Derailed (6 page)

“Besides, I don’t envy you. You’ve got Bradley to tell.”

“Yeah.” I run my hand slowly through my hair.

“But more importantly…” His swollen pause causes both Arena and to I look up at him. “You have
Liefie
to tell.” He wriggles his eyebrows, his eyes gleaming.

Arena looks at him, eyebrows raised.

“Didn’t you notice how jealous she is of Rival?” he asks. “Every time Rival’s around, Liefie gets all ridgeback.”

Arena laughs. “Ya,
boet
, he’s right. You’ve got
Liefie
to worry about.”

They’re right. Liefie is territorial. I’ve noticed her rudeness and abruptness toward Rival, but I’ve said nothing, mainly because I didn’t want to fuel the fire. Then there’s the tiny white lie I told her the other day when she asked about Rival and me. I slap my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Shit!”

Arena laughs. Bear laughs. I don’t.

“Well, if I were you, I’d tell Bradley
first
, then Liefie,” Bear says, his eyes crinkling. “And I’d wear one of those nut guards. A heavy-duty one. Bradley and Liefie – you’re gonna need it for both. Trust me.”

Arena folds with laughter. To my absolute disgust, they go on to high-five each other like a couple of kids.

“You guys, I am not putting your names in my gratitude journal anymore.”

“You keep a gratitude journal?” my sister asks, her laughter ceasing abruptly.

“I sure do,” I say in a threatening voice.

“What’s that?” Bear asks.

“Gosh, I’m impressed,
boet
.”

“Mm.”

Arena turns to Bear to explain what a gratitude journal is.

“Ah,” Bear says, his head bobbing. “I see.”

After a moment of silence, they burst out laughing. Hold each other and roar with laughter. I storm out of their house in disgust, their laughter loud enough to be heard on the street.

RITCHIE

I’m about to go home to deliver the good news to Rival – my sister knows about us. We no longer have to duck and dive around her. But then I think about Liefie. Perhaps it’s best if I tell her about Rival before Arena does. After all, I lied to her the other day, and if she finds out from Arena, it might create bad blood between us. That’s not something I want, considering we are going to be neighbors. Best I man up and do the right thing. With a groan, and wishing I had had another stiff drink before I left Bear, I turn my Jeep around and head for Liefie’s.

Her eyes dart all over my face when she doesn’t see my girls with me. “Hey, Ritchie. Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I say as I scoop up Gareth. “How’s my li’l champ?” I ask as I throw him into the air.

He screams with delight and dribbles saliva all over me. When I put him down, he says, “’Gain, Daddy, ’gain!”

I oblige. “It’s gonna be great seeing you every day when I move next door, sonny boy. I can hardly wait.”

“He’s going to just love it,” Liefie says. 

“So, what did you break today, you little terror?”

“Come, I show you, Daddy,” he says in an excited voice.

I look at Liefie.

She rolls her eyes. “He breaks
everything
, Ritchie. He’d pull this house apart brick by brick if I let him, I swear.”

“That’s my boy,” I say in a proud voice as I go to inspect his damage for the day.

After a while, I return to the kitchen and take a seat on a barstool. “Where’s Vlad?”

“Work.”

“On a Saturday?”

“Big case.”

“Ah. Whachu got cooked?”

Her eyes fly to the wall clock. “It’s early.”

“So does this mean you don’t have any food cooked?” I ask in a stern voice. “Is that how I raised you?”

She laughs. “It’s only three o’clock, you know.”

I look at my wrist watch and pout.  

“I can give you coffee? With muffins, or biscuits, or –”

“What muffins?”

“Cheese and chili.”

“Yum.” I drum on the table with my fingernails. “Bring it on.”

She natters about our kids as she makes us both coffee. While I pretend to listen, nerves get the better of me. I spin my phone around on the countertop. Suddenly, she stops and looks at me, at my spinning phone, then at me again. 

“Tell me,” she says, her eyes locking on mine.

I nod. “Can I have my coffee first?” 

She moves fast and places the coffee in front of me. I continue spinning my phone, summoning up the nerve to be truthful.

Liefie leans across the kitchen counter and snatches away my phone. “Tell me.”

Showtime
. “Liefie, remember when…” I take a deep breath. “Remember when you asked me about…about Rival?”

Bear was right, immediately, she acts the way Mother Cat acts when she sees Puppy – all ridgeback. 

