The Best of Everything (5 page)

“See you then.”

Phillip escorted them to the doorway and said good-bye to them, but as he watched them leave, he wondered what it must be like for them when they were alone. The whole scenario was a dreadfully painful one, and it made him appreciate his own marriage. It made him realize that compared with the Kings, he and Alicia actually had a wonderful union and one they should be thankful for.

W
oodfield Mall was only about an hour’s drive from Mitchell, and since it was the middle of the week, there wasn’t a lot of traffic or as many people shopping as there would be on the weekend. This morning, right after Phillip had left for work, Alicia had debated back and forth whether she should make the trip but had eventually decided against it. She’d told herself that if she wanted a happy marriage, she had an obligation to at least try to resist all the temptation she was constantly feeling—particularly her yearning for a new pair of princess-cut diamond earrings she’d seen a week ago.

But then, Phillip had called her on the phone, announcing that his parents were coming to town, and there was no way she could let them see the same old, drab-looking comforter set they’d had to sleep on when they’d stayed with them the last time. Actually, the only reason she’d purchased the one they had was that Phillip had gone with her when she’d bought it and had insisted it was perfect. But Alicia knew he’d chosen it more because it was on sale and less because he loved it.

However, today, she was going to replace not only that cut-rate comforter set but also the bathroom accessories with plush bath towels, a soap dish, toothbrush holder, as well as tissue and
garbage containers. She would buy everything top of the line, and she couldn’t wait to dump every bit of the old stuff into the trash bin.

Alicia entered through Nordstrom’s north entrance and proceeded through the store and down to the home department. She looked at one set after another, searching for the best one she could find, and then spotted an elegant dark lavender comforter. It was beautiful and, more important, very expensive-looking and she could already picture it in the guest bedroom with four pillows, three shams, the bedskirt, and each of the three decorative pillows that were on the display model.

So, she went down the aisle, found a queen-size comforter along with everything else that went with it, and she and the sales lady helping her carried all of it to the counter in three trips. But then she realized how there was no way she could bypass purchasing a matching sheet set, so she added that to her pile also.

The fiftysomething woman signed in to her cash register. “This really is one of our most popular bedding sets, and I just love it.”

“I do, too, and I think my in-laws will like it as well.”

“I’m sure they will.”

As the woman scanned each item, Alicia glanced around the surrounding area, but unfortunately nothing else caught her eye, so she waited for the clerk to finish.

When she did, she told Alicia the total. “That’ll be one thousand, one hundred forty-seven dollars and fifty-nine cents.”

Alicia swiped her Nordstrom credit card through the portable machine. “Actually, that was a little bit less than I thought it was going to be.”

“Yes, most of the items were twenty percent off, so that’s always nice.”

When her information processed, Alicia signed the plastic screen and tapped the Enter button.

“Would you like me to call someone to help you with your bags? Or better yet, I can have someone take everything out to our loading dock area and you can drive around and pick it up there.

“That would be great. Thank you.”

“No, thank you for your business and have a wonderful rest of the day.”

“You, too.”

After Alicia pulled in front of the shipping and receiving doorway and one of the employees had piled everything into her trunk, she drove back out to the general parking lot and parked. She hadn’t been thinking about the diamond earrings she’d wanted to get, but now she wondered if there was time for her to check them out. She’d seen them at one of the first-floor jewelry stores the last time she’d come to the mall, and they’d been on sale for forty-nine, ninety-nine—which was a steal since they had a two-carat total weight with excellent clarity and were regularly priced at seventy-five hundred dollars.

She knew, though, it probably wasn’t the best idea for her to buy them because if she did, she’d have to use the remaining five thousand dollars in her checking account. Not to mention, Phillip would certainly go through the roof once he found out about them, and as it was, he was going to be livid about the thousand-plus dollars she’d spent on the comforter set—which was the reason she was going to store everything in the guest-bedroom closet and then wait until Friday to set all of it up. This way, there would be a chance he wouldn’t pay much attention to it until his parents arrived. It would also mean she wouldn’t have to hear any of his complaining because he would never do that in front of them.

