Getting into the car, being careful to raise the garage door before she started the engine, Kelly had never questioned her life prior to this. There wasn’t time, and since she was fulfilled in her role of mother, it never came up. It made her angry that because of her husband, she felt compelled to reevaluate her life. Was it because her marriage was based on a lie?
The day at work went by quickly. Usually running errands afterward was part of her routine, but today she felt a pressing need to get home to hide and close the door tightly behind her. When she pulled up to the front of the house, she realized why the urgency.
Slowly turning into the driveway, Kelly didn’t take her eyes off the tiny woman sitting on the porch with straight black hair pulled into a bun. Her knees were tightly pressed together, and she was wearing an odd ensemble of a turquoise and white striped shirt and white tights. It was Lee.
Kelly was so glad she’d bypassed errands that day. What if Steve had come home and found her there? What if he’d let her in, and then an hour later, Kelly had come home and found them in her house, together?
She didn’t pull the car into the garage; it would be a warning of sorts for Steve who would wonder why she was parked outside. Getting out of the car, she found it nearly impossible to take her eyes off Lee.
As Kelly slowly walked to the porch, Lee stood up, a large bag in her grasp, which she held on to like it contained her life savings. Pity and compassion hit Kelly in the gut.
“I took the bus back this morning. Titan don’t know I’m here.”
Kelly remembered Steve said Lee had come to the US with Ted Baker when Titan was a toddler. That would mean she’d been here for almost forty years, and her English was still terrible. Kelly didn’t even fight the derision she felt, turning her head so Lee wouldn’t see the sneer, finding any reason to be hateful. She reeled it in however; there was no point in being rude.
“What can I do for you, Lee?”
“I would like a cup of tea if you can spare it,” she said.
“You didn’t come all the way to Dearborn for tea,” Kelly said, deciding she would be the one person in the household not manipulated by Lee Baker.
“No, but I would like some anyway while I wait for Stevie to come from work.”
Kelly wanted to swat her off the porch, but kept her hands to her sides.
“Lee, it’s a little presumptuous of you to come to his house, isn’t it? Are you trying to make trouble for him?”
“No, no, that’s not my intention, honest. I am worried about my boy. That’s all. I want to talk to Stevie about Titan.”
Kelly didn’t care what her intentions were. Why did she have to be nice? It infuriated her that she had to spend another afternoon thinking about Lee Baker. On Mondays she had certain things that she liked to do, and entertaining her husband’s former lover wasn’t one of them.
“Come in,” Kelly said, her voice clipped.
Having to dig for her front door key took time. Feeling eyes on her, she knew Lee was scrutinizing her and it was unnerving.
Throwing her purse into a closet for safekeeping, she invited Lee into her kitchen so she could put the tea water on. She liked to take her uniform off and get a shower first thing, but she didn’t trust Lee alone in the house with her giant bag, possibly ready to steal.
Going through the motions of tea making, she took a nice cup and saucer out and opened a fresh box of tea and a package of cookies she’d bought over the weekend. Steve didn’t like sweets, so cookies lasted a long time in their house. She made a tray with the tea things and arranged a plate of cookies.
“Do you take lemon or cream?”
“Lemon,” Lee answered.
Leaning against the wall with her cloth bag held out in front of her while she waited for the tea to be served, Lee came to Kelly’s chin, making her feel like an amazon. Tiny, Lee had a little birdlike face with a pointed nose and high cheekbones and big almond eyes and jet-black hair Kelly thought was probably dyed. Wearing gaudy silver hoops, the effect was stylish in spite of her resort clothes in the Michigan autumn.
Not able to help herself, Kelly did a quick visual nursing assessment of Lee. Judging by her color and a little puffiness of her face, Kelly deduced Lee had something going on in her body, maybe liver or kidney. But her son was a physician so surely he would pick up on it. Kelly put it out of her mind, not wanting to worry about Lee.
