by Ali Vali
“Not exactly,” Jefferson said, flipping the page. “Both of you take a deep breath and remember what she said about there being too many witnesses and I’m only the messenger.”
“Start reading, buddy,” Tucker said, putting Grady on his blanket on the floor when he fell asleep.
“Monique’s wishes are that you raise Grady together.” Jefferson didn’t look up and it made Willow’s stomach clench.
“I think we got that part,” she said and Tucker nodded. “What’s the rest?”
“I don’t think you understand the together part as much as you think.” Jefferson adjusted his glasses and laughed. It sounded more like a death gurgle than any kind of humor. “She wants you to live under the same roof until Grady’s sixth birthday. That should give him a solid start, so you’re stuck together until then.”
“And if we say no? I think Monique might have learned some imaginative penalty shots from Jimbo,” Tucker said, exhaling loudly. “What happens if we don’t agree to that part?”
“That’s a good question.” Willow was already having heart palpitations thinking about having to take care of Grady. She didn’t need to add getting Tucker in the equation. “My house will be perfect for me and Grady, but there’s no space for Tucker.”
“She thought of that,” Jefferson said, turning to the next page.
Willow knew how thorough Monique could be, and she was starting to really hate this manifesto of demands.
“Your house would be perfect as a rental, which will cover your mortgage and other costs. Think of it as an investment in your future.”
“I have to move to Tucker’s?”
“Not exactly.”
“Jeff, I swear on a stack of Bibles, if you say that one more time, I’m going to punch you in the throat,” Tucker said, tapping her index finger on the table so hard Willow figured it’d break any minute.
“Tucker gave her house away to her sister-in-law, which means you both get to start over in the Delacroix house on St. Charles Avenue. It’s big enough to be comfortable, and it’s where both Tucker and Jim Bob were raised, and it’s where Grady should be raised as well.”
“And if I say no?” Willow tried the question again, and Jefferson inhaled sharply.
“Whoever backs out first loses custody of Grady, and it’ll be up to the other to decide how and when you see him.”
“So if I say no to uprooting my life, she’ll have the right to deny me seeing my nephew?” Willow couldn’t believe Monique wasn’t still a little pissed at her before she died, if this was what she came up with.
“It’s a rule for the both of you, but yes.” Jefferson closed the folder and said softly, “Believe me, it’s not to punish either of you, but to protect Grady and give him the best life she could manage without being here. She knew he needed both of you. Let’s not forget that one important fact. I think that raising him herself was her first choice, but that’s impossible now.”
Tucker appeared stunned, but she also couldn’t take her eyes off Grady. There was no way Tucker would give in first. “Can I talk to Tucker alone for a minute?” Willow asked. Jefferson left the room before she finished the request. “So, what do you think?”
“I think maybe you didn’t like my brother much, and you really didn’t approve of his relationship with your sister. And there’s no question you and I have shit to deal with.” Tucker finally looked at her and her expression seemed to match the sadness inside her. “But I love that little boy.”
“So you’re willing to do this?”
“Tell me I’m wrong about what I said, and I’ll answer your question.”
“It’s not that I didn’t like Jim Bob—”
Tucker held her hand up and pointed at her. “After today, or should I say after finding out exactly who you are in all this, I understand you better.”
“Are you guessing, or are you sure?” She was tired of being pigeonholed.
“You have to be honest. If you’re not, this will be six years of misery.”
She nodded, willing to give Tucker some slack. “Your brother strung my sister along as his mistress. Not even having his baby, something she shouldn’t have done, made him leave his precious family or give his son his name. I hated him for it, and it pissed me off that Monique just took it, like she had no other choice.”
“You’re right. Jimbo should’ve moved faster, and I get where you’re coming from. And I’m going to give Grady our name. I can’t change your mind or force you into a situation you don’t want, but I’m going to abide by what Monique wanted.” Tucker placed her hands on the table and lowered her voice to an almost whisper. “What I won’t ever allow, especially in front of Grady, is for you to talk shit about my brother. He wasn’t perfect, but he was a good man, and he’s Grady’s father. Accept it.”
“It’s a lot to overcome and that much more to think about.” She stiffened her back and came forward in her chair. “In my heart I believe Grady belongs with me.”
“According to his mother, he belongs with both of us.” Tucker stood and picked up a cranky baby. “We’ll be at my house until the end of the week, and then we’re moving to Sans Souci.” Tucker said the name in perfect French. “You’re welcome to move in, but take all the time you need.”
“I don’t think I’ll change my mind.”
“It’s not my first choice, Willow, but it’s what she wanted.”
“I’m sure it was, but is it what you want?”
“I want Grady—the rest will work itself out.”
“But will it?” Was it that simple? Somehow, Willow doubted it. The truce between them was fragile and moving in together definitely wasn’t the next step in their process. But she saw the kindness in Tucker’s eyes. She saw the determination too, but it wasn’t aggressive. She took a deep breath to steady herself. She would do whatever it took.
Chapter Fourteen
Willow walked into the house on St. Charles. The house was grand from the outside, but the wallpaper resembled seismic readings during a massive earthquake. That had to be an acquired taste. But her attention was drawn to the argument in the front room. Two women were shouting.
