Something to Talk About (29 page)

“Actually, John, that doesn’t sound much better. How did you react? It must have been pretty uncomfortable with all three of them sitting there with expectant looks on their faces. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being remarkably shocked and upset, what number did you register?” Abe’s customary dry humor came through loud and clear.

John laughed bitterly.
“Probably about a fifteen.”

He’d been fascinated by the story Benita and Adam told him about Benny Cochran, his growing up in
Idlewild
and the rift that caused him to leave town. To a large extent it explained the determination that propelled Benny into the seat of power he’d occupied until his retirement, and the influence he still wielded over his family. It was actually a poignant story until Benita got to the part about her father’s chance encounter with Cassandra that fateful night in Gary, Indiana. At that point, Benita’s voice had
faded and she’d become distinctl
y uneasy. She had turned to her brother Andrew, who qui
ckl
y explained the rest of the tale.

“So, Pop and Cassandra had one night together. It was a mistake, they both realized it, but the love they’d once shared was too powerful to be put aside. They gave in to the memories they shared and they came together for one night, just one night to assuage all the loneliness and the love they’d lost. And the result was a child. John, according to my father, that child was you.”

A thick silence fell over the table, silence that John couldn’t have broken if his life depended on it. It was up to Benita to start the flow of words again. “Cassandra kept her word and she didn’t contact my father again until months later. She was about to give birth, and she also knew she didn’t have long to live. She wanted to make sure her baby,
you
were taken care of and she didn’t have any family to turn to. So she called Daddy, who enlisted the aid of our aunt Ruth, my mother’s younger sister. Aunt Ruth knew a wonderful c
ouple who couldn’t have children;
a couple she knew would give a baby the best possible li
fe. And she got her friends Con
suela and
Nestor Flores to adopt you,” she said in a hushed voice. “It was, she said, the fulfillment of a dream for them, they were deliriously happy to have you.”

John felt as if he were watching a movie. He was completely detached from the reality of the situation, as though he were observing the table with the three good-looking people from far away. So far away that he couldn’t hear their words, he could only see their lips moving. It was as if the
volume were
turned down or they were speaking a language with which he was unfamiliar. His ears were buzzing and his chest was tight; he couldn’t breathe properly.

He could feel three sets of eyes staring at hi
m, watching for a reaction, waiti
ng for him to speak. Finally he found his voice, but what he said wasn’t what he meant to say; it was all he could get out.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you’ll understand that I need some time to put this all together. The meal was excellent
It
was nice meeting you, Andrew, good to see you again, Clay.” He rose, and leaning across the table, he kissed Benita on the cheek. “I’ll call you, Benita. Good night”

Abe’s low whis
tl
e resonated through the phone. “So you basically just got up and left?”

“Yeah, basically.
I couldn’t think or focus on anything. It was surreal, man. I’ve been lying here thinking about everything and trying to understand all of it and in a very weird way, it does make sense. My mother was killed outright in the car accident. When my father was in intensive care and I tried to give blood, it was obvious he couldn’t be my father because of the difference in our blood type. I kind of wondered then if I could be adopted since you can’t make me believe that my mother was ever unfaithful to my father. Those two were so much in love it was unreal, Abe. They lived for each other and for me and that’s the truth. In fact, that’s what lets me know that there’s probably no doubt that the story is one hundred percent true.”

“What do you mean, John? How does that play into anything you were told tonight?”

John sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “My parents were the most incredible people in the world. They were kind and loving and they were so proud of me. Anything I did, they supported me. I once heard someone ask my mother why they didn’t have more children and she said they
didn’t need any more;
that they had the best child any parents could ask for and I was more than enough for them. I think that I really was the answer to their prayers for parenthood. On one level hearing the story tonight was a very humbling experience, Abe
, v
ery humbling, to know that my accidental birth was the best thing that happened to my
parents.
”

Abe probed deeper with his next question. “And on another level, what was it like, John?”

“It was freaky, man. I’ve never told anyone this but for years I’ve had like a huge crush on Benita Cochran Deveraux. From the first time I met her there was something about her that got to me. I’ve always thought she was the mos
t beautiful, the most brilliant and
the sweetest woman I ever met and if I thought I had a ghost of a chance of getting her away from that husband of
hers, I would’ve made a complete fool of myself over her years ago. And it turns out she’s my
sister,
Abe. How sick is that? This is like an episode of one of those really twisted late night talk shows. It’s just sick and wrong, man, sick and wrong.”

Abe chuckled and acknowledged that it was a unique situation. “But it’s not like you knew she was related, c’mon now, give yourself a break. Look at it this way, I’ll bet you don’t have a crush anymore.”

“You got that right
.
It was better than having ice water poured down my pants; whatever
vestiges of inappropriate affection were there have vanished permanently.
All gone, my man.
Poof,
they all disappeared.”

“Well, John, all kidding aside, this could be the answer to your problems. Instead of being a huge cosmic joke, as you put it, this could take care of everything,” Abe said in a voice serious with concern.

“Abe, I can’t go there, man. Can’t do it
,”
John admitted.

“At the very least it could be another big part of the puzzle. Did they say what your birth mother died from?” Abe groaned as he realized what he’d said. “I’m sorry, John, I’m not trying to be crass, but you know...”

“Yeah, Abe, I know. But I can’t go there right now,” John said solemnly.

“So what’s your next move?”

