Marilyn Fairchild opens the door to greet her son and his guest, “It’s about time you two finally got here! Welcome to my home.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Fairchild,” Elise states stepping into the luxurious foyer, “You have such a lovely home.”
“Thank you my dear,” she looks to Brandon.
“Oh right, sorry Mama,” he kisses her on the cheek, “Mother, this is my girlfriend, Elise Saunders.”
“Lovely to meet you dear,” she states a bit coldly, “Now come on in and get comfortable while I reheat the food. We were waiting for you guys to arrive before we sat down to eat. If you’ll excuse me.”
Elise elbows Brandon in the side, now second guessing whether they should have finished their sexual escapade on the side of the road. Brandon smiles unrepentantly whispering into her ear, “It was worth it.”
He leads her into the living room where his father, Donald, and Stephanie are chatting away. He formally introduces Elise to everyone.
“It is really nice to place a face with the name,” Stephanie remarks in her best mean girl tone.
Elise offers her a half-hearted smile before turning to Bryce, “It’s so nice to meet you Mr. Fairchild. Thank you for having me in your home. I would really love to freshen up before dinner, can you direct me to the restroom please?”
Bryce points her toward the washroom not too far from the kitchen. Donald whispers something to Stephanie which makes her giggle, seemingly at Elise’s expense. Once inside the wash room, she washes herself and the scent of Brandon’s sex from between her legs. She regains her composure shaking off the ill feelings she’s having toward the people in this home. Things between her and Donald are already tense, and she’s in no mood to be the butt of anyone’s jokes.
A light knock and Brandon’s soft tone at the door release her from that state of mind, “Are you okay?”
She opens the door, “Yeah, baby. I’m fine. Just making sure drops of you don’t drip out while we’re eating.”
They laugh as he leads her out toward the dining room. While everyone is taking their seats, Elise elects to go into the kitchen. She looks as Marilyn moves around the kitchen sorting the food into serving dishes.
“May I help you with any of these, Mrs. Fairchild?” she asks the matriarch.
“Is that really what you want to do? I didn’t think your kind of people liked doing any kind of work that resembles slave labor,” she replies sharply.
Elise’s mouth falls open as her eyes widen, “Excuse me?!”
“Well Donald said-” she begins before getting cut off.
Elise rolls her eyes, “You see that’s your problem right there! You believing anything that Donald said about me. Do you always allow Donald to dictate how you treat or what you feel toward a person before you meet them on your own?”
“Well, I’ve just known him for so long,” Marilyn starts to feel sheepish in her assumptions.
“That’s even worse! The fact that you’ve known him for so long means you understand how he feels about people like me. Not to mention that he’s already pissed I shut his advances down when we first met at Brandon’s house. Those snide remarks and abominable jokes? You can’t tell me there’s a welcoming bone in his body for people like me,” she rubs her forearm forcing Marilyn to observe her skin color.
The woman stares at Elise for a few moments, almost as if she’s deciding whether to believe her or not. With an apologetic sigh, Marilyn lightens up, “Well we’ll see how things go. Grab those potatoes, please.”
Elise recognizes her attempt to start over; grabbing the dish and setting it out on the table. She continues to bring dishes out and finally they sit down to eat. Donald and Stephanie are conversing amongst themselves while Brandon and his father are in a heated discussion about his brother, Brody.
“I just don’t understand why you couldn’t get him here,” Bryce’s voice elevates, “What the hell is takin him so long to get back into things. He lives with ya now, you shoulda brought him with ya!”
“Dad, don’t start,” Brandon warns, “You don’t know what he’s feeling and I told him to take his time. Ain’t no sense in him comin here just to sit in the corner with a sour puss on his face. He ain’t ready to be around people yet. So just leave him be!”
Brandon slams his hand down on the table shaking the glasses and plates. He’s adamant about protecting his brother and ending the conversation.
