Beyond Eighteen (7 page)

“Well, sometimes stupid choices are the only
things that make us realize where we truly belong,” Max said as his
fingers pushed under my chin, bringing my eyes to meet his.

“Yeah, but you had to resign because of me.
How is that going to make you feel when you go back and see that
you gave up your career for me?” My voice quivered.

Max tilted his head, his eyes wide with
surprise and glowing with shock. His lips curved, loaded with every
word he was ready to fire back at me. We faced each other for a
silent moment before he bit his bottom lip and unloaded every
thought he must have played over and over in his mind.

“I didn’t quit my job
because
of you,
Wilson. I quit my job
for us
. I resigned because giving up
the one thing that makes my life worth living wasn’t an option. I
am completely aware and understand the repercussions of my actions
and I’m ready to live with them. I know being with you was
ethically wrong. I know when people at Wesley find out I will have
to live with their fucked-up judgment of me for the rest of my
life. But, Wilson, in my heart, in—my—soul, I know we’re right;
this is perfectly right.” Max grabbed my hands and pushed them
against his chest. His heart was thundering against his
sternum.

“I just don’t want you to resent me,” I
managed to breathe.

“How can I resent the one person who I love
more than anything?” Max whispered.

“Anything?” I asked.

“Anything,” he answered as he wrapped his
arms around me and swooped in, pressing his lips against mine. His
mouth was so sweet, so needed, and so perfectly and completely
mine.

~ Max ~

“
You ready?” I said
quickly before I ran my hands down Wilson’s arms to her biceps,
clenching them as I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

“
Yeah, I’m ready. As long
as I have you next to me.”

I smiled at her, tugging
every muscle in my face toward the ceiling before I opened the door
to the kitchen. The spring made the same high-pitched, annoying
squeak my father would always complain about when we’d come
home.
Huh, funny how one day it’s just an
annoying squeak and the next it’s one of the most comforting sounds
I could hear.

I was glad when I pulled Wilson into the
house and nobody bombarded us. As a matter of fact, the house
seemed quieter than usual. I didn’t call out to my family. I just
kept looking back at Wilson to make sure she was still
breathing.

After the door shut, she
stopped and our hands broke apart. She smiled as she looked down at
her feet.
Habits die hard; no matter how
new they are
. I chuckled. I knew she
wanted to take off her boots.

I bent down, ready to pick
up her foot when I heard hurried footsteps approaching from the
dining room. I recognized them; they were my mom’s.
4…3…2…1
, she shuffled
around the corner. She was still swathed in her black mourning
dress but her hair was up and her black shoes were replaced with my
dad’s leather slippers. She looked so vulnerable.

“
Hi, Ma, look who I got to
come back home with me,” I said as I held my arms out presenting my
girlfriend. I looked back at Wilson just in time to see the smile
drop from her face. Her eyes grew wide, loaded with fear, like
she’d just seen the most terrifying accident. Her chin wrinkled as
it began to dance under her pursed lips. Her cheeks turned red as
tears started to run down her face.

They both stood on either side of me, just a
few feet apart but they read like miles. I looked back at my mom,
who was mirroring Wilson’s same reaction. Her green eyes were
perimetered by red lids. Her cheeks were deep set, her lips pouting
just like they did when I’d disappoint her as a kid. She looked
older, worn, and exhausted, like she was alone in the world.

I couldn’t tell if I was going to see them
hug or break out into a fight. I pulled Wilson closer and wrapped
my arms around her while I pressed my lips against the curve of her
ear.

“
It’s gonna be okay,” I
whispered, making sure to sneak a whiff of the sweet aroma of her
coconut shampoo.

When I let go of her the absence of her body
in my embrace chilled me to the core. I turned to my mom and gave
her a hug, telling her the same thing I told Wilson.

“
Mom, everything is okay,
right?”

The two most important women in my life and
neither of them acknowledged my words. It was like they struggled
to find the ability to start a dialogue. So I started it for
them.