“Well, it’s…like…um, we…” I shrug. “You know…”

Silence. 

“I…I just wanted to tell you the truth.”

Silence.

I shift around in my seat as I wait for her reaction.

“So you lied to me,” she says in an icy voice. 

People are saying that a lot today. “Sorry,” I say, pound-puppy look firmly in place. 

A tense few moments follow.

“That’s…that is…congratulations then,” she says, to my surprise. Great words. If only her voice didn’t sound angry. 

“I’m…happy for…you.”

“You are?”

“Yes.” She crosses her arms tightly and hugs herself. “You deserve happiness, and if she can give you that, then it’s great.”

I lunge to hug her, relieved at her words and ignoring her cold demeanor, mainly because it’s easier to handle. “Thank you. ’Preciate you saying that.”

“All the best,” she says in a gruff voice.

I finish my coffee, give her another hug, and quickly leave.

Well, that didn’t go too bad, I tell myself as I drive off. Overall, she’s happy for me. Frankly, we all may have read too much into Liefie’s territorial behavior after all. What a relief that everyone knows. And Arena and Bear were laughing at me? Wait till I tell those fuckers how wrong they were about Liefie’s reaction. Why the hell didn’t I wager with them?

I have to call Rival and tell her my progress. When I search for my phone, I realize I have left it at Liefie’s. Damn! Turning my Jeep around, I make my way back to Liefie’s. I knock and enter the house. “Liefie?”

No answer.

Gareth is in the TV room, surrounded by CDs, silently removing them from their covers. Liefie is nowhere around. I walk into the kitchen, pick up my phone from the counter and slip it into my pocket. As I do, through the window, I spot Liefie on the deck. I peer at her through the blinds. She’s crying.  

I’m stumped – should I go out and comfort her? Quietly slip away and leave her with her dignity intact? After a moment’s deliberation, I walk outside, unable to walk away without talking to her.

When she sees me, she quickly turns away.  

“Liefie, honey, what’s wrong?” Dumb question, but I ask anyway.

She shakes her head from side to side.

I put my arms around her. She starts to sob. 

“It’s hard to…to…s…say goodbye, Ritchie.”

“Who says it’s goodbye?”

“I dreaded this day. I mean, I love Vlad, I do, but my heart…”

I nod and wipe away her tears. I
get
it.

She cries some more, and I let her.

“You know, I’m skating on really thin ice here, Lief,” I finally say. “I don’t know how this is going to pan out. I don’t even know if it will work. ’Sides that, I’m gonna be in big shit with Bradley I think, and I’m a little…
scared
really. What I really could do with is your support. It counts. It would mean a lot to me. It’s been hard losing you, my home, my…” I shake my head. “I’ve had it tough, Lief.”

She bobs her head several times, then hugs me again. “Do you love her as much as you loved me?”

What a loaded question. What a selfish question. Here I just poured my heart out to her about my fears, and all she wants to know is who I love more? But it’s okay. I understand loss – I felt it deeply when I made an ass of myself at her wedding.

“Liefie, it’s like Becky and Ally. You love them differently but equally, right?” I wipe more tears off her cheeks. “You will always be my first love, Liefie. My first wife, the mother of my children. You get priority in my life. Everyone else comes second. Okay? Hell, I’m moving next to you – what does that tell you? We’re family. Always will be.”

My words must make her happy, because her tears dry up.

“If she hurts you, Ritchie, I will kick her fucking arse. Seriously.”

I laugh at her unexpected comment. “I believe you. But please don’t kick her arse. But if you insist, then I’ll get some mud, dress both of you in bikinis, buy cases of beer, and invite a few friends over to watch.”

She laughs. Only then do I leave.

Chapter Five

RIVAL

Life is so much easier now that all the significant adults in Ritchie’s life know about us. Arena and Bear have accepted me with open arms, which is just wonderful.

Encouraged by this, we decide to tell Ritchie’s girls. All four of us sit down at their little table with crayons and coloring books – a relaxed non-threatening environment. 

“I wanna color Ariel!” Ally says.

“I wanna color Buzz Lightyear!” Ritchie says.

“I wanna color Cinderella!” I say.

Becky squints at the coloring books in front of us. “Mm. I don’t want to color.”

“Why not?” Ritchie asks.

“I want to work on my voodoo doll.”

