Romeo (Blood Brothers) (2 page)

Chapter
Two

“Christine, I wish you’d be more serious about this.” Barbara Summers watched her friend as lines of frustration etched her face.

Christine reached across the table and took Barbara’s hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze before letting it go. “Barb, if I’m not worried about it, then you shouldn’t be, either.”

“But, it’s just not fair. You do so much good for so many people, yet you don’t care about yourself.”

“That’s true. But there really isn’t much I can do about it at this poi—”

Barbara placed her hands over her ears. “Don’t say it. Don’t you dare utter those words! I don’t think I can stand it. How can you be so nonchalant about it?” Tears streamed down the older woman’s face.

Christine stood up and walked around the table to the sobbing woman. She bent over to give Barbara a comforting hug. “Shh. Don’t cry. If there’s anything you could do for me, it’s not to shed any tears. Everything will be all right. These things happen for a reason.”

“What possible reason could there be for this to happen? Of all the people this could happen to, I don’t understand why it had to be you!” Barbara wailed even louder.

Christine asked herself the same question in the beginning but after a while she came to the conclusion that she would make the most of what she had to deal with. “Debating the how’s and why’s won’t change anything, Barb. Let’s not talk about it anymore. Obviously, it’s making you feel bad and I don’t want that.”

“You see. There you go again, thinking about someone other than yourself. Even now, you remain the most selfless person I know. Bless you, honey.”

A faint smile tugged the corner of Christine’s lips. If only Barbara knew how many times she’d cursed and raged over this, she wouldn’t use the world selfless. Resigned seemed to be the word Christine used. She retrieved her purse and dug out a packet of facial tissues. “Here you go, sweetie. Now dry your eyes and go cut me a slice of that yummy chocolate cake you baked. You see, I do think about myself.” She dropped a kiss on Barbara’s forehead, hoping her level tone would reassure and calm her.

“You’re such a good girl, Christine. Not like that slut Rick is married to now. Even though they live fifteen minutes away, Tracy never comes over for visits except for holidays. She never lifts a finger to help when she’s over here and she actually made Rick hire a nanny to look after the kids. I’ve never heard of such a thing, especially since she’s not working. Now you tell me, what kind of mother wouldn’t want to spend time with her own children?”

“To be fair, a lot of women hire some nannies to help them out. As you’ve pointed out, she has three children under the age of three. I can imagine when she had the twins, she was overwhelmed. I can imagine anyone would be.”

Barbara sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “You’re way too generous. I managed to raise four boys single-handedly when my Herb passed away, God rest his soul. And I did it working a full-time job. She’s barely twenty-five, and you mean to tell me she doesn’t have the energy? Humph. I bet she has plenty of energy when it’s time for her to go shopping. She’s going to bankrupt him, you mark my words. He’s going to rue the day when he walked out on you.”

“Barb, you’re going to have to let that go. It’s coming up on five years now. Rick is happily married now with the family he’s always wanted and I’m content with what I’ve made of my life. You should give Tracy a chance.”

“Ha! She and I have nothing in common. She’s nothing but a man-stealing tramp! And she’s half his age.” Barbara sniffed.

Christine sighed. She didn’t know if Barbara would ever make the effort with her daughter-in-law, Tracy, but one thing she knew with certainty; they would never be close if one of them didn’t at least try to get along. Christine had been devastated by the
way
her marriage ended rather than that it
had
ended, but she knew she was better off without shallow, self-centered Rick Summers in her life.

She and Rick had met in college while she was majoring in social work and he in accounting. Christine had fallen madly in love with the tall, blond, hunky Rick. She’d always had a thing for blonds and it didn’t hurt that Rick was easy on the eyes. She had been so enraptured with him that when they’d both graduated, instead of pursuing a career in social work like she’d planned, Christine had devoted herself to him at his request.

Rick had been adamant about starting a family right away and that had suited Christine as well because she wanted nothing more than to be a mother. After three years of marriage, however and many attempts at conception, they remained childless. At that point, they were both concerned so they went to a fertility specialist to have themselves checked out. The first round of testing she and Rick had undergone had revealed they were both healthy and there was no reason why they shouldn’t be able to have children, but wanting a second opinion, Christine went to another doctor. That was when she’d received some devastating news.

When Christine was sixteen, doctors had discovered cysts on one of her ovaries and it had had to be removed. They’d assured her that she would still be able to conceive. Now, however, another cyst had appeared on her remaining ovary, which also had to be removed. It had ended all chances of her having children of her own.

