The Prince Charming Hoax (4 page)

“
Yeah. He
’
s on his way to school now with his parents to talk to the principal. They
’
re going to beg him to let Justin take me to the prom.
”

Leah nodded. She knew Justin
’
s parents loved Ali and probably wanted to strangle him, too.

“
You see? Now take off your dress and let me hang it up. It
’
s going to be all right, Ali. I know it.
”

“
Mommy, why do guys do stuff like that?
”
Ali asked as she slipped off her dress.

“
Like what?
”

“
You know. Act tough, mouth off, stuff like that.
”

“
Guys are turkeys, Ali.
”

Leah regretted her statement immediately.
“
Look, Justin
’
s a good kid. You know that. He
’
s just very immature.
”

“
Does it get better when guys get older?
”

Leah was grateful that her phone rang at that moment.
“
Be right back, sweetie. Let me get that.
”

“
I know, it could be Doug,
”
Ali teased.

Leah checked the call screen on her bedroom phone. It was Jonathan Lazarro.
“
Hi Jonathan.
”

“
Leee-ah! Haven
’
t spoken to you in a while. How
’
s it going? Still moving to New York?
”

The last thing Leah wanted to do right now was talk about moving to New York. And Jonathan would gloat if he knew the truth. He had warned her about getting involved with Doug from the very beginning.
She had brushed off his admonitions, thinking he wanted a chance with her himself.

“
Can
’
t talk now. I
’
m in the middle of a crisis with Ali.
”

“
What
’
s wrong? Did she break a nail or something?
”

“
Don
’
t be an ass. You know she
’
s not like that. As a matter of fact, her problem is her boyfriend. It doesn
’
t matter how old guys are, they find ways to fuck women over.
”

“
Sounds like someone other than Ali is having boyfriend problems. Is something wrong between you and Mr. Wonderful?

“
I gotta go.
”

“
Wait, Leah. I
’
m sorry. Really sorry. I called to invite you to a gallery opening this Saturday. You know I was kidding about Ali and the nail thing. Please come with me. It
’
s free drinks and food and great art. Please.
”

Leah sighed.
“
You know they serve crappy wine at those things. Headache wine.
”

“
Come on, Leah. If you want, drop by my studio first and I
’
ll serve you good wine before we go. Please. I haven
’
t seen you in a while, and who knows when I
’
ll see you after you move.
”

Leah heard Ali
’
s phone ring across the hall and hoped it was good news.

“
All right, Jonathan I really have to go now, though. Call me on Friday and give me all the details.
”

“
Will do.
”

Leah waited until she heard Ali hang up.
“
Was that Justin?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
You don
’
t sound happy.
”
Leah peeked her head in Ali
’
s room.
“
What happened with the principal?
”

“
Justin said he and his parents pleaded with Mr. Aronson, but the answer was no. They even brought my picture and asked why I should be punished too.
”

“
And what did Mr. Aronson say?
”

“
He said Justin should have thought about me before he got in the coach
’
s face and screamed profanities. He said it wasn
’
t the principal or coach
’
s responsibility to consider me.
”

“
Ali, I
’
m so sorry. Are you going to be all right?
”

Ali looked worn out, but turned it off with a shake of her head.
“
Of course I will. I
’
m your daughter. You don
’
t let them see you cry and neither do I. I
’
m going to the prom by myself, and I will be voted Queen! Who needs a King, anyway?
”

Leah was startled with her daughter
’
s comeback. Did Ali really think she
’
d learned that attitude from her?

Leah brightened.
“
Ali, I am so proud of you. And, let me tell you something. In that dress and with that attitude, you
’
ll be more than Queen of the Prom. You
’
ll be Empress of the World and Ruler of the Universe!
”

Leah
’
s phone, still in her hand, rang. It was Doug
’
s name on the call screen this time. Leah decided to let voice mail pick up.

“
Who is it, Mommy?
”

“
No one important.
”
Leah walked back into her bedroom and replaced the phone on the charger cradle next to a framed photo of her and Doug taken in front of the Eiffel Tower.
“
My family is just as important as yours, you bastard,
”
she muttered.
“
And for once, I
’
m going to put our needs first.
”

Leah started for the stairs.
“
Ali, come downstairs with me. I
’
ll fix you something to eat before you go to work.
”

Chapter
5

After dinner, Leah straightened her rumpled sheets and flopped down on the bed. She was still wearing her workout clothes from the morning.

