***
Will doesn’t have a coherent thought in his head. What the hell happened here today? He needs time to process… everything.
Avery!
Why would she come here? He almost passed out when he saw her standing in his doorway, with Julia. Yes, she’s sent him regular letters, but did she really think he’d want to get back together with her? It’s been years since they dated! Their circle of friends in Rhode Island overlaps, but she lives in Newport, and he’s managed to avoid her by staying off the island.
He thought his silence sent a pretty clear message, but, in retrospect, the fact she still writes means his message wasn’t received. He doesn’t want to deal with Avery, so every time he receives a letter he shoves it in the box, and tries to push all memories of her out of his mind. That’s a part of his life he doesn’t want to remember.
He was equal parts devastated and relieved when he found out Avery aborted their child. He didn’t want to have a family with her, but he didn’t want her to terminate her pregnancy either. When he heard she’d a nervous breakdown shortly afterwards, Will sank into a depression. He couldn’t focus on school, and dropped out of Princeton after his first year.
His parents knew something had happened, could see the change in him, but they didn’t press him for details, maybe sensing they wouldn’t like what he had to say. They agreed to him taking time off to travel, and he spent the better part of a year sailing in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii.
What would he do if Avery showed up at his door again and Julia wasn’t here? I would talk to her. He couldn’t lie and say he’d slam the door in her face. That’s what she wants him to do, but he couldn’t. Now that he’s seen her, he needs to know Avery’s going to be all right. It would free him to know he didn’t leave her with a permanent scar.
Julia’s upset. He knows how difficult it is for her to trust people, and she sees Avery as a threat to their relationship. But he knows how he feels about her. Avery couldn’t change that even if she wanted to. Now he needs to convince Julia.
He finds her fast asleep on his bed, her face blotchy from crying and feels guilty for leaving her alone all this time. He climbs into bed, wrapping his arm around her waist, and holds her close to him. Julia nestles her body into his but he can tell by her breathing she’s still asleep. Today took a lot out of them both. He closes his eyes and runs his fingers through her curls, and a few minutes later she begins to stir.
“I love you Julia,” he whispers.
She rolls toward him, her big brown eyes meeting his.
“Did that really happen? Was she really here?”
“Yes.” He nods his head and she begins to turn away, but he stops her. “Julia, if Avery shows up at my door again, I’ll set her straight. She won’t have any doubt about my feelings for you. It doesn’t matter if she wants to get back together with me Jules, because I love you. Nothing is going to change that. She can never, ever change that.”
She wraps her arms around him, resting her head against his chest, and sighs.
“Will, I found the box. I didn’t open any of the letters, but I think you should. You need to understand who you’re dealing with.”
He doesn’t want to read them, only kept them because he thought it would somehow be wrong to throw away her thoughts. But that’s ridiculous, it’s not like Avery knows he was trying to be respectful of her in this one small way. No, what he plans to do is throw them in the garbage, and if she shows up again, he’s going to tell her not to send him anymore.
“Look, Will, you know how I feel about this situation…I trust you to handle it.”
“Julia, I promise you, I’ll take care of Avery.”
Chapter Nine
The past six weeks have been a flurry of activity. Julia’s schedule has been jam-packed between school and work and she hasn’t had the opportunity to go to DC since her birthday in September. Every weekend, Will drives up to New York, arriving late Friday evening and leaving by eight o’clock Sunday night. Forty-five hours of pure bliss…
Just as Julia suspected she would, Avery stopped by Will’s unannounced later that week. According to him, they sat outside and had a long talk. He feels better knowing Avery is doing well, that she likes school and is making friends.
Will said he made it clear to her he’s in a relationship and he believes she understands his boundaries. Julia doubts it, but he hasn’t mentioned her since. She doesn’t trust Avery, not for one second, but for the time being she seems to have disappeared from the picture.
Most weekends they have her apartment in Brooklyn to themselves. Her roommate, Rhonda, found herself a boyfriend with his own place uptown and that’s worked out perfectly. Their time together is precious and goes by far too quickly. The four days in between seem to drag on interminably, despite the demands on her time.
She doesn’t want to become one of those women who lives and breathes for the man in her life, but when she’s with Will, everything else becomes background noise.
They have voracious appetites for one another and spend most of the time they’re together in bed, making up for those four days spent apart. Julia had several lovers before Will, more than she’d care to admit, but none of her previous experiences come close to what she shares with him.
Love was the missing ingredient.
“We’ve been invited to dinner Saturday night.” Will says over the phone Tuesday evening, the week before Thanksgiving. “Ellie’s coming to New York with her boyfriend this weekend. What do you think?”
“What do I think? Of course we’ll go! That’ll be so much fun. I can’t wait to meet Kevin!”
“Sloane and Pete are going too. Ellie and Kevin are staying with them. It’ll be a good time.”
She’s silent for a moment. Julia has never warmed to Peter. He and his wife, Sloane are so much like the snobs she met at that wedding.
“Where are we meeting them?” she asks, her excitement dimmed considerably.
“Well, we’re going to Pete’s place for drinks, then they want to go to dinner at Le Cirque.”
