Inclusions

by Emily Duvall

  Loathing coursed through Luke’s veins at the thought of Melanie asking Kendra such a question. He brought his coffee mug to his lips. The ache in his jaw strained down his neck and to his shoulders from whatever Melanie was now doing behind his back. “I’ll see you later.”

  Luke drank his coffee outside in solitude. The distrust he felt for Melanie tripled and ate away what was left of his relaxed mood. Golf with Brent ranked high on his list today of activities and the dry, breezy air made for a great day to get outside and to get away from his own house; to get away from Melanie. The waves of the ocean rolled in and out. Some of the neighbor children appeared in the distance on the beach with towels in hand, coolers, and large bags slung over their shoulders.

  Brent and Damon meant everything to him and their friendship ran beyond genetics. They had created allies out of each other out of necessity, with each brother emerging out of a home broken beyond recognition, by a father who told Luke every day he was stupid, useless, and worthless. Luke could see his father now, a sallow face and looming eyes, a man fluent in derogatory and high on belligerence. Empty beer cans decorated the countertops as he would sit in his recliner and toss one at Luke or his mother.

  Luke touched his jaw. The bruises had healed, but the memories had not. Brutality sticks with a person forever. He could see himself, stepping in front of Damon, taking a blow or a stream of foul language. Brent ran away from home the day he had turned seventeen, followed by Luke less than two years later. They had survived a bully of a father and a mother living in constant fear for her life.

  Even in paradise, Luke couldn’t completely escape his past. Sometimes he felt he stayed away from Vivian on purpose. He would never hurt her the way his father had him; he would never touch her except in loving, respectful ways. Luke blinked back the tainted image of his father. The mind was a bitch and memories were the accomplice. A shuffle behind him caused him to turn. “Vivian,” he said, eager to hold her in his arms.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you,” Melanie said, studying his face. She held Vivian’s small hand in her own. The two of them made for quite a pair.

  “Hello,” Luke said, standing straight looking down at Vivian like some tall tower.

  Vivian let go of Melanie’s hand and started playing with the ruffle on her swimsuit. He gazed up at Melanie, also covered by a swim robe, with her hair pulled back and a numb expression. “Don’t tell me she’s going back in the pool.”

  “We’re both going in together. An introduction to swimming will be good for her. I don’t want her to be afraid of the water. Babies have been shown to be able to float on their own. Obviously, she won’t swim without supervision for several years. Stevie’s bringing some floaties and extra towels. You’re welcome to try and teach her yourself.”

  “I’m busy.” Luke suddenly wanted to ditch Brent and be in the pool with Vivian. He couldn’t be with her though, or near Melanie.

  “I thought as much.” Melanie glanced disdainfully at the coffee mug in Luke’s hand. “We’ll get started then.”

  Stevie bustled through to the pool with the inflatable arm rings and more towels. “Goldie’s at the door, Luke. She’d like to see you.”

  “I’ll go talk to her.”

  Luke found Goldie seated on his couch with a skirt stretched around her thighs. The large breasts Sid had purchased for her tumbled out of her shirt. “Luke,” she said, sniffling with puffy eyes. “I’m so sorry about yesterday.” She sat up and reached across the coffee table, pulling a tissue out of the box. “The girls and I are having a terrible time without Sid around. Summer is supposed to be a fun, wild time for kids and Kari and Alyssa are miserable. We all are without Sid.” Sheepishly, she looked up at him. “I’ve been meaning to ask how Sid is these days. He only communicates with me through lawyers. We haven’t had a real conversation since he left us last summer. I’m alone in my big house and all of our friends have turned on me. They chose him over me because he had all the money before we got married. I’m an outcast. No one will give me updates.” She honked into the tissue and wiped her eyes. “You two work in the same circles. I thought you might be able to help me.”

  “I can’t help you.” Luke knew a great deal about the life and whereabouts of Sidney, her ex-husband. None of which he would tell her about. “I don’t keep up with him and we don’t work in the same circles. You already know this.”

