

“Coffee smells good,” Emma said when the door closed behind the waiter. She poured for both of them. Trish took it black, and Emma added real cream and sugar. “Oh, this is so good. Best cup of coffee I’ve had in years. Okay, yes, Trish, I’ve had years to think about what you asked me. Yes, there were little signs that at the time, I ignored because they didn’t seem
all
that important.

“Jeff started leaving the house at five in the morning. Climbing that corporate ladder bullshit was how he explained it. He never got home till around midnight. I couldn’t stay up that late. He never saw Missy, never went to any of her school functions. Told me that was a mother’s job. After that, my household allowance was cut almost in half. Said his firm had cut back, and we had to economize. Then he cut off the charge cards for the same reason. I rarely if ever charged anything, anyway, mostly just stuff for Missy or the house. You know me. Mom taught us to be frugal.

“By the time he dumped me, I had no money, no credit, no cash, and while he gave me the house in the settlement, I couldn’t make the payments, so he took it back. What he gave me in alimony was a joke. So, yes, the signs were there. I just didn’t want to believe them and hoped he was telling the truth and it was just a rough spot he hit and things would go back on track. It didn’t work out that way. I’m still paying off my share of the divorce. I have no credit. I live day to day, paycheck to paycheck, and before you can ask, yes, I cashed in the monies from our parents’ insurance and that little CD I had. It’s all gone now.”

“Did . . . did you fall out of love with Jeff?”

“I did. I just didn’t know it at the time. I was operating on wounded pride for way too long. I thought it was love, but the truth is, there was no love for either one of us. One time, I smelled perfume on his clothes. He gave me some silly story about a woman in the elevator who was mashed up against him and was drenched in perfume.”

“I still love Malik. I will always love him. I think I might be one of those people they write songs about. You know, one true love and all that.”

“Then you need to go back, Trish. Talk it out. I don’t want you to have regrets down the road. If it’s not meant to be, you need to be able to walk away on your own. Anything else is too painful and debilitating. I don’t want to see you go through what the girls and I and many, many other women have gone through. I don’t know what to tell you about the pregnancy issue. To me, that rule is barbaric, and it’s a man-made rule, so it should be one that can be changed. Maybe that’s what your husband is trying to do, and his people are fighting him over it. If he’s the supreme ruler, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“I got a text from him last night, and he said he misses me and that he loves me. It made me smile. I know I have to go back. And I will when I’m ready. First, we have to get you guys squared away. I think you all should go into business for yourselves. Emma, think about all that stuff I told you about in my foyer. You could sell one-of-a-kind things, like those fabulous silks. You’re a Realtor, right? Even though you are still working as a real-estate salesperson, look into finding a building, and I’ll buy it, and you and the girls can set up shop. You’ll be your own bosses. Just check your listings, and I bet before the day is over, you’ll find a suitable building.

“You all need a job, you need good health insurance, and there are four of you, so you can get a group policy. I’ve set up bank accounts for all of you. You have good credit cards now. I’ve paid the taxes and the home owners’ insurance for three years for each of you, so that’s a good buffer for all of you until you can get a business up and running. If the economy doesn’t rebound, you at least have a buffer.

“Make everything outrageously expensive. I’ve seen and found over these past few years that the more it costs, the more people want it. Tr y and figure that out. You have to see to all the paperwork, and, by the way, you get the commission on those properties I bought. Win-win, Emma! Jeez, I almost forgot. I have to go back to your apartment complex and pay off your leases. Once you get your things out of there, I don’t want you to go back. If you don’t want to go to New York today, what are you going to do?”

“Go to Walmart or Target and outfit my new house. What are you going to do, Trish?”

Trish thought about the urgent text messages that had come through from Connie and Ernie yesterday that she hadn’t responded to. “I have some things I need to take care of. I’m going back to Vegas tomorrow. I booked an early morning flight before I went to sleep. I want to know I’m leaving all of you settled and happy.”

“Trish, I can never thank you enough, nor can the girls. You have literally saved our lives.”

“Tell me something, Emma. What do you think you would feel or think, the girls, too, if you found out your ex-husbands were going to go to jail?”

Emma’s hands started to tremble. She set the coffee cup down on the table and stared at her sister. Trish wasn’t the least surprised at her response. “Missy will be devastated.”

“That’s not what I asked you, Emma. I asked
you
what
you
would feel and think.”

Her eyes wide, Emma stared at Trish. “What aren’t you telling me here?” Emma’s voice verged on the hysterical. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Emma, I want you to trust me, okay? I have suspicions, a very serious distrust of Jeff. I might as well admit it to you now. I always did distrust him. Things just don’t add up for me where he’s concerned. Get back to my question, okay?”

“I’d like to see him languishing in some prison in the general population. I know I can speak for the girls, too, if that is going to be your next question. I don’t like to think I’m the kind of person who feels and thinks like that, but these last years have been a horror for us all. If Jeff had just been a little bit kind, if he’d helped me just a little, but he didn’t. He stripped me bare, then stole my daughter from me. There, you asked me, and I told you.”

“Okay, then, let’s get dressed, pick up the girls, then recover my rental car from the Outback parking lot and get this show on the road. I’ll take you all out to the Enclave, and you can do what you have to do, and I’ll do what I have to do. Let’s meet up at, say, four o’clock. We’ll have a happy hour somewhere, a good dinner, and call it a night, if you’re all agreeable. I’m anxious to get back and . . . to see what my future holds for me.”

The two sisters hugged tightly.

“It’s nice to know you can always count on family, isn’t it?” Trish whispered.

Emma released her hold on Trish. She squared her shoulders, looked her sister in the eye, and said, “Damn straight, little sister.”

It was eleven o’clock when Trish entered the hotel and headed up to her room. She’d done all she could for her sister and her sister’s friends. Emma would follow up with all the pounds of paperwork the Enclave was holding for her. She’d paid off the leases, the girls had collected their personal belongings, and they were all at their new digs. Credit cards with high limits in hand, they were embarking on a shopping spree to fill their cupboards and closets. Trish didn’t think she’d ever seen four happier women in her whole life. Well, perhaps one happy woman, Soraya.

The first thing Trish did when she kicked off her shoes was to call Connie. She listened intently for a good twenty minutes and finally said, “I’ll call Ernie first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll be back sometime tomorrow. Thanks, friend.”