Green Card
Page 46
“Will,” she choked, trying to hold back a sob.
He turned and walked to his room, shutting the door softly behind him. Liz sank onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. How had they come to this? One minute they were bickering about realtors, the next they were shouting at each other and digging up old wounds. Had his mother never wanted him? Really? But why? How had he never seen his father? She’d known Mr. Harper traveled a lot, but from the stories William had told her, he and his mother had often accompanied Mr. Harper on his trips. She’d seen pictures of the three of them in Japan together under a pagoda when William was five. There were pictures of them on the Great Wall of China in the album in his office. Surely that was something?
But still… She knew she had several pictures of herself with her mother; smiling for photos, laughing together. Those did not paint an accurate portrait of their relationship. No one ever had a camera ready when Loretta once again felt the need to illuminate all of Liz’s perceived faults in minute detail. In fact, she had very few pictures with her father, the parent she actually had a close relationship with. Looks like it’s true what they say. You never know what goes on behind closed doors.
After several more minutes of thinking, she knew what she needed to do. She squared her shoulders and went to find her husband.
She opened the door and saw him lying on the bed on his side, facing the window. The room was dim and she could barely make him out, but she could tell by his breathing that he wasn't asleep. She crept over to the bed and crawled up behind him. She wrapped one arm around his waist and the other moved up to his head where she stroked his hair. She pressed her body into his back, trying to comfort him with her warmth.
“I know how it feels not to be wanted,” she said quietly into his neck. She felt him shift slightly, but he didn't respond. “I just wanted you to know, I want you. I don't mean in a sexual way, though that's great, but I want you. All of you. I want you to be my friend, I want to talk to you and spend time with you and just be with you. Even if we weren't married, and weren't lovers, and you didn't need a green card and never paid me a dime, I would want you in my life. I want you.”
Will's body shuddered softly against hers and she held him tighter, pressing her face into his neck and squeezing him as hard as she could.
“Your father didn’t know what he was missing. He was too focused on work; it wasn’t about you, baby. He probably thought he was doing it for you, even. He must not have known what to do with a child. It wasn’t you, Will.”
His breath became ragged as she wracked her brain for something else to say.
“Sometimes you don’t know what gift you have until it’s too late. She loved you, I know she did. How could she not? You’re so wonderful. Sometimes people just,” she hesitated, searching for the right words, “fall short.”
He shuddered and released a gut-wrenching sob. “I loved her, Lizzy. God, I loved her so much. She didn’t, she didn’t,” he gasped, choking on the words.
“I know, baby, I know,” she whispered.
She stroked his hair and rubbed his arm until he turned around and buried his face in her neck. The familiar scent of her soothed him and instead of quieting his sobs, it served to release even more of his pent-up pain and his shoulders shook with the force of his emotion. Had he been more mindful, he would have been embarrassed at his emotional display, but he wasn't.
Liz continued to stroke his hair and rub his back. She kissed the top of his head and whispered soothing words. Mostly she just said, “My darling. Will, my darling.”
Neither knew how long they stayed there, but soon, she went from kissing the top of his head to kissing his forehead, his swollen eyelids, his damp cheeks. He lay still and silent under her ministrations, only the occasional shuddering breath shattering the stillness. Eventually, he fell asleep and Liz held him while he rested, not minding the time ticking by or the buzzing of her phone down the hall. Her mind was filled with Will, and thoughts of his childhood, and wondering how on earth it had all gone so wrong.
After nearly an hour of sleep, Will began to wake up. He squeezed her tightly, reassuring himself of her continued presence.
“God, Lizzy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—” she interrupted him with a swift kiss to his lips. He stopped talking and leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and relaxing into her touch. Liz placed a kiss on each cheek and on his forehead, and Will sighed in relief at her acceptance.
After a few minutes of quietly rubbing his back and kissing his face and neck, she began to whisper to him. “You are so important to me. I don’t know what I would do without you. My life is so much better with you in it. You bring me so much happiness, Will.
“I love the sound of your voice. It makes me happy just hearing you.” She kneaded his shoulders until he began to relax under her touch. “You’re the first person I want to tell my good news to, or my bad news. You’re who I want to tell my stories to.” She took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. “My best friend. My lover. My partner.”
He sighed and seemed to relax with her words, so she punctuated her statements with kisses and ran her hands on the skin beneath his shirt as she inched it upwards. “You’re smart and funny and generous and talented.” She pulled the shirt over his head as he watched her with glassy eyes and growing interest. “You are so beautiful, William.” She ran her hands over his chest reverently, smoothing her palms over his shoulders and feeling his strong arms with her fingertips. “My brilliant, wonderful lover.” She slid up his body and planted a slow kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Let me show you what you mean to me.”
She ran her hands through his hair and scraped her nails against his scalp, making him arch his neck. “You are one of the sweetest men I’ve ever known. You always know just how to cheer me up.” She moved on to his neck and nibbled and licked his sensitive spot there. “You’re an amazing lover,” she whispered into his ear before biting it gently with her teeth. “Your hands do things to me.” She felt a slight smile where his cheek was pressed to her neck.
