by Kathryn Shay
Mariella touched him again and shook her head vehemently. Don’t take the bait, she was telling him.
“She means something to me. I want a future with her.”
“That’s for other people, Jordan, not us. If you don’t agree, I’ll make a fuss to keep Yvette.”
“You wouldn’t win in the end.”
“Maybe not. As I said, you’ll be ruined. The court might look favorably on me getting custody. The only way for you to keep your daughter, your job and all right, you can have that woman, is to keep things as they are.”
“Do you hate me that much, Elise?”
“No, but I’m determined to keep my life as it is. If you don’t cooperate, well then, I’ll disappear for a while with Yvette.”
“You wouldn’t do that to her.”
“Yes, I would.”
Silence.
“You have an hour to decide. I’ll call you back.” The phone went dead.
“What a heartless bitch,” Mariella said as she sat down. “I’m so sorry, Jordan.”
“I can’t let Yvette go.”
“Of course you can’t.”
“Now you see why I’ve consented to live as I do.”
She stared at him.
He took her hand. “I love you, Mariella. Will you live with me this way? Because I’m asking you for that.”
* * *
“So, you just left him?” Brie’s tone was incredulous. Mari had come over at six a.m. and awakened her sister. She needed her now!
“Yes. I just left him. Sitting there in the den in front of the fire. Totally dejected.” Tears threatened—and won. They coursed down her cheeks. “I got Lilliana up and we drove away.”
“Oh, honey.” Brie sat next to her and took her hands.
When she quieted, Mariella shrugged. “I didn’t have a choice. He gave in to Elise’s demands. Not only did he lie to me for months about his marital status, but he wants to keep living like he is—married to someone else.” She scrubbed her hands across her face.
“Let me make you some coffee.”
Rage came as fast as regret. “I don’t want coffee! I want to scream and rage and throw things.”
Brie leaned back against the chair. “We could go outside. I could get you old stuff you could break.”
“I can’t believe that the whole time we were falling in love, he was keeping two huge things from me. I wonder if the same thing happened with the other grad student. He told her he was married but had to stay married so everything was business as usual.”
Her sister’s eyes widened. “Do you really think that?”
“I don’t know. For a little while, when we were trying to find Yvette, I thought I had moved past some of the hurt. I could probably forgive him for the lies, but when he asked me to live with him while he stayed married...” She raised her arms in a hopeless gesture. “I realized he meant permanently, and I couldn’t do it.”
“The bastardo. How can you forgive someone for loving you so much?”
“I know—what did you say?”
“He loves you too much to let you go. That’s why he asked you to stay.”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
“A little. I—”
Mari scraped back her chair. “I’m going home. I’m not staying here if you take his side.”
“Mari...”
“Don’t use that tone with me. Like I’m a child.”
Her sister stood, too. “Well, right now you’re acting like one.”
Without another word, Mariella stomped across the room, opened the door and stormed out.
Brie didn’t even come after her.
* * *
Jordan cuddled Yvette next to him in front of the fire. Elise had dropped her off at eleven the night before, and today, father and daughter both played hooky. As the blaze cracked and spurted, he tried not to think about the finality of Mari abandoning them.
“This is fun, Papa.” They’d played a game of checkers after a big breakfast. “We never did it before.”
“I know, chérie.” His daughter was back, safe and sound, and that was enough. It had to be.
She snuggled closer, nosed into his shoulder. “Why is Mama so mean?”
“Some people are made that way.” He tipped her chin. “You’ll never be like her, so don’t worry.”
“I won’t be! I hate yelling.”
“Did she yell at you?”
“A lot. I don’t want to see her again, Papa.”
“You won’t have to. But someday, you’ll probably be ready to forge a relationship with her.”
As if the thought was silly, she didn’t respond. Like any eight-year-old, she switched topics to something more pleasant. “I can’t wait to talk to Lilliana. Was she scared for me?”
“Yes, bébé. She was. She slept in your bed.”
“I know. She left me a note. Can her and Mrs. Moretti come over after school?”
“I don’t think so, darling. Some other time.”
“You probably want to be with just me because you were scared, too.”
“That’s right, Yvette.” And because you’re all I have now.
* * *
“Why wasn’t Yvette at Stepping Stones today, Mama?” Lilliana asked when Mariella went to pick up her daughter at the after-care program. Jordan had texted Mari that Yvette had been returned, but nothing more.
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
“I have to see her.”
“I’m sure she and Dr. Dubois want some time together after their ordeal. He didn’t come to his class tonight.” Instead, he’d asked Ahmad to facilitate the two presentations then dismiss the students.
“I have to, Mama.”
“You’ll have to wait.” Her tone was short. Mari wasn’t up to dealing with a temper tantrum.
