Reconcilable Differences: A 'Having It All' Novel

by Clarke Scott, M A

  Eli sat up. “No kidding? That’s cool.”

  D’arcee’s face spread in a long, slow smile, and Kate imagined what inferences she was busy making. “What a strange coincidence, Kate. Isn’t it?”

  Kate frowned, casting her eyes across the faces of her clients, her heart fluttering wildly. A sharp vertical line formed between Sharon’s pale brows, but she said nothing, her eyes darting toward Simon for verification.

  Simon nodded, his face impassive. Then a ghost of a smile flickered across his bow-shaped lips. “Indeed. We did.”

  That’s it? That’s all he was going to say? Thank God! He neither made a big deal out of it nor contradicted her. Kate drew a breath and returned her attention to her clients. It was their reaction that mattered most. She swallowed, her throat hard. “If that concerns you… I mean if you are bothered by that… now is the time to say so. I will gladly refer you to another mediator–” Please say no.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Kate,” D'arcy said. “You’ve come to us highly recommended. I don’t think my Mother would–”

  “Oh, if D’arcee’s mother recommended you, Kate, then there’s no question. No one else will do.”

  Kate peered at Eli, puzzled by the note of sarcasm in his drawling voice. “Are you sure?”

  Eli’s face softened, and his smile grew warm and genuine. “Really. No one cares what happened in college. Stop worrying about it. It’s all good.” He glanced at Simon. “Right? You’re cool with it, huh?”

  Kate glanced sideways and caught Simon’s nod, his brief enigmatic smile. “Of course. That was many years ago.”

  She steadied her rapid breathing with a hand on her windpipe, wishing her pulse would settle down, and took comfort from her Celtic knot pendant. She nodded and nodded again, wetting her dry lips. “Alright then. Let’s continue. I’d like to discuss the nature of your dialogue at the moment. You were very quiet last week, and I hope you are both comfortable talking to each other right now, and talking about your relationship over the past while. Did you each have time to prepare as I asked you to?”

  Eli clutched a page scrawled with spiderwebs, and nodded. He looked a little anxious, but eager, she thought. He wore the same leather jacket as last week. He always managed to look careless, a little dangerous, like a sexy college student.

  Oh, geez. Don't think about sexy college students, Kate!

  D'arcy, on the other hand, was somber and sullen. She was dressed as stylishly as before, with a chunky, tweed jacket over a loose, untucked blue blouse, and a dark pencil skirt with high boots. But her posture was slumped. A study in contradictions, that one.

  Kate addressed Eli. “Why don’t you go first? No one will interrupt until you’re finished, at which time I may prompt you.” She turned to D'arcy. “Then, you’ll have a turn.”

  D'arcy made no reply, her eyes darting up and down furtively, like one of those high-strung monkeys at the zoo, always looking guilty, or scheming.

  Eli’s voice was low, soft, reluctant. “Um. Well, things were getting kinda rough at home. I was busy with shows and openings last winter. I thought D’arcee’d be really happy for me, y‘know? After all the struggles. But she starts nagging, eh? ‘You’re never home anymore...You’re drinking too much...I don’t want all those strangers in the house at all hours...Who was she?’” Eli complained in a simpering falsetto, punctuating his words with a jabbing forefinger in the air. D'arcy perked up at that, tutting and rolling her eyes toward the ceiling in outrage. Kate held up a staying hand and sent a soothing glance in her direction.

  Eli continued. “Always something. I was getting pretty sick of it. After more than a few battles, I split. I tried going back a couple times, to make up, but it just got worse. I’ve been staying with friends, or at my studio, since July.”

  Three months separated. Kate leaned forward onto her elbows and nodded to encourage him to continue, making sure to lock eyes with him, to let him know he had her undivided attention, and making a mental note to record how she read and used non-verbal behaviors in session. She sensed Simon, beside her, echoing her gesture by leaning forward, his hands steepled in front of his firm lips, a thoughtful gesture she recognized as signature.

