The One That Got Away (8 page)

“That's it.” Jamie spat the words from his mouth, slammed on the brakes, and in seconds they were careening down the shoulder of the expressway. Jolted forward in her seat, Serena grabbed the passenger door's handle for leverage and stared in shock at the intent grimace on her husband's face. Hotels, corporate towers, the
occasional grove of trees and fields: they all hurtled past, then the Navigator came to a jarring, skittering screech.

Staring at her husband, her hand raised and ready to strike him, Serena hovered in position. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I won't take these constant insults, not when I've tried to clean up my act,” Jamie said, the words escaping in a growl as he pierced her with edgy eyes. “But you know what? I have kept two things from you, Serena. You want to hear 'em now, just get 'em out of the way once and for fuckin' all?”

Serena's hand dropped to her side, but she drew her back up, ready to wrestle her husband if necessary. “What?”

“First of all, from a young age I've been running. Running from what he did to my momma.”

“Who?”

Jamie's voice caught for a second as he stared over her shoulder. “Bailey. One of my momma's boyfriends, when I was in junior high.”

Serena heard the softening in her own tone. “What did this Bailey do, Jamie?” She knew Jamie's mother, who died while he was at Northwestern, had been a fast and loose lady with a revolving stable of “play uncles” for her young son, but Jamie never talked much about the men in her life. “Did he beat up on her?”

Jamie licked his lips and fixed his gaze on some point over Serena's head. “He did that and worse, until I checked his ass.”

“What, you had to fight him?”

Moaning, Jamie shut his eyes. “I had to fight his worthless butt just about every day he lived with us, for close to a year. The man was a domestic terrorist in today's terms. Every night I came home ready to box, and had to sleep with my bedroom door locked so he didn't try to get revenge. It didn't end until I shot his ass one night, when I caught him basically raping Momma. He was too embarrassed to file charges, of course; he just disappeared after that.”

“Jamie, Jamie . . .” Her eyes wide, Serena leaned forward to
touch a hand to his face. Deep inside, a spirit whispered.
You always knew he'd been abused in some way, didn't you? Not that it's an excuse, but . . .

He stopped her outstretched hands short, gripping them tightly but respectfully. “I don't deserve any sympathy, because I'm not done yet. The second thing you don't know is why I promised to stop seeing the other women.”

The rumble of a passing truck in her ears, Serena was too shocked by Revelation Number One to encourage another.

Jamie's cheeks caved in as he inhaled deeply. “Two years ago a, uh, fan in Italy gave birth to my son. His name is Andrea.” Jamie's words picked up in pace, tumbling forward in a seeming attempt to keep Serena mute. “His mom is one of the team's former cheerleaders. No one knows I'm the father except me and her family; we could have both gotten fired.”

Serena heard the words but had the sense she was watching their conversation on a movie screen. This wasn't real life. “So,” she said with a calm that she knew made no sense, “knocking someone else up was what made you a faithful husband again?”

“Wait, there's more.” Eyes shut again, Jamie ran a hand over his bald head, his cheeks twitching. “Andrea's sick, Serena. Really sick. He's had heart problems, lung problems, you name it. From one day to the next I don't know if he'll make it. The weight of all that . . .” He drew a deep breath. “He wouldn't be living such a struggle if I hadn't made him, and he wasn't made out of love, like what you and I produced with Sydney. It woke me up, baby.” Jamie opened his moist eyes, his voice beginning to quiver and shake. “It really did.”

As Jamie gave in to a wave of guilty tears, Serena sat watching the movie, fully engrossed. Sitting there like a fan in a theater, she watched the wife on-screen, an actress closely resembling her, reach over and pat the husband's shoulder lightly, almost absentmindedly. “I'm glad you learned a lesson from all that, Jamie,” she said, her voice fluttering as she bit her lower lip. “You should be so proud of yourself.”

