Once Upon a Project (38 page)

Chapter 60

 

O
ne of the nicest parts of living downstairs from his mother, Charles thought, was her eagerness to help him out. She enjoyed doing his laundry and ironing his shirts. Right now she was in the living room folding the clothes and linens she'd just washed and dried. Such activity kept her busy and probably helped her from missing his father so much. Charles Valentine Sr. had been dead for over twenty years now.

Charles, on a stepladder, carefully removed the oblong covering of the kitchen light, bent to place it on the counter, and then removed the fluorescent bulb inside. It had probably been over a year since the last time he had to change the bulb; these things really lasted.

His phone started to ring.

“I'll get it,” his mother said.

“Thanks, Mom.”

The kitchen extension was fairly close to him, but picking it up would be awkward while on the ladder. He picked up the new tube-shaped bulb. Charles knew his mother hoped to hear the voice of a woman on the other end. She wanted to see him married before she died. Even Douglas had gotten married to a South Side girl and had a daughter during one of his periods of life on the outside.

His first reaction was to tell her not to bother, that it wouldn't be a woman calling because he wasn't seeing anyone, but then he decided to let her have her fun. It was harmless.

Of course, when she found out about him and Susan she'd have a fit for sure, but she'd just have to get used to the idea. He and Susan had come close to losing each other a second time, and he wasn't going to let
anyone
come between them again.

He listened to his mother say, “This is Charles's mother. What's your name?”

That was curious, he thought. It sounded like the type of thing she'd say to a female caller. He snapped the bulb into place and descended the ladder, just in time to see his mother's smile turn into a vicious snarl.

“Oh, it's you? And what do
you
want? No, nothing happened to Charles. He's fine. It took him a long time, but he's gotten accustomed to the idea of you being out of his life.”

Charles rushed into the living room, ready to take the phone from his mother. It had to be Susan calling. No one else could elicit such an uncompromising response in his mother. But why would she call? She'd been so adamant that they had to stay away from each other until she and Bruce no longer lived under the same roof. She said that otherwise they would fall back into the same habits, and someone would say something out of frustration that would hurt the other's feelings. He couldn't say she'd been wrong, but at times he didn't know if he could stand being apart from her.

Of all times for her to call, at the moment his mother brought down a fresh load of laundry and was folding it. But surely she wasn't calling just to say hello, not after laying down the law the way she had. Something must be wrong.

“Mom,” he said gently. “Give me the phone.”

But Ann held tight and continued her tirade.

“Susan, you've brought my boys nothing but grief. You broke my Douglas's heart when you quit him and took up with his brother. I don't have to tell you what kind of woman sleeps with a man and his brother, too. And my boys' relationship has never been the same since that fistfight they had over you.”

Charles tried again, louder this time. “Mom. Give me the phone.”

Once more she paid him no heed. She turned her back to him. “Charles was devastated when you left him the first time. Yeah, I'll bet you didn't know I knew about your most recent sordid little affair with my son. Douglas told me,” she said triumphantly.

Charles gasped. His mother
knew
he and Susan had resumed their romance?

“Douglas was upset when he heard that after everything that happened so long ago you were sleeping with Charles again. He knew you'd hurt him, and you left him a second time. Douglas might even start using drugs again because he's so upset. You've got a husband. Why don't you leave my boys alone?”

Charles's large hands attempted to pry his mother's fingers from the phone. He couldn't believe he was practically wrestling with her for control of the receiver. She had surprising strength. “That's enough, Mom. This call is for me.”

He could get the receiver away from her, of course, but he didn't want to knock her down to do it. The most she'd give him was turning the phone with its earpiece facing up so that they could both hear.

Susan was speaking. “How dare you place the blame for Douglas's substance abuse at my feet. He clearly has an addictive personality, if he's been unable to stop using after nearly thirty years. It didn't have a damn thing to do with me. If you ask me, you ought to stop kidding yourself.

“And everything between Douglas and me was over more than twenty-five years ago. As for Charles, there are things between him and me that you aren't privy to and don't understand.”

Ann moved the receiver so she could speak into the mouthpiece. “I understand that you've got a husband, and I don't see where he fits into this pretty picture. He's probably why you broke it off with my boy again. I hear he's rich. You don't want to risk losing that money. Never mind that you've wrecked both my sons' lives. Charles would have been happily married to someone else if it weren't for you.”