She kissed him softly and then pressed him down until he was lying on his back against the pillows. She reached for his pants with a naughty smile. “And you absolutely have the biggest,” she undid the button, “strongest,” she let down the zipper, “most perfect,” she gave a hard tug and pulled them down to his thighs, “heart,” she smiled at him, “of any man I know.” She pulled his pants past his socks and then removed those one by one.
“Even your feet are perfect. Don’t you know men are supposed to have ugly feet?” She crawled back up to him, happy to see him wearing a small smile and his eyes almost cleared of sadness. “I want to make love to you, William. May I?”
He nodded slowly and almost said something, but his voice caught and she put a finger over his lips. “Shh, darling. Let me love on you.”
She trailed kisses down the length of his long muscular legs and nibbled on his stomach, something that made him squirm every time she did it. She kissed his chest and made him hold his breath when her teeth grazed across his flat, brown nipples. She suckled each finger in turn until he was moaning her name and by the time she placed a hot kiss on the inside of his wrist, he was tensing his back and obviously holding back the urge to flip her underneath him.
She straddled him and slowly pulled her sundress over her head, its light yellow fabric floating out around her. He looked at her in awe as she unclasped her bra and let down her hair, dark waves spilling about her shoulders and tumbling across her chest. Slowly, she slid over him, her silky hair and soft breasts blazing paths of fire across his skin. She started at his abdomen and slowly moved up until her breasts grazed his face, then slithered back down, this time following with her lips.
Harper bucked off the bed, his skin on fire and his heart pounding. He couldn’t describe the sensation of feeling completely accepted, of utter wholeness and joy and oneness with his wife, so he stroked her hair, and held her close, and s
poke her name tenderly.
In the end, he could only say, to his surprise, that he felt loved.
38
The trouble with sisters
July
1 Year, 3 Months Married
It took a few more weekends of searching, but they eventually found a beach house that had character, charm, and plenty of modern amenities. Liz couldn’t speak for a full five minutes when she saw the price tag, but Harper happily wrote an offer and called his lawyer. As luck would have it, a slightly smaller house just up the beach was for sale and Andrew put an offer on it. He had put off buying his own place because he’d always stayed at Harper’s, but now that Jenny was a regular—and hopefully permanent—fixture in his life, it was decided that a little more privacy was best.
Jacqueline happily took over the Harper beach house, only a few miles from her brother’s new place, and signed over her half of the old family apartment. Liz had never seen her smile as much as she did when she walked through the house, talking about how she and her mother had redone it the summer she turned thirteen and how it had been one of the best experiences the two of them had ever had together. She planned to redo the principle rooms but would leave her old room and a guest room the way they had done them all those years ago.
Several days later, Elizabeth met with Jacqueline to discuss progress on the building. After seeing the work and having a very confusing conversation with the plumber, they walked down the street and Liz asked how the redecorating was going at the beach house.
“So far so good. I decided to take your advice and paint the living room blue. It looks very airy and fresh.”
“Good, I’m glad it worked out. Has Albert seen it yet?” Liz asked.
“No, he hasn’t been over.”
“Oh. Is he planning on coming over later this summer?”
“No, I don’t believe he is,” Jacqueline said crisply.
Liz’s eyebrows rose. “Are you going back to Cyprus then?”
“Not any time soon, no.” Jacqueline walked faster and Liz had to rush to keep up with her long gait.
“I don’t mean to intrude, but is everything all right?”
“If by all right you mean I’m coping with the fact that I married a lying, cheating, lay about who shags the maid if I leave the house for a moment, then yes, everything is all right.” She stopped briskly at the corner and turned to face Liz, her chin set and her eyes shuttered.
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry, Jacqueline.”
“Don’t be. It’s better to find out now than years down the line. And the maid he’s shagging seems very happy with her lot, so some good is coming of this,” she said acerbically.
“Seriously? The maid?” The light changed and they walked briskly across the street.
“I know, it’s all terribly cliché. I came home early one day and found them in bed together. He had the audacity to look me in the eye and shrug his shoulders like a boy caught stealing sweets. The little wanker actually smiled at me and said nothing had to change, he was just following his inclinations and letting his heart dictate his actions.”
“And his heart told him to sleep with the maid?”
“Apparently. And in my bed, no less.”
“Oh, Jacqueline,” Liz said softly and squeezed her arm.
“I almost told him the supple young woman he was fondling was actually a transvestite who used to be a fisherman on a trawling boat, but I was too angry to think clearly.”
“Is that true?” Liz asked incredulously.
“No, but I would have loved to have seen his face,” Jacqueline said wickedly.
Liz laughed. “Come on, I know just what you need.”