With that, Serena opened the passenger-side door, slammed it behind her, and began strolling down the busy highway's shoulder. When the force of a passing eighteen-wheeler nearly knocked her off her feet, she yelled instinctively at the woman in the movie.
Move, fool! Gonna get yourself killed out there.

“S
ee, that wasn't so painful.” Tony whispered into his sister's ear as she stepped away from the podium in Rowan Academy's cavernous auditorium. For the past fifty minutes, Zora had treated Rowan's four hundred upperclassmen to a reading and discussion of
One of the Boyz,
which continued to sell at a brisk pace in bookstores across the country. Tony was especially impressed by the book's success, considering that not only had he retired from the world of literary public relations, but Zora herself had been a complete recluse since the night they'd been trampled in Chicago.

But then, maybe her disappearing act had fed folks' appetite for
One of the Boyz
. Because the gunman at the club and several other troublemakers from that night turned out to be employees of J.T. Dog, the nightclub had filed lawsuits against the hip-hopper and his entire empire, drawing nationwide attention. Millions of J. T. Dog fans were now familiar with
One of the Boyz
and the accusations that it had been inspired by the real-life exploits of their favorite rapper. Their curiosity had been fueled even more by Zora's silence, turning her into a Greta Garbo for the MTV crowd.

As usual, though, Tony's sister showed no awareness of this as he led her from the stage. “I don't want to take any more
questions,” she quipped hastily as he took her hand and waded into the maze of students at the bottom of the steps.

“I know, I know,” he replied, hugging her against him and smiling broadly as he hustled her through the crowd. “We'd stay longer, kids, but she has a plane to catch,” he shouted apologetically, hustling her past one eager student after another. A general truth, if tweaked: her plane didn't leave for another four hours, but nearly five months after “that night,” his sister's fear of crowds was far worse than his.

Escaping out to Rowan's main lobby, they ran into Audrey, Rowan's principal, and Tony's father, Wayne, who had flown into town over the weekend with Zora. As several vocal teachers herded students back toward class and the lobby emptied, Tony read the body language between his father and Audrey. Standing toe-to-toe and gesturing vigorously, likely comparing notes on the differing challenges of running a high school (Audrey) versus a college (Wayne), they made a striking pair.

His devotion to Serena notwithstanding, Tony had already acknowledged a growing physical attraction to Audrey. An inch taller than him and twenty pounds too heavy to ever grace the pages of
Vogue,
Audrey was a beautiful black woman with nothing to apologize for. For Tony, who had loved a wide range of women and body types, she was a definite catch. There'd been a time he would have wormed his way into Audrey's heart and bed so fast she'd have never seen him coming.

For the past six weeks that he had known her, though, such reckless behavior had been out of the question. Many might pass judgment on him for pursuing a married woman, but at the very least Tony drew the line there. He wouldn't further his sin by stringing another woman along at the same time.

So why did it bother him to see his father standing there with Audrey, clearly working his charms with each passing minute? At six foot even, Wayne was both taller and more muscled than his look-alike son, and wielded an even more potent brand of the charisma he'd passed down to Tony.
Let it be,
Tony told himself.
You didn't move here for Audrey, after all.

“There you are,” Audrey said, beaming at Tony and Zora as they neared. Audrey's shoulders shook with laughter, clearly the result of Wayne's latest quip or joke. “Your father is a handful, but I think I've convinced him that Rowan's students are just the type he'd like to have at Chicago Technical,” she said, referring to the community college Wayne had run for eight years.

“Audrey, you're not all the way there yet,” Wayne said, flashing freshly bleached teeth and stroking his meticulously groomed, gray-flecked beard. “But I respect what you all are doing here.” He straightened his Armani suit and winked at Tony. “Never thought you'd follow me into education, did you, son?”

“I'm proud to be here,” Tony replied, looking more at Audrey than at his father. Little cracks like that one reminded him: those who knew him best still didn't understand how much the past few months had changed him. He pressed a hand against the small of Zora's back. “You all hear this young lady school these students?”

