A New Kind of Bliss (25 page)

Mom and I exchanged glances. No doubt Beverline wanted to know how much time she had to bust us up.

“We’re not really in a hurry,” Aaron replied. “We both feel it would probably be best to wait a while and give everyone a chance to get accustomed to the idea.”

Beverline openly checked out my bare left hand. “Aaron! Did you actually propose to Emily without a ring?”

“Of course not, Beverline. But that’s not the way we wanted to tell you our plans. It wouldn’t be right for you to learn about our engagement by noticing her wearing it, would it?”

“It’s at home in my jewelry box,” I explained. “I’ll start wearing it tomorrow. It’s certainly too beautiful to be sitting inside a dark box.”

At Aaron’s suggestion, I took to joining him and the family for dinner just about every night after we got engaged. “It’ll help the kids get used to the idea of you and me being married,” he explained. “Plus, it’ll also help Beverline get accustomed to sitting someplace other than the opposite head of the table. I’d like you to get involved more in the household, Emily. It should be your job to approve Shirley’s menus, for instance.”

“Do you do that now?”

“No, Beverline does it.”

I hid my wicked smile. “I’d love to take it over.”

I also started spending the night in Aaron’s luxurious master suite, instead of in the guesthouse, on Friday and Saturday nights without the discretion we used to employ. No more tiptoeing down the stairs and across the driveway. I respected Aaron’s wishes to shield the kids from our sex life, but I always hated the sneakiness involved in my slipping in and out of The Big House. Now that we were officially engaged, he saw no reason for us to hide. He pointed out that we’d be going to Sag Harbor soon, and we’d be sharing a bedroom there as well. So now I woke up when I woke up, not at the crack of dawn with assistance from an alarm clock, and instead of returning to the guesthouse I usually went downstairs to have breakfast. Like I belonged here.

Which I did.

“I do wish you wouldn’t be so brazen about sleeping with my son-in-law,” Beverline said to me one morning. Neither Aaron nor the kids were up yet. “This puts me in a very embarrassing position. What am I supposed to tell his children?”

My bagel popped up out of the toaster, and I calmly began spreading cream cheese on it. “I would hope that Kirsten and Arden, at thirteen and sixteen, are old enough not to have to ask, or else you’ve got a much bigger problem on your hands. As for Billy, if he asks you why I’m sleeping in his daddy’s room on the weekends, I suggest you refer him to Aaron.” I added sweetly, “After all, it was Aaron’s idea that I stay with him. There’s no reason for you to feel like you’re in a tight spot.”

She let out her breath loudly and left the room with her coffee in a huff.

I giggled as I added lox to my bagel.

“Good morning, Teddy,” I said cheerfully as I took my place behind him on line at the lobby coffee shop.

“Hey! I haven’t seen you in a while.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Have you been avoiding me again?”

“I was never avoiding you before,” I lied. “It’s just that we’ve both been busy. How’s the new place coming along?”

“I’m enjoying it,” he said with enthusiasm. “Of course, it’s not like that palace Aaron has, but it’s all mine.” In response to the face I made, he said, “What?”

“Nothing.” I hated it when Teddy compared himself to Aaron. Teddy had done pretty well for himself. “I’m glad you’re liking your place.”

“It makes a difference when those four walls belong to you permanently, not just for the next thirty days. So why haven’t I seen you?”

“We’ve probably been getting in at different times in the morning.” The truth was that since our last lunch I’d deliberately been parking in the back, and the times I did see him pull in I hung back for five minutes, giving him a chance to get his breakfast at the snack shop in the lobby, so I wouldn’t run into him. The man simply radiated sex appeal, a fact that despite my best intentions I simply couldn’t ignore. I’d made a commitment to Aaron, and I was going to keep it. Of course, the very fact that I felt I couldn’t trust myself in Teddy’s company didn’t say too much for me, but I chose not to probe further into that little detail. My future was with Aaron. I
loved
Aaron.

I was saved from further interrogation by an impeccably dressed man wielding a briefcase who dashed into the elevator just as the doors were closing. He had the look of a salesman who was late for an appointment.

“What floor are you going to?” I asked politely while he straightened his tie and ran his fingers through his windblown thinning hair. Normally I didn’t volunteer to be the elevator operator, but I felt kind of sorry for the guy. We’ve all been there. Important appointment, everything goes wrong, and you show up late. Even five minutes can make or break you when you’re trying to sell products or services to busy doctors.

“Six, please.”

I reached out and pressed the button and was startled when Teddy suddenly grabbed my hand. Too late, I realized he’d seen my diamond. This wasn’t the way I wanted him to learn of my engagement.

“What’s this?”

“What does it look like?” I countered.

