Caroline sighed. “I couldn’t help it. He just looked so much like—”
“Like who?”
She bowed her head. “All those years ago. It was like a photograph come to life.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” an exasperated Daphne asked.
Caroline looked up again, but she appeared to be speaking to an unseen person rather than Daphne. “It’s all come together. No wonder Alicia said he gave her an unsettling feeling. I was going to tell her, I swear I was. And I will. I want her to know the truth before I go. I’ll tell her first chance I get. Praise God, there’s still time.”
“Mom, you’re confusing me something awful, so whatever it is, why don’t you tell me now?”
Chapter 13
Maybe I’m Amazed
“Your mother has a beautiful home,” Jack remarked as he drove out of the semi-circular driveway. “Is that where you grew up?”
“Yes. My father bought the house in Nineteen Eighty. It had been built forty years earlier and was still in the hands of the original family. I was nine years old and in the fourth grade when we moved here from Stamford. My sister and her husband had their wedding reception out back.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what did your father do for a living?”
She grinned at him. “I hope you’re not wondering if he did anything illegal.”
“No, of course not.”
“He was a criminal attorney, one of the best. He represented a lot of well-to-do folks in New York when they were charged with crimes like embezzlement or fraud. He also represented their children when they got into serious trouble. Plus, he took a few pro bono cases here and there, if it was a case he believed in.”
“A good field, law. How did he feel about your getting into court stenography?”
“He didn’t like it. He felt it was beneath me, that I should have gone to law school if I wanted a legal career.” Alicia sighed. “Sometimes my father could be hard to please.”
“You miss him, don’t you?”
“Of course. But my fondest memories of him are from when I was small, before Daphne was born. I remember him carrying me up on his shoulders. He was very tall, and I’d wrap my arms around his neck tightly because it seemed like I was so high up. I’m amazed I didn’t choke him to death.” She chuckled at the memory. “As he got older he started getting a little crochety and very opinionated, as if his way was the only way.”
“Some people get that way as they age. Alicia….”
She shivered. She wasn’t cold, she just reacted to the way he said her name. It left her breathless. She’d never responded to any man the way she did to Jack Devlin. It amazed her. “Yes?” she managed to say.
He covered her palm with his. “I’m glad you didn’t object to my picking you up tonight.”
She chuckled. “It almost feels like I’m seventeen again, with my date coming to pick me up and meeting my parents.”
“I’m glad I got the opportunity to meet your mother. She’s a beautiful woman.” He tactfully refrained from mentioning the strange look Caroline Timberlake gave him. At best, it could be described as shock; at worst, horror.
“She is, isn’t she?”
“Daphne looks a lot like her.”
“I know. I look more like my father, other than inheriting my mother’s cheekbones.”
“Maybe next time you’ll show me a photograph of him.”
“I’ll do that.”
After the movie they stopped at a restaurant and ordered a light meal. As they walked back to his SUV he captured her soft hand in his and held it, not tightly, so she could pull away if she wanted. To his joy, she didn’t.
They’d seen one of those thought-provoking films that spurred conversation long after the final fade-out. The plot had taken twists and turns that neither of them anticipated. They talked about it all the way back to the Timberlake home.
Jack steered the Aviator into the circular drive, carefully passing the three vehicles parked on the right border. He quickly got out and went around to her side and opened the door for her, extending his hand to help her down from the high-sitting vehicle. He moved in to close the passenger door and found himself standing just inches from her. He could smell her perfume, and a little bit of the vinaigrette she’d had with her salad.
Later, he couldn’t even remember how it started. He only knew that she was in his arms, and he was kissing her with the pent-up fervor that he’d harbored since meeting her. Better yet, she kissed him back. Her arms went around his neck and then to the back of his head, holding him in place.
He broke away from her lips to nibble on her earlobe, and as he did so his fingers smoothly unbuttoned the large buttons that held her jacket closed and slipped beneath it, desperate to feel feminine curves rather than a shapeless mass of wool.
That accomplished, he found her lips once more. He felt her body tremble. As he felt her passion rising, his own grew stronger. He’d waited for this moment for weeks.
Alicia tried to hold steady, but she couldn’t control her reaction to him. She moaned into his mouth, her body quaking unstoppably. Whether his voice saying her name in his special way, or his mouth ravaging hers, she had never experienced these feelings with any man. Her emotions whirled and skidded like an out-of-control vehicle on an icy road.
When they parted at last she held the front of her jacket together with her hands. The mercury had dipped since they set out hours earlier. “It’s cold,” she said, steam arising from her warm mouth.
He slipped his arm through hers. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”
He guided her the few feet to the front door, waiting behind her as she retrieved her keys from her purse and unlocked the door, aided by the lights that flanked the doorway.
She pushed the heavy oak door open and gestured for him to follow her inside. He shut the door behind him to keep out the cold. A night light shone dimly in the foyer, another illuminated the stairs.
“I’m not going to stay, Alicia,” he said. “I just wanted to see you inside.”
She didn’t seem surprised at his statement. “I had a nice time tonight, Jack. We’ll do it again, huh?”
