Before It Stains

by R. E. Bradshaw

  Amber answered, “Are you ready for me now?”

  “Yes, and if you would, please ask Bailey if he could join us in my office?” Stephanie hesitated. “And Amber, would you please bring me a cup of coffee?”

  A few minutes later, Lance Bailey tapped on her door. He entered looking as clean-cut and tightly pressed as Stephanie expected. He was handsome with dark black hair and blue eyes. Bailey was thirty-five, married with two kids, and so deeply in the closet he could barely breathe. He was Bailey to his friends and co-workers, but Lance in his idyllic family home. Stephanie hired him away from a real estate company in Raleigh five years ago, after interviewing him at Randy’s suggestion. She didn’t know just how well Randy knew Bailey. Uncharacteristically, Randy danced around the issue, which said a lot in itself. Bailey was Stephanie’s second in command now, and he was about to earn his money.

  “Come on in,” Stephanie said, standing to greet him.

  Amber followed with her tablet computer and Stephanie’s coffee.

  “Would you close the door behind you, Amber?”

  Stephanie waited for Amber to hand her the coffee cup, said, “Thank you,” and then sat down.

  Amber and Bailey took the two leather chairs in front of Stephanie’s desk. Bailey crossed his legs, with his tablet computer resting on one knee, ready to answer any of her questions. He was very good at his job and would probably leave to run his own company one day. Stephanie was about to give him that opportunity. It was not an extremely difficult thing to do. Cleggland Properties ran smoothly. Sitting in Stephanie’s desk was not stressful, if everyone did his or her job as expected. The test would be how Bailey handled the bumps in the road. She had no choice but to trust he would succeed. Stephanie had her own bump laden path to walk this week.

  She went straight to the point. “I’m going to take the rest of the week off.”

  Bailey expressed concern. “Are you okay? When you were out yesterday, I wondered if you weren’t feeling well.”

  “You do look a little tired.” Amber chimed in, never one to keep her thoughts to herself. “Are you coming down with something? I thought you were inhuman. You never get sick or take time off.”

  Stephanie reassured them. “I’m fine. I just have some family stuff to deal with. Colt is in a tournament this week and Mo’s out of town. I’m stretched a little thin.”

  “Oh, praise Jesus,” Amber said, raising her hands up to the heavens. “You are not perfect. I thought you could handle the world coming down around your ears and never have a hair out of place. Halleluiah, there is hope for the rest of us.”

  Stephanie was sure Amber meant that as a compliment, but it didn’t land that way. Instead, it was just one more dig at Stephanie for being too perfect. She was anything but, in her mind. Did she come off as unflappable, even now, when it took nearly every ounce of her strength to get up off her knees and show up today? Stephanie played off the hurt with a chuckle and continued.

  “I’m leaving at lunchtime and I won’t be back until next Tuesday,” she paused and added, “if then. Bailey you are in charge and I mean really in charge. Do not call me, text me, or email me one bit of information from this office. I do not care if the biggest client we have has a meltdown or a building crumbles, you will not look to me to find the answer. Is that clear?”

  Bailey sat up a little straighter in his chair. Amber’s mouth hung open. Stephanie was always available to solve a problem, rarely demanding, and never asked anyone to do her job. She’d do an employee’s job, so they could have a vacation, but Stephanie never went completely off the clock. Even when she and Mo took Colton to visit Mo’s mother in Florida, she was in touch with the office. Severing all ties was completely out of character. A stunned silence hung in the room.

  Stephanie looked from one to the other, making sure they understood her completely. Bailey was the first to speak.

  “Are you sure nothing’s wrong? You’re not going into the hospital or anything?”

  “Oh, my God. You have cancer!” Amber exclaimed.

  Stephanie started laughing. She was teetering on the edge of sanity and threatened to go into full-blown hysterics. “No,” she managed to say between breaths. “I’m really very healthy. It’s not cancer.”

  Amber clapped her hands together. “Well good, then whatever it is it can’t be all that bad.”

