Hanging on (Jessica Brodie Diaries #2)

by K. F. Breene

  By the time we got back the girls were ready, looking decent if not a touch revealing, with Mimosas. Adam was there in a dress shirt of powder blue and slacks. He cleaned up well, but not as nice as William, which not only looked good, but exuded manly confidence and polish. Adam was hot, sure, but he looked so uncomfortable he might as well have been wearing a halter top.

  “What airport was Ami at? The one in Little Rock?” Flem asked.

  “Had to get an outfit,” I answered, stowing my bags in a corner of the living room.

  “You went shopping and you didn’t think to bring us?” Lump asked, horrified.

  “I needed speed on my side. If all of you went it would take all day. Plus, I went to the expensive place.”

  “So? We have credit,” Jane declared.

  “What happened with Brad?” I asked, changing the subject.

  Jane shrugged. “A few kisses, some wandering hands, and curtain call. He wants to call me, but I’ll be in California so obviously that’s a no.”

  “Brad’s a good guy,” Adam said from the corner.

  It didn’t escape my notice that he was sitting as far from Lump as humanly possible. Plus, the two were in chairs that faced each other, but neither would look straight ahead at the other. As far as reconciling differences went, they weren’t off to a great start.

  “Yeah, he’s cool. And cute. But in Texas. I live in California.”

  “He going to be here today?” I asked.

  “No. He didn’t get an invite.”

  “His family isn’t all that close to Gladis,” William explained, stretching out on the couch.

  “Willie, yer a bigger fecker, but not that big. Make some space,” Claire scoffed, giving him a shove so we could sit comfortably.

  “I was here first,” William said with a smile, not moving.

  “So? I knew Jess first. I win.”

  “Right, I have to go change.” I bounded up the stairs with my dress. I needed time to mentally and physically get ready for the coming hurricane.

  When the time came to face the music I headed downstairs, ready as I could possibly be. The dress fit well, I didn’t have buyer’s remorse even though I paid way too much for it, and my make-up went on without a hitch. I had a tiny bit of trouble with my hair, but after a few threats and a gallon of product, it all worked out.

  I descended the steps, trying to think if I needed my handbag for anything, when suddenly everything went quiet. I froze halfway between floors.

  All eyes on me.

  Lump’s mouth was hanging open, Jane looked cross, Claire was judging how fast she had to drink the rest of her champagne to leave on time, Flem looked bored, Adam was looking at my legs, and William had a small smile on his face.

  “What?”

  Ami walked in from the kitchen and followed everyone’s gaze.

  “You look perfect, Jess. Good choice,” she judged.

  “Sorry Willie, it was the angle,” Adam said, looking down with a guilty smile.

  William looked over at him in confusion, looked back up at me, then smiled. “Eyes off my prize, Dunn.”

  “Your prize?” Lump joked, looking at my shoes. Well, her shoes.

  “There she goes,” Adam mumbled.

  I finished the decent as I said, “She was just kidding, Adam. Don’t start.”

  “Those are my shoes, aren’t they!” Lump accused.

  “They looked better than all of mine.”

  “Could you have asked?”

  “Can I wear your shoes?”

  “No. Take them off.”

  “Make me.”

  “I would, but I don’t want to get Willie riled up.”

  “Seriously, Jessica Brodie, could you not have taken us to that store?” Jane put a hand to her hip, scowl firmly in place.

  “We can try and fit it in tomorrow.”

  Jane huffed and got up. “Let’s go. All the fashion I’ve missed out on is putting me in a bad mood.”

  “Putting you in a bad mood?” Flem asked.

  “Finished. Ready.” Claire stood up, putting her empty glass on the table.

  “You girls don’t need to finish every drop,” Adam pronounced, talking to Flem and Lump, who were finishing their champagne in a hurry.

  We all turned to stare at him. Unlike the night at Froggy’s, Adam wasn’t in the mood, or maybe he was just too sober, to stand up to the stares of five girls—Ami was waiting by the door patiently, so she didn’t count. He stepped back and put up his hands in surrender. “Sorry. What did I do?”