  “So. She didn’t like the changes.” He straightened his spine, shaking his head. “I’m an artist, right? There’s no guarantee you’re ever gonna make a buck. Yoau do it because … well ya just gotta. It’s a passion.” His attractive face looked as earnest as a child’s. “So when you get a big break, damn! What are the odds, eh? Ya gotta go with it.” He flashed a bright smile. D'arcy sat back and crossed her arms suddenly, tossing both her head and her eyes away from Eli, as though he’d slapped her.

  Eli squirmed, and darted a glance at D'arcy beside him before continuing. “You gotta understand. A lot of what’s been happening is completely outta my control.”

  Kate nodded again, her eyebrows raised in question.

  “There’s a big machine out there. The ‘Art World’, ya know? One day you’re alone in your studio, the next, you’re part of it. Geoffrey, my new agent, told me, we’re gonna do this, ya gotta be there.” Eli’s hands flipped open on one side, then the other, to illustrate his story. “So, suddenly there are all these people in my life.” Eli’s face opened as if to share his incredulity that this might have occurred. His enthusiasm was infectious.

  “When Geoffrey sets up an opening, a showing, something… I have to be there. It’s expected. I had to go on a couple trips. And I met some people… artists, gallery owners, some collectors, ya know? So I have some new friends, and they’re great people, sophisticated, exciting. Suddenly I belong somewhere and I’m respected.” Eli pulled his shoulders back. “And there are groupies. Who knew? Everybody loves me all of a sudden.” He shrugged, his eyes wide. Though these changes might have taken him by surprise, it was no secret he was enjoying the attention and praise.

  Simon cleared his throat, and Kate shot a worried glance in his direction, but barely registered his expression, she was so intent on Eli’s story.

  D'arcy and Sharon both leaned in, as though they couldn’t wait to hear the next part. They both shot looks at him that would kill, and he squirmed under their scrutiny, hiding his furtive dark eyes under a furrowed brow. Sharon had hinted to Kate that there might have been an affair or two.

  “Oh, yeah. They think they’ve got somethin’ on me, but she’s got it all wrong.” Eli leaned back, darting a desperate glance across at Simon, as though calling for a lifeline. “Like I can help it when they’re throwing themselves at me night and day.” Eli’s threw his arms wide, the look of a persecuted saint upon his features. Kate glanced up quickly to assess the women’s reactions, and was not surprised to find they both had arch, suspicious expressions on their faces. D’arcee’s anger appeared to be simmering to the surface, but Sharon was as smug as a fat house cat with telltale feathers clinging to her lips.

  “You slept with them, Eli, or at least one of them. Don’t try to deny it.” D’arcee’s voice was grim. She looked utterly deflated. Kate realized this was, understandably, perhaps the worst thing Eli could possibly have done.

  “Objection,” Simon murmured, and Kate turned, momentarily meeting his eyes, sharing a second of understanding. She swallowed and turned back to Eli.

  “Slept,” he guffawed. “Exactly. The thing is, I didn’t do anything. Nothing! They’re just always there fawning and hanging all over me. What am I gonna do, push them away? I can’t say I don’t like the attention. But that, well… ” He floundered, “ … you, you saw it before I did. You know I was asleep. I didn’t even know they were there.”

  “Do I look like a fool?” D’arcee’s cupie-doll lips curled in contempt.

  Kate gently raised a hand to restrain D'arcy. “Can I ask for a few more details, please Eli? Since I didn’t see anything, I’m having trouble following the story.”

  Simon looked up from his file notes and gently touched her sleeve, sending a shiver of awareness through her. “Perhaps I can
explain, Kate. Eli refers to the time in late July when D'arcy returned home one night to find Eli asleep in their bed with two… er… scantily clad young ladies. Apparently there were a few people over, and he had had a few too many drinks that evening and passed out. He says the… ladies… must have joined him after he was unconscious, that nothing untoward happened. You can see that it was a somewhat compromising situation in which to be discovered.” Simon’s expression was determinedly stoic. He shifted in his seat, and his knee brushed against hers under the table, making her flinch. Kate blinked, uncomfortably aware of a spark of laughter in his eyes, meant only for her.

  “Compromising indeed,” offered Sharon, one pale eyebrow raised. D'arcy steamed like a kettle about to boil over, the colour on her cheeks high, her eyes bright.

