Open Door Marriage (20 page)

Tori and Dallas stayed locked in a battle glare so long that Alicia cleared her throat and said,
“
Soooo, because you all have such crazy busy lives, my contribution to the household is that I
’
ll maintain the house
—
”

“
And my schedule?
”
Dallas asked, tearing his gaze away from Tori.
“
I really, really need your help with that. Please?
”

“
And your schedule,
”
she amended and relished his sigh of relief.

“
And mine, too,
”
Tori added, then quickly rattled off an inventory of things related to how she and the maids kept things at their condo.

“
She
’
s not going to replace the maid or the housekeeper,
”
Dallas said angrily.

“
No worries,
”
Alicia said, giving Tori a knowing smile.
“
I
’
m beginning to think you need a wife more than you ever needed a husband.
”

Tori
’
s eyes shot daggers in her direction.

Dallas chuckled as he polished off the rest of what was on his plate.
“
You know, my mother said that all the time.
”

“
What?
”
Alicia asked.

“
Every woman needs a wife.
”

Alicia turned back to the stove, chuckling as she said,
“
Well, let the church say Amen.
”

Chapter 21

Saturday, December 1
—
10:01 a.m.

They fell into a comfortable routine that always left Alicia smiling.
Sometimes, Dallas would write poetry and leave it on her pillow so the first thing she would know when she woke up was that he would be thinking of her all day. At night, he would lie on her bed stretched out beside her, reading from a novel until her eyelids fluttered and she fell asleep.

True to his word, he made sure that her days were filled with the things she loved to do, and he enrolled her in an art class to encourage her love for creating beautiful oil paintings. A week after she started, he found a
“
creative
”
way to join her, without it being obvious they were a
“
couple.
”
Dallas hid behind a huge black screen as the bushy-haired art teacher said,
“
We have a special guest today. You might recognize him, and then again, dressed the way he is right now, you might not.
”

Dallas stepped out with only a towel covering the Family Jewels and moseyed over to stand next to the art teacher, who gave him an appreciative once-over.

“
Class, NBA Star Dallas Avery is our subject for today. Fresh off a win last night from the Mavericks, he
’
s joining us for the ultimate experience.
”

A sudden hush came over the all-female class. That lasted all of ten seconds. When Dallas turned and walked to the designated spot on the chaise, it set tongues wagging. He heard everything from,
“
Nice ass,
”
to
“
Good Lord, I
’
d like to squeeze that Charmin.
”

Alicia tried to keep a straight face, but the shock she felt came through, and the women talking about him made her blush.

He winked at her, and she gave him the
“
evil eye.
”
It had been a pleasant surprise to her when he
’
d driven her to school that morning.
He
’
d promised to pick her up, so she didn
’
t expect to see him for two more hours.

But after her initial surprise, she focused, working hard on doing justice to the man that she loved.

On their way home from the art studio that day, she was silent for a long while. He opened the car door and extended his hand to her. When she stood in front of him, she placed her hand over his prized package and said,
“
Next time, drop the towel, sweetheart,
”
and walked into the condo without giving him a backward glance.

Dallas roared with laughter.
But then, the next day when she brought the painting of him home, he
’
d been mesmerized and proud.
Alicia had created a piece so life-like and beautiful, he had it framed and hung on her bedroom wall where she would see it the moment she opened her eyes.

They were beginning to build their life together.

* * *

Dallas had a world class chef come to the condo to give him a private cooking class. The chef tried to teach Dallas how to prepare a few of Alicia
’
s favorite foods. Watching Dallas fumble his way around the kitchen had brought peals of laughter from Alicia, which warmed his heart.

After two hours of torture
—
where he messed up on simple things like teaspoons and tablespoons; sautéing and simmering, she held her sides, still laughing as she said,
“
All right Dallas, you
’
ve made your point.
”

Dallas excused the chef, and the moment he cleared the room, Dallas ran over to Alicia and planted a wheat flour laced kiss on her cheek.
“
I don
’
t have to cook. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
”

Then he looked at his watch.
“
Great. We have time for a real meal. Your wine-tasting class starts in a few hours.
”

“
Wine tasting?
”
she asked.
“
I didn
’
t mention anything about wanting to be a wine connoisseur.
”

“
I
’
m hoping it
’
ll help you find an appreciation for something a lot less potent than that swill that
’
s strong enough to put hairs on the glass,
”
he said.
“
I felt like a punk trying to drink that crap in the bar.
”

“
Oh, so we
’
re
not
a grown up,
”
she teased, planting a hand on his massive chest.

Dallas caught both of her hands in his.
“
I
’
m grown enough, woman, don
’
t play.
”

She gave him a sultry look and said,
“
Show, don
’
t tell, honey.
”

“Woman, don’t …”

“Tori’s on rotation until tomorrow.”

He had her within his arms
in the time it took to breathe
and carried her off to the bedroom
. They made the kind of mad, passionate love that meant s
he missed wine-tasting class altogether.
And dinner. And breakfast.
Evidently that
“
hot minute
”
of holding off had come to a much-needed end.
They didn
’
t even make it through a month.

It truly was all good times for them. Their only arguments came from differing views in politics. While they both agreed that Obama
’
s time in the White House had been marred by the GOP
’
s dogged determination to do the exact opposite of any forum the POTUS put in place to help the average American, they disagreed greatly on how the man went about doing things.

