THE GREAT PRETENDER (20 page)

How could she not be? For the past four weeks she’d been treated like royalty. Their bedroom was filled with dozens of beautiful pink and red roses. He had been taking her out on dates, and the destinations were always some wonderful surprise. His gazes at her were so intense that Tracy felt she was consuming his mind. She didn’t know what had come over Reginald suddenly, but whatever it was, she liked it. She liked it a lot.

One afternoon, they’d spent time at an exclusive spa where he’d booked a couple’s package and surprised her. Afterward, he’d arranged for them to be picked up by limousine and driven to the beach.

“I love you so much,” he’d said, handing her a beautiful rose. His gaze was so passionate she’d had to look away.

“Reggie…” she had begun.
What’s going on with you? What’s happened suddenly?
She’d nearly blurted her thoughts. Then she reconsidered. Should it matter
why
he was suddenly so attentive and loving? Did she really need to ask? Why not just continue to enjoy and embrace this new course their marriage was embarking on? Just appreciate it? “I love you more,” she had said instead, touching his cheek lightly. “You know, all this love and attention is becoming extremely attractive. I’d be content just to stay in bed all day long with you at my beck and call.”

“Honey, your father and I are just getting along, that’s all,” Tracy replied to Olivia now. “And that’s a good thing…because I decided it was best to put an end to that other matter.”

“Are you okay with that, though? I mean, can you just stop it without feeling anything?”

“Well…of course it’s an adjustment that I have to make, but it’s all in perspective and I can handle it.” Tracy stepped under the spray of the water. “I love your dad, Liv. I always have. But sometimes emotions can lead you astray, and although we know better, we still end up making the wrong choices, you know?”

“You’re asking me? With the mess I’m in? Please.”

Tracy laughed as she turned off the taps and began drying off. “Never mind it. After Monday, everything will be fine.”

“Make sure you
fax a copy of that expansion proposal over to Jim Spaulding at Darden before noon tomorrow. They’re opening a couple more Olive Garden chains in a few months, and we’ve got to get all the preliminaries behind us.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Brooks. Anything else before I leave?”

“Hmm…no, Dana, that’s all. Have a good weekend.”

Once his secretary had left the office, Reggie placed a call to Roger’s private line, hoping to catch him still in the building.

“Roger here.”

“It’s me. I was just checking on the time for tonight. When does the curtain go up?”

“Come on, Brooks, you know I’m bad with times,” Roger Roman laughed. “That’s Justine’s specialty. And I’m sure Tracy knows.”

“I’m sure she does, but I thought I’d try you first if you were still in the building. I’m heading out of here now. We’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Hey, Brooks?”

“Yeah?”

“Everything okay? You have that ‘something’s bothering me’ tone in your voice, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s gonna end up costing me money this time…” Roger chuckled.

“You don’t miss a trick, do you, Roger? What perception. Yes, something’s bothering me, but no, it won’t cost you any money.” Reggie shutdown his computer and prepared to leave for the day.

“Well, let me have it. What’s up?”

“Well, it’s mainly Olivia.” Reggie sighed. “There’s now ten years’ worth of distance between us, and I’m not quite sure how to close the gap. I’ll tell you more about it later on tonight when the ladies are otherwise occupied, okay?”

“Sure. See you later, then. Hang in there.”

Just as he
was walking through the office door, Reginald’s private line rang. It was Valerie.

“Hi, Daddy!”

“Hey, Val, I was just on my way out the door, coming home. What’s up?”

“Can I ask you something? Just promise you won’t get upset.”

“Well, now, that depends on what you ask me, right? What is it?”

There was a hesitation before she said, “Am I still grounded?”

“What did I tell you when I grounded you, Valerie? I said you were grounded
until
. This means until
I
say you’re not. And I don’t recall saying ‘You’re not.’ So yes, you are still grounded.”

Valerie whined miserably. “But Daddy, it’s been a month now! I’ve learned my lesson. Please let me go to the movies tonight with Lydia and some friends. Please?”

What the hell?
Reggie thought. She had been on a pretty tight leash since he’d been back. “Hmm…let’s see…ask your mother. If she’s forgiven you for what you tried to do to her, then she’ll let you go. But if she says no, it’s just no.”

“I don’t know what to expect from Mom. It’s not like we’ve gone out of our way to speak to each other lately.” When he didn’t respond, she rushed to say, “Okay, okay, Daddy. Thank you. At least I have a chance now…but for the record, I really am sorry…for what I did.”

“Okay, now. If Tracy says yes, you have to be in by ten thirty tonight, okay? I’ll see you later. Tell your mother I’m on my way.”

After hanging up, Reggie leaned against the edge of his desk, contemplating calling Renee. It was his habit to call her before he left the office, to avoid having to call from home.

He had come to dread each call. Aside from the fact that he enjoyed speaking with Denise, the calls were pure torture and he wasn’t sure how long he could keep them up. Maybe he hadn’t thought his story through well enough after all. She believed that Valerie was awaiting a marrow donor. How long could he really keep that pretense going?

He decided to attend to that later. He had more pressing issues to think about, such as the situation with Olivia. How do you reach out to your own child? He wasn’t sure how to get through to Olivia. She never looked him in the eye, and avoided conversation with him at all costs. And in the rare instances when he did manage to engage her, she looked about as comfortable as a plucked turkey. It was as though she wanted to completely erase his presence from her life. Reginald was extremely concerned.