“
Mom, Wilson, I want you
to know—”

“
Maxi, can you give me a
moment alone with Wilson?” My mom suddenly found her voice. I, on
the other hand, lost mine.

“
Ummm,” I hummed as I
looked back at my girlfriend, hoping to find an answer to give my
mom. Wilson looked at me for a moment before giving me a slight nod
yes. I leaned over, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and whispered
against her skin, “I’ll be right here in the kitchen.”

She nodded and her clouded blue eyes
disappeared behind an extended blink. “Thanks,” she managed to
mumble back.

With that, I turned and looked at my mom and
saw the woman who battled for me…my whole life; the same woman who,
when I was a kid, would always kiss my skinned knees and wipe away
my tears. It was that woman who took on my dad when I decided to go
to college to be a teacher and who struggled every day to help me
when I came back home after Mallory’s suicide. There was no doubt
in my mind, when I looked at her, she knew her boundaries. Or at
least I hoped so.

I felt her hand press and rub across my
shoulder as she and Wilson shuffled passed me into the dining room.
I watched as the two women I love more than anything in the world
left me alone in the kitchen.

I pulled open the fridge
and looked at the overflowing shelves. It was more of a habit than
the desire to eat. Nothing looked good. I really just wanted to
know what was being said out in the dining room. I wanted to be
there, standing between both of them as their words bounced and
toggled back and forth.
Is my mom going to
be fair in her conversation with Wilson? Or will she damage
Wilson’s confidence more than it already is?

“
It’s the same shit that
was in there yesterday. Do you think staring at it will change
that?” Calvin said as he plopped a stack of papers on the counter
between us.

“
Nope. What’s that?” I
really didn’t feel like creating small talk with Calvin, but right
then I’d take anything I could get to keep my mind off of what was
going on in the other room.

“
Well, I guess a couple of
weeks ago Dad met with Gary Browne.”

“
His lawyer?”

“
Yeah. Gary called and
needs the business contract Dad had with Buck Tanner.”

“
Dad’s business
advisor?”

“
Yeah, he was supposed to
supply this year’s financials and any addendums Tanner & Trait
may have made to their contract between the beginning of September
through present day. My guess is that Dad suspected Buck wasn’t
working for his best interests.”

“
Buck Tanner?”

“
The one and only Buck
Tanner,” Calvin droned.

“
The same Buck Tanner that
has been Dad’s business advisor for over twenty years?” I
questioned.

“
Yeah, Max, the same Buck
Tanner. I think the
Buck-meister
hasn’t been as honest as we all thought.” Calvin
hoisted himself onto the barstool across the counter between us and
spun the papers around, pointing to a spot he’d highlighted in
bright yellow.

I read it, moving my lips as my eyes
consumed the words that assured Buckman Tanner, of Tanner and Trait
Associates, fifteen percent of my father’s business. It was dated
Friday, December 24th.

I grabbed the papers and thumbed through to
the last page, looking for my dad’s signature. “He didn’t sign it,
did he?” Every walloping beat of my heart thrust the fight or
flight urge deeper into my gut. “He didn’t initial the page, right?
Tell me he was smarter than that!” I said hurriedly and
breathlessly as I felt the acid churn in my stomach. Then the blood
drained from my face as I recognized his signature at the bottom of
the page. As I looked up at Calvin, his expression told me
everything. We were defeated; the man we trusted had somehow
swindled fifteen percent of my family’s business from my
father.

“
I don’t know what the
hell to do, Max. I tried calling Dan but his phone when straight to
voicemail. Should we call Dad’s lawyers, or Buck for that matter,
and find out what the hell is going on? All I know is we can’t tell
Mom; it would just push her over the edge.”

Calvin collected the papers and began to tap
them on the counter. The sound of him straightening the pages and
the rhythm with which he banged the edges against the granite
became the only thing I could focus on.