  Unsatisfied, she pushed more. “You haven’t heard from one of your lawyers or associates if he’s seeing anyone?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is that your daughter pushed Vivian into my pool.”

  “Kari is deeply upset about what happened and I hope this doesn’t change anything between us. My girls are so young, a year older than Vivian, and we’re all getting through this terrible toddler phase together, aren’t we?” She tried to add more humor, poked his arm, and said, “We should commiserate together.”

  Luke set the coffee mug on the table and sighed, knowing Goldie wasn’t going to go away. “Keep an eye on your daughter when you’re around Vivian. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get going.”

  She released a sigh, traced away the last of her tears, and flipped her hair. “You’re an amazing man.” This time she threw her arms around him. “I knew you’d understand. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my welcome, with the wedding coming up and all I don’t know if I’m invited…”

  Luke got out of Goldie’s emotionally charged embraced. “Damon and Felicity know their guest list.”

  “I’m thinking more along the lines of being invited as someone’s date,” Goldie clarified. “I thought we could go together.”

  “No.”

  “What about Brent?”

  “You’ll have to ask him.”

  The prospect set off fireworks in her eyes. Idly, she touched one of the thin chains around her neck, “Could you put in a good word for me?” All smiles, she got up from the couch and fixed her dress. “I don’t want to seem pushy.”

  Brent came downstairs hurriedly and at the sight of Goldie he halted and began taking slow steps back up the stairs, trying to go unnoticed. Luke suppressed his laughter.

  “Hi there, Brent,” Goldie called out and walked right up to him. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

  “I’ll see you in a few minutes,” Luke said to Brent and left his brother to deal with Goldie’s hunt for a date for the wedding.

  Chapter 18

  Dinner time came around and Melanie couldn’t eat much, water-logged and deliciously tired from swimming, then holding a session with Vivian, and more swimming afterwards. She glided through the day on Luke’s apology and knew they’d reached a turning point in their friendship, if one could call their complicated interactions a friendship. He didn’t kiss her last night, but that didn’t matter. He’d been sincere and real. Luke and Brent hadn’t returned all day and she washed her plate, following Latonya’s written rules about cleanup, and decided to read the notes sent over from Vivian’s pediatrician. Melanie stretched out on the couch and opened the bulky envelope and scanned the handwritten note with both Luke’s and the doctor’s signature in releasing the files to Melanie. At the Growing Tree, the doctors on staff usually met with Melanie and they discussed individual cases. Normally, Melanie wouldn’t need to ask for such a report, but she couldn’t put her finger on something. Vivian’s behavior went beyond her struggles with speech. The tantrums, the intermittent eye contact, and the zoning out during her sessions all concerned Melanie.

  The first questionnaire she read, Ages and Stages, gave Melanie an indication of the milestones Vivian had reached. She flipped through the questionnaire, a tool designed for doctors and parents to assess their child’s strengths and struggles at an early age, and she almost threw the packet across the floor. Whoever had filled out this report had lied. They’d indicated Vivian could speak more than fifty words, she could string together simple sentences like “No thanks,” and she could mimic facial expressions. The date o
f the exam was also recent, within the last three months. The space for the name of the person filling out this form had been left blank. Melanie didn’t understand and her stomach knotted. She checked the time on her phone and called the number on the doctor’s cover letter.

  The receptionist took Melanie’s name and phone number and let her know the doctor would be out of the office until next week. “Thank you,” Melanie responded and ended the call. They’d have to get this sorted out another day.

  The second half of the questionnaire dealt with fine and gross motor skills and Melanie tried to think about what she’d seen Vivian do. The answer on the questionnaire indicated Vivian could string together beaded items, which she couldn’t, and could she dump out a Cheerio from a cup? No, no, and more no’s which summed up a bunch of answers on the questionnaire contradicting Vivian’s capabilities. The answers made no sense and Melanie tried not to overthink the crux of the communication problem between Stevie, Luke, and the doctor, but like everything else in her life, she couldn’t let it go either.

