Live & Learn ~ A Miss Independent Novel

by Kiki Leach

  “I don’t think it’s about trust. It’s about accepting him and what he did and moving on from it.”

  “I did move on. Those two are the ones who can’t seem to take their own damn advice and stay the hell away from me.”

  “V,” Alexander started. “I think you should go tonight, I think we all should.” Alexis gave him a look of disgust. “I think it’s good that he invited everyone, it means that he’s serious about making things right.” He called for Gina and headed to the door. “What time is he expecting us over there tonight?”

  “He said 8,” Maurice told him.

  Vanessa guffawed. “You can’t be serious!”

  “I am,” her stepfather replied. “The only way everyone is going to be able to move on from all of this, baby girl, is to face it head on. We should be good and rested by then after getting settled back into the house.” Alexander kissed Vanessa’s forehead again, then gathered Gina and Alexis and headed out, as the latter continued to protest against attending the dinner.

  Vanessa looked at Maurice one last time, then headed back upstairs to their bedroom. She plopped down on the bed and pulled her legs up, crossing them over each other. Maurice walked in and closed the door. “I’m not going to that thing tonight,” she said. “No way in hell.”

  “He said he wants to try and make an effort.”

  “You didn’t honestly believe the words that came out of that serpent’s mouth, did you?”

  “I’m not saying that, but we shook hands, V.” He lifted his hand to demonstrate. “He actually pulled me aside and shook my hand instead of trying to punch my face into the ground.”

  Vanessa rested her arms on her legs and shook her head. “Great. The beauty of your face has gone untouched this time, but I still think he’s full of shit.”

  “I’m no different there, but I think Alexander is right and we should accept what Nathan is giving to all of us now over all of the fighting.”

  “At this point, I’d take the fighting over him trying to be nice because at least then I know what we’re up against. Him acting like this just out of the blue is putting me on edge. And I sure as hell don’t want to eat any of their food.”

  “I got the feeling he was having it catered.”

  “As if he couldn’t pay people to screw with it.”

  “V.” He took her by the hands and pulled her up from the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to his chest. “I don’t want to fight with him anymore. And I know you don’t either. We’re secure in what we have and there’s nothing he can do or say to us that will break that apart.”

  “I’m not afraid of that,” she said. “I just… His going behind my back and inviting my mother and Alexander and using your phone to do it makes me trust him even less. You should’ve checked him about that.”

  “I didn’t want to get into it again, which was the point,” Maurice replied. “But what he did is all the more reason to keep him close.”

  “Fine.” She pulled away from him and went to the bathroom. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

  “Want some company this time?”

  “No!” she hollered through the door.

  Part Twenty-Six

  As the group readied themselves for dinner, Nathan remained in the living room of their beach house, pacing back and forth and rubbing his hands together while glancing up at the clock that sat high on the brick wall. He was nervous as hell, but didn’t exactly know why. He wasn’t cooking, everything was being fully prepared by the chef. And it wasn’t as if anything that would happen tonight was going to humiliate him in front of everyone. They, however, wouldn’t have the chance to walk away so unscathed if everything came together just as he had planned.

  Sheila came downstairs and saw Nathan reaching for a bottle of her father’s cognac and filling his glass. She sighed and continued traveling down, then headed over to the sliding door leading to beach and pulled back the curtains.

  “You might not want to drink too much of that before everyone gets here,” she told him.

  He gulped back what was left and stared at the empty glass. “You’re right. Because I’m sure there’s going to be a few people here who might need it more than me.”

  She slowly walked over to him, arms swinging. “What exactly do you have planned for tonight?”

  “No more than usual,” he told her.

  “Then why is everyone coming here for dinner? I wouldn’t have expected you to be so civilized in inviting ‘MoNessa’.”

  “Is that what they’re calling them now?”

  “It’s been used before. They might start up again once their relationship goes public.”

  “Hm.” He grunted. “Well, I can’t invite them separately now. And I guess that ridiculous name proves why.” He sat his glass down and walked around her. She followed his movements and noticed his hands shaking. When he caught her watching him, he fixed his jacket and slid his hands down into his pockets. “After we get back to the city,” he started up again, “I think I should start getting more involved in the planning of the wedding. It’s just a few weeks away now, and I don’t think I’ve done much of anything to help.”

  “Try nothing,” she said under her breath. He heard her but didn’t care to respond.

  When the first guest finally arrived, Nathan offered to let them inside. Nikki had been waiting on the other side of the door and turned when she heard it creaking back. “Nik,” he said. “Glad they told you about it.” Nathan looked her up and down and smiled, then peeked his head out to the side when he noticed that she had shown up alone. “Where’s William?”

  “Back at the house. Since Alexis is here, we thought it was best if it didn’t look like we were together, so he’s coming later.”

  “Alright.” He waved his hand, allowing her to enter the house.

  She went straight for the bar that had been set up in the large dining room just a few walkways down and avoided eye contact with Sheila, who stood at the end of a table that was covered in hors d’oeuvre trays and practically burned a hole into the side of Nikki’s face. She sipped back the vodka in her glass and swirled it around, smirking when she realized how much Nikki had wanted nothing to do with her even more now than before.

