One Love (27 page)

“’
Kay.” Tia nodded but still
looked a bit unsure.

“
Sounds like more than a
little fuss to me. I--” Nia said.

“
Nia, that’s enough.” Alex
gave her a stern look. “Now go on, sweeties. I’ll be back with hot
buttered popcorn in a few minutes.”

“
But what about Miss
Lanessa?” Nia’s dark eyebrows were arched.

“
Miss Lanessa will be
leaving in a bit,” he said. He gave them both a playful pinch on
the cheek.

He made sure they were seated in front
of the television and had the movie going again before leaving.
When he entered the living room, Lanessa stood with her purse in
her hand.

“
Coming over here tonight
was a gigantic mistake. I should have known you’d be irritated and
irrational.” Lanessa slung the strap across one
shoulder.

Alex pushed down the reflex to fire
back a sharp response. “Lanessa, we need to talk more but not
now.”

“
Tonight, tomorrow, it
doesn’t matter. Unless I just give in and do whatever you want
we’ll be right back here again.” Lanessa would not meet his
gaze.

“
What are you trying to
say?” Alex felt a lump in his stomach.

“
For weeks we’ve barely
avoided a nasty, loud argument.” Lanessa finally looked up at
him.

“
We need to talk we’ve both
calmed down.” Alex’s anger drained away and was replaced with a
hollow feeling.

“
You know I’m right. It’s
all over your face.” Lanessa closed her eyes for a moment. When she
looked at him again, there was sadness in them.
“Goodbye.”

Alex took her hand as she walked past
him to the door. “I’ll call you.”

“
Yeah, sure.”

He walked with her to the door.
Neither spoke again. Lanessa got into her Chrysler Concord and
drove away. Alex wanted to call her back, to say something that
would change things. Yet there was nothing more to say. He watched
the red taillights moved off into the night.

***

“
I’ll bet Yvonne is behind
it.” Clarice pressed her lips together.

She stood in her kitchen with both
hands on her hips. Lanessa had come over for a short visit and
ended up telling her about Alex.

“
Mother, please. I really
don’t want to talk about it.” Lanessa rubbed her temples. She had
the same headache the last two days. “Do you have anything extra
strength for a headache?”

“
Humph, nothing in a bottle
will cure what ails you. Go tell that man you’re sorry. Tell him he
was right and you were wrong.” Despite her words Clarice handed her
a plastic container of Excedrin.

“
Wonderful advice. Give up
my self-respect, my work. Do whatever it takes to keep a man.”
Lanessa paused to take the tablets. She drank water to wash them
down.

“
You’re overlooking one
small detail, darling child of mine.” Clarice sat next to her at
the kitchen table.

“
Really?”

“
Yes. You’re wrong!” Clarice
gave a sharp nod like an army sergeant.

“
Just what I needed today,”
Lanessa mumbled.

Lanessa had spent another sleepless
night. The argument with Alex kept playing in her head. It was as
though an evil gremlin kept putting on the same tape recording
again and again. What could she have said differently? She swung
between certainty that she’d been right and the depressing
conclusion that she’d been at fault. One minute she would be on the
verge of calling him to beg his forgiveness. The next minute she
defiantly declared they were better off apart. It was no surprise
she had a monster pain that went from the base of her neck to just
above her eyes.

“
I came over here for a
little comfort.” Lanessa cast an irritated and hurt glance at
Clarice. “This is what I get.”

“
Clarice instantly went into
mother hen mode. She gathered Lanessa up in her arms. “Baby, Mama
is just trying to help you.” She kissed the top of her head
gently.

“
Then bake some of those
chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with walnuts.” Lanessa sniffed. “I
love those things.”

“
And spoil your figure? I
will not be a party to such indulgence.” Clarice did not flinch at
the glare her words brought. “No, we’ll go shopping.”

“
Mother,” Lanessa
groaned.

“
With your father’s platinum
credit card,” Clarice said in a tempting way.

“
I don’t feel up to it.”
Lanessa sighed. For the past two weeks, she had not gone anywhere
except business meetings and the library.

Clarice shook her head slowly. “Now
you’ve really got me concerned. You don’t want to spend a man’s
money?” She had a twinkle in her eye.

“
Stop that.” Lanessa tried
to smile but the heaviness in her heart prevented it.

“
Okay. Let’s have a serious
talk.”

Clarice did what was traditional on
both sides of their family. She put fresh strong coffee in their
cups and sat next to Lanessa. This was a sign in the Pellerin and
Hawthorne clans that solemn business was afoot.

“
I don’t want to.” Lanessa
started to get up but Clarice pulled her back down into the oak
chair.

“
Oh no, cher. You listen to
your Monmon. It’s the only way you’ll feel better.” Clarice patted
her hand. “Now let’s start with the facts. You spent more time
working than with Alex.”

“
Wait a minute!” Lanessa
protested.

“
Did you break dates? Showed
up late and didn’t call? You don’t have to say anything. That
guilty look answers for you.”

“
You’re telling me my work
isn’t important? You were the one who always told me get to know
the people who can help. ‘Get out and socialize’ you said.” Lanessa
met her gaze boldly.

“
Well... yes,” Clarice
admitted.

“
Accepting social
invitations is a form of customer relations you said.”

“
That’s true.
But--”

“
And that’s what I did. You
know how I’ve gotten three major contracts in the last eight
months? By making contacts at dinner parties and receptions for all
kinds of events, art exhibits or charity fund drives,” Lanessa
said.

“
I see your point. But don’t
try to fool me, Lanessa Elise.” Clarice waggled a forefinger under
her nose. “You went to more parties than you really had to.” She
fixed her with a discerning stare that made Lanessa look
away.

