Tender Touch

by Emery, Lynn

  “Bad choice of words. Let’s call it documentation.” Bill’s good humor slipped a notch under the persistent questioning. “Jade has done an excellent job of putting together information for me. She’s meticulous, best assistant I’ve ever had. With her ability and ambition, she’ll go far.”

  Damon wanted to smash his fist into Bill’s face. He was shocked at his strong reaction. The man had a right to praise his employee. But was there an undertone of something more in his words?

  “Yes, Jade is good at what she does,” Damon said.

  “The best.” Bill smiled at him.

  Damon bit off a sharp reply when the waitress brought them steaming plates of food. Bill tasted a forkful of his red beans and praised them to the waitress. She blushed then bustled off a happy woman. But Damon did not notice the spicy aroma of fried catfish that usually tempted him. A female voice made them both look up.

  “My goodness, what a small world.” Kathy stood in front of Bill. She gave him a sour glance before turning her attention to Damon.

  “Kathy, this is Damon Knight. He—”

  “So nice to meet you.” She flashed a smile that faded quickly when she looked at her husband again. “So can I expect you home this evening, or does your lovely assistant require attention again tonight?”

  “My wife,” Bill said to Damon with a look of resignation. “Kathy, let’s not go there again. Yes, I may have to work late.”

  “Oh, the job benefits that come from being high in state government.” Kathy’s face clouded over. “This is getting old, Bill. I won’t stand for it.”

  Damon sat stunned by her veiled accusation. He was sickened by them both. “Maybe I should just leave.”

  “No, Mr. Knight. I don’t want to interrupt real business.” Kathy stared at Bill hard. “I’ll expect to see you this evening at a reasonable hour—to talk about a certain newspaper article.”

  “I’ve seen it, Kathy. It’s nothing serious.” Bill relaxed again.

  “No, the one that will be coming out soon.” Kathy grinned at the startled look that flickered across his face. She gave a slight nod. “No later than six, my darling. Enjoy your lunch.”

  Both men sat for several minutes of tense silence after her departure. Damon stared at Bill, who sat blinking rapidly, his gaze darting around the restaurant.

  “I, uh, listen...is that all you wanted to talk to me about?” Bill rubbed his jaw with a nervous jerky motion. He glanced at his watch. “I’ve really got to get back to the office.” His food was untouched.

  “Sure.” Damon wanted the man gone from his sight before he did something foolish.

  After Bill left, Damon sat trying to convince himself not to come to the obvious conclusions. Jade was very ambitious, this he knew. Had he fallen for the wrong woman again? He thought of the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed. Was that special look only for him? Or was she a clever actress like his ex-wife, like his mother? Damon gave up trying to eat after a few minutes. Bill Lang was an accomplished liar. Why should he believe anything the man said or even implied? But then there was his jealous wife. Damon felt as though needles were sticking him with each question that popped into his head. There was only one way to get rid of them, he knew. Somehow he must approach the subject, or it would eat away at the trust between them like acid.

  * * *

  “Hello, Jade.” Alex sat down across from her at Uncle Joe’s restaurant.

  “Gee, Alex, did I say you could join me?” Jade shot him a venomous look. He’d interrupted her thoughts of Damon—Damon and his leering smile at Rachelle; at least that’s how Jade now thought of it. The last thing she wanted was to look at another man with a penchant for hurting women.

  “I knew you’d say no. I really need to talk to you.” Alex did not give any indication that he would leave.

  “Alex, we don’t have anything to discuss.” Jade was reassured only somewhat by the fact that they were a public place.

  Since the night that she’d walked in on his terrible fight with Lanessa, Jade had nothing good to say about him. Alex St. Romaine was tall, attractive though not handsome in the usual sense. He dressed in conservative dark colors. Sitting across from Jade in a booth he seemed the exact opposite of the violent man she’d seen at Lanessa’s house. True, she and Lanessa were not on the best terms these days, but that did not cool her anger toward Alex. Lanessa was still her sister.

  “Thanks for coming. Listen, Jade, about that night at Lanessa’s—” Alex did not meet her gaze.

