Come Undone (12 page)

“No
problem at all. What’s up?” I asked, standing to close the door.

“We
aren’t going to make it to dinner with your friends tomorrow night.”

“Is
everything all right?” At his tone, I steadied myself against the desk.

“Things
have been better. She’s not well, dear.” I wasn’t sure if I’d heard his voice
break. “She insists that she’s fine, but I’d like to keep her home for now.”

“What
do the doctors say?”

“Well,
she contracted an infection a few weeks ago and has lost considerable weight.
This happened once before, during her first round of chemo, and it took months
to recover. After what she’s been through, I’m not sure she has the strength to
fight it off again.”

“Oh,
Mack. I’m so sorry.” I wished I were there to give him a hug. I’d never heard
him so distraught, and I realized it was because he’d always had to be strong
for Davena. Without her, his distress was apparent. “She’s the toughest lady I
know,” I reassured him. “She’ll be fine, don’t you worry.”

      
“She may
not be, Liv. Just keep that in mind.”

      
I responded
with shocked silence. Davena was untouchable – if she couldn’t lick
cancer, who could?

“I
should go,” his voice cut into my thoughts. “She’ll be wanting some tomato soup
just about now, and I’m going to run to her favorite deli. Please give Lucy our
regrets.”

When
I’d hung up, I sat thinking about their relationship. As long as I’d known
them, they’d loved hard and fought hard. In the end, Mack always stood by her,
never letting anything touch her. The body that he’d loved so intensely was
turning against him, and it was out of his control. I shuddered at the thought.

I
wondered how my relationship compared to theirs. How would Bill deal if I were
that sick? Would he know how to take care of me? Anticipate my cravings for
tomato soup? Mack and Davena had been married over thirty years, I figured.
Surely, in thirty years, Bill would know me inside out.

~

“Catch that
game the other night?” Bill called to the doorman as we passed through Andrew
and Lucy’s lobby.

“Total
destruction, man. We on our way!”

“You
know it,” he said as we entered the elevator.

“Did
I mention that you look handsome tonight?” I asked when the doors had closed.

“Think
so? If you play your cards right, you might get lucky.”

“Is
that so?” I teased. “Well I have a surprise for you if that’s true.”

“What
is it?”

“I’ll
tell you later.”

“What
is it? I don’t like surprises.”

“Come
on, just - ”

“Seriously,
what is it?”

“Okay,
I started taking birth control,” I said, grinning. “No more condoms. Although
actually, we can’t start for a few more days, and I think I’d like to give it
another week just to be safe – what?” I asked when I noticed his
expression.

The
elevator pinged and he stepped off. “Unbelievable,” he muttered.

“What?
I sat down, did a lot of research, talked to the doctor, and I thought you’d be
excited. You’re always complaining about - ”

“This
is not the time, Liv.”

“I
thought I heard voices,” Andrew said as he opened the door. “Come in.” Lucy appeared
behind him, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. I wondered quickly if it was the
same one David had held against me.

“What’s
that delicious smell? This is for you,” Bill said, handing Lucy a bottle of
wine. Before she had a chance to answer, Andrew wrapped me in an enthusiastic
embrace. He pulled back and squeezed my shoulders.

“Our
brave girl. Apparently you have quite the flair for self defense,” he said,
smiling, and released me with an obnoxious pat on the head.

“You’re
just in time,” Lucy said. “Have a seat, food will be out soon.”

We
found Gretchen and her date, an accountant she’d met at Starbucks, snacking on
bacon-wrapped apricots in the living room. As I went to sit by her I had the
urge, as I always did when I visited Lucy’s apartment, to remove my shoes for
fear of getting anything dirty.

Andrew
poured Bill and me each a glass of wine as he asked about New York. They
laughed about my terrible sense of direction as Bill cited the many times I’d
steered us wrong. “She said ‘I’ve been here lots of times, Bill, just trust
me.’ I should’ve listened to my instincts and gone the opposite direction.”

“Oh,
please, you were even more lost,” I said, playfully shoving him.

“Andrew,
can you get everyone seated?” Lucy called from the kitchen.

We
took our place around the table as Lucy decorated the table with
delicious-smelling food.

“How
are things at S&S?” Andrew asked Bill.

“Great.
You? How’s business?”

“All
right,” Andrew replied, cutting into his steak. I watched as blood pooled on
the plate. “I expected things to slow down more because of the economy, but
we’re doing fine. We’ve been lucky – our firm in New York has been hit
harder. I guess investment banking isn’t so hot there right now.”

“You
should see their new building,” Lucy chimed in. “It’s almost finished and it’s
incredible. I’m excited for Andrew to be closer to home,” she gushed.

“Oh
yeah?” asked Bill.

Andrew
nodded emphatically as he chewed. “The place is incredible, like Luce said. My
boss owns the building, and I can’t imagine the money he poured into it,” he
snorted. “And the architect is brilliant. He’s from here but has studied in
Europe and maybe even Asia. Really interesting guy. Plus, he owns a sailboat.”

I
stiffened. My mind flitted back to the night of the party, when Andrew had introduced
me to David. I opened my mouth to change the subject.

“Interesting,”
Bill commented before I could speak. “Maybe he does homes?” he suggested,
raising his eyebrows at me.

“Oh
honey, I’m sure he charges a fortune,” I replied.

“How’s
that going, by the way?” Lucy asked us.

Bill
grunted. “We have an appointment with our realtor tomorrow afternoon. We picked
the right time to start looking, but nothing has really felt right yet. At
least not for this one.” He jerked his elbow in my direction, and I nodded in
agreement.

