THE GREAT PRETENDER (14 page)

Renee didn’t know what to say. With things so delicate between them, she was afraid to say anything at all…But if she said nothing, she would never know what was going on in his head. She hesitated. “Reggie…what was that?”

Reginald raised his head from her neck and looked into her eyes.

I’m sorry, Renee,
he thought.
This was all a big mistake.

He had truly messed up her life.

His breathing was labored as he slid from her body. Unable to speak, he bent to rinse, then turned off the taps and stepped from the stall.

Leaving Renee in a silence that seemed louder than the preceding torrent of water.

Miami, Florida

S
aturday morning found Sean Johnson pinned to his bed by Jackie Henderson’s possessive left arm. When he awakened, one glance at his digital bedside clock told him it was half past eleven. “Fuck!” he cursed, almost to himself.

He was careful not to wake Jackie as he silently removed her arm from his chest and disengaged their legs. After dragging a pair of boxer shorts over his lanky hips, he stumbled his way to the door, flipped the lock, and went to the bathroom.

As he brushed his teeth, he was only mildly concerned about Olivia’s unexpected visit the night before. He’d had every intension to call her first thing this morning, but thanks to the many glasses of Chardonnay he and Jackie had consumed, he’d overslept.

In the kitchen, Sean poured himself a glass of grapefruit juice and prepared his story for Olivia. He was very hungry, but he knew Jackie would make her way into the kitchen when she awoke.

He dialed Olivia’s home number and discovered that she had already blocked him from calling. “Shit—now I have to go over.” He pressed the FLASH button, shaking his head. Though he knew she wouldn’t respond, he left several “I’m sorry, please call me back” messages on her cell phone for the sake of appearances. He had just replaced the handset when his brother, Vincent, emerged from his bedroom dressed in an off-white muscle shirt and a pair of faded khaki shorts.

Eight years his senior, Vincent’s physique far surpassed that of his younger brother. Regular visits to the gym complimented his appearance. He had always tried to encourage Sean to join him, but Sean was too busy chasing skirts.

“I can’t believe you did that, Vinnie. Why’d you let her in? You knew Jackie was here.” Reaching for the remote control, Sean flopped onto their ugly mahogany sofa. He wasn’t as annoyed with Olivia being upset as he was with the fact that Vincent’s stupidity had caused it.

“Look, she was waiting for me outside, and I let her come up. I’m getting tired of always ending up in the middle of your games. You need to make up your mind, Sean. Seriously.”

Crossing over to the far end of the apartment, Vincent pulled open the vertical blinds. “I wonder what it’s like outside today,” he murmured, as he slid open the glass doors and stepped out onto the porch. “Another gloomy day. The sky’s full of gray clouds. That means more rain. When are we gonna get the sun to stay around for more than a minute at a time?”

Sean surfed to ESPN2 and found two suited men discussing nothing that interested him at all. Leaving the television on, he joined Vincent on the porch. “I don’t know how to make up my mind, Vinnie,” he said, running his hand over his stomach.

Vincent looked over at him. “Sean, grow the fuck up. It’s time you plucked your head out of the sand and realized there’s a time when a man should stop playing with young girls’ emotions.” He paused, and then added, “But until you do grow up, keep me out of it. That means no more using me as an excuse for having Jackie over, you understand?”

“Yeah, I understand,” replied Sean, not really understanding why Vincent was being so hard on him. His own brother!

Vincent turned and headed for the kitchen. “Hey, I’m heading out. Don’t forget to take that foot powder to Mom—it’s on the table in the bag.” He motioned toward the dining area. “I went by there last night, and her toes look like they’re getting worse.” He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and made for the front door.

Sean moved over to the table. He pulled the Tinactin powder from an Eckerd Drugs plastic bag. “Is this stuff any good? Will it help?”

“Well, I asked around, and most people say that’s the best you can get over the counter.”

“All right,” said Sean, replacing the powder. “I’ll have Jackie take it over there.”

“Whatever,” said Vincent, rolling his eyes. Just before he closed the door, he said, “Sean, leave Olivia alone. That poor girl’s had enough of you.” Then he was gone.

Sean returned to the bedroom and changed. It was time to go see Olivia. He didn’t plan to heed his brother’s advice. He couldn’t leave Olivia alone. She was a sweet girl—not to mention way out of his league—and he liked her a lot.
What’s wrong with that idiot,
he thought.
I’d never tell him to drop somebody he cared about.

Dressed in blue jeans and a white T-shirt, Sean left a note about the powder for a still sleeping Jacquelyn—who was draining mouth water all over his pillow.

It was time to go to work.
That’s what it is, after all,
he thought, climbing into his old, beat-up Skylark.
W
ork
.

A soft, consistent
pounding on the bedroom door awakened Olivia early Saturday morning. She raised her head and glanced at the marble wall clock. It was only eight-thirty. The knocking was followed by her sister’s unusually low voice calling her name.
Why doesn’t she just use the telephone?
Olivia wondered.

“Liv, wake up and let me in,” Valerie stage-whispered, not wanting to rouse her mother at the end of the hall. She knocked again. “Liv…”

A puffy-faced Olivia pulled the double doors open. “Why didn’t you just call me? At least I wouldn’t have had to get up.” She padded back to her cozy bed.

Still in pajamas, Valerie rushed into the room, hastily closed the doors and flipped the lock. “I wanted to see you. What happened with Sean this time?” It was common knowledge that he was one of the only people who made Olivia behave so strangely. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing, because I know something happened.”

