Cancelled (13 page)

“I'm not—” he paused to stifle a belch, “that drunk. I'm just a little tipsy.”

“Johnathan, stay. Don't leave on my account.” Tiffany tried to appease the situation. She put her drink down on the coffee table. “Alex, I can go back to the hotel. I'm sure they still have my reservation available.”

“No. Tiffany, I want you to stay tonight. We," Alex swallowed before finishing, "we'll have a girls night.”

Johnathan shrugged and left. He tightened his shoulders at the slight chill to the air. Rather than taking the Metrobus, he walked the half mile to the King Street station.

Before he knew what he was doing, Johnathan dialed Kellie's phone number. He watched his feet take one step in front of the other on the heavily cracked sidewalk.

“Johnathan?” she answered.

“Hey.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Why would something have to be wrong?”

“You don't call me.”

Johnathan paused before crossing the street to think for a moment about what she said. He hadn't actually called her before. He shook his head and focused back on the reason why he was calling her.

“Will it make a difference if the baby isn't mine? Would you cut me out?”

The other side of the phone remained silent. Johnathan excused himself as he bumped into a group of GWU students. He changed his mind about only watching his feet, and lifted his head to notice his surroundings.

“Well?” he asked.

“I don't understand what you're talking about. The baby is yours.”

“So you wouldn't cut me out if it's not mine?”

“If it'll make you feel better, no, I won't cut you out if the baby isn't yours. But it is yours, so I don't see what the big deal is.”

Johnathan sighed. The brown rectangle marking the Metro station was visible on the next street corner. “Thanks. I just needed to know.”

“Are you okay?”

“Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a rough night.”

“Oh. We could hang out or something.”

Johnathan waited before walking down the stairs and losing cell reception. Why would she want to get together? “Thanks, but it's not a good idea tonight. I had a few drinks with Eric and right now, I need to get home and get some sleep.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

Johnathan smiled and hung up. The pounding in his head increased in volume as he sobered up. One day, he'd learn he can't keep up with Eric.

Johnathan wasn't surprised when Alex didn't call him for lunch in the morning. He probably wouldn't have called himself either. He sent her a few text messages apologizing, and asking if they could talk. So far, nothing came in return. He still had dinner plans with Anna to keep.

Rocking on his heels, waiting for Anna to open the door, a bouquet of star-gazer lilies tickled his nose. Lilies were one of the few types of flowers he could handle without fits of sneezing.

Anna opened the large white door to her condo and shooed her stepson in. Taking the flowers from him, she crushed him with a hug. They hadn't seen each other in three months.

“Come, come. I made enchiladas.”

Johnathan closed the door behind him. “You cooked Tex-mex?” Anna was a great cook, but not when it came to Mexican food. She tried, really, since Johnathan lived in Texas for so long, to make his favorite meals when he came to live here. But they were always too clean tasting. She lacked the feeling of being so poor you cover up the taste of cheap meat with as much spice as you can.

“Shush. I've been working on this recipe for awhile. Even got some outside help.” she smiled.

“Oh god, don't tell me Buck is here.”

“Buck? Oh heavens no.” Anna started to laugh. She stretched for the wine glasses, but her 5'5” frame just couldn't reach. Johnathan stepped forward and easily lifted them down for his stepmother. She handed him the wine bottle and corkscrew. “No, Buck liked to screw his students I'm afraid. He's been long gone.”

“See, I knew there was something...”

Anna smacked Johnathan with the dishtowel hanging on the oven handle. “Give me a break. I'm new at this dating thing.”

Johnathan could hear the slight hurt behind Anna's voice, even if she was covering it up with comedy. “I'm sorry he wasn't good enough for you, Anna.”

Anna stared at her stepson for a moment and took a sip of wine. The oven beeped, and she took out the baked dish full of dinner.

Johnathan peered over her shoulder. The bubbling cheese and brownish sauce looked like home. He took a large whiff and could smell the intoxicating blend of camino, garlic, and cilantro.

"Looks great.” Johnathan grabbed a plate from the sad stack of two and dug in. After both filled their plates with the enchiladas and the southwest corn salad Anna made for the side, they opted for the informal kitchen seating instead of the immaculate dining room.