  “Fallen soldiers,” Flem declared.

  Into Adam’s confusion, William said, “They don’t leave fallen soldiers behind. Jessica absolutely will not leave a restaurant until the entire bottle of wine is emptied, whether it the first or third, and whether she needs it or, more often, does not.”

  “Good girl yourself,” Claire nodded in approval, heading for the door. “C’mon lads, I’m bored.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  We chose to walk into the front door of Gladis's house, instead the back, to make it more formal. Upon entering everything sparkled. The cleaning people had polished and shined everything to a high gloss. There were fresh flowers everywhere, giving the entryway a pleasant, but not overpowering, floral smell. We walked through to the lounge where a couple people were already standing around chatting.

  Here we go.

  I had butterflies in my stomach and was worried I would embarrass William somehow. My saving grace was that Ami agreed to stay close to give me pointers on talking to the many snooty people that would be here. Ami said they would have all heard I "wasn't exactly their type," and would be curious how I would act. It helped that I looked really good, but if my mannerisms weren't on par, I would still make a fool of myself. And worse, of William.

  I didn't like this stupid club. It reminded me how different my world was from William's. Not a good reminder. Plus, they were snobs and too serious. Which was only a sweeping generalization some of the time.

  All the girls and Adam walked past those already present, directly for the bar. Gladis barely used half the rooms in the large house on a regular basis, but they were all well dressed and alive today. William motioned for me to follow him, and I pleaded for Ami to come with. She was my Seeing Eye dog for the rich.

  Oh, sorry, those with means.

  “Why, it's little Willie Davies. Oh my goodness I haven't seen you in years!" An older woman exclaimed.

  She was dressed in gaudy jewelry from her head to her knees and sporting clothes that looked like an expensive carpet. It looked like her and her man, who must have been 100 years old judging by the lack-luster stare and face full of wrinkles, were drinking straight whisky.

  Yiks.

  "Hi Mrs. Hudson. Mr. Hudson. Allow me to introduce my girlfriend, Jessica Brodie. She moved out from Los Angeles recently. This is her friend Ami who is visiting for the weekend."

  The old bag of bones looked at me with a lopsided smile out of a stretched face. "Little Willie is all grown up and has a girlfriend!" she exclaimed and glanced past me to Ami and quickly back to me. With me still in her sights, she said to William in a mock whisper, "I always knew you would bring home a beauty. And a Californian beauty to boot—you always did like the exquisite!" Ah ha ha she laughed.

  We all chuckled along. Oh how funny, yes. Always did like the exquisite. Great.

  "Well, you were taken," William said conspiratorially.

  Honestly? Did he really just use that old man joke?

  She gushed and called him a cad. She then started a long schpeal about her health, her dogs, her daily activities now that they were getting up in years, and other mind-numbing information. Ami grabbed me lightly by the arm and gave me facial sign-language to touch William. I did so. He glanced at me with that blank face of his, and Ami excused us. He gave a ghost of a nod, and we were off.

  "Lifesaver, Ami!"

  "Nothing to it. Old women don't want to talk to girlfriends. She will now start talking
about you, trying to glean information from William—or is it Willie?"

  "I am apparently the only one that calls him William."

  "Oh. Why?"

  "I asked what he wanted to be called and he preferred William, but everyone calls him Willie. Childhood nickname, I think."

  "Ah. Well, then I'll call him Willie to keep with the norm. Anyway, Willie has been through all this before, so he will only say things that he wants her to gossip about. You'll find out from Gladis the things he likes best about you."

  "Won't he just say what people want to hear?"

  "Some. But that will change with each person. What people will pass on are the things he says that aren't cliché. You'll see."

  "I hope it’s good stuff rather than trophy wife type of stuff."

  "One always hopes that, yes. You never know with men."

  That wasn't very comforting.