He frowned, then set a determined stare on me. “Lunch. You and me. Today. Twelve-thirty. I’ll call for you,” he said as the elevator doors opened on my floor.

I yanked my hand away and stepped out. He had a hell of a lot of nerve, practically ordering me to have lunch with him. Who did he think he was?

Even as I tried to be indignant, I knew Teddy did deserve an explanation. Sure, it was true I’d never made him any promises, but I had slept with him, and he did demonstrate that he had feelings for me, albeit unrequited.

I didn’t relish spending an hour listening to him try to talk me out of my engagement.

We’d barely sat down when Teddy started in on me. “I just want to know one thing. Why are you marrying Aaron?”

“Because I love him,” I replied, my voice strong and sure. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

Teddy seemed taken aback by my unwavering confidence. “So where does that leave me?”

“Where it’s always left you, Teddy. An eligible bachelor, and a catch for just about any woman. But not for me.”

“All right, so tell me this. If you’re so much in love with him, why did you end up in bed with me?”

I wanted to remind him that he’d asked me that question before, but I decided to share more details with Teddy instead of singing the same old song. “Like I told you before, we were having a little…friction. Aaron has a home life that isn’t particularly conducive to his dating anyone. He has three children, including two teenage daughters who were very close to their mother and were devastated when she died, plus he has his wife’s mother living with them as well. As you can imagine, none of them is happy with having me in the picture.”

“He’s a widower?”

“Yes, for a few years now.”

“I didn’t know.”

“It’s not the type of thing you mention to people during a casual conversation,” I pointed out. “Teddy, the last time we had lunch you said you just wanted me to be happy. If you really meant it, I need for you to stop trying to create something between us that never really existed.” I saw pain flash in his eyes, and I suddenly realized how difficult this was for him.

I felt like crap.

I
slowly began to feel comfortable with the idea of being Mrs. Merritt and living in The Big House…and being a mom to Billy. I was determined to forge a good relationship with Aaron’s youngest child, the one who made no secret that he wanted a mother. It was May, and we were on the fringes of summer. When it was warm enough we used the pool. When Kirsten and Arden chided him for splashing them, I came to the rescue, and we swam laps in a race, sometimes beating the girls. He and I frequently bowled together in the basement, and we went bicycling as well. I understood Billy. I remembered what it was like when I was young, being in an entirely different age group from my siblings. Kirsten and Arden saw him as a nuisance, and that sometimes hurt his feelings. I knew all about that, too.

Aaron loved his children, but the wealthy lifestyle he provided took up quite a bit of his time. I tried to fill in.

Kirsten earned her driver’s license, and Aaron gifted her with a used Volkswagen Bug.

There was something else I wanted to do, but I kept putting it off, not wanting to appear too forward. But one night I found my nerve.

“Aaron, I was wondering if it would be all right if I invited a few of my girlfriends over for lunch on Saturday.”

“I think that’s a great idea. This is going to be your home, Emily, and I want you to be comfortable here. Sure, go ahead and do a little entertaining. Ask Shirley if she can come in that day so she can prepare the food.”

“Really? Do you think she’d do it?”

“Well, you might have to change your date if she’s got plans, but sure, she’ll do it. All you have to do is tell her what you’d like to serve and she’ll take care of it. If you want something that’s out of her range of expertise, just call a caterer.”

It floored me to think that all I had to do was hand the housekeeper a list of menu items, and if it contained something she couldn’t make, I could call for more outside help. I felt like I’d stumbled into a whole other world—a world where the streets were paved with dollar bills.

Only great sex felt better. But this would last longer.

I spoke with Shirley first, and after she confirmed her willingness to work the following Saturday, I began making calls. I invited Rosalind, Valerie, Marsha, and grudgingly, Tanis, only because I knew it wouldn’t be right to leave her out. I didn’t want to put the stress of letting something about the luncheon slip on Rosalind, who saw her fairly often.

After confirming that none of my guests had shellfish allergies, I decided to serve a meal heavy on seafood: bruschetta, crab bisque, shrimp and lobster salad, chicken salad finger sandwiches, and parmesan cheese drop biscuits. It would be my first time entertaining at what would become my new home, and I wanted everything to be perfect.

“All right, guys,” Aaron announced Wednesday night at dinner, after my plans were firmly in placed. “Saturday afternoon I need you to be on your best behavior. Emily’s entertaining some of her friends for luncheon. They’ll be out on the patio.”

Kirsten didn’t hide her disappointment. “Does that mean Arden and I can’t go swimming?”

“I want to swim, too,” Billy added.

“Oh, of course not,” I assured them. “Do what you normally do. The yard is certainly big enough for all of us.”

“Yeah, kids, that’s right,” Aaron agreed. “But I would ask that you don’t have any company that day, all right? We’ll have enough guests.”

