Lessons of a Lowcountry Summer

by Rochelle Alers

  Not giving his agent the chance to say another word, he ended the call. He left his bedroom office and replaced the telephone on a wall in the kitchen.

  He stared at Helen staring back at him. “I’m going to see Hope.”

  She nodded, knowing instinctively that whatever it was he wanted to see Hope about had to be important for him to leave his writing project. Theo had maintained a ritual of rising early and working until the afternoon. Once the door opened, it remained open until the following morning.

  His nightly ritual had changed, because he hadn’t slept in his own bed in more than three weeks. She knew he had been sleeping with Hope, and she respected his discretion. She had begun saying novenas again for the second time since coming to work for Theo.

  This time it was for Theo and Hope to see what was so apparent. They were in love with each other.

  Hope answered the door, shocked to see Theo standing on her porch in the middle of the morning when he’d left her house at dawn. She opened the door wider and moved closer to him. A muscle flicked in his jaw.

  “What’s the matter?”

  Reaching out, he took her hands and pulled her close. He lowered his head and spoke close to her ear, repeating his conversation with his agent. She stiffened in his embrace, her heart pumping wildly against his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized softly. “I’m so sorry—”

  Her fingers halted his apology. “It’s okay, Theo. It was only a photograph, and holding hands across a restaurant table cannot be construed as anything but that.”

  His brows flickered. “Didn’t you tell me that you go to great lengths to keep your private life private?”

  She smiled. “As a public figure I do, but didn’t I tell you that you’re the celebrity, and celebrities aren’t expected to have private lives.”

  He ran his forefinger down the length of her nose, then dropped a light kiss on the end. “We can always hang out someplace other than Savannah. There’s always St. Simons, or Sapelo Islands.”

  “Don’t stress yourself over it, Theo. It’s nice dressing up and going up to Savannah or Hilton Head to eat in fancy restaurants, but I still prefer places like The Fish Net. We have another four weeks to be together, and I don’t want to spend that time agonizing over a photograph on the front page of a sleazy tabloid.” She and Theo had less than a month, while Rebecca and her children would return to Charleston in three weeks. Her arms went around his waist. “Hanging out on McKinnon Island does have its advantages.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “You can’t buy the Chatterer or any of the other more popular supermarket tabloids at the mini-market.”

  Theo smiled for the first time since answering his agent’s call. “As the kids say, ‘That’s cool.’ ”

  “It is cool.” She rested her head between his neck and shoulder, shivering slightly when he tunneled his fingers through her hair and massaged her scalp.

  “I don’t want to think of leaving here,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re probably going through a little premature separation anxiety.”

  “You’re right.”

  Rebecca, along with several prominent residents of McKinnon Island, had gotten an injunction to halt the buying and selling of all properties, which had sabotaged his efforts to purchase a house. The Owens children, who spent more time at his summer place than at their own, had convinced his brothers and sister that they should relocate to Charleston.

  Theo watched and carefully monitored the growing attraction between Brandon and Ashlee. Most times they sat apart from the others, talking and laughing. He had taken his youngest brother aside and counseled him about not going too far with the young girl. Brandon had appeared embarrassed by the lecture, but he’d reassured his guardian that he would never disrespect his new friend because Christian had talked to him about the same thing.

  Later that night Theo had sought out Christian and praised him for his maturity; he’d also apologized for slapping him. Christian had shrugged off the apology, saying he’d needed someone to knock some sense into him. The brief encounter had ended with them hugging while declaring they had to look out for one another.

  Theo brushed a kiss over Hope’s forehead. “Are you busy?”

  She smiled. “A little. Why?”

  Pulling back, he stared down at her. “I was thinking perhaps we could take a nap together. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  She lifted a waxed eyebrow. “Whose fault was that, Theodore?”

  “Yours.”

  “Not. You were the one who couldn’t get enough.”

  “That’s because you had me on sexual lockdown for a couple of days.”

  “That’s because I had cramps and some breakthrough bleeding.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked when she clamped her jaw tight and stared over his shoulder.

  “Because there’s no need to burden you with my medical problems.”

  He swallowed a savage expletive. “For heaven’s sake, Hope, I’m sleeping with you!”

  “And that’s it!” she countered. “We’re just sleeping together.”

  His eyes widened until she could see his near-black irises. Didn’t she know he had fallen in love with her? That she was different from all of the other women he’d known?

  “Do you still have cramps?”

  She lifted her shoulders. “They come and go. I’ve increased my hormone dosage by another ten milligrams a day.”

  The fingers of his right hand circled her upper arm. “Come inside. We’ll lie down together.”

  “What about your writing?”

  “And what about it?” His tone was challenging.

  “Nothing, Theo.” She did not want to fight with him. The return of her menses and the spotting was an indication that the hormone therapy wasn’t working. And that meant she did not have to wait until October for a prognosis. There was no doubt she would have to face a surgical procedure.

  She walked with Theo to her bedroom. He pulled back the faded yellow patchwork quilt and sat down on the side of the bed. He held out his hand. “Come.”