  “Doesn’t mean I cheated on my wife, though, does it? Circumstantial evidence.” Eli’s fist clenched around his fountain pen, turning to Simon. “Am I right? And effing convenient. I know what this is all about, you can’t fool me.” His voice was clipped, becoming more agitated. “All this bitching is just to shift attention away from the real issues.” He pointed a finger at D'arcy. “She resents my success. It was all right when I was helpless and dependent… made her feel superior. Now I’m successful, she’s not interested anymore. She can’t control me anymore. I’m no use to her.”

  Kate sat up, alert. Hold on. “No use?”

  “Yah. No friggin’ use. You were only interested in keeping me around while I was a thorn in Daddy’s side. Aaand Mummy’s. I still don’t know who hates me more. Now you’re all looking for a convenient way to get rid of me.”

  “I hate you more! Leave my family out of it. This has nothing to do with them,” D'arcy burst in. She seemed unable to contain the outrage that had been building while Eli regaled them with his version of the facts. Kate knew she had to slow them down, but there were some very interesting insights emerging.

  "Hate is a strong word," she murmured.

  “This has everything to do with them! Our marriage is one big ol' political campaign for you, isn’t it? Well, I’m tired of being manipulated.”

  D’arcee’s face became animated, her eyes bulging, her mouth quivering. Kate held up one finger at her, with a stern, warning glare, as a last subtle attempt at restraining her, but D'arcy persevered. “What’s really eating you is the whole idea that you’ve been supported all these years. Your manly ego’s bruised, that’s what. Now you’ve got a little money you… you’re… ”

  “Like a kid in a candy store?” offered Sharon.

  “Okay, okay! Hold it right there, D'arcy,” Kate barked, shooting an incredulous glance at Sharon. “Calm down, both of you. Nobody. Speak.” She held out both hands in a braking gesture and paused for effect, studying the loss of composure and sudden change of direction. She concentrated on making notes for a few minutes while they sat seething in silence. Was Eli diverting attention, as he accused D'arcy of doing? Or did he honestly believe D'arcy was trying to use him to hurt her parents? She glanced at Simon, who sat stoically silent with steepled fingers, his eyes sharp and wondered if he was as good a judge of character and motivation as she was, and what he thought of all this.

  “Now, D'arcy, I understand it’s difficult to listen to Eli’s feelings, but it is still his turn to tell his story, and your turn to listen. You promised. Your turn is coming. Okay?”

  D'arcy looked chagrinned. She was breathing quickly through flared nostrils, but contained any further urge to speak, her eyes burning a hole into the print on the wall over Kate’s shoulder.

  “Eli.” Kate looked steadily at him for a long moment, until he was able to look calmly back at her. “Perhaps you could address yourself to me. D'arcy finds it difficult not to respond when you address her directly. That time will come.”

  He nodded.

  “I’m getting the picture. Can you go back to where things started to go wrong? Can you talk about how you were affected by your sudden success and how D’arcee’s reaction made you feel?”

  Eli sat silently thinking for a moment longer, his fountain pen scratching thoughtful lines on his sketchpad. Then he spoke calmly, his eyes on D'arcy, though addressing Kate. “Like I said before — discarded. For years we were fighting for the same things. We had a good marriage. No—a great marriage. It was more than a partnership. We had romance, excitement, dreams to fight for. When we finally achieved something, I felt… abandoned.” Kate’s gut clenched in sympathy. She knew what abandonment felt like. He shrugged his shoulder. “Like she didn’t care anymore about all those things. Suddenly she sounded like a harping housewife, worried about the furniture, bills and getting a good night’s sleep. I didn’t recognize her. I felt… alone.”

  “That’s good, Eli, thank you,” Kate said. “Very good.” She waited for more, but he seemed spent, for the moment. She was curious to know more about his relationship with D’arcee’s parents, but it was a good time to pass the baton. The mood was right. She would dig that out another time. She nodded. “D'arcy? Your turn.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kate felt more confident as the hour progressed. She’d found her stride, and was becoming immersed in her clients’ story. That’s all she needed to do. She was naturally good at this. That’s what she had to remember as her attention kept getting drawn by the enigmatic man beside her. It was taking all her willpower to ignore him and the effect he was having on her. That, she would have to ponder later, when she was alone. She nodded at D'arcy.

