by Portia Moore
“If you want us to talk to him Chris, I can do that, but the moment he says anything negative or remotely insulting I’ll be exiting the conversation,” I shrug and he smiles relieved.
“Okay.”
“Are you ready now?” he asks and grunts.
As ready as I’m going to be.
“Yeah, let's get it out the way.”
I follow Chris out the room and into the dining room. Mr. Scott is sitting at the head of the table, his hands folded but his face relatively relaxed and the hardened frown I’ve become accustomed to absent. When he sees us he even smiles and that shocks the hell out of me. Since I’ve met the man he’s never smiled at me once. I don’t know what Chris said to him after our conversation this afternoon but it really must have been something. When we’re seated he takes a deep breath, and he shifts his body weight towards me.
“First I’d like to apologize to you Lauren,” he says without a hint of bitterness or anger hidden beneath his tone. I nearly fall out of my chair.
“I have been extremely unhospitable to you since you’ve arrived,” he continues.
“Just a plain jerk,” he adds with a chuckle.
Yeah you have.
“I blamed you for things that were not your fault. I used you as someone to take my anger out on since they weren’t here for it and I am truly sorry for how I have been towards you.”
Has hell just frozen over? Who is this man sitting in front of me?
“Christopher, what you told me this morning really was a wakeup call for me. You did exactly as you should have and stood up for your wife, for her respect and I couldn’t be more proud of you,” he says putting his hand on Chris’. I can’t help but note how pleased Chris looks, how much stress seems to have poured off him just in these few minutes.
“I want you both to know that, if you choose to stay, it will be different around here on my end. I will be here to support whatever decisions that you make, but both Gwen and I would be thrilled if you chose to stay.”
So that’s what this is about. He wants Chris to stay, God forbid he steps out from under Papa’s wing.
“Well Dad that’s…”
“You don’t have to answer me now. I’ll give you both time to talk about it. I just know that one of the main reasons you’re leaving is because of the way I have been acting and I couldn’t sleep tonight if I knew that I was breaking up our family,” he says and I can’t believe my eyes when I see that Mr. Scott is actually tearing up. What in the world has just happened? He turns towards me.
“Lauren do you accept my apology?” he asks and takes my hand in his. I can’t believe this is happening. I glance over at Chris who looks like he’s about to tear up as well.
This man has been nothing but mean, nasty and cruel to me since I’ve known him, but this guy in front of me seems to not even be the same person. If Chris was his biological son right now I’d swear that DID runs in their family.
“I-I,” I stutter, not knowing what to say. I glance back at Chris who has this pleading expression on his face. How can I not give him what he wants? His happy family. If William can stop being a jerk, or at least pretend, then I can move forward, I guess.
“Of course,” I tell him and before I know it he’s stood up and pulled me into a bear hug.
Am I dreaming? After he releases me he does the same to Chris but Chris’ return embrace is genuine.
“Thanks, Dad,” he says almost beaming. Mrs. Scott appears in the doorway and soon everyone is hugging. I don’t know what to say or what to think. They’re happy so I should be happy. This could mean things are going to go really well, we deserve a break after everything. Chris deserves a break. Then my thoughts drift to… what happens after?
February 7, 2011
“I can’t say I’m not surprised, because nothing about you surprises me. But you successfully married and happy? I didn’t see that in your future. I am very proud of you,” Helen beams at me like a gold digger who’s just spotted a dying single billionaire.
“Why thank you mother. I knew you’d be proud,” I say, just as sarcastically.
“Even remembering your two month anniversary. I am very impressed,” she says, handing me the box with Lauren’s present in it.
“These are the Dorothy Shoes?” I ask, looking at the box. Helen has it wrapped in black paper with a big red bow.
“The correct name is limited edition Loubuitons,” she corrects me.
“The Dorothy shoes that fine ass Jessica Alba had on?” I ask.
“Yes Cal. The ‘Dorothy’ shoes,” she says dryly and takes a seat on my couch.
