Payback and a Bottle of Merlot: Like Sisters Series Book One (11 page)

“So what’s your take on that, Sis?”

“I’m sorry… what?”

“Where the hell are you? I’ve been talking for ten minutes straight. Didn’t you hear anything I said?” Matt asked, as he closed the window. “There, can you hear me better?”

“Sorry, I’m thinking about Dad.”

“Well so am I. I asked you what we should do if Dad is permanently disabled.”

“That won’t happen, at least the doctors don’t think so. But if he was, Mom and Dad would either have to move near you, or back to Tarrytown. I would love to have them, but they moved away to get out of the cold, not come back to it. Let’s be optimistic and see how he does. They can always make that decision later after he goes through therapy if he needs it.”

“You’re right, Sis. I’m not trying to be negative about anything. I’m thinking ahead of the worst case scenario, if we actually have to go there.”

“Here we are.” Mia pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked in an open visitor’s spot.

“Wow, this is quite the complex,” Matt said, as he exited the passenger side of the car.

“Yes it is. Dad is getting superior care, and the rehabilitation center is just over there to the left. He’ll be really happy to see you. Let’s go in.”

They found Ann sitting on the side of Tom’s hospital bed. She was reading him an article from a GQ magazine she found in the rack down the hall.

“Mom, Dad, it’s great to see both of you. Dad, you’ll be out of here in no time, you look pretty good.”

Tom tried to respond, but the words were jumbled. He reached out to Matt with his right hand and squeezed his arm. His smile wasn’t quite uniform, but the twinkle in his eyes showed how pleased he was to see his son.

At nine o’clock, Mia, her mom and brother decided to call it a night. Matt was exhausted and needed a good night’s sleep. They drove back to the house in Mia’s rental car.

“Matt, do you mind sleeping on the sofa?” Ann asked. “It makes into a queen sized bed.”

“No problem. I’ll see you both in the morning. I’m really exhausted tonight… sorry.”

“It’s okay, honey, we all are.”

Mia said her good nights and retreated to the guest bedroom. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with what she saw at the airport today.
Do I call him? What will I say if he actually answers?
She decided to call Vic instead. Mia knew Vic’s opinion was going to be brutally honest, but likely the right one.

“Hey, girl. How’s it going?”

“I’m great, hon, but you sound exhausted. What’s going on?”

“I don’t even know how to begin. First off, I’m pretty sure my dad will be fine after some therapy. Thank God for that. Vic, you aren’t going to believe what I’m about to tell you. I’m still in shock, and it’s been almost twelve hours.”

“What happened? Of course, it has to be about Jack the jerk, right? Oh, and before you get into it, Aaron told me to say ‘hi’ when I talked to you, and Reggie is fine. Okay, spill.”

“I’ll get right to the point. Guess who was at the Tampa airport today when I picked up Matt?”

“No friggin way! There’s no way in hell Mr. Asshole was there. Tell me it wasn’t Jack. Or was it Jack and Sasha?”

“Both of them, in the flesh. I’d like to know where the hell they were going. How could he be that vile, that cold? He knows my dad is in the hospital and he took the opportunity to run off with his skank? How can anybody be that horrible of a person?”

“I have no idea. So what are you going to do? Did they see you?”

“No, they didn’t see me, thank God. I’m not sure what to do. First off, I’m here to support my mom and dad, and second off, I have no clue where they went, or how long they’ll be gone. I’m staying here for another week, but when I get home, our plan needs to go forward at a rapid pace. That much I’m sure of. It’s time for Sasha to find out who Jack really is. We’ll have everything in place and ready to go as soon as they’re back from wherever that jerk took her on vacation. I have to stop talking about him before I lose my mind. Damn it, I’m so worked up right now, I wish you and Tina were here so we could get drunk while I vent to both of you.”

“Honey, you deserve it. Get out of bed and go pour yourself a large glass of wine. Better yet, take the bottle back to your bedroom and drink the whole damn thing.”

“Vic, that’s the smartest advice you ever gave me. I’m going to do that right this second. I’ll talk to you in a couple of days. Bye, girlfriend.”

“Bye, Chica, and try to get some sleep. Drink that bottle of wine. It might help.”