Beverline, who’d been ominously silent, spoke up. “Well, Aaron, I don’t know if that’s fair. Saturday comes only once a week.”

“Beverline, summer is just beginning. After next week the kids will be out of school and can have friends over any day of the week as long as you’re here to supervise them in the pool. If they want to invite their friends over this particular weekend, they can do it on Friday or they can do it on Sunday. You’re right. Saturday does come only once a week. And since Emily works Monday through Friday, this is the best time for her to entertain. No one’s being shortchanged here.”

“It just seems odd to me that Emily is having her friends here. I mean, it’s not like—”

Aaron defended me as I steamed at the insinuation that I had no right to have friends over and disrupt the family’s routine. “As I told Emily, this is going to be her home, and I want her to start acting like it.”

“Hmph. From where I sit, she already has.” She stared at me, or rather at the position of my chair at the head of the table.

I broke in before Aaron could respond. “Mrs. Wilson, I understand that this is a difficult situation for you. I’d like to make it as easy as possible. Maybe you and I could get together after dinner and talk about how we each envision things will be around here after Aaron and I are married.”

All eyes at the table jockeyed back and forth between Beverline and me like tennis balls. I could see she was torn. If she refused my earnest plea, she’d come off looking uncooperative and surly. On the other hand, neither was she willing to accept me. I had her by the nipple, and she knew it.

“Maybe that would be a good idea,” she said haltingly.

Aaron beamed at me from across the table. I felt pretty proud of myself. Someone had to make a move to put an end to the tension between us. It always felt good when you take the high road.

After dinner, Beverline and I adjourned to Aaron’s office, which I’d already ascertained he would not be using. “Wish me luck,” I’d said to him beforehand, giving him a quick kiss.

“For whatever it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing,” he’d said.

“Thanks. That means a lot,” I’d replied.

Beverline cautiously sat on one end of the brown Chesterfield sofa, and I on the other. Nothing in her demeanor suggested she wished to speak first, or even at all. I took charge of the conversation.

“I think you and I are overdue for a sit-down,” I began. “Mrs. Wilson, you’ve made it very clear that you disapprove of me. Ever since that first day last summer when Aaron invited me to meet all of you.”

“That isn’t true, Emily.”

“Maybe you honestly feel it isn’t, but you’ve never made me feel welcome. Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I get the distinct feeling that you’ve also encouraged Kirsten and Arden to dislike me as well.” I plunged on before she could interrupt to protest. “What I’d like to know is this: is your aversion to me because of me in particular, or because you just don’t want to see anyone take your daughter’s place?”

“No one is going to take Diana’s place,” she said harshly. “She will always be the mother of Aaron’s children, and she lives on through them. Kirsten, especially, is in her very image.”

“So is there something about me specifically that you dislike?” I asked as gently as I could.

“Emily, you’re a nice girl.”

Well, that was
something.

Beverline sighed. “I guess I always knew that Aaron would eventually want female…companionship.”

Mom had used that same expression, but at least she didn’t make it sound dirty. What did Beverline think I was, a twenty-dollar ho?

“Frankly, I just pictured him with a different type of woman, and I was a little disappointed.”

She didn’t seem even remotely aware that she’d just said something insulting. “And just what kind of woman were you anticipating Aaron would become involved with?” I asked sweetly. I decided to throw out a few hints. “More educated? A different physical type, maybe?” Beverline was light-skinned, and Diana had been the same. I wouldn’t put it past her to feel that those of us whose complexions were too rich to pass the brown paper bag test didn’t belong in her family. Not counting Aaron, of course.
Or
his money.

Then another possibility occurred to me. “Or maybe someone who hails from a different place?”

“Well, Emily, you have to admit that Euliss…” This time Beverline appeared to realize how that sounded and tried again. “Don’t get me wrong. Some very fine people have come out of Euliss. People like Tanis Montgomery, for instance.”

The mention of Tanis’s name was enough to make me see red.
Not again,
I said to myself.

My mother had finally stopped mentioning Tanis’s accomplishments, other than saying how much she enjoyed her show, even if Tanis didn’t get a whole lot of screen time. Now here was Beverline talking about Tanis like she was the best thing to come along since
The Weather Channel
. I was willing to bet Beverline knew nothing about the Montgomerys in general. All she knew was that Tanis had achieved some minor level of success with her acting and had become a local celebrity. Of course, even with the show being declared a bona fide hit, it would be unlikely, given her age, that she would ever be much more than a character actress, but as far as Beverline was concerned, money talked.

“I might not be in show business, Mrs. Wilson, and I might not collect a hefty check, but I work steadily, and I have a rewarding career that allows me to live reasonably well,” I said stiffly. “Actually, my work is not dissimilar from Aaron’s. I just do it on a more limited scale, and I don’t operate on people. But I treat more cases than he does.” It wasn’t everyone who could relocate and get a new job right away, I reminded myself.