“
Maybe Ali could live with her father for the summer,
”
she thought. Ali wouldn
’
t be thrilled, but at least she could have her own room and bathroom—her two main requirements for a happy life. Leah took a deep breath and dialed the phone. Calling Richard required all her strength and focus. He always baited her and she
’
d fall for it, lose her temper, and hang up before getting to the purpose of her call.

But she was getting better at not responding to his barbs. She
’
d just ignore him and continue her conversation.
“
Focus, Leah,
”
she whispered as the phone rang.

“
Yeah?
”
he answered.

“
That
’
s a pleasant greeting, Richard. What if I was someone you wanted to talk to?
”

“
That
’
s what Caller ID is for. There it was, in big bold letters. Leah Gold.
”

Leah rolled her eyes. It bothered him that she kept only half her married name when they divorced. She shortened Goldman to Gold because she thought it sounded better as a professional name. She could have gone back to her maiden name, but Gold was much better than Leifshitz. Leah Leifshitz. Her mother must have still been under the influence of drugs from child delivery when she came up with that.

“
You knew it was me, Richard, and still you answered. I
’
m shocked, but grateful.
”

“
Actually, I thought it might be Ali. It
’
s so hard to get through to her. When I call her at home, she says she
’
s on her cell. When I call her cell, she says she can
’
t talk and she
’
ll call me back. She
’
s not off the phone long enough to make or get calls.
”

“
She
’
s no different than any girl her age. And, speaking of Ali, I have a favor to ask you.
”

“
Why am I not surprised that you called me to ask a favor? And I bet it has to do with money.
”

Leah took a deep breath to hold her temper in check.
“
Richard, I
’
m not moving to New York after all. But, I
’
m closing on this place next week, and Ali and I don
’
t really have anywhere to go right now. She can visit my brother for a couple of weeks and then she
’
s only home until mid-August when school starts. I was wondering if she could stay with you and Marsha for about a month, until she leaves for college?
”

“
Why can
’
t she live with you?
”

“
It will be a hell of a lot easier to find a temporary location just for me. I can stay with a friend, but not everyone is set up to house a teenage girl, too.
”

“
Why aren
’
t you moving to New York, anyway? Don
’
t tell me. Your married boyfriend dumped you.
”

Leah felt like she was living out her worst nightmare. She is on stage at a podium with everyone looking at her expectantly, and she forgot what she was going to say. Her notes are missing and then when the crowd starts to taunt her, she realizes that she is naked, exposed in front of everyone. They all see her for the fake she is and yell insults at her.

Richard knew her nightmare and managed to evoke it for her anytime he wanted to hurt her, but she caught herself before yelling something nasty and hanging up. She thought fast.
He
’
s only fishing. He can
’
t know the truth
.

“
I
’
m not going for professional reasons, and it
’
s none of your business anyway. But Ali is your business. Can she stay there?
”

“
Your timing is bad, as usual. Marsha
’
s daughters are going to be here for the summer with their dogs, and we won
’
t have any room for Ali.
”

“
You have a daughter, too, Richard. Can
’
t Marsha
’
s daughters share a room and Ali stay in the third bedroom? It
’
s only for about a month.
”

“
Oh, now she
’
s my daughter, too. Funny, how you remember she has another parent when it
’
s convenient for you. You only remember that fact when you need help. And Ali only calls when she needs money. You
’
ve done a great job of turning her against me, Leah.
”

Leah felt her self-restraint snap under the pressure.
“
Listen, asshole, if you sent your child support payments on time, she wouldn
’
t need to ask you for money. I never kept you from seeing her or being involved in her life. Now you
’
ve got a chance to spend some time with her, alone, and re-establish a relationship. But you don
’
t see it as an opportunity. You only see it in terms of what it will cost you. You don
’
t have a heart, you have a fucking cash register.
”

“
Ah, yes. The truth, according to Leah.
”

“
You know what, Richard? It
’
s getting too hard to be objective with Ali when she asks me why you
’
ve divorced her, too. I can
’
t lie for you anymore. She sees the truth. You don
’
t care about anyone except yourself.
”

Leah knew she blew it, but she couldn
’
t stop.

