Oh Stupid Heart (12 page)

Her brow furrowed. “Did
you call Mars and asked his opinion?”

“More like
permission, but, yes, I woke him up from a sound sleep. He didn’t seem to
mind.”

“And he understands
the four children are ages five to a newborn?”

“Yes, but I didn’t
mention they named the baby Sea bass, because I feared it might make him refuse
on the spot. I mean, seriously, who the hell names their kid after marine
life?”

She chuckled and
pressed her head to his chest. He curled his arms around her, enchanted with
her laugh.

“The boy’s name is
Sebastian, but his siblings shortened it to Seabass. I think it’s adorable, and
I think your plan could really help them out, but don’t make Jon dependent upon
you or he’ll start treating you like a parent.”

Trent sure as hell
didn’t want to be Jon’s father.

“If Mars can tolerate
the children, offer it as temporary shelter while they save up for a house in
the suburbs.” She frowned. “Just not mine. I am never giving my house up.”

“You know, I can
have the garden and your fish pond replicated at the Long Island house.”

“It wouldn’t be the
same.”

“I’m pretty sure fish
can be moved as long as you give them tiny canteens of water for the trip.”

She chuckled at his
purposely dopey assurance. “If you want to replicate my garden, you may. But
you will not move my fish, canteens or no canteens, and I will not sell my
house. This house is part of me. It’s proof of my independence, my ability to
stand on my own two feet. I will always need it.”

“As a place to run
to?”

“As a place to heal.”

Her words bounced in
his head. He wanted to challenge such a need, he’d never had one and he was
still standing. Yet, the more he thought about it, maybe he was the odd one
out. Sam had his bar; Mars had his office; Carrie had her home; only he had no
place.

“The reason I keep
failing to understand your attachment to your house is because I don’t have a
place I can point to and say, ‘this is mine, I made it what it is’.” He then
smiled. “But I could. Only you’ll need to let me take the lead in building it.”

Her eyes grew
serious. “You want to take lead in changing Lancaster Chairs.”

He nodded. “I will
absolutely want your help, but the decisions need to be mine.”

He watched her struggle
with her disappointment, conquer it, and finally look up at him and smile. “May
I provide a great deal of suggestions?”

“Please do. It’s why
I risked sending you to Ian.” He stood and pulled her along with him. “Let’s
give Jon the good news and then go upstairs and make love.”

“Jon’s beat you to
the punch. When I woke him up and asked him why he was sleeping on the
recliner, he stared at my tangled hair and ugly robe, then replied, he had no
idea. He said he was headed upstairs to make love to his beautiful wife.” She
laughed and leaned against Trent. “See how inspirational I can be?”

Greatly pleased by
her story, Trent lifted her into his arms and carried her upstairs to their
bed.

***

The next morning, when
Trent told Jon and Patty about the penthouse and the job, their mouths dropped
to the floor. Pattie reached out and gripped her husband’s hand, her eyes
glassy with tears. Jon bent his head and remained silent for several minutes. Trent
feared he’d insulted them. After a long moment, Jon met his eyes.

“So you are coming to
our rescue, offering me a job paying well enough I won’t need to work second
and third jobs, and a penthouse where I will have a room to write in peace, all
depending upon if your butler can put up with my kids?”

Trent worried they
thought his condition absurd. It did sound a bit ridiculous. “The job offer is
firm. The house depends upon Mars.”

Jon laughed and
covered his face. “Trent, you are
so
not your father!”

“Thank you for
noticing. Carrie doesn’t like my father, and neither did I, so I’ve been trying
very hard to stop channeling him.”

“Is Mars, by chance,
another half-brother?”

He didn’t think Jon’s
question funny in the least. “I have no reason to believe so, and for your
future discretion, I’d prefer no one to know Sam’s parentage. It’s possible he
doesn’t even know, and if so, then even better. He grew up with two loving
parents. There’s no reason for him to learn about his biological asshole.”

Jon held up his hand
in surrender. “Sam knows. He went to your father, rather than the butler, and
asked for the chauffeur’s job, which is what sent your mother crying into my
mother’s arms. They had done something in the past they believed would bury
your father’s indiscretion forever, but it didn’t work. My mother promised to
fix it again, but given Sam remains in your employ, I’m guessing it didn’t work
either.” He chuckled. “I’d like to ask Sam what he did to thwart them.”

Trent’s neck muscles
seized in fear. “Not a word to Sam. Then he’ll know I know, and our current
détente will blow up. I can’t very well ask my half-brother to drive me around
town, now can I?”

“No….”

“So he’ll leave, and
I don’t want him to. As aggravating as he is at times, I like him. I like
having him around.” He preferred Sam far more than he did his elder brother,
who was a jerk when alive, and suffocating in his death.

