Inseparable_A Second Chance Romance

by Mia Ford

  “Tilly, do you want your flipping presents or not?” My dad teased.

  “Yes! Yes!” I set my phone down and dashed into the front room. My mom had the Christmas tree decorated with at least six strands of lights. You could barely see the branches through them. Ornaments from when I was kid hung all over in between ribbons of tacky silver tinsel. The star at the top blinked prettily.

  There weren't a lot of presents. There never were. But there were Christmas songs playing on the radio and the house smelled of freshly brewed coffee. My father insisted on playing the fireplace video on the television. It was a down-home tacky Christmas.

  "Here, open mine first, Dad," I smirked as I handed my father a small package wrapped in brown paper that I drew Christmas trees and snowflakes on.

  “Nice to see you went all out on the wrapping paper.”

  “Do you know how expensive that stuff is? I get these bags from the grocery store for free when I buy my groceries.” I laughed.

  When he opened it up he found a Swiss Army knife.

  “How did you know?” He smiled happily.

  “I have my spies everywhere.” I joked.

  “I’m going to eat dinner with this. It does have the spork on it, right?”

  “I wouldn’t have bought it if it didn’t.” I wrinkled my nose.

  My mom opened her present and acted like some lavender bubble bath and lotion and soap with a trashy romance novel I bought at the thrift store were gold plated.

  "The bathroom is off limits tonight. I'm soaking in the tub with my soaps and my novel. Do not disturb. Thank you, honey. I love it."

  “Now, did you get the bag of coal I ordered?” My dad asked my mom.

  “You should have gotten coal.” I snapped back. “I’m good. You saw my grades.”

  “We did, honey.” My mom interrupted. “Dean’s list and everything. We thought you better start getting ready for the really serious work to start.”

  She handed me a big box. It was wrapped in beautiful green paper with a red velvet bow around it. When I tore it apart and opened the box I started to cry.

  “This is so expensive.” I blubbered. Staring back at me was a vintage briefcase with my initials etched into the leather.

  “It wasn’t that much.” My dad soothed. “Your mom thought it would match your style. Every lawyer needs a briefcase but you don’t have to blend in with all the other sharks.”

  I threw my arms around my father's neck and hugged him tightly. Then I went to my mom. She was always the tougher one of my parents but even her eyes were glistening wet.

  “Thank you, mama.”

  “You’re welcome, honey.” She kissed me on the cheek and pushed herself up from the floor where she had been sitting next to me. “Okay, who is ready for cinnamon rolls and coffee?”

  “That sounds good.” My dad offered.

  “Need any help?”

  “Nope. You just pull them out of a tub and slap them in a pan.” She smiled as she pinched the end of my nose like I was five years old.

  I sat in the living room with my dad and watched him examine his new knife. It was just a little after nine when I heard my phone go off.

  “Mom, could you answer that?”

  I heard her say hello and just a minute. My first thought was that it was Sandy calling to tell me something Brian had bought her. As if getting an engagement ring wasn’t enough. But nothing prepared me for what my mom said.

  “Tilly? It’s some boy named Lucas.”

  I nearly choked. Why was he calling now? Probably just to wish me a Merry Christmas, right. Before I got up I looked at my dad who was peeking at me from underneath his heavy eyebrows.

  “Lucas?” He mumbled.

  “Dad, please.” I rolled my eyes.

  I took the phone from my mom and shuffled quickly to my room and closed the door.

  "Merry Christmas," I said calmly even though my insides were jumping like fleas all over a dog.

  "Merry Christmas." He stated the cheery phrase like he was reading it from a script.

  “Are you all right? You sound like something is wrong.”

  “Well, I would like it if you came over today. Jenna’s got people coming from all over the country to eat my dad’s food and drink his booze and I’ll be all alone.”

  “Maybe you could try having a good time, Lucas. It’s a party and your dad will be there. Can’t you just hang around with him?”

  “Are you kidding?” He took a deep breath.

  “Hey, how about this. Since you think that Jenna party will really blow why don’t you wait until about five and come on over here. We’re just going to hang around the house and watch a couple movies, make popcorn and drink some wine. It will be fun.”

  “At your house?”

  “Yeah.”

  “The place I dropped you off just yesterday?”

  “Yeah, Lucas, that is my house.” I was starting to hear a tone in his voice that was quickly rubbing me the wrong way.

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “Why not? You are obviously desperate to get away from your family.”

  “Jenna isn’t my family. You don’t know anything about it.”

  “Oh, here we go again, Lucas.” I snapped. “I don’t understand you. I was happy when we did what we did after graduation. It was exciting and fun.” My voice was hushed so my parents wouldn’t hear. “And I really enjoyed yesterday. But I’m not going to drop everything because the poor little rich boy feels like having a tantrum. You have everything, Lucas. Yet you want me to believe it’s so hard for you. I can’t take it. That isn’t what I was put on earth for.”

  I waited for a reply but there was nothing.

