THE GREAT PRETENDER (40 page)

Denise frowned, confused. “But, Mommy, that’s not my Barbie cup. I can’t drink outta that, it’s too big…”

“Well, just this once you’re gonna have to use it, Denise, because your Barbie cup’s already in the car, remember? It’s coming with us.” She lowered the tall glass to inches away from Denise’s lips. “Now, come on, be a good girl and drink some water so we can go. I’ll help you hold the glass.”

Hastily, Denise gulped every drop of water. Swallowing the last mouthful, she said, “Okay, can we go now?
Please?
” She was eager to see her daddy again.

Renee gave her an eerie stare. “Yes, Gumdrop…now we can go.”

It was time.

She lifted Denise, and they made their way toward the garage.

“Mommy, you forgot to tell me where we’re gonna be going,” said Denise excitedly. She began twirling a pigtail as Renee carried her.

“We’re going far, far away, baby. Far away. We can’t make it easy for Daddy to find us now, can we? No, no, no. That would be too good for him.”

She heard Denise giggle. With each step, Denise’s excited chatter seemed to be farther and farther away.

When she reached the door, she turned to stare at the living room, then back toward the kitchen. She had so loved this house. But now she hated it more. What was left to love?

Finally, Renee held Denise tightly and went into the garage. Securing the door behind them, she gave Denise a quick kiss on the cheek and put her on her feet. She was still chatting excitedly, and Renee wasn’t sure if she answered her or not when Denise asked something about the smell of the grill being in the garage.

Second thoughts. She was having second thoughts…

Maybe running from this wasn’t the best way to get back at Reginald. Maybe she and Denise should stay and be waiting for him when he came from the airport; waiting to convince him that he was making a big mistake by deserting them for his wife and kids.

But as the pills began to take effect in Denise’s body, Renee knew that if there’d been room for doubt before, it didn’t exist now. It was too late to go back.

Or was it? What if she left for the hospital right now? Maybe—

No!

No way.

Reginald Brooks was through calling the shots. It was time for
him
to look like the fool; time for him to
be
the fool!

Let him come looking for his precious Denise. She’ll be here, all right.

Denise was already in the car. “Mommy?
Come on
,” she whined impatiently around a massive yawn. “Why are you just standing there like that? We have to go already…” Dazed, she mumbled, “I’m so sleepy now, Mommy. I have to take a nap while we drive…Okay…?”

Within minutes, Denise snored peacefully.

Very slowly, Renee moved to the car door. She opened it and got inside. Turning to the body of her sleeping child, she reached for her. “Are you happy, Gumdrop?”

As she stared at Denise’s sleeping face, from far, far away, Renee heard her sweet little voice…

And so she replied, “Me, too, Gumdrop…me, too. It’s time to go.”

“W
e have to call them, Olivia,” said Valerie, as they drove back to Olivia’s house from the McDonald’s down the street. “Mom’s already left us four messages, and I’m
so
worried about Daddy.”

Olivia gave no response until they got back into the comfort of her house. As she took her Big Mac from the bag, she began shaking her head stubbornly. “I’m not calling either one of them,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t call, Valerie. Why don’t you just go ahead and call? Just do it—like Nike.” Grabbing her soda, she flopped onto the sofa, and turned on the television.

Valerie had not moved to join her. She stood at the table for a moment, staring down into the McDonald’s bag. “Olivia, don’t you care about what happened?” she asked quietly. “How come you just never seem to care…about how any of
us
might be feeling?”

Olivia bit into her burger. It was like biting sawdust. Tears sprang to her eyes as the memories came flooding back. If she had ever wanted to hurt her father, there was little doubt that she had succeeded.

But why had she done it? Why had she pushed to hurt him so much?

Olivia’s heart fluttered. Did she
really
hate
him?

The room fell silent until she said softly, “Did you see his face?” That look haunted her even now. She would never forget the look on his face. He had really been…
hurt
.

Badly.

“I know. I still can’t believe it…All along it was Uncle Frank,” said Valerie, shaking her head. “I mean,
Uncle Frank.
Mom should’ve known somebody would get killed if—”

“I made a huge mistake!” said Olivia suddenly, wiping the tears on her face. “I wasn’t thinking straight! My God, what
was
I thinking?” She began sobbing. “All of this is my fault, Val! I
never
hated Daddy. All I ever really wanted was just to have him here like normal people’s dads, at home with us.”

Valerie looked up from the bag and saw the tears on her sister’s face. Her own eyes filled then, too. She did not know what to do, feeling uncertain. Should she go over to Olivia? Should she yell at her for nearly embarrassing her beyond belief in the counselor’s office? Valerie just wasn’t sure what she felt like doing.

Finally, she went over to sit next to Olivia. Olivia looked up, saw Valerie, then closed her eyes tightly, saying, “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry! I never should’ve even thought about telling them what happened to you!” she sobbed. “I’m so ashamed, Val…Look what I’ve done.”

Valerie stared out the glass door and her own tears were coming fast now. “How come you never told me that you were pregnant?” Her voice was choked.

“Oh, Valerie, please give me a break. I didn’t tell anyone but Mom.” She paused. “I was too embarrassed.”