Rolling over, Olivia squeezed a fluffy pillow to her chest. “Val, he’s still seeing that bitch. Can you believe it?”

Valerie fell onto the bed. “Yes. I can believe it.” She hesitated. “Liv, don’t you think it’s time? Huh? I mean, don’t you think it’s just time to drop him already and move on?”

“What? This from one of his most faithful defenders?”

“Yeah, but, even
I
can see that isn’t working out.”

“I guess, but…” Olivia paused. “Valerie, you know how much I love Sean. Do you think if someone had told me that things would turn out this way, I’d have gotten so involved with him? No. Never in a million years. But unfortunately, no one told me, so I
did
get involved—way too involved.”

“So how did you find out this time?”

“You mean besides the fact that Vincent practically spelled it out for me? I went over there, and she was locked up in the room with him. He wouldn’t even come out and speak to me after I banged on the door and screamed at him. Can you believe that? I’m still wondering if I imagined the whole thing.”

“Damn—that is bad.” After a pause, Valerie tried to comfort her. “Look, Liv, you’ll get over Sean. What does Grandma Rhoda say? ‘There are plenty of other fish in the streets, right?” Valerie giggled at their maternal grandmother’s fudged cliché.

“Yeah, I guess,” said Olivia, not really caring to find another fish.

“Anyway,” said Valerie, changing the subject. “Mom wants to talk to us about Daddy quitting his job in Orlando.”

“Yeah, he told me that he was gonna be home
more often
now, that he was going back to his old schedule.” Olivia couldn’t shake the sudden wave of emptiness that enveloped her. All it took was the subject of her father. “So, what does Mom want to talk to
us
about?”

“I’m not really that sure…She says she wants to know how we feel about it. And just to let you know—since she’ll probably blab to you, anyway—we kinda got into an argument.”

“What did you say to her?” asked Olivia, turning to face Valerie.

“Nothing. I just kind of…sort of hinted that
she
probably wouldn’t be too happy to have Daddy home.” She saw the disapproval on Olivia’s face and rushed on, “And even you should know that it’s true, Olivia.”

Olivia propped herself on her elbows. “Oh, Valerie, don’t tell me you still think Ma’s seeing some other man. Give it a rest already!”

“Stop acting like you don’t see it, Liv!” Valerie raised her hand and counted off on her fingers. “Does she ever go out at night by herself when Daddy’s home? No. Does she sneak into the house early in the morning when Daddy’s home? No. Is she panicking now that Daddy’s changing his schedule? Yes. I rest my case,” she said smugly.

“Well, I don’t think so. But even if she is, so what? Daddy’s never home, anyway.”

“Well, I asked Debbie to follow her later. It’s about time we found out where she runs off to at night.”

“You told Debbie to
what
?
Follow her
?” Olivia sat up in the bed. “Okay, Val, that’s just a bit much. You’re taking this too far.” Olivia threw up her hands. “You’re only seventeen. Why are you so concerned with this? What are you gonna do if she
is
seeing somebody? Steal him?”

“Oh, come on. Doesn’t it upset you just a
little
to know that Mom’s running around on Daddy?”

“Look, it’s none of our business what they do. And how do you know your precious
Daddy
isn’t doing the same thing to Mom?”

Valerie frowned. “I never thought about that. I can’t picture him with another woman.” Shaking her head emphatically, she added, “Daddy wouldn’t do that! He loves Mom too much. You know that.”

“The only thing I know about Daddy is that he’s more of a mystery to us than Mom is. We hardly even know him anymore.”

Valerie reached over and shoved her on the shoulder. “You always say that! Daddy is not a mystery. Why do you think like that?”

“Well, just the way you have a hunch that Mom’s having an affair, I have a hunch that Dad’s a mystery…Fair enough? Let’s just forget it.” Olivia lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes. What was Sean doing right now? And why wasn’t he calling nonstop? Her eyes stung with fresh tears.

He was still with
her.

“Well, I know that tone. I see this conversation is over—at least for now. Getting you to listen to me anymore is about as likely as getting a signed confession from Mom.” Valerie sighed and joined Olivia under the covers. Within a few minutes, she was back to sleep.

Olivia lay there, studying the popcorn on the ceiling. The tears slid from her eyes. Her heart muscles ached again. He was still with
her.
Sean…locked up in that room with
her
…

Did he whisper the same words of love to Jackie? Did they have sex the same way?

Oh, Olivia, don’t do this to yourself. Stop it now…

“Cream cheese, milk,
bread, orange juice…” Tracy scribbled the items on a note pad as she intently watched a man lift
at least
thirty hideous-looking snakes with his bare hands. It was amazing that he still managed to speak animatedly into the camera.

Still in her airy nightgown, she had trotted downstairs with an armful of dirty whites to do laundry. The cleaning service came in twice a week to make the house spotless, but Tracy had never been comfortable with the idea of a stranger doing her laundry. For her, it was too personal.

She had tossed the whites into the washing machine and returned to the kitchen to watch Animal Planet on the built-in television set. It was
one of her favorite cable stations. Not that she cared for animals—she had never wanted pets—but the documentaries had always been intriguing.

Now, as she wrote the grocery list, it was twenty past ten; much later than she would’ve liked. She was usually up by eight on Saturdays, but this morning she had slept in. After her bizarre conversation with Reginald the night before, Tracy lay awake, thinking about the odd tone she’d heard in his voice. He just hadn’t sounded like himself, and if she knew anything about Reginald, it meant
something
was wrong.