Insecurity and a Bottle of Merlot (13 page)

Chapter Seventeen

Darkness filled the evening sky as the festivities were winding down. The music volume was set lower, and the drinking and merriment mellowed. The outdoor hanging lights illuminated the backyard, creating enormous shadowy figures from the giant oaks. Friends lingered because nobody wanted to call it a night. The group relaxed around the fire pit, each with a beverage in hand. Couples sat side by side, fingers intertwined, yet Vic found a reason to sit next to Tina instead of Max.

Sasha described the house she planned to buy in Aaron’s neighborhood. The crowd oohed and aahed at the image she painted of it. They had to drive by and see the Victorian on Sunrise Avenue, Sasha said. It was to die for. She’d find out by Monday what the owners thought of her offer, according to Josh Redmond. Everyone laughed at the mention of his name. The ribbing and Redmond jokes lasted for fifteen minutes.

“He isn’t
that
bad anymore. He just needed to be put in his place a little, and I took care of it,” Sasha said, proudly. “After knocking his ego down a few notches, he began working in a very professional manner,” she added, in Josh’s defense.

“Uh oh… he got to her with his slimy charm,” the neighbor said, with a chuckle.

“No he didn’t. I don’t have any feelings toward Josh Redmond. This is a professional relationship and nothing more,” Sasha said, determined to make everyone believe her.

“Yeah, you watch. Soon enough he’s going to ask you out, especially if the house deal goes through. You’ll owe it to him, in his mind. That’s the way Josh rolls, honey. He does it to every woman he meets,” Morey said.

“Eww… you’re grossing me out right now, Morey. I don’t want to talk about Josh. All I’m saying is the house could be mine very soon. It’s about the house, nothing else.”

“Yeah right, we’ll see.”

Mario elbowed Vic. He lifted his eyebrows and tipped his head toward Max as if to ask what was up between them. Vic shrugged her shoulders inconspicuously and brushed it off. She’d talk to her brother about it later.

Max tried to get Vic’s attention, but she avoided eye contact with him.
What the hell is going on? Why is she ignoring me?

Max was confused by Vic’s lack of interest over the last few hours. He didn’t want to say anything in front of the guests, so when she excused herself to make a pot of coffee, Max followed her inside. Vic busied herself in the kitchen, her back turned toward him. Max sat at the table and waited. Vic sensed his stare, but continued filling the carafe with water. She poured the water in the pot, her hands shaking from nerves. The coffee filter was loaded with grounds, and she hit the on button. Now she had to find something else to do, or face Max and talk. She reached in the upper cabinet and pulled out all the coffee cups she had.

“Vic? What’s wrong? Are you mad at me for something? Can we talk?”

“The guests are waiting outside, Max. We can’t sit in the kitchen and ignore them. There’s nothing wrong, I’m fine.”

“I’m not fine. You’re pulling away from me tonight for some reason. Whatever this is needs to be discussed, and the sooner the better. If there’s some misunderstanding between us, I want to fix it.” Max rose from the table and walked over to her. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders. Her eyes were laser fixed on the coffeemaker. She wouldn’t turn around. Vic waited desperately for the hot brew to reach the twelve cup level on the carafe. She could escape then, back to the safety of her friends in the yard, with coffee in hand. Max continued talking as he set a large tray on the counter top and placed the coffee cups, spoons, sugar and creamer on it. “Please talk to me. I don’t want to end the night this way, not knowing what’s wrong.”

“I’ve already said nothing’s wrong.” The second drawer on the right contained the dishtowels and hot pads. Vic opened the drawer and pulled out a hot pad. The coffee pot beeped, signaling it was full. Vic lifted the carafe by the handle and stabilized it from beneath with the hot pad. “Are you coming?” she asked, as she walked toward the patio doors without looking back.

Max followed her only because he had the tray with the cups and condiments in his hands. He decided on one cup of coffee for the road, then he’d leave. It didn’t seem like he would get any answers from Vic tonight, and waiting for everyone to go home wasn’t an option. Max had no idea when that would be. The ride home wasn’t long, just a half hour, but he had his motorcycle, and the roads were dark. He drank the coffee, had a piece of cake with the remaining stragglers and said good night.