“
No, don’t call Buck. And
you’re right, it’s best not to say anything to Mom yet. Shit, Cal,
I just know Dad wouldn’t do this. There is no way he would sign
these papers without talking to his lawyers. If Dad signed them, he
must have had a good reason.”

“
Good reason? Max, do you
really think Dad just
gave
Buck the same percentage of ownership that we all
have? And where does Dad’s remaining fifteen percent go?” Calvin
said as he plopped the stack on the counter and began to pace the
kitchen.

“
I assume Mom will absorb
Dad’s remaining fifteen percent. Hey, let’s take a breath and wait
to hear from Dan. Maybe he knows what’s going on. Where is he,
anyway?”

“
Who the fuck knows. He
always seems to disappear when the shit’s hitting the fan. That’s
just Dan,” Calvin accused.

I knew where Cal was coming from. He was
still bitter that our dad chose to teach Dan the business and give
Calvin the freedom to be who he was. Okay, well, freedom is too
strong a word; Dad’s disappointment at Calvin’s lack of interest in
working for the family business took its toll. But nothing like the
pressure Dad had given me before I left for California.

Somewhere in my mind I was
clinging to a small sliver of hope that Dan would know exactly what
was going on and how to handle the situation so I didn’t have to be
involved. I looked across the island at Cal. His eyes were
vacant.
Fuck, he obviously doesn’t know
what to do. Dad was right; he just doesn’t have it in him. I’m
gonna have to head back to California with Wilson, make sure she’s
okay, pack up what I need from the condo, sign my resignation
papers, and come right back here. Fuck, hold on, I’m getting ahead
of myself. I just need to talk to Dan.

“
Why hasn’t Dan called
back yet?” I demanded.

“
I never really trusted
Buck,” Calvin muttered.

Cal’s words didn’t even register. And even
though it felt like my fate was sealed it didn’t stop me from
trying to figure out a way I could get Dan and Calvin to deal with
this situation without including me.

I heard Wilson’s voice,
then, mingled with my Mom’s. Both of them were smiling.
Oh, thank God.
I noticed
my mom was holding Wilson’s hand as they came in. When Mom wrapped
her arm around Wilson’s shoulder my heart dropped from the middle
of my throat back down into my chest. My whole body relaxed and the
world stopped for a moment as Wilson’s eyes met mine and she
nodded. I didn’t even realize my expression has been asking a
question.

“
Maxi, Wilson and I talked
about it and we both agree…you’re worth hanging on to,” my mom
teased as she gave a quick squeeze to Wilson before she came over
and wrapped her arms around my torso. I felt every word she uttered
soak into my skin and enter my blood, giving me an opportunity to
relax a little. I took a deep breath
. One
down, one to go
, I thought as she looked
in my eyes. I could tell she’d been crying. Immediately I looked
over at Wilson. Her eyes were also damp with faded red around her
eyelids.

“
Everything okay?” I asked
hesitantly. Wilson nodded her head.

“
Um-hum,” my mom answered
with a delicate tone.
Yeah, there’s no way
in hell that I’m gonna drop the Buck bomb on her right now.
The last thing mom needed to hear was that Dad
signed away a portion of GP before he died. I was just glad to see
her arm around Wilson and that she was smiling again.

~ Wilson ~

Oh my God, I’ve never done anything so
difficult in my life.
Yeah, dealing with death is scary and a
notch too close to unmanageable. And I would never think of
minimizing the kind of pain I went through when I lost my
grandparents, and even Frank; but to stand across from Nancy, the
mother of the man I love, and listen to her tell me how devastated
Max was when I left and then continue to tell me how horrible she
felt when she found out it was her words that drove me away…the
whole idea was too much. Here she was, with her husband just dying,
and she had to deal with me and my freak-out moment.

It took every ounce of restraint I had not
to tell her about drinking too much and kissing Nick. Good thing
Joanie’s voice flooded my mind and somehow subconsciously talked me
off
that
ledge, making me realize that my mistakes would
only hurt her needlessly. Besides, if Max could forgive me for my
transgressions, then that was all that mattered…I think.