by Jess Bentley
“Well, yeah. Of course. But I wasn’t exactly expecting to have someone else living here. I’m not averse to it. I guess the idea of us living together, after all our years as couple, is a little…”
“Weird?” she says with a smile, finishing my sentence. “Seriously, Pierce. If I have my own room, you will barely know I’m here. I’m just in the middle of a bit of a transitional period, and if I could stay here, it would save me the stress of having to find an apartment. You can pay me half of what you were planning, and I will be on hand to watch Chloe day and night. If you think about it, it works out best for everyone.”
I can’t argue with her logic. “All right, you have a deal. When can you move in?”
She holds up her bag. “Yesterday.”
“Wait, that’s it? That’s all of your stuff? No boxes? No suitcases?”
“I travel light these days. Now, why don’t you get dressed and go to work and let me get acquainted with this little beauty?”
I finish off the last of my coffee in a long slug and nod. “That sounds like a plan. And Arie?”
“Yes?”
“It’s good to see you again.”
I don’t think I’ve ever meant a sentence more in my life.
Arie
As soon as Pierce is out of the apartment and I see him leave the building entrance via the security camera, I run over and grab Chloe out of the playpen. When I pick her up and squeeze her to my chest, I burst out crying, unable to hold back the wellspring of emotion that has bubbled over at the sight of my baby girl. I never imagined I would ever get to see her again, so the fact that I am holding her in my arms is almost too much for me to process. When Chloe reaches up and touches my face, as if she is surprised she is seeing me again too, I think I may never recover from the pain of the love I am feeling.
I spend the rest of the morning in the living room with Chloe, just watching her play, making her snacks, and pretending that I hadn’t just missed the last six months of her life. But she looks so different, almost like she’s grown up into a whole new little girl. Her white-blonde hair is sandier now, and her green eyes sparkle even more emerald, with the same air of mischief that Pierce’s have always had. I am so enamored just watching her, I have no idea how much time has passed when my phone rings and startles me.
I look at the screen and see it’s Bailey.
“So? What happened? I’ve been on pins and needles all day!” he shouts into the phone. I can hear the cigar moving around between his teeth, and it almost makes me laugh.
“I’m working here. He hired me.”
“That’s fabulous! And did you tell him you needed an upfront on your next fifty paychecks?”
I sigh, and look over at Chloe, who is happily watching a TV bigger than our old apartment. “I can’t do it, Roger. I just can’t. I’m going to work here for the next four weeks. Pierce said he’d pay me $2000 a week, so that’s $8000 by the time Danny comes calling again. Maybe if I show them I’m making a good faith effort to get them their money back, they will see some repayment is better than no repayment at all?”
I can hear the gentle hum of Bailey thinking to himself. “That’s certainly an idea. But just in case. I’m going to get you that expedited passport. Stay in touch, you hear?”
I agree to call him as soon as I have any new information, and hang up just as Pierce comes walking back in. He has his suit jacket draped over his arm, and he looks exhausted. I realize I still have no idea what time it is.
Pierce sits down on the floor next to Chloe and twirls a lock of her hair around his finger, then gives her a kiss on the cheek. I get a feeling in the pit of my stomach that gnaws at me uncomfortably. It pangs of guilt.
“So, what have you ladies been up to all day today?” he asks as he tries to draw Chloe’s attention away from the TV. But she doesn’t bite, more interested in the dancing pastel-colored ponies on screen than either of the adults in the room.
“Nothing too exciting. Just getting to know each other, really.” Suddenly, Chloe turns and looks at me with a smile, almost as if she’s in on our secret. It’s disarming. “How was work? Anything exciting happen?”
Pierce lays back on the floor with a groan, then stretches out his leg. His pant leg creeps up just a bit, and I can see intense scarring around his ankle. It makes my heart ache.
“Just the usual day at a high-priced security firm. Trying to send people to help prevent the destruction of innocent civilian populations in faraway countries. Finding bodyguards for overpaid actors. Stocking understaffed militaries with equipment they can’t afford otherwise at massive discounts. You know. Those old chestnuts.”