But as far as the earrings, maybe she would just take another look at them and then wait awhile before actually making a purchase. Yes, that’s what she would do and then she’d be on her way home in less than an hour.

Alicia pulled her car into the first open spot she could find and then went back inside the mall. This time, though, she went through one of the main entrances and not through one of the anchor stores, which was a lot safer because rarely could she walk through Nordstrom, Macy’s, or Lord & Taylor without finding something to buy, even if it was only a bottle of cologne.

She walked past one specialty store after another and had a mind to stop at Victoria’s Secret, but remembered how she’d only come in there for one reason. She passed a few more places she sometimes patronized and then walked inside the jewelry store.

She smiled when she saw the same distinctive-looking salesman who had shown her the earrings the first time she’d looked at them.

“You’re back.”

“Yeah, but basically I just want to see them again.”

“Of course.”

The salesman pulled them from the glass case and passed them over to her.

Alicia sighed. “I just love these.”

“Then you should get them.”

“They have so much fire, and I really want them, but I’m thinking I should wait.”

“I can understand that, but just the fact that you came back only one week later means you haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.”

He was right because in actuality, when she’d purchased
those few pieces of jewelry from QVC yesterday, she’d been hoping they would suffice and that she’d no longer feel the need to own the earrings she was holding right now. But she knew they’d never left the back of her mind.

“You only live once.”

He was right about that, too, because with all the terrible things going on in the world, it was like she’d tried to explain to Melanie, tomorrow wasn’t promised to any of us.

“I’ll take them.”

“Good for you.”

Alicia pulled out her debit card and waited for the salesman to process the transaction. When everything was complete, he boxed them up, slipped them into a bag, and gave them to her.

“A beautiful pair of earrings for a very beautiful lady.”

“Thank you. And take care.”

“You, too, and come again.”

Alicia felt like she was on a high, and she couldn’t wait to sport her new diamonds. She wouldn’t do it right away and would have to be careful when it came to choosing the best time to wear them in front of Phillip, but once she did, she would enjoy them on a regular basis, that was for sure. It was true that she already had a pair of diamond earrings, but they were round, smaller, and not as noticeable, so she hadn’t worn them in a couple of years.

After Alicia had exited onto I-90 West, her cell phone rang. It was Phillip and she was hoping he hadn’t left the church yet and was already at home. It was almost dusk, but she’d been counting on his staying late for Bible study.

She answered in a cheerful and unsuspicious tone. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.”

“Are you still at the church?”

“No, I’m on my way home. I decided to leave early.”

That’s exactly what she’d been afraid of, and now she’d have to keep everything she’d purchased in the trunk overnight and wait for him to head off to work in the morning.

“Well, I’m out running some errands and then I’m planning to stop by the bookstore to browse the writing and publishing section, so if it’s okay with you, I probably won’t be home for a couple of hours or so.”

She hated lying to him again, but he never left her much choice and she just couldn’t bear another evening of arguments.

“That’s fine. Do what you need to do and take your time. But did you want me to pick up some carryout?”

“That’ll be good, or I can grab Chinese once I leave the bookstore.”

“That’ll work.”

“Did you need me to get anything else?”

“No, but I’ll be waiting patiently for you to get here, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re bad.”

“I know.”

They both laughed, and Alicia loved the mood her husband was in. She loved when he was happy. When they were happy. And that’s why she had to hide everything as planned.

“I guess I’ll see you soon.”

“See you later.”

As Alicia drove farther down the highway, traffic eventually began to slow down a bit. She’d been expecting it, though, and that was the reason she’d told Phillip she wouldn’t be home for another two hours. That way she’d have time to get through traffic, arrive back in Mitchell, and still drop by the bookstore to pick up any book she could find—just to prove that she’d actually gone there.

She didn’t like living this way, but she had to do what worked and what was best for the sustenance of their relationship. And what was wrong with telling a little white lie every now and then as long as it was for the betterment of her marriage? She was sure some people would beg to differ, but the way she saw it, stretching the truth was a lot smarter than doing nothing and then heading to divorce court.

When Alicia arrived back in Mitchell, she went to the bookstore as planned, purchased three books on writing, two novels, and one memoir. She hadn’t planned on buying as much as she had, but she’d ended up seeing a lot more interesting titles than she’d expected.