  We found the rest of the girls in close vicinity to the larger bar set up in a giant room I had never been in before. It looked like an honest to god ballroom. Like from the 1890’s. It had a large open space with a shiny wood floor, apparently for dancing, chairs around the outside, couches in corners, and a grand, ceiling-sprawling, crystal masterpiece of a chandelier. This room alone bespoke of money. I forgot Gladis was so wealthy.

  Oh, sorry, filthy rich!

  “Hi,” I said, entering the semi-circle with Lump and Adam again on opposite sides. It actually looked like Adam wanted to get lost all together.

  “Done already?” Claire asked.

  “No, William is gossiping about me. Adam, what’s up? Other places to be?”

  Adam slightly shook his head and looked out a distant window. “Jess, them girls is talking about PMS. I don’t need to hear about none of this stuff.”

  “It’ll help if you ever get a girl,” Jane stated.

  “Might not want a girl after this conversation.”

  “Might just help you get a boy, then. A femy-pretty one. That suit you better?” Claire asked with a smirk. “I met all kinds when I lived in San Fran.”

  “Jess,” Adam whined.

  “Guys, leave Adam alone. He’s one against four. That is a lot of estrogen to throw at a cowboy.”

  I got shrugs and a beer.

  We talked and laughed, largely avoiding everyone else. Most of the crowd was older and paid us little attention when they wandered into the big room. I had a feeling they weren’t accustomed to hanging out by a bar. They found chairs and couches and ordered drinks through a waitress that tried her best not to look bored.

  About an hour later William came to find me. He was drinking champagne when he entered, which was being passed around by servers, but quickly changed that for a beer when he reached the bar. He exhaled loudly and looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.

  "Are you ready?" he asked me.

  "For what?"

  "We need to walk around together for a bit. There are some friends of my mother that want to meet you, plus... there are a couple girls here that my parents... my mother, tried to set me up with in the past. They will want to know who you are. I wouldn't trust them if I were you, but that is your prerogative."

  After I gulped, I nodded, and finished my beer, getting a supportive pat from Lump. Instead of another beer, I asked for a Champagne. It looked better. Not to mention it would give me more courage.

  William and I headed out, the girls in toe by twos. They planned to stay relatively near me in case I was cornered by a mean, scorned woman. I needed to remember to thank Gladis and William yet again for the girls this weekend; I would have been a mess without backup.

  When we got to the made-up parlor we were confronted by hoards of elegant people politely chatting and sipping their drinks. The money in this room was insane. Jewels adorned all the ladies, along with designer labels galore. The men were spiffy, often drinking some type of brown alcohol straight, or with an ice cube. Most were either William’s parent’s age or older, but there was a spatter of younger people mixed in. As we entered, more than a few eyes turned our way, caught William, then glued to me.

  I kind of wished I had Fred by my side.

  I let William lead, knowing that if I was in charge, I'd hea directly out the front door. He took us first to Trudy and Dennis since they were close and I knew them, and we were received with delighted smiles.

  “Hi Jessica! So glad to see you again!” Trudy exclaimed. “When are we going wine tasting? I have a club of women that want to join! I’ve simply raved about you. They all want to meet you.”

  “Hi Trudy, Dennis. How are you?” I asked politely.

  Trudy gave me a fleeting confused expression, then looked around her. She probably wondered what was up with the reserved attitude. Based on the fact that everyone was glancing at us and talking amongst themselves, I had a feeling she caught on quickly.

  Then she proved it by adopting her own guarded manner. “Well, I hope to see you and William very soon. You have to come by for dinner! I had such a blast the other night.”

  “We will,” William affirmed before smiling, nodding, and asking that we be excused from the conversation.

  Everyone wanted to meet me. Then judge me.

  So far I was not having any fun.

  We meandered on. I met some people and said hi to the ones I knew through Gladis. All in all it was going well as far as horrible, intense pressure and scrutiny could go. The girls were engaged in conversations with random people, and William and I were being received well.