Dallas huffed as they watched another State of the Union address.
“
He should have went in and gone straight gangster on those fools in the first damn place.
”

Alicia laid her head on his shoulder.
“
And have him prove everybody right? That a brother couldn
’
t handle his business without showing his ass?
”

“
One time and they would
’
ve learned that if they didn
’
t play ball, he would take his toys and go home then play his own damn game.
”

Alicia sighed as they continued to watch their president—each voicing their opinion in such a way that Tori finally came
out of her bedroom and
bang
ed
on the door and said,
“
Will you two amateur political analysts keep it down! I swear, if you
’
re not fucking like bunny rabbits, you
’
re chattering like squirrels. Give it a rest already!
”

The two of them looked at each other and busted up laughing.

* * *

They survived the first twenty-one days of Tori
’
s wavering between actually enjoying how smoothly things were shaping up; then remembering that she shouldn
’
t. Every time it seemed as if the two women were mending their relationship, Tori
’
s jealousy would rear its ugly head and they would be back to square one.

Dallas was on the road a lot for his games, but he spent every moment he could at home. Sometimes, he surprised Tori with flowers and jewelry or by leaving a CD of him singing
—
actually, butchering
—
one of her favorite songs in her pearl white Benz. Once a week, he had a crew of specialists show up at the medical school and set up shop in the cafeteria to give her, her classmates, and the instructors the royal treatment, which had made her mega-popular at work and toned down some of her anxiety.

And what he did with Alicia was create as many special moments for them together that he could.
Many nights, he would take Alicia to a private creek near the woodlands and swim with her under the stars. During one of those times, she had opened to him, telling him of the time when she first learned what fear was all about …

* * *

Annapolis, Missouri

The wind whipped about and screams rented the air. Six-year-old Alicia and her nine-year-old brother, James huddled in the closet as the roar of what sounded like a thousand engines rattled the house. Alicia
’
s heart slammed against her little chest. Her brother wrapped his arms around her. His shirt was plastered to his brown skin, making it cold to the touch.
“
We
’
ll be okay,
”
James whispered, rocking her back and forth.
“
They
’
ll come back for us. You
’
ll see.
”

Alicia moved closer to James and they sat in the darkness for an eternity.
She missed her twin, Lisa, who was at Nana
’
s house learning how to sew.
Their parents had left the house when their mother went into labor. That seemed like days ago. Before the rains came. Nana was supposed
bring Lisa home and
come stay with them
while their parents were at the hospital
, but the silver-haired woman never made it.

“
What if the wind took them, too?
”
Alicia asked him.

“
No, they promised to come back. Mommy and Daddy always keep their promises, don
’
t they?
”

Alicia nodded, almost as unsure of his words as she was that the house wouldn
’
t come down around them. The wind had made a shower of branches and limbs slam against the house, breaking the windows and sucking out some of their belongings. That
’
s when they had run from the bedroom to the closet.

James pulled the blanket about her shoulders. He sang to her, just as he always had when the shadows that played about her bedroom wall kept her from falling asleep. James was so brave and smart. He could chase those shadows away with his voice and she would drift into a happy place until the sun touched her face the next morning. But there was no sun this morning. Only dark clouds. An even darker sky. And rain. And the sound of the wind in its angry journey through their city.

As she listened, Alicia noticed there was something different in his voice this time. Something she knew quite well; something that James was beginning to understand. Fear. The feel of his hand trembling as he tried to comfort her; the slight hitch in his breathing was enough to bring on a different thought. If her brother was afraid, then they were definitely in trouble.

She focused on the words of the song.
Come by here, Good Lord. Come by here.
Yes, they needed God. They needed someone. Against her will, Alicia
’
s eyes began to close and she drifted into an uneasy type of slumber with his arms wrapped around her.

When she awakened, the world was a frightfully different place. They were no longer in the closet. As far as the eye could see
,
mountains of wood, metal, and glass stood in places that once held houses and families along a tree-lined street. The sky above them was tinged with a murky grey. The wind brushed across them from all sides, bringing with it a biting cold air that made Alicia shiver. Somehow she believed that the wind had carried them faraway, like Dorothy in
The Wizard of Oz.

Alicia shook James and he slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head. His eyes widened when he probably became aware of the one thing she had figured out moments ago. She had been wrong. They were still in what was left of the closet, but only the threshold and frame remained. The concrete foundation underneath was now a macabre outline of the once-happy Mitchell family it contained. Their entire house was gone, as well as everything in it.

“
My parents didn
’
t keep their promise to return,
”
Alicia finished telling the story to Dallas.
“
Only later did I learn that it was because they weren
’
t alive to keep it.
My nana
and twin
died that night, too. And
ever since then, it feels like I
’
ve been drifting … just drifting.
”

Dallas swam over to her.
“
Not anymore, baby. Not anymore.
”

Each time they went to the creek to swim together, Alicia opened a little more to him, telling of her past and the things she had endured before finally arriving on her grandparent
’
s doorstep. Dallas admired her strength and tenacity and was thrilled as she slowly began to lay her heart on the line
—
for him.

Alicia was beginning to trust him, but he could tell there were things that she held back. Sometimes she would pause, sifting through her memories, filtering out the things she either thought were too painful to share, or too sordid for him to understand.

Dallas tried, on many occasions to reassure her that she was safe with him now.
T
hat no matter what life threw at them, he would never leave her.

He understood Alicia, and she understood him in ways that Tori did not
—
the need for simple things; quiet times, a good meal, peace in his own home. Sometimes they didn
’
t have to say a word
—
a look, a movement, an unspoken thought connected them, and she responded to him. He adored her.

The most pleasurable moments of his life were seeing Alicia
’
s smile, hearing her laughter, and knowing that he had satisfied her or pleased her in some small way.

And that brought him more satisfaction than he could put into words.