Audrey took Zora's hands into hers, her mouth set firm but her eyes smiling. “That was beautiful. I've already heard the kids raving about the chance to meet you. And thank you for honoring us with your first reading in months. I'm sure it wasn't easy.”

“Well, thank him,” Zora replied, smiling gingerly and nodding toward Tony.

“Trust me,” Audrey said, her smile taking on a naughty edge as she winked at Tony. “I plan on it.”

“Well, uh, we'll let you kids work that out once Zora and I are on the way back home,” Wayne replied, chuckling as he fiddled with the gold cuff links on his white silk dress shirt. “So where are we going for lunch? We don't have long before we need to roll to the airport.”

Tony smiled innocently at Audrey, wary of encouraging her too much. “Are you joining us?”

“You all are welcome to go out,” Audrey said, “but if you're interested, I did have some extra meals catered in from the Lunchtime Gourmet. There's space to eat in my office, if you all want. I have to tend to a couple of fires but can join you before you finish.”

Zora and Wayne exchanged glances, shrugging shoulders. “It sounds like a fine offer to me,” Wayne said. “That way we keep Tony from spending away his itty-bitty paycheck.”

“Come on, Pop.” Tony shook his head. The jokes about how he'd “sold out” his dreams of living well were wearing thin. “We'll take you up on your offer, Audrey.”

After a hasty tour of the rest of the school, Tony guided Zora and his father into Audrey's spacious office, where a corner table sat piled high with box lunches. They made their selections and got comfortable, reliving the past weekend's house-hunting trip. Wayne and Zora had strong opinions about which house Tony should pursue, and didn't hesitate to share them. He considered their points and humored them, knowing all the while he'd already made up his mind about the one he liked best.

“Well, whichever crib you choose,” Wayne said, wiping an errant spray of brown mustard from his cheek, “more important than where you live is what you do. Remember that, will you, son?”

Tony set his fork alongside his Cobb salad. “I don't know that I follow you, Pop.”

Wayne glanced at Zora, who had her head down, before saying, “Zora and I had agreed to bring this up with you over the weekend, but we couldn't find the right moment.” He took a swig from his bottle of Evian and said, “To hell with it. Here goes, Tony. Trey told us why you really moved to Cincinnati, and we're concerned.”

“Oh, really?” Tony smiled as if he found the idea amusing. “Concerned about what?”

Wayne leaned forward, ready to plunge ahead, when Zora gently touched his wrist. “Tony, it's about this woman who lives here . . . Serena?”

There had been a time when Tony's response would have been that of a car salesman—dodge and weave, play stupid, write Trey off as misinformed or misdirected. Instead, he squared his shoulders and shifted his legs, throwing one over the other. His face betraying no emotion, he asked, “What have you heard?”

Somehow, they knew everything: that she lived here, that her
marriage was on the rocks, that he had never truly gotten over her. Trey knew most of this on his own, but then, as Tony recalled, his old friend had another source: Serena's girl, Jade.

“Uh, Tony,” Wayne said, easing back into his seat, “I think your injuries damaged your common sense.” He looked into Tony's eyes as if assessing his son's soul. “I mean, I remember meeting this girl and all—she
was
fine—but you got to know when to say when, son.”

“Tony,” Zora said, again touching Wayne's wrist as if to wave him off. “I–It's just that we're worried that what you went through—what
we
went through—has made you reach for something that's really not good for you—or for this Serena, for that matter.”

Tony felt his forehead bunch as he replied. “Sorry, kids, we're not going there.” He paused and, when they were silent, continued. “Nothing personal. If I would talk to anyone about it, it would be you two. But right now, no, this is on me.”

“Son, we're just worried that you're chasing after ghosts,” Wayne said, his tone as close to begging as he was known to get. “I mean, you know I'm not one to judge you on how you handle women. Hell, you haven't done anything to a woman I didn't do five times over when I was your age. But chasing an old flame who's moved on with her life, when this country's teeming with well-educated single young women? I'm not feeling it, son.”