  “You are welcome to come over if you change your mind. But don’t think for one second that I don’t know you think you are better than me because you have more money. Just remember this, I’m not the one looking to get away from my family.”

  “I knew you’d bring up money sooner or later.” He hissed.

  I laughed out loud.

  “Yeah, you did! You’ve got so much of it and it must be driving you absolutely crazy that I don’t want a dime. Thanks for the lift home yesterday and the screw. But don’t think when you see me again that history will repeat itself. You are a spoiled brat, Lucas. I bet that Jenna is a lot nicer than you make her out to be. Mother Teresa would have become a stark raving lunatic if she had to deal with the likes of you.”

  I clicked off my phone and sat there for just a second.

  That was it. No chance of dating a millionaire now. I was ashamed of thinking that but it was true. I really liked Lucas. Not because of his money but despite it. But I did enjoy that fancy dinner at the airport and the champagne. It would be a long time before I’d be able to afford that for myself. But I would. Someday I would.

  “Tilly, cinnamon rolls are ready for the frosting.” My mom called.

  “Okay, mom.” I came out of my room after shutting my phone off for good. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. Sandy had several methods to get a hold of me so I didn’t have to worry about her. But there was no one else I wanted to talk to.

  “So, who is Lucas?” My dad asked with his voice three levels deeper than usual.

  “Lucas Brine. That asshole from high school.”

  "Michael Brine's son?" He prodded.

  “That’s the one.” I squeezed the frosting all over the cinnamon buns and watched it melt over the sides.

  “What did he want?”

  “Just to remind me he’s still an asshole and college hasn’t changed him any.”

  “You’ll be surprised how many people that will apply to in your life, honey. Your father was an asshole when we were in high school.” My mom teased.

  "And you married him anyway." I stated.

  Chapter 18 – Lucas

  By the time five o’clock rolled around I was losing my mind. Jenna and my father were happily entertaining wave after wave
of Jenna’s family and friends. I saw a couple of familiar faces when I ventured downstairs for some food.

  “Come and say hello, Lucas.” My father pushed.

  “Hi.” I waved. “Glad to see everyone is enjoying helping themselves.” Sure it was a childish thing to say but why not. I was practically a prisoner in my room like any ten year old would be while the grown-ups have their party.

  “He’s tired from his flight in late yesterday.” I heard my father say as I walked away.

  “Yes, if he would have been rested he would have really given you all a piece of his mind.” Jenna chuckled making the other guests laugh out loud.

  “We have two daughters that age.” Some woman said. “We know exactly what you’re talking about.” And they all continued to laugh.

  Part of me wanted to dash back down there and tell the bitch to shut her mouth but I didn’t. For some reason I thought of Tilly and her Merry Christmas attitude. It made my insides feel like they were shriveling up.

  What did Tilly know? What did she know about anything? She was just an easy lay a couple times of a year. That was it. I’d be willing to bet that if I ran into her again in the spring she’d have her panties around her ankles and her legs behind her ears in no time.

  I stopped envisioning that as it made my pants uncomfortably tight. Once I was alone again in my room I flopped down on the bed.

  My father and Jenna had bought me a pair of leather gloves, a set of Fonderie 47 cufflinks that run about thirty thousand dollars and a Ziffiro razor that I hate to admit I really like. It cost my father about one hundred thousand dollars. I’ll bet he got one for himself, too.

  So I paced around my room listening to the party downstairs. Once again I grabbed my high school yearbook and began flipping through the pages stopping again on Tilly’s photo.

  What would she think if I just showed up at her house, that tiny, cramped place with the tacky lights and crooked screen door? I’d have to leave my car out front and how the hell do I know what the neighbors will do to a Ferrari parked on their gravel driveway.

  Finally, I decided to make a bold move. I picked up my phone, scrolled through a dozen numbers until I came to what I was looking for. I pressed the green dial button and waited.

  “Merry Christmas, bud!” Henry Torrence answered cheerfully.

  “Henry. You gotta do me a solid, man.” I blurted out. “You gotta tell me there’s a party going on somewhere that we can go to. Anywhere but I can’t stay here. I’m losing my mind.” I held my breath hoping he wasn’t planning on spending the whole evening at his house.

  “Funny you should say that, Lucas. I was just about to call you.”

  I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  “My cousin just bought a bar around Addison Avenue and Wells up north.” Henry boasted. “He said he was throwing a Christmas night bash. I think he expected to be the only place within a ten mile radius that would be open on Christmas. He might be right. I was going to get the hell out of this house and check it out. Want to come?”

  “I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.” I barked before he could change his mind.

  I was showered and shaved in a new pair of jeans, Italian boots and a fresh shirt within ten minutes. I left through the kitchen escaping down into the garage without anyone noticing me. Not that anyone would have cared one bit where I was going or when I’d be back.

  The Ferrari had a full tank of gas and as I sped to henry’s house, almost the only car on the road, I felt like finally I’d be able to shake Telula Grant from my mind.

