Like a Woman Scorned (7 page)

She got home early enough to meet Brenda for dinner and reveal her plans. Brenda understood and supported the idea, which was surprising. She even offered to go with Alison, but then remembered she had a big project coming due in the next few days. Time off was out of the question at the moment for Brenda. Maybe that was for the best.

While Brenda was in the restroom, Alison phoned Mike to see if he could manage without her for a week. Coincidentally, several cases had just been settled unexpectedly, lightening the current workload significantly—so she was free to go.

Alison and Brenda polished off a bottle of wine with dinner, and then ordered cappuccinos with desert. The mix of alcohol and caffeine seemed to put them in a rare, bold, philosophical state of mind.

“I don’t know why I need to go there to see him,” Alison said, “I just know that I do. And I have no plans on how to approach him or what to say. I have to play it by ear and see what happens when I get there. I don’t think I really want him to know I’m there, though, so I may have to figure that part out.”

Brenda stretched her neck out and swirled her large, circular cappuccino cup around in the air in front of her. “Very simple, my dear. You get a blonde wig and colored contact lenses—blue ones. Voila. It would fool him, as long as you also dress modestly. Don’t jog his memory with too much of that fabulous skin of yours.”

Alison squinted as she held her own big mug with both hands, elbows on the table. “You little devil, you. I haven’t thought of that. Good idea. Okay. It’s set. I’ll go tomorrow.”

“Ali, please call me from there and let me know you’re okay.”

“I will, sweetie. Not to worry. See you in a few days.”

* * *

The next morning Alison packed a small bag, still having no idea what she was really going to do. But she ordered a pair of blue contact lenses anyway, based on her prescription for her reading glasses, which would be ready to pick up at a Boston eyeglass store tomorrow. She then booked herself a seat on the redeye to Logan and a hotel room at the Ritz. It was close enough to the Public Gardens so Alison could ride the boats again, one of the local treats she always enjoyed.

Alison managed to sleep for most of the flight after only one mini-bottle of wine with the airline-food dinner. After settling into her hotel room for a bit during the Boston morning rush hour, she put her walking shoes on. The hotel wasn’t far from Filene’s Basement, so she called her credit card bank to let them know she was travelling and then headed out the door for some shopping fun. She’d wait until tomorrow to deal with the reason she came to Boston.

The day was one of emotions because she could not stop thinking about Rick. It was one thing to be 3000 miles away, but quite another to be only one mile apart. She didn’t sleep well that first night in the hotel room. Twice she woke up thinking she felt him beside her. Then she did something strange. She cried, for the first time since the pregnancy. She just cried, in the middle of the night, there in the dark.

The next day, Alison got online and found a nearby wig store. She already had the blue contacts, having picked them up in her travels about town yesterday. Then she called Rick’s office. It was only three blocks from the hotel. The girl who answered the phone said he would be in court that morning, but back in the office from early afternoon.

Alison walked to a nearby café for a breakfast of lox and bagel with chamomile tea. While she was there she put in the blue contacts. The waitress did a mini double-take at her when Alison paid the check, or maybe it was Alison’s imagination. The contacts did make her eyes noticeably blue, like Jennifer Aniston in those stupid commercials she does. Then it was off to change her hair color.

The salespeople at the wig store raved over Alison’s choice. They insisted she was definitely “a should-be blonde” with those gorgeous blue eyes. It was fun to have that kind of attention, although Alison knew they were primarily motivated by making the sale. Good wigs like that, which looked natural and could actually fool people, were quite expensive. Alison paid plenty for hers. She told the sales staff she would wear it home, and they loved that, cheering her on. She left the store feeling in charge of her destiny for the first time in months.

Walking in Boston was invigorating, and quite different from San Francisco. Different culture, different history, different values—but an outstanding place to be nonetheless. Alison felt she could easily live here, even with the occasional extreme weather at both ends of the scale. She was fascinated by the architecture of the office buildings in Boston and could spend hours walking through them.