  D'arcy spoke, her eyes on her hands. “I’ve always been Eli’s biggest supporter, not just financially, though there was that, but I mean, his admirer, too. I believed in him, in his work. I knew one day the rest of the world would discover what I already knew… ” D'arcy paused, drawing a deep breath, and shot a glance at Eli. Her face creased into a sad little frown as she did so, her full lips pursing into a moue.

  “I was always there for him. He can be very moody, and if things aren’t going well with his painting, he gets… well, weird. His behavior has always been erratic. I accept that.” D'arcy paused, glancing at Eli as though he might combust if she revealed family secrets. A tight grimace pulled at his face. “But no matter what was going on, high or low, fast or slow, he always included me. We were always in it together. Until… now.

  “I’m the one that found Geoffrey for him. Actually, it was Mother, if you must know.” She shot Eli a resentful glare. Kate watched for Eli’s reaction, which was a sour, brooding look. “She referred him to us. What a change! He loved and understood Eli’s art. He really took Eli’s career seriously. And then, overnight, it was like I didn’t exist anymore. Suddenly he didn’t need me and he didn’t have the time of day for me, either.” D'arcy shook her head emphatically.

  “It felt like…” Kate prompted.

  “When you had all those parties… it felt like my needs weren’t being considered. Our home was suddenly a flop house for all kinds of strangers.”

  “Hah,” grunted Eli, lifting his chin, sneering. “You liked artists well enough before, when you could be the great patrona.” Kate studied Eli carefully. A little chip on his shoulder.

  “Eli. Please. You’ll have another chance.” Kate reminded him, gently but firmly. With one eye she noticed that Simon had turned in his chair, studying her over his fingertips, eyes narrow. Her heart jumped.

  Eli gave himself a shake and turned his whole body away from D'arcy, tossing his hair back. He picked up his fountain pen and sketched on the notepad in front of him, as though he were alone. Kate watched Eli’s long graceful fingers work with assurance. In just a few seconds, his finesse with a pen became evident. Against her better judgment, she glanced at Simon's hands, reminding herself of his long, elegant, sensitive fingers, and what they were capable of. She tore her eyes away.

  Kate jotted notes, listening, waiting.

  “He thinks he feels discarded.” D’arcy’s lip quivered, but she got herself under control and stared intently at her hands. “I felt… I felt
as though he couldn’t care less about me anymore. I had plenty of time to sit at home alone and think about it, too. He was always out, or traveling. He had new friends. It’s like he’s drunk on his success. In love with it, you know? You’d think all those years of hard work and patience and frustration never happened.”

  D’arcy’s eyes glazed, unfocussed. Kate waited, not speaking, just watching D'arcy, giving her time.

  “Eli was suddenly a big shot. That’s what I resented. It was crass. It seemed false, to me. I didn’t know him anymore.” D'arcy seemed to cringe, remembering. “Suddenly he was this huge spender, buying things, giving gifts, and throwing money around.

  “One day, he came home with a ridiculous, extravagant yellow sports car. What was that?” D'arcy said incredulously, her hands spread wide. “That’s not even you!” She enumerated his purchases one by one on her precisely manicured fingers. “New clothes. Electronics. Jewelry. Fancy restaurants. I mean, what is he trying to prove? We’ve always had enough, but we’ve lived within our means.”

  “Ad infinitum -- I have a spread sheet showing spending for the year to date. It’s very enlightening– ” offered Sharon, holding out a sheet of lined paper. D'arcy ignored her, as did everyone else except Eli, who cast a hostile glower her way, sneering. “–if you’re interested.”

  Kate squinted at her. “Thank you. Sharon.” Simon rubbed his hands over his face, and Kate was shocked to see the corner of his mouth turned up in a sly grin. For a moment, she lost the thread of D’arcy’s narrative, she was so distracted by Simon’s suppressed mirth.

  “…eating into our savings. My trust income is more or less fixed, you know. It’s not a bottomless pit. I was concerned. I am concerned. I didn’t know if or when it would stop.” D'arcy shook her head. “I can’t live like that.”