“If Charles wanted to be married, he would be married. And as for me, I may be married right now, but not for long. My husband and I are getting divorced. And I'm going to come back to Charles, and if he'll have me I'll live with him the rest of my life.”

She heard the sounds of a scuffle, heard Charles's voice say, “Mom! That's
enough
. I'd appreciate it if you let me talk to Susan in private. I'll be up in a few minutes. You and I have to talk.” It dismayed him to take such a stern tone with his mother, but he couldn't risk her driving Susan away with her delusions. Susan had already expressed doubts about his family accepting her.

His mother didn't much care for what he said, for she threw the phone at him before turning to leave. He caught it easily. “Susan? I heard what you said. Is it true? You and Bruce are really getting a divorce?”

“Yes. He just came to me and said he thinks we ought to end it because neither of us is happy. The kids are up at his mother's, and I think Bruce is packing a few things. I'm free until the kids come home New Year's Day.”

Charles's grin covered his whole face, like a character in those animated
Peanuts
cartoons. “Will you come down? I almost hate to ask you, but I think it would be disrespectful for me to come to your house.”

“I agree. Just give me a few minutes to throw a few things together.” She squeezed her shoulders together. “Charles, do you know what this means? No more waiting to be together.”

“It's almost like a reward from God. He knew how much I wanted you, and that it would kill me to wait more months to see you. Hurry down, will you? In the meantime I'm going upstairs to talk to my mother.”

“Did you know she knew about us?”

“No, she never said a word. And I don't know how she knew you and I had broken up. I guess she couldn't help but notice that I wasn't going out like I used to.” He paused. “Susan . . . You do know it might be hard, don't you? She'll probably never come around. But I'm prepared to move out.”

“Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that, Charles. I don't know if you realize how high rents are nowadays. Giving up an apartment where you don't pay much for rent will hurt you financially. I'll deal with it.”

“That reminds me . . .”

That day at Franklin Reavis's funeral, when Susan told him it would be best if they had no contact until she was able to see him openly, he never did get a chance to tell her that his financial picture was a lot brighter than she knew. It wasn't the right setting. He knew Susan didn't want to be seen spending too much time alone with him, not with both the Maxwells and Elyse's parents, the Hugheses, present. He respected her wishes to keep their involvement a private matter, but since neither Pat nor Grace appeared surprised to see them reenter the house together, he wondered if Susan's friends knew about them. “We need to talk about my ideas for where we'll live after we're married.”

For a moment she was silent. He was about to ask her if something was wrong when she said in a small voice, “You still want to marry me, Charles? You really do?”

The sudden way her life had changed in an afternoon had caught up with her, Charles knew. He couldn't blame her for being in such awe . . . He felt the same way. After a delay of two and a half decades, he would finally get to be with the woman he'd always loved. And he'd wipe away that hard edge that had invaded her personality, once and for all.

“Yes, I really do,” he told her. “And what's more, I
will
.”

Chapter 61

 

E
lyse, wearing a heavy winter coat, took a moment to be grateful for the frigid January temperatures in Chicago as Kevin rose from the table and pulled her into an embrace at Wolfgang Puck Café. She couldn't stand for him to put his hands on her. She couldn't even stand to look at him. He was a living, breathing reminder that she'd been unfaithful to her husband while he was on his deathbed.

She wished he hadn't come to the funeral, and she'd been shocked when he showed up at her house afterward. The way he hovered over her, always eager to be of assistance; it was embarrassing. Elyse knew people wondered what was up with that. Her own mother pulled her aside and asked, “Who
is
that?” Elyse told her it was just a friend who was a little overzealous in his concern for how she was bearing up, to which Jeanette Hughes replied with characteristic bluntness, “He's acting like he expects to take Franklin's place.”

Grace, too, pulled her aside. “Listen to me, Elyse. I don't know what's going on with you and The Orkin Man, but my gut tells me he's looking for more from you than just to be your new chum. For God's sake, be careful.”