“Dex only remembered our anniversary because his assistant reminded him,” she chuckled.
“Well, I have to tell you, I know I don’t say it a lot but 'Thank you'. For everything,” I tell her with a shrug.
“You deserve to be happy Cal. I’m glad you’ve finally allowed yourself to be,” she says, patting my shoulder.
“Well I’ll be happy once you get the final okay on the meds,” I tell her, handing her my empty pill bottle. She hasn’t given me a refill, and won’t until she receives some final results.
“I’m headed to the team right after I leave here. Besides I better get going, before I ruin your surprise,” she says, standing from her seat.
“Let me know what Lauren says once she sees the shoes. I had trouble parting with them,” she says before I head out the door.
I look at the clock. Lauren won’t be expecting me for a while. I’ve worked out for two hours. I can’t wait until I get home and get see the look on her face when she sees them. Especially since I’m going to pretend not to remember what today is. Everything has been so fucking good. I’ve never been this happy in my whole life. I never thought I could feel like this about someone. I took all that I wanted out of life. Everything I have I had to take or fight for. With Lauren it’s not like that, for once the universe is cutting me a break. Me, the dark sheep, the prodigal son, happily married to a beautiful, amazing woman who loves me. Not for who she thinks I am or wants me to be, just me. There’s really no better feeling than that. I wouldn’t trade it for the world on a platter.
*
I knew she’d be pissed when she thought I forgot our anniversary. She’s so sexy when she’s pissed. It’s cute that she tried to hide that she was upset at first. She was obviously disappointed, but with a little prodding she let it out. I hate when she doesn’t say what she feels or tries to hide her emotions. I don’t want her to hide any part of herself from me. That’s why my favorite look on her face is right when she comes. You can’t hide that at all.
“You’re mad.” I sigh trying to keep from laughing as I put down my suitcase.
“No. Well, yeah, I am. I can give you a pass for forgetting our anniversary, even though it was only two months ago but if you think I’m going to give you a pass for every holiday because you think it’s ‘cliché' or 'arbitrary’...” she trails off as I pull out the shoes Helen had wrapped. I set the box on her lap and laugh at myself for the big cheesy grin that’s on my face.
“You were saying, Mrs. Scott?”
A huge grin spreads across her face and she rolls her eyes at me.
“You’re a jerk, you know that?” she jokes, untying the bow on the box.
I sit next to her and kiss her neck. She’s so careful taking it apart.
“Come on babe, tear into it!”
“Okay, okay. It’s just so pretty,” she squeals, removing the paper and when she sees the box she freezes. She looks over at me her eyes wide and bright.
“You didn’t!” she says excitedly. She opens the box to see a pair of Dorothy shoes she talked about for a week straight.
“Oh my gosh! Cal,” she says her eyes tearing up.
“Read the card,” I say pointing to it tucked in between the shoes. She picks it up.
“These shoes look like they’re straight out of 'The Wizard of Oz,' but since sometimes I’m like the tornado that blew you into Oz, I guess
you can wear Dorothy’s red slippers. And if I’m gone and seem lost, maybe you can do a little click and I’ll find my way home.”
“It’s corny isn’t it?” I ask, feeling a little embarrassed.
She nods and climbs on my lap.
“As corny as you being my Prince Charming,” she says, kissing me softly. I want more of her. I wrap my arms around her waist and press her down on my lap so she can feel how much I want her. She giggles.
“Are you going to wear them for me?”
“I have the perfect white dress for them,” she says, running her hands through my hair.
“No dress. Just them,” I say, watching her skin turn red.
“Later,” she promises. “I have to run and pick up your gift,” she says hopping off me. She runs to the console table and grabs her purse.
“No, my gift can be you,” I whine. She cannot leave me with a full hard on.
“It will be. Tonight,” she promises, reaching the door. I give her the saddest face I can muster.
“Don’t look at me like that.” She giggles, and I make my way closer to her. “No. Five feet,” she threatens, her hand on the doorknob, laughing.