Nonetheless, Lilliana nagged her all the way home. She also kicked the front seat, which she knew not to do. By the time they reached their house, Mariella had a headache that could slay dragons. “Come on, Lilly,” she said, irritated. “Get out of the seatbelt and booster chair.”
“No. I’m staying in the car until you take me to see Yvette.”
Mari bolted out of her side and yanked open the back door. “Out now, young lady.” Still, her daughter didn’t budge. “Now!” Mari said, surprising herself that she yelled.
It surprised Lilliana, too. She burst into tears.
* * *
Jordan was like a wild man Wednesday night, running his hand through his hair, stalking around the house after Yvette had gone to bed. He went over in his head, for the millionth time, his predicament.
Status quo and lose Mariella.
Sue for custody, perhaps lose Yvette.
He had to choose his daughter over the woman he loved. And it was ironic that that was exactly what Mariella said he should do.
Despite all this, he even went online again and reread all the French laws. They strongly suggested he’d be able to keep his daughter. But the laws didn’t reflect what would happen when a Pulitzer Prize winner was exposed as a fraud. There was no way out of the situation. After he closed out of his server, he stared at the Internet icons on the screen. His gaze snagged on the one labeled New Book. He called up the outline. It read:
Part 1: The Events as They Were
Part 2: The Pulitzer and its Repercussions
Part 3: The Real Blackmail Begins
Part 4: Gliding Along
He was stuck there, too, two-thirds of the way done on a story that he felt compelled to tell. The blinking cursor, ready for him to write part five, taunted him.
He didn’t know the ending.
Or did he?
* * *
On Thursday morning, Lilliana wouldn’t come out of her room. Mari didn’t have any classes today since she’d dropped her ethics course, so she thought, Fuck it, let her stay there.
She had a second cup of coffee with a biscotti as the school bus slowed by her house, but kept on going. She picked up her phone
and called St. Cecilia’s. Reported Lilly was sick.
Sick of her mother and the choice Mari had to make.
Mari was sick, too. For getting involved with a married man. For having an affair. For falling in love. Again, her eyes moistened at the latter. She did love him.
Well, then, do something! Figure out a way to be together.
When she came up with nothing—she couldn’t live with Jordan’s status quo—she got up from the table, cooked some oatmeal, poured juice, put both on a tray, and brought it upstairs. Lilliana lay in her pumpkin bed, her back to the opening. Mari set the tray down and slatted the blinds, allowing in some morning light. Then she crawled into the bed and hugged Lilly around the waist. “I’m sorry, mia figlia. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
Tremors came from Lilly.
Gently, she turned Lilly in her arms and hugged her while she sobbed. “I’m sorry, Mama, for being a brat.”
“Apology accepted.”
“How do we know Yvette is okay?”
“You can call her after school. I’ll figure out a time you can see her.”
“Yes, Mama. I gotta get up for school, too.”
“It’s nine o’clock.”
“I missed the bus?”
“Yeah, you did. We’re staying home together today.”
Lilliana burrowed in.
In minutes, they both slept.
* * *
Jordan had stayed up all night editing the draft. Then he outlined parts five and six, which made him miss Mariella so much his chest ached. At the same time, he was buoyed by his plan. As soon as he finished, he called up his address book and found the name he wanted.
A receptionist answered. “Reynolds Publishing.”
“I’d like to speak to Ryder Reynolds, please,” he said smiling at the irony of who he was choosing for a well-sought- after book.
“Who may I say is calling?”
“My name is Jordan Dubois. Tell him I won the Pulitzer four years ago.”
Soon, the man came on. “Jordan Dubois. I’m honored.”
“I hope you’re interested. I have a proposal I’d like to send you for my next book.”
“Don’t you have contractual obligations to Harps?”
“No, I didn’t agree to any options for book two.”
“Then when can we meet?”
“I’d like to send you the proposal now. The book needs more work, and the last part still has to be written.”
“Send it right over. I’ll cancel my morning meetings and read the manuscript immediately.”
“There’s something else I need to tell you. I hope it doesn’t change your mind.”
“Nothing could change my mind about publishing your next work.”
“I hope not. You see, Ryder, I’m in love with your sister-in-law.”
* * *
They made a tent in the living room. A tarp served as the top, sheets for the sides. Mari and Lilliana lay inside on cushiony sleeping bags, shining a globe on the wall like the one she bought Yvette for her birthday. She pointed to the lit stars and slivers of moon. “It’s pretty, Mama.”
Mari took a bite out of an Oreo. “It is. Unlike us.”
Lilliana laughed. “Your breath smells.”
“So does yours. That’s what happens when you don’t brush your teeth in the morning.”
“Or get out of your pajamas and take a shower.”
They were still giggling when the doorbell rang. Mari checked the time. Eleven a.m. Who on earth...everybody she knew would be at work.
“Stay here, honey.” She climbed out of the tent and padded in her slippers to the door. Peered out the side window. She whipped the door open. “Jordan?”
