by Harper Lin
“Yes, and don’t think I didn’t see what you just did to Adam.”
“He stuck his tongue out at me first.”
“Mom, I think by now you know who the liar in the family is. It’s really sad that she is such a lying liar, but Meg is lying…again…like a liar.”
“Look.” Amelia chuckled. “Both of you are about ten seconds away from being awarded to the state, so if you don’t start behaving, I’m going to hand you over.”
“We should make something special for Dan when he comes over again. When is he coming over again, Mom?” Meg asked.
Both the kids had gotten close to Dan since he and Amelia had started dating. But it was obvious that Meg, being the youngest and a girl, needed a better male figure in her life than John. Dan had accepted the role and slowly took the time to learn about her. He had done the same for Adam, but it was different since they were both guys.
Amelia had always thought Meg had a good head on her shoulders.
“I listen to my gut, Mom. Dan said everyone has an internal sensor, and most crimes could be avoided if they’d just listen to their gut.”
“I agree,” Amelia remembered saying to her daughter. She was going to be a real beauty in a few more years. Her eyelashes were a mile long, and even though she ate like a mule, her figure was sleek. It was obvious the curves were starting to push against her clothes but not too quickly. Amelia could still refer to her as her little girl even if it wasn’t exactly true.
Just as she was about to answer her daughter’s question, Amelia saw a familiar face on the See Portland magazine, one of the glossies Bonnie had talked about.
It was Candace Rosenbaum. According to the magazine, there was going to be a huge fundraiser at the Rothskeller Center for some obscure charity. It was by invitation only.
“So what if I don’t have an invitation,” Amelia mumbled as the kids continued to banter back and forth. “But I’ve been to the Rothskeller. How hard could it be to sneak in? It isn’t like the president of the United States is going to be there. Security would probably consist of a couple bouncers, right?”
“What did you say, Mom?” Meg asked.
“Hmm? What?”
“I asked when Dan was coming by again.”
“Oh, uhm, he said he might stop by tonight if he wasn’t stuck at work,” she replied while stuffing the magazine into the shopping cart. “But we can make him something to eat, and you know he’ll eat leftovers.”
They continued up and down the aisles, and by the time they got to the checkout counter, Amelia was ready to strangle both of her children.
“Look, I don’t know what happened to you both today, but I’m going to say this with as much love as I can. You two need to shut up.” Amelia gave them that Mom look that meant she was serious. “Adam, help bag the groceries.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Meg, get everything out of the cart.”
“Okay.”
Amelia saw the look on the cashier’s face as if to say, “No worries. We’ve all been there.”
“You got kids?” Amelia asked.
“Sure do, honey,” she chuckled, making Amelia chuckle too.
“It’s a good thing they are cute, or I would have killed them both years ago.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” the woman chided. “That goes for their father, too.”
That comment made Amelia laugh even harder.
The kids looked embarrassed, as teenagers always do when they see their mother chatting and having fun at their expense.
“Now that we are done with all that, you guys can go and start loading everything into the car.”
Amelia’s cell phone began to ring. She pulled it from her back pocket, and her chest tightened as she read the number.
“What’s up, John?” After shopping with the kids and still having a dozen things to do before bed, the last thing Amelia wanted was another unreasonable demand from her ex-husband.
“Amelia. Hi. Are you busy?”
“No, I’m soaking in the tub, reading a trashy romance novel, eating bon-bons. Yeah, just a little.”
“Oh, well. Okay. Can you call me back when things have slowed down?”
Amelia sensed something wasn’t right. This wasn’t John’s usual demeanor. He was usually bossy and rude and always in a hurry.
“That’ll be in about seven years, John. What is it you need? Do you have to cancel with the kids this weekend?”
“No. No. Nothing like that.” He sounded nervous but not like there was an emergency. More like he needed something and was embarrassed to ask. Amelia was intrigued.
“Look, I’m standing here in the parking lot, and the kids have just gotten on my last nerve. So how about I call you when I get home and I’ve banished them to their separate corners of the house.”
John did something so out of character Amelia almost dropped the phone. He laughed. “That sounds fine. I’ll wait for your call.”
After stuffing her phone back into her pocket, she watched as the kids loaded the rest of the groceries then climbed quietly into the car.
“Both of you sit in the back seat,” Amelia ordered.
“What? Why?” Adam said as he was about to climb into the front seat.
“Because. You guys have given me a headache. Now you can sit together in the quiet car with no radio until we get home. When I pull the car into the driveway, you’ll unload everything and bring it in the house. Then you’ll both go to your rooms until I call you.”
Amelia went upstairs to let the kids get their chore done. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and put on a comfortable pair of pajamas. It wasn’t even seven o’clock, but she didn’t care. When her phone rang again, she was sure it was Dan. She recognized the number, but it wasn’t Dan’s. It was John’s. Again.
“Hello?” Amelia knew she sounded snarky, but she didn’t care.
“Hi,” he said calmly. “Are you home now?”
“Yes. I just got home. I just literally walked in the door and barely set my purse down,” she huffed.