She’d cried for two weeks straight. It was a devastating blow to her womanhood to learn she’d never experience the miracle of natural childbirth, never feel the life of another human being developing within her, and never feel a child suckle her as she provided nourishment.

In the beginning, Rick had seemed supportive and said all the right things like, he still wanted her and that they could always adopt. Within a year, however, he’d changed his tune. Rick began to withhold his affection, never wanted to have sex or even cuddle when all Christine wanted was to be assured of his love for her. He began spending several nights at the office. Though she had expected him to work long hours at his accounting firm during the tax season, Rick had continued his hectic work schedule well after the peak season. It was around that time Christine had suspected he was cheating but she’d never confronted him, too scared of having her suspicions confirmed.

Two months after their fifth wedding anniversary, Rick took her out to dinner, something that should have raised the red flags in her mind. Her husband was not merely frugal. He was a flat out cheapskate. Dining out, he said, was a wasted extravagance. When he didn’t quibble over the prices, even when she ordered the steak and lobster, she knew something had been wrong.

“
Chrissie,” Rick
spoke with a mouthful
porterhouse steak. He always called her Chrissie when he was trying to cajole her into something.

She raised a brow and placed her fork and knife down. “Yes?”

“We have to talk.”

She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The
‘
we-have-to-talk
’
discussion was usually reserved for breakups and death and Rick looked to be the epitome of glowing health.

“
Obviously, Rick. Or else you wouldn’t have brought me here. So what do you think we need to talk about?”

He looked slightly offended.
Obviously
,
he didn’t expect her to be so straight forward.
“
First, I’d like for us to maintain our civility.”

“Rick quit beating around the bush and tell me what it is you
brought
me here to say.”

“You make it seem like I had an ulterior motive. I can’t treat my wife to
a nice dinner?”

“
Given your history in regards to money, any reasonable person would be suspicious. You didn’t bat an eye when I purposely ordered the most expensive meal on the menu. And that porterhouse you ordered isn’t cheap either.”

Rick
wiggled in his chair seeming uncomfortable all of a sudden
. “
Fine. I was trying to break it gently to you but here it goes: o
ur marriage isn’t working.”

Christine had been expecting this conversation for a while now, but
a small part of her still wished she had been wrong
. “I see. Is it another woman?”

He cut into his steak and stuffed another bite into his mouth. Slowly he chewed at an excruciatingly slow pace then took a sip of wine to wash it down before he answered her.
“Well,
we have drifted apart,” Rick said as if that was a sufficient enough answer.
“
You’re a great woman, but you have to understand... a man wants to carry on his
legacy. I can’t be with a half—
” He broke off,
turning slightly red.

Tears stung her eyes
.
She’d thought the same thing about herself many times but to hear Rick voice it cut her to the core.
“With a half-woman? Because I can’t bear children?”

He shrugged, refusing to make eye contact.
“
You
knew when we married that I wanted children.
I thought I could deal with your issues, but the more time that passed, I realized I couldn’t. I’d like to have a family while I’m still young enough to enjoy them.
”
His tone
was
defensive
,
almost angry as
if
he was inconvenienced to explain this to her.
If he thought she would let him off the hook so easily, he had another think coming to him.

She clenched her fists. The hurt would surely come later but now all she felt was a blinding rage.
“You also told me I was more important than having kids or was that a lie?
What about adoption?”

“Like I said, I’ve given it thought, Chrissie and I don’t want to go the adoption route. Do you know how hard it is to adopt a healthy white baby in the US
?
”

“I didn’t realize
the
race
of a child
was that important to you
considering you married me
.”

“
Well, if you were capable of having children I wouldn’t have minded as long as they’re biologically mine. But adoption is different.
I’d want my children to look like me. How silly wo
uld I look raising a brown baby? So many of them grow up to be felons.
Those aren’t issues, I want to deal with.” Rick spoke to her as if he were explaining something to a five year old.”

“You sound incredibly i
gnorant right now.
I didn’t know you married me solely to be your
baby-making factory or that you were such a big idiot.”

Rick glared at her finally dropping his fork and knife
. “
Lower your goddamn voice.
People are starting to stare.”

Christine was beyond caring right now. She couldn’t believe she’d devoted the last five years of her life to him. The blinders were off and what she saw before her wasn’t a pretty sight.
“So what? Let them.”