“Let me guess, Sloane suggested Le Cirque.”
“I don’t know. Come on babe, it’ll be fun.”
“Fine,” Julia sighs. “All I have to do is find a pastel boucle granny dress, pearls and some sensible pumps and I’m all set.”
“Jules, dress like you. Wear a tie-dyed t-shirt dress and cowboy boots, I don’t care. Just be yourself.”
“Are you wearing the pink pants?” she asks.
“Julia, they’re red.”
Her fingers fly over the typewriter keyboard as she sits at the kitchen table, surrounded by stacks of books. She has a paper due on Monday and is starting to panic. Will should be arriving in a couple of hours and she’s cutting it close to the wire. With Ellie in town, they have such a busy weekend planned and she won’t be able to relax with this paper looming over her head.
A little after seven o’clock, the key turns in the lock. Rhonda? Julia cranes her neck to peek at the door.
“Hey!” She runs into the living room and throws her arms around Will. “You’re early!”
He drops his bag near the door and scoops her up in a bear hug. “I thought I’d surprise you,” he murmurs into her hair.
“I’m so happy to see you. I hate when you’re away.” She buries her head in his chest, her heart swelling.
“Then we’re even, ‘cause I hate being away from you.”
They hold each other close, until Julia reluctantly releases her hold on him. Will removes his coat, tossing it over the back of the chair, and she sighs and smiles. He’s looking exceptionally gorgeous tonight, wearing jeans and an argyle sweater that brings out the blue in his eyes.
She’s shabby in comparison in old sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt, wearing dorky glasses, and her hair piled on top of her head with a scrunchie. Will’s seen her in this exact ensemble dozens of times, but still...she should probably make more of an effort.
“If I knew you were c
oming early I would have dressed for the occasion.”
Will sits on the couch and pulls her onto his lap, then removes her glasses and carefully places them on the coffee table.
“You look beautiful,” he says and kisses her deeply, causing her whole body to tingle.
“Come with me,” she says, a slow seductive smile spreading, and leads him into her bedroom.
The paper can wait, Julia can’t.
She’s given her dinner attire some serious thought. Julia wants to be herself, but she doesn’t want to feel completely out of place at the old fart restaurant they’re going to this evening. Why would a twenty-five year old woman purposely pick the most uptight restaurant in the city? Then again, it’s Sloane, so nothing should surprise her.
She’s narrowed it down to three little black dresses, all vintage scores from a shop in the Village. They’re in New York City now, not some stuffy Connecticut country club. Everyone wears black here, even on the Upper East Side.
Julia tries on the first selection, inspecting herself in the mirror from various angles. Each dress falls just below the knee, she wouldn’t want to make the mistake of showing off too much leg again, but the styles are very different.
This particular dress reminds her of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It’s sleeveless with a boat neckline, cinched waist and a straight skirt. Classic style, simple. The dress isn’t tight, but it emphasizes her curves. She studies her reflection in the mirror. Her figure is more Sophia Loren than Audrey.
In her experience, blue bloods don’t have much in the way of curves. Why is that? Even Ellie is slender with narrow hips, long legs and smaller breasts. Do they breed them that way? Is there something in their genetic makeup that causes women to have boyish bodies?
Julia’s never going to blend in with them in that department! She steps out of her dress and studies herself in the mirror, appreciating the fullness of her breasts, her narrow waist and ‘child-bearing’ hips, as her grandmother used to say.
She’s comfortable in her own skin, how many women can say that? Not many. She’ll be damned if she tries to fit into someone else’s mold.
The most modest of the three dresses has three-quarter length sleeves, a scooped neckline with a fuller A-line skirt, and the third dress has spaghetti straps, a low neckline and a fitted bodice and skirt. In order to zip up the last couple of inches, Julia takes a deep breath in, then laughs at the results.
The dress pushes up her breasts and she has an impressive amount of cleavage. There is no way she can wear this dress tonight, though she suspects Will would enjoy the view. He’s never seen her dressed like this before. Her style’s more casual and designed for comfort.
“Will, can you come in here please?” She slips on the heels she plans to wear with whichever dress she selects.
“What’s up?” he asks, walking into the room and halts in his tracks. “Holy shit!”
She spins around to face him, forcing herself to keep a straight face. His eyes are practically popping out of his head.
“Oh my god, Julia. Is that what you’re wearing tonight?”
“Do you like this one?” she asks with a smile.
“You look amazing,” he pauses. “However, if you wear that I won't be able to keep my hands off you all night.”
“That’s probably not a good thing with your siblings there,” she laughs. “Let me try the other two on for you. Unzip me please.”
Will walks up behind her and pulls the zipper down, slides his hands inside her dress, running his fingers against her skin, then slips the straps off her shoulders and watches as it falls to the floor.
Julia raises an eyebrow, then steps out of the pile of fabric and faces him in nothing but her only pair of sexy underwear, and three-inch heels. Will pulls the clip from her hair, sending it cascading down her back.
“You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.” He runs his hands down her back, transfixed.
“Will…I look like a stripper.”
He shakes his head and slides her panties to the floor. “Will… focus. I need your help picking out a dress,” she protests, unconvincingly.
