To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (14 page)

“
I’m sure you badgered him
with questions about art. I heard Sammy got sick yesterday and
that’s why she didn’t go. Eddie told me the only reason that guy
was dancing with you was because Sammy told him to only dance with
a few select people. You were one of them.”

I sat up in my bed.
“Colleen, are you telling me Sammy does not consider me a threat
with her man?”

Colleen started laughing.
“You? Honestly, do you think Sammy would be fool enough to be
jealous of you, Ms. Perfect? As if you would ever run off with the
likes of Mr. I-think-I’m-too-good-for-everyone pretty boy.” She
took a breath. “I just hope you didn’t bore the guy to
death.”

So, the illusion was
complete. No one would ever consider me crazy enough to take up
with David. I had forgotten the one simple rule when dealing with
people: They will only believe what they want to
believe.

I tried to keep the smile
out of my voice. “Thank you, Colleen. You’ve just made my
day.”

***

I knew my father would not be under the same
illusions as the rest of New Orleans. I felt it best to confront
him as soon as he came home from work.

He had not yet removed his
tie and was starting to go through the mound of mail on his desk
when I knocked on the door to his study. He looked tired and, as I
got closer to his desk, I noticed the ketchup stain on his
tie.

“
Ate lunch at the office
again?” I pointed to his tie.

“
We ordered hamburgers,” he
offered, pulling his reading glasses out from his shirt
pocket.

I strolled casually into the room and took a
seat in one of the chairs across from his desk, fingering some of
the mail.

“
What time did you get in
last night?” His eyes never looked up from the letter in his
hand.

“
Late.” I pretended to be
interested in a newsletter about the rain forest.

“
That’s rather evasive. I
thought I heard the door around six this morning. Any chance that
was you?”

“
I guess that was the sun
coming up when I got in.” I peered over the top of the newsletter
at him. “Are you going to lecture me?”

“
No.” He put his letter
down. “I think it’s a little late for my ‘Beware of Boys’ speech.
However, I would like to know one thing? Do you care for this
man?”

“
It’s not what you think,
Dad.”

He sighed and removed his
glasses. “It never is.”

“
I just went over to his
place and we talked. Nothing else happened.”

“
Come on, Nicci!” He threw
his glasses on the desk. “I know you. You are headstrong and too
damned smart for your own good, but last night I saw something I’ve
never seen before. I saw it when you were dancing in his arms.” He
leaned back in his chair.

“
Honestly, after last
night, I doubt if I’ll see David again.”

He got up, came around the
desk, and took seat in the chair next to me. “When I first met your
mother, she was dating your Uncle Lance. He was better looking and
always smoother with the ladies than me. He used to drive a red
Maseratti that drove the women mad.” He laughed. “Then one day,
Lance brought your mother inside the house to wait, while he worked
on his car before their date. It was the first time I saw her. I
think I fell in love with her that very same afternoon. I know your
mother loved me, but I often wonder, if Lance had proposed, would
she have married him instead of me?”

I was appalled. “Mom always
loved you, Dad. Uncle Lance would never have made her
happy.”

“
I’m just saying; don’t
spend your life wondering what might have been, Nicci. Give the man
a chance.” He got up and walked out of the study.

I shrugged off my father’s
suggestion. One night filled with champagne and magical lights was
not worth a lifetime of regrets.

Chapter 8

A few weeks later, on a
chilly Sunday afternoon, I was in the kitchen preparing an early
afternoon snack when the house phone rang. I checked the caller ID
to see Colleen’s cell number flashing back at me. She had been
frequently calling and texting to give me updates on her
interactions with Eddie. I let my father answer the phone, hoping
he would just take a message.

“
It’s for you,” he called
to me from down the hall. “Hoover junior.”

I reluctantly picked up the kitchen
phone.

“
Hi, Colleen. What’s
up?”

I took a seat on one of the
stools close by. I knew this was going to be a long conversation.
With Colleen, it was always a long conversation.

“
Nic, I think I’m in
trouble.” Her voice was shaky.

“
What’s wrong?” I asked,
without too much alarm. Colleen was always in trouble.

“
I’m pregnant.” I almost
fell off my stool. “Nicci, what the hell am I going to do?” She
started crying.

“
All right, calm down. Do I
need to even ask who the father is?”

“
You know Eddie’s the only
one I’ve ever been with.”

“
Have you spoken to him
about this?”

“
No, I tried calling him a
couple of times, but Sammy always picks up and tells me he’s out. I
wouldn’t even know what to say to him.”

“
How do you know for sure?
I mean, have you been to a doctor or anything?”

“
No,” she sniffed. “I
bought a few of those home pregnancy tests.”

“
Maybe the tests were
wrong?” I tried to sound hopeful.

“
I doubt it. All five came
up positive. I kept trying a different test, thinking that it was a
mistake. Nicci, what am I going to do? If Mom finds out, she’ll
kill me.”

“
Don’t say anything to
anybody. We have to get a hold of Eddie and talk to him first.” I
paused before I asked my next question. “Do you want to get rid of
it?”

“
Have an abortion? I can’t
do that.”

“
Okay. We’ll just have to
talk to Eddie and see what he wants to do.”

“
Do you think he will be
happy?” Colleen pressed.

“
I’m sure he will,” I lied,
knowing he would be devastated. So would Sammy.

“
Do you think he will want
to marry me?”

The realization of her
plans hit me with the force of a category five hurricane. So that
was it. She was actually hoping that the news would make Eddie
marry her. This baby was going to be her ace in the hole, to
finally snare the one man she had been chasing since
childhood.

“
Colleen, do you want Eddie
to marry you? Is that why this has happened?”