“I hope you’ve gotten a lot of sleep since I’ve been gone. Because you’re going to be up all night,” she says, giving me a faux-warning and my body perks up at the thought.
“Plenty,” I say with a wink before she slips out the door.
*
My work out this morning must have really kicked my ass. I usually never take naps. When the phone rings I almost put it back down until I see it’s Dexter and he’s called twice.
“What’s up Dexter?” I ask groggily.
“We have a problem,” he says solemnly. His tone causes me to sit up in the bed.
“What type of problem?” I ask him anxiously.
“Helen’s talked to her team. The medication hasn’t been recommended for further trial…” I heard what he just said, but he can’t have just said what I think he’s just said.
“Can you run that by me again?” I ask, hoping that I heard him wrong, that I’m still asleep and my brain isn’t functioning right.
“I’m sorry Cal,” he says quietly. He’s sorry? No, no fucking way.
“I don’t give a shit what the eggheads are saying. Have Helen bring me the rest of what she has,” I say simply.
“Cal she can’t. The medication has shown dangerous side effects. They are going to do further testing but as of now, it’s all being decimated.”
“You’re kidding me. You’re fucking kidding me!” I yell. Fuck controlling my temper or trying not to be mad. This, this can’t. They can’t just stop it.
“It’s been working Dex. Other than the damn hot flashes, it’s working. You know it is,” I say, feeling myself start to panic.
“Helen can tell you the medical specifics but if you have any more, flush it. You have to stop taking it.”
“Bullshit!” I yell into the phone. I want to throw it into the wall.
“I know you’re mad Cal,”
“Mad? I’m fucking furious! I can’t stop taking it. What the hell am I going to do? You told me you were sure before I did this. This changes everything!”
Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me!
“I’m not going to stop!”
“Cal this is Helen. Listen to me, everything is going to be okay. I promise you, we’ll make this work,” she says, trying to calm me down. I’m so mad there are tears in my eyes.
“I-am-not-going-to-stop!”
“If you don’t you’re dead Cal. You understand, this could kill you,” Dexter says as if he’s talking to a fucking kid.
“I might as well be Dex! How the fuck am I supposed to explain this?”
“Lauren loves you. She will understand. We just tell her the truth,” Helen says. The truth. Yeah the truth, after we’re already married. Tell her she’s trapped in a marriage with two different people? I won’t do that to her. I can’t. There has to be another way.
“I won’t. I can’t take her through that shit,”
“Let me see what I can do Cal. Let me figure things out,” Helen interjects.
“Well, figure it out fast,” I say and hang up the phone. My throat is burning, there’s a stinging in my chest. I want the feeling gone now, fast. I throw my phone down and next thing I know I’ve punched through the fucking wall. It hurts but it distracts me from what’s wrong. What is about to go terribly wrong.
Shit, I’m bleeding. I barge through my door and I see her there. Her eyes wide, completely still. I’m going to lose her. This is going to be the end of us.
“Cal, what’s wrong? You look upset,” her voice is wavering and she’s squeezing her wrist. She only does that when something’s wrong
“Um.” What do I tell her? I have to tell her something. I run my hands over my face.
She rushes up the stairs to me and takes my wrist in her hand looking at my swollen knuckles.
“Cal, what did you do?!” she asks frantically, leading me to the guest bathroom and starts running water over it.
“Don’t be mad, but I punched a hole in our wall,” I say trying to downplay that I just busted one of our fucking walls like a psycho.
Her head snaps up towards me.
“Why did you do that?!” she asks, grabbing our first-aid kit and pulling out the antibiotic wipes.
“Dex really pissed me off,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bathtub while she cleans my hand.
She nods as if she understands.
“I kind of heard you talking to him,” she admits looking up at me guiltily. What the hell did she hear? I can’t even say anything.
“Did it have something to do with me?” she asks, sitting on my lap. I wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on her shoulder, and she starts to rub my hair. I don’t deserve her. That’s why I’m going to lose her. Fate was drunk off its ass when it let me have her and now it realized it fucked up.
