Enemies and Playmates (7 page)

Lauren swirled the melting ice cubes in her glass. Her friends were right. Her father didn’t own a pair of jeans. But, then, when was the last time anyone had actually seen him ‘hanging out’ at home. She didn’t respond and hoped the subject would quickly change.

A young waitress in a low cut blouse brought their appetizers. She plopped the mozzarella sticks and Buffalo wings on the table without much interest. Her attention was riveted to a table of young men who’d been flirting with her.

As the waitress moved away, Lauren took the opportunity to steer the conversation away from her father. She said, “Do either of you know Kevin Fuller?”

“Twenty-three,” Gina said. She took a bite from a mozzarella stick. Cheese oozed out and she wrapped her tongue around the stray piece. “He deals for a living. Weed. Coke. Pills.”

“He won’t know we’re there to check up on him,” Gina said. “He’ll think we’re there to party like everyone else. Hell, he might even think his sister is cool after all.”

***

Lauren slipped into her shimmering gold Dolce & Gabbana dress and matching heels. She walked to her mirror and peered at her image. Her well-practiced smile peered back at her. She was as ready as she’d ever be.

Downstairs she found Stephen slumped in a wing chair in the living room with a beer in his hand. “What the hell are you doing?” Lauren said.

Stephen barely glanced at her. A tiny ring of blue was all that was visible around his enlarged pupils. “What the hell does it look like?” he said.

Lauren let out an exasperated breath. Stephen had a wild look in his eyes that came from more than alcohol. And an arrogance that was sure to get him in trouble this evening. Lauren changed her tactic and softened her voice. “What about Mom?”

“What about her?”

“How do you think your condition tonight is going to affect her?”

“Give me a break, will you?” Stephen rose, took a moment to get his balance, then strode to the kitchen. Lauren followed close behind. He drained the remainder of his beer, tossed the bottle in the trash, burped. “You didn’t expect me to go to this thing sober,” he said, “did you?”

Stephen’s eyes flashed with anger. They were that same shade of steel blue as their father’s. His jaw was tight as he ground out the words, “Why don’t you mind your own fucking business.”

Lauren took a deep breath. She struggled to keep her tone calm. “Tonight will be hard enough for mom without -”

“She should be thrilled.” Stephen’s words were heavy with sarcasm. He glared at Lauren as if daring her to disagree. “Her superior husband is being honored tonight. The entire city, maybe even the state, will know what a truly giving and amazing man she’s married to.”

Lauren glared at Stephen. “You won’t think you’re so smart if he beats the hell out of Mom because of you.” She took a breath mint from her purse, popped it into his mouth. “Now behave yourself.”

Alex and Kara were waiting in the foyer. Alex stood in front of the antique mirror, adjusting his Tank Francoise cufflinks. Stephen stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared down at the floor. No one said a word.

Finally Alex turned. Addressing them all, he said, “I expect a lot of smiles this evening.”

“Of course,” Kara said. “We’re thrilled -”

“Do not patronize me,” Alex said. “This entire trivial ceremony is a farce. I could not care less what those women at the shelter think of me and you know that.”

“Sorry,” Kara mumbled.

“As you know, I have to do a certain amount of public relations to maintain my image,” Alex said. “The work my firm did for those women was nothing more than that. While I would have preferred to send one of my employees to this ceremony, those in charge of the shelter requested my presence. I couldn’t possibly refuse.”

Lauren swallowed her comment. Imagine her father counseling battered women. The thought made her nauseous. If only those people knew the truth about him. But no one ever would.

The ceremony was being held at a restaurant on the south end of Boston, not too far from the shelter. As Alex swung his Lexus LS into the parking lot, he grunted. “And I am expected to eat a meal here,” he said.

Lauren said nothing. She had eaten there before and knew the food was good. She also knew her father wouldn’t like it. His taste buds were activated strictly by atmosphere and a very particular class of people.

“Maybe the food will be good,” Kara said. “You never know.”

Alex slammed the car into park. “Let’s get this over with.”

During dinner, Stephen openly flirted with a young woman seated at a table behind them. She was with a group of other women, all in their early twenties. Despite Alex’s warning glares, Stephen continued. While the woman seemed to take Stephen’s attention as harmless playfulness, Alex was clearly appalled. The knot in Lauren’s stomach tightened.

