A Promised Fate (15 page)

“That’d be great.”

“I hate to do this but I need to remind you that I am
bound by patient confidentially, Ari. I cannot discuss my
conversations with Ava with you.”

“I know. I just want her to talk to someone.”

“I’ll see her tomorrow around nine.”

“Thank you … um?”

“Something else?”

“She will kill me if she knows I talked to you about
this but she certainly won’t bring it up herself…”

“I have heard it all before, lay it on me.”

“She’s um. Her sex drive has …”

“Increased?”

“
Yes!
Should I be
concerned?”

“No need for concern. It is most likely her body
responding to her hormones during pregnancy. An increased libido
during the second and third trimester are quite common. After the
baby arrives, Ava will be out of commission for six to eight weeks
and you’ll both be too tired to act on any impulses. Enjoy this
while it lasts.”

“Will do.”

“I’ll see her in the morning.”

“Thank you again.”

I walked back in to the house, Ava was watching me
and ignoring Rory’s attempt to drag her back in for more baby talk.
I busied myself by clearing the table for my mom, removing the
dirty dishes and stacking them in the deep sink. I sliced three
different pies and set them on the table. I couldn’t meet Ava’s
eye. Guilt made my stomach churn.

Ava pushed the plate of pie that I placed in front of
her away without taking a single bite. I eased back into my seat
next to her.

“What time?” she stared ahead at nothing. She knew
what I had done.

“Nine.”

She nodded and accepted her appointment without
argument. She knew she needed to go.

“My mother will watch Max, right Mom?”

My mom swallowed air after I pulled her into the
tense conversation and pushed a smile up her cheeks. “You bet I
will.” She winked at Max, “I volunteered for the bake sale for
Lauren’s dance team. You can help me make the brownies -- double
fudge!”

Max squealed with excitement. I placed an arm around
Ava and squeezed her. She stiffened at my touch. I leaned in close
to her, my shoulder touching hers, buried my nose in her hair and
put my lips to her ear. “I called him because I love you. I am
sorry if you are mad, but I only did it because I care.”

She stayed firm and resolute for a moment and then
gave up on the angry bit and relaxed. “I know.” She thawed then
turned to me and pressed her forehead to mine, causing her hair to
fall like curtains around our faces. “You are my rock, Ari. I won’t
go back to the way I was before. I promise. I’ll talk to Phillips
tomorrow and get back on track. Your love for me is so strong. I
want to be strong for you, too.” Her lips touched mine and my skin
immediately warmed, my nerves buzzed and my desire for her raced
through my bloodstream.

“I can’t wait for later.” I murmured and kept my lips
on hers. A tiny, breathy moan escaped from her throat and my tongue
slipped just barely past her parted lips. Our hearts hammered and
beat like a bass drum and she moved in closer, her mouth opening to
grant me access. I smiled with my kisses, unable to hide my
pleasure with Ava who had forgotten about our audience.

“Oh, for Christ's sake!” my dad’s fist pounded the
tabletop and glasses jumped and rattled.

Ava’s teeth bit my tongue again and the rusty taste
of blood replaced the sweet flavor of her mouth.

“
God
dangit
!” I yelled, “Ava, do you always
have to bite?”

She blushed an allover pretty pink.

“You two are worse than a couple of spring
rabbits!”

“Stop it, Andy. It’s cute.”
My mother batted her lashes.

“It’s not cute when I am trying to eat!”

Max giggled. My sister playfully shoved a finger down
her throat, Gianna mumbled something about her sons knowing how to
behave at the dinner table, Thais and Nick both grunted, the rest
laughed and then Julia pushed away from her seat and ran to the
hall in tears. Rory then followed her.

“I’m so sorry, Andy,” Ava squeaked and I blotted my
tongue with a napkin.

“I can’t stay mad at you,
sweetheart; you’re having my grandbaby. But
you
!” he jabbed a finger in the air
at me, “you got what you deserve. Next time I hope she bites it
off.”

