Reye's Gold (27 page)

“There is nothing to Joe, either. He’s Shane’s uncle. Shane had started to miss the sessions after school and soccer practice, and I wanted to prevent him from quit
ting. He’s come so far.”

Then she asked him again, “Are you seeing someone
else beside me?”

“No, Reye, I’m not.” His anger dissipated as he ran
his hands through his hair. “You and finishing this last
semester are all that I can handle right now, all I want to handle,” he said. He reached for her and drew her to him.
She let go of the breath she had been holding. He kissed
her, mouth and tongue pressing into hers.

She pulled back. “I love you,” she said.

Silence hung in the air. She hadn’t expected any
response, but . . .

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t expecting you to say it back. I
just wanted you to know.”

“I know, Reye,” he said. “I don’t know what to say. In
spite of what Joe said, I do care about you.”

“I know.”

“Don’t let him bother you,” he said, pulling her in for
another kiss.

“Only if you don’t,” she said, leaning in to meet him.

* * *

Reye was just as impressed with Stephen’s apartment
complex the second time as she had been the first. She
hadn’t seen it since before Thanksgiving. That little fact,
a persistent reminder of her place in his life, bothered her.
She was going to have to do something about it eventu
ally, but she wasn’t going there now. She would make her
self crazy worrying about it. To be fair to him, he’d never said they were exclusive. Never. Never had he promised
more than what he’d given. It wasn’t his fault that she
wanted more, that she loved him.

She parked her truck in a visitor’s slot near his home,
next to a very new and nice Mercedes and not the low-
end C class, either. She would only be there a second; she
was just stopping by to pick up additional soccer gear
that Stephen had given her as a contribution to her team.
She walked up to his apartment, knocked in case Henri
was home. No answer, so she used the key that Stephen had left for her and opened the door.

“Hello,” she said, walking into the main living room.

“Hello,” she heard in return, surprising her. Stephen
hadn’t mentioned that someone would be here. Walking
toward the sound of voices, she entered the breakfast area
to find two older women sitting at the kitchen table in
conversation. They were drinking coffee and eating what
looked like cookies. One brunette and one blonde, both
looked to be in their late fifties. Both were impeccably
dressed, straight from the pages of
Town & Country
.

They seemed equally surprised to see her.

“Who are you?” The blonde was giving Reye the
once-over, clearly displeased with what she saw, her
expression reflecting distaste.

“
I’m Reye,” she answered as politely as she could,
extending her hand for a shake. It was ignored, and Reye
withdrew it. She wished she had dressed better, but she
was on her way to practice at the soccer fields. She’d
taken to wearing the shorts from Stephen’s high school
with her t-shirts. She had them on now, St. Anna’s Prep
embroidered on the left hem. It was not her best look,
but really, it was very comfortable and great for soccer
practices.

“I’m Stephen’s mother, and this is Henri’s mother. We
drove down yesterday to see the boys,” the blonde said.
Henri’s mother gave Reye a warm smile.

“Who are you here to see?” Mrs. Stuart continued.
“Oh, I’m not here to see anyone. I needed to pick up
something.”

“How do you have a key?”

“I borrowed Stephen’s. It’s your Stephen that I’m
friends with, although I know and like Henri, too.”

“And how do you know Stephen?”

“I met him last year on a plane trip back from
Dallas.”

“I remember that trip. You’ve known Stephen that
long?”

“Yes.”

“He tutored you in school?”

“No,” Reye said, baffled by the question. “Uhm,
look, I came by to pick up some soccer balls. Stephen said
I could borrow them.”

“Yes, well, help yourself. Do you know where to find
them?”

“
Yes, I’ll only be a minute.” She moved to Stephen’s
room and walked into his closet. She found the balls in
the back of his closet stuffed into a mesh bag, just as he
had said they would be.

She closed the door to the closet and went back into the main room. Should she say goodbye?

Before she could debate the question, Stephen’s
mom entered the room and stood by the door, appar
ently waiting for her. Mrs. Stuart was looking her over
head to toe again. Reye was sure she was equally unim
pressed now as she had been during her entry. In turn, Reye was growing equally unimpressed with his mother. So she didn’t like what she saw, but her rudeness was
inexcusable.

“I found them,” she said, lifting her hands to indicate
the bag of balls she held.

“I see.”

“Well, it was nice meeting you and Henri’s mom.”

“You know, Reye, Stephen has a good future in the
law profession ahead of him.”

“Yes, I know, he’s a very good student. I assume he’ll
also make a good attorney.” Mrs. Stuart continued on as
if Reye hadn’t spoken.