“Oh, I’m focused.” He takes off his shirt and kneels down, his mouth and hands on her breasts, “Very focused.”
She closes her eyes, running her fingers through his hair. Yes, you are.
Julia’s been dreading this evening from the moment she discovered Peter and Sloane would be joining them. She’s often wondered how children raised by the same parents, in the same environment, could turn out so differently.
How is it Peter fell victim to the world of pretense they were all raised in, while Will and Ellie turned their backs from it? Julia can’t say she dislikes Peter, she hardly knows him, but she’s uncomfortable in his presence, which is a blessedly rare occurrence.
On the other hand, she’s been looking forward to seeing Ellie and meeting this new boyfriend she’s been gushing about over the past couple of months.
Will and Ellie talk on the phone at least once a week, usually on Saturdays while Will’s at her place. She’s grown close to his sister during these calls. From the start, Ellie has included Julia in their conversations, and after a while, Will decided to hand over the phone so they could talk without using him as an intermediary. She was worried he’d feel left out, but Will said he’s happy she gets along so well with his sister.
When they arrive at Peter’s place later that evening, Ellie greets them at the door with a radiant smile, and pulls them into the apartment.
“I’m so happy to see you both!” Ellie hugs Will and Julia, then whispers, “Sloane’s in a mood!”
Julia rolls her eyes heavenward. Here we go!
“Why?” Will frowns. “What’s going on?”
“Who knows!” Ellie shrugs, “Maybe because we were late? We didn’t get here until six because our flight was delayed.”
“Where is everyone?” Will asks.
“Kevin will be right out.” Ellie grins, “I can’t wait for you to meet him.” Then she points to the kitchen, “And the happy couple is in there.”
A moment later Kevin joins them in the living room, and introduces himself with a warm, friendly smile.
“I finally meet your twin!” Kevin shakes Will’s hand, “You two do look a lot alike!”
“You think?” Will squints and inspects Ellie, “I’ve never seen the resemblance.”
“That’s because I’m so much more attractive than you,” Ellie teases.
Kevin’s a handsome man, a little taller than Will, with beautiful green eyes, close-cropped dark curly hair and light brown skin. Ellie’s told Julia a lot about Kevin before tonight, he’s a sports agent, has a law degree, and is from Chicago.
Ellie didn’t mention that Kevin’s black, and she has to admit to being a bit surprised when he entered the room. Not that it matters to her…or Will from what she can see, but she can just imagine what Sloane and Peter are discussing in the kitchen. Last Christmas, Sloane made it very clear how she feels about Julia’s ethnic background. Ellie dating a black man must have sent her over the edge.
The two couples sit down on the couches facing each other and she studies their body language while they talk. She notes how closely they’re sitting, Kevin’s arm around Ellie’s shoulders, her hand on his knee. They light up every time their eyes meet. They’re in love and she couldn’t be happier for Ellie. After a few minutes of small talk, Will asks Kevin how they met.
“Ooh, let me,” Ellie says. “I’ll give you the abridged version. I was organizing a fundraiser for the Foundation, trying to get some star athletes to attend. Apparently Michael Jordan and other celebrity athletes aren’t listed in the phone book, so I had to call around and go through their agents. We met for lunch to discuss his client and the benefit…”
Ellie smiles at Kevin and he continues the story.
“We were half way through lunch and Ellie asked me out on a date. She was a shameless flirt, but I was still a bit surprised. I�
��m not used to women being so forward,” he teases her. “But I said yes anyways.”
“And that was that!” Ellie sighs. “We’ve been together since.”
Just then Peter joins the group, his face pale, his body tense. It’s obvious Sloane’s going to cause problems tonight.
“Hello everyone,” he says, gripping the back of an armchair. “Oh, Julia. Nice to see you again. I understand it’s because of you I get to see so much of my little brother.”
“Guilty as charged,” she says. When she has to work at the museum for a few hours every other weekend, Will usually hangs out with Peter.
“Sloane will be out shortly. She had to make a call.” Peter says, and fidgets behind the chair, painfully uncomfortable. Whether his discomfort is due to Kevin or Sloane, Julia doesn’t know, but she hopes it’s the latter. She’d hate to think Will’s brother is racist.
There’s an awkward silence and she begins to sympathize with Peter, sensing he’s caught in the middle of a difficult situation. Neither of his choices are appealing. Piss off his wife? Or piss off Ellie? She wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.
“Well, I’m starving,” Ellie declares. “If we’re going to make our reservation we’d better get going. Jules, come with me, let’s get Sloane.”
She follows Ellie through the swinging door into the kitchen but it’s empty. Then Julia notices the phone cord stretching into the pantry, the door cracked open an inch.
Ellie raises her hand to knock on the pantry door when they overhear Sloane saying in a hushed voice, “What am I supposed to do? My sister-in-law is dating a black man! They’re staying at my apartment for four days! We can’t go to Le Cirque now. Everyone will see us.”
Julia’s jaw drops and Ellie opens the door, her face red with rage, grabs the phone out of Sloane’s hand, and slams it on the receiver.
What if I Fly? Page 12