  “Don’t tell me—it wasn’t what I thought it was,” Jade cut in.

  Alex leaned forward. “No, it wasn’t. I have never raised my hand to hit any woman. I certainly would never hurt Lanessa.”

  “Her furniture knocked over was a figment of my imagination, I guess. Or did a strong wind sweep down the chimney?” Jade folded her arms across her chest and sat back to be as far away from him as possible.

  “That was clumsiness—not because I attacked Lanessa. Listen to me, did she have any bruises or say I hit her?”

  “I didn’t see any bruises. But then I didn’t strip her down. And of course she’d deny it if she was scared enough.” Jade bristled. “Surely you don’t expect me to buy that?”

  “Jade, listen to me. Lanessa is... She needs help.” Alex stopped when the waitress came up to take their orders for soft drinks.

  “You’re a piece of work! I walk in on you knocking my sister around and she needs help?” Jade fought to keep her voice down.

  “Jade, I—” Alex blinked as though her words were blows to his face.

  “The only help she needed was out of an abusive relationship. Now that she’s dumped you, the problem is solved.” Jade stabbed a finger at him.

  Alex shook his head slowly. “I broke off with Lanessa when she wouldn’t listen to reason and get help.”

  “Bull. Lanessa got fed up with being used as a punching bag. You couldn’t stand not being in control.”

  “Shut up and listen to me. I’ve never hit Lanessa, damn it! We were arguing because your sister is an alcoholic. I’ve been trying for the last year to get her into treatment. She won’t admit to having a problem.” Alex spoke in a burst of angry frustration, his voice rising with each word. Then he realized diners around them were staring. “I’m sorry. It’s just I’ve been going crazy for a long time, trying to find a way to help her.”

  “That’s a lie,” Jade said in a quiet voice. Her throat went dry.

  “You’ve suspected something was wrong. I can tell by the expression on your face.” Alex regarded her with a steady gaze. “Admit it.”

  “I’ve never seen Lanessa drunk. She has a drink in the evening, but...” Jade remembered how Lanessa seemed never to be far away from a bottle of alcohol. But she shook off the label Alex was trying to put on her older sister. “No, Lanessa has her problems but being a drunk isn’t one.”

  “Lanessa hides how much she drinks. She keeps a bottle in her bedroom. Sure, she doesn’t stagger around, but not every alcoholic reacts the same way. That’s a widely held misconception.”

  “But Lanessa goes to work every day.” Jade shook her head. “She’s careful about her appearance. If what you say is true, she wouldn’t do those things.”

  “Lanessa is a functioning alcoholic. So far she’s been able to maintain some semblance of a normal life on the surface. But she’s sliding down. That’s why we were arguing.” Alex stopped talking and seemed reluctant to go on.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “She’s always in debt. Have you ever wondered why she has to work when her last divorce settlement was so generous? Lanessa is doing a juggling act with all her bills. I’ve loaned her money several times in the last year alone.” Alex took a sip of cola.

  “This doesn’t make sense. Lanessa is always dressed nice and shops at the best stores.” Jade did not like the cold lump forming in her stomach.

  “She’s shopping on credit, usually mine. I want her to have nice things, but not
so more of her money can be spent on drugs.” Alex rubbed his eyes.

  “Drugs? Now wait a minute, you said—” Jade sat bolt straight with alarm.

  “Three months ago, I found out she’s been taking prescription drugs. She goes from one doctor to the next, trying to get them to give her refills.” Alex’s light brown eyes were filled with apprehension. “But doctors these days are alert to what they call drug-seeking behavior. I’m afraid she’d going to connect with street dealers next.”

  Jade felt as though the room was twirling around her. How could this be? Lanessa was always so cool, so in control. She had beauty, brains and charm. Using drugs was an escape. But why would Lanessa Pellerin Hampton Thomas, a woman envied by other females most of her life, need the kind of escape drugs provided?

  “You’re just trying to make Nessa look bad in case we file charges against you,” Jade said, grasping at straws.

  “Then why would I risk more trouble by seeing you? Look, do what you have to. But don’t keep hiding from the truth.” Alex gripped his glass, tense with the effort of trying to convince her.