  Slipping off her sandals, she lay down on the cool sheet and turned over on her side. Theo removed his running shoes and lay beside her in spoon fashion, his knees touching the backs of hers.

  He pressed a kiss on her hair, inhaling the floral fragrance clinging to the heavy strands. “Everything is going to work out, sweetheart.”

  Hope closed her eyes, whispering her own silent prayer. “You sound so certain.”

  He laughed softly, the sound echoing in the silent room. “That’s because I am.”

  They lay together, their chests rising and falling in unison until they fell asleep.

  The clanging of the bell woke Hope, and when she rolled over she found herself alone in the bed. Pushing her hair off her forehead, she walked on bare feet to the front door. Rebecca stood on the porch, dressed in a revealing maillot. The high-cut legs and deep-V neckline displayed her petite body to its best advantage.

  Hope smothered a yawn behind her hand as she opened the door. “Come in.”

  Rebecca took off her sunglasses and anchored them on the top of her head. “I came to ask you whether you wanted to go swimming. My children have deserted me.”

  “Where are they?”

  “Over at Theo’s. Whenever I go to either Savannah or Hilton Head to shop for groceries, I come back and drop them off over there. I forced them to stay with me one night, and they complained so much that I wanted to beat the shit out of them. And I would’ve done it if I weren’t afraid of being charged with child abuse. They only stopped bitchin’ when I threw a shoe at Ashlee, missing her by mere inches.”

  “Rebecca!”

  She waved a hand. “My kids should know when I say no, it means no. Especially when I have PMS.”

  “So, you’re one of those women who lose it before you get your period.”

  “Losing it is putting it mildly. I’m usually homicidal.”r />
  Hope gave her a cautious look. “You all right now?”

  Rebecca flashed her dimpled smile. “I’m good. It ended yesterday. I wanted to come over earlier, but I saw Theo’s car.”

  Hope knew if she did not tell her neighbor about their photograph on the front page of the Chatterer she was bound to see it whenever she went to one of the major supermarket chains.

  “Let’s sit down. I have something to tell you.”

  Rebecca stared wide-eyed and listened as Hope related what Theo’s agent had told him. “Have you ever been in a tabloid before?”

  “No. And to my knowledge I don’t believe my name has ever appeared in one.”

  “I don’t know what to say. Theo has become a Hollywood icon not only because of his work but because we don’t have that many black scriptwriters. I’m sure the photographer was surprised to get two prizes with one shot. He probably thought you were just another silicon-enhanced hoochie until he recognized you.”

  Hope’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Any time Theo is photographed with a woman she looks as if she is hiding two midgets in her bodice.” Rebecca registered Hope’s shocked expression. “Come on, girlfriend, you have to know he’s a breast man.” She covered her modest cleavage with her hands. “He wouldn’t even give these a passing glance.”

  “You think he’s attracted to me because of my chest?”

  “No. I think he’s attracted to you because of three Bs.”

  “Three Bs?”

  “You’re brilliant, beautiful, and busty.”

  Hope tried not to laugh. “You’re pushing it, girlfriend, because I happen to have PMS right now. Another remark like that and you’re in for an old-fashioned Harlem beat-down.”

  “I only speak the truth.”

  Hope pushed to her feet. “I’ll be right back. Let me get my suit and I’ll join you.”

  She’d had two unexpected visitors that morning, and she knew there was no way she could get back into the mood to resume writing. The day before, she had picked up a stack of letters for her “Straight Talk” column, and she had spent the afternoon reading them. Most she could answer off the top of her head, while others required more complex answers. She planned to spend the rest of the week answering letters before she picked up her book project.

  They swam for thirty minutes, then retreated to the protective cover of the porch. Hope went into the house to prepare a pitcher of iced tea; she returned to the porch, and the Sophie Ladies had a late-afternoon tea party.

  Rebecca was more talkative than usual as she brought her neighbor up to date on her preservation crusade. Hope noticed she rarely mentioned Ezra’s name since Lee had begun spending his weekends on McKinnon Island.

  She wiggled her toes, painted a shocking hot pink. “Did Theo tell you that Lee is contacting a Charleston real estate agent for him to look for properties in neighborhoods with good school districts?”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  A wave of annoyance swept over her. Theo had complained because she had not told him about the changes going on in her body, while he had conveniently neglected to tell her that he was considering relocating to Charleston.

  “Oops!” Rebecca grimaced. “Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

  “Of course not. Theo and I aren’t joined at the hip, so there’s no need for us to confide everything to each other.”

  “But you do have a relationship.”

  “We are sleeping together. That doesn’t necessarily translate into a committed relationship.”

  Rebecca plucked a sprig of mint out of her glass. “Are you in love with Theo?”

  Hope was too startled by the question to form a quick comeback. “I don’t know, Rebecca, because I don’t know what love feels like anymore. I thought I was in love with Kendall, but after leaving him I know in my heart that I wasn’t. If I’d loved him, then I wouldn’t have waited to give him an answer when he asked me to marry him.”

  “If Theo asked you to marry him, would you?”