Carrie wrapped her
arms around him as her eyes filled with unspent tears. He embraced her, but his
focus remained on Jon. “Are we straight on this?”

Jon gave him a two
finger salute. “Not a word from me.”

“Me either,” Patty
promised.

He didn’t need to
extract a promise from Carrie. She’d never betray him.

“So when can we move
in?” Patty’s excitement was apparent both in her high-pitched voice and
inability to sit still. Her feet appeared to be doing the jitter bug while she
sat on the couch.

Jon placed his hand
upon her leg and settled her. “It would be easier if we did it today. Do you
have someplace to store our crappy furniture, or should I purchase a storage
room somewhere?”

“Don’t give up your
apartment until the two weeks are over. I’m serious about Mars making the
decision. ”

Jon sobered. “The
boys are very good. Otherwise, I would have probably tossed a couple of them
out of the windows by now.”

“He’s kidding,” Patty
added, “about the tossing. They are very good.”

Trent was tempted to
ask if they were really Jon’s but decided to stifle his humor at the moment. His
offer was a big deal to these two. If all went well, it could change their
lives for the better.

“Tell you what. We’ll
come in and help you move.” He glanced at Carrie to see if he’d gotten himself
in trouble. She nodded, staring at him as if he were her favorite ice cream. On
impulse, he added something he knew would please her. “Then we’ll treat you to
the funniest Broadway show you’ve ever seen.”

She clapped her hands
in excitement. “Tall and Tiny. Have you ever heard of them?”

They both shook their
heads.

“You are in for a
treat.”

Trent slipped back
into the solarium and called Mars. “Can you have Sam come get us? We are returning
to the city. We’re going to help Jon and Patty move sufficient stuff into the
penthouse for two weeks. They do know the decision if they stay is yours, so be
aware they will be treating you nicer than norm. Keep that in mind when making
the final decision.”

“Will they be
bringing the children tonight?”

“Ummmm I guess so. I
think you get arrested if you leave them behind.”

“I assumed whoever
was watching them presently might keep them tonight.”

“Oh, probably right.
Before I ask, do you not want them?”

“We can childproof
your house in two hours. You do understand all breakable items and sharp-edged
furniture will have to be removed.”

“I didn’t, but it
makes sense. How do you know this stuff?”

“A well-trained
butler is prepared for all situations.”

“Which is why I don’t
want to lose you. Will you call Sam? He was in a bad mood when he dropped me
off Friday night. Is he fighting with his girlfriend?”

“I believe the
relationship is over. He is now one barmaid short. He may be working at his
bar. If he’s not available, may I call a service?”

“Yes, but there’re
four of us, so have them send a stretch limo.” Trent hung up, cursed, and
redialed the number. Mars answered immediately. “Yes, sir?”

“I forgot to say
thank you and goodbye before I hung up.”

It sounded like Mars
chuckled. “You are most welcome, Master Trent.”

Trent hung up feeling
good. Jon was right. He wasn’t anything like his father. Next, he called to
secure tickets for Tall and Tiny’s show. Here his luck failed him. They were
sold out, even the front row center.

To Trent’s surprise,
his grumpy driver showed up, slammed their suitcases into the trunk, and drove
like a maniac to the city.

He worried his guests
would be terrified, but they treated the whole affair like an amusement park
ride. Carrie’s brow furrowed, and to his eye, she didn’t worry about Sam’s
reckless driving, but about Sam’s broken heart.

“He’ll bounce back,”
Trent whispered. “He always does.”

***

Sam growled beneath
his breath when Trent offered his driver’s services to help move Jon and Patty
into the penthouse, but the man held it together until he saw the two babies
and two small boys with blonde hair. For some reason, seeing Carrie holding the
baby caused Sam to release a soft stream of curses that would have made a pirate
proud.

Trent couldn’t make
sense of the tantrum. Did their blonde hair remind Sam of his barmaid, Dawn?
Maybe he’d wanted to make blonde babies with her.

Wanting to give his
newfound brother support, Trent gripped Sam’s shoulder and softly spoke. “Our
time will come.”

Sam knocked his hand
away and stormed to the car.

Trent sighed. So much
for trying to reach out.

Jon managed the two
walking boys, telling them about the rules of the new place. He didn’t threaten
them once. He just shared information.

“When we get there,
we’ll take a walk around and I’ll point out the things we can’t touch, okay?”

With happy grins on
their faces, both boys nodded.

Damn! Trent wouldn’t
mind having a pair like those. He glanced at Carrie cooing at the baby. His
heart warmed and his loin tightened. He had a great desire to start making
babies right away.