“You can sit over here if you like,” Kelly said, nodding toward the breakfast room. It was a cozy area in a bay window, and she often sat there alone to drink her morning coffee if it was too cold on the enclosed porch. Placing the cookies and the cup in front of Lee, Kelly poured hot water over the tea bag.
“Stevie and me, we were together for a year.”
The news hitting her in the gut, Kelly wondered if Lee had any idea that Steve had been married when they were an item in Vietnam. He said he’d told Lee, but now Kelly had doubts. Either that or she was a disrespectful bitch.
“Lee, you were aware he was married, correct? He was married with an infant when he left for Vietnam.”
“He didn’t love her,” she said. “He told me.”
“Lee, I was married to him. Am married to him. You’re talking about me.”
She really was a moron.
“No, no, not you. A short, fat woman with white hair. I saw her at the coffee shop on Saturday.”
Kelly was getting confused. Did this asshole think Karen was Steve’s wife?
“No, Lee. That was my sister. Who do you think I am?”
She had the decency to look confused.
“His maid?”
And then Kelly looked down at her uniform and let out an involuntary bellow.
“No, Lee, not technically. I’m Kelly Boyd, Steve’s wife. This is my nursing uniform.”
She stuck out her hand and Lee hesitated but she took it. The realization of what she’d said - disrespected Steve’s wife and possibly made trouble for him - shook Lee up. She stood up, all four feet nine inches of her, and grasped Kelly’s other hand. Kelly could see the waves of fear coming over the woman, and then the meltdown as she dropped to her knees, sobbing.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Kelly Boyd. I did so much disrespect. Stevie will be so mad at me, and I don’t want to make him mad. I didn’t know you were his wife,” she said, crying.
“But you knew in Vietnam,” Kelly said, unmoved. “You slept with a married man, with no regard for his wife. How can I ever trust you?”
Those last words took Kelly by surprise because they suggested a future of trusting or mistrust. Why was she worried about having to trust Lee? The idea that this woman who thought she was a maid might be in her life forever, frightened Kelly.
“I throw away my character for it, I know I did. I’m sorry Kelly Boyd,” Lee cried.
Kelly was feeling there was a little too much drama for this to be sincere, but she decided to cut her a break.
“Well, let’s not get carried away, Lee. Everything will be alright.”
That last word lingered in the air as Steve used his key to get in the front door. He looked at the tableau in his kitchen, straight faced.
“I wondered why your car was out front.”
Lee started to crawl toward Steve on her knees, still holding on to Kelly’s hands, dragging Kelly along.
“I didn’t know Kelly Boyd was your wife, Stevie. I’m so sorry I come here to your house, thinking Kelly is the maid. I lied. I’m so sorry. I told her you didn’t love your wife while you in Vietnam.” She looked at Kelly. “He never say those words he not love you.”
She released Kelly’s hands and covered her face as she cried.
Kelly was concerned. Steve was worthless in situations like this; he stood in the middle of the kitchen like he had a stick up his ass. But the point was to admonish her for the affair, not destroy her. Kelly went to her and put her arm around her, trying to get her to stand on her feet.
“Lee, you never have to beg in this house,” Kelly s
aid. “I won’t allow it. What’s done is done. I should have introduced myself so you knew who I was. It’s my fault, not yours.”
Lee stopped sobbing and tried to stand up.
“My knees are not so good.”
Steve came around to her other side and gave her a boost so she could stand up. She went to her cloth bag and dug out a tissue, wiping her nose.
“How’d you get here?” Steve asked Lee.
But the question started up the tears again.
“Bus,” Kelly answered for her.
“Can I use your bathroom?” Lee asked.
Kelly pointed to a doorway off the living room instead of the powder room off the kitchen in case she needed privacy.
“Right through there.”
Any anger or jealousy she had toward Lee had been completely defused. However, she was still pissed off at Steve.
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this right now, Steve. If you don’t think you can stand it, leave.”