  That was, until I met the Ex.

  We were talking to one of William's work associates when a pretty girl walked up. She was shorter than me, had blond hair, wide set brown eyes and pouty lips. She was attractive, though no Lump, and had probably been stunning in her youth before age snuck in; her beauty wasn’t ever-lasting like Denise’s (thank fuck!).

  To my nearly expert eye, she must’ve already had work done and she probably wasn’t much older than me. There was something about her, though, that made you take notice. It was the way she carried herself teamed with the fact that her outfit and jewelry probably cost more than the car I would be buying. She knew her worth and she was her own best marketer.

  Needless to say, I was daunted. She was out for blood—I could tell.

  "Willie," she said in a breathy, sultry voice. She was slightly overweight but had a great rack to hide it.

  His face went blank immediately. His eyes got a bit tight around the edges and he was clenching his jaw. I got nervous. This usually meant he was trying to stifle intense feelings. The butterflies I thought were dying returned with frenzy.

  I saw Denise casually saunter closer. She might not like me, but she would be damned if I embarrassed her son or her family. In addition, Ami was gently dragging a confused Adam toward us, followed by the rest of the troop. The big show-off was about to begin, and unfortunately, everyone would notice if I took the coward’s way out and sprinted from the room.

  “Hi Dez. How have you been?”

  She leaned in and up with her cheek gracefully extended, obviously expecting him to come down and kiss her in greeting.

  He complied slowly, and she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. I realized I was holding my breath as my stomach tightened. Throwing up right now would not look good.

  Hiding my fear and worry as best I could, I silently let my breath out as I maintained an interested look.

  When they were done with the prolonged hug, she promptly ignored me as she asked, “How is that pet project of yours? Bulls or dogs or something, wasn’t it?”

  His face still blank, William nodded. “It is going surprising well, actually. I have five bulls in the major rodeo circuit. By the way, this is my girlfriend Jessica. Jessica, this is Dezeray.”

  She looked at me for the first time, taking in my height, my body, my clothes… and finding me wanting. I might as well have been a dirty cockroach. She daintily extended her hand anyway, looking down her nose, and I gently shook it.

>   She turned away from me without a word.

  “When are you going to give up those silly games and focus on business?” she asked William. “I hope you aren’t still riding those animals, Willie! They are positively dangerous. Your family and I wouldn’t want to lose you.”

  She wouldn’t want to lose him? She was obviously going to try and get him back, thinking me no contest. Bitch.

  But why now? Why wait five years? Why wait until he has someone to turn tricks?

  She was right, though. It was obvious she belonged in his world. She knew all their family friends, because they were her family friends as well. She knew William from years ago—this was obviously the long term relationship he was talking about, and he hadn’t been with anyone long-term since, except me. He must still have a deeply embedded candle lit for her, and it could only help her cause.

  I had no connections, had a wild streak and no history with money. In a side-by-side comparison, I wasn’t hitting heavy.

  “What are you doing these days?” William asked, changing the subject.

  “Oh, this and that, as usual. I am currently single again, though not for long probably.” She smiled sensually and gave him a seductive look.

  “Are you still helping your dad?”

  “Oh God no.” She elegantly waved away the suggestion. “No. I am currently remodeling the house. It is a lot of work to pick out the right color scheme, tiles, drapes. It is a big house so there is a lot to do.” She glanced at me when she spoke of the size, hinting at expense. She knew I wasn’t from wealth.

  “And speaking of,” she said, finally turning to me. “What is it you do...Jessica, is it?”

  “She wor--”

  “Willie, I asked her,” Dezeray said firmly, cutting him off. “Surely such a pretty trophy can speak for herself?”

  Did she just say what I think she said? I bet Lump would kick her ass if I asked nicely enough. Hell, I didn't need Lump, I could totally take her!

  Dezeray leaned in to me like we were best friends and said softly, “He talks for you as if you weren’t educated.” Her laugh sounded like aluminum falling down stone steps.