Lessons of a Lowcountry Summer (26 page)

She wiggled her toes, painted a shocking hot pink. “Did Theo tell you that Lee is contacting a Charleston real estate agent for him to look for properties in neighborhoods with good school districts?”

“No, he didn't.”

A wave of annoyance swept over her. Theo had complained because she had not told him about the changes going on in her body, while he had conveniently neglected to tell her that he was considering relocating to Charleston.

“Oops!” Rebecca grimaced. “Did I say something I shouldn't have?”

“Of course not. Theo and I aren't joined at the hip, so there's no need for us to confide everything to each other.”

“But you do have a relationship.”

“We are sleeping together. That doesn't necessarily translate into a committed relationship.”

Rebecca plucked a sprig of mint out of her glass. “Are you in love with Theo?”

Hope was too startled by the question to form a quick comeback. “I don't know, Rebecca, because I don't know what love feels like anymore. I thought I was in love with Kendall, but after leaving him I know in my heart that I wasn't. If I'd loved him, then I wouldn't have waited to give him an answer when he asked me to marry him.”

“If Theo asked you to marry him, would you?”

“No, because that would never happen. I've heard him say that he has no intention of marrying or fathering children.”

“Why?”

She shook her head. “I don't know.”

“You've never asked him?”

“No.”

“Why not, Hope?”

“Because it doesn't concern me.”

“Do you want to marry and have children?”

A flicker of apprehension coursed through Hope, and she felt a momentary panic. She had always said she wanted to be married before she had a child, but since she had come to McKinnon Island she knew that prerequisite wasn't as crucial as she had originally thought.

“All I want is a baby.” The last word came out in a sob. She clamped a hand over her mouth as her eyes filled with moisture. A shudder shook her as the tears fell.

Rebecca moved over and held her neighbor, rubbing her back until her trembling stopped. “Let it out, girlfriend,” she crooned softly, losing her own battle with the tears filling her eyes.

The two women held each other, crying until spent. They passed the rest of the afternoon talking as they had done the night that now seemed so long ago, when it had actually only been weeks.

Most of their time together on McKinnon Island was behind them, and they knew it. They toasted each other with glasses of iced tea, swearing a solemn promise to enjoy whatever time they had left.

 

 

E
very minute Hope spent
with Rebecca and

Theo was as precious to her as drops of water to a man dying of thirst in the desert.

All had established a ritual of having dinner together, Helen and Theo, Rebecca and Hope sharing cooking duties. Lee had shortened his workweek to three days. He usually arrived late Wednesday, and departed with the last ferryboat on Sunday.

The night before, the five adults had celebrated well into the night with potent concoctions after Theo announced he had completed his sixth script. He was two months ahead of schedule. Hope had completed more than half of her book and had downloaded enough letters to Bill for her “Straight Talk” column to run through the end of the year.

She lay facedown on a chaise on the patio at the rear of Theo's house, listening to the melodic voice of Phil Perry coming through the speakers of a portable stereo system. Lee and Rebecca had invited her to join them for a walk along the beach, but she had declined. It was to become the last weekend the Owenses would spend on the island. She closed her eyes, enjoying the heat of the waning sunlight on her back, when she heard Helen calling out to Theo that he had a telephone call.

Hope hadn't realized she had fallen asleep until she felt someone shake her. “Wake up, sweetheart.”

She came awake immediately and sat up. Theo stood over her. There was a lethal calmness in his eyes that frightened her. “What's the matter?”

He reached for her upper arm. “Come with me. I have something to tell you.”

Balking, she pulled back. “Tell me now.”

“No, Hope. Not here.”

Her sandals made little slip-slapping sounds on the patio's terra-cotta flooring as she followed Theo into the house. A blast of cold air swept over her. The contrast between the indoor and outdoor temperatures was at least twenty degrees.

Theo led her into a bedroom off a wing of the kitchen and closed the door. She knew with a quick glance that it was his bedroom. A computer and printer sat on a table in an alcove. Lacing his fingers through hers, he pulled her down to sit on a queen-size bed.