  Stephanie laughed even harder. Amber’s interpretation of things made complete sense. She smiled at Amber, who still had the sparkle of innocence shining brightly in her young eyes. Stephanie picked up her purse and keys, still chuckling.

  “I don’t think I’ll wait until lunch to leave. You are absolutely right, Amber. How bad can it be? At least I don’t have cancer.”

  #

  Stephanie drove around Durham aimlessly, down tree-lined streets filled with students arriving for the start of the new semester at the area’s many colleges and universities. To most people it would have been a waste of time, but it was somehow freeing to know she should be at work and wasn’t. Stephanie’s days were measured out carefully, each task completed in turn. She was always where she should be, right on top of things, the loving wife, the caring mother, with the perfectly timed out life. What would her family do if she didn’t run their lives? How would the business fair without her there to hold it together? Would the world fall apart, if Stephanie took care of herself for a while?

  She pulled into the parking lot of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Dedicated to the woman who funded the original gardens back in 1935, the present-day gardens were considered a national architectural treasure. Five miles of paths and walkways wound through acres of carefully maintained flora and fauna. Stephanie and Mo brought Colt here to feed the ducks, but not since moving to the new house.

  How long had it been since Stephanie took a leisurely stroll in the middle of the day? She really couldn’t remember. Stephanie slipped off her high heels and exchanged them for tennis shoes she kept in the trunk, once again, always prepared. Stephanie began to wonder if her need for order and planning wasn’t a symptom of fear, the fear that she really wasn’t worth much to anyone, if she somehow wasn’t prepared for everything.

  Stephanie ended up on the boulder-strewn beach of the large pond, inside the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum portion of the gardens. Exotic species of water lilies, covering the color spectrum, sprouted from the still water. It was peaceful here. Stephanie sat down, letting the August mid-morning sun beat down on her. Her jacket was in the car, but Stephanie still had to roll up her sleeves, as the temperatures began to climb. She loosened a few more buttons on her silk blouse. A bullfrog jumped in the water’s edge. Dragonflies buzzed the surface above the lily pads. She was surrounded by beauty with no one to share it with. It was a strange sensation.

  Stephanie realized she was never really alone, never still, always moving, always planning. Even sitting with Mo and Colt, watching a movie, her mind was constantly on the move. Had she done everything she was supposed to? What about tomorrow, was it lined out for maximum productivity? Were Colt and Mo happy, had all their needs been met? Wasn’t that how you showed people you loved them? What if she stopped being “the perfect” wife, mother, boss? What would be her worth? Why would anyone want her around? She rolled her neck, relaxing her tired muscles. A huge sigh left her chest.

  She felt the vibration and heard the ring tone from her skirt pocket. Her phone was never far away and she always answered it, but not this morning. She pulled it out and saw Mo’s smiling face on the screen. For the first time in seventeen years, Stephanie refused to take Mo’s call. She was going to have to get through the day without hearing Stephanie’s voice. Let Mo wonder where Stephanie was and what she was doing.

  “Stephanie, it’s time for a change,” she said to herself.

  She stayed there in the sun, shaking the breeze through her hair. Stephanie watched the swan couples and their babies float along the surface. If swans could mate for life, why did humans find it so difficult? Of course, Stephani
e knew that wasn’t true. She read that some female swans would select new mates, if they did not feel safe and secure with their first choice. Wandering, unfaithful mates that didn’t safeguard the family were cast aside for better candidates. Stephanie’s safe and secure nest had been scattered to the wind by an intruder. Any good mate would have protected their home. Stephanie was beginning to wonder if she was as smart as a swan.

  Her phone vibrated in her hand and the text message tone sounded, bling-bling. Stephanie looked at the screen. She could see the message, or most of it, in the preview window. It was Mo again.

  “R U OK? Called work. Amber said you…”

  Stephanie slid her finger on the screen and the message window opened. She read on.

  “…left and you don’t have cancer???”

  Stephanie laughed. Bling-bling. Another message popped up.

  “What is she talking about? Where are you?”