“You bet.” He leaned in and kissed her again, briefly this time.
Jack jauntily walked back to the Aviator. Alicia Timberlake was one amazing woman.
If he had his way, she would be his woman.
Chapter 14
Hello Goodbye
“It was so nice of you to invite us to dinner, Alicia,” Florence Scott said. She had just given her coat to her husband, Henry, to hang up in the closet and prepared to sit down in the living room. The large room was warm and inviting, courtesy of the fire Todd had going in the fireplace and the scent of roasting turkey that wafted out through the kitchen. “We would have had you over to our home, but Todd said he didn’t feel Caroline was up to riding to New Rochelle.”
Alicia had always been fond of her brother-in-law’s parents. “No, Mrs. Scott, I’m afraid she isn’t.”
“I know it’s been hard on all of you, spending your weekends up here all these months. I’m proud of you girls, and my son as well, for being so understanding. A lesser man would have put his foot down after all this time.”
“Yes, Todd’s been wonderful, coming up here on the weekends and taking over most of Fletch’s care so Daphne can tend to Mom.” Todd worked as assistant prosecutor in the Westchester County jurisdiction, while Daphne’s career as an elementary school teacher was on hold as she raised little Fletch. “A rambunctious toddler is a bit much for Mom to take, even if he’s her only grandchild and she’s crazy about him.”
“Again, I think it’s just wonderful how devoted you two girls are to your mother. It’s like you never leave her side.”
Alicia nodded politely with a secretive smile. Mrs. Scott’s statement was more accurate than she knew. Ever since Sunday morning Daphne had become an extra appendage to Caroline, virtually never leaving her alone. She’d been right there t
hat morning when Alicia went to her mother’s room to find out what she thought of Jack. Alicia would have preferred it if she and her mother could speak privately, but since Daphne made no move to leave she had no choice. Part of her couldn’t blame her sister. After a short-lived rally, Caroline had become visibly weaker. Her cardiologist had told Alicia that she might not live to the end of the year.
“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” Caroline had remarked.
“Yes, he certainly is. But it’s the strangest thing, Mom. The minute I saw him I felt all shaky and nervous, like I knew him from someplace. I tried and tried to remember, but I couldn’t. And from what I’ve learned about him, he and I have never even been in the same state at the same time.”
“Do you still get that feeling?”
“Not as often.” Alicia didn’t want to admit that she usually bolstered herself with three or four glasses of wine before seeing Jack, and that in spite of that she still felt flustered when she knew he was about to kiss her, almost like there was something forbidden about it.
He’d kissed her senseless when he brought her home Saturday night after a movie and a late meal, a deep, tantalizing, openmouthed kiss with her back blissfully up against the wall. She wouldn’t have a problem discussing it with her mother if the two of them were alone, but she felt it too personal a matter to discuss in front of Daphne. It pleased her that Caroline, despite rapidly failing health, appeared genuinely interested in knowing all about Jack.
“You’re probably thinking of someone else,” Caroline said. “I wouldn’t let it bother me if I were you. He seems like a well-mannered, well-educated, well-spoken young man.” She shrugged her shoulders. “What else could any mother hope for her daughter?”
“He probably just reminds you of someone, Alicia,” Daphne said in a dismissive tone.
Alicia found herself annoyed at her sister’s breezy attitude toward her inexplicable emotions regarding Jack. On one hand, she was glad to know that Daphne had finally accepted the inevitable, but at the same time she resented Daphne’s attaching herself to Caroline’s bedside, thus robbing her of any opportunity to have a private conversation with her mother.
At this point, it would be hard for anyone to convince themselves that a recovery was possible. Caroline’s longtime cardiologist, during a house call, advised her to try not to leave the house, and LPNs now alternated around the clock seven days a week, each working twelve-hour shifts.
Alicia and Daphne arranged for a catered meal for the family, including Daphne’s in-laws, the Scotts, plus Martha, Marvin and their children. Daphne initially balked at sitting down to dinner with the family housekeeper, but Alicia held her ground and Caroline backed her. “You remember what Mom said?” Alicia said. “Martha is almost like another daughter to her. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t eat with us. They’ve done it before, when it was just Mom and Pop and me and you were with Todd’s family. If anything, it’s more befitting now than ever before,” she said meaningfully.
From the way Daphne’s face wrinkled like she was about to cry, Alicia knew she understood. This would be their mother’s last Thanksgiving.
After a leisurely dinner that ran two hours from the carving of the turkey until dessert and coffee, Todd and Daphne slowly walked Caroline to the motorized stair climber and got her upstairs. Alicia helped Martha and Martha’s daughter, Melody, clean the kitchen. Daphne, returning from upstairs, simply joined her in-laws in the rec room in the basement. She didn’t even offer to help, which surprised neither Alicia nor Martha.
Martha loaded the dishwasher while Melody put away the last of the leftovers. Alicia had put the place mats away and was wiping down the dining room table when her cell phone began vibrating in her pocket.
