THE GREAT PRETENDER (12 page)

All the while, his soul was elsewhere. Miles and miles away in a city called Miami where Tracy was waiting for him to come home. He couldn’t wait to get back home to her. It was a long time coming, but he was finally going to do right by her. Him, Tracy, and their girls, finally a
normal
family. It’s what they needed
after all these years of chaos
.

Reginald filled Renee with silent apologies as he stroked her for the last time, just before dawn.

Saturday morning, Reginald
awoke to find Renee’s side of the bed empty. After listening for a moment and hearing no movement from the bathroom, he panicked.

Perhaps things had gone a little
too
well last night. Perhaps she awoke and realized she didn’t want to sweep six years of lies under the rug so quickly after all. What if she decided to take Denise and run away? What if…

Before his mind could wander any further, their bedroom door opened and Renee strolled in carrying a breakfast tray. She was clad in a white terrycloth robe and wore a glowing smile that stretched from ear to ear.
Relax,
he thought.
Clay.

“Good Morning,” he said, eyeing her sexily.

“Good Morning. I made breakfast.” She placed the tray over his lap and extended the retractable sides. “I called the McDuffies, Denise is fine. Then I labored over ham and cheese omelets, full of everything you like: green onions, bacon, tomato, and bell peppers. And I even toasted bagels and covered them with cream cheese…Just the way you like it.”

“You didn’t have to, Renee,” he said quietly. He covered her hand with his. “Despite what you’ve said, I know it’ll take some time for you to get used to what’s happened.”

“Listen, I
really do
understand. And as I said, I’ll wait for you. As long as it takes.” She kissed him lightly on the lips. “I love you too much to do anything else.”

As Reggie took the first bite of the delicious omelet and sipped his orange juice, he allowed himself to breathe for the first time in nearly twenty-four hours.

All was well again in Orlando.

Helen Jameson squeezed
Crest onto her toothbrush and began brushing her teeth. This Saturday morning found her in the same mood she’d been trapped in for the last two days. The altercation with her younger sister had upset her terribly, leaving a bad mood she couldn’t seem to shake.

Once her teeth were clean, Helen gargled with Listerine until her mouth was on fire. Satisfied with her oral hygiene for the morning, she decided to talk to her mother about the situation. It was safe to assume that Renee had not yet beaten her to it, because knowing her mother as she did, she would have long since called Helen to discuss every detail. Beatrice loathed when any of her three children quarreled. Even in their adulthood, she continued being a dedicated mediator, looking out for the well being of the Jameson clan.

After making Cream of Wheat for Ashley and Brian, Helen settled back into bed with a bowl of her own. She reached for the remote control and decided on the
Cartoon Network
’s Saturday morning lineup. Lowering the volume, she reached for the bedside telephone and dialed her parents’ number.

Bea answered on the second ring. “Hello?” she said, voice singing.

“Good morning, Mom! Long time no talk.”

“Good morning, honey. I know, I know. Ben and I were planning to stop by last evening for dinner, since you’re the only person we know who cooks on Fridays, but Dean and Pat invited us over for a game of cribbage, and we didn’t leave until almost midnight! I’m surprised I’m awake this early…”

The last thing Helen wanted to hear was her mother ramble about the cribbage game, so she cut to the chase. “Mom, I need to talk to you. Renee and I had it out on Wednesday evening, and it’s killing me.”

For the next few minutes, Helen abridged the details of the spat. She purposely omitted the portion where she had called her niece a bastard, since she was certain her mother would only spend the remainder of the conversation harping on it.

“Oh, Helen! Why did you have to say anything at all to her?” Bea demanded. “You couldn’t wait to tell her you knew, could you?” Helen could picture her mother wagging her index finger in midair.

“Oh, forget that. I can’t take this silence. I mean, we both said some mean things, and I just feel awful about the whole thing. I feel even worse because I have a gut feeling that she’s pushing us away so she can reach for something that really isn’t even there. You know what I mean?”

“I know what you mean…But don’t you think she has a point where Lonny is concerned? You really
should
talk to him, Helen. Ashley is a fragile child. You can’t keep letting him disappoint her like this. She’ll probably grow up hating men or something.”

“I know. I just don’t want to deal with Lonny any more than is necessary…But I will have a talk with him about it. If it happens again, I just won’t make arrangements with him to come pick her up anymore—simple as that.”

“I think that’d probably be for the best. I agree with Renee—that little girl spends too much time feeling sad, and she’s too young for that!” Bea paused. “I also agree with you about Renee and Reginald. The man is trouble. Big trouble. You can see it a mile away.”

“What can we do?”

“Honey, we can’t do anything,” said Bea in a concerned tone. “All we can do is butt out and let her make her own mistake. I just hope I can stand it when she’s hit with reality. You know how Renee is.”

“Well, in the meantime, I’m gonna call her and try to fix this mess, and I’m prepared for an uphill battle. I know how stubborn she can be…but we already miss her, Mom—and Denise, too. Ashley kept asking about her this morning.”

“That’s right, you call her. You know she won’t be the one to take the first step.”

“Yeah…and I’m sure it’ll be all right. We’ll work it out.” Finishing off the last of her porridge, Helen attempted to get the conversation on a lighter note. “So, did Daddy finally get his fishing rods from Dean?”

Renee looked through
the peephole.
Helen was on the other side of the door.
What the hell is she doing here?
she
thought.
I don’t need
this right now.

Breathing a sigh, she opened the door, but offered no greeting.