“Hey, I just live here,” he said. “I did not have one thing to do with her coming here today.”
“No, not directly, but you actually did have something to do with it. I’m afraid if I let you handle it, she’d be moving in. Someone’s got to be strong and stand up to her.”
“I can’t believe she just showed up like that and confronted you. I’m sorry for the disrespect.”
“Like she said, she thought I was your maid,” Kelly said, laughing.
Steve noticed Kelly was still in her uniform.
“Oh, gotcha. What was the scene about when I was walking in?”
“She told me you didn’t love me. She said, ‘He said he didn’t love her. He told me.’” Steve went to her and tried to grab her hand, but Kelly pulled hers behind her back, like a child.
“I swear I never said that, Kelly. I would never speak of you to her. Please believe me.”
“Calm down, Steve. I didn’t think so. But people say things they don’t mean in the heat of passion. It’s our nature.”
“Why do I keep feeling like I’m being slapped?” Steve said.
“Guilt?” Kelly said sarcastically.
Lee came out of the bathroom and saw the couple talking.
“It was a bad idea to come here,” she said. “I’ll get the bus back to Chicago.”
Steve turned to leave as Kelly talked to Lee.
“We need to talk, Lee. It’s important to me to understand everything, and it will help you, too.”
Lee hesitated.
“So you want to talk to me about Stevie?”
“Well, not exactly. I want to set some ground rules if you and Titan are going to be in our life. Steve and I have six children together. Multiply your love for Titan by six times! And we’ve been married for over forty years. That’s a record by some American standards. I’m not giving my husband up for a childhood romance, even if he did betray me.”
“I don’t know what we have to say to each other,” Lee said haughtily.
“Well, why not start with why you’re here? You said you wanted to talk to Steve. I’m speaking for him right now, so why not tell me what it is you want to say to him?”
“He’s a man, he should be able to speak for himself.”
“Yes, in normal circumstances, that’s true. If what you have to say is worth his involvement, then I’ll tell him. You can accept that or not. I also want you to know that we won’t be harassed by you. If you come here uninvited and are hostile, I’ll call the police.”
“I’m not going to attack you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Lee said.
“Okay, well, come back and sit down and tell me what you wanted to talk to my husband about.”
Kelly pointed to the table, and Lee reluctantly sat down again.
“Now that I’m sitting here at your table, I can’t say it.” Lee had the decency to look embarrassed.
“Were you going to ask him to come back to you?” Kelly felt like a therapist instead of the wife slighted. “Because he’s not going to, Lee. He told me he loves me. He may want to get to know Titan, but he wants to stay in a marriage with me.”
She’d stick to the facts and not purposely try to make Lee feel bad.
While Kelly was lecturing Lee, Steve was standing on the other side of the door leading to his basement sanctuary. Having discovered Kelly had taken the picture of the men in his company surrounding Lee at the NCO club, he’d searched around to try to find it, but she’d hidden it well. Not understanding why he’d relinquished the interrogation of Lee to his wife, he would monitor it, and if it didn’t go well, he’d intercede.
“I’d like to hear the words from Stevie’s mouth,” Lee said.
Steve quickly tiptoed down the stairs and waited for Kelly to call him back up, but she never did.
“I don’t think that’s necessary right now,” Kelly answered. “You have my word that if Steve changes his mind and wants to be with you, I’ll freely let him go.” She got up for her purse. “I’ll take you back to the bus station now. I’m really sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
“No, I’m not going,” she said. “I came here to see Stevie and I want to see him, and then I’ll go. But I will see him before I leave.”
Kelly deliberated for a second. She was not going to be manipulated by Lee.
“Go out to the car and I’ll have him go with us to the bus station. You can talk to him then.”
She could see Lee was really giving it some thought.
“If you don’t leave my house quietly, Lee, you will never be welcome here again. You don’t want to do that, now do you? We can have family gatherings with Titan and his new brothers and sisters. But if you cause a problem, I am not going to allow you in the house.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll go. But I want to see Stevie.”
