Good Woman Blues (41 page)

“Forty years later, I’m still hearing about
Lisette.” Charles rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

“Fortunately, fate and our parents stepped
in. The point is, I think this unfortunate turn of events is a
warning.” Rachel nodded.

“A warning that I should move on, let Erikka
go,” Gabriel said. “Just to make it clear what we’re talking
about.”

His parents exchanged glances before his
father spoke. “Of course it’s up to you. But with her background
...” Charles lifted a hand, fingers splayed as though completing
the thought wasn’t necessary.

“What about my background? You think maybe
her family has told her to dump me? I’m damaged goods, too.”
Gabriel stood. He’d heard and said enough.

“Because you made one mistake isn’t a reason
to settle for—” His mother bit off the sentence when Gabriel looked
at her.

“I made more than one mistake. Your memory
goes back forty years, so you must remember what I was like,”
Gabriel said sharply.

“Don’t take that tone with me, Gabriel,” his
mother snapped back. She stopped when the door chimes played a
tune. Rachel worked to erase anger from her expression. By the time
she went to the door, Rachel wore her welcome face.

Vincent followed his mother into the kitchen
moments later. He waved to his father and gave Gabriel a silent
signal with his eyes. “What’s up, everybody?”

“We’re fine,” his mother said, her voice
crisp as iceberg lettuce.

“Sit down and have some coffee,” Charles said
gruffly.

“O-kay. I can see everything is just dandy in
here.” Vincent gazed at all three in turn.

“Sure. Mom and Dad were just giving me advice
on choosing a wife,” Gabriel said, with a taut smile.

“Wife?” his mother choked out. She put a hand
to her throat.

“You didn’t ask this woman to marry you?”
Charles grimaced as though he suffered a cramp.

“I’m thirty-three years old. Don’t lecture me
on who I should choose. I’ve made all the usual mistakes at least
twice. That includes a set of well-stacked twins who are probably
Lisette’s daughters.” Gabriel tried not to enjoy their shocked
frowns.

‘Too much information, baby brother,” Vincent
cautioned, in a whisper.

“Well don’t boast about your recklessness.
Such behavior is certainly nothing to be proud of.” Rachel glared
at him.

“If she says yes the next time I ask, you’ll
be at my wedding wearing a smile. Everybody clear?” Gabriel barked,
like a sergeant issuing an order.

Silence stretched out. His mother huffed in
silence, her chin up as she gazed back at him. Defiance flashed in
her golden brown eyes. Vincent shifted from one foot to the other.
He seemed unsure which way to look. He finally settled for a
distant point outside the window. Charles sucked in a deep breath
and let it out.

“I’m not your fair-haired son. I never was. I
like making furniture and creating sculptures. I love Erikka.
Period. Not up for future discussion.” Gabriel looked at all three
in turn.

“Uh, small doses of reality, Gabe. Small.”
Vince held up a hand, thumb and forefinger together.

“I’m through.” Gabriel sat down and resumed
drinking coffee. His parents seemed frozen in place. More silence,
as everyone seemed wrapped in their own thoughts.

“Changing the subject to happier news. I just
got promoted to VP of Development. I’m seeing someone new as well.
Danica Ricard.” Vincent looked at his parents.

“Wonderful,” his mother said finally, in an
unemotional voice.

Vincent wore a deflated expression. “Well,
don’t throw a party or anything.”

“Congratulations, Vince. Lunch is on me. Name
any place you want to go.” Gabriel grinned at him. He stared at his
father hard.

Charles blinked rapidly, and then took his
cue. “That’s great, Vincent. Long time coming. I mean, you worked
hard to get it,” he answered quickly, before his comment could be
misinterpreted.

“Thanks, Dad. You know Danica’s family. The
Ricards are in real estate and meatpacking.” Vincent beamed.

“Sure. Hell, I’ll pay for lunch all around.
Matter of fact, let’s call your sister and have her meet us in
Lafayette. Come on, honey.” Charles gave his wife a pat on the
shoulder.

Rachel marched off. “I’m going to
change.”

Charles started after her. “Give her a few
minutes, and she’ll be okay.”

Vince turned to Gabriel when they were alone.
“Listen, about that fight we had the other night.

“It’s okay.”

“I shouldn’t have said that crap about you,”
Vince started again.