“She might have
this
time. Christ Ava!” My words
trickled out in a mumbled lisp and people laughed some more. I
scooted away from the dining table to rinse out my mouth and Ava,
my sister and everyone else began to clear the rest of the
plates.

“Jules, what’s wrong? Why are you crying again?”

“Leave me alone, Rory.”

Their talk carried down the hall from Julia’s old
bedroom, used now as a playroom for Max and future family children,
and I paused before passing by the door.

“No, I won’t leave you alone. You have to tell me
what’s bothering you. What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything.” She sniffled and I could
picture the downslope of her eyes when she is sad.

“Why won’t you talk to me?”

“There is nothing to talk about.”

“Bull shit! Tell me what is going on!”

“Nothing is going on.”

“Why are you lying to me all the time? You’re
breaking my heart, Julia. I give you everything you ask for. I try
so hard to make you happy. I’m not Ari. I know I am not freaking
Ari! Everyone knows I am nothing like him. I’m sorry -- I can’t
afford that big stupid house of theirs, I don’t have his dumb
overpaid job. But I am trying my best here, you gotta give me some
credit. I’m gonna give you the life you want just … have faith in
me.”

“I don’t want you to be Ari.” She cried some
more.

“Then what do you want? I asked you to marry me,
Julia -- you said no, remember? How can you … how can you be like
this?!” He spat.

“Things aren’t going to work between us, Rory.”

“
What?
Don’t say that. You’re my
girl, Jules. I’d do anything for you. Please don’t say that. What
do I have to do? Anything, I’ll do anything.”

“I love you, Rory. But I don’t think I can make us
work anymore.”

Oh shit!
I
sprinted down the hall and silently slammed the bathroom door right
before Julia ran from the room. Rory’s quick, pounding footsteps
followed out after her. I had heard
way
more than I ever should have and
if Rory found out I had been there listening, he’d kill me. He had
put his heart on the line and proposed to Julia and she had said
no. In all my life, I had never felt more of a brotherhood type
bond to him. I wanted to be there for him and I couldn’t -- he
could never know that I knew. I would never be forgiven. I couldn’t
even begin to fathom how he must have felt -- how heavy his heart
must be. His footsteps rounded the corner hall and I watched
through a slit in the door as he walked out the front door
alone.

“Call me right after you leave the doctor’s
office.”

“I will, I will.”

“Talk to him, please. I mean really open up -- that’s
what he's there for.”

“
Ari
! I will!”

My finger brushed her pink, pouty lips. “Love
you.”

“Love
you
.” She buried her face into my
chest and inhaled deeply. I kissed the top of her sweet, midnight
smelling hair goodbye.

A foolish, too-big-for-my-face-smile was stretched
across my mouth on my commute to the office as I thought about the
night before – an evening alone with Ava in our bed, and then again
in the middle of the night up against the wall and then all
morning, causing me to be late again for work. Following doctor’s
orders, I was taking full advantage of the newly found and wildly
fun boost in Ava's sex drive. No nightmares plagued our sleep and
Max caught up for lost time and babbled to Ava and me half the
evening about all sorts of silly things. He never offered us his
fears and we didn’t want to push the subject on him either. The
only thing that mattered to us was that he was speaking again.
Three days without the sound of his sweet and innocent voice was
too long for us.

“Morning, Ari!”

I waved hello to the daytime security guard and
practically danced through the front entrance of the building.
Businessmen and women dressed in summer suits and dresses were
scattered about the expansive main floor lobby as they made their
way to the various business offices. Cutting a path through the
groups to the bank of elevators, I selected floor number twenty-two
on the key pad.

The
baio
cooperate office hummed with
conversation and people talked about their weekend over coffee,
ignoring the early Monday morning phone calls. Fashion week had
just kicked off and the office was crawling with people. On my walk
back to my corner office, three people asked how my family was
doing. Jeff from marketing got a word in about his precious L.A.
Angels pulverizing my White Sox. Caroline from design rushed down
the hall to get to the show site but stopped me to say that Frank
from IT’s wife had had a baby over the weekend.