***

The two lane state highway was void of traffic. Other than Max’s solitary headlight guiding him to Peekskill, pitch darkness filled the winding road. The deep rumble of his Harley was the only sound on that lonely stretch of highway. He was thankful for that cup of coffee, realizing it was two a.m. now, and the quantity of beer he drank earlier made him tired. Thoughts of Vic distracted him as he drove.
I want a relationship and a family. I’m thirty-seven years old for God’s sake. I think I’m a decent guy, but she’s pushing me away for some reason.
His mind overflowed with doubt.
Maybe I should forget about her and go back to enjoying what I’ve been doing for thirteen years. The kids love me and I have a great time with them on the hiking trails. I was content until I met Mia and Vic. I hadn’t even thought about a relationship until then.

It was too late when he saw what stood ahead of him. He hit the brakes. The deer froze in the middle of the road. There wasn’t enough time to swerve as he skidded into it, hitting it dead center. Max flew over the handlebars and landed in a brush filled ditch. His Harley lay on its side in a ravine a hundred feet ahead of him. Max, buried among the weeds lay motionless, and time moved too slowly. A low pitched groan indicated he was regaining consciousness. He opened his eyes to total darkness. Max reached in his pocket to retrieve his cell phone, then realized he put it in the saddlebag of his motorcycle before driving away.
Shit! I need my phone, but it’s so dark I’ll never find it.
Max knew he wasn’t okay. His legs and head were throbbing. He reached up and felt a wet, sticky substance matting his hair. It was blood, and Max knew he had a significant head injury.
There has to be a way to get to my bike before I pass out
. Sharp, agonizing pains shooting through his legs made it impossible to stand. The throbbing in his head and buzzing in his ears intensified until he lost consciousness again.

They cautiously drove the dark road after a night out with friends. Billy and Erica Mathis had ten miles to go before they reached home and the comfort of their king sized bed. They were tired. Billy drove with his brights on since this stretch of road between towns was remote and dark with tree cover.

“What the hell is that?” he asked, as he tapped the brakes. He slowed down to see a deer lying dead in the middle of the road.

“That could really be dangerous, Billy. Anyone could hit it.”

“Well, evidently somebody did,” he replied. Billy stopped the car in the road with the headlights shining directly at the deer. “Look, Erica, there’s a skid mark and debris here too. We have to take a closer look. I need to get the car off the road first.” He backed the car up until he reached the gravel shoulder. Billy jumped out and left the headlights on, aiming directly at the deer. “Grab the flashlight out of the glove box, babe. Let’s check this out.” He realized as they got closer that the skid mark came from a single row of tires.

“This had to be a motorcycle accident. Hitting a deer on a bike can’t have a good outcome. We better look around.”

They called out, but only heard the sound of a lone owl hooting in the night. It was eerily quiet along that dark road. Billy scanned the shoulder and noticed ruts caused by something going off into the woods. He aimed the flashlight in that direction and saw the shine of chrome bouncing off his light. “Over here, Erica. I think I found the motorcycle. Call 911, this can’t be good.” Billy and Erica ran through the brush toward the motorcycle as she was being connected to the nearest police station, just south, in Croton-on-Hudson.

“Hello, my name is Erica Mathis and my husband and I just came upon an accident on State Highway 9,” she told the dispatch operator.

“How many people are involved, and what is your location ma’am?” the dispatcher asked.

“We’re halfway between Sleepy Hollow and Peekskill. I have no idea how many people are involved. A motorcycle hit a deer, but we haven’t found the driver yet. Please, you have to send an ambulance. We already found the motorcycle, but nobody was near it.”

“Okay ma’am, stay put and don’t touch anything. Keep calling out and listen for a response. We have to dispatch an ambulance from Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Peekskill. Somebody will be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Billy, should we drag the deer off the road so nobody hits it again?” Erica asked.

“The dispatcher said not to touch anything, hon. We’ll just shine the flashlight if we see headlights approaching. That’s all we can do for now. We have to keep calling out too.”