I raise my eyebrow at the last thing but suspect he’s messing with me. “Do you ever have to go overseas yourself?”
Pierce sneaks up behind Chloe and pulls her into his lap, tickling her as she squirms to get away with a smile. “Occasionally, but never anywhere dangerous. I mostly just train people here, organize units, and sign new clients when I can. It’s nothing like what I used to do.”
I see a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Do you miss it?”
“Well, that’s a complicated question for another time. Speaking of complicated questions, Chloe and I are supposed to go to my parents’ house for dinner tonight. Do you want to join us?”
I flinch and he catches it, and he laughs. “You don’t have to!”
The last time I saw James and Carol Cochran was on the night of Pierce’s graduation party, and it remains the most humiliating night of my life. I hadn’t even considered the prospect of having to face them again when I agreed to this insanity, and now that it’s on the table, I feel panic setting in. But there’s also no way I can possibly avoid them for however long this goes on. If for some reason the Cannizzo family agrees to my payment plan, I may be able to stay in Chloe’s life forever. That means telling the Cochrans the truth. Better they know I’m here now if that’s even a possibility.
“No, I’ll go. I guess I owe them an apology, huh?”
Pierce turns back to me, his face deadly serious. “Arie, you don’t owe them anything. Not a goddamned thing. If anything, I owe you an apology. For how I treated you, for the horrible way I behaved that night, for not standing up for you to my family… The list could go on and on. You deserved so much better, and I was the asshole that didn’t realize it until it was too late. Don’t ever apologize. To my parents, to me, to anyone.”
I tilt my head away so Pierce can’t see the tears forming in my eyes, and I nod. “I guess I should change for dinner,” I say trying to change the subject. “I don’t think your parents would appreciate me showing up in a Van Halen t-shirt and jeans.” I look down at the outfit I changed into after Pierce left and remember when he gave me the shirt a million years ago. It’s a lot baggier now than it was when we were kids. Pierce just laughs.
“If you change, I’ll leave you here. Besides, Logan will get a kick out of knowing you still have that shirt. I think I stole it from him first.”
Pierce gets up from the floor with a chuckle and heads for his bedroom to get out of his work clothes, leaving me to imagine what it will be like to have dinner with the Cochrans for the first time in years.
Pierce
“What in God’s name is the matter with you, son?” my father whisper-shouts at me from behind the desk in his study.
We’d been in my parents’ brownstone for approximately five minutes when my dad informed me there was urgent company business we needed to attend to in the other room. As soon as he shut the door, he was on me like a giant grizzly all over its prey.
“I know you have a lingering… affection for Arie. Hell, we all do. But damn it all to hell, Pierce. The girl has a pretty negative history with our family. Did it ever occur to you that she might be back for some sort of revenge for the way you treated her when you were kids?”
I have to bite back a snotty comment, and a snort laugh, both of which would sent my father into a rage. “It wasn’t that long ago. I was pr
etty horrible to her as an adult. Let’s not blame it on us being kids. Besides, Arie isn’t like that, dad. She would never do that. I think she’s just fallen on some hard times, and she knew I’d never turn her away.”
“We both know that’s not true. You absolutely would have turned her away five years ago.”
I am unable to stifle an eye roll, and dad gives me a look that makes it clear I get only one of them before he’ll have me on my ass. “You’re right, of course. But here we are. And I want to help her now if I can.”
“You just don’t think the timing is a little suspicious? I mean, this is part of your job, Pierce. To question everything, to assume everyone is hiding something.” I can tell my father has probably already started running background checks on her, which is his second favorite pastime after playing golf. But I wave him off.
“You can be suspicious of whoever you want. But not Arie. Anyway, Chloe loves her, and right now, that’s all that matters. I can focus on work, Chloe will have someone with her during the day to help her adjust to a normal schedule. It’s time.”