“Great. Look, I know this is probably going to sound weird, but I didn’t know who else to talk to,” John said. His voice was quiet, as if he was whispering.
“What’s the matter with you?”
John took a deep breath.
“You know, Amelia, when we were together, I never worried about what you were doing.”
“Yeah. That was a lucky break. Too bad I couldn’t say the same.”
“I deserve that,” he mumbled.
“John, please just spit it out.” Amelia rubbed her head.
“Ever since Jennifer found out she was pregnant, well, she’s changed.”
“Of course she has, John. It’s called hormones. It happens to all of us when our bodies become homes to little people.”
“No. That’s not what I mean. She’s spending a lot of money.”
“So?”
“I don’t think you are understanding me, Amelia.” John chuckled nervously. “She just bought a bedroom set for a newborn that cost eight thousand dollars.”
Amelia’s jaw hit the floor, and her eyes crinkled in horror.
“That doesn’t include the clothes and the toys and the visits to the spa that she can’t go to alone, so she brings her mother or a couple friends.”
“So what do you want me to do about it, John?”
“I don’t know, Amelia.” He sighed quietly. John had moved on while they were still in their marriage, so it was all just a little too late for him to ask her for any kind of help.
“I guess I just needed to hear a familiar voice.”
“What?”
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot, Amelia. Thinking about what we had together.”
Amelia felt sick to her stomach. What in the world was he saying?
“John, I’ve had a busy day. The kids were in rare form tonight, and I’ve got to hit the baking supply store before I even get to the truck tomorrow.”
“I understan
d.”
“Do you? Because what I’m telling you is that my life is very full right now.”
“I know what you mean.” He prattled on about his law firm taking on some huge new million-dollar client. It was obvious from what he was saying that the last thing he was really concerned with was money. He just didn’t like parting with it.
“I think Jennifer thinks that since we’ve got this cash flow now, money isn’t a concern. But money is always a concern. You knew that when we were married.”
Again, that nauseous feeling rushed over Amelia.
“What should I do, Amelia?”
I’d suggest taking away her credit card and access to the bank. Then I’d sit her down and tell her if she wants something, she’ll need to ask for it, and if it’s too expensive she can’t have it. The same way you’d talk to any spoiled brat.
What did he want from her? She didn’t dare offer any advice.
“I don’t know what to tell you, John.”
That was the kindest thing she could come up with. It was true, but what she really wanted to do was gloat. She wanted to laugh a long, hard belly laugh right over the phone until her eyes watered and she couldn’t breathe. That was what she wanted to do. But she opted to keep it classy.
“Do you know I had a check bounce?” He pouted.
The giggles were racing up her throat.
“I haven’t had that happen since undergrad. Can you believe it?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out what to do.” Amelia looked at her watch.
“Hey, Amelia. Maybe we could meet for a coffee sometime. Just to talk.”
Her knuckles were white around the telephone.
“Well, you know where the Pink Cupcake is. Anytime you want a cup, come on by. It’ll be on the house.”
She heard him chuckle on the other end. But there was a sense of defeat in it. What was John up to? Why was he calling to spill his guts like this about his personal finances?
The one thing Amelia had learned being married to John was that everything he did was calculated. Nothing was ever done on impulse. He wasn’t having a weak moment or a spate of nostalgia. He wanted something, and Amelia was pretty sure it was advice about how to deal with his new wife and the soon-to-be mother of his child.
“Good-bye, John.”
“Good night, Amelia.”
The sound of his voice was creepy. As she hung up the phone, she felt shivers. Just as she was about to hop into the shower, there was a knock on her bedroom door.
“Come in.”
Adam and Meg skulked in like two inmates going to see the warden.
“Yes?” Amelia said, her face still hard even though her heart was melting.
“We just wanted to say sorry, Mom,” Adam said, looking down as he thrust his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah. Sorry,” Meg added.
Amelia took a deep breath. John’s strange phone call quickly moved to the back burner of her mind.
“Did you get everything put away?”
They both nodded.
“Do you have homework?”
“I did mine at school,” Adam replied.
“I’ve just got reading and was going to do it before bed.”
Amelia nodded. “Okay. Do you want to watch a movie downstairs?”
They both nodded excitedly.
“You guys pick as long as it isn’t a horror movie. You know I don’t like those.” Amelia gave them a smirk and shook her head.
They both giggled as they headed downstairs to find something to watch.
Before she headed down to join them, Amelia contemplated calling Lila to get her take on it. But she changed her mind. It could all wait until tomorrow.
Chapter Five
“You’re right. That sounds very suspicious,” Lila said after Amelia told her about her conversation with John.
“Do you think he’s sorry and this is his way of saying it?” Amelia asked. “Because I don’t think for a minute that he wants to get back together. Even pregnant, Jennifer looks like a model.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Amelia. When a man reaches a certain age, he starts to realize that there are things more important than what his spouse looks like.”