He stood outside with winter sunlight kissing his hair. “Please let me come in. I have something to show you.”
“Of course.”
“Dr. Dubois!” Lilly bolted out of the tent and ran toward him. He caught her up. Hugged her. “Is Yvette with you?”
“No, baby. I thought you’d be in school.”
“We didn’t go today. What do they call skipping school here, Mama?”
She couldn’t take her eyes off Jordan. He sported a growth of beard and tired eyes. He seemed not to have slept at all. When Lilliana repeated her question, Mari said, “Playing hooky.”
Jordan set Lilly down and kissed the top of her head. “Can you go upstairs for a bit? I have something I need to discuss with your mama in private.” He leaned over and whispered, “If all goes well, we’ll get Yvette for lunch and all play hooky.”
“Yay!” She disappeared up the steps.
When they were alone, Jordan took off his satchel, then his coat. His sweater and jeans looked like he’d worn them for days. “Let’s sit.” At the kitchen table, he removed a thick sheaf of papers and handed it to her. “Here.”
“What is it?”
His eyes sparkled. “My next book. I’ll get us coffee. Take a look at the first chapter right now.”
Mari began to read.
Table of contents:
Part 1: The Events as They Were
Part 2: The Pulitzer and its Repercussions
Part 3: The Real Blackmail Begins
Part 4: Gliding Along
Part 5: Full Stop!
Part 6: The Truth as It Is
Open-mouthed after the first page, she finished the chapter in wonder then peered over at him. “Your book is about what happened to your life.”
“The unvarnished truth. After chapter one, it goes on to describe my early life with Elise and Yvette. The development of the status quo. Then it portrays how the Pulitzer further complicated things. How Elise began blackmailing me and how I let it slide. Last night, the rest came into focus. That part’s outlined now.”
She read, Full Stop! Meeting Mariella. The girls. The ethical quandaries. Falling in love.
The Truth as It Is. Coming clean. The rest: TBD.
She looked up. “TBD?”
“To be determined.”
“By what?”
“By you, hopefully.”
“I don’t understand.”
Leaning over, he took her hands—hers were cold—and kissed her knuckles. “I was wrong to ask you to live in the status quo. Wrong to ask Yvette to. I had to act. So, I edited the first four sections and sent them to your brother-in-law, Ryder.”
“Lexy’s husband?”
“I wanted somebody I could trust to promote the book with sensitivity. I’m guessing the contents will be explosive, but the story has some ethical advice and messages about not living up to your beliefs.”
“I love that you did all this, but won’t it have the same effect as Elise exposing you?”
“I talked about that with Ryder. He thinks the book is written with such honest, self-effacing criticism and hope that the public and French authorities will have to agree to let Yvette come with me after the divorce.”
“Isn’t that risky?”
“No.” Here, he smiled, and his brows raised. “Because I have Plan B. If anything works against me, I’m going to take Yvette and go live in Casarina.”
“What?”
“I called your father. He listened to my story, and how much I love you and said I can get asylum in your home country from any action the courts might take. But I honestly don’t believe it’s going to come to that. In any case, we’ll end up in Casarina eventually.”
“We will?”
“Uh huh, after you graduate.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
A whirlwind flew into the kitchen. “Say yes, Mama.”
“How much did you hear, baby?” Jordan asked.
“That you want to be with Mama.”
He stood and pulled both Mari and Lilly into a hug. “What about it, ladies? Will you two marry me and Yvette?”
Two yeses echoed in the room.
* * * * *
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Author’s Note
Bounjour, everyone.
I fell in love with Mariella and Jordan. But there are some big issues here. It IS a book about an ethics professor after all. I kept asking myself, “What would you have done in Jordan’s position?” I know one thing. I would never give up my daughter. And Mari tells him to choose Yvette. My proofreader said she couldn’t figure out how I’d get them together with only ten pages left. This is because it’s such a good conflict.
The adultery will pose a problem for some readers. I know it’s unethical. They both know it’s unethical. But they’re human and they can’t resist the culmination of their love.
Everybody has flaws in the book. Mariella is rigid about some things, because she lost her husband at a young age. Were you surprised at her forthrightness, at her confidence in herself? I was. She was so shy and protective in the first four books. But she had an inner core that none of us knew about. (Man, has it been fun developing the characters over six books.) Jordan’s tragic flaw: Could it be not acting sooner to get legal custody of Yvette? Could it be his protectiveness of his daughter? I’m not sure, really. I know he should have told Mari sooner that he was still married. So keeping secrets, then.
As you can see from the above, my characters make their own way in a book. Seriously. I don’t know exactly what they’re going to do until they do it. I must admit, though, for Mari’s story, and next Raven’s, I did write out what was going to happen in each scene. Sometimes what I planned occurred. Sometimes I was way off.