Johnathan didn't waste any time scarfing down his dinner. He couldn't remember the last time he had good Mexican food. It wasn't a specialty regularly featured in Georgetown.

“This is delicious. It reminds me of the enchiladas from Lil' Petey's. You remember the small tacqueria down the road from the trailer?”

“Damn, my secret is out.”

Johnathan coughed on his food. “What do you mean? These aren't from Texas.”

“No, but the recipe is.”

Johnathan looked confused. No way Maria Cruz would give her recipe away.

“Oh relax.” Anna waved her arms, making her chunky white bracelet slide up and down. “I offered them a fair price for a copy of the recipe. Honestly, they were happy to hear someone was interested in it.”

“You bought the recipe?”

“Not full rights. Just a copy. And I can't use it in a restaurant. But my Spanish is pretty rusty, so I had a friend help with the negotiations.”

Johnathan laughed. He couldn't help it. He was a very lucky man to have a stepmother who cared about him so much. Many women would have ignored their stepchildren after the death of the father. But not Anna. She had always said it was him and her against the world. His hoped his daughter would take after her eccentric grandmother.

Anna clicked her finger nails. Johnathan noticed she barely touched her food.

“I called your mother and talked to her about the money. I gave her eight weeks to give it back.”

“What? Why would you give her two months to get the money back? We should just call the police.” Johnathan sulked in his chair; feeling powerless wasn't his favorite emotion in the world.

“Can you trust an old lady on this one?” Anna waited for a smirk to break through Johnathan's attitude. It didn't come. “In 1992, I had a vicious argument with my own mother. She felt strongly that I had no business trying to raise someone else's child. Your father and I had been married for years, mind you. Still, the old bat wouldn't change her mind.”

Anna swallowed before continuing. “Five years later, Mom succumbed to cancer. I wasn't even allowed to say goodbye."

Johnathan didn't say anything as Anna swirled the wine in her glass. "Now, I never would have given into her demands," she said still looking at the wine glass. Finally, she looked up to meet his eyes. "But I could have handled it better. I didn't have to let years pass where I never called her, never spoke to her. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I wasn't. She had a right to her opinion, but that didn't change that she was my mother.”

“It's not the same, Anna. To me, you're my Mom. Everything with Nancy is a transaction. I was never loved by her, I was owned by her.”

“You don't talk to your grandmother do you?”

“Granny DuBose? No way. That woman is psycho.” Johnathan's pitch lifted on the last syllable to emphasize his opinion.

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe your mother loved you the only way she knew how? The only way she was taught?”

Silence filled the kitchen. Anna stood up to take the dishes to the kitchen sink. “I'll be right back.”

Johnathan stood up and looked out the French doors to the patio. He wasn't stupid enough to step outside, but it did remind him to put a note is his phone to refill his allergy medications. It was nearing May and everything was in bloom. He'd been taking OTC allergy medication, but he was waking up more and more with congestion and a scratchy throat.

Anna reappeared with a small gift bag from a high-end jeweler. She took out a small black box and handed it to Johnathan.

“What's this?”

Anna sat on the edge of a Queen Anne styled chair stationed near the patio doors. “Open it.”

He cracked the black velvet box and saw a platinum ring with a large pearl in the middle and dozens of small diamonds forming the filigree around it. It was beautiful, unique, and timeless.

“Who's ring is this?”

“It was my grandmother's. I don't have your grandmother's ring, and I thought it might work for Alexis. If you want to replace the pearl with a diamond, I understand.”

“No, no, I think this is perfect for Alex. It's what, 1920s?”

Anna nodded. “This was my grandmother's ring, but not her engagement ring. They were too poor for that. Pop-Pop gave it her on their thirtieth wedding anniversary in 1955 to make up for never buying her an engagement ring. When my grandmother Anne passed in '89, she willed the ring to your grandfather since her wedding rings went to his sister. Daddy gave it to me because I am her namesake, and back then, there was hope that...” her voice trailed off.

“You and Dad would have more kids.” Johnathan finished for her.

Anna nodded and smiled.