“Well,”
Andrew said, “you could always build from the ground up. In fact, David has
mentioned something about flipping houses as a hobby. I’ll ask him about it and
let you know.”

Oh. My. God.
Please don’t do that.

“He
was at our engagement party, Liv. David Dylan,” Lucy offered, looking at me. I
shrugged and did my best to seem unknowing, but Gretchen visibly perked up.
“Oh, come on,” Lucy prodded. “Tall, gorgeous. He’s unforgettable!” I glanced at
her wine glass, wondering if she was crazy or if it was just the wine.

Andrew
didn’t look bothered in the least though. “Sure Liv, you remember. I introduced
you guys in the kitchen,” he said.

“Oh,
yes,” I said, seeing nowhere else to turn.

“Bill,
this guy is something else. The women in the office go crazy whenever he stops
by. I think they even have some sort of pool going to see who can score a date
with him
.”
He laughed with a bellow, and I
began to think I might be the one going crazy
.
Bill just nodded and kept chewing. I pulled my dress
down and crossed my legs, trying to get comfortable. “If I were smarter, I’d
forbid Luce from working with him.”

Gretchen
and I dropped our forks simultaneously. “What’s that?” I asked.

“Oh,”
Lucy giggled nervously. “He asked Andrew for my information because he could
use a new personal stylist. I doubt anything will come of it, but I have to
admit,” she said, looking at Andrew, “he’d be a great client. I think he has
money . . . and connections, too.”

“Sure
seems that way, but I don’t know for sure,” Andrew concurred.

Gretchen
was noticeably gripping the table at this point, and I stifled a laugh, despite
my discomfort. I glanced at her poor date, who just looked bored.

“Lucky
guy,” Bill said, forking a potato. “Sounds like a catch.”

“Lucy,”
I blurted, sending all eyes in my direction. I scrambled for a topic. “How’s
the planning coming?” I asked, pointing my fork at her ring. Her face lit up.
When in doubt, go wedding,
I noted.

“Actually,
we have news,” she said, looking over at Andrew. “We’ve set a date. First
weekend of September.”

“September?”
I asked in shock. “Of this year? That’s like four months away!”

“I
know.” I sensed the hesitation in her voice. “It’s also Labor Day weekend. But Andrew’s
parents are leaving for their trip around the world in October, and it’s really
important to him – to us – that they be there.”

“Why
not wait ‘til they get back?” Gretchen asked.

“Well
they don’t know when that will be . . . . Andrew’s dad has been planning this
trip for a decade and they don’t know when, or even if they’ll be back. And
there’s my aunt, too.”

“How
is she?”

“She’s
stable,” Andrew answered. “But that could change any day and we don’t want to
take the chance.”

“Anyway,”
Lucy said, clearly not wanting to talk about it. “Labor Day it is, so clear
your calendars.”

“You’re
going to have your hands full,” I said matter-of-factly. Lucy agreed.

She
left into the kitchen and reappeared with a homemade cheesecake, eliciting
applause from the men. Her domestic skills never failed to impress me. She set
a dish in front of everyone but Gretchen, who said she was ‘stuffed.’ Lucy
continued with the details of the next four months, much to Bill’s chagrin, I
could tell.

“Geez
Liv, I don’t understand where you put all that,” Andrew said suddenly,
gesturing to my empty plate. I turned red and we all burst into laughter.

CHAPTER 1
1

JEANINE CLICKED ON THE TURN SIGNAL,
and Bill
leaned forward eagerly from the passenger side, trying to get a glimpse of the
house. She pointed into the distance where it sat behind leafy green trees. I
surveyed the neighborhood from my open window, taking in the quiet stillness of
the streets, save the almost imperceptible rustling of foliage. As she turned
onto the street, I admired the old-fashioned but grand houses that sat
comfortably in their foundations, settled from decades of existence.

Bill
turned from the front of the car. “The drive wasn’t so bad, was it? Oak Park is
an easy commute,” he decided, turning back to watch out the windshield.

“It
really is,” Jeanine agreed, glancing at him. “You also have the option of the ‘L’
train. It’s maybe a thirty, forty minute ride.” Bill’s excitement to move out
of the city overshadowed my discontent. I was apprehensive, but now, I had to
agree. It wouldn’t be too far from my beloved Chicago, and Bill would get a
taste of the slow life.
Compromise,
Olivia.

As
she pulled up to the house, I was taken aback by its magnificence. Its enormity
lay in the imposing features, rather than in square footage. The property was
run-down and thick with overgrown brush, but somehow, it was alive with
character. I loved that it was different from the houses around it, with hard
angles and flat lines, but that the atmosphere of the street was still present.

I
unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out to get a better look. Dead grass crunched
under my shoes as I used my hand to shield the lowering sun.

“Olivia!”
I turned to see Jeanine gesturing to me as she and Bill crossed the street.
“Over here!”

I
looked behind her in confusion, noticing the ‘For Sale’ sign planted firmly in lush
green grass. When I turned back, I searched for the same sign on my lawn but
found nothing. Feeling foolish, I ran across the pavement to meet Bill and
Jeanine, who were talking energetically and hadn’t noticed my blunder. In front
of me stood another impressive house, yet it didn’t inspire the same feeling in
me as its neighbor.

Jeanine
led us inside the creaky house and took us from room to room enthusiastically.
We climbed the stairs to find a sprawling master bedroom. For Bill, that would
be the exclamation point on this sentence. While he and Jeanine lingered there
to discuss amenities, I wandered down the hall and into a smaller room that
faced the street.

I
surveyed the bright green lawn from the second story, admiring its calm brilliance.
A cracked window allowed me to breathe in the fresh spring breeze
appreciatively.
Maybe the suburbs aren’t
so bad
, I thought.