A Moment in Time (16 page)

She took a sip of her mineral water, then
dabbed at her lips with a napkin, catching pieces of his monologue,
all of it a familiar rehash of conversations past. She looked over
at him with a fixed smile on her face, but her mind ranged
elsewhere, analyzing their fractured relationship, even as he
talked of permanently sealing it, cementing them into a marriage
that everyone seemed to think was inevitable.

Since college, she thought, this sense of
inevitability had only increased. For the last four years while
building up her practice, they'd spent most every weekend
together—always at his place, even though she now had hers—and
everyone assumed that marriage was the next step.

She'd thought the same thing for a period of
time, but she had become increasingly disenchanted with the idea as
her love for Teddy—whatever kind of love it might be called—had
diminished with time. She couldn't place the blame—at least not
entirely—on Teddy himself. He hadn't really changed all that much.
Over the years she definitely had begun to recognize behavioral
patterns that she hadn't detected at first but that had always been
there. Teddy, she'd come to realize, was a great charmer, a great
actor.

Finally, she put her fork down and looked
across at him, waiting for a pause. When it came, she quickly took
advantage. "Teddy," she said in an even voice, "we've been over
this, time and again. And I still feel the same way. I can't help
it." She shrugged. "I want to wait a while."

He attempted a smile, but his eyes weren't
smiling. As he poured more wine into his glass, she continued. "You
know that I appreciate everything that you've offered me. I really
do. But I've also explained to you repeatedly that what I have to
concentrate on now is building up my clientele and starting a
practice of my own. Plus I want to get out of debt. I've still got
huge student loans to pay off, and now I've got a mortgage. I
just—"

"Oh, Val, for Christ's sake," he said,
disgruntled. "Sometimes I think you actually forget who you are.
You're a de la Rochelle. You're descended from French aristocracy.
Even your very name, Valerie, is on the list of names approved by
the French court, and don't you ever forget it."

She looked at him in disbelief. He was
sounding increasingly like her snobbish mother.

"You shouldn't even be thinking about mundane
things like that," he went on. "You know I'd pay off your crummy
student loans for you. And when we get married, you could sell that
little house you bought. That'd take care of the mortgage. Hell,
Val, you could sell the house now. Move in here." He glared at her
for an intense moment. "You didn't have to buy it to begin with,
you know."

"Oh, yes, I did," she countered. "We talked
about that, and I told you that I wanted to try living on my own
for a while." She sighed audibly. "Don't you see? I want to be able
to stand on my own two feet, Teddy. And I don't feel like I'm ready
to get married until I can do that. I want to wait a little while
longer and—"

"You told me Christmas," he said
emphatically. There was a smile on his lips, but there was no
missing the edge in his voice.

Valerie's face burned with the truth of his
words. "I think I said probably, didn't I?" she said, in a futile
attempt at levity.

He didn't laugh but continued staring at her
with the expression of a petulant child.

Christmas, she remembered, had seemed so far
away at the beginning of the year when she'd told him she thought
she'd be ready to settle down by next Christmas. Now, of course,
summer would soon be over, and she'd accepted his engagement
ring.

"You're right," she said, "I did say that,
and I meant it at the time. But—"

"But what, Val?" he said angrily. "You're not
putting me off again, are you? What's the big deal about getting
married anyway?" He held a hand out and starting counting off
points on his fingers. "You spend nearly every weekend with me."
One finger down. "All of our holidays." Two fingers down. "We see
each other, maybe get to eat lunch or dinner together, practically
every day if I'm up here during the week."

Three fingers down. "We're like a married
couple now, for Christ's sake." Four fingers down.

If we are indeed like a married couple
now, and if this is what marriage is like,
she thought,
then
I don't want any part of it—ever.

She said: "You're right again, Teddy. It's
just... I don't know ..."

Teddy realized he was pushing too hard. He
reached across the table and took one of her hands in his. "Oh,
God, Val. I'm sorry," he said contritely. His familiar harsh stare
had become that familiar puppy's beseeching plea. "I ... I guess I
just love you so much that waiting is . . . well, it's really such
hell."