When it became apparent that Renee would sooner have her bake under the rays of the sun than invite her to come inside, Helen cautiously brushed past her and stepped into the tiled entryway. She glanced around briefly, looking for Reginald. She’d seen his silver Land Cruiser shining out front and knew he was home.

Moving over to the loveseat, Helen sat, crossed her long legs and smoothed her pleated skirt. She put her purse on the coffee table, and she waited.

Closing the door, Renee followed her sister into the living room, but did not take a seat. Instead, she leaned against the column of the archway, folded her arms, and remained silent. She just stared at Helen. She prayed to high heaven that her sister hadn’t come over to cause trouble, especially in light of what had happened the night before.

“I’m sorry,” said Helen after a brief pause. “I miss you and Denise, and I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

If the wall had suddenly turned into a cobra and bit her on the butt, Renee couldn’t have been more surprised. Taken aback, her arms fell and hung at her sides. An apology was the last thing she’d expected from Helen.

Overwhelmed, the hostility left her.

“I’m sorry, too,” Renee murmured, her eyes filling. She didn’t want to start crying before Reginald left. He’d suspect that she’d immediately run to her sister with the news. So she rushed over to the couch and desperately put her arms around Helen.

Equally surprised by Renee’s reaction, Helen returned the hug, but she said, “Something else is wrong. Something other than our quarrel. What is it?”

They pulled apart just as Reginald descended the stairs. He was dressed in business-casual beige khakis and a polo shirt that Renee had just ironed. Perfectly groomed, he was striking. He brought the captivating fragrance of
Escada
down the stairs, and both women flushed at the sight of him.

Renee gazed up at him, remembering how sweetly he’d made love to her the night before, and how he’d felt inside her. She noticed that Helen shifted her eyes toward the bright, sunny sky on the other side of the living room window.

Renee had always been aware of her sister’s attraction to Reginald. Whether she was conscious of it or not, his presence made Helen visibly tense. She, like most women Renee knew, found him to be distractingly attractive and damn near irresistible. The man was gorgeous, and Helen had
always
been attracted.

“Hello, Helen,” greeted Reginald, as he snapped his watch into place.

“Hello, Reggie,” said Helen, fixing her gaze on the little girl riding her tricycle across the street. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been well, thanks.” He went to the closet for his briefcase. “I’m heading to the office for a few hours to tie up some loose ends…I’ll be away a little longer than usual. I’m sure Renee will fill you in.” He glanced up. “By the way, how are the kids doing?”

“Oh, they’re great.” Helen watched the little girl struggle with her tricycle.

Renee patted her sister’s hand. “I’ll be right back.” She walked Reginald out.

In the driveway, Reggie buckled his seat belt and then turned to face Renee, who was leaning in the window, awaiting a kiss. Dropping a light kiss on her mouth, he took her hand and stared into her eyes, saying, “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay? I’m gonna spend as much time with you and Denise as possible before I leave.”

“Reggie…I’m worried about how Denise is gonna react to you being gone for so long.”

“Don’t worry about it—we’ll talk to her together. I hope you know I’d never leave you with that burden. Denise will be fine.” He quickly kissed her hand again before releasing it.

But I will be alone,
she thought, as she watched him disappear around the bend at the end of their block.

The high-pitched laughter of the children riding their bicycles across the street alerted her that she was standing barefoot on the hot pavement of the driveway. Running inside, she cooled her feet on the fluffy doormat in the entryway. Then, closing the door, she slumped dejectedly into the living room to find that Helen had helped herself to a carton of strawberries and whipped cream.

When Helen looked up and saw her face, she set the carton down, concerned. “Sis, what’s wrong?” Her initial reason for being there was forgotten.

Renee needed to unload on someone. She couldn’t keep it to herself; it was overwhelming. Running toward Helen, she burst into tears.

“Oh, my God, Renee. What is
this
? What’s wrong? What happened?” Helen cried, unprepared for this outburst.

Renee buried her head in her sister’s lap and went into a crying jag the likes of which she knew Helen had never seen. “He’s…married. Helen…he’s married! Oh—my—God!”

“
Married?
” Helen repeated. “Reggie’s married?” Her head snapped up and she looked to the door, as if Reginald were still standing there. “Married to whom?”

“Oh, Helen,” sobbed Renee. “Married…all these…years…he’s been married already!”

“Um…I need you to calm down for me, okay? Just calm down and tell me what happened.” Helen tried to lift Renee’s head from her lap. “What happened?”

Half an hour later, Renee was finally calm enough to raise her head and focus on her sister. Helen had simply been smoothing her hair and rocking her like an infant. She had never seen Renee like this before. It was unsettling.

Going into the kitchen for tissue, Renee returned to the airy living room and to Helen’s lap. She needed to let it out, and right now she didn’t care if Helen ran to their mother with the news; she needed her sister. Hell, she needed her whole family.

Renee sat silently for several more minutes, and Helen waited patiently. Helen was obviously quite eager to hear all about this
marriage,
and she wasn’t going to leave until she did.

“This has always been my biggest fear,” Renee began calmly, into the pleats of Helen’s skirt, tears continuing to fall. “I’d be a hypocrite if I denied that in the back of my mind, I’ve always had that fear, you know? That maybe there
was
someone else in Miami. I mean, he does spend just as much time there as he does here at home, right? But it never occurred to me—not even once—that he might have a wife!
A wife! W-I-F-E,
wife! A wife, Helen! A wife and two children!”