“WHAT!” Ritchie and I chorus.

She pulls out a pincushion from her pocket. “It’s halfway done. See?”

It looks nothing like a voodoo doll, but we’re still aghast. 

“Girly!” Ritchie yells.

“She’s gone out,” I remind him.

He groans with despair.

“I just need to do the arms and legs,” Becky says as she plays with her pincushion. She looks up and smiles sweetly at her father. “Do you love it, Pig?”

“Eh…baby…you know…” He runs his hand down his mouth several times. “Yeah. I love it, Becky.”

Ritchie looks at me as the girls return to their coloring and voodoo doll.

I give him a let’s-focus-on-what-we-have-to-tell-them look.

He nods, and for a few minutes, scribbles furiously at Buzz Lightyear. Then he clears his throat and says, “Girls, I have something to tell you. Rival and I, we…we like, we
love
each other.” 

Both of us freeze as we wait for their reaction.

“Oh, I know that already, Dada,” Ally says in a sing-song voice. “You colored outside the lines,” she points out. “Got to keep inside the lines, Dada.”

Ritchie’s eyebrows shoot up. “You do?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen her sneak out of the house in the mornings.”

Ritchie and I exchange shocked looks.

“And you both have got the…the
squishy
-eyes thing when you look at each other.” Her eyes crinkle as she talks.

Ritchie and I smile at each other.

“There, you’re doing it now!” Ally says with a chuckle.

Becky jerks to her feet. “Lemme see.” She sticks her face close to both of ours and peers at us.

Ritchie and I collapse with laughter.

Becky nods and returns to the voodoo doll.  “Are you going to get married, Pig?”

“Why?” Ritchie asks in a guarded voice.

Becky shrugs. “I just want to have an evil stepmother.”

“What!” I say.

“Me too!” Ally says, dropping her pencil and clasping her little hands together. “Please, Dada?”

Ritchie has a look of panic on his face. I laugh and nod. 

“Okay fine, girls, you can have an evil stepmother,” Ritchie says.

“Yay!” the girls chorus.

Ritchie looks at me and shrugs. I lean in and peck him on the lips. At last we can be openly affectionate with each other. It’s such a relief. We further rebel by hugging each other.

After that, life is even better. Ritchie’s girls really warm toward me and tell all their friends about their evil stepmother who bakes them really nice cupcakes and pies.

Liefie on the other hand…well, she’s civil toward me in front of Ritchie, but the moment Ritchie leaves the scene, she ignores me. When I try to engage her in conversation, she makes it clear she has no desire to do so. I feel a little hurt by her rejection to be honest, but I urge myself to be patient, to focus on my progress – Ritchie and I can talk openly in front of all of them about our plans for the house and share our ideas and dreams with them. Ritchie even talks about our shopping for wedding rings in front of them.

Besides, we have other pressing issues to handle right now. Like Bradley.

“We have to tell him, Rival,” he says, sounding stressed. “I feel like a fraud.”

“Okay, but…honey, just hold on for now,” I say. “I’m not quite sure how he’s gonna react. I think it will be okay, but I don’t really know. Know what I mean?”

“Yeah, but…”

I silence Ritchie with a kiss. “Patience, my love.”

“Mm.” Even though his brow is furrowed, he lets it ride, to my relief.

RIVAL

The new house is taking shape – six bedrooms, three full bathrooms, an en suite, a guest toilet, triple garage, and of course, my beautiful, airy study with a Jetmaster and a skylight.

Six bedrooms means that my two girls will have their own rooms when they come to live with me, thanks to Ritchie. Just picturing them in this house and all of us living as a family (a little
Brady Bunch
) makes me warm and tingly. And happy. I’m just so happy. 

Ritchie and I visit the property every evening to inspect the renovations and to work out color schemes, drapes, floorings and other stuff. He’s happy to leave the interior decorating to me, and I am happy to have free reign to weave my magic. 

Most evenings after our inspections, we pop over to Liefie and Vald’s for a cup of coffee or a drink. Vlad pulls a chair for me, gets me a drink, and always tops up my glass before I need it. Liefie, on the other hand, addresses only Ritchie, talks a lot about their life in South Africa, their previous houses, their previous holidays, their previous…
everything
. In a couple of tiny passive aggressive moves – I’m cut out of the conversation. Patience, I tell myself. It’ll blow over.