She pulled it out and sank into an upholstered French Provincial chair. She wondered if it could be Jack. She hadn’t talked to him since Sunday, when he called to tell her how much he enjoyed himself Saturday night. The very thought of him calling her from Alabama made her tingle. She took a moment to calm herself, then unfolded the cell and uttered a collected-sounding, “Hello.”
“Happy Thanksgiving, Alicia!”
She broke into a smile at the sound of his voice. “Dev! What a wonderful surprise!” Although she’d been hoping he would call, she really didn’t expect he would. This was his time to enjoy his parents and siblings. She’d been a bit disappointed when she didn’t hear from him in the days before he flew home for the holiday, even though she knew he was immersed in a major project at work. She didn’t understand it. She usually despised it when a man called her every five minutes. It made her feel like someone had placed a pillow over her face while she slept, not tightly, but just enough to cause impairment in her breathing.
When it came to Jack, everything seemed different. It delighted her that he had thought of her during his vacation. “Are you enjoying your holiday?”
“Absolutely. It’s always refreshing to be around my family. Nieces and nephews running all over the place, my parents glowing, everybody patting their bellies and saying they ate too much. The usual.”
She laughed. “Here, too. But it’s been a wonderful day. Mom came downstairs for dinner.” She paused, then spoke in a near-whisper. “The doctor doesn’t think she’ll be here for next Thanksgiving.”
His heart ached at the sorrow she clearly felt. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I know you are.”
“I thought of you today, off and on all day. I decided to call you after I was certain you were done with dinner.”
“I’m glad you did, Jack.”
He noticed that she called him “Dev” during casual conversation and banter, but when she felt serious she called him by his given name. He wondered if she was aware of making the distinction. Not that he was about to fill her in. It gave him a clear advantage to figuring her out.
“And I’m glad to hear you’re having such a good time with your family. I know you miss them.”
“Right now I’m missing you. Will you be spending the rest of the weekend at your mother’s?”
“Definitely. And I’d love to see you when you get back Saturday.”
He broke into a grin. He liked it when a woman took the initiative, and even more when that woman was Alicia Timberlake. “Great. My flight gets into LaGuardia at one o’clock. I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to get home from there, but why don’t you reserve Saturday night for me?”
“Let’s make it earlier,” she heard herself saying. “It won’t take you an hour to drive to Connecticut. You parked at the airport, didn’t you?”
“No, I went to work Tuesday morning and took a cab to the airport from midtown that afternoon. I know they have transport services, or else I’ll just get a bus to One Twenty-Fifth Street and I’ll catch the train from there. All I have is a duffel bag.”
“You’ll do no such thing. I’ll come down and pick you up.”
“No, Alicia. It’s too far. I can’t have you drive all the way from Westport.”
“Give me your flight information.”
He chuckled. “I see there’s no stopping you once you’ve made up your mind.”
“That’s right.”
He recited the flight and the arrival time.
She repeated it. “I’ll go write it down right now so I don’t forget. See you Saturday, Dev. Enjoy the rest of your time with your family. And—” She broke off, suddenly shy.
“What?” he asked curiously.
After a moment’s hesitation, she said with the shyness of honesty, “I’m glad you called.”
Jack hung up the phone with a satisfied smile on his face. Alicia wanted to pick him up on Saturday. Could it be that she missed him?
“So, Jack, who were you talking to that gave you that smile on your face? Is that the girlfriend?”
“Oh, please.” He kept his tone droll, determined not to let his sister see how pleased he really felt.
Everyone knew that the woman he had a fledgling relationship with i
n Birmingham dumped him after he relocated, not seeing any future in a long-distance love affair. Most of his siblings and their spouses, and especially his parents, wanted to know if he’d met anyone special. Jack, the middle child, was the only one who hadn’t yet married. He told them he’d met someone, but fibbed and said they were still getting to know each other, that it was too soon to know if anything would come of it. Even that morsel of information spurred a barrage of questions. “What does she look like?” “How old is she?” “What kind of work does she do?” “When will we meet her?” “Are you bringing her on the cruise?”
The last question referred to the trip the family took together every three years. With Jack’s recent move to the Northeast, only two of Clarence and Melba Devlin’s five children remained in greater Birmingham. They decided it was imperative that their children stay in touch and their grandchildren know each other, so six years before they implemented a family reunion. The entire family met in Orlando for a week of socializing, relaxation, fun, and worship. It went so well that Jack and his siblings vowed to get together every third year. They opted for that particular timing to give everyone a chance to budget and to take other vacations on intervening years. They insisted that every member of the family attend, no matter how young. It was as much an obligation as paying one’s mortgage. Missing out simply wasn’t an option.
Three years before they all went to Phoenix, and this year they booked a five-night cruise to Key West, Mexico, and the Cayman Islands for February.
He good-naturedly answered all the questions. “She’s very pretty…She’s thirty-four, and she has the same birthday as me…She owns a court stenography service…I don’t know when you’ll meet her…I’m not sure she’s ready to meet all you guys. You might make a bad impression and then she’ll quit me.”
That remark met with affable protests, and his mother said, “Seriously, Jack. Have you thought about asking your young lady to join us on the cruise?”
A Love for All Seasons Page 8