Next, she drove about twenty minutes to their favorite Chinese restaurant, went inside, placed the order, and then waited for them to get it ready. Like most times when they ordered takeout from this lovely establishment, it didn’t take more than fifteen minutes.

Now, Alicia walked through the parking lot, which wasn’t lighted nearly the way it should have been, and approached her vehicle. As she unlocked the door…

“Open up your trunk and give me that jewelry you purchased.”

Alicia thought for sure her heart and lungs were going to collapse. She was scared to death, and it felt like the man who spoke was pointing a gun into her back.

“Do it!”

“Oh my God. What are you talking about?”

“Look, do you think I followed you more than fifty miles, just to play games with you? Now, please don’t make me hurt you.”

“Oh dear God, please. Please don’t do this.”

The gunman snatched her by her shirt and dragged her
toward the back of the car. “Now, for the last time, I said open it!”

Alicia fumbled her keys, trying to find the correct button on her keyless-entry gadget, and then pressed it.

The trunk door flew open and the gunman pulled out the jewelry bag and fled to a car that was waiting a few feet away. When he jumped in on the passenger side, they sped off like nothing had ever happened. Alicia could barely move, but she looked around and didn’t see a soul. Not one person had witnessed what had happened and while she was a nervous wreck and terrified for her life, she knew she could never report this. She couldn’t call the police and she would never tell her husband because if she did, she’d have to disclose exactly what the gunman had taken from her. She’d have to confess to Phillip that he’d taken her newly purchased, five-thousand-dollar, princess-cut diamond earrings, and there was no way she could do that.

She stood there a few more seconds and finally burst into tears. Then, she slammed down the trunk and sat inside the car. This was insane. She’d been robbed right in the heart of Mitchell and in the parking lot of a quaint little Chinese restaurant and there was nothing she could do about it. Then, the idea that someone had cased the jewelry store, watched her make her purchase, followed her out to her car, saw her place the bag in her trunk, and trailed her back to Mitchell and even to the bookstore sent chills through her body.

She was beyond upset, but she started her engine and slowly drove away.

She drove but she couldn’t help thinking…why couldn’t the gunman have taken her purse, with the little bit of cash she had inside of it, and just been satisfied? Why couldn’t he have taken something that she hadn’t even spent a thousand dollars on?

N
o matter how many times she replayed the entire scenario, Alicia still couldn’t fathom what had just happened to her less than an hour ago. She’d actually been robbed. What were the chances that today would be the day she’d choose to stop at a restaurant that normally had very few customers during the weeknights? On top of that, it had just gotten completely dark only minutes before she’d gone inside of it. Although, that would explain why the gunman hadn’t confronted her at the much busier bookstore while it was still light outside and had decided to wait until later.

On her way inside her house, she was glad she’d thought to stop at the pharmacy to get a bottle of eye-makeup remover and cotton balls so she could fix her face before seeing Phillip. She’d bawled all the way to the store, and the last thing she needed was Phillip asking her what she’d been crying about. She was also glad she never left the house without her eyeliner, mascara, pressed face powder, and lip color and liner. During college, she’d gotten in the habit of always carrying them in her purse and today that habit had paid off.

Alicia set the bags of food on top of the counter, dropped her goldish-tan Coach handbag, the one that had cost her nearly
eight hundred dollars, across the back of one of the island chairs and gathered her composure. Then she called out to Phillip. “Honey?”

But he didn’t answer.

“Sweetheart, I’m home.”

Phillip finally walked into the kitchen, holding a document in his hand. “Alicia, what in the world is this?”

“What are you talking about?”

“This. This Visa statement and all these charges you made last month.”

“Oh, not tonight. Pleeease, not tonight.”

“Why do you insist on trying to ruin everything for us?”

“I’m not doing this with you right now. I’m not, Phillip.”

“Just tell me why. Why do you keep buying all this unnecessary stuff?”

“I needed everything I bought, but don’t you worry. I’ll take care of it first thing tomorrow.”

“How?”

“I’ll pay it by phone through my checking account. It’s only eight hundred dollars.”

“Only?”