Immediately following dinner, the ceremony began. Alex played the part of the gracious recipient. He stood at the podium and began his speech with the importance of getting involved in one’s community. He then went on to say how shocked he was upon first learning the statistics involving battered women. The number of women beaten, he said, was alarming and intolerable. Communities needed to rally around these women, to give them a place to turn so that they didn’t need to remain in such atrocious and life-threatening situations. He finished by stating how proud he was to have been of service to these women in their time of need.

Alex stepped from the podium to a standing ovation. Lauren stood on wobbly legs. Her stomach heaved. Kara stood beside her, clapping and smiling. Lauren didn’t understand how her mother managed to appear so far removed from these other women, as if the things spoken about could never and had never touched her.

They drove home in silence. Lauren closed her eyes, wishing she could be anywhere else. Why didn’t she simply move out? Carrie had even suggested they be roommates when she’d first decided to get her own apartment. Why did she stay home where there was constant tension, deceit, and abuse? Why didn’t she go away to college, in another state, when she’d had the chance?

She opened her eyes and stared at the back of her mother’s head. Her mother, the reason she stayed. Her mother needed someone on her side, someone to protect her.

Lauren frowned. She was doing a lousy job of protecting. The abuse had only gotten worse with time. Did it do any good at all for her to remain at home?

Maybe it would be better if she moved out. Maybe her father would have less to get angry about, less reason to lash out.

Lauren closed her eyes again. She knew better. Even after she and Stephen had both moved out, Alex would remain the same abusive, unfeeling man he was now. The only difference would be that he’d have no one around to witness his behavior. Or to keep him from going too far.

By the time they walked into the house, Lauren had forgotten all about Stephen’s behavior at the restaurant. She was lost in her own thoughts, deep in search of a way out. As she crossed the living room toward the stairs, her father’s voice bellowed behind her.

Alex shoved Kara aside. “Stop babying him. Stephen wants to play adult, so let him handle this like one. He doesn’t need his mommy defending him.” He turned back to Stephen, his tone taunting. “Or do you?”

“Fuck you,” Stephen said.

The back of Alex’s hand caught Stephen in the corner of the mouth. His lip split open and blood oozed out, sliding down his chin. Stephen didn’t blink. He said, “Do you feel like a big man now?”

Alex glared at her a moment, then let go of Stephen’s arm. To Stephen he said, “Looks like Mommy wants to save you. Perhaps she’d also like to take your punishment. Now I suggest you get lost while you still can.”

Stephen glanced at Kara, then quickly put his head down and stumbled up the stairs. Alex turned to Lauren and said, “You should do the same.”

Lauren searched her mother’s eyes. The knot in the pit of her stomach twisted tighter. She couldn’t leave them alone. He would beat her, like he always did. Only this time would be even worse. This time her mother had dared to defy him.

“I said get upstairs,” Alex said.

“It’s okay,” Kara said quietly. “Go ahead to bed.”

Lauren reluctantly headed up the stairs. Her father’s angry voice trailed after her as he berated her mother for interfering. He blamed her inadequacy as a parent for Stephen’s behavior.

Her father’s voice grew louder, booming through her bedroom walls. Even with her door shut tight, she heard every word. He ridiculed her mother, belittled her. Lauren buried her head beneath her pillow. Her father’s voice became muffled but the rage remained unmistakable.

Eventually the yelling stopped. Then everything became quiet.

A deadly silence.

7

Lauren woke long before her alarm clock announced the arrival of morning. She lay in bed, watching the dim light of dawn seep through her blinds. Her father’s voice kept echoing in her mind. She could taste her hatred for him, bitter and vile.

Jesse had given her his number and said she could call anytime. But she was pretty sure he wouldn’t expect her to call at five in the morning. Even if she had the courage to make the call, what then? Tell him she couldn’t sleep because her father is a vicious, power-crazed lunatic?

She pushed herself from the comfort of her bed and quietly made her way down the hall to the bathroom. In just over twenty minutes, she had showered, dressed, and was steering her Pontiac G6 down the driveway. She could kill time in the student lounge before her first class. Anything was better than facing her father at the breakfast table.