Her foreign reflection in an office window caught her attention. Wow. Not bad, kid. As Rick’s office building drew near, Alison felt stronger. Maybe there was something to being a blonde after all.

There was the Starbucks on the bottom floor. That’s the place Rick said he went every day. Now she felt a tiny surge of apprehension. Maybe a good dose of caffeine would fix that. In the doors she went. The young man behind the counter brushed his hair with his hand as Alison approached.

They delivered her latte, she turned around, and there was Rick—standing right next to her. He was literally inches away.

Alison found herself in a temporary state of shock. She stood in place and swirled her swizzle stick rapidly. For a brief second, she was sure he recognized her and was about to say something. But then he stepped forward and the barrister handed him a coffee. Apparently, they knew Rick well enough in that place to start pouring it for him as soon as he came through the door. Alison then realized Rick didn’t recognize her and she was pulling it off—so far, anyway.

As jarring as that experience was, it also seemed natural in a way. Standing next to him, seeing him, this wasn’t something so out-of-place. He looked his same dashing self, one of the most handsome men on the planet by any method you care to judge by. There was no denying that, even if he was a cheating bastard. Heck, maybe all the best looking men in the world were all cheating bastards.

But there was something about his eyes today. They were …vacant, hollow, void of emotion or any feeling. It wasn’t Alison’s imagination. How scary. Maybe there was trouble in paradise already. He had looked right at Alison for a couple of seconds with no discernible reaction. Alison found she had a fleeting moment of sympathy for him. Very fleeting. This was the man responsible for messing up her life, for sending her to therapy.

He took his coffee and walked out the Starbucks interior doors towards the building elevator. So much for the first encounter. That would do for today. Alison went sightseeing.

She went back to the Starbucks the next day, however, at a time when business was slow. Two young men who worked there and were obviously smitten with her appearance struck up a conversation with her.  One of them said he remembered her from yesterday. Alison mentioned she was out of work and looking for a job, waiting for agencies to call back, and thought this seemed like a great place for her to hang out as there were no weirdoes around. So she sat down and played with her cell phone, perused a magazine, and occasionally chatted further with the two male staff members. Both of them seemed determined to cater to her every need, to the obvious chagrin of the girl who was also working there that day.

Rick showed up at 9:30 to get a coffee. An hour later he was back for another. Alison took a risk and asked the girl barrister who the gorgeous man was.

“Oh, that’s Rick. He’s an attorney in the building. He’s the nicest guy in the world, but just got married again and has been acting a little strange ever since. Don’t know what’s going on, but he’s sure a doll. Always nice to us.”

With that report, Alison knew she was done. Her days as a spy were over, and she felt a bit silly. The airport and San Francisco were suddenly beckoning. This wasn’t helping as much as she thought it would. Her emotions were flipping and flying because each time she saw him, she was torn between wanting to kiss him and throwing her coffee in his face. Alison went back to her hotel and booked herself on the next flight out.

Back home, however, she had to admit she did feel better. Now she actually wanted to go back to work and be her old super-efficient self. There had been plenty of time to think about what to do with her life on the plane. For the time being, Alison just wanted to immerse herself in work. Familiar work, work that was well within her comfort zone. She did, after all, have the best staff under her of any legal team in the city.

One season changed into another and then it was fall again. The most beautiful October in San Francisco that Alison could ever remember blessed the residents of the Bay City.

She was baking macaroons one evening when she got an unexpected phone call from Mom. Granny Paula had died and her parents were going to Connecticut to make the funeral arrangements. They didn’t immediately pressure Alison to go. It was just going to be a small memorial service. There would be legal matters—including finances to deal with—but they figured they could handle it okay themselves.

“You sure you don’t need my help, Mom? I do this kind of a thing for a living, you know.”

“Well, honey, I happen to know that mother left you a significant amount of money and the will is going to be read, so it’s up to you if you wish to be there.” Her mother sighed, that sigh Alison hated so much.

“Mom, if I’m going to hear the will read, I’m certainly going for Granny’s funeral. When are you and Daddy leaving?”