  Henry was out the front door as soon as I pulled up and we were on the expressway heading into the city at about ninety miles an hour. I didn’t feel the need to rush.

  “What’s going on at your house?” Henry asked.

  I told him about Jenna’s basically taking over the house.

  “That sounds miserable.” Henry concurred. “You know, when my parents split and then each got remarried it was a real pain in the ass at first. But my stepmom isn’t all bad. She’s almost twenty years younger than my father but she doesn’t try to be my mom. In fact, we rarely speak to each other except to say hello and good-bye.”

  “What about your step-dad?” I asked.

  “He’s okay. He leaves everything to my mom to do. I mean, if I want to trade in my new truck that they bought me last year for a sports car he says its all right with him if it’s all right with her. I guess he and I don’t really have too much to talk about either. It works out that way.”

  “But you didn’t have this bimbo just sweep in on your dad a few days after your mom died. You know what Jenna is.” I muttered.

  “Yeah, she’s about a dozen routes to fuckable.”

  “Come on.” I shook my head. “My dad could get that if that was all he wanted. But she’s got her claws in him. From what I could see she isn’t going anywhere, either.”

  “That’s really too bad, man.” Henry clapped his hand on my shoulder. “But her. Tonight is about a party. Let’s have too many drinks, scope out the cuties and leave the wolf at the door.”

  I nodded my head. That was the smartest thing Henry ever said.

  It was true that Foxes was the only bar open for quite a distance. We saw some as we came up Grand Avenue to cut over to Addison but they were in neighborhoods that I wouldn’t leave my car unattended in.

  Thankfully, Foxes was high brow enough to have valet parking. I slipped the kid a one hundred dollar bill to leave my car where it was in front and keep an eye on it. He agreed to do so. Of course he did.

  You had to walk the bar when you first walked into Foxes in order to get to the intimate dining room in the back. As soon as Henry walked in there were guys and girls behind the car shouting his name. Everyone stopped to look at us the owner, Henry’s uncle Fred planted two separate bar stools right in the center of the bar for us to sit. Before I could say Merry Christmas the shots were lined up, the women were checking us out and the music was thumping.

  It was what I’d imagine an old fashioned Christmas party would look like. Guys were grabbing girls asses and they were just giggling as they swiped their hands away. People were laughing loudly and ordering another round before the one in front of them was even half empty.

  “This is fun, right?” Henry leaned over to me.

  I smiled and nodded my head. A pleasant buzz had settled over me. I was talking with people and flirting with the women who walked by and each one of them smiling back at me, glancing over their shoulders when their dates weren’t looking. I barely gave Tilly a second thought. Not when I knew I could have any one of these ladies in a heartbeat.

  “Hey, this girl next to me, she’s been talking to me.”

  “Oh yeah?” I smirked. “What she saying?”

  “She’s saying she likes me.”

  “You’re hard not to like, Henry.” I clapped him on the shoulder.

  “She says she likes you, too.”

  I looked at my best friend for over four years and arched my eyebrows. Then I peeked behind him to the woman who was sitting there.

  She was liquid sex poured into a skintight skirt and a tight, fuzzy sweater that hugged her tits. Her red hair was back in a ponytail that was full and bouncy when she turned her face to look at me.

  She smiled and gave me a wink.

  Of course, I smiled back. Looking down she wore those slutty thigh-high boots with the high heels. The kind that stupid actress wore when she played a hooker fell in love with a millionaire. What a joke that movie was.

  “What do you say, Lucas? Want to kiss her underneath the mistletoe?”

  “I’m game if you are.” I was agreeing to splitting this woman with Henry before I realized what I was doing. At first, the idea was titillating. The more shots I drank the hornier I got. Henry had stood up and let her sit between us.

  That was how I found out her name was Rachael. She said she was a public relations assistant with the Chicago Tourism B
ureau. She also said she always had a fantasy about being with two men.

  “So, what makes you think you can handle us?” I asked her with a slight slur in my words.

  “I can handle anything.” She bragged, tossing her head back.

  She was sexy. There was no denying that. And when she took my hand and placed it on her thigh it was painfully obvious she wasn’t shy.

  “You can’t be timid if you want something in life.” She boasted. “When I see something I want I go get it. Or, I make it come to me.” She sipped her cosmopolitan.

  “So, Lucas.” Henry draped his arm lazily over Rachael’s shoulder and I saw his fingers brush her left nipple casually. She didn’t seem to mind. “What do you think of our new friend Rachael?”

  I looked at her face. Her eyes were glazed from the cosmos but she wasn’t totally drunk. She was just high. She leaned against Henry, scooting her ass back so it would touch his leg. An intentional move to drive him crazy.

  “She’s very nice.”

  “Now, Rachael.” Henry continued. “Is it true you live just a couple blocks from here?”

  “Yes. I just live over on Waterfront along the river.” She bubbled.

  “What do you say, Lucas? Should we continue the party at Rachael’s place?”