“I’m—I’m going to be gone a little more than I thought I was,” I can’t even look at her as I say it. She lets out a breath she was holding in. She’s relieved. If only she knew. She smiles widely at me and I wish I could feel the relief she’s feeling right now but all I feel is suffocated, like walls are closing in on me.
“That’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay but it's nothing to go punching holes in the wall over,” she teases.
“I’m a big girl,” she adds quietly.
I try to smile but it doesn’t even work.
“I’m not feeling too good, babe. Would it be really fucked up if we didn’t go out tonight?” I try to see how bad this sucks for her but she’s good at hiding it and gives me a pageant girl smile
“No, babe. If you’re not feeling well it’s nothing we can’t do another day.”
“Are you sure? Because we can if you still want to do something, I can just lie down,” I cup her in my hand and look into her eyes. If she’s really disappointed she’s doing a hell of a job at hiding it.
“No, get some rest. It’s your first day back home and you’re probably jet-lagged. It’s fine,” she says, before giving me a soft kiss on the lips.
“I’m going to make it up to you,” I promise her.
“And you don’t have to sit here with me. You should call your girls and go out,” I try to sound excited for her, she should go out. I’ll have to get used to not having her. I walk into the bedroom and lie across the bed.
“I’m not going to spend our anniversary out with them. As long as I’m with you, that’s what’s important,” she says, crawling next to me.
I wrap one of my arms around her and hold her close.
“You know that I love you, right?” I try to sound upbeat but I just can’t muster it.
“Of course I do,” she says, looking back at me curiously.
“No, seriously.” I turn her body around towards me, so she’s facing me completely.
“No matter what. Whatever happens--if anything were to happen--nothing, under any circumstan
ces,” I take her hand and place it on my chest and hold it there, “will ever take you from here. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, always know how much I love you. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you, and even if I screw it up--”
She cups my face in her hand
“Cal, you’re scaring me. Is everything okay?” she asks, sitting up and staring at me. No it isn’t but I won’t think about that now. She’s here and I have her.
“Yeah, just trying to get laid,” I say, trying to kill the terrible vibe in the room. She continues searching my face.
“You can tell me anything. Nothing would change the way I feel about you. You’ll always be my Cal.” I wish that what she says was true but my situation is the outlier to any situation she can imagine.
“I know. That’s why I love you,” I tell her, pulling her towards me and kissing her long and soft, how she likes it. I don’t do anything else. I don’t deserve anything else. We have a problem, the clock has just started on our happy ending and it’s turning backwards. She’s about to find out I’m not her fucking Prince Charming, not even close.
chapter 15
Chris
This morning if you’d told me that my dad and Lauren would be able to talk without scowling at each other I wouldn’t have believed you. That Lauren actually agreed to stay until the end of the month in my parents' house, I would have laughed in your face. It’s funny how so much can change in the span of a few hours. I don’t know what prompted my dad's change of heart. I wonder if it was the threat of kicking him out of my life that did it. Who ever said you win more flies with honey never met my dad. I look forward to living in a house that isn’t a warzone. I’m glad to have him back to himself again and not this angry ticked off guy he’s become since Lauren arrived. At first I didn’t think she would accept his apology but she did and I know it was because of me. Because she thinks I needed her to. Maybe I did.
I just can’t help but want some things to be more familiar, like they were before all of this chaos happened. Getting things back on track is a huge step in the right direction. It reminds me that everything that’s gone wrong could possibly be fixed. Nothing is unfixable. That’s what makes me feel better as I walk to Lisa’s door. I don’t know what it is she has to tell me but whatever it is we can fix it. With Lisa you never know what the problem could be. We’ve been friends since elementary school. She’s always been the person I could talk to. She always has a way of making me feel better when some things seemed hopeless. That’s when I was young, now the things that seemed hopeless then would be a cake walk now.