  Stephanie stared out at the pond. Her mouth curled into what Mo called her crooked grin. She aimed the camera at the pond and focused on a single white duck near her. She snapped the shot and sent it to Mo with a message.

  “Duck U”

  Stephanie giggled as the send bar slowly turned blue. She gave it a few seconds after the message went through and sent the following text.

  “Damn auto correct. I’m at Duke U, but that should have said…”

  She cut off the message and sent it, waited for it to complete, counted to ten, and then sent another.

  “Fuck U”

  Stephanie cackled so loud it startled the ducks at the edge of the pond. They squawked loudly and batted their wings, some skimming out over the water away from the crazy blond human. Bling-bling, Mo was responding.

  “Have you been drinking?”

  Stephanie was enjoying this. No hazel eyes to distract her, no pouting lips to turn her heart, just a small screen and raw emotions. She typed fast.

  “No, just enjoying this time free from responsibilities. #1 being, taking care of your ass.”

  The message went through seconds before Stephanie’s phone rang. Mo’s picture popped up. Stephanie declined the call. She waited. Bling-bling.

  “Please, answer the phone.”

  Stephanie typed, “Nope, we’re playing by my rules now.”

  Mo responded, “I see you’ve had time to get good and mad.”

  Stephanie exclaimed the words as she typed them, sending more birds to flight. “You’re right. Fuck off!”

  Mo was persistent. “Just tell me if you’re OK. Are you sick?”

  I’m fine. Never better.” Stephanie hit send. Then she quickly typed, “Gotta run. Meeting with a lawyer. She’s taking me to lunch. Have a nice day,” and hit send again.

  It wasn’t a lie. She was meeting with two lawyers, Randy and his boss. Let Mo worry about who Stephanie was meeting and why. Mo needed to know what it felt like to wonder, to have the seed of doubt placed in her mind. Mo had unleashed a long buried side of Stephanie. It was Mo that chased her. Stephanie was in a relationship when they met. She paid Mo no attention, even though she wanted to. Stephanie played hard to get and it drove Mo crazy. Mo was going to get all of that and more. This time Mo was dealing with a grown woman, not some twenty-three-year-old, and this Stephanie knew all the right buttons to push.

  Molly Kincaid was a huge button.

  #

  How appropriate that Stephanie would be having lunch at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club, located on the campus of Duke University. Washington Duke was a prime example of starting over. He lost his first wife to typhoid fever, married another, and lost her to the same disease. He returned from the Civil War a widower with children to feed. A tobacco barn and a mule were all that were left on the Duke homestead, in Orange County, North Carolina. He had fifty cents in his pocket. That was the sum total of his worldly possessions. Washington Duke and his sons turned his misfortunes and a simple family business into one of the most influential and powerful corporations in the world, the American Tobacco Company.

  Washington’s son, James, was influential in moving Trinity College to Durham, in 1892. Four years later and ahead of their time, the Duke family endowed the college with what today would be millions, with the stipulation that women would be allowed to attend. Trinity College was renamed in honor of the Duke family in 1924 and stood today as a leader in academics and athletics. Washington Duke started over with mere pennies. Stephanie wasn’t broke or in dire straits. If a beyond poor, broken down, widowed, wounded soldier could pull it together, Stephanie figured she could too.

  Stephanie valeted her car and stepped into the sumptuous surroundings of the lobby. The inn, nestled in long leaf pines and the rolling landscape of the Duke University golf course, opened its doors in 1988. It was much newer than the interior décor led one to believe. The English antiques and fine paintings inside gave the feel of a traditional English country inn. This was what money looked like, old money, and there seemed to be plenty going around. The lobby was busy with men and women in suits and granddames dripping diamonds.

  Stephanie crossed the lobby to the ladies room. She took off her jacket and fussed with her hair and blouse. Leaving the buttons open down to her cleavage was a bit sexier than her usual daytime appearance. She touched up her makeup, freshened her lipstick, and checked herself in the mirror. After her hours spent by the pond, Stephanie’s cheeks were glowing from the sun and she liked the untamed way her hair fell around her face. She put her cellphone on vibrate, so Mo wouldn’t disturb them with a barrage of text messages, and headed out to meet her old flame. Stephanie was feeling a bit untamed herself, as she walked toward the hostess in the Fairview dining room and gave her name.