Alicia turned away from him, but then it dawned on her that she’d already spent the last five thousand dollars she had to her name on those stupid earrings.

“How many other credit cards have you been making charges on? That’s what I wanna know.”

“I told you I’m not doing this with you. I don’t wanna argue with you, Phillip,” she said matter-of-factly and then grabbed her purse and headed upstairs.

But Phillip followed behind her and tossed another statement onto their dresser. “And what about this?”

Alicia saw that it was from Victoria’s Secret and was furious.
“Why are you opening my mail? That’s my account and my account alone.”

“It’s not like I wanted to but after I saw the Visa bill, I couldn’t help myself. And I’m glad I did because you charged over five hundred dollars just in the last month and the balance is over fifteen hundred.”

“You had no right opening anything of mine. My business is my business, and it has nothing to do with you.”

“No, it has everything to do with me. We’re married, remember? When you mess up, it affects me and vice versa.”

“That’s beside the point, and I’m telling you now, you’d better stop trying to control me.”

“I’m not trying to control you. I’m just trying to get you to see what you’re doing.”

“You
are
trying to control me, and I think it’s time you stop and realize that I’m your wife and not your child.”

“I know you’re my wife, and that’s why I’m so concerned about this. Alicia, we can’t afford your excessive spending habits and it’s going to have to stop. Period.”

Alicia raised her eyebrows at him and then dropped down on the bed and turned on the television.

“Oh, so now you’re just going to ignore me?”

Alicia flipped through the channels.

“Why can’t you see how damaging all of this is eventually going to be for us? I’m doing everything I know how when it comes to being a good husband to you, but you act as if you don’t care about me or our marriage. You act as though you couldn’t care less.”

Alicia never even looked at him.

Finally, he walked out of the bedroom and back downstairs to his study, she guessed. To be honest, she didn’t care where he was and was just glad he was no longer harassing her. He was
really starting to get on her nerves, and he’d certainly gone way too far when he’d opened her mail. Mail that wasn’t even addressed to him. And how dare he confront her like he was her boss or like he owned her.

Alicia reached for her purse and pulled out her wallet. Then, she removed the MasterCard that she’d just received in the mail a couple of weeks ago, the one that she’d signed Phillip’s and her name to right after the preapproved letter had come last month. She hadn’t planned on using it unless there was some dire emergency, but now Phillip hadn’t left her any choice. Now, she’d have to take it to the bank tomorrow and get a cash advance so she could pay off the Visa he was whining about. She’d also have to visit the post office first thing tomorrow morning so she could rent a P.O. box and then notify her bank and each of her credit card companies that she had a new mailing address.

She slipped the MasterCard that had a five-thousand-dollar line back into her wallet and then went back downstairs. She picked up the Visa statement and then tossed the actual card onto the island.

“I’ll be paying off your precious little Visa by noon tomorrow and just so you know, I won’t be using it again. Oh, and I’ve decided to take my father up on his offer to come work for the church so from here on out, I won’t be asking you for another dime.”

“Baby, you’re taking this too far and all I’m asking is that you stick to buying only things that you really need and things that are priced within reason.”

“No. You keep your money and your Visa. You can have your American Express card back, too, because I don’t want anything that has your name on it.”

“But I’m not asking you to stop using our credit cards com
pletely. Those cards belong to both of us, so keep the American Express card in your wallet and take back the Visa, too.”

Alicia gave him a dirty look and then went back upstairs again.

But this time, she went into her office and shut the door. She was steaming, and she couldn’t stand the way she was feeling. So she turned on her computer and then called her dad.

“Hey, baby girl. How are you? I haven’t talked to you in a couple of days, have I?”

“No, and I’m fine, but I’ve decided that I do want to come work at the church.”

“Good. You know that makes me happy, and I’ll run it by the elder board for final confirmation. They already know that I’ve been trying to convince you to take the position, but I just need to have them approve your salary. There won’t be any benefits offered, so I’m sure they’ll approve at least two thousand dollars per month.”

Alicia quickly did the math in her head and realized that this wasn’t bad at all because what it meant was that she’d be averaging about five hundred dollars a week and only working about twenty hours. The more she thought about it, it was great, considering this was her first real job since graduating.