“
Don’t sound so
patronizing. You know how Eddie and I feel about each other. Maybe
this baby is a good thing. Maybe Eddie will be happy the decision
is made for him. He can still continue with architecture school;
we’ll just be married before he finishes, instead of
after.”

“
I see.” My stomach knotted
up, as I comprehended the impact of Colleen’s little surprise on
Sammy’s plans for her son.

My cousin’s voice broke
into my thoughts. “Maybe I should just go over to
Sammy’s.”

“
No,” I hastily replied. “I
think we have to approach Eddie at the right time with this.” My
mind raced with ideas. “We need to set up a meeting of some kind;
something that he’ll have to come to.”

“
When?” She sounded
excited.

“
I’ll have to, ah, I’ll
call you back later and tell you when. And, Colleen, don’t tell
anyone else about this. We have to talk to Eddie first. Otherwise,
Sammy will never go along with anything you two decide. Do you
understand?” She agreed and I quickly hung up the phone.

I sat on my stool, feeling
overwhelmed. How would Eddie feel when I told him a woman he did
not love was pregnant with his child? And how was I supposed to set
up a meeting? Why was I even bothering to get involved in any of
this? I was wondering how I could resolve the situation, when the
phone rang again. I assumed it was Colleen calling back.

“
Colleen, I haven’t thought
of anything yet.”

“
It’s not Colleen.” David’s
voice washed over me like cold rain on a hot summer’s
day.

It had been some time since
I had spoken to him; I wasn’t quite sure how to react. “Oh, um…how
are you?” I inquired, trying to sound causal.

“
I called to say I’m sorry
and I that have to see you again.”

“
Sorry for
what?”

“
Our, discussion,” he
chuckled.

“
That was over a month ago.
It’s a little late for an apology, David.”

“
Please come and see me. I
want to tell you something.” His voice was soft and
seductive.

“
Why in the hell should I
do that?”

“
Because I’ve left
Sammy.”

I was shaken for a moment. His confession
had suddenly turned my world upside down.

“
Come today, as soon as
possible. I need to see you again.” He hung up the phone before I
could even reply.

“
If he thinks I’m going to
drop everything and…bastard.” I scrambled out of the kitchen and
ran upstairs to change.

***

An hour later, I pulled my
red Honda Civic up in front of David’s Lakeview cottage. A heavy
rain was coming down, accompanied by distant rumblings of thunder.
The rain made it difficult to see if any lights were on inside.
Mustering my courage, I gazed down at the pink envelope gripped in
my hands.

I had composed a letter with many reasons
why we should never see each other again. It was going to be my
response to his request. A letter would be much safer than seeing
him again.

“
You’re just being silly.
Just slip the damned note under the door and run away.”

The rain was cold, and by
the time I reached the shelter of the porch, I was drenched. My
tennis shoes squeaked on the wet cement, as I tried to step quietly
up to the door. I repeatedly attempted to push the note under the
door, but the envelope was soaked and kept curling up in my
hand.

“
Shit,” I said out loud.
Just then a light came on inside. I quickly backed away from the
door on my knees. Suddenly, the front door swung open and I could
just make out a tall figure in the low light of the
doorway.

“
Nicci?” David’s voice
boomed above me.

“
Hi.” I held up my hand and
waved, feeling like a complete imbecile.

He opened the outer screen door and it was
then I saw he was naked to the waist, wearing only his
paint-splattered blue jeans. His chiseled upper torso was also
covered in a variety of colored paints. He resembled a walking
Picasso.

He helped me up and pulled
me inside the door. I slid on the hardwood floors in the living
room and had to grab on to his arm so I wouldn’t fall.

He examined my wet clothes.
“You’re soaked. Let me get you a towel.” He was gone before I could
stop him.

He returned quickly,
carrying several towels. He put a towel over my head and began
gently drying my hair.

“
I can do that,” I snapped,
pushing his hands away.

“
All right.” He cleared his
throat and took a step back.

I ran the towel over my
hair and face and then lowered my eyes to the small puddle under my
feet. “Sorry about your floor.” I kept my eyes lowered. “I was
going to leave you a note.” I held up the soaked pink envelope in
my hand.

“
Pink is not your color.”
He took the envelope from me. “Why don’t you let me get you a robe
and you can dry your clothes. There’s a big heater in the
bathroom.”

“
No.” I looked up at him
and our eyes met. I felt my resolve weaken. “I, ah, can’t
stay.”

He ran his fingers through
his hair. “Nicci, please.”

I couldn’t summon the will
to speak out the refusal my conscience kept telling me to make. So
instead, I just nodded and let my shoulders sag forward in complete
resignation. He smiled, seemingly amused by my confusion, and then
motioned for me to follow him.

We walked through the
living room and into the studio. I was not prepared for what I saw
there. I froze, instantly glued to the floor. The walls, the floor,
and even a few easels were filled with paintings and drawings of
me. I stared in disbelief. He had done a great deal of work in the
time since I had last seen him. Scanning the walls, I found the
portrait he had done of me reclining on the sofa the night of the
party. It was finished now, and filled with all the colors I had
remembered from that evening; the blue-black of my dress, the gold
of the champagne, the warm auburn waves of my hair spread out
behind me, the blue light from the night outside. I walked over and
gently touched the canvas. All the emotions I had felt that night
seemed to leap out from the piece. The passion and uncertainty of
the moments we had spent together were all there, embedded within
each stroke on the canvas.

I took in the room. There
were so many others. In one, I was laughing, in another, I was
looking very serious, and in yet another, I stood over an ivy-clad
balcony gazing out at a sunrise.