Sighing deeply, John curled his bare toes into the carpet and stared at his long feet.
“My next move?
Buy my sister some flowers, apologize for being a jerk, and make plans to meet the family. Seems like the mature thing to do and I’ve got to grow up sometime, I guess.”

“I never thought I’d hear you admit that,” Abe said delightedly.

“Aw, you’re just jealous of my youth, you old goat. Kiss your wife for me and tell the kids I said hello. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Do that. And, John, don’t forget what I said. This could be your only hope.”

***

Without any conversation, Adam drove Alicia to the loft. They entered in silence and stood facing each other, waiting for the next thing to happen. The next thing was them reaching for each other, em
bracing tightl
y and fiercely.

“Allie, I missed you so much,” Adam breathed into her hair.

“I missed you, too. I was worried about you,” she said, pulling away from him far enough to be able to look into his eyes. “And it looks like I had a reason to be worried; you look terrible.”

Adam gave her a las
t tight squeeze before reluctantl
y letting her go. He didn’t want to stop touching her; the sight of her, the smell of her filled his senses. Alicia’s hair was tousled, her face was makeup-free, but her skin was dewy and moist and the slight scent of her usual fragrance enticed him. He kissed her forehead and rubbed his cheek against her skin, marveling once again that anything so soft could exist. “I’m okay, Allie. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past f
ew days, that’s all; a
lot of thinking and a lot of remembering.”

Something about the tone of his voice made Alicia take a step back and l
ook at him intently. He looked ti
red, almost haggard. The strain of trying to deal with his father’s revelations showed all too clearly. She knew what she needed to do, what he
needed more than anything
right then. She took him by the hand and told him to come with her.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the spa,” she replied.

In a very short time, Alicia had drawn a bath for Adam in his bathtub.
Bathtub was
hardly the right word for the edifice; it was a huge, custom-built structure of black marble. Round, with whirlpool jets all around, the tub was easily big enough to hold four adults, which meant it was just the right size for two people who were madly in love, something Adam pointed out to Alicia as she leaned over the side of the steaming, fragrant bath. The huge tub wasn’t built-in, only the part where the faucets were was flush to a wall and the rest was freestanding, which allowed Alicia to kneel at the side of it, which she was doing now. The room was dim, lit only by exotically scented candles, and flooded with the exquisite sound of
Love Songs
by Miles Davis. A feeling of utter peace filled Adam, except for one
small
detail.

“You know there’s enough room for both of us, right? You’re not going to make me stay in here all by myself, are you?”

“Yes,
mi
corazon
,
I am. You need to relax and this is a good way to do it,” she said firmly. “I’m just here to help in that process.”

She
used the hand-held shower and let a cascade of warm water flow all over his body before aiming it at his thick hair,
smiling as the rivulets streamed down his
face. Then she picked up a bottl
e of shampoo and began to apply it to his hair, massaging it into a fragrant mass of lather. He moaned with contentment as her clever fingers lulled him into a euphoric state. She rinsed his hair with
the hand-held shower, rinsing all the shampoo away.  He sighed with contentment an
d she took it as a cue to continue her ministrations.
 
Picking up a bottle of
citrus-
fragranced Italian bath gel, she poured some into her palm, sniffing it appreciatively before she began smoothing it over Adam’s big shoulders. He smiled and suggested she stop what she was doing before it was too late.

“Too late for what,
querida
?”

“For you to stay dry,” he answered. Suddenly he sat up straight, turned around, and pulled her, fully clothed, into the tub with him. She screamed in surprise and then started laughing helplessly. He looked so pleased with himself and so much more at ease that she couldn’t be angry. She stood up with difficulty, fussing the whole time. “Do you know how hard it is to take off wet clo
thing? You so owe me, Adam Brantl
ey Cochran. You owe me big time for this one. And it’s a good thing I didn’t have on my cute
and very expensive
shoes or I’d have to beat you up.”

Adam was laughing as he watched her unbutton her black
silk
sweater and drop it on the floor, then start to take off a soft ivory half-cup bra whose delicate cups had become transparent after getting wet. His laughter stopped at once and he suggested she take off her jeans first. Alicia was softly muttering uncomplimentary phrases in Spanish, but she stopped messing with the bra and peeled out of the jeans.

“You are taking me shopping tomorrow and buying me an outfit to replace this, a
whole new outfit,
Adam.”

She was sitting precariously on the edge of the tub while he helped her out of the heavy wet denim. Free from the cumbersome pants, she rose, clad only in the now transparent bra and equally transparent bikini panties that barely covered her bottom; moreover, the enticing black triangle of curly hair that shielded her femininity was quite visible.

Adam looked his fill at her beauty; she looked incredibly
sexy
clad in bits of foamy spray and glistening with moisture. She was about to exit the tub when his voice stopped her. Holding out his hand, he said, “Come here, Allie. Come be with me, baby.”

His voice, low and sexy, gave Alicia no choice but to comply. He looked so handsome and seductive it was as though her legs had no will of their own. She slid down into the warm soapy depths with her beloved. He settled her in his lap, turning her face to his for a long, lingering kiss, while his big hands roamed over her body. She sighed raggedly while his lips pleasured hers and his tongue melted against hers in a rhythm as sexual as it was tender. He caressed her breasts through the thin wet silk, kneading the firm globes until her nipples stood out in hard relief against the flimsy fabric.