by L A Morgan
“Laurel and I were discussing something important--” Michael started to say before Laurel interrupted him.
“Of course, your sister should join us. As a matter of fact, I have something to do in my own apartment.”
“No, you don’t, Laurel,” Michael immediately corrected her. “I want you to stay right here and get to know my sister. I’m sure you’ll find the experience interesting.”
“That’s a bold way to describe it,” Kitty declared with a complacent grin.
“Are you going to come around to the door or would you rather climb over the railing?” Michael asked her in rising anger.
“I’ll be around in a moment,” the woman responded, nonplussed. “Don’t forget that I’m coming.”
In a second, she was gone. Michael turned to Laurel, taking her hands in his and giving them a squeeze.
“I’m sorry about this interruption,” he apologized. “I had no idea she would come here.”
“That’s all right, Michael. After all, she is your sister.”
He nodded grimly, saying, “Sometimes, it would be easier to forget that.”
“It might be better if I left.”
“I won’t hear of it! Whatever Kitty and I have to say can be said in front of you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay. You’d better open the door before she has to knock.”
There were only two chairs on the balcony. In silent recognition of this fact, Laurel and Michael went back inside his apartment. Laurel took a seat at the table by the window. The curtains were still drawn, but she was not interested in the view anyway.
As soon as Michael opened the door, Kitty strode inside. She was an incredibly attractive woman, with long, wavy auburn hair and large, green eyes. Laurel could detect the machinations of a highly priced cosmetician in her appearance.
Giving Michael a quick once-over, Kitty commented, “You’re looking good, Michael.”
“So are you,” he blandly replied.
“Do you have anything to drink? I didn’t have a chance to pick anything up before I got here.”
“Will white wine do?”
“Don’t you have any scotch?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“All right,” Kitty replied, elongating the words as a sigh.
She then seated herself at the only other chair at Laurel’s table. After opening a small, expensive-looking clutch bag, she took out a rhinestone-studded compact. She flipped this open and examined her appearance. After a minor correction to her hair, she returned the compact to her purse. By this time, Michael had placed a glass of wine on the table before her.
“Would you like a drink, Laurel?” he asked.
“No, thank you.”
Michael made no motion to retrieve his own glass, as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Kitty sent him a brief smile before tasting her drink. The man’s face was grim.
“Why are you here?” he bluntly asked.
“Would you believe me if I told you I miss you?”
“No. We live four miles away from each other and you haven’t come to see me in over six months,” Michael flatly replied.
“I’ve been busy!” Kitty hotly declared. “It isn’t easy running your own business!”
“And, of course, you don’t have the time to make a simple phone call.”
“I didn’t come here to quarrel with you, Michael.”
“Then why, exactly, did you come?”
Kitty glanced at Laurel, and it was evident by her expression that she did not consider her brother’s companion to be of any consequence.
She took another sip of her wine and said, “I’ve had problems in my personal life.”
“That’s hard to believe,” Michael replied with a tinge of sarcasm.
Kitty gave him a snide look and continued, “I thought I might get some help if I asked my big brother’s opinion, but it’s obvious you’re only annoyed that I came here.”
“You’ve never come to me before, not for advice or affection or anything. How did you expect me to react?”
“I thought you’d at least be polite.”
Although Laurel had been left out of the conversation, she now felt compelled to speak.
“Would you rather speak to Michael privately?” she asked, addressing herself solely to Kitty.
“Not really,” the woman assured her. “Since my brother has decided to be so uncooperative, I wouldn’t mind hearing another woman’s opinion.”
Laurel smiled weakly and said, “I’d be happy to help you if I could.”
Giving Michael a self-satisfied look, Kitty turned back to Laurel and replied, “I could always trust Michael to have good taste in female companions. What did he say your name was?”
“Laurel.”
“That’s a nice name. Did you meet down here?”
“Yes.”
“How quaint! A holiday romance!”
“Get to the point!” Michael sternly interrupted.
“I was about to do that, but I thought you’d like it if I got to know your girlfriend better. It’s about time you came out of your slump, brother dearest. You were turning into an old man right before my eyes.”
Seeing that Kitty would not be drawn out easily, Michael asked, “Where do you plan to stay tonight?”
“I bet you think I plan to have a pajama party with you.”
“Do you?”
“Don’t be absurd, Michael. I’ve taken the room two doors down. I wouldn’t mind putting you to the inconvenience, but I don’t want to impose on Laurel, here.”
“Laurel is not staying in my room!” Michael asserted adamantly.
“That’s a pity,” Kitty retorted.
“If you seriously want my help, you’d better get to the point right now, before you make me mad enough to throw you out!”
The man clenched and unclenched his hands in barely suppressed rage. Noting this, the expression on Kitty’s face changed. For a second, Laurel thought she saw a break in the woman’s invulnerability.
Kitty finished the wine in her glass with a troubled frown. Nervously, she tapped her fingers on the table.