“I’m sure you’re happy, you old bitch,” the younger of the two said. “Our problems began when you went out of your way not to accept me.”
“You should start reading, sweetie,” the other woman said, texting and not making eye contact. “Maybe start with The Wizard of Oz.”
“Why the hell would I do that?”
“Because it’s a good fictional story. Kind of like the one you told my son to get him down the aisle. There’s also a delusional witch in it with flying monkeys. Enough vodka should help you conjure some of those up.” She slapped her hands together and smiled. “I know. How about we start a book club with Bubba and Tara, and we can compare that story with our lives?”
“God, I hate you.”
“Then fly away, little monkey, and be free.”
The man close to them let out a loud laugh, then covered his mouth when the younger woman glared at him before stomping out of the house.
“Tell Tucker to call if she needs anything else,” the guy said.
“Thanks for your help.” The woman stood in the foyer and finally noticed Willow. “Can I help you?”
“I should ask you that, since you’re standing in my house. My house that has the ugliest wallpaper known to man.” Willow walked to the wall as if staring at it from a foot away would make it better. “Who the hell picked this?”
The woman’s expression changed. “Don’t look at me, Ms. Vernon. This isn’t the Delacroix residence at its best.”
Maybe she was a staff member of some sort. Houses like these always had people doing the dirty work, right? “I saw the fancy French name on the plaque by the gate. What’s it mean?”
“Are you referring to the name of the house?” Willow nodded. “Sans Souci means without worry.” The woman started texting again.
“If you have more money than God, I could
see where that would fit.”
“For your information, you twit, you’re without worry within these walls because it’s where the family is. Money is something you can cram right up your ass.”
“You’re really opinionated for a housekeeper.”
The woman smiled when she saw Tucker in the doorway. “I totally see what you mean,” the woman said to Tucker, pointing at Willow.
“Willow, my mother, Stella Delacroix.” Tucker glanced from the suitcase to Willow, then to the door when men started pouring in. “The wallpaper is going, right?”
“That and the purple paint,” Stella said. “And I’d say it was a pleasure to meet you, Willow, but lying so early in the morning gives me indigestion.”
“Sorry.” Willow shrugged, unwilling to back down, and shook Stella’s hand. “You’re redecorating?”
“My mom’s taking care of it, but feel free to give her some input or advice. You two seemed to be getting along so well when I came in.” Tucker smiled and winked, and Willow hesitated before smiling back. “You should get a say since it looks like you’re moving in.”
“I am,” Willow said. They stepped into the next room when Stella started barking orders like a Marine drill sergeant.
“Couldn’t stay away from me, huh?”
“Shut up, this is hard enough.”
“We’ll work it out, and we’ll give Grady the best life we can.” She brought Willow up the back stairs and showed her the master bedroom. “Why don’t you take this one?”
“It’s your house, Tucker, you take it.”
“The house never really belongs to anyone. That’s how my great-great-grandfather set it up. Grady will be the lucky guy in the next generation who’ll be responsible for all the upkeep.” Tucker stopped at the bathroom door and didn’t say anything else.
“Are you sure? You aren’t a sore loser, are you?”
Tucker shook her head. “Mom’s gutting this bathroom first, so I’ll lose gracefully.” She walked the rest of the upstairs with Willow glancing in the other rooms with her.
“You could’ve mentioned that first.” Willow stepped ahead of her into Bubba’s room and couldn’t take her eyes off the large poster on the wall of a woman masturbating.
“The kid’s owned it since his fifteenth birthday.”
Willow figured Tucker’s nephew had joined the woman in what she was doing more than once after hanging it.
“I’m not trying to make you miserable. Right now, that bathroom reminds me of my brother, collapsed on that floor. Eventually, I hope that memory will fade. Maybe I’ll stay in here and stare at that until I go blind.”
“Juvenile,” Willow teased her gently. “Are you sure moving in here is a good idea?” She touched Tucker’s arm briefly, but it was a kind gesture. She moved her hand down to take Tucker’s.
“I took the house back because it was expected of me, but I wasn’t unhappy at my place. And if you look at that poster, you’ll hopefully know that I’m the most responsible person in this generation to maintain it.”
“Would you mind sharing a bathroom with me, then?”
“That makes me think there might be a small chance you’re not completely criminally insane,” Tucker said, and it made her laugh.
“I’m not, thank you very much. If you want, we can move into my place until you’re done redecorating here. It might be cramped, but it won’t be the end of the world.”
Tucker nodded, seeming somewhat relieved. “That’s better than my idea of renting an apartment until the reno is finished. I didn’t want Grady around all this paint and other stuff.”
“If I can borrow some furniture that’d be great. We’ll make it work.”
Tucker smiled and held her hand out to Willow, but someone yelled up before they could seal the deal.
“Tuck?”
“Up here.”
“Hey,” the beautiful brunette from that night said, then kissed Tucker a little longer than was necessary for friends. “The new leases came through, and Mann called another few hundred times.”
“Syd, meet Willow Vernon, my new roommate.”