  “You look presentable for once,” she said.

  Nikki reached for a premade flute filled to the rim with champagne while keeping her eyes straight ahead and told her, “And you look like a drunk.”

  Sheila proudly knocked back more of her vodka and chuckled. “That outfit must have set you back… well, William back a fortune.”

  “It didn’t set him back anything. I paid for this dress, and the shoes.”

  She roared so hard and loud she was forced to hold her stomach. “With whose money?”

  “Don’t you ever get sick and tired of being such a bitch all the time?”

  Sheila thought for a split second and then answered. “No.”

  Nathan waited by the door as more guests began to arrive. William was the second, followed by Alexander, Alexis, and Gina who had all arrived together. When William entered the dining room and saw Nikki standing off to the side, his eyes lingered on her and he nodded. She raised her glass to him before drinking more of her champagne and turning to an hors d’oeuvre tray. Sheila watched them both, as did Alexis after stepping inside. Gina had been there less than five minutes and was already bored and ready to leave, while Alexander had hoped that the evening would end just as smoothly as it began.

  Maurice and Vanessa arrived last. As they walked up, Vanessa took a deep breath. He pushed her hair behind her shoulders and slid his hands down the side of her arms. “Everything is going to be fine, alright? If we feel uncomfortable, we can just leave. There’s no rule stating that we have to stay and eat if things get too out of hand.”

  “We can prevent any of that shit from evening happening, if we just left right now,” she said. “Nobody’s seen us yet.” Maurice reached behind her and pressed his finger against the doorbell.
“This is why you’re not getting laid even when we get back to the city.”

  When the door swung back, Nathan stood with his hand gripped around the handle and grinning at both of them. “I was just about to send out the search party,” he said. He reached his hand out for Maurice’s, who took it with more caution than he had earlier that day. Once they backed away from each other, Nathan tried reaching out for Vanessa, but she jumped back as if he were going to shock her with something and walked around to the middle of the hallway to avoid touching him.

  “Where’s everyone else?” she asked.

  “In the dining room.”

  “Great.” She latched onto Maurice’s hand and led him to the other room. Nathan tried to suppress his irritation and curved his lips up into a soothing grin.

  The first thing Vanessa saw when she entered the dining room was the champagne. She grabbed two glasses for herself and Maurice, but drank hers back before she even reached him. Normally, that would have bothered him. But given the circumstances, he understood, even giving her his own glass and going back for another for himself. They mingled in the corner with Alexis, while Alexander and William stood near the deck discussing sports. Nikki glanced over at him every now and then while picking at the food.

  “Whatever is happening with those two isn’t right,” Alexis muttered while continuing to eye them both.

  Vanessa noticed the intensity between them, but was in no mood to fight about it. “Mother, let’s not, alright? Now is not the time and it sure as hell isn’t the place.”

  “Speaking of this place” – her eyes roamed around the room in revulsion – “I’m surprised you actually showed up.”

  “I didn’t want to.” She tossed her hand out in front of her. “Blame him.”

  Maurice smiled. “To be honest Alexis, I’m surprised you showed up too.”

  “You can blame my man for that as well,” she replied. “I never had any intention of showing up to this viper’s ‘humble abode’, but Alexander is always one to make nice with those who least deserve it.”

  In the midst of various conversations, Nathan finally entered the room, nodding and beaming at each face that looked back at him. It made a few nervous while others were just perplexed. He grabbed a flute of champagne for himself, along with a fork, and tapped it against the edge to make a loud clinging noise. Everyone continued talking, but stopped when he loudly cleared his throat. Alexis slid away from Maurice and Vanessa and joined Alexander, while Gina held up the wall near the kitchen and began texting her friends. Sheila attempted to join Nathan’s side in his apparent toast to the room, but he held up his hand to stop her from moving forward.

  He bowed his head for a few moments, then raised his eyes to the room and focused in on Vanessa and Maurice. “I’m really glad that you two decided to show up,” he said. The idea of Nathan actually being happy for them made Vanessa feel ill, if only because it felt as inauthentic as a 99cent Prada bag. “I’m glad everyone showed up here, to be honest,” he continued, “especially when you didn’t have to or didn’t want to, or both. I know that things have been marginally unsteady within our group over the years, and even more so since Sheila and I decided to come back to town and make this place our home again.” Sheila’s eyes fell to the floor and she exhaled harshly. “But I’m hoping that tonight might change all of that. I invited everyone here as a peace offering in the hopes that we can move past everything that’s happened between all of us since high school and start fresh. I think this is the best place to get everything out in the open and just leave it behind before returning to the city. Which is why I invited someone else here tonight who I think might be able to do it. They haven’t shown up yet, but apparently the traffic has been a bitch the last few days so I can’t blame them for being a little late.” He laughed, but no one else had.

  Sheila was becoming concerned by his erratic behavior. It was one thing to be hot and cold about the wedding, but between the dinner and inviting someone else that she had no idea about beforehand, she was fearing that he was starting to lose his mind.

  “Alright, now is when I’m getting worried,” said Maurice. He took a sip of champagne.