Suddenly, she said, “Do you remember Justin, my most recent male companion?”
Michael shook his head and said, “No.”
Kitty turned away from Michael. She tilted back her head to compose herself as she brushed the hair away from her face.
When she was done, she went on, “I’ve been seeing Justin for the past five months. He owns a dating service, too.”
With a glance at Laurel, Kitty explained, “That’s what I do. I run a dating service.”
Laurel acknowledged this with a nod.
“Well, anyway, I thought Justin was in love with me. He even proposed. Of course, I didn’t accept, but I thought he was sincere. This morning, I found out that he’s been stealing my customers! Can you believe that?”
Laurel looked concerned, while Michael just stared at his sister skeptically.
“I don’t care what you think, Michael!” Kitty belligerently replied. “I actually thought I might be falling in love with this character! When I confronted him with this, do you know what he said? He not only didn’t love me, but he told me he was married!”
“That’s awful!” Laurel commiserated.
“You’re telling me! When I first met him, he said he was divorced! I can’t believe he deceived me like that! If this gets out, it will ruin my business! To think that I trusted that sniveling, little worm, when I could have had him checked out!”
Laurel shook her head in sudden confusion.
“I don’t understand something here,” she said. “Are you upset about losing Justin or are you only mad because this might hurt your business?”
Laurel laughed loudly, but without feeling.
“It’s the loss in prestige, Laurel,” she answered. “As CEO of the most exclusive dating service in Connecticut, can you imagine what my business associates will say w
hen they hear I’ve been duped by a competitor? I’ll be a laughing stock!”
“So, what do you want from us?” Michael coldly asked.
In a sudden mood swing, Kitty stood up and said, “I’m going back to my room now. I never should have come here.”
Michael watched her retreat with a smirk.
“You’re not going to let her walk out like that?” Laurel asked in disbelief.
The door slammed before Michael could say, “You don’t know my sister, Laurel. She’s a cold-blooded manipulator.”
“Can’t you see that she’s hurting?”
“She’s fooled me too many times in the past. I can’t believe anything she says anymore.”
“Well, I think she needs someone right now,” Laurel flatly stated.
Michael shook his head in distrust.
“Aren’t you going to go after her?”
“No. She’s used me mercilessly in the past. I have enough problems without getting involved in one of her tantrums.”
Laurel sat in quiet thought for a moment.
Then she said, “You’ve known your sister all of your life, and I think I can understand your disappointment. Would you be mad if I went and talked with her?”
Michael shrugged and replied, “Go to her, if you want. Maybe you can talk some sense into her. I never could.”
After sending him a brief look of apology, Laurel left. She walked directly to Kitty’s door, but before she could knock, she became aware of the sound of crying inside. With new resolution, she knocked firmly on the door.
“Michael?” Kitty cried out in surprise.
“No, it’s Laurel.”
After a few seconds, Kitty opened the door. Her eyes were red. Apparently, she had wiped them in haste, for traces of makeup were smudged on her face.
“What do you want?” she asked defiantly.
“I thought you might want to talk for awhile.”
Kitty opened the door fully and gestured for Laurel to enter.
“Did Michael send you?” she asked caustically.
“No. I don’t know you very well, Kitty, but I believe you’ve been hurt. It must be very hard for you, not having any parents to go to with your problems. It might be easier to talk to another woman, especially since I probably won’t be seeing you again.”
Kitty scrutinized her closely. She was not yet ready to let down the hard shell of her defenses.
“Who are you to give me advice?” she harshly demanded.
“No one. I’m just beginning to learn how difficult life can be. Maybe I won’t be able to give you any answers, but it might help to talk the whole thing out.”
Kitty closed the door. With a few rapid strides, she threw herself onto her bed, ignoring the neatly made-up bedspread. She curled herself into a childish posture before she spoke.
“Where are you from, Laurel?”
“New York.”
“Are you involved with my brother?”
Laurel sat down on the end of the bed before she answered.
“Yes and no.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I like your brother very much. I can see he’s a good person, but he’s not ready to get over the loss of his wife.”
“So, he told you about that.”
“Yes.”
“Do you hope to win him over by showing him how compassionate you can be to his sister?”
Laurel heard the distrust in the woman’s tone, but it did not ring true to her.
She said, “Michael has already told me that we have no future together. I’m not saying this makes me happy. It doesn’t, but I can understand why he feels this way. I feel very sorry for him and what he’s forcing himself to miss in life. You, as his sister, must know this a lot better than I do. I have little hope of winning Michael’s love. I wish I could. You already have it, and it seems to me that you don’t even care.”
“You have no right to interfere in my relationship with my brother!”
“I have the right to care when I see two people that need each other and don’t have the sense to comfort each other when comfort is needed!” Laurel adamantly replied. “You came here to look for help, and all you could do was push that help as far from you as you possibly could.”