The tension arising from Kevin's presence only added to her stress load. Elyse witnessed Rebecca's frosty reaction to him, saw her stepdaughter whispering to her brother and mother. What was worse, Kevin acted like he didn't want to leave. He stayed as long as Grace and Susan, and longer than Pat, who left fairly early because her parents had ridden with her and Andy and no doubt were ready to leave. She had to tell him—speaking softly so no one else could hear—that he should probably be on his way, too, that she was tired.

In the weeks since he'd made several attempts to see her, but she'd put him off, saying she had personal business to attend to and simply wanted to rest before returning to work. He obviously felt their one-night encounter would resume now that Franklin had died, but she knew otherwise. She'd gone back to work Monday, and she knew the time had come to tell him that they'd never see each other again.

“You're looking well, Elyse. How're you holding up?” he asked now as she laid her coat over a spare chair and sat down opposite him.

Elyse shrugged. “One day at a time, as they say. Going back to work has actually helped me, if you can believe it.”

“Have you made any plans? You know, to sell your house?”

“I'm going to stay in it. It feels a little large when I'm there alone, but the kids come home every couple of weeks. Besides, there's really no reason for me to sell it. The mortgage was paid off because of a life insurance policy Franklin and I had, if either of us passed away. It's my biggest asset, and I might need to tap into it in case Todd or Brontë decide to go to graduate school or something.” She took a deep breath, trying to work up the courage to tell him that they would never see each other, much less sleep together, again. Sure, they both worked in Skokie, but she hadn't ever run into him in all these years, and she doubted she ever would. “Uh, Kevin, you know—”

“Well, I'm sure you've got more than just the house, don't you?”

Elyse shifted her hips in her chair. Franklin had taken care of her financially, but she wasn't about to discuss the details with Kevin. Still, she didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him not to be nosy. “Let's just say that I won't go hungry and leave it at that,” she suggested, hoping he would take the hint.

“Sure. I just thought you might be interested in doing a little investing.”

“In your Laundromat?” she asked tentatively.

He shrugged. “It's going to be a real profit maker, Elyse. I've been putting aside every dime I could, but I'm still a couple of thousand short.”

She just stared at him.

“Well, okay, seven and a half K.”

Their waiter appeared. “Are you—”

Elyse held up a hand. “Give us a few minutes.” After the young man discreetly disappeared, she said, “Are you kidding me, Kevin? You want me to give you seventy-five hundred dollars?”

“Well, not
give
. It would be a loan, that's all.”

Her spine straightened. “Kevin, I want to be as polite about this as I can. I'm not loaning you any money.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

“Because I don't believe in lending money to friends.”

“I thought I was more than a friend.”

She spoke softly. “We slept together once, Kevin. I was feeling very vulnerable because of all the friction in my marriage. In hindsight, it was a mistake.”

Kevin's confident grin faded like daylight after sunset. “No, you don't mean that. We're just getting started. This was in the cards. I know you didn't mean to cheat on your husband, but . . . Well, it doesn't matter much now, does it?”

“Yes, it does, Kevin. I'm sorry you feel that our friendship was headed in that direction, but it never was, and it never will be. In fact, I wanted to have lunch with you today to tell you that we'll be going our separate ways.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “You mean . . . We won't be seeing each other anymore?”

“No, Kevin. It won't work. You're a reminder of a painful time in my life. Having you around will only make me relive it. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is.”

“Yeah, I get it,” he said with a nod, his features suddenly gone hard. “You want to stay all secure in your rich little world in Lake Forest. You don't want to let a brother get in, give him a break.”

Elyse put one hand on her coat, ready to grab it. “Before you start accusing me of being some sort of elitist, maybe you should ask yourself what your motives were for getting close to me in the first place.” Her voice shook with emotion, but her hand was steady as she grabbed her coat. “Sorry. I'm not staying,” she said to the bewildered-looking young waiter as she passed him.

 

 

She drove back to work, stopping at a fast-food drive-thru to pick up a salad. It saddened her that her friendship with Kevin had ended on such a sour note, and she also felt hurt. Grace had been right. He hadn't shown all that concern because of her; he merely wanted to get close to her because he saw an opportunity to get her to finance his damn Laundromat once Franklin was out of the picture. Knowing that she'd actually slept with him while Franklin was alive would haunt her the rest of her days.

One day she'd probably tell Grace she'd been right about Kevin's motives, but Elyse knew that she'd take the secret of their one-night stand to her own grave.