  “She’s exhausted,” Stevie said, walking down the stairs. “Vivian will sleep the night away. Kendra and I are going to eat on the patio, care to join us?”

  “I already ate,” Melanie said, closing the packet and stuffing the papers back in the folder. “I’ve got some work to prepare for my next session.”

  “You’re a hard worker.” Stevie paused behind the couch. “I don’t understand what you do with Vivian sometimes.” The tone she used sounded like someone punctured a hole in her pride.

  “I’m trying to figure out how to help her. You’ve got to trust me on this. I’m not in competition with you for time with Vivian and I’m not going to take your job.”

  Stevie patted Melanie on the shoulder. “I know.”

  The front door swung open, followed by Brent and Luke’s hearty laughter and easy strides. Stevie slipped out of the room just as Brent saw Melanie sitting on the couch. He plopped himself next to her and her nose fought back the strong odor of sweat and grass.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, suddenly nosey.

  Melanie hugged the binder to her chest. “I’m reading.”

  “You really know how break loose, don’t you?”

  Luke took the chair opposite the couch, his face tanned and red marks on the bridge of his nose from wearing sunglasses. He looked sexy and dirty, like a man, and he made her blush without even trying. “Back already.”

  “Luke won by cheating.” Brent stretched out his legs, placing his shoes on the coffee table. The grin on his lips spelled trouble. “So. Have you recovered from our excursion to Madagascar?”

  “I have,” Melanie said cautiously, and set down the binder. “I must say that I prefer a mattress to the ground.”

  “You get used to the ground. I don’t like mattresses much anymore.” Brent uncrossed his legs and hung out on the couch without regard for his burly body. “You shouldn’t feel too bad about losing our one-of-a-kind blue garnet.”

  “I don’t feel bad,” Melanie clarified, sensing Luke staring at her. “I value my life over some gemstone.”

  “You should know I heard from a friend that one of our competitors paid three times as much as we did and there’s talk that it went up for auction for close to a half a hundred-thousand dollars by some royal. You didn’t need Luke to buy you the garnet, I’m sure you have other gemstones he bought you when you were together.”

  Luke’s face flushed red. “Enough,” he said.

  “The garnet wasn’t for me.” At least, Luke hadn’t done or said anything to imply such a thing. Melanie looked Brent in the eye. “And Luke never bought me any gemstones.”

  The genuine surprise on Brent’s face couldn’t be faked. He looked at his brother. “Never?”

  “You heard her,” Luke added, uncomfortably.

  “Huh.” Brent scratched his jaw. “A gemstone could have smoothed over the fact that you had to put with my brother. Melanie,” he said with a grin, “What kind of stones would you have wanted?”

  “A bag of Paraiba Tourmalines,” Melanie answered dryly. “Know where I might find some?”

  “You tell us,” Luke fired back. He got up and walked over to the fireplace.

  “At least tell me why these gemstones mean so much to the both of you.”

  Melanie’s steadfast gaze shifted to Luke. “I don’t think ‘gem-hunter’ is on anyone’s top list of sustainable jobs and yet, the two of you act as if there’s no other job in the world you’d rather do.”

  “When we were kids, we didn’t spend much time indoors on purpose. We got lost for hours on the weekends. There were these housing developments a few blocks away for these big homes. Lots of wood, stone, and building materials ready to build houses. We’d pretend to be treasure hunters. We turned rocks into diamonds, trash into money. We’d spend an entire Saturday with nothing to eat but a bag of Doritos and soda and we’d be out all day, digging and going through the piles of dirt. Our father—”

  “Our father has nothing to do with our choices,” Luke cut in rudely. “I can assure you, the details of what led us to this life will bore you. We didn’t become treasure hunters because of some dirt hole a block away. My brothers and I are good at chemistry. We understand geography. We liked the subject. We found a career that suits us. There. I’ve given you a synopsis.”