“Don’t you dare take that attitude with me boy!” Bryce growls, “I won’t have you disrespecting me in my own home. Now, we need Brody to get back to some functioning version of his self. I been down to the office and it ain’t no picnic down there without him. Especially with this numbskull running around pissing everybody off. Brody’s a part of the glue that keeps that business together.”
“You know, Dad … That business could fold and collapse tomorrow. We got plenty of money to let it go under,” Brandon replies nonchalantly.
This time Bryce slams his hand on the table, “It’s not about the money god dammit! You know how many people have jobs working for us! You know how many people depend on our company for business. Not just the people who work for us but every one we need to touch to get a house built… From the family moving in, to the migrant workers you hire off the books to get them up! Don’t think I ain’t know about you and handing out your charity jobs! Just know if any government agency come knockin’ looking to audit our books, you’re paying for that out ya own pocket since you got so much money! But this company is a necessity to this county whether you see that or not. It ain’t just about the money and Brody is a part of that! I just want him to get better already.”
“I know, Dad,” Brandon calms his tone, “So do I.”
The silence at the table is awkward as they all look to Bryce and Brandon for what’s coming next. Stephanie interjects, “Well this has all been so lovely. But where’s Jessie? I ain’t seen her in ages.”
Marilyn looks to her husband; then to Stephanie, “That is not a discussion for the dinner table, nor for anyone outside of this family.”
The level of awkwardness is continuing to skyrocket as Elise tries to change the tide of emotion, “These potatoes sure are tasty, Mrs. Fairchild. What is that, Rosemary? A little Thyme?”
“Yes dear,” the woman answers shortly.
“I apologize for bringing the mood down,” Brandon announces to everyone, “Dad, I didn’t mean to upset you I just wanted you to get off me about Brody. He’s going to come back when he’s ready. I got things covered until he does.”
Donald scoffs, “You got things covered? You’ve been so wrapped up with this one here, I barely noticed.”
“You know, I’ve had just about enough of your digs at me!” Elise points to Donald partially rising from her seat.
“Shut up, cunt! Sit the fuck down, and learn your place before I put you in it! Out back in the field, picking crops,” Donald snarls getting up meeting Elise’s glare.
“That’s it! I will not take your insults any longer and I refuse to be in the presence of any one who hates me for what I am rather than getting to know me for who I am! Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild, thank you for having me in your home. Dinner was delicious,” Elise’s tears stream down her fiery red cheeks as she storms out of the house. Brandon slams both hands on the table before bolting out of his seat to chase after her.
Elise is standing outside, by the car, unsure of what to do or where to go. Brandon approaches her and before he can say anything she demands the keys. Brandon refuses to turn them over.
“I’ll have Logan come and pick you up, just give them to me so I can go. I just want to go home. I’m tired of Stephanie’s dirty looks, and especially tired of your friend’s anti-black comments!”
He gently raises her chin so their eyes meet, “And here I thought you were a bit tougher than this.”
She shakes her head from his hand, “Don’t do that to me, Brandon! Now is not the time, and I am not in the mood for this anymore. Just give me the keys so I can go!”
“You’re the one who said this is going to be a rough road, but you’re the one who’s running from every confrontation.”
“I’d rather not be around people like that. It’s just easier to remove myself from the situation,” she admits.
“But this is my family. If we’re going to be together, you can’t just run out,” Brandon tries reasoning with her, “So take my hand and come back inside.”
Elise takes the hand of her lover, and returns to the Fairchild residence. Donald and Stephanie are nowhere to be seen. She apologizes for her abrupt departure.
“Don’t worry about it darling,” Bryce motions for her to sit down, “They’ve been sent home. Like I said, he’s always had a knack for pissing people off. So go on and sit down. Let’s enjoy ourselves. My Marilyn done cooked all of this food, and we need some good people to appreciate it with.”
They sit, eat, talk, and laugh until the evening is done.