Chapter Fourteen

Mia took Vic’s advice and headed straight for the kitchen. With the lights dimmed as low as possible, she tiptoed down the hallway hoping not to wake Matt in the living room. As she made the turn toward what she thought was the kitchen, Mia slammed into the edge of the sleeper sofa, fell on top of it, and landed squarely on the back of her peacefully sleeping brother.

“Son of a bitch, Mia! What the hell are you doing? It’s after midnight and I was sound asleep… thanks. I think you knocked the wind out of me.”

“Come on Matt… if I knocked the wind out of you, you wouldn’t be able to talk right now. Anyway, I’m looking for a bottle of wine. At this point I don’t give a shit what it is either. I’ll drink Mogen friggin David right now,” she whispered, as she felt her way through the dark.

“What’s up your ass? And turn on the damn light before you slam into something else.”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about. We’ve got enough to think about with Dad’s health right now. I’m sorry I fell on you. I’ll be out of here in a minute as soon as I find a bottle of wine, a corkscrew and a glass.”

“You’re going to take an entire bottle back to the bedroom with you?”

“Yep, that’s the plan, good night.”

“Wow… something has you fired up. Keep the noise down before you wake Mom, and get some sleep if you can. I’ll talk to you in the morning,” Matt said, while pulling the blankets over his head.

Mia had no idea where anything was in her parent’s house. That posed a problem all its own.
Where the hell is the wine anyway? Damn it! Somewhere in the kitchen would seem logical.

After ten minutes, Mia found one bottle of wine behind the oatmeal in the pantry. “Oh my God! A bottle of Mad Housewife Chardonnay. How appropriate is that? Am I getting punk’d right now? I need to buy a case of this if I want to keep my sense of humor over the next week,” she whispered. The bottle opener was in the drawer with the dish towels.
What the hell? Either Mom is hiding the fact that she drinks wine now and then, or she is absolutely losing it.
Mia grabbed a glass and headed back to the bedroom with the bottle of Mad Housewife tucked under her arm.
Yum… warm white wine sounds perfect.

She woke the next morning sporting a killer headache. Ann knocked on the bedroom door and entered. “Mia, do you want some pancakes before we leave for the hospital? What the… why on earth is there an empty wine bottle on the floor? Do you have a drinking problem, sweetheart?”

“Jeez, Mom… No I don’t, but now I feel like a teenager who just got busted. Do you have any aspirin?”

“Yes, but… well… never mind. There’s fresh coffee, orange juice and hot pancakes on the griddle. Come on out and eat with us.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there, thanks.”

Mia stumbled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. The conversation between Matt and Ann stopped as they both stared with their mouths gaping open. The food on their forks froze, suspended in mid-air.

“What? Haven’t either of you seen a scary looking, hung over woman before?” Mia asked, with a snicker.

“Not one that looks as bad as you do,” Matt said. “How does your hair get matted to the side of your head like that? It’s amazing.”

“Shut up, dork. Mom, where are the aspirins?”

“In the cabinet above the sink, honey,” she responded, as she poured Mia a steaming cup of black coffee. “You’ll feel fine after breakfast and a hot shower.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Mia said, while slinging back four aspirins’ with a gulp of water.

“So what was last night about, Sis?” Matt asked, when they had a few minutes of alone time at the hospital.

They sat together, just brother and sister, in a secluded corner grouping where their conversation wouldn’t be heard. Ann was consulting with the doctor while Tom was in speech therapy.

“I don’t know, things just aren’t the way I thought they would be.”

“Are you talking about your marriage, or your career?”

“Do you really want to know about my life? I mean, it’s not like we talk that often. I wish we were closer, but it never turned out that way.”

“Mia, we can be closer if we make the effort. Liz and I love you. Of course, the age difference and distance is a factor, but we can work on that if we try.”

“Do you mean it?”

“Of course I do. We’re a family, and we need to be there for mom and dad. We can’t be so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget about the rest of our family. At least, that’s the way I feel. So what’s up?”

“Jack.”

“That’s what I thought. What’s going on between you two?”

“He’s sleeping with someone else, but he thinks I’m clueless about it.”

“That bastard. How did you find out?”