  Melanie cleared her throat. She could see how much he didn’t want her to know. The tension on his face told her to stop prying, and she did. Luke couldn’t be pushed into sharing about his childhood or else he would close down. He’d become an expert at dodging his past and she could see this moment wasn’t the right one to keep going. Deep in her own thoughts, Melanie realized Brent had continued talking.

  “Gemstones are actually ordinary-looking in their original form. You saw the blue garnet. Nothing exciting, right? Nothing more than a rock. Rocks come from the mountains; they’re hidden in the rivers. All matter belongs to a species. Sapphires, for example, are in the species corundum; corundum is derived from the chemical composition aluminum oxide. This chemical changes the formation of a crystal. Crystals form gemstones. Add heat; add cold, throw in some wicked pressure and your crystal changes into a precious stone.”

  “She’s about to nod off to sleep,” Luke said. “Sorry about Brent. He gets more excited about aluminum oxide than a naked woman.”

  Melanie seriously doubted that. Brent might be a nerd at heart, but he gave off the brawny, muscled image of man more accustomed to spending time outdoors than indoors. She liked him. She appreciated him. He wasn’t as guarded or sullen as Luke. “What about you, Brent, have you bought any of your girlfriends a huge diamond?”

  “I don’t like white diamonds in general. They are a fine species on their own, don’t get me wrong. One of my ex-girlfriends was disappointed when I gave her a seven carat citrine. She only wanted a diamond. She’d rather have a puny half carat than a stone with fire, with bold color. Sure, a citrine isn’t worth what a diamond is, I understand the market. There’s so many gemstones beyond diamonds.”

  “I don’t know much about diamonds beyond the four C’s.”

  “Ah, yes. The four C’s of the carat world: cut, color, clarity, and carat.”

  Melanie could see the ring she’d picked out for herself in a magazine advertising for Tiffany’s. The round cut with the diamond band. She chose not to share this fact with either Luke or Brent, for obvious reasons.

  “Cut refers to the shape of the stone,” Brent continued. Color gives a hue, a visual intensity. When you hear the word ‘carat’ you often think of a size. Her ring is two carats. The earrings are one carat each. A carat is nothing more than a unit of measurement like ounce, yard, meter. A carat describes the weight. Not all gemstones are created equal. Two emeralds of the same carat weight are completely different in terms of their value. There are other factors that go into play. Now clarity,” his voice grew excited, “is the most important aspect when I consider buying a rock. Clarity shows me th
e true nature of a stone. There’s the scale used for grading diamonds, one you might have heard about, beginning with FL or flawless. I use this scale to grade the inclusions, which become more visible the further down the scale you go. There’s several levels to this scale, VVS1, VVS2, all the way down to I3. With gemstones they vary so greatly, we classify them into 3 different types and use a similar scale to that of diamond grading, except we look for how the light passes through. Is the stone transparent and light can travel through? Or is the stone Opaque and light does not pass through?”

  “I’ve head of those letters and numbers, I didn’t know what they meant.”

  “You should always know what you’re getting in a diamond or a gemstone. The flaws, the nicks and the indentations are important. I look beyond the image and determine whether the substance is real or fake; lab created or treated. I know if I want the stone immediately. More important, I know if Luke will want to sell it.”

  “You mention the term “inclusions” a lot. Back in Madagascar you asked me if I knew much about them.”

  Luke came away from the fireplace. The edge in his face remained rigid.

  Brent looked at his brother. “Yes, a subject you haven’t properly educated Melanie about.”

  “I think she’s good at finding out information on her own.”

  Melanie looked at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Doesn’t sound like much of a compliment,” Brent said.

  Melanie gave him a look of death. Brent looked over at his brother. “Are you going to tell her or should I?”

  Luke gave a small shrug. “Inclusions are no different than our cells or our DNA. They’re the good with the bad. Inclusions mark the past and give the gemstone a future, a home, and a value.” Luke glanced bluntly at Melanie. “Once I see the clarity, I know if I want it in my future.”

  Melanie couldn’t tell if they were still talking about gemstones. She wished Brent would rush in and say something idiotic to break up the moment. She looked to Brent to get him talking.