  “I’m going to talk to Lanessa about this,” Jade said.

  “Fine. Let me tell you exactly what’s going to happen. I should know. I’ve been through this with her at least a hundred times or more.”

  Jade did not want to hear the awful things Alex was saying about her sister. Yet his words were like missing pieces of an elusive jigsaw puzzle. A picture was forming that scared her. The last times she’d been with Lanessa, she noticed a kind of stretched tight quality to her behavior. Her laughter had a note of threatening hysteria. Lanessa did not so much seem happy as she seemed busy being happy. Her anger of two weeks before evaporated in the face of such a terrible threat to her sister. With her stomach churning, Jade left the restaurant and headed straight for Lanessa’s house. A strange car was parked in the double driveway. Jade went to the front door and rang the bell. A young man wearing a gold necklace answered.

  “Hey, baby. What’s up?” He looked at Jade in a suggestive way. “O-wee, come on in even if you at the wrong house.”

  “I’m looking for my sister.” Jade wanted to knock that silly leering grin from his face. “Where is she?”

  “Come on in, baby girl.” He stepped back just enough to let her pass, but so that she had to brush against him as she did so. “Ump, ump. Sweet stuff.”

  “Jade, what are you doing here?” Lanessa was still dressed in a suit from the office. “Uh, this is Malik.”

  “Jade, huh? Fine name for a fine honey.” Malik bobbed his head up and down.

  Lanessa smoothed down her wrinkled blouse. “Malik, thanks for coming by. I’ll talk to you later.” She could not keep her hands still.

  Malik seemed about to protest, but then shrugged. “Okay. I got places to be anyway. See ya, Lanessa.” He gave her a half smile that was not pleasant to see. “You know how to get in touch with me if you need to.”

  Jade watched him saunter out with the bravado of a young Turk who owns the world. After locking the door behind him, she turned to Lanessa with both eyebrows raised. “Who was that?”

  Lanessa’s glance slid sideways. She picked up a bottle of vodka and poured it into a glass with grapefruit juice. “A friend of mine. We met at a party.”

  “You met him at a party given by one of your friends? Which one?”

  “Uh, Verise I think. Or maybe Rodney. Oh, I don’t remember.” Lanessa took a long drink.

  “He sure doesn’t look like anyone your upscale pals would invite to their homes. Looks like a character from one of those gangsta rap videos.” Jade put down her purse and walked over to sit beside Lanessa at the bar. “He seems kind of young.”

  “What is this anyway? One minute you’re not speaking to me, next thing it’s the third degree. I don’t have to explain my social life to you.” Lanessa banged the glass down. She got up from the sofa to pace in front of the fireplace.

  “I’m curious because he’s very different from the other people you hang with, that’s all. Lanessa, come back and sit down.” Jade did not want to start an argument. “Please.”

  “Mother sent you over here to spy on me, that it?” Lanessa shook a cigarette from a crumpled pack.

  Jade took it from her. “Lanessa, you promised to quit after the last bout of bronchitis.”

  Lanessa threw the empty package to the floor. “Look, you want to mother somebody, adopt. I’m grown, and I don’t need another mother—especially not with the one I’ve already got.”

  “I can’t believe you’re talking like this.” Jade was surprised at the bitterness in her voice. “Did you and Mama have a fight?”

  “I’m tired of her pushing me. What clothes to wear, what makeup to use, how to style my hair, what men to flirt with so she can brag and play socialite bourgeois mother. I’m sick of it.” Lanessa jumped up again. She swung her arms wildly as she spoke. “And I don’t need you to ride me, either.”

  “Mama has always wanted the best for you.” Jade sat in shock to hear Lanessa express such resentment against their mother. “I mean, you were always so close. You both love the same kind of fashions, the same kind of parties. I was always the one reading books and trying not to be noticed.”

  “Lucky you. At least she left you alone.” Lanessa barked a bitter laugh. “How I envied you. No pressure to perform.”

  “Nessa, I had no idea you felt this way. All these years...” Jade wrestled with this astonishing new view of their early family life.