“Yeah, you should have. I was the favored
kid. I took the easy way out because they let me,” Gabriel replied,
thinking of how he avoided people.

“Don’t pay attention to anything I said. You
know I was drunk.” Vincent stopped short of admitting he had a
problem with alcohol.

Gabriel hoped that would come later. He
seemed close, though. “I have been hiding out. Even when I came
home, I moved way out to nowhere, did business with folks who don’t
know my past. I did a lot of damage even before I killed Ricky.”
He’d never said those words to his family before.

“Damn, baby brother.” Vincent pulled a hand
over his face. He looked around as though searching for a
drink.

“You didn’t kill that boy.” Rachel stood in
the doorway, wearing a denim jumper and sandals. Her face had
drained of color. Her cafe au lait skin seemed transparent.

“Dear, calm down.” Charles put a hand on her
shoulder.

“That boy had problems that had nothing to do
with us. He was wild, from a gutter family that had no values.
Gabriel did him a favor being his friend.” Rachel shook off her
husband’s touch. Her voice rose to a shrill hysterical note.

“Mother—” Gabriel walked to her.

“Gang fight, everybody knows it. Gabriel
wasn’t even close to him.” Vincent muttered the party line his
family had memorized.

“He had fights, been suspended from school
over and over,” Charles put in. His gaze pleaded with Gabriel to
agree.

He couldn’t. Not and move forward. When
Gabriel shook his head slowly, his mother took a step back. His
father put both arms around her as though expecting Rachel to
faint. Vince held up a palm as though warning him off.

“You’ve all been sharing the blame for what
happened. I did it. I hit him hard because I wanted to hurt him. I
was selfish, arrogant, and cruel. Not because you were bad parents.
I made my own choices.”

“Oh God.” Rachel covered her face with both
hands.

Gabriel embraced her as well, and Charles let
go. “I didn’t set out that night to kill Ricky. That much is true.
But I did. I live with it every day. I made life hard for my
family. Something else I’m just facing up to, Vincent. You were
right about that, too.”

His mother sobbed with quiet intensity, hands
over her face. Gabriel’s father wore a helpless grimace. He gazed
at his wife, started to speak several times, then gave up. Rachel
swallowed hard, her thin throat working to get the lump of grief
down. Finally, she walked away from them.

“I’m going to lie down,” she said over her
shoulder.”

“Yes, dear. I’ll bring you a cool glass of
sweet tea.” Without saying anything, he left as well.

Vincent looked at Gabriel. “You and me, baby
brother. Let’s go have a drink. Of iced tea,” he added, with a
rueful grin when Gabriel frowned at him.

“Sorry, Vince. I don’t feel like
celebrating.” Gabriel tried to rub the tension from his neck.

“We won’t talk about anything heavier than
baseball scores and fishing. Scout’s honor.” Vince drew a cross on
his chest.

Gabriel’s first thought was to retreat to his
workshop. He felt the heavy weight of guilt pushing him away from
human contact. Gabriel glanced at his brother. Vince wore a weary
smile. Like a carpenter’s pencil, anger and bitterness had drawn
fine lines around his eyes. Gabriel touched his own face, wondering
what he’d see if he really looked. His hand came down because he
knew. Might as well stop running.

“I could go for a big hot sausage po-boy,”
Gabriel said, knowing Vince loved them.

Vince rubbed his stomach. “Man, you must be
trying to punish me. I’ll have heartburn for days.”

“We both know Miss Edna’s po-boys are worth
the pain.” Gabriel smiled at him. He put an arm around his
brother’s shoulder and walked with him to the door.

Chapter 24

Erikka entered Nadine’s office. Early morning
sunlight slanted through one of two narrow windows. Dusty green
drapes were tied back with thick decorative rope. Nadine was on the
phone, but she waved Erikka in. Polished cherry wood furniture
gleamed. Fancy framed prints of historic French Quarter scenes hung
on the walls. Erikka remembered being impressed the first time
she’d walked in. Only a few weeks ago she’d felt that same way when
Nadine hired her again. A few weeks ago she would have happily
stepped over Nadine’s prone body to claim this status symbol. Not
only was this a corner office, but it had two windows. Nadine said
good-bye and hung up the phone.

“Well, the last few days have been rough. To
say the least. For you especially.” Nadine rocked back in her
executive chair.