While my being from Euliss might have something to do with Beverline’s dislike of me, I also believed that she would resent any woman who threatened to take Diana’s place and just didn’t want to admit it. I decided to make a little comparison between Diana and me. “Helping my patients is as important to me as I’m sure helping students was to your daughter.”

When we emerged from the room, having said all there was to say to each other, I felt no more optimistic about getting along with Beverline than I had before. We’d solved nothing.

I went up to the master bedroom, where I knew Aaron waited. “How’d it go?” he asked, handing me a glass of wine.

I sank into the double-wide chaise longue. “Not particularly well. If anything, she just reiterated that she doesn’t feel I’m good enough for you. Now, if I were a successful actress, like
Tanis
…”

He groaned. “Not that again.”

“You’ve heard it before?”

“Ever since her show became top rated, Beverline’s been trying to steer me toward Tanis. Even if I was attracted to her, I wouldn’t do anything about it.”

I looked at him curiously. “You’re not attracted to her?”

“No. Tanis has made it clear that she’d like to get close to me, but I’m not interested. For one, Rob Renfroe is a friend of mine, even if not a particularly close one. I won’t take up with a friend’s ex-wife. Second, Tanis has a great figure, dresses well, and always makes a good appearance. She’s attractive in a Natalie Cole type of way. But she’s not
pretty,
at least not to me.” He moved in close to me. “You, on the other hand, are beautiful.” He kissed my mouth, and I put my arms around his neck.

“Say it again.”

“You’re beautiful, Emily. I never felt the remotest attraction toward Tanis. To me she’s just the mother of Billy’s friend.”

I threw my head back and chuckled deep within my throat. Tanis had never posed any threat to me. Aaron just said so. Lord, I wish I had a tape recorder. I could listen to Aaron saying Tanis wasn’t his type over and over again.

Marsha called Thursday morning. “Emily, I just realized since you guys have a pool, is it okay if I bring Cameron and Cheyenne along on Saturday?”

I really wasn’t particularly keen on having a couple of kids other than Aaron’s splashing around during my luncheon, but on the other hand, I could understand Marsha wanting to get them out of Sherwood Forest, even if just for an afternoon. I hastily tried to come up with an excuse.

“I don’t see why not,” I said slowly, “although I don’t think my menu is particularly kid friendly.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” Marsha went silent. I knew she was thinking.

“You know, I could always just pack them some sandwiches,” she finally said.

I should have known she’d come up with a solution, but that didn’t seem right to me. She and her children were my guests. I should provide food for them.

“I’ll tell you what, Marsha. I’ll get the housekeeper to make some hot dogs and Tater Tots just for them. How’s that?”

“That would be perfect. They love hot dogs.”

I called Shirley Friday morning and asked her to make the additions to the menu, and she cheerfully agreed. Just as I was priding myself on a situation well handled, I had a call from Valerie.

“Hey, I just heard that Marsha’s bringing her kids. Is it all right if I bring mine, too?”

I swallowed hard. I understood why Marsha wanted to bring her children, but Valerie’s situation was different. She didn’t live in a project; she lived on a quiet block on City Island. Couldn’t she get her housekeeper to watch them? Now I was faced with having three more children plus a baby at my luncheon, in addition to Marsha’s two. The sophisticated meal I’d planned was turning into a children’s hour. Aaron’s backyard was going to look like a playground—a playground that he’d specifically asked his own children to refrain from inviting playmates to on Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately, I saw no way out. The smart thing would have been for me to tell Marsha not to mention our arrangement to anyone, but since I’d already told Marsha she could bring her kids, I certainly couldn’t tell Valerie she had to leave hers at home. Besides, I owed Valerie a favor for the way she lied to protect me against Tanis’s deviousness.

I tried to sound positive as I told my friend that would be fine. My palm was sweating as I hung up the receiver, but nonetheless I promptly picked it up and dialed Aaron’s home once more.

This time Beverline answered. She informed me that Shirley was running the vacuum. “My, my, you certainly are keeping her busy these days,” she remarked. “Let’s hope she doesn’t turn in her resignation.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m hardly working her to death, Mrs. Wilson. I believe
you’re
the one who runs white gloves over the tables to make sure they’ve been dusted.” As far as I was concerned, Beverline and I had agreed to loathe each other, and the gloves had come off. “I just need to speak with her about some arrangements for my luncheon. I’ll try her again in an hour or so.” The phone practically slipped out of my hand. As I rubbed my palm dry, I thought that all I’d need now was for Rosalind and Tanis to call and ask if they could bring their kids.