“A boy, right?” Frank and I had discussed our
pregnant wives one morning after he noticed Ava’s framed sonogram
picture on my desk while he fixed my computer.

“Yes, a boy. They named him Conner.”

“Everyone healthy?”

“Yep! Mother and son are doing great.”

“Thanks, Caroline. I’ll send a card. And maybe some
diapers? I dunno -- you have three kids...what’s the protocol for
something like that?”

“Diapers are always welcome.”

“Will you have your assistant email Frank’s address
to Fauna so she can send over a gift package to their family?”

“Uhh, err, sure…”

I rapped my knuckles on the
reception desk outside my office and I turned to greet my assistant
with a hearty “Good morning” that fell quickly off to an
embarrassed… “ah, hmm, you
aren’t
Fauna.” I blinked and my own happy smile slid
straight off my face into a deep knitted frown.

The redhead blinked her wide, doe-like eyes at me.
Her glossy lips framed a mouth full of white teeth. A light dusting
of freckles dotted her nose and fell across the very tops of her
cheeks. Her skin was the color of porcelain and accentuated her
dazzling, big blue eyes. She was beautiful. Too beautiful.

“Err,” I sputtered and coughed on a heavy feeling
that hit my stomach. “Hi.”

“You don’t know who I am, do you?”

Forcing composure, my shoulders squared and I
straightened the knot Ava had put in my tie. “Forgive me but I am
not sure if I ever learned your name. Mine is Ari, Ari Alexander.”
I pushed back my initial feelings of uneasiness and extended my
hand to greet her.

I couldn’t help but take in the full sight of her as
she rose from her chair in high, peep toe, ankle strap heels. Her
long and slender pale legs carried my eyes all the way to a close
fitting black skirt that hugged her thin waist. My eyes met hers
and I cleared my throat once more and tightened my jaw. Her lips
curled up to kittenish grin and she reached to shake my hand.

“I know who you are, Ari. And I am Lirik Nino. I had
the pleasure of a quick meeting with you a couple of weeks ago when
I interviewed with Yvette in human resources.”

“Lirik Like A Song.” It all came back to me.

“You remember.”

My grip loosened and I plunged my hands deep into my
suit pants pockets. “Welcome, Lirik! Feel free to get yourself
settled in here, the break room is down the hall to the left, help
yourself to the coffee but fair warning, it usually sucks. Fauna
left you a binder full of useful information. I suggest you take
some time this morning to go through it all before the day gets
ahead of you. This can be a hectic department, my phone rings off
the hook most days and you’ve come at a real busy time. This is
Fashion Week and it's going to be chaotic. I’d like to apologize
ahead of time for the stress -- stick it out past the weekend and
the rest will be a breeze.”

“Thanks, but I think I am all settled in. And you are
right this coffee is weird, it’s kind of…”

“Soapy and bitter?”

“Yes! Why is that?” She said with a peal of giggles
and looped a red tendril through her fingertips.

“You can blame the nightly cleaning crew for the soap
taste. Sometimes the coffee actually has bubbles. Nevertheless, the
first floor lobby has a café and you are free to go down there
whenever you need a cup.”

“Great. I have really been looking forward to working
with you, Mr. Alexander. I can’t wait to get started. I know
everything there is to know about you.”

“Everything, huh?”

“Everything.” She closed the thick, heavy binder that
Fauna had compiled with a thud.

“Well, that cannot possibly be true. If you need
anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I will be in and out of the office
all week, making several trips to the show site and to some lunch
meetings, but you can always reach me on my cell.”

“I’ll be sure to do that. I think we will make a good
team.”

I could only nod.

After a quick escape to my desk, I signed into my
computer and reviewed the day’s schedule. Fauna had always been
kind to me, she knew me very well and kept my Monday agenda to a
dull roar. I had only a small number of agreements to work through
and an informal meeting with Margaux followed by an afternoon trip
to the fashion district. My computer chimed an alert when an email
from my new assistant came through, cataloging a small list of
messages from the early morning. I swallowed air after I saw that
Rory had called me.