“I just keep wondering what I did to push
that poor woman over the edge.” Erikka didn’t sit down. She noticed
Nadine didn’t invite her to either.

“Don’t get depressed and do something you’ll
regret. Lord knows you’ve been down that road before.” Nadine’s
tone made it clear they both knew where that path had taken
Erikka.

“I’m just fine. Thanks for your concern.”
Erikka felt a sting despite knowing Nadine’s game.

Nadine’s silk-wrapped artificial fingernails
clicked against the side of her chair. She stared at Erikka for a
few beats. A taut smile stretched her thin mouth to the limit.

“Don’t mention it. Like I told Bill and
Darryl, Erikka is a pro. She left the right paper trail. Right?”
Nadine rocked harder.

“I’m not sure I understand.” Erikka decided
she would sit down after all. With studied calm, she crossed her
legs, and then adjusted the hem of her skirt.

“You kept notes in the client database as
usual on what you did, your recommendations. In your password-
protected files, of course. I allowed you to handle the account.
Because you’re damn good,” Nadine added, when Erikka’s right
eyebrow went up.

“You met with Transome once or twice. Maybe
more.” Erikka brushed nonexistent lint from her silk-and-linen-
blend jacket. Then she glanced up at Nadine again.

Nadine’s nostrils flared out, but she kept
smiling as she answered. “There aren’t any notes of such a meeting.
I think you must be mistaken.”

There was no evidence of those late meetings.
Nadine had told her they were impromptu, an important client
wanting attention from a partner. Erikka had been annoyed, but
accepted corporate reality.

“Like I said, that account was yours.
Period.” Nadine stood and came around the desk. She sat on the edge
of it. “The last thing I want is for you to have another, er,
crisis.”

“How thoughtful. Thanks,” Erikka said. The
effort not to slap the woman hurt.

“In fact, before the next court date, take a
week or so off. We can handle your work. I’m sure Laurie—” Nadine
waved a hand toward the door as though Laurie had entered.

“Is that right? Let’s ask her then.” Erikka
nodded at the phone on Nadine’s desk. “Go ahead. Give her a
call.”

Nadine blinked as though unsure for the first
time. She put a hand out as though calling Erikka’s bluff. “If you
really don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Teamwork built this firm.”
Erikka cracked a phony smile at Nadine.

“Right. Right.” Nadine lifted the receiver
and tapped the number pads. “Laurie, come in for a minute. Thanks,
hon.”

“I must say I’m surprised.” Nadine hung up
the phone.

“Are you?”

“You two have always been rivals.” Nadine
cocked her head to one side, like a cat sniffing out something
fishy.

Erikka would savor this moment before the
first bomb dropped. Laurie didn’t have one loyal bone in her
skinny- butt body. She’d started going on job interviews the first
week the scandal broke. The other employees at least waited for the
facts. Not good old Laurie. Erikka shrugged as she gazed back at
Nadine.

“We’ve always respected each other,” Erikka
said. The bold-faced lie flowed out easily.

“Ummm.” Nadine’s eyes narrowed for a second,
and then she smiled again when Laurie came in.

“You wanted to see me?” Laurie glanced at
Erikka, then back to Nadine.

“Yes. Erikka may need to take time off again.
You know, with all the stress.” Nadine made it plain she was being
sensitive.

“Right,” Laurie replied, and looked at Erikka
again.

“You pitched in last time, did a fabulous job
I might add. Some of our high-profile clients are still singing
your praises.” Nadine’s feline smile implied they both knew she was
superior to Erikka.

“Thank you, Nadine. Those assignments really
added to my resume.” Laurie nodded.

“I agree. Anyway, Erikka is seriously
considering an¬other vacation. Maybe you’ll go back to—” Nadine
broke off and glanced at her.

“Loreauville,” Erikka supplied with a mild
expression.

“I can never remember that name,” Nadine said
apologetically.

“Not many people can,” Erikka replied, with a
gracious and forgiving smile.

“So, I figure we can do some shuffling like
before. I’m sure Erikka will want to leave soon. Why don’t we meet
this afternoon with the others and—”

“I can’t, Nadine,” Laurie broke in quickly.
She darted a nervous glance at Erikka. “We need to speak
privately.”

“Look, hon, we’re all going through tough
times. Erikka needs as much support as we can give. I’m sure you
want to help her,” Nadine’s tone went from maternal to sharp.