He looked over his shoulder then spoke in a hushed tone.
“Let’s be reasonable about this, Chrissie.”

“Don’t call me Chrissie. I hate that name.”

“Fine, Christine, be reasonable. It isn’t fair of you to expect me to raise children who aren’t mine. What if we ended up with a crack baby or a child who got sick and we had no way of knowing the birth parents’ medical history? Who knows what kind of homes these children may have come from?”

“You seem to have forgotten. I was adopted, too.”

“That’s different.”

“How is it different?
Do you think something is wrong with me, too? Am I also an undesirable?”

“You’re being too sensitive.”

“Well, how am I supposed to act when you tell me you’re going to end our marriage because I can’t give birth to your children?”

“
You’re drawing attention to us
,” he
hissed.

“
I don’t give a shit!”
She stood up, throwing her napkin down on the table.

“You’re making a scene, Christine. Sit down!”

“For what? To hear you list more of my shortcomings? You
haven’t seen anything yet,
buddy.” She climbed onto her chair and stepped on the table.

“Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention, please?”

“Christine, stop this right now!” Rick was livid, his eyes avoiding the curious onlookers.

She ignored him. If he thought bringing her to a public place to drop this bombshell on her would prevent her from making a scene, he was about to learn exactly how wrong he was.

“Ladies, and gentlemen,” she began again. By now, she had every single eye in the restaurant focused on her. The manager rushed over to their table with a look of utter astonishment on his face. Christine shot him a glare, daring him to stop her. He backed off. “My darling husband, Rick Summers, has just informed me he wants to end our marriage because I’m more barren than the Sahara Desert. He can’t be married to someone who can’t bear his seed.”

“Christine, you’re making an ass of yourself.” Rick stood up.

“I can’t be a bigger ass than you are. Everyone, listen up. Mr. Summers thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but let me tell you about the man behind the myth. He farts in his sleep and every morning he looks in the mirror to tell himself how great a guy he is. He also makes me call him ‘The Rick’ during sex.”

The
crowd began to snicker. Rick’s face was brick red as he shot daggers at her with his gaze.

“You can take a cab home, Christine. You’re acting childish.”

“Why, because I’m not the docile little geisha girl you thought you’d married?” That was another thing she couldn’t stand. He called her his little geisha girl, but she wasn’t even Japanese. “News flash, asshole. I’m not your fucking doormat, so you can shove your over-inflated ego up your ass. That’s right, everyone. On our wedding night, he told me I was lucky to have a stud like him for my husband. His words exactly.”
She remained undeterred by the stricken expression on Rick’s face
. “Well, I wish you luck. The unfortunate woman you pick to sow your demon seed is welcome to you.” Christine hopped down from the table in one swift movement and grabbed
her glass of merlot.

“Don’t you dare!”

“Oh, I dare a lot.” She threw the
wine
all over his
suit.

“You go, girl!”
A
woman called out from one of the tables.

She then stormed out of the restaurant past the otherwise, stunned restaurant patrons.

Rick had packed his bags that night and left. The next time she’d heard from him was through his lawyer. When the divorce went through, she got the house, a car and a nice lump sum in lieu of alimony.

Christine had sold the large, four-bedroom Tudor style home and the car and bought something much more modest just outside Boston. She’d used the extra money to pursue her masters in social work.

Rick ending their marriage was probably one of the best things that had happened to her. She’d realized that she had stopped loving Rick a long time ago. They’d just been going through the motions, but the reason he’d ended things still stung. She still carried the pain of not being able to have children of her own, but adoption was still something she wanted to pursue.

The prospect of dating again hadn’t frightened her as it did other new divorcees. The thought of meeting new people and making connections had excited her. She knew she could probably begin another relationship if she wanted to. She took pride in her appearance and heritage without conceit. Christine also had a flair for fashion. Even when she wasn’t dressed to impress and wore very little make up, she managed to get second and sometimes third looks from the opposite sex. She made sure she visited the gym at least three times a week to maintain a healthy and fit body.

She wasn’t the classic beautiful, blue-eyed blonde, but, damn it, she was sexy and didn’t care what the fashion magazines said.

Rick had moved on with his life and seemed happy with his new and younger trophy wife. Christine had heard she was barely out of high school. She didn’t begrudge Rick his newfound happiness because he was now a closed door in her life. She still kept in contact with her former mother-in-law and friend, Barbara, because she lived alone and Christine worried about the older woman, who didn’t get many visitors. With two sons overseas in the Navy, one on the West coast and one too busy with his family, Barbara was a very lonely woman.