“
I should have known better than to ask you for help. Never mind. I
’
ll take care of Ali, just as I always have. Forget it, forget us.
”
She snorted.
“
What am I saying? You already have! Good-bye, Dick!
”

She screamed the last sentence and slammed down the phone. No one ever called Richard anything but his full name, except his parents who called him
“
Richie.
”
Leah loved to use the other commonly used nickname for Richard because she knew he hated it.

But she was angry with herself for letting him get to her again. What made her think he would go out of his way to help? Richard
’
s personal motto was
“
What
’
s in it for me?
”

It was dark in her room. She looked at the clock. Almost ten o
’
clock. The day from hell was almost over. No progress, though, and the clock was ticking.

Her phone rang, and she jumped. She felt a twinge in her gut. Doug? She had avoided picking up his earlier message from her voice mail. She checked the phone
’
s call screen. It was Roxie.

“
Hey, Rox.
”

“
Leah, are you all right? You sound really bad.
”

“
Things went from bad to worse after I spoke to you this morning. But, you know, I don
’
t even want to go there now. I
’
m trying to work myself into an avoidance mode at the moment. Tell me about your day.
”

“
Leah, I met the most incredible guy this morning. Right after I talked to you.
”

“
At the Rhineman
’
s?
”

“
Yep. I had a flat tire and he fixed it.
”

“
What was he doing there? Is he a construction worker?
”

“
Not really, a landscape architect. He owns a company that landscapes many of the large residential properties in South Florida.
”

“
Sounds impressive. What
’
s he like?
”

“
Well, first I thought he was a jerk.
”

“
Haven
’
t you learned yet to trust your first impression?
”

“
Leah, just because you haven
’
t been so lucky in love lately—
”

“
Rox, I
’
m sorry. I just hung up on Richard after a nasty phone call. I shouldn
’
t take it out on you. Go on, tell me about this guy. What
’
s his name?
”

“
D.J. Daryl Johnson. Anyway, even though we got off to a kind of bad start, we ended up having a great day.
”

“
A great day? Did you spend the day with him? What about work?
”

“
You
’
re not going to believe this. I actually cancelled all my appointments to be with him.
”

Leah sat up. Roxie didn
’
t put anything before work, and certainly not some guy she just met.

“
He must be something special. When are you going to see him again?
”

“
Tomorrow night. He
’
s taking me to some club he belongs to.
”

Leah leaned back on her pillows and prepared to hear a good story.
“
And what did the two of you do today?
”
she prompted.

“
We drove from the Rhineman
’
s up through Boca to Palm Beach, and he showed me some of their accounts. Great homes. He and I could really help each other in business. But the best part, Leah, is that he is really hot!
”

“
Hot, sexy? Or hot, you slept with him and he
’
s good?
”

“
Both. Leah, don
’
t laugh.
”

“
What?
”

“
We did it in his pickup.
”

Leah sat up.
“
Pickup? You screwed a guy who drives a pickup truck?
”

“
It was awesome.
”

“
Well, this is a historical day. The sophisticated Ms. Roxanne Stein fucked a guy in a pickup.
”

“
Hey, don
’
t knock it
‘
til you try it.
”
Roxie gave a low, throaty laugh.
“
It was like nothing I
’
ve done before. There we were at the last place he was showing me before heading back, and suddenly he drives around the back of the house on a narrow road that must be a service entry to the property and pulls his truck alongside a guest cottage. We were kind of out of view from the buildings. He doesn
’
t say a word. He just leans over the console and pulled me to him. And, to tell you the truth, I
’
m not sure how it happened, but suddenly we were in the back seat of the cab pulling off our clothes and groping each other like two high school kids. I was crouched down on the floor between his legs with his fingers inside me. My mouth
’
s around his cock, and suddenly we hear voices outside the truck.
”

Roxie stopped suddenly.
“
Leah, are you still there?
”

“
Are you kidding? I
’
m hanging on your every word. What happened next?
”

“
Then D.J. gets really still and leans forward, covering me, like if someone walked by, they couldn
’
t figure out what we
’
re doing. I started to giggle and kept sucking. I mean, what the hell? If we were getting caught, we may as well get off first. So I keep sucking and pushed his fingers to get back to work, and then I felt him start to twitch. And just as he lets loose in my mouth, we hear the sound of car doors closing and a motor starting. We stopped for a minute, and then we heard them pulling out of the driveway.