“Big brother,” Zora said, eyes on the table again. “There's something you should know before you try anything with this Serena, or with anyone else.”

“Zora, what the hell?” Ignoring his father for the moment, Tony stared at his sister, letting the curves in his brow communicate the betrayal he felt. Time and again he'd been Zora's cheerleader and protector; this ambush was her idea of a reward?

She gripped the edge of the table and leaned toward him. “Mom's finally agreed to meet you.”

Steeling his insides, Tony forced a smile through his eyes. “A-And?”

Zora's crooked grin felt like a well-meaning pat on the back.
“With all you've done for me, I have to tell you: I think you should humor her. Not for her good, but for yours.”

“What?”

“Aren't you angry at her, for the way she deserted you?” When he didn't answer, she continued. “And, don't you get angry at other women as a result?”

Tony tucked a fork back into his salad. “Wrong time, wrong place, sis. It's not like she'd actually show, anyway.” Millie had already stood him and Zora up that fateful night at Excursions, a rejection that Tony knew had nothing to do with his sister.

Shutting his emptied sandwich container, Wayne shook his head. “Zora, baby, you should probably let that go for the moment.” He swung his gaze toward Tony. “You know my view, son, but I'll let you and Zora work this out on your own.”

Clearing his throat, Tony stifled his response when he heard Audrey's doorknob turning. They all shifted toward the doorway so swiftly, she froze in place when she saw the looks on their faces. “Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting a family moment? I can come back in a few minutes.”

“No, you're fine,” Tony replied briskly, standing and forcing a smile. “We'll just get going. I need to get them out to the airport and get back to the office.”

Standing over them and eyeing Tony and Zora's half-eaten meals, Audrey placed her hands on her hips. “Are you rushing your family out of here?” Her pleasant smile confirmed she was picking with him. “You know you're not right.”

“It's all right, Audrey,” Wayne said, winking playfully. “We know when we've overstayed our welcome, right, Zora?”

His nerves jangled by his family's attack, Tony was still trying to make light of things when Audrey's cell phone rang to life with an instrumental version of Cameo's “Word Up!” She slid it off her belt and punched it to life. “Yes? What? These kids just want to be expelled, don't they?” Her eyes narrowing with growing exasperation, she bit her lower lip. “Lord Jesus. I'll be right there.”

Tony tilted his head, smiling at Audrey warily as she slid the phone back onto her belt. “Anything you need help with?”

“Oh, just some antics from a few of my problem babies,” Audrey replied with a weary chuckle. “We enrolled a new sophomore this morning from Western Hill, a young female who's already drawn the attention of every male student who's rubbed shoulders with her. Already got these knuckleheads fighting over her, apparently.”

“The teens are a volatile age,” Wayne replied, chuckling and punching his son's shoulder. “This one was a handful back in the day.”

“I know,” Audrey said, shaking her head defiantly. “It comes with the territory. We take pride at Rowan for showing more patience with these kids than the average private school, but—Lord.”

Tony turned toward his family. “You all mind waiting here while I accompany Audrey?”

“Security's already involved, but I wouldn't mind some extra male company,” Audrey said, tugging at the sleeve of Tony's suit coat. “I won't keep him too long.”

Tony had his hand on Audrey's office door when Zora called after him. “Hey.”

The look in his sister's eyes as Tony faced her was so dependent, so pleading, Tony had to drop his gaze to keep from being overwhelmed. He and Zora had talked nearly every other night since he'd pulled through his surgery the week after the Excursions nightmare. While he'd kept a few things—namely, Serena—from her in order to preserve the respect she held for him, she had opened herself up to her big brother.

These recent months, Tony had coached Zora through too many irrational fears and insecurities to count. Still struggling with exactly how to use the fame that
One of the Boyz
and the trauma she'd survived were providing, she had leaned heavily on her extroverted brother for inspiration. She was here today because Tony had convinced her to stop hiding. “I'll be at your side the whole time,” he had said when first talking her into her Rowan speech. “This is your first baby step, sis.”