The peace he had felt, heading home on the jet, had been diced when he arrived only to hear Olivia say she wanted to move out. Move out? Just when he was coming home to make things right? His little Olivia. Where had the time gone?

Then there was Valerie. Little Valerie, always so sharp and observant, picking up on a change in her mother. She had driven a nail right into Reginald’s plank of suspicion.

Tracy had been seeing another man.

He had suspected it for months, and having it validated by Valerie’s own suspicions had hurt. Somehow, Tracy had given herself away. He knew her—at least he thought he did—and he had heard the slip of interest in her voice, sensed it whenever they were together. Although superficially she remained the same, he had sensed a difference. Like the way a good warrior could sense danger from a shift in wind current.

When he had returned home, he’d gone out of his way to sweep her off her feet. His ultimate goal, now that he was home, was to put an end to whatever relationship she had gotten herself into. Thus far, he was certain she had put an end to it—and he intended to keep it that way.

After months of speculation, Reginald decided that the other man’s identity was irrelevant. If she ended the affair, that was good enough. She had been on her own for the better part of ten years, alone to handle all the ups and downs that occurred while raising Olivia and Valerie. Had he really expected Tracy to remain faithful all those years? Yes, he had. But just the same, he acknowledged that he had no more right to point blame in her direction than she had to point it in his.

As for Olivia, something had to be done to rectify the relationship. To have his own daughter turn into little more than a stranger was increasingly upsetting, and Reginald wasn’t going to humor her much longer. He was quickly losing patience with Olivia’s behavior.

And he knew one thing for sure: Reginald Brooks would stop at nothing to keep his family together. At this stage in his life, there was nothing more important.

Tracy sat at
her vanity table, carefully applying makeup. Thanks to
The
Greatest Hits
by
Nat “King” Cole
playing in the stereo, she was mellow and looking forward to the evening ahead. She was especially looking forward to returning home and being alone with Reginald.

Just as she was smoothing her eye shadow, thoughts of Frank invaded.

His post-affair presence in their lives had not turned out to be as awkward as she’d been anticipating, although she couldn’t deny that she was never completely comfortable in his presence.

Whenever he came by the house, she behaved normally, as though nothing was amiss. To his credit, Frank did the same. There were no hidden glances or furtive telepathy. It was almost as though they had never been lovers at all.

Operative word being
almost
, Tracy thought. Unfortunately they
had
been lovers. Thank God i
t was over now and there would never be a reason for Reginald to find out.

Just then, there was a knock at her bedroom door. “Come in,” she called out.

She was surprised to see Valerie enter. They hadn’t exactly been a model mother-daughter duo lately. Tracy wondered what she wanted…

Valerie was encouraged
when she heard Nat “King” Cole. Her mother was always in a good mood when she listened to his music. “Mom, I just talked to Daddy. He said to tell you he’s on the way home now.”

Silence.

Valerie shifted from one foot to the other, searching the room for a spot to fix her eyes on before continuing. She settled on the bright florescent light of the stereo display.

Tracy waited, fastening a diamond bracelet to her wrist.

“He, uh…he also said that I had to get your permission to go to the movies tonight. He said if it was okay with you, then it was okay with him.” She fell silent.

“Did he, now?” said Tracy, suppressing a smile. “Who are you going to the movie with?”

“Lydia and a couple other friends from school. Can I go?”

“Yes, you can go. I think you’ve been cooped up in the house long enough to learn a lesson. Just be back by ten.”

Valerie’s eyes swung to her mother. “But, Mom, Daddy said ten thirty.”

“Well, okay, ten thirty. But not a second later, understand?”

“Yeah—thanks, Mom.”

Valerie turned to leave when Tracy added, “I assume Lydia will be driving?”

“Yeah, she’s using her Dad’s car.”

Tracy nodded and resumed putting on her jewelry.

When Valerie closed the door behind her, she excitedly ran to her room and called Lydia to confirm their plans.

W
hen Reginald
arrived
, Tracy was on the telephone with her mother. He signaled to her that he was going to take a shower, and went into the bathroom.

“I know you don’t agree, Mom.” Tracy kept her voice low despite the fact that Reggie had left the room. “But it’s what’s best for her. Do you realize how drastically it would affect her life if she went through with this pregnancy?”

“Call me old-fashioned, Tracy,” Beverly Russell declared, “but there is no reason for Olivia to do such a thing. I’m sure that child wouldn’t want for anything. Between you and Reginald, that baby would be very well cared for.”

“Mom, you know better than that. There are endless reasons for this abortion—good reasons. This boy is absolutely worthless, and Olivia can do better. She’s still very young and in school, and I really believe that having this baby would ruin the potential she has at a bright future.” Tracy paused, shifting on the sofa. “This was an accident that should never have happened to begin with, and I’m so relieved something can be done about it.”

Beverly sighed. “Tracy, abortion is not to be used as birth control. Olivia knew what she was doing when she laid with that boy, so she should be made to handle the consequences. She will have plenty of support.”

Tracy gave up. She had confided in her mother for lack of anyone else to discuss the issue with. Her mother was the only person she trusted enough. Knowing that she was against abortions for the most part, Tracy still hoped for her mom’s understanding, since this concerned her granddaughter’s future. She realized now that she would get no such understanding from Beverly Russell.

“Well, I’m going to see to it that she’s started on the pill right after this is taken care of. Please understand that I am not trying to encourage abortion as some morbid form of avoiding responsibility—I’m simply encouraging it as a
much needed
solution to this dilemma. Can’t you at least try to understand where I’m coming from?”