Theo stared at her, adding to her apprehension. “What do you want to tell me?” she asked.

“I just got some news that's… that's not going to bode well for you.”

“What is it?” Her voice was trembling.

“Your name is back in the
Chatterer
again.” He squeezed her fingers in a comforting gesture. “The next issue has a story about your ex-boyfriend and his male lover. The lover claims the three of you have been involved in a ménage à trois.”

Hope felt the roaring in her head and the constriction shutting off her breath before the room started spinning. Gurgling gasps came from her throat as she tried to speak. Theo's face shimmered before her eyes. She saw his mouth open but could not hear what he was saying to her. She did not remember what happened next, but suddenly her body was on fire. When everything cleared, she saw Helen staring down at her.

“Don't get up,” Helen murmured softly. “You almost fainted.”

“Is she going to be all right?” Rebecca's voice came from somewhere above her.

Theo placed his hand alongside her cheek. “Yes.”

Hope swallowed in an attempt to moisten her throat. “Who told you?”

Leaning closer, Theo pressed his mouth to her ear. “Someone at the paper called my agent and told him the edition will be on the newsstands tomorrow.”

Hope blinked back tears. “It's all a lie, Theo.”

He gave her a long, penetrating look. “I know that.”

“You believe me.” Her lids fluttered wildly. “You're probably the only one other than my sister.” Sitting up, she pulled a cloth from her forehead and stared directly at Helen. “I dated a man for three years, not knowing he was bisexual until I walked in on him and another man the day I planned to tell him that I would marry him.”

The older woman gasped loudly. Theo glanced over his shoulder. Rebecca and Helen were huddled together. “Please leave us.” The two women turned and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door firmly behind them. He released Hope and sat on a chair several feet from the bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to make a telephone call.”

“Use mine.” He reached for a small phone on a table next to the chair, and handed it to her.

She flipped open the top and dialed. The call was answered after the second ring.

“This is KC.”

The runaway pounding of her heart echoed in her ears. “This is Hope.”

“Hey, baby. How are you?”

Hope's gaze was fixed on Theo's impassive expression. “This is not a social call, KC. I'm calling you to tell you that your business is in the street.”

“What are you talking about?” His voice had lost its velvet softness.

“It appears that your lover went to the
Chatterer
about his relationship with you. I don't care how many men you sleep with, but what I don't want is to be brought into it—especially not in the tabloids. Tell your lover that he'd better get the paper to retract the story about me being a participant in a ménage à trois or I'll sue him and that rag he gave the story to for so much money that he won't be able to buy even a single sheet of toilet paper to wipe his ass.” She pressed a button and ended the call. Her hands were shaking when she handed Theo back the phone. “Thank you.” Lifting her chin, she met his tortured gaze. “I want to go home.”

He inclined his head. “Come, I'll take you.”

Hope fought against the tears she refused to let fall as Theo led her through the house and out the front door to his vehicle. There was complete silence as he drove down Beach Road to her house. She got out without waiting for him to help her. A jumble of confused thoughts and emotions made her feel as if she was swimming underwater in the dark.

Theo was beside her as she unlocked the front door. “Good night, Theo.”

He rested a hand on her shoulder. “I'm not leaving, Hope.”

She shook her head from side to side. “Please. I need to be alone.” A cynical smile twisted her mouth. “You don't have to worry about me. I'm not going to do anything stupid.”

His hand slipped down her spine. “Let me stay with you. Just for a little while.”

“Why, Theo?”

He kissed her hair. “Because I care about you.”

She smiled in spite of her predicament. “Okay. But just for a little while, because I have to make a few more phone calls.” She had to call and leave voice mail messages for her attorney, Bill, and then she needed to speak to her parents. They had to be informed of the craziness going on in her life.

 

She and Theo
lay across the bed together, holding hands. There was no need for conversation; there was nothing they could say that would counter the lewd gossip printed in the
Chatterer.

“Do you know him?” Theo asked after a long, comfortable silence.

“Who?” Her voice was raspy, as if she had been yelling for hours.

“The piece of shit who gave the story to the rag?”