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m starting to wonder if his ‘special guest’ is a therapist or Satan.”

  Vanessa laughed. “That would actually be an improvement compared to the list at hand.”

  “One hundred dollars says the Devil himself walks out. If he doesn’t, then before we leave from here I owe you a…” He whispered in her ear. She giggled and turned her body toward him; her fingers grazed the edge of his sports jacket as she moved them near his pants pocket and slipped them inside. She jerked him closer to her and laughed out loud when he made a comment about ‘whipped cream’.

  Nathan saw them entranced with one another and became inflamed. He clinched his jaw and caught Sheila’s eye. She mouthed something to him, but he couldn’t figure out what it was, nor did he care to try.

  Moments later, someone else was at the door. Nathan pointed and bobbed his head. “That’s what you call fantastic timing,” he stated. He raced to the door to let the other person inside, and was back in the room within a flash, alone. “I asked them to wait on the other side, because this is someone that I think might help us get things back on track. There’s a philosophical aspect to how he goes about things, and…” He stopped to laugh. “You know what, I don’t need to ramble about this. Especially since this person might not even need an official introduction because there’s a few people here who are on a first name basis with him already. So just come on out, Professor Adrian, and join the rest of us in the dining room.”

  “Adrian,” Vanessa said in a panic as he emerged from behind the corridor.

  An audible gasp filled the room as he slowly shuffled to the front and stood at Nathan’s side. The moment he locked eyes with Vanessa, her fingers loosened around her flute; it shot straight down and shattered against the floor. Maurice stepped back as pieces of glass scattered around his feet. He stared at Vanessa with blatant curiosity as she kept her focus on Adrian, whose eyes had turned from hers to the corner of the room where Sheila stood. On one hand, she was mortified and fearing the inevitable second wrath from Vanessa. On the other, she was absolutely baffled by Nathan’s actions and couldn’t understand what had possessed him to invite Adrian out there in the first place. And somewhere in between, she was overjoyed to see him and didn’t want to ask questions for fear he would go away just as quickly as he came.

  Nikki frowned the moment she recognized Adrian’s face and looked to William, though he had no idea what the hell was going on or who Adrian even was. Alexis glanced up at Alexander; he couldn’t help but shake his head at what appeared to be happening and wished like hell that Gina, her head still buried knee deep in text messages, was nowhere near such a potential disaster.

  Part Twenty-Seven

  After helping to clean up the glass from the floor, Nathan gleefully stood near the dining room table as the hors d’oeuvres were removed and replaced with actual food. His eyes traveled back and forth between Vanessa and Adrian as he wondered to himself who would be the first to speak between them and what exact words would be exchanged in front of everyone. But the staring didn’t last long when Maurice blocked his view of Vanessa, as he had reentered with a glass of water for her. He looked over at the professor, who kept to himself and his beer, and moved her off to the side as everyone else continued to stand around the room and wait to be seated.

  “Who the hell is this guy?” Maurice asked her.

  “He’s a former Philosophy professor from NYU.”

  “Then you know him?”

  She diverted her eyes from his. “Something like that.”

  “How the hell does Nathan know about him?”

  “I’ve got one guess.” Her eyes quickly traveled the room. “Where the hell is Sheila?”

  Alexis stepped up to Vanessa and tapped her shoulder. “May I speak with you for a second?”
r />   “It’s not the right time, Mother.”

  “Then make it my time and come with me, now.” She dragged her daughter off to a more quiet part of the house and attempted to speak in a soft voice. “Why the hell is he here?”

  “Why aren’t you asking Nathan when he’s the one who apparently invited him?” Vanessa asked.

  “I knew that little piss-ant had something up his sleeve in bringing us all here tonight – just like he did with contacting Alexander and pretending to be Maurice. He’s a viper just like that thing he’s getting married to. Why on God’s green earth would he invite this man here? Are you sure that Sheila didn’t inform him of what occurred between you two?”

  “I can’t be sure of anything right now, except for the fact that I’m trying my best to remain calm and not go slasher movie on everyone inside of this house tonight. Lest that be on the cover of Page Six next week! Even if he did know, I don’t understand his purpose in bringing Adrian out in the open like this. What the hell is there to gain from it when he had absolutely nothing to do with that part of my life?!”

  “He might have nothing to gain from this, but SHE has your humiliation on lock just like she always has.” Alexis shook her head. “Girl, I TOLD you to watch it when it came to her! Ever since you were little, she’s been nothing more than a vile snake in the grass and this proves it more than it ever did. She’s gone off and spread your business to her future ‘huzzbun’ and look what’s been brought back to your front door? You have no choice but to tell Maurice before he hears about it from one of them, or worse, from the man himself. My God, the way you manage to get yourself into these messes!”

  “Mother.” She grit her teeth. “Please. Don’t you think I’m stressed out enough as it is right now?!”

  “Well get unstressed and FIX. THIS.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do!”

  Nikki peeked her head around the corner when she heard a bunch of whispering and both women stood straight and backed away from each other to minimize the suspicion. “The plates are being set up,” she said. “He’s ready to eat.”