"I'm sorry, too, Teddy," she said softly but
firmly. "You know that I really have feelings for you. Right now I
just feel as if I'm being pushed from all directions."

Teddy quickly nodded in agreement. "You're
right, Val. Don't worry about it."Now, let's eat," he said, digging
into his lobster salad with renewed gusto.

Valerie picked up her fork and began eating
again. The salad was delicious, but she'd almost completely lost
her appetite.

"Did you have a busy morning?" Teddy asked
after taking a large sip of wine.

Valerie nodded. "Yes. A very busy morning.
All the usual, and Colette, too."

"Colette!" he exclaimed. "Oh, God, what's her
problem?"

"She has a pet African pygmy hedgehog that's
having trouble," Valerie said. "So we're going to fix him up."

"I can't figure her out," Teddy said. "She's
smart as a whip, sophisticated, all that, and loaded to the gills
with money. But"—he thumped a hand on the table— "she won't let me
handle her portfolio."

"You asked her?" Val said, surprised to hear
this news.

"More than once," Teddy said. "But she won't
give an inch. Says she's quite happy with her present money
managers. I can't figure it," he said. "She's known my family
forever, but she just refuses to see reason and switch."

"I didn't know," Valerie replied. "She hasn't
mentioned anything to me at all."

"If she does," he said, "let me know, will
you?"

"Sure," Valerie said, thinking that she
probably wouldn't.

"You have a busy afternoon coming up?" he
asked.

"The usual late-afternoon office
appointments, plus I've got to go out to Stonelair."

"Stonelair?" he said with alarm. "Again?"

"He's got four Irish wolfhounds," she said,
"and they all need the Lyme vaccine plus heartworm medication and
checkups. And there's a cat."

"So why are you going out there?" he asked.
"Why doesn't he bring them into the clinic?"

"Teddy!" she exclaimed. "It would take a
horse trailer to bring them in. They're Irish wolfhounds. You know,
practically ponies."

"Well, I hope you know what you're doing,"
Teddy said ominously. "Getting mixed up with weirdos like
that."

"There was nothing weird the night I saw the
horse," Valerie said defensively. "I think all this talk is just
that. Talk."

"There's usually a reason for it," Teddy
said. "And from what I've heard, things are really strange out
there."

"You sound like my mother," she said.

"Maybe so," Teddy said, "but your mother's
got very good instincts, I think. And she smells a rat." He sat
looking at her for a moment. "By the way," he asked, "did she give
old Dock Wainwright a call?"

"I don't have any idea," Valerie said,
looking at him curiously. "Why?" she asked, although she thought
she already knew the answer to that question.

Teddy shrugged nonchalantly. "Just wondered,"
he replied, swirling the remains of his wine around in the glass.
"She talked about it at dinner that night. Remember?" He looked
over at her. "Old Dock's twiddling his thumbs. Just letting her
account sit there gathering dust. He probably nods off reading
financial reports."

"So now you want to get your hands on my
mother's money," Valerie said teasingly.

He gazed at her seriously, ignoring her
joking tone. "Well," he began, "I don't see why not, Val. Your
mother certainly seemed interested in my handling it. She knows
what the market's like, and she knows Dock's not doing anything for
her. The way he invests money, it probably doesn't even keep up
with the rate of inflation."

For a long time now, she'd wondered when
Teddy would approach her mother about handling her money. For some
reason she couldn't put her finger on—perhaps, it was simply an
instinct—she didn't like the idea of Teddy becoming involved in her
mother's finances. She couldn't shake the feeling that it would be
a mistake, even though she realized that she was probably being
irrational.

I guess I'm being silly
, she thought.
After all, Teddy was supposed to be a great moneymaker, wasn't he?
And he certainly did live like one. The lavish bachelor pad in New
York City, the meticulously restored show-place up here, the new
Jaguar for himself and a truck for the farm every year. A
gazillion-dollar wardrobe. Those expensive weekends in the
Hamptons.

Suddenly she realized that Teddy had asked
her a question.

"What?" she asked.