Dad can tell the conversation is over, at least as far as I’m concerned, so he hands me a glass of single-malt scotch and opens the door to the study, allowing me to leave. When we get to the living room, we find Logan playing on the floor with Chloe, and Arie sitting on the couch with my mother. They are both crying, and Logan is just shaking his head.
“It’s like some sort of maudlin women’s meeting in here. Please save me,” Logan says as he hits himself in the head with Chloe’s toy hammer. Our mother throws a needlepoint pillow him.
“We aren’t maudlin! We just haven’t seen in each other in years, and there was a lot to catch up on. And isn’t her haircut beautiful? Have you told her how beautiful her hair looks yet, Pierce?”
Arie’s cheeks turn red and she gently pats my mom on the leg. “You’re too sweet to me, Carol. You always were.”
My dad gives a gruff cough, indicating that he is done with the sentimentality. “Shall we adjourn to the dining room for supper? It’s getting late and we don’t want to keep our precious Chloe up past her bedtime, now do we?”
Dinner goes fast, and consists mostly of Logan talking about his next deployment, as much as he’s able to anyway. Chloe plays with her food, my mom plays with Chloe, and my father watches Arie like a hawk, as if she’s going to give away some sort of secret if he stares at her hard enough. For a moment, I regret bringing her, thinking that it was a mistake to reintroduce her to my family so soon after she reappeared in my life. But from the look on Arie’s face, you’d never know anything was wrong.
She looks absolutely elated.
She is watching, and listening, to everything, like she hasn’t been around a family in a very long time. She eats her roast chicken in complete silence, barely seeming aware of anything happening around her, yet simultaneously taking everything in. There is a small smile on Arie’s face through the whole meal, even when my dad is grumbling about work, or Logan and my mother are bickering about whether or not he’s going to be home for Thanksgiving. When my mom turns, and addresses her, she doesn’t even seem to hear.
“Arie, honey? Did you hear me?”
Arie stops with her fork her mouth, the sound of her name finally bringing her back to the present. “I’m sorry, Carol. I didn’t. What did you ask?”
“We haven’t seen you for so long. What have you been up to for all this time?”
Arie takes another forkful of rice and gives a little shrug. “Oh, you know how it is. Busy with nothing and everything. Working. Not working. Helping my family at the garage.”
“Why the hell are you so skinny, Ari? I wouldn’t have recognized you if Pierce hadn’t told me who you are,” Logan says as he hands Chloe a piece of bread. I scowl at him, both for the comment about Arie’s weight, and for giving Chloe something she’ll barely be able to chew through. Luckily, mom smacks him on the back of the head.
“That was rude! Tell Arie you’re sorry.”
Logan rubs the back of his head and grimaces. “It wasn’t an insult. I was just stating a fact. Arie used to have those pinup model curves. Now she looks like, well, a runway model. I’m not saying she’s not beautiful, it’s just… aw, hell. I put my foot in it, all right?”
“And you can stop talking about her like she’s not here, you jackass,” I say as I deepen my scowl. But Arie just laughs.
“It’s really not a big deal. I definitely lost weight, but you never know. If you keep feeding me amazing food like this, I may get those curves back. Soon rather than later,” she says as she eats another mouthful of chicken. My mother reaches over and squeezes Arie’s hand.
“And if you don’t, it’s no one’s business but your own. Now, onto more interesting topics of conversation. Are you and my son dating again?”
I choke on the beer I’m drinking, and Arie bursts out laughing. “Was something I said that amusing?” mother asks, looking dreadfully confused.
“Mom, why do you have to be so damn nosy all the time?” I cough out, wiping beer off of my chin.
“I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question. She’s moved in to the apartment, she’s taking care of my granddaughter, you two have history. What other conclusion could I possibly draw?”
Arie smiles and shakes her head. “Carol, it’s nothing like that. Pierce was just kind enough to help me out when I needed it. We’re old friends. Nothing more.”
My father clears his throat and puts his napkin on the table. “And on that uncomfortable note, I have a conference call with Auckland that I am already late for.”