Later that night, back in Brandon’s bedroom, Elise lies on her back staring up at the ceiling. Her mind is racing. While Brandon would love to know what she’s thinking, he isn’t quite ready to dive into a deep discussion. However, his curiosity gets the better of him.
“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?” he asks fighting his better judgment.
“Do you know what your mother said to me in the kitchen?”
“No, I don’t,” he replies waiting for the foolery. He knows just how sharp his mother’s tongue could be.
“Well, when I initially offered to help bring the dishes out she said that she wasn’t sure if my kind of people wanted to do any work that was slave related.”
“She said what?!” Brandon sits up.
“Yeah, I had a similar reaction,” Elise shakes her head.
“But why would she say?” he confusingly questions aloud.
“She said that Donald said-”
“Donald said what?”
“She started to tell me but I cut her off. He’s doing so much damage to my reputation with the people in your life,” she begins to cry, “And it’s so fucking hard trying to fight it. I know he felt some ill feelings toward me when I turned down his advances but all of this animosity is ridiculous. After that, he sees us together and it must drive him crazy.”
“His advances? Tell me what’s really going on between you and Donald,” he demands.
“Well he’s a racist!”
“But you said you turned down his advances?”
“Well most assholes like him don’t mind fucking us, they just prefer us not to be around after the fact! Want us back in the field pickin their cotton and shit. You heard what he said at dinner! This is what started that heated argument that day he came in while I was working. He’s been ruthlessly tearing through your relationships, and tearing me down in the process. I just don’t understand why he won’t give me a chance.”
“I think, overall, he’s just concerned because he’s concerned about me since I haven’t shown this much affection toward any woman in a long time.”
“What? Since Stephanie?”
“No,” he chuckles laying back down, “There have been a few after her but you’re the most different.”
“Hmm, that much I guessed. Your father seems fine with everything though,” she realizes.
“Dad is easy. He’s always been the level headed one, it’s my mother who’s easily persuaded by others.”
Elise sighs as she comes to the realization about their relationship, “I know I said we have to grow through this process, but I honestly don’t think I’m strong enough to survive your friendship with Donald. I know you don’t want to lose him as your friend, and I know that you’ve known him a lot longer than you’ve known me. Your relationship with him takes precedence. I don’t want to compete. I don’t want to fight every time we get together. I think we should just be friends.”
“I don’t think you want that,” Brandon disagrees with her.
“I don’t want that, but I don’t see any other options. I don’t want to have to be uncomfortable. I don’t want to put your relationship in jeopardy. And I don’t want him to feel like you’re choosing me over him.”
His frustration grows, “But I am choosing you over him!”
“But you shouldn’t have to!” she screams getting out of bed, “I don’t want you to. Your best friend and your girlfriend should be friends! We should be able to be in the same room without the looming animosity toward each other! It doesn’t make any sense. He doesn’t make any sense!”
Brandon gets out of bed and turns on the light, watching Elise as she puts her clothes back on. He follows her around the room trying to convince her to change her mind.
“I’ll talk to Donald and get him to come around,” he bargains with her.
But Elise refuses to sway, “He isn’t going to change. People like him rarely change! And even if you managed to convince him to tolerate me … He’s always going to find something wrong with our relationship! There is always going to be that thing wrong with me! That black thing wrong with me!”
“You can’t let what he says scare you out of what we could have. Now get back into bed!”
“I won’t!” Elise rejects his pleas, “This is over. We’ll just be friends. I’m taking the car. Send Logan in the morning to get it. This is the best choice for me.”
She kisses him sweetly on the lips. Elise leaves the room and the house, but Brandon doesn’t chase her. He lets her walk out of his life.
Waves of sadness crash over Elise as she drives herself home. She knows she made a cowardly choice but she let the fear in her win. She pulls the car over constantly wishing she had changed her mind. Finally she makes it home and cries herself to sleep.