“No. Why did you ask?”

“No reason.”

“You have a reason, Theo.” Turning her head, she stared at his stoic expression. “You're not thinking what I'm thinking?”

“What am I thinking, Hope?”

She rose on an elbow. “I don't want anything to happen to that piece of shit until I settle this legally. If I'm not able to refute his accusations, then I'm finished professionally. I'll lose my column and possibly the radio position. And, I can forget about a private practice. I could make the rounds on the television talk show circuit. Imagine the hype I could generate by becoming a guest on
Maury, Jerry Springer, Montel Williams, Ricki Lake,or Jenny Jones
where the topic is, Are you involved in a straight, bi, or homosexual triangle?”

“Stop it, Hope!”

A tense silence enveloped the room as they glared at each other. She closed her eyes, and the tightness around her mouth eased. “It's either joke about it or cry about it.” She looked at him. “And I'd rather laugh than cry.”

“There's nothing wrong with crying, sweetheart.”

“I only cry about things I can't control.”

Theo wanted to tell her that what would appear in the
Chatterer
in a few hours was worth crying about because it was beyond her control. As soon as the paper was placed in the racks, the tongues would begin wagging.

 

Hope sat in the dark
after Theo left. The darkness comforted and protected her so she could see not what was real but whatever fantasy she conjured up.

But she knew she could not spend her life in darkness, hiding from the real world. And despite her fear of what was about to happen, she reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. She slipped off the bed and walked to the other bedroom. Her hands were steady when she removed her cell phone from its charger. The tension was gone from her face when she opened her planner and dialed the number to her attorney's office. Following the prompts, she left an abbreviated version of what Theo had told her about the upcoming article and her cell phone number.

She dialed her editor's home number, and he picked up after the third ring. “Talk to me.”

Hope smiled at his unorthodox greeting. “Bill, this is Hope.”

He chuckled. “You never have to identify yourself, because your voice gives you away. I got your e-mail attachments the other day, and the bundles of letters were delivered today. You don't have to send them overnight. Regular mail will do.”

“Overnight mail is special handling, regular isn't.”

“Save your money, Hope, and buy a shredder.”

“I will.” After she answered all of the letters, newspaper personnel shredded them. Although she answered thousands of letters throughout the year, only a small percentage made the column.

“Why the call, Hope?” It was on a rare occasion that she called his home.

“I'm calling to warn you that I might be front page news in tomorrow's
Chatterer.”

“Oh, damn! What crap do they have on you?”

She told him about seeing her ex-boyfriend and his lover together, and the lover's story about a sexual triangle. Each time she repeated the story, she gathered more strength.

William Casey Cullen let loose with a stream of expletives that forced Hope to hold the phone away from her ear. “Do you have the lover's name?” he asked once he recovered from his tirade.

“No.”

“Can you get it?”

“I don't know.”

There was a pause before Bill's voice came through the tiny earpiece. “I know someone who used to work for that rag. He still owes me a favor. Let me see what I can do on this end. It's too late to stop the sale of the paper, but that doesn't mean they won't pay for printing lies.”

“It's more than lies, Bill. It's slander.”

“I hope you called your lawyer.”

“I called him first.”

“Good for you. Don't worry, beautiful. You're going to beat this.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. But…” Her words trailed off.

“But what?”

“What about my column?”

“What about it?”

“How will this affect my position with your paper?”

“If you're asking whether you still have a job, then the answer is yes. What happened to everyone is innocent until proven guilty?”

She smiled. “You're right. I am innocent.”

“You don't have to try and convince me. I'm going to make a few calls, and I'll let you know what I come up with. Do you have a number at your house, or do you want me to call you on your cell?”

“The cell.”

“Good. Talk to you later.”

“Thank you, Bill.”

“Don't thank me yet.”

She smiled. “Good night, Bill.”

He blew a kiss through the wire. “Later, Hope.”

She was smiling when she dialed her parents' number. It was her mother who answered. Hope greeted her as she normally would, then asked that her father get on the extension. Patrick and Flora were silent as she told them about her breakup with Kendall and everything that had followed.