  “Stephanie Austin. I have a luncheon with…”

  The woman smiled brightly. “Ah yes, Ms. Austin. You’re with Ms. Kincaid’s party. Please, follow me.”

  The hostess led Stephanie into the dining room and down toward the terrace overlooking the golf course. Just inside the terrace doors, Stephanie spotted Randy seated with the sandy-haired blonde from her past. Her stomach suddenly filled with butterflies, batting their wings furiously. Even though Molly was Randy’s boss, Stephanie had not seen her in person for at least fifteen years. Mo liked it that way. Of all the women Stephanie encountered, only one could send Mo into a jealous fit at the mention of her name, Molly. Stephanie thought it was silly. She obviously chose Mo from the beginning. Approaching the table, she got a good look at the now famous defense attorney. Mo had reason to be jealous. Little Molly had grown up.

  “Ms. Kincaid, your guest is here,” the hostess said, with the appropriate deference to the woman she was speaking with, and then stepped away.

  Randy and Molly both stood up to greet Stephanie. Randy gave her a quick hug.

  “You look fabulous,” he said, pecking her on the cheek.

  Stephanie and Molly took each other in from head to toe. What Stephanie saw before her was the twenty-one-year-old, freckle-faced girl of her past transformed into a beautiful woman. People said she resembled Jodie Foster, but to Stephanie she was all Molly, the feisty little softball player she had fallen in love with. Molly’s grin and dimple had not changed. Stephanie hesitated for only a moment and then opened her arms.

  She said only, “Molly,” but it meant so much more.

  “Stephanie, you look wonderful,” Molly said, stepping into the slightly taller woman’s embrace. “It’s really good to see you.”

  “You, too,” Stephanie responded, releasing Molly from her arms. They took their respective seats. “You look amazing. Being a high powered attorney agrees with you.”

  Molly blushed, but ignored the compliment. Her steel-blue eyes sparkled, as she grinned at Stephanie. “I can’t say that it’s a bad life. How’s your son?”

  “Colt is great. He’s growing so fast. He’ll be sixteen in a couple of months.”

  “Wow! Has it been that long? I saw you right after he was born. Remember? You and Mo were in the grocery store.”r />
  Stephanie remembered, no question about that. Mo had not liked running into her old rival. Especially since Stephanie and Molly spent the whole time in the store walking up and down the aisles together, talking as if Mo wasn’t there, or at least that’s how Mo had seen it. After that, any invitations to parties or activities including Molly were conveniently inconvenient for Mo. Stephanie thought it was cute and had no real desire to see Molly, so she played along.

  “Yes, I’m sorry I haven’t been a better friend,” Stephanie replied. “I did follow your career through Randy, though. You’re quite accomplished for a thirty-eight-year-old.”

  Molly laughed. “Oh, I had my fair share of breaks. Look at you, running the company now. I’d say you’re quite successful in your own right.”

  “I guess we both got what we wanted,” Stephanie said.

  Molly lowered her voice just a touch and said, “Yes, I guess we did.”

  Molly’s phone vibrated on the table. It saved them from the awkward silence that was about to take place.

  “I need to take this call. Would you excuse me for a moment?”

  Molly walked toward the lobby. Cellphone conversations were not allowed in the swank establishment.

  Stephanie looked over at Randy, who was beaming from ear to ear. She cocked her head to one side and said, “I know that look, Randall. What are you up to?”

  “Not a thing, darling, not a thing. I just enjoy watching you two. The sparks still seem to be flying, don’t you think?”

  “No, I don’t think. I’m not interested in Molly any more than she’s interested in me. Old flames, that’s all.”

  “Just imagine if you had stayed with Molly. You would be so rich you couldn’t spend it all.”

  “I am rich, Randy, just not that kind of rich. I have a family. Molly has a big old empty house from what you’ve told me.”