“How did you know I wanted to ask Alex to marry me? I haven't even begun shopping for rings, yet.”

“But you are, right?”

“Memorial Day weekend. I have a bed and breakfast in the mountains of Virginia picked out. It even has a spa nearby and a bunch of hiking trails. I figured we could both use a break from the city.”

“That's sounds perfect, son. Except one little thing. When are you going to tell her about the baby?”

Johnathan tucked the ring back into the black and gold bag. “I don't know. We kind of had a fight last night and I left. She has this friend in town and automatically invited her to stay with us without even talking to me about it. I had a bad day with Eric, and we went out for drinks.”

“And you were upset she didn't talk to you about this friend staying?”

“Yeah. I was supposed to move in this weekend, my lease is up at the end of May. We were going to do it slowly over the month.”

“But you don't live there yet?”

Johnathan gritted his teeth. “You sound just like her.”

Anna laughed and walked back towards the kitchen to pull out the cherry pie for dessert. She placed a carton of vanilla ice cream on the counter to soften.

“Sounds like you both need a reality check about what it means to be in a relationship. It doesn't all revolve around you.” Johnathan pulled his cell phone out to check once more for a message from Alex. Still nothing. He really didn't want to hear this. "Both of you are headstrong and independent. But there are going to be times when you must fight for the health of the relationship, not because you're the one who's right.”

Johnathan groaned. He was guilty. He had invoked the idea of Tom, but there was no Tom. Tom didn't exist, he was just trying to prove his point.

“Well, I better eat and go. I have some making up to do.”

Anna served Johnathan his bowl of pie a la mode and took a large spoonful of her own dessert. After licking the back of the spoon, she pointed it at him. “You also need to tell her about the baby.”

“Before I ask her to marry me?”

“I can't answer that for you. What do you gain from telling her after ?”

Johnathan swirled his ice cream and cherry filling. A few pieces of pie crust crunched under his spoon stabs. “I don't know. Being engaged might make it easier for her to know she's the life I want. There'll probably be some jealousy over Kellie, right?”

Anna laughed. “Uh, not probably. Absolutely. But don't go too far in guessing Alex's feelings. She's a fighter that one, and if she feels like you misled her or put her in a corner, she's going to fight back. No matter when you tell her, it won't be pretty.”

“She'll be jealous even after she's my fiancée?”

“There is an intimacy of having a child with a woman that is very threatening to every other woman in your life. When it comes down to it, who's opinion are you going to listen to about your daughter? Your wife's? Her mother? Your stepmother's? Believe me, every woman in your life is going to question where she stands with you.”

“Including you?”

Anna took the last big bite of her dessert. “Don't be silly. I am the ultimate woman in your life, that will never change.”

Johnathan laughed at Anna's boast, knowing she was joking. “Alright, time for me to face the music.” He put his bowl in the sink and gave Anna a kiss on the cheek. “I need to go track down my future fiancée and convince her to forgive me.”

“Go with God.” Johnathan shook his head at his stepmother's cheekiness and picked up his laptop bag. It was early yet, only 10 PM. He wondered which house to go to, and finally chose to go home. His new home.

Unlocked, the front door to Alex's two-story historic colonial swung open in darkness. It was after 10:30 before he made it from Fairfax to Alexandria. The empty living room remained enveloped in darkness. Walking a few steps inside, he called out.

“Alexis?”

A small voice drifted through the darkness. “I'm in here.”

Johnathan flipped the light on to see Alex sitting at the table, alone.

“Where's Tiffany?”

“She didn't want to stay. She didn't come here to see me. Not really. There's a guy.”

“Sucky.” Johnathan took a seat across from Alex, automatically placing the small, black bag in his hands on the table without thinking. The movement caught her attention.

“What's that?”

“Nothing. Anna gave it to me.”

“Anna bought you jewelry?” Alex's interest piqued, there was no way out of this. Johnathan cleared his throat.

“It's my great-grandmother's ring.”

Tears welled in the corners of Alex's eyes. She blinked, letting them fall. It took him a minute to try and figure out what the tears meant. How did a ring make her cry? Failing to find answers in his own mind, he just asked her. “Why are you upset?”