Logan marches directly into the billionaire’s room looking for the brooding cowboy. His bed is empty. He checks his watch realizing that Brandon must be out doing his morning chores. He doesn’t wait for him to get back as he heads straight to the stables. Ginger’s stall is empty. He saddles up the stallion in the stall next to hers. Trotting out into the dawn, Logan finds him mending the fence at the pig pen.
Brandon curses as he cuts himself on the mangled wire, and defiantly neglects to acknowledge Logan’s presence. However, he begins complaining about the pigs and the fence.
“Just stop it!” Logan screams, “You know I’ve got a few choice words for you!”
“Well it’s a good thing you don’t work for me,” he looks up at his assistant, “Oh wait you do.”
“You know the only words I can use right now to describe you, that will allow me to keep my job, is dumb as a stump!”
“I reckon I don’t know what you’re talkin about. But I suggest you get Midnight back in his stall as he don’t like being up this early,” Brandon glances up at him and then back to the fence. Logan nods his head before telling Brandon he should go try his hardest to get Elise back. To which, he kindly reminds his assistant that his personal relationships are just that, personal.
Brandon’s stubbornness is keeping him from seeing things clearly. His anger toward Elise’s decision is clouding his judgement about what to do next. Logan gets ready to bring Midnight back to the stables when he decides to say one last thing on the subject, “I just want you to think about one thing, Mr. Fairchild. With everything that Elise has mentioned, have you once defended her? Have you ever stood up to Donald for her? Forget as your girlfriend but as a human being? Did you ever stop to consider that she left because she felt like she was the only one fighting for you guys? And if you have to think about it, then you know the answer to that. You have continuously let your supposed friend disrespect her and your relationship without any repercussion. And because of your failure, you let her leave you. You need to make things right, you need to fix things.”
“Only thing I need to fix is this fence! Now if Elise wants us to get back together that’s on her but I ain’t gonna beg no woman to be with me. Now stop meddling in my love life, get Midnight back in his stall, and make sure my
meetings are confirmed for the day!”
Logan has no other recourse but to do as he’s told, returning the stallion back to his stall, and proceeding on with the rest of his day. If no one noticed what Elise brought out of Brandon, they surely noticed what was missing when she left him. He’s been utterly miserable and unbearable to deal with at work. He’s been trying so hard to distract his emptiness with work that even Stephanie’s aware of the change. He’s on her build site daily, driving both her and the tradesmen crazy. He’s hammering the guys to get things done faster and even picks up a few tools to work on some projects.
As the weeks go by, Stephanie has had enough. They aren’t together, and even after his breakup he’s uninterested in her. At this point he’s just being a nuisance. She stops him one day, while he’s laying tiles, to ask him why the sudden interest and whip cracking tactics at her ranch? The only response he has for her is quoting exactly what she told him in the beginning of their deal, “When the head honcho is involved, people tend to do their jobs better and faster.”
“I understand that, but why are you actually working? You are paying the people here to do that! Besides this is all wrong! They sent the wrong tile and we were waiting to swap things out. Now we’re gonna be behind because all of this work you did needs to be torn out! Where is my contractor at?”
“Well your contractor is down at city hall pulling permits seeing about our inspection dates,” he answers.
“Brandon I know that you mean well, but you have been nothing but a pain in my ass these last couple of weeks. Could you please, just back off and let these gentlemen do their jobs?!”
Brandon kindly reminds her that it was her idea to have him personally involved throughout this process. Yet, Stephanie had no idea it would be so tasking having him on the site every day. She refuses to argue with him knowing that she won’t be able to convince Brandon to leave the site. Stephanie puts in a call to Donald to see if there is anything he can do to make the situation better.
Donald sees firsthand how Elise’s departure is affecting Brandon, and now, the business. While he was happy for the separation at first, the success of their business strongly depends on Brandon’s ability to reel in clients. But, that’s very hard to do with a temperamental cowboy whose heart is in pieces. He’s beginning to worry about his friend. What Donald does next is beyond his comfort zone, and his personal beliefs… he reaches out to Elise.
The Art of Love Page 6