He stands up and leaves the dining room without another word, which is his cue that this particular family dinner has come to a close. Mom rolls her eyes and gets up to retrieve Chloe from her high-chair.
“That was even more short-lived than usual. Shall I call you kids a car?”
Arie looks confused, but Logan just chuckles as he gets up from his chair. “Dad is getting very particular in his old age. He loves us, but when he’s ready for his peace and quiet, he’s ready for his peace and quiet.”
I take Chloe from mom with a sigh. “No car. We can walk. It’s a nice night and it’s only six blocks and an avenue.”
Mom leans over to give me a hug, and when she seems to be sure Arie is out of earshot, whispers, “Don’t you do anything to hurt that girl again, you understand me?”
We’re walking down Fifth Avenue, each quietly enjoying the bustle of the New York streets as Chloe points and plays in her stroller. Arie seems especially distracted, and I’m just about to ask her what’s on her mind, when I spot something out of the corner of my eye that sets me on edge. About ten feet from where we are standing, waiting for the light to change, a man in a dark blue track suit seems to be watching Arie intently. His hands are in his pockets, and he’s wearing sunglasses even though the sun has almost entirely set. She doesn’t appear to notice him, but there is an intensity to his demeanor, and the way he is focused so singularly on Arie, that is making me deeply uncomfortable. Every nerve in my body, every ounce of my training, is telling me that something is off about this guy.
I give Arie a gentle nudge when the light changes. “How about some coffee? Would could pop into this shop on the corner for a second.” But she looks at me like I’m insane.
“Do you have any idea how messed up I’d be later if I drank coffee right now? I’d like to sleep this century. Besides, it’s getting late. We should get Chloe home so she can get to sleep.”
I look down at Chloe through the little window in her stroller cover and see she is happily wide awake, but I have a feeling that Arie won’t abide me arguing with her. Yet, I can still see the man in my periphery, and he’s getting closer, inching his way through the crowd as if he’s trying to get as near to Arie as possible without being seen. Except he’s clearly not all that skilled at whatever his job is, because I made him in a minute flat. Arie, however, is oblivious.
We round the corner and I can s
ee my building in the distance, but I don’t want to give this guy, whoever he is, any information in terms of where Arie lives. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but everything about this guy is screaming “trouble” and I’m not about to let trouble just walk through the doors to my apartment.
I take Arie by the arm with one hand and grip the stroller beside her with the other. “Let’s keep walking. Maybe toward Bergdorf? We can get Chloe some new clothes,” I say as I keep my eye on the man. Arie gives me another withering look.
“Are you crazy? I don’t want to go shopping. And did you miss the part about Chloe’s bedtime? What is wrong with you? Who buys baby clothes at Bergdorf anyway. She’s going to grow out of them in ten seconds.”
The years certainly haven’t made her any less stubborn.
“Yeah, okay, fine. You’re right. Listen, I’m not ready to go home. Why don’t you take Chloe back to the apartment and I’ll go for a little walk? Work off some of this excess energy?”
Arie raises an eyebrow, and then shakes her head. “Whatever you say. Just don’t make a racket when you get back. She’s a light sleeper and it’s hard enough to get her down as it is.”
“What? How do you know that?”
Arie just keeps walking. “What? I didn’t say… She took a nap this afternoon. I noticed. Go take your walk.”
I don’t have time to linger on that exchange. Instead, I wait until Arie and Chloe are a few steps ahead of me, then I double back to where Track Suit Guy is standing next to a street light, watching. He’s so focused on Arie, he hasn’t noticed that I’m right next to him, so when my hand closes around his throat, dragging him into the alley, his eyes go wide with alarm. All of his faux cockiness is gone.
I slam him up against the brick wall of a high-rise and lift him off the ground by his throat, growling in my most intimidating voice. “What the fuck are you doing following us you piece of shit?”
The fear that was in his eyes initially disappears, and is replaced with arrogance. He smiles, and points to my hand, which is squeezing his windpipe and making it impossible to talk. I appreciate the complication and lower him to the ground, but I press my hand against his rib cage.