Two squad cars arrived within ten minutes. Billy flagged them down with the headlights of the car while Erica kept searching near the Harley. The officers pulled off to the side of the road, set up flares and got as much information as possible from the couple. They had hand held spotlights, and the search began. Within minutes, the sound of sirens got closer. Between all involved, there were seven people searching for Max near the motorcycle as he lay unconscious one hundred feet away in the ditch. With no luck in the vicinity of the bike, they widened the search area. Ten minutes later, one of the officers heard a muffled sound coming from behind them.

“Everyone, stop what you’re doing and listen,” he said, anxiously.

They stopped moving and listened, ears perked. They were afraid to take a breath or snap a twig. Again, a groan sounded behind them.

“Back here,” the officer said, aiming the spotlight toward the ditch behind them.

They carefully walked the shoulder pointing their lights in the ditch until they saw him.

“Here he is. Get the paramedics over here, hurry!”

One of the paramedics backed the ambulance closer to where Max lay. They rushed over to check his condition as the deputies held the lights for them.

“Okay, he’s in rough shape. We need the gurney over here. He has multiple deep lacerations on his head and face. Let’s get a collar around his neck and slide the back board under him. Let’s go guys!”

They determined Max was riding alone by his mumbling. When they finally got him in the light of the ambulance they assessed his injuries. Max had a concussion and needed a lot of stitches to stop the bleeding. There were numerous cuts and abrasions on his face and scalp. Both of his legs were broken. His torn jeans exposed the snapped tibia bone on his right leg and broken femur on the left. Several ribs were cracked too. In the ambulance, Max mumbled the name Vic. He was rushed to Hudson Valley Hospital Center where he was admitted, his broken bones were set, and he was placed in ICU. The doctors feared he may have bruised his brain. His head injuries were serious, and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Max was lucky he didn’t suffer spinal injuries, yet he needed to remain sedated until the swelling in his head went down. Without his cell phone the police had no idea who to call.

Chapter Eighteen

Vic was still angry and hurt when she got up Sunday morning.
Damn them! The party could have been perfect. I wanted it to be perfect for Mia and Aaron, I really did. Why did those two have to go off together? Why did they say they loved each other?

She stood by the patio doors and stared blankly at the backyard, the remnants of the party still lying around. The events of the night before played out in her mind, over and over like a movie she couldn’t turn off.
What am I doing wrong? I was sure Max wanted me until I saw Mia and him together in the driveway.
Vic held the steaming cup of coffee between her hands and wondered if she should confront them or not.
Why would Mia do this to Aaron? She told me there was nothing between her and Max. Would Mia lie to me, her best friend?
Vic made up her mind. She had to talk to Mia. She wasn’t going to let this problem fester into something bigger.
Better to confront it head on and see what happens.

A knock on the door sounded just as Vic passed the foyer on her way to the bedroom. She was going to get dressed and head directly to Mia’s house. She tightened the belt on her bathrobe, made sure the chain lock was fastened and opened the door slightly. Mia stood there.

“What the hell, Mia? It’s eight-thirty in the morning,” she said, almost annoyed.

“Hey, girl. I came to help you clean up after last night. To be honest, I wanted to know what was going on with you and Max.”

“What does that mean?” Vic asked, now irritated by Mia’s nosy, yet innocent attitude.

“It smells like you made coffee. Can we sit and talk? Something was up with you guys last night. You weren’t yourself. You were aloof, and almost to the point of ignoring him. What gives? This isn’t like you. Talk to me, sister.” Mia helped herself to a cup of coffee. She pulled the bottle of creamer out of the refrigerator and placed it on the table next to her cup. She was sure they’d go through the entire pot of coffee during this conversation.

“I was aloof? That’s funny. What do you expect from me? You were my best friend, damn it.”

“What the hell are you talking about? I
am
your best friend. Always was, and always will be… ”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you, Mia?”

“Well… yeah, I guess you do, because I’m at a disadvantage here. You’re going to make me cry in a minute if you don’t say what’s on your mind. Now go ahead, say it.” Mia was getting nervous. Her right eye began twitching.
Damn tics. Why the hell is Vic pissed at me?

“Fine… I’ll blurt it out if that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want.” Mia gulped her coffee, hoping it would settle her nerves. Vic was a Puerto Rican fireball after all.
I wonder if she’s going to beat the shit out of me.