“I told him what was bothering me!” Kitty asserted, a fresh stream of tears dampening her cheeks.
“Then why did you make it sound like this was only about business?”
“I can’t open up to Michael!” Kitty cried out in open frustration. “I wouldn’t have come here if I had anyone else I thought I could turn to! I knew I was taking a risk! Michael is so cold and unfeeling. He may be my brother, but I’ll never understand him.”
Laurel looked at the sobbing woman sympathetically.
“You don’t know Michael at all or you wouldn’t have said that,” she softly replied. “He’s a warm and understanding person. He has more character that any man I’ve ever met. I may never see him again after I go home, but I’ll always remember him with love.”
Kitty looked at her with wide-eyed amazement.
“You’re really in love with him!” she declared.
“Yes, and I know that he doesn’t love me.”
“Then, what do you hope to gain by talking to me?”
Laurel sighed at Kitty’s lack of comprehension.
“I just want to help you if I can,” she said. “I don’t hope to gain anything except maybe the satisfaction of seeing you stop crying. This Justin may have hurt you more than you’re willing to admit. That’s none of my business, of course, but, I’ll tell you what I think anyway.
“From the point of my limited experience, the world seems to be filled with Justins. On the other hand, you could search for your entire life without finding one Michael. Once you recognize that, you’ll find out the Justins just don’t matter.
“You’re lucky enough to have an honest, caring, considerate brother. It would be a terrible shame if you went through your life without realizing that. He’s sitting alone in his room right now, Kitty. I’d bet you anything that it would mean the world to him if you went back there and really opened up to him. Michael may not be able to help you with what’s happened in your life, but I’m sure he’ll give you enough love to compensate for that, if you only give him the chance.”
Kitty looked at her in astonishment. Laurel’s words slowly crept into her mind. This stranger had managed to put things into perspective for her, helping her to reprioritize her thoughts. She straightened up into a sitting position without bothering to push her hair back into a semblance of order.
“Do you really believe that, Laurel?” she asked, and for the first time, her tone was absolutely sincere.
“I know it. I’m going to go back to my room now. It’s on the other side of Michael’s. I hope you find the courage to work it all out with him. That will help you more than anything I could ever say.”
“You’ve said enough. Believe me,” Kitty assured her.
Laurel stood up, touched by emotional impact. She started to walk toward the door.
“Just a minute,” Kitty called her back. “Before you go, I want to thank you.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“There is. You’re the first person I’m willing to trust for as long as I can remember.”
Laurel looked down at the floor, warmed, and yet disturbed by this sentiment.
Kitty added, “I wish I was more like you, Laurel. I wouldn’t have nearly as many problems if I was.”
“You have no idea,” Laurel replied sadly
“I think I do.”
Laurel felt drained as she made her way back to her room.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
It took Laurel a long time to fall asleep that night. Thoughts of what had happened kept playing through her mind. As a result, she did not awaken until nine o’clock in the morning.
After she dressed, she decided to treat herself to a waffle for breakfast. As she was locking her door, she g
lanced towards Michael’s room. For a moment, she considered knocking on his door and asking him if he had spoken to Kitty again. On a second thought, she judged it would be best to wait for him to contact her.
Laurel enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. When she was done, she took a ride around the area to do a little sightseeing. It occurred to her that during the week she had spent there, she had hardly used her rental car at all. Most of her outings had been in Michael’s car. Thanks to him, this vacation would cost her much less money than she had expected to spend.
After stopping off to buy some milk, she returned to the motel. For the next several hours, she waited for Michael to knock at her door or to approach her at the pool. There was nothing to indicate that either he or his sister were in their rooms. Their curtains were drawn, and Laurel regarded this with a dreadful sense of finality.
Michael had told her he would stay in Myrtle Beach until his vacation was over, but that was before Kitty had interrupted their conversation. If she had spoken to him after Laurel left her last night, there was a possibility that she might have convinced him to go home with her. Kitty had not mentioned how long she planned to stay.
Laurel wondered if Michael would have left without saying goodbye. Following his lines of reasoning the night before, he might possibly have thought that a clean, complete break would be the best way to handle the affair. She had not noticed if his car had been in the parking lot when she had gone out and returned. She decided to check this out immediately.
The results were as she had dreaded. Michael’s car was gone. It was now three o’clock. Normally, he would have been back from his solitary wanderings by this time. Laurel felt her stomach knot up into a sour lump when she realized that she might never see Michael again.
In an effort to relieve the tension of this constant waiting, she went out for a long, slow-paced walk on the beach. The gaiety of the tourists she passed did nothing to alleviate the fear that dominated her mind. As the tide slowly began to recede, sea birds swept down along the shoreline to grasp the tasty tidbits that had been exposed.
Minutes after Laurel returned to her room, someone knocked at her door. When Michael identified himself, a wave of relief washed over her shaken emotions. She tried to contain the radiance of her happiness as she opened the door.