  “Oh, don’t give me that. You loved being the one with brains, always showing off your latest triumph in academia. You know what one guy told me? ‘That’s what I like about you, Lanessa, you’re uncomplicated.’ Dumb is what he meant.” Lanessa opened a drawer in the coffee table to pull out a fancy box filled with cigarettes. She threw Jade a defiant glare. “Well, I don’t give a damn. I’ve done fine for myself. I’m not so dumb I couldn’t get great divorce settlements.”

  “I have never, ever thought of you as being dumb.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You with the big job. I’ll be lucky if I can keep being a glorified file clerk with that witch Jeanne spreading lies about me.” Lanessa seemed not to hear Jade. She cackled with glee. “To hell with her anyway. I’m going to get that property Mr. Gerald Maxwell Thomas, IV tried so hard to snatch back.”

  Jade tried to get control of the conversation. “I thought you started a new job at a bigger salary.”

  “I did, almost. I mean all they had to do was check my references. I really busted butt to follow her stupid rules, and still Jeanne slammed me.” Lanessa switched back to a bitter tone.

  “Oh, Lanessa.”

  “Well they can both stuff their lousy dead end jobs. I’ll be living it up.” Lanessa ground out her cigarette but reached for another immediately. “Maybe I’ll go to Vegas for a little vacation.” Lanessa spoke rapid fire, punctuating her words with hand gestures.

  “Nessa—”

  “My lawyer says that property has doubled in value in the last ten years. Gerald is already backing down because he knows I’ll win.” Lanessa looked pleased with herself. “Yeah, I’m going to get a nice income. Plus I own land out in West Feliciana with sand and gravel a company wants to dredge. So I don’t have to put up with crap.”

  Jade wanted a way to avoid confronting her older sister. Maybe this was not the right time. She watched Lanessa continue her harangue of injustices done to her. Even as part of her wanted to avoid a painful subject, just watching Lanessa confirmed her worst fears that Alex was right.

  Jade grabbed Lanessa’s arm to get her attention. “Hush for just one minute. I need to talk to you about something.”

  Lanessa sat in a limp posture, leaning back now. She seemed to have wound down after ventilating. “Sure, sure. Hey, you oughta go with me to Houston for a shopping trip.”

  “Alex talked to me today about your drinking and the pills you’ve been taking.” Jade steadied herself for an explosion.

  “Alex ta
lked to you.” Lanessa sat very still. Her eyes glittered with anger. “You and Alex got together. So how long have you two been sneaking around?”

  “You can’t be serious!” Jade’s mouth dropped open in shock. This was the last thing she’d expected.

  “Sure. He’s one fine man, gotta give him that. And you’ve been hot for him since you were fifteen years old.”

  Jade took a deep breath. “What the—”

  “It’s payback time, huh? For all those boyfriends of yours I stole.” Lanessa sat straight now. Her voice was dry and rough.

  “This is crazy, Lanessa. Alex loves you. He’s worried sick.” Jade regretted the harsh things she’d said to him. It was now clear just how much Alex loved her sister. He alone had tried to pull her back from self-destruction. “And so am I. Lanessa, you need help.”

  “Get out.” Lanessa stood over her with balled fists.

  “Let’s talk about this calmly. I’ll go with you to the first appointment. You need to see a substance abuse counselor. I’m sure the department has a list of the best African- American therapists in Baton Rouge.” Jade stood to face her. She placed a hand on her shoulder. “Honey, we’ll be here for you. Alex, Mama, Daddy and me.”

  “How sweet of you to have my welfare at heart.” Lanessa jerked away from her. “All ready to have me checked into some hellhole to dry out. My, how comforting to know you’ll be there on visiting days.”

  Jade ignored her sarcasm. “We don’t know what the first recommendations will be. It could be outpatient treatment. I’ve toured several hospital programs. Even our state facilities are top rated.”

  “You’ve gone so far as to look at hospitals!” Lanessa screamed.

  “As part of my job, Nessa. It had nothing to do with you.”

  Lanessa gave a loud grunt. “You’re lying, Jade. You’ve been plotting all along—listening to Alex’s outrageous stories. He only wants to make himself look good.”