“I saw them together at Grand Central Terminal when I went into the city to do a photo shoot. Thank God he didn’t see me. Here’s the real kicker. For the past three years he’s said every time he stayed in the city or came home late, it was because he was spending time with his daughter, Claire. Matt, it’s so damn humiliating to say this, but there isn’t a daughter at all. Claire is the cat he and his first wife had together.”

“Claire is a cat?”

“Yes, and as a matter of fact, she is a very nice Persian cat I met a few weeks ago,” Mia said, as she dabbed at the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Oh my God. You’ve been carrying this around, and now the problems with Dad? How do you stay sane?”

“By drinking Mad Housewife Chardonnay,” she said, with a small laugh.

“We have some serious talking to do later,” Matt whispered, when he saw Ann coming down the hallway with the doctor.

“Do you want to walk over to the rehabilitation center with me to check on your dad? The doctor says he’ll need outpatient physical and speech therapy a few times a week, nothing more. Isn’t that great news?”

“That’s wonderful news. I’m so happy to hear that, let’s go,” Mia said, as she gave her brother a nod of approval.

Two days later, they were able to take Tom home from the hospital. He would return to the rehabilitation center four days a week for his therapy sessions. Matt and Mia planned to stay for another week so they could sit in on a few of the sessions with Ann. She was given a long list of occupational therapy maneuvers that Tom needed to work on at home, too. He would mend, but it may take up to six months according to the doctor before he would be functioning normally again.

“Mom, do you guys want to spend a few months with us in L.A.? Liz and the kids would love it.”

Staying with Mia wasn’t an option with the problems she and Jack had. Her parents would notice something was wrong. Mia was thankful her brother made the offer.

“Well, honey, it isn’t a bad idea. I’ll see what your dad thinks when he wakes up. He could do his therapy in L.A. for a few months, if the doctor agrees.”

“Let’s talk about it over dinner. We’ll get everybody’s input before we decide.”

***

Mia spent the evening relaxing in bed and catching up on her phone calls. She turned the TV volume up a bit to muffle her private conversations. Three days had gone by since she talked to any of her friends. She took a sip of the chilled Chardonnay she had on the nightstand, and tried Jack’s number first. She’d love to make him squirm in front of Sasha, but she was sure he wouldn’t answer the phone. Knowing Jack, it was turned off. It went directly to voice mail. She wondered where he and his lover were.
Are they at some island in the Caribbean? He has to be, the bastard. Why else would they have flown south?
Damn him, I need to get him out of my head. I’ll call Vic and update her on everything.

Mia put on her pajamas and brushed her teeth. She wanted to lie in bed comfortably for her phone calls, certain they would last until she was ready to fall asleep. She plumped the pillows with a few punches, had her wine handy, and called Vic.

“Hey, woman, what’s up?” she asked, already in a better frame of mind. Vic had that effect on her. Vic was like a happy puppy most of the time, fun and animated. Mia loved basking in her upbeat glow.

“Hey, soul sister! How’s it going, Chica? How’s your dad?”

“He’s better, but it will take time. He doesn’t have to stay at the rehabilitation center though. He can do all his therapy as an outpatient. That’s great, huh?”

“That’s excellent. I’m happy for all of you. How’s your mom holding up?”

“She’s good, but a little drained. Matt offered to have Mom and Dad stay with them for a few months. They talked it over at dinner and it sounds like my dad is okay with it. It’s up to the doctor to make a final decision though.”

“Good for them. They’ll enjoy it, and your mom won’t have to care for your dad alone. They couldn’t stay at your house given the circumstances, right?”

“Yeah, for sure. Vic, I told Matt what was going on.” Mia sipped the wine and re-adjusted her position on the bed.

“Really? What did he say?”

“Well, we talked in length after Mom went to bed last night. I told him how we were planning to expose Jack to his mistress and maybe even publicly.”

“Did he think we were nuts and over the top?”

“No, actually he laughed out loud and said it was a great idea. He admitted he never liked Jack from the minute they met. Anyway, have you seen Aaron or Reggie around town at all?”

“Of course I have. I don’t know, you may never get Reggie back. They seem to be pretty tight. You may have to give up your dog, or hook up with Aaron to keep him. I’m just saying.”

“You crack me up. Okay, I’m going to give Tina a quick call and then get to sleep. I’ll talk to you in a few days. I’ll be back on Saturday. I love you. You’re the best.”