Christine was satisfied with her life. She had a fulfilling job, did volunteer work on the side, taught self-defense classes to women, and had plenty of friends. Her dream of adoption, however, was one she’d had to let go.

Barbara placed a generous slice of chocolate cake in front of her.

“Thank you. Your cakes are to die for. Whenever I try your recipes, they never come out quite right for me.” Christine pouted.

“You have to be very precise with the ingredients, dear.”

“I am. I guess I’ll never be a master chef, but I’m good as long as you keep baking like this.”

“Anything for you, my dear. Christine,” Barbara said, a serious note in her voice as she returned to her seat. “We may no longer be related, but you mean a lot to me. I just wanted you to know that before—”

“Please. We said we wouldn’t discuss this anymore. You don’t need the upset.”

“But I have to say my peace.”

“No, you don’t. I know how you feel about me. Besides, this was meant to be.”

“Why you and not Tracy?”

“Stop that! You and I both know you don’t mean it. She’s the mother of your grandchildren. At least for their sakes, please try to meet her halfway. Even if you two are never close, you can at least say you tried.”

Barbara poked out her lip mutinously before sighing. “You’re right, of course, but that woman burns me up.”

Christine knew better than to push the issue. She changed the subject and they began to talk about her job which Barbara seemed to be fascinated with. It was late by the time Christine finally left. Her drive home was uneventful. However, as she walked to her condo, she had the strangest sensation of being watched.

From her self-defense training, she knew that she should always be aware of her surroundings and she cursed herself for letting her guard down. She gripped her keys and hurriedly walked toward her front door. Just a few more feet and she’d be there. Her hands shook as she placed her key in the lock.

“Christine, you still tremble when I’m near. You know you have nothing to fear when I’m around.”

Nya.

Christine turned around and glared at her friend. Even though they’d known each other for nearly four years, the sight of the tall, willowy, dark-skinned beauty always took her breath away. As always, Nya wore all black. Tonight, she wore a tight pair of leather pants and a half T-shirt that showed off her tight abdominal muscles.

Standing a couple inches shy of six feet, Nya was by far one of the most beautiful women Christine had ever seen. She had the ethereal and proud beauty, as well as the royal bearing, of an African queen. Her skin was like midnight and her hair hung past her shoulders to the middle of her back in neat little corn-rowed columns that accentuated her stunning features. Deep brown eyes the color of warm earth slanted slightly upwards and high cheekbones and large, lush lips completed the picture of perfection. But behind the gorgeous mask was someone not to be trifled with. Nya was strong and could be quite ferocious if crossed, making Christine glad they were friends instead of enemies.

Christine felt safe whenever Nya was around. After all, who better to be friends with if not a two-hundred-year-old vampire? Still, her friendship with a supernatural being was something she kept secret. No one would believe her if she told them anyway.

They’d met one night when Christine was coming home from volunteering at the orphanage. Two men had attacked and dragged her to the back of an alley. To this day, she still didn’t know if their intentions had been to rape, rob, kill her, or all three. Just as she’d screamed for help, Nya had appeared. Fear had immobilized Christine as the tall black woman had bared her fangs and ripped the men apart with her bare hands.

Nya had then taken her home and seen to it that Christine was okay. The vampire had stayed until the morning hours before disappearing. From then on, Nya showed up whenever she pleased, which wasn’t very often, but the two women had managed to forge a lasting bond with each other. Nya had encouraged her to take a self-defense class. It had turned out to be an excellent class because not only had she learned to better defend herself if such a situation arose again, Christine decided to give back by teaching other women to protect themselves.

Aside from Barbara, Nya was the only other person Christine felt she could confide in. The strange thing about their relationship was that while Nya knew everything about her, Christine only knew about bits and pieces of Nya’s life and it wasn’t much. The couple things she had been learned was Nya was originally from the South though Nya never said which state. And there was the one time when Nya’s guard had been down, she let slip something about someone who would never allow her to be free. When Christine had pressed the issue, Nya had not only clammed up, she’d disappeared for months.

Christine had thought she’d never see Nya again but was relieved when she did eventually return. Christine gleaned more from what Nya didn’t say about this mysterious man. It was obvious he had a powerful hold on her. She wanted to help her friend but didn’t know how. Besides, she doubted Nya would appreciate the gesture.