“Are you hard up for money all of a sudden?” Syd’s question made Willow laugh.
“Yes, I need some easy money for the rig we still have to build without a partner.”
The joke made both Willow and Syd snort, but Willow followed up with a punch to her arm. “You’re charging me rent?” Tucker shook her head as she rubbed her arm like Willow had hurt her. “Please, you’re not that wimpy, are you?”
Tucker shook her head before facing Syd. “Anything happening at the office?”
Syd glanced between them as if she was trying to figure out some kind of puzzle. “A few things, but I thought I’d hand deliver this. You might want to take a look at the third page.”
The document in the blue envelope was a lawsuit, and Tucker flipped to the third page, where a list of names was printed. All people to be subpoenaed. Willow did her best to read upside down.
“You should think eviction, if that’s anywhere accurate,” Syd said.
“What?” Willow moved next to Tucker and tugged her arm so she could see what Syd meant. “Why is my name on here? I agreed to live with you.”
“I’m not suing you.” Tucker flipped to the first page and pointed. “You’re working for the other side, which means you’re on the list. Are we going to fight about it?”
“Do I look crazy?” The way both Tucker and Syd stared at Willow made her lift her arms and drop them, not believing they’d probably taken her question literally.
“I’d question your sanity, but I don’t want to provoke you on the off chance you’re completely off the rails and take Tucker and me down,” Syd said.
“Tucker, I resigned from the project. You remember that, don’t you? And I let you know early on about Bubba trying to take control.”
Tucker glanced from the paper to her and nodded thoughtfully.
“I’ve decided to leave Suntrust altogether. Considering who my new employer is, there’s no way I’d get involved with this. I swear.”
“You quit? Really?” Tucker handed the papers back to Syd. “Who are you working for now?”
“You,” Willow said and Syd laughed. “Technically, I’m working for Trout, but I accepted the job he offered me with Delacroix after we met on the rig.”
“Congratulations, but I don’t think—”
“Jesus, Joseph, and Mary,” Willow said loudly. “I told you to drop dead, and I apologized. Get over it already. I like Trout and the other guys.”
“It’s Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” Tucker lifted one side of her mouth in a smile.
Willow crossed her arms. “You have your expressions and I have mine. Live with that too. Are you going to fire me?”
“Look, I’m not firing you, but Trout and his guys spend a lot of time offshore. If you do that, you won’t be spending any time with Grady.”
Willow sighed and her shoulders dropped. “Sorry, I’m on edge, but I can’t afford not to work, Tucker. If me working for you is a problem, I’ll start looking again.”
“I want you to work for me, but let’s move you somewhere that’ll keep you in town more. Offshore trips are a reality for both of us, but we’ll work it so one of us is around for Grady.”
Willow bit her lip and stared at the wall for a second. “Who exactly is Syd to you?”
“She’s my assistant and my friend. Why?” Tucker narrowed her eyes at the question.
“Your employee manual must be generous when it comes to sexual harassment.”
“I’ve never harassed anyone in my life, but I might start making exceptions to that rule, and there won’t be anything sexual about it.” Tucker waved her to the door and into the guest bedroom between the master and Bubba’s room.
“I was thinking it might be you doing the complaining.” Willow retook her hand and laughed.
“Stop before I chuck you out the window. What do you think of this room for Grady?”
She sat on the curved window seat and patted the spot next to her. “This is a beautiful space, and we should agree that this should be neutral ground.”
Tucker stared at her long enough for her to glance away, a tad uncomfortable. “I was planning for the whole house to be neutral ground, but you do have a bad temper.”
“What?” Her voice rose again.
“You’re so easy.” Tucker laughed as she headed back downstairs. Whatever Monique had in mind with this, she probably had no idea about her history with Tucker and how that might complicate the future.
“I hope you mean that I fall for your teasing bullshit.”
“There’s that,” Tucker said, laughing harder.
“Where’s Grady?” Willow asked, changing the subject.
“He’s probably being introduced to bacon, doughnuts, and Belgian chocolate while he watches MSNBC with my father. The bourbon and sipping whiskeys will come later.” One of the walls was thankfully already missing the wallpaper and there were four other guys working on the one opposite. “Don’t worry, he’s fine.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Willow grabbed her arm as Tucker’s mom came toward them with a color wheel from the paint store.
“Oh God,” Tucker said, suddenly appearing like she was ready to bolt.
“What?”
“That thing is full of paint colors like Snowbound, Dover, and Origami—it’s all white, and my mother sighs because there’s no hope of me ever deciphering the subtle differences. My favorite is Extra White.”
“Do you want the color the walls were before”—Stella pointed to one chip—“or the color you have at your place? With any luck they can start tomorrow.” The two appeared the same even to Willow. “Did you hear me?”
“Can I take a look?” Willow headed to the window with Stella.
Stella glanced over her shoulder and said to Tucker, “You walk out the door, and I’m painting your room hot pink right after I burn that disgusting poster in the yard.”
She made it sound like testing her would be a mistake.
“I wasn’t leaving.” Tucker didn’t sound convincing but she was awful cute. “And whatever you two decide is okay with me.”