"You're not listening to me," Teddy said.
"You're already thinking about all those poor dogs you've got to
neuter."

"Oh, stop with the dumb vet jokes," she said
with good humor.

"I was just asking if you had any idea how
much money she's got invested with Dock," he said.

"I don't know anything about that," Valerie
replied, surprised that he'd asked something that personal. Teddy
was aggressive, but usually a lot more subtle than this. "That's
strictly
her
business," she added, "and she doesn't talk to
me about it." She looked down at her wristwatch. "Anyway, I'd
better get going," she said.

"Don't you want dessert?" Teddy asked. "It's
just some fruit, but—"

"Too many donuts at the office this morning,"
Valerie glibly fibbed, already getting to her feet.

Teddy followed suit and walked around the
table to her. He slid an arm around her waist and gave her a kiss
on the cheek. "I'm glad you came," he said. "I've missed you the
last few weekends."

Valerie smiled and nodded. "I. . . I'd better
hurry and go get Elvis," she said.

"I'll go with you," he said.

They strolled up to the house in silence, but
when they reached the door, Teddy turned and stared into her
eyes.

She looked at him with an expectant
smile.

"You're not wearing your engagement ring," he
said softly. "Why, Val?"

She felt a blush rise to her face. "Teddy,"
she said, "think about it for a minute. I don't think it's a good
idea to wear it to work. At least not my work. I mean, it's not the
kind of thing you wear to help give birth to a foal, is it? Or set
a llama's broken leg? I don't think you want to see it covered up
with blood, do you?"

"Well . . . no," he said, "but you could've
had it handy for lunch."

"I'm not about to carry around a ring like
that and take it on and off," Valerie replied. "I'd lose it in no
time. Or have it stolen."

"You're probably right," he agreed.

"I know I am," Valerie said. "Besides, it's
so big, I'd never be able to fit my surgical gloves over it."

Teddy laughed. "You may have a point there,
too," he conceded as he opened the door. "You going to be able to
come over tonight?" he asked as she headed into the conservatory.
"I'm going back to New York tomorrow, you know."

Valerie kept walking toward the kitchen. "I
really shouldn't, Teddy," she said. "I've got a lot to do when I
get home tonight."

"But—" Teddy-began, then he immediately
thought better of trying to persuade her to spend the night
.
Pressure
, he remembered.
Lay off, Teddy, old boy. You don't
want to chase her away now.

"But what?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "I was thinking out
loud. About all the work Lydia's got lined up for me in the
office."

"See?" she said. "You've got a lot to do,
too, so I don't have to feel guilty."

In the kitchen, Elvis happily greeted them,
reluctantly leaving Hattie to prance proudly alongside Valerie back
out to the car. Teddy watched as she opened the door for Elvis,
then started to get in herself.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he
asked.

Valerie turned and looked at him.

He held his arms out, and she went into them,
letting him embrace her. He gave her a quick kiss and let her go.
"I know you're in a rush to get back," he said. "I'll give you a
call tonight, okay?"

"Sure," Valerie replied. "Talk to you
tonight." She got in the Jeep, Teddy closing the door after her.
She started the engine and backed out of the parking area, turning
around to head down the drive. She waved as she left, and Teddy
stood in the driveway waving back until she was out of sight.

Oh, Lord
, she thought.
Why is it
becoming more and more of a trial to see Teddy? And why, oh why,
don't I feel like a woman who's supposed to be getting married to
the perfect man at Christmastime? Why don't I have the courage to
do what I know I must eventually do?

Lydia had gone out to lunch, and in the
privacy of his office, Teddy picked up the telephone and punched
out the number. The machine picked up after the fourth ring.

"Hi, this is Tiffani," her disembodied voice
answered. "I'm not here right now, so leave your number and a
message. Oh, and wait for the beep. Thanks." Her voice sounded
perky and sexy, he thought. Just like her.

After the beep, he said, "Hey, babe, it's
Teddy. I got hot just listening to your voice. What about me coming
over there after you get off work? We could have a real good time.
I've got a little candy for you, babe. Give me a call when you get
in."