“Maybe so. But John hasn’t reached that age yet.” She looked at the batch of their newest creation, champagne cupcakes. It was a yellow cake with a hint of bitters, a decadent almond lemon frosting, topped with three tiny champagne grapes.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Lila asked.
“Ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen. I guarantee that he woke up this morning slapping himself in the face for calling me in a moment of weakness. And that means the next time he calls, he’ll be an absolute boor to deal with.”
“I heard a story about a man who divorced his wife and tried to get back together with her after his mistress left him,” Beatrice said as she carefully frosted the cupcakes and, with surgical precision, added the tiny grapes.
“And? What happened?” Lila asked.
“The wife invited him over. But when she tried to talk about reuniting, he kept changing the subject. Finally, he confessed that he was just there to…you know…” Beatrice bounced her eyebrows and rolled her eyes.
“No, Beatrice. What do you mean?” Lila asked, making her blush a deep red.
“You know.”
“Yes, we know, Beatrice. Lila is just teasing you,” Amelia said.
“So what happened when she put all the pieces together?” Lila asked after giggling at Beatrice’s innocent and charming nature.
“She shot him,” she replied as if she were telling the time.
“Beatrice, you never cease to amaze me.” Amelia chuckled. “And I don’t think John is after anything like that.”
“Why not? He’s done it before,” Lila said.
“You mean I was a booty call?” Amelia laughed.
“That’s exactly it!” Beatrice said seriously. “He only called for booty. And he didn’t get it from you. Well done.”
“Thank you, Beatrice, but if you knew my husband, you might not think it’s such an easy answer. A booty call sounds like something out of a bad romance movie. John isn’t cool enough to even entertain a booty call. His ego wouldn’t let him do anything less than champagne, roses, and dinner somewhere fancy.”
“So what are you going to do?” Lila asked.
“Nothing. I’ve got more important plans than to worry about John. If he’s having problems, he can hire one of those five-hundred-dollars-an-hour therapists and work it out himself.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t have even a slight urge to tell him off?” Lila asked, rubbing her hands together in a sinister fashion.
“Of course I did. That’s why I’m so tired today. I spent half the night dreaming about what I would have really liked to say had the kids not been in the house. It’s for them I don’t. I don’t want John or Jennifer to ever have an excuse to take them. As long as they are underage, I’m not just a slave to my work, but I’ll swallow quite a bit of their b.s. if it means keeping the kids happy and safe.”
“You’re a good egg, Amelia.”
“Right back at ya.” She walked over to the order window and slid it open. “And you’re fitting in just right back there, Miss Mooch.”
“Thank you, Ms. Harley.”
“So, what plans do you have that are keeping you so busy you gave Big John the brush-off?” Lila asked.
“I’m going to crash a party tomorrow.”
“What? And you’re not inviting me? I love crashing parties.” Lila looked at Beatrice. “What do you say, Bea? You want to crash a party with me?”
“What is the party for?” Beatrice wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something bad.
“It’s a fundraiser, gala, posh-posh gathering of the elite at the Rothskeller,” Amelia replied.
“Ugh! And watch those amateurs pretend to know how to make a proper rack of lamb or even a simple lobster rossejat? It would turn my stomach. Don’t even
get me started on what they’d have for dessert. Fresh fruit with whipped cream.” She harrumphed angrily. “Trust me. I know those kinds of people.”
Amelia and Lila looked at each other then back to the spark plug that was their assistant.
“Bea, do you have ties to the mafia or anything like that?” Lila asked, making Amelia chuckle.
“I might.” Beatrice winked.
Amelia and Lila laughed.
“Well, according to Beatrice, that sounds like nothing but riff-raff,” Lila said. “I guess I’ll let you handle it on your own, but give me a little time. I might be able to get you on the list.”
“What? Really?” Amelia’s eyes popped.
“The same people go to all those events. Let’s just say I’ve gone to my fair share of shakedowns, that’s what I’d call them. It would be pretty rare for there not to be at least one person I know. Let me look into it. I can’t promise, but I’ll see what I can do.”
It didn’t take long for Lila to come through. After a couple of phone calls, some shouting, a bit of giggling, and even one instance of pleading that sounded more like a veiled threat, she dropped her phone into her bag and smiled.
“Okay. Now, this may not be what you expected. But I got you on the list.”
“Really? Lila, you are a woman of many talents. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Well, before you commission a bronze statue in my honor, it isn’t the VIP list. It’s the kitchen staff list.” Lila rolled her eyes. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”
“That works for me. Beggars can’t be choosers. Who do I talk to?”
Chapter Six
Amelia went over Lila’s instructions in her head as she drove her sedan to the Rothskeller. It was an old brownstone building with a long history of prominent figures having visited over the years. A couple of presidents. Some over-the-top celebrities. Artists. Musicians. It was a hot spot for weddings, too.
Amelia hated to admit that when she imagined her daughter finally walking down the aisle, she saw her at a lovely place like this. And John would pay for it. A sly smile came over her face as she thought that if the ol’ boy was having trouble with his young bride now, just wait until his daughter started perusing bridal magazines.