Valerie stared at her sister, a bit mystified. Then she understood. She reached over and hugged her. They held each other, both of them crying, draining the fullness from their hearts. The phone rang suddenly and Valerie said, “Answer it, Liv. You know it’s probably Mom again.”

Valerie rose then and went back to the table to start eating. She wondered what was going to happen now. What was going to happen to her life? To the family?

Olivia attempted to compose herself as she reached for the phone, drying her face. “Hello?”

She heard her mother breathe a sigh of relief. “Olivia, why haven’t you returned my calls? I’ve been calling constantly. Is Valerie there with you? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she’s here with me Mom. She’s fine.” She paused. “Mommy…I’m so sorry about what happened. I wasn’t thinking straight…But you had no right to tell anyone!” Her voice choked up. “You had no right…because I trusted you.”

“I know you don’t agree, Olivia, but he had a right to know. I was wrong when I agreed to keep it from him. Did you see how upset he was about it? It really hurt that you wanted to keep something like that a secret from him.”

Olivia fell back against the sofa. “I know, I know. Where is he now? Is he still in jail?” She held her breath.

“No, luckily, it was early enough for him to get bail, and I posted it.” Tracy’s voice faltered. “But I have no idea where he went. He hasn’t come home. He just got in the car with our lawyer and drove away…He didn’t even look at me.”

“Well, that’s expected, isn’t it?”

“You know, for a while I literally could’ve killed you. But I was up the whole night with my conscience and…this isn’t your fault. I know better. It would have come out sooner or later, I suppose. And Frank would probably have ended up in the same place, anyway.”

“Well, they said at the hospital that it was too soon to tell about his face. He definitely needs plastic, or maybe some type of reconstructive, surgery. Plus, he’s got cracked ribs…” She faltered as her thoughts swung back to her father. “You know, we were just talking about calling Daddy, because we need to at least make sure he’s okay.”

There was a pause. Then Tracy said, “You really do care, don’t you, Liv? I know you’ve always loved your father very much, but it’s just been easier for you to stay angry rather than open up and risk being led down. Right?”

Olivia started to cry again. “Oh, Mom. I do love Daddy. Of course I do. And I think Valerie and I need to stick close to him now—now more than ever.”

Olivia pictured her mother sitting at a barstool in the kitchen. In her big, empty kitchen. “Yes, he will, Liv. He’s gonna need you two very much…and you should
both
be there for him.”

Later that evening
, Tracy awoke to find that her eyes were glued shut…She could not open them.

With careful steps, she stumbled toward the general direction of the bathroom, bumping into the loveseat along the way. Once she got through the door, she felt around for her washcloth and used warm water to slowly wash open her swollen eyes. One look in the mirror, and she cringed. She looked awful.

She did not remember falling asleep. She had literally cried herself to sleep after talking to Olivia. And now she was paying for it, big time. Her head felt as though it were ten times its actual size. She could barely stand holding it up.

She thought about calling Justine…

Crawling back into bed, she reached for the telephone and called her mother.

Beverly Russell answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Mom, it’s me.” Tracy’s voice cracked as her throat filled with the overwhelming need to bawl more.

“What’s wrong, Tracy? Honey? You sound terrible…”

After an apprehensive pause, Tracy said, “Come over, Mom…I need you to come over.”

The fact that
he was possibly breaking the law by flying to Orlando never occurred to Reginald until he was halfway to the airport that morning.

It didn’t matter. He was going, anyway. He would be back shortly, and no one would have to be the wiser.

His cell phone rang just as his taxicab was turning into Miami International Airport. He checked the screen. It was Olivia.

Reggie answered quickly, tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder. “Hello, Olivia.”

Initially, there was silence as Olivia hesitated, apparently unsure of what she wanted to say. “Are…are you all right? Where are you? Mom’s really worried.”

The cab pulled over to the curb and Reggie stepped out. “I’m fine, thanks. And don’t call again for your mother. I
do not
want to hear any reference to her—not right now.” Setting his overnight bag on the curb, he pulled out his wallet and paid the driver.

“I get that, Daddy, but we didn’t call just for her. We’re worried about you, too, me and Valerie…”

Reginald was certain of what he heard in her voice…

She cared. And in that moment, he was sure she always had.

“Listen, I’m going up to Orlando right now to try and work something out with Denise’s mother. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and I should be back tomorrow. I’ll be in touch then, okay?”

“Wait a minute—Valerie wants to talk to you.” There was shuffling as Olivia gave Valerie the phone.

Valerie audibly hurried to swallow her last bite of whatever she was having for breakfast. “Daddy, are you okay? Where are you?”

“I’m at the airport, sweetheart. Olivia will explain. I’ll call you guys tomorrow. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

Heading into the airport terminal, he disconnected the call. For the first time since the awful scene in Dr. Berenger’s office, Reginald felt a desire to smile…so he did.

Reginald landed at
Orlando International just before noon. The sun was beaming down as he left the airport and hailed a cab. He hoped Renee was okay. He remembered how desperate she had been the last time they were together. He remembered the lies he had fed her, and shook his head.

“Where to, sir?” asked the middle-aged cab driver.

Reginald gave him Renee’s address (it was funny how he now thought of it as
Renee’s
address), and giving a brief nod of affirmation, the cabby moved out into the steady flow of traffic.