  “No, because that would never happen. I’ve heard him say that he has no intention of marrying or fathering children.”

  “Why?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “You’ve never asked him?”

  “No.”

  “Why not, Hope?”

  “Because it doesn’t concern me.”

  “Do you want to marry and have children?”

  A flicker of apprehension coursed through Hope, and she felt a momentary panic. She had always said she wanted to be married before she had a child, but since she had come to McKinnon Island she knew that prerequisite wasn’t as crucial as she had originally thought.

  “All I want is a baby.” The last word came out in a sob. She clamped a hand over her mouth as her eyes filled with moisture. A shudder shook her as the tears fell.

  Rebecca moved over and held her neighbor, rubbing her back until her trembling stopped. “Let it out, girlfriend,” she crooned softly, losing her own battle with the tears filling her eyes.

  The two women held each other, crying until spent. They passed the rest of the afternoon talking as they had done the night that now seemed so long ago, when it had actually only been weeks.

  Most of their time together on McKinnon Island was behind them, and they knew it. They toasted each other with glasses of iced tea, swearing a solemn promise to enjoy whatever time they had left.

  Twenty-seven

  I am no good at love. I betray it with little sins.

  —Noel Coward

  Every minute Hope spent with Rebecca and

  Theo was as precious to her as drops of water to a man dying of thirst in the desert.

  All had established a ritual of having dinner together, Helen and Theo, Rebecca and Hope sharing cooking duties. Lee had shortened his workweek to three days. He usually arrived late Wednesday, and departed with the last ferryboat on Sunday.

  The night before, the five adults had celebrated well into the night with potent concoctions after Theo announced he had completed his sixth script. He was two months ahead of schedule. Hope had completed more than half of her book and had downloaded enough letters to Bill for her “Straight Talk” column to run through the end of the year.

  She lay facedown on a chaise on the patio at the rear of Theo’s house, listening to the melodic voice of Phil Perry coming through the speakers of a portable stereo system. Lee and Rebecca had invited her to join them for a walk along the beach, but she had declined. It was to become the last weekend the Owenses would spend on the island. She closed her eyes, enjoying the heat of the waning sunlight on her back, when she heard Helen calling out to Theo that he had a telephone call.

  Hope hadn’t realized she had fallen asleep until she felt someone shake her. “Wake up, sweetheart.”

  She came awake immediately and sat up. Theo stood over her. There was a lethal calmness in his eyes that frightened her. “What’s the matter?”

  He reached for her upper arm. “Come with me. I have something to tell you.”

  Balking, she pulled back. “Tell me now.”

  “No, Hope. Not here.”

  Her sandals made little slip-slapping sounds on the patio’s terra-cotta flooring as she followed Theo into the house. A blast of cold air swept over her. The contrast between the indoor and outdoor temperatures was at least twenty degrees.

  Theo led her into a bedroom off a wing of the kitchen and closed the door. She knew with a quick glance that it was his bedroom. A computer and printer sat on a table in an alcove. Lacing his fingers through hers, he pulled her down to sit on a queen-size bed.

  Theo stared at her, adding to her apprehension. “What do you want to tell me?” she asked.

  “I just got some news that’s… that’s not going to bode well for you.”

  “What is it?” Her voice was trembling.

  “Your name is back in the Chatterer again.” He squeezed her fingers in a comforting gesture. “The next iss
ue has a story about your ex-boyfriend and his male lover. The lover claims the three of you have been involved in a ménage à trois.”

  Hope felt the roaring in her head and the constriction shutting off her breath before the room started spinning. Gurgling gasps came from her throat as she tried to speak. Theo’s face shimmered before her eyes. She saw his mouth open but could not hear what he was saying to her. She did not remember what happened next, but suddenly her body was on fire. When everything cleared, she saw Helen staring down at her.

  “Don’t get up,” Helen murmured softly. “You almost fainted.”

  “Is she going to be all right?” Rebecca’s voice came from somewhere above her.

  Theo placed his hand alongside her cheek. “Yes.”

  Hope swallowed in an attempt to moisten her throat. “Who told you?”

  Leaning closer, Theo pressed his mouth to her ear. “Someone at the paper called my agent and told him the edition will be on the newsstands tomorrow.”

  Hope blinked back tears. “It’s all a lie, Theo.”

  He gave her a long, penetrating look. “I know that.”

  “You believe me.” Her lids fluttered wildly. “You’re probably the only one other than my sister.” Sitting up, she pulled a cloth from her forehead and stared directly at Helen. “I dated a man for three years, not knowing he was bisexual until I walked in on him and another man the day I planned to tell him that I would marry him.”

  The older woman gasped loudly. Theo glanced over his shoulder. Rebecca and Helen were huddled together. “Please leave us.” The two women turned and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door firmly behind them. He released Hope and sat on a chair several feet from the bed.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Better.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I have to make a telephone call.”

  “Use mine.” He reached for a small phone on a table next to the chair, and handed it to her.

  She flipped open the top and dialed. The call was answered after the second ring.