“Our flight is at 9:10 tomorrow morning. Let me know, sweetheart. We’ll be at Granny’s apartment and you can stay there too, if you like.”

Alison left Mike a message at the office after booking a flight into LaGuardia. A short trip meant light packing, fortunately. She pulled her passport, got some money together, and was off to the airport first thing in the morning. She would actually arrive shortly before her parents. Before leaving her house, she sent an email to Mike apologizing for the short notice, but knowing he would understand. This would, she fully realized, be unpaid time off, having already used up her vacation and sick leave on that unpleasant business earlier in the year.

* * *

Two million dollars. Alison couldn’t believe it. She never even called Granny anymore. This was absolutely stunning. Sure, Alison had always known there was some money in the family, but never really thought about inheritance or the death of loved ones. She certainly never guessed Granny was loaded like that! And Granny had done it right, too—handling her estate through a GRAT trust, leaving just over two million to Alison without any further tax burden. It was a cool two mil, tax-free. The money was already in her bank account as she sat on the plane ride home. Who would have thunk? The first thing Alison planned on doing was spreading it out between five or six different banks, the big ones like Chase and B of A.

Alison normally slept on planes, but not this flight. She couldn’t stop thinking about her grandmother, remembering the role she played in Alison’s life. They spent quite a bit of time together and built some emotional bridges when Alison was young, especially during her teenage years. Back then, Granny lived on a beautiful farm in Connecticut and whenever Alison’s parents took a trip to Europe, which her dad did often for business, they would stop at Granny’s and drop Alison off at her “second” home.

She and Granny had special conversations about everything in life. Everything. Granny was one person Alison really trusted. Alison got her first period while at Gran’s on one visit. Gran was prepared and handled it with her well. Granny was the one who first told her about “the birds and the bees,” long before Alison needed any of that information.

They baked pies and cakes together, Granny letting Alison be creative sometimes. That’s where Alison first discovered her love for food and everything related to it. She helped Granny make dill pickles and can vegetables. Gran would use those as her Christmas gifts for friends and neighbors.

“Gran, I miss you already. Sorry I abandoned you and stopped calling. Please forgive me.” Alison wiped tears from her face. 

Alison went back to work as if nothing had changed. As the holiday season approached, however, she found herself restless and thinking about Rick again.  Why couldn’t she lose this guy from her thoughts? Last year the holidays had been as a wonderful dream, like none other, and here they were coming up again. This year it was going to seriously suck, unless Brenda had another gorgeous bachelor lined up for Alison at her Thanksgiving party.

She didn’t.

Just before Christmas, when Alison’s firm was planning its schedule for coverage over the holidays, Alison went into Mike’s office and gave written notice that she was resigning. She hadn’t told anyone except Brenda about the inheritance, so Mike’s first reaction was to ask if she was going to be okay financially. She assured him she would be, and just needed time to sort things out—but wanted no fanfare, no goodbye party, and would appreciate Mike making the announcement after the holidays when everyone came back to work …everyone but her. He reluctantly agreed to her wishes.

It wasn’t as if she had anything planned. Alison just wanted to enjoy the holidays as much as she could and not have too much to think about. Maybe she would redecorate her home, something a bit richer, perhaps—but when all was said and done, she still loved her existing furnishings, the Danish styling and clean cut easy lines of all the teak pieces, her dishes, and everything else she’d put together over the years.

She did begin running again, this time putting more focus on the workout as opposed to the pleasure of being outdoors. Perhaps that’s when the idea first popped into her head. She wasn’t sure. What she was sure about was doing something to change her focus and help her find a new direction. In order to accomplish that, Alison knew beyond any doubt that she had to let go of Rick completely. He was still in her head, messing with her. That needed to stop.

Alison now had enough money to do anything she wanted, but the more she thought about it, there was only one thing she really wanted to do. Rick needed to pay. He had to be punished for what he had done. He destroyed her, not just emotionally, not just mentally, not just the last year of her life, but also from ever being able to have a child. That’s all she ever really wanted, deep down, and he took that away from her.