“Then you have to go to my car.”
Kelly felt just like a psych nurse. Was this bitch nuts? Resigned, Lee trudged out to the car. It was chilly now, the sun starting its descent. Even with the time change, it would be late by the time she got home, the only bus leaving Detroit not arriving in Chicago until midnight. Kelly made sure Lee sat in the front seat and had her seat belt on before going back into the house to call for Steve.
“Your girlfriend is having a little fit about not being able to stay here with you, so I promised her you’d ride to the bus station with us.”
She’d break the rest of the news, that they might spend holidays together, later.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry, Kelly,” he said, echoing Lee’s earlier words.
“Everyone’s so friggin sorry all the time; you’d think things wouldn’t be so bad.”
They took jackets off pegs in the hallway and went out to the car, Steve trailing behind Kelly. Feeling his presence behind her, she willed him to put his hand on her back as she’d seen him do to Lee at the diner. Steve saw Lee buckled in the front seat, a smug look on her face.
“Did she just get her way about something?” Steve asked, whispering.
“Yes, you could say that,” Kelly said.
She opened the car door and slid behind the wheel.
“Okay, here we go,” she said, watching Steve buckle his seatbelt. “So ask Steve your questions, Lee.”
Determined, Lee turned around in the seat as much as the belt would allow and looked at Steve.
“I need you to take care of me now that Baker gone.”
Kelly bit her tongue, sure that Lee was putting on her mamasan act for Steve.
“How?” Steve asked, concerned and confused.
Did she mean financially? Mentally? Sexually crossed his mind, but he squelched it.
“I’m afraid to be alone,” she said.
“What about Titan?” Kelly interjected.
“He got a sick wife. He work and take care of Jean. So I need someone to take care of me.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Steve asked, unprepared for what she was about to say.
“I have cancer. Liver,” she re
plied.
There was silence in the car. Kelly suddenly didn’t want to be part of the conversation. She’s probably lying, Kelly thought. She would try to block out what they said if possible. Minutes passed.
“What do you want me to do?” Steve asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Lee answered. “But I need to know you’ll be there for me, like I was there for you.”
No one spoke for the rest of the ride. When they got to the bus station, Steve got out of the car, which surprised Kelly, thinking of the trips when he’d driven her somewhere and barely brought the car to a complete stop to let her off. Now Lee had cancer. Oh, fucking great.
Steve waited on the sidewalk for Lee as she turned to Kelly. “I sorry about disrespect today, Kelly Boyd.”
Yeah, right, Lee. “Okay, thanks.”
“I’ll be right back,” Steve said. Fuck you, Steve.
“Okay,” she answered, looking him in the eye. Is he kidding?
As he walked into the bus station at Lee’s side, Kelly realized that Steve would do what he felt he had to, regardless of having a wife. It appeared Lee came first.
Chapter 4
After work on Monday, Lisa Boyd sat on the edge of her bed tying her shoelaces, getting ready to take a walk before dinner. It was a ritual she’d tried instituting hundreds of times in the past and was determined to try again. There was no reason on earth not to. For years, she could hardly wait to get home from school in the afternoon to watch TV and eat snacks. Stuffing herself, often consuming a whole bag of chips or a half a package of cookies before the news came on, she’d then fall asleep in a heap on the couch.
Waking up after dark, lonely and regretful, she’d start fresh by making something healthy for dinner. But by nine she’d be snacking again. Having snacked herself right up to 190 pounds, her family skirted the issue of her weight, but their worry and concern were palpable, her twin, Ben, the most vocal. He’d done everything to support her attempts at getting healthy, including paying her way through several weight-loss programs, getting her an expensive gym membership, and now, taking the time away from his wife and their new baby to meet Lisa for a long walk around town. She’d shopped for the date, getting new spandex and shoes, and splurging on a super-duper sports bra guaranteed to keep her girls in place.
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