“I really appreciate this, Daddy. I was worried about taking it because I still want to have time to write, but now I know I can do both.”

“Of course, you can. Easily. Now, the elder board won’t meet again until next week, but you should be able to start right away. Probably next Wednesday if you want.”

“That’ll be fine.”

“We’ll have you spend time with the PR firm that does contract work for us now, and then you, Charlotte, Phillip, and I and a couple of the elder board members can all sit down to see
exactly what direction we want to take our PR and marketing efforts in.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“So, you’re doing okay?”

God, how she wanted to lie in her father’s arms, cry her eyes out, and tell him what had happened to her earlier this evening. She wanted to tell him because she needed him to console her the way he’d done since the day she was born. But she couldn’t.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m glad. I was talking to Phillip yesterday and no matter how many weeks and months pass, the one thing I can tell you is that you’ve been blessed with a great husband. He’s a good man, baby girl, and a good, decent man is what every father hopes his daughter will end up with. And with Phillip, I definitely got my wish.”

“He is a good man” was all Alicia could muster, because in all honesty she couldn’t stand her “good husband” at the moment. She didn’t even want to look at him.

“Have you spoken to your mom this week?”

“I talked to her yesterday morning, but I’m hoping to go visit her next week sometime. They’re headed out of town for the weekend, and then Phillip’s parents are coming here to stay with us on Saturday and Sunday.”

“Phillip mentioned that to me when we were leaving the church this evening, and I’m glad both of you will get to spend some time with them.”

“I am, too. Well, Daddy, I’d better get going. But I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Oh, and tell Charlotte I said hello.”

“I will. Love you, baby girl.”

“I love you, too, Daddy.”

Alicia hung up and burst into tears again. She sat there for a few minutes trying to calm herself, but she couldn’t stop think
ing about the gun that had been pointed into her back. She’d tried to block her memory of it, but now she could practically feel the gun touching her body. She cried because it hadn’t really dawned on her until now that the gunman could have killed her in cold blood. He could have taken her life and all because he wanted to steal her jewelry. And it was only the jewelry that he must have wanted because he hadn’t asked for anything else. Not her cash, credit cards, or even the comforter set, towels, and other accessories that were also packed inside the trunk.

Alicia wiped her face with both hands and then wiped her hands on the sides of her jeans. She knew she’d gotten makeup on them, but that was the least of her worries because right now, all she wanted to do was feel better. She needed a pick-me-up, so she went onto AOL and pulled up the Neiman Marcus website. She browsed from one category to the next but stopped when she saw those elegant-looking Manolo Blahnik four-inch classic black pumps that she’d been trying her best not to purchase for some time. But now, since she had a job, she’d have more than enough to pay her Neiman’s bill when it arrived next month. Not to mention, she needed these pumps to go with some of her business suits, because she wanted to look classic and professional whenever she had business meetings to attend. Then, after adding the shoes to her shopping cart, she clicked on the accessories link and saw the Cole Haan black leather satchel she’d been eyeing for a while. It was only three hundred seventy-five dollars, so she added that to her basket as well.

She was glad she’d treated herself to some of the things she’d been wanting because she felt 100 percent better than she had a half hour ago. Shopping was good for the soul, and she deserved to have nice things. Everyone did, whether they realized it or not.

After processing her Neiman’s order and receiving confirma
tion, she pulled up the Saks website to see what suits were on sale. She’d had her Saks and Neiman’s cards forever, and it wasn’t like she had huge balances on either one of them because while she’d been in college and up until the last three months, her father and Charlotte had paid them off like clockwork. They’d paid them every single billing cycle, and once they’d stopped, Alicia had been able to pay them herself with the cash she’d had left over from her wedding budget. As of today, though, that money was gone, but she’d still be fine because she’d soon be working at the church, and maybe in a few months, she would finish and sell her novel.

She would do whatever she had to do in order to be happy, and Phillip had no choice but to accept that. She loved him and wanted to stay married to him, but she wouldn’t change who she was as a person. She wouldn’t limit herself in any way, not for him or anyone else.

She would do what she wanted to do, and there was no room for discussion.