“I want only the best for him. Our family’s law firm
is one of the oldest in Dallas, and we have a certain rep
utation to uphold. He has certain expectations set before
him. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I think so,” she said, not really understanding, but wanting the conversation to end so she could get the hell
out of there.

“
Let me make it clearer to you, then. Stephen is to come home and take his place in the family firm. He is
very talented, and, with the right woman at his side, he
could make great strides in his life. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do, and I’d really better go,” Reye said, moving
to the door. “Good bye, Mrs. Stuart.”

The door was soundly closed behind her.
Well, that
was informative
, Reye thought as she made her way to her
truck. “What a pompous bitch.”

* * *

Stephen was hunched over his books at the local
Starbucks. He needed a break from the law library and
Reye’s; sometimes a change of scenery could give him a boost of energy.

His cell buzzed and he checked the caller info. His
mom. “Hello, Mom.”

“Stephen, did you forget I was going to be in town
today?” Yes, he had.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been stuck with my head in the books
all day. Where are you? I’ll come to meet you.”

“No, that’s not necessary. I am at your apartment
with Joyce.”

“Oh, tell Miss Novak hello. Is Henri there?”

“No, it seems that both of you have abandoned your
mothers today. But one of your friends stopped by.”

“My friend?” Stephen racked his brain. Most of his
friends knew he wasn’t at home most of the time. He
didn’t recall giving the key to anyone. Oh, wait a minute.

“Reye,” his mom said. “She stopped by to pick up
some soccer balls. She’s quite an attractive girl, your Reye.
Is she from Dallas?”

“She’s not my Reye, and no, she’s not from Dallas.”

“Well, I was surprised to meet her and equally surprised to see her wearing shorts from St. Anna’s Prep
school. I didn’t know that they’d begun admitting girls? I
thought you told me she was someone you tutored.”

Had he said that? “She’s a friend, Mom.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“You do realize what people expect of you when you
join the firm?”

“I know.”

“Reye seems nice enough for Austin, but the
demands and expectations of someone with your future are somewhat different.”

“I understand. Again, Reye and I are just friends. I
hope you were pleasant to her.”

“I don’t like your meaning, Stephen. I’m always cor
dial to people I meet.”

Stephen had seen his mother cordial, and it could
freeze Hell. He probably should call Reye.

“I need to get back to my books.”

“Sure, Joyce and I will be at the Four Seasons. We’re
leaving in the morning. I love you, and remember I only want the best for you. I want you to have the advantages
that I didn’t have growing up.”

Not this again, thought Stephen. “If I don’t see you
before we leave, I’ll see you in three weeks, for your
graduation.”

“
Good bye, Mother,” he said, disconnecting and sit
ting back in his chair, oblivious to the sounds around
him. He didn’t want to imagine the conversation between
his mother and Reye, nor the shock. He’d forgotten he’d
given her the key, and, more importantly, that his mom
would be in town. He needed to talk to Reye. And say
what?
Yes, my mother is correct. There is no future for us.
You wouldn’t fit in with me in Dallas.
His mother in her
frustrating, intrusive way had brought that reality front
and center. He’d go by Reye’s later, recognizing that there
wasn’t ever going to be a good day to break up with her.
He had dreaded this, had spent the better part of this
semester feeling unsettled. He agreed with his mom; even
though what he had with Reye was good, he had a lot he
wanted to accomplish. He would move home, start work,
and over time forget about Reye.

He would miss her. She’d become special to him, but he wasn’t sure if that special would, could, last. Maybe
someone else would come along and mean more.

* * *

Reye’s truck was parked in her driveway. He pulled in
behind her and walked to her door. He would miss this
house. It was so like her, eclectic, fun, yet serious in the
care she gave to it. The care she gave to those around her,
the kids at the center, and him. He would miss all of that.
He knocked and waited. He could hear movement
inside, and, a few seconds later, she opened the door. She
stood there looking at him, smiling.

“Hey,” he said.

“Back at you,” she said sassily, turning to let him in. He closed the door behind him, dropped his book bag, and went to take a seat on the couch. She joined him,
pulling her legs up Indian-style.

“I heard you met my mother today,” he said.

“Yes, I did. She was surprised to see me, didn’t know
anything about me.” Anger was a quiet backdrop to her
words. “Apparently she was under the impression that you were tutoring me.”

“I hadn’t told her about you because she can get way
too interested in my life. She would have just harassed me to death. I told you from the beginning that dating
you was new for me, it’s not something I’ve done before.”

“Almost a year ago. I remember, I just thought we’d
passed that point, Stephen, somewhere this year. I did, at
least. I mean, you spend most of your time here, practi
cally live here. I thought I’d come to mean more to you.
I thought we had something special.”