“
Those parties were attended
by people I needed to meet,” Lanessa said weakly.

“
Ha! Nice try.” Clarice
patted her hand again.

“
Since you were a little
girl, you’ve loved going to parties. Dressy or casual, it didn’t
matter.”

“
And Alex has always been
into quiet evenings at home or poetry readings.” Lanessa looked at
her mother. “We’ve got basic differences. So maybe the other two
break-ups were a sign that we didn’t belong together.”

Lanessa felt a deep sadness. Alex gave
her the kind of joy no other man could. Emotionally and physically,
he sent her soaring into the outer limits of happiness. Lanessa
waited for her mother to refute her. She really needed Clarice to
tell her she was wrong now.

“
If you ask me, I think you
both need to grow up and give a little.” Clarice let go of her
hand. She sipped her coffee and sat quiet for a few moments. “You
think me and Alton stayed together thirty-seven years by accident?
No indeed! Compromise.”

“
You and daddy have more in
common.” Lanessa pushed away vain hopes and saw clearly for the
first time. “Alex keeps hoping I’ll change and I keep trying to
change him.”

Clarice wore a sober expression.
“You’ve got a terrible final tone in your voice.”

“
I’m not willing to give up
my career just when it’s taking off.” Lanessa sat up straight. “And
that’s what Alex wants.”

“
You and Alex need to have a
long talk before you--”

“
We did. The day after our
big fight,” Lanessa murmured. The memory of it was another cold
splash of reality in her face.

Alex had been distant and unyielding.
Lanessa resented his self-righteous demeanor. He was standing in
judgment of her. It was as though he expected her to atone for the
past by giving up her future. Alex had not forgiven or
forgotten.

“
And I can’t live the rest
of my life saying I’m sorry,” Lanessa said.

There it was, the true core of their
problem. The past could not be overcome. Alex needed her to prove
she was not the same. Yet she was in some important ways. So was
he.

“
So you’re not going to see
him anymore?” Clarice looked at her with her head tilted
sideways.

“
No. I’m not.” Lanessa’s
voice wavered only a little. “And it’s not the end of the world,
Mother.”

“
Not exactly but...” Clarice
looked worried about her.

“
I’ve finally gotten a life
I’m proud of. That’s a helluva lot more than I had three years
ago.” Lanessa lifted her head and looked her mother in the eye.
“And I’m going to keep going.”

***

“
Robyn, where is that
darn--” Lanessa spotted the legal pad on the table next to the
computer. “Never mind.”

“
Boss lady, you need to take
a break.” Robyn darted out of the room and came back with a plate
of cinnamon rolls. “Here we go. Enough sugar will smooth out the
roughest morning.”

“
No thanks.” Lanessa kept
reviewing the figures in front of her.

“
Come on now. We’ve got a
head start on two projects and just finished one. I think we can
take a little time to celebrate?” Robyn waved the plate in front of
her nose.

Lanessa could smell the cinnamon from
the still warm treats. “Cut it out. I’ve been eating too much as it
is.” She tried but could not resist looking at them.

“
The icing is still soft,”
Robyn said with a grin. “Just the way we like it.”

“
Gimme!” Lanessa waved the
white flag and grabbed one. “You’re truly diabolical. Beneath that
angelic face is a rascal.” She spoke between chews.

“
Like I had to twist your
arm,” Robyn quipped.

“
Did you get the last report
from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries?” Lanessa still did
not stop thinking about work. It kept her mind off other
things.

“
Right here. You know, I
have a weird idea.” Robyn dabbed icing from her chin. “I wonder if
Paxton-Waite has some kind of government contract. Federal I
mean.”

“
We’d have known.” Lanessa
sat back in her chair. “But what made you think of it?”

“
Well, the way they’re so
undercover with this plant. Companies with defense contracts have
to be security conscious.”

“
That’s true. We could
search the list of contractors approved to do business with the
Feds.” Lanessa mentally ran through a list of sources for such
information. “But I’ve haven’t seen anything pointing to the main
company or any of its divisions dealing with a government agency.”
Lanessa almost knew every page of research by memory. “All of it is
with other companies, American and foreign.”

“
Yeah, it’s a long shot.
Just seems strange though.” Robyn shrugged. She wiped her hands and
picked up a stack of brown folders.

“
Strange.” Lanessa sat
rocking back and forth in her chair for a few minutes. She did not
go back to her current project.

“
I’ll be at my desk. I’m
going to start going through these to pull out all the references
you need.” Robyn tapped the files she held. “I love this job. I get
to read up on all kinds of things. One week it’s water routes in
St. James Parish, then we’re doing research on the latest medical
procedures.” She left humming.

Lanessa smiled. They were two of a
kind. Digging through haystacks to sort out just the needles other
people wanted gave them a rush. Lanessa often wondered if she
should study for a private investigator’s license. It would give
her even more of an edge over other consulting services. She liked
puzzles, the harder the better. Too bad she could not figure out
the most difficult one. The smile evaporated from her face. No
matter what time of day or what she was doing, her thoughts always
turned back to Alex. As bad as she felt emotionally, her body
craved him even more. Making love to him left her fully satisfied
in every way a woman could be satisfied. He was tender and
thoughtful, someone she could count on. Then her thoughts of him
turned sour. The angry little voice came on to counter the
sentimental side that still wanted him. That same steady,
traditional side is what made him rigid and judgmental. There was a
down side to Mr. Stability.

“
Well you can forget it,
pal. I’m not going to be the one who always has to give in,”
Lanessa said vehemently.

“
Say what?” Robyn stood at
the file cabinet. She looked at Lanessa with a curious
expression.