Liz took Jacqueline to one of her favorite bars prior to her marriage to Will. The music was good, the cocktails were decent and the beer was cheap. More importantly, the bartenders looked like lumberjacks and all she had to do was whisper to one that her friend was a little down and he turned up the charm to eleven. Pretty soon, Jacqueline was very tipsy and feeling significantly better. Just when Liz was about to suggest she take Jacqueline home, Angie texted her asking if she wanted to join the gang for karaoke and drinks a few blocks away.
Tipsy Jackie was considerably looser than sober Jackie, and she grabbed the phone from Liz’s hand before she had a chance to reply.
“Ooh, let’s go! Sounds like fun!”
Liz agreed and led her sister-in-law down the street to meet Angie and three other friends she’d gone to school with.
“Wow, your sister-in-law can really cut loose when she wants to,” whispered Angie as Jacqueline cheered loudly for the stranger who’d just finished singing a popular rap song.
“I know. I’m completely shocked. Normally, she’s so reserved. I can hardly get her to laugh out loud, let alone cheer and dance. Trust me, I’m just as surprised as you.”
Just then, Jacqueline bounded up to them.
“Come on, Lizzy,” Jacqueline slurred as she threw one arm around Liz, “let’s sing a song!”
Liz’s yes widened. “Sure, Jackie. What did you have in mind?”
Before she could answer, Angie had pushed Liz up to sing and Jackie was dragging her towards the little stage in the corner.
Jacqueline was not a great singer. However, she was a decent performer. Unsurprisingly, she chose a song about a woman who found out her man was cheating and described in detail all the revenge she enacted upon him. Jacqueline belted the lines lustily, holding the microphone against her lips and bending over from the waist when she really got going. She alternately held one fist in the air and pointed the same hand at some imaginary man in the audience as she accused him of dastardly deeds. Liz sang backup with a straight face, but she nearly lost it multiple times, especially when she looked at her friends who were hysterical with laughter at her predicament.
By the time the song was up, the crowd was clapping wildly and several stood to their feet cheering and shouting encouragements like, “you tell him” and “you deserve better!”
After that, more than one attractive man stopped by their table and hit on Jacqueline, a development that didn’t seem to bother her in the least, and Liz finally called the car to pick them up when she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to take care of Jackie anymore. It took three of them to get her into the car. Liz got her into their apartment with assistance from the doorman, and then tucked in to her old room and off to sleep without too much trouble.
Will was a slightly different matter, though.
“He did what? To my baby sister? That bastard! I’ll kill him!” Will paced through the kitchen in front of Liz, his fist clenching and unclenching at his side while his other hand ran anxiously through his hair. “What was he thinking? They haven’t even been married two years!”
“I know. I couldn’t believe it. But when you think about what we know of Albert’s character, is it really so shocking? He’s lazy and indolent and expects everyone to do everything for him. He’s bored with life and can’t be bothered to have any ambition or actually do anything. A guy like that isn’t going to make any effort to be faithful. If a chance to cheat comes up, he’ll take it.” Will looked at her incredulously. She shrugged. “He just follows his impulses. I doubt he’d even take the trouble to have a full-blown affair. This girl was probably just convenient and he did what he felt like without any concern for anyone else.”
“Like my sister.”
“Exactly. I’m sorry, honey. Can I get you a drink or something?” she offered.
“No, thanks, I’m fine. I need to call Andrew. We need to get her filed for a divorce. Thank God she had a prenup.”
“Are you going to talk to her about this?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Of course. Even if I wanted to, it can’t be avoided. Our finances are connected through the company and even if that wasn’t the case, she’s my sister.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter. “But it’s going to be damned awkward. She knows I never liked Albert.”
“No! Of course not! I would never do such a thing. But she knows that I thought he wasn’t the best match for her and even if I hadn’t thought that, it would still be uncomfortable.”
Liz nodded as she rinsed a glass and put it in the dishwasher. “Well, if you want my advice, and I know you didn’t ask for it, get her drinking. She talks a lot more when she’s had a few.”
“Lizzy! I can’t get my little sister drunk just so she’ll talk to me. We’re perfectly capable of having a conversation without the aid of alcohol, thank you.”
“She’s twenty-six, not fifteen! But hey, you do what you think is best.”
***
“Does Jamison have you all taken care of?” William asked Jackie as he came into Andrew’s office late the next afternoon.
“Yes, I believe we’re all settled here. Andrew, do you need anything else from me?” Jacqueline asked before rising gracefully from her seat in front of Jamison’s desk.
“No, we’re all set. I’ll get the papers drawn up the way we talked about and have them sent over.” He walked around the desk and shook Jacqueline’s hand, pressing hers between both of his.
“Thank you, Andrew. I appreciate the assistance.”
Andrew nodded and she left with her brother, casually looping her arm through his. “Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“Just out for a little bite. Liz offered to babysit for a friend tonight, so she’s tied up.”
“And you’re avoiding the ankle biter?” she asked with a gleam in her eye as they stepped into the elevator.
He chuckled. “Only slightly. He’s a perfectly decent child, but I’m not exactly proficient in answering the questions of a six-year-old.”