***

When the elevators
opened to Mars’ stern visage, Trent introduced Jon and Patty to his butler. The
five-year-old stepped forward and held out his hand. “I’m Davey. My dad says we
have to do whatever you tell us. Does that make you like a grandfather? All my
friends have two grandfathers, but I don’t have any.”

Mars’ eyes softened.
“No, I’m the butler.”

Davey breathed in,
evidently realizing Mars wasn’t signing on to be his grandfather. “Okay, but
I’ll be good all the same.” He moved back to his dad and hugged his leg.

Jon grimaced. “Sorry.
His best friend has a wonderful grandfather who takes them to the park. Since I
have no parents to be his grandparents, he’s evidently decided to shop around
for one.”

Mars smiled at the
boy. “Not a problem, sir. Allow me to show you to your rooms.”

Patty squealed over
the nursery with two beautiful cribs, a well stocked changing table, and a
ceiling full of dangling things. She applauded at the boys’ beds, shaped like
sports cars. Then she cried at their beautiful suite with an attached bath containing
a large tub plus a separate shower, a walk-in closet she declared larger than
their apartment, and a king-size bed capable of sleeping the whole family.

Jon gripped Trent’s
shoulder and squeezed in silent appreciation, then he followed his happy boys
to see the giant swimming pool.

Trent smiled at Mars.
“You’re a miracle worker. And don’t tell me you retrieved the stuff out of
storage, because I always wanted a car bed and never got it.”

“I firmly believe,
sir, a child who likes his room will spend more time in it.”

Mars focused on Jon
returning from seeing the “pool”. “Mr. Javits, would you care to view your office?”

The boys scampered
from the bathroom. “We want to see too,” Davy said. Patty gripped the two boy’s
hands. “Calm down and we’ll all go.”

Mars let the entire
mob, including Trent and Carrie, to the corner bedroom. It no longer had a bed
inside. A sleek, light wood desk faced the window with the view of the Hudson
River. A top-of-the-line Lancaster chair took center stage. Carrie gravitated
to the chair and sat down. “This is like my purple chair.”

She released a happy
sigh. “Hopefully, my new one came in while I was away.”

Trent frowned. He
seemed to recall Grant had a new dark maroon chair. “What color?”

“Don’t worry, it’s
not purple. It’s maroon.”

“Ah. We might need to
order you a new one. Grant may have taken yours.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Well,
Grant can give it back.”

He tugged her from
the chair and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t start two wars at once.
That’s the only thing we learned from the George Bush era.”

She breathed in and
huffed.

He motioned for Jon
to sit.

The moment he settled
before his desk, a smile stretched across his face. “Whoa! I’ve fallen into
writer’s heaven.”

“Think you can write
riveting prose about your chair?” Trent teased.

Jon grinned and ran
his hand across the desk. “I think I can write grand stories in my new haven.”

“Dinner is served,
sir,” Mars announced from the door.

Trent didn’t want to
go back to Carrie’s house yet. He liked being the hero to the rescue. “Enough
to feed us all?” he asked Mars. The answer had better be yes.

“Of course, Master
Trent.”

“Then we’ll stay and
eat as well. Otherwise, Carrie will starve before we return to her house.”

Jon laughed and
patted his back. “So not your father.”

When they arrived at
the table, Trent took the end chair, which Jon didn’t mind because he and Patty
needed to sit by their two eldest boys. Evidently, their drinks liked to
spontaneously lay down if not guarded by parents.

Trent couldn’t
remember a finer dinner party. Everyone at the table was in high spirits. Patty
sent him constant smiles and laughed at all his attempts at humor. Never in his
life had he felt so showered with love and admiration. For the first time,
someone other than Carrie saw him as a hero. Once dinner ended, they gave the
cook a standing ovation for her efforts. Jon and Patty put their boys to bed
and insisted Trent and Carrie stay for drinks afterwards.

Not much of a
drinker, Carrie soon fell asleep snuggled against his side on the couch as he
and Jon watched Patty dance some of her choreography for an upcoming show.

Her stirring dance
finally forced him to call it a night. He lifted Carrie into his arms. “You
won’t mind if we retire to my suite.”

Me casa es su casa.
Literally,” Jon replied and wrapped his arms around his enticing wife. “Let’s
go to bed.”

“But I’m not sleepy.”

Jon laughed. “Good,
neither am I.” He tugged her from the room to their suite.

***

When Trent placed Carrie
on his bed, she woke and sat up, taking in the room.

“Shouldn’t we return
to my house?”

“Can’t. Sam ran off.”

“Did you ask Jon if
he minds us staying?”

“While I don’t claim
to speak Spanish, I believe he said, ‘My castle is your castle, literally’.”

“If he said ‘casa’
that means house.”

“Same thing,” he
grumbled and crawled in next to her. “You aren’t sleepy, are you?”

She grinned. “Not anymore.”