THE GREAT PRETENDER (4 page)

Reginald got straight to the point. The story came out like a plea. “I’m planning to come clean. I just don’t know who to tell what—now, wait, let me finish.” He raised his hand when he saw the incredulous look on Franklin’s face. “Olivia practically hates me and that’s bad enough, but it seems to be getting even worse—she leaves a room within two minutes of my entering it, and I don’t even know if Valerie’s coming or going….I’m completely in the dark about her life. Tracy’s grown a bit distant. We used to be a couple that finished each other’s sentences…I miss that. Now it’s like we’re rotating in different orbits. And most of all, I’m just plain tired, Frank. I’m
really
over this life. Deep down I knew this would happen eventually, but I never really planned an exit, did I? I can’t keep this back-and-forth arrangement going any longer…and I realize that I just don’t want to live like this anymore.”

Reggie dropped his arms, depleted. “The question is: What do I do? How do I end it? Tell me what to do so that no one gets hurt and it all works out in the end.” He looked over at Franklin for a response. “Right now, I think I’d take all the advice I can get.”

Totally amused by Reginald’s speech, Frank took a sip of Pepsi and looked him directly in the eye. “Which one do you want to be with?” he asked, starting on his second yucca-stuffed chicken sandwich.

“What?” asked Reggie, taken aback.

“
Which one do you want to be with
?”

Reggie looked out the window onto Fontainebleau Boulevard. “I guess that would be a fair question, wouldn’t it?” After an extended pause, he said, “Tracy. There’s no life without her.” It was a lot for him to admit to anyone.

Perfect,
thought Frank,
looking at Reggie.
That’s just perfect
.

When he finally spoke, he said, “So it’s simple. You tell Renee the truth, and you tell Tracy nothing. It shouldn’t be that hard to figure out, Reggie.”

“What about Denise?” Reggie said, pressing his thumbs into his eye sockets.

Frank thought for a moment. “Work something out with Renee.”

“What could I possibly work out with Renee beyond ridiculously
brief
visits while I’m in Orlando? I can’t bring Denise here…I’d have to explain her.”

“Well, then, you can go up there from time to time to ‘oversee expansions’ or ‘oversee acquisitions’ and visit Denise that way.” Frank balled up his sandwich wrapper. He had devoured the sandwiches in record time.

“Could I really do that, though? Denise is not even seven years old yet. I
should
be a consistent part of her life because she’s still so young, Frank. She needs me.” He smiled. “Right now I’m hearing her ask me how long she’ll have to miss me this time.”

“I don’t see any other way, Reggie. How else do you think you can work something like
this
out?” Frank sat back in his recliner, full and content.
Those were really good sandwiches
, he thought.

Reggie left the chair and stood by the window, deep in thought. Almost to himself, he said, “I called her this morning and she’s her usual self—she can’t wait for me to get back. How will she respond to the fact that I have a wife and two practically grown-up kids?”

“Why are you worrying about Renee?” Frank asked. “Over the years, she’s been like clay. You can mold her to complement the situation.”

After a long silence, Reggie turned and looked at Frank. Frank was absently stroking his mustache and looking at the television, where Dan Rather was reporting live from Capitol Hill.

“Tell Renee and not Tracy, huh?” Reggie mused. “What if I tell them both?”

Frank himself wondered how Tracy would react if she was told about Renee and Denise. He really wasn’t sure if she would leave Reggie or not…But he decided that it was something he would find out.

“You can’t tell them both, Reggie, not unless you want to risk losing them both. If it’s Tracy you want, you’d better make damn sure you don’t tell her anything, because I’m almost certain that she’d leave you.” Frank didn’t think he wanted Reggie and Tracy to have problems. That would make his secret so much less satisfying.

“But what if Tracy finds out from someone else? Like if Renee flips out and decides she wants to get up close and personal with my wife? I can’t have that happen, either, Frank. If Tracy has to find out, it has to come from me—it definitely has to come from me.”

Frank stared at Reginald.
Look at him—the almighty Reginald Brooks
.

When Frank finally spoke, he said, “Who says Tracy has to find out? Do I have to do
all
the thinking for you, man? C’mon, all you have to do is orchestrate it so that Renee isn’t upset with you. Make up a rock solid story, Reggie. Tell her you’re sick and you can’t go on hiding it…Or tell her your wife was missing for years and just showed up now out of nowhere.” Frank stared down at the coffee table, thinking. “Tell her…tell her you just found out you’re still legally married because your divorce never went through. Be creative.”

When he finished throwing out his ideas, Frank looked over at Reggie, who had also sat down, listening intently to every word. He could see that Reginald meant what he’d said. He’d take just about all the advice he could get. He was determined to put an end to the charade.

Reggie slowly ran his hand down the length of his face, mulling over Frank’s words. “Yeah…I think something like that would work, but it would have to be something really plausible. Renee may be gullible, but she’s no idiot.”

“Well, at least now you have an idea of how it has to be. If she’s not upset with you, you’ll have a better chance of keeping her from contacting Tracy. You might even set it up so that she’ll end up feeling sorry for you in some way…”

“Well, I have to come up with something fast because after this next trip, it’ll be a while before I head back up there.”

This surprised Frank. His eyes bulged. “What? You mean you plan to do all this right now? Why the rush?”

“The rush is for my sanity, Frank. It’s for Tracy. It’s for my girls. All these years I’ve robbed myself of being a regular part of their lives, and now one of them practically hates me for it. I just want to have a normal life with my daughters and with Tracy, you know? Whatever
normal
is.”

“Okay. So when will you plan to be a
regular
part of Denise’s life? I don’t see how you think you can work this out so quickly without getting burned somehow, man.” After a lengthy pause, Frank added, “You just might have to tell them both.”

“No way. Tracy would leave me if she knew, and you said as much not five minutes ago. Then what would I have? No, Frank. I can’t tell Tracy. I’m taking your advice…I just need to figure out a way to keep Renee on good terms with me when I tell her that I’m married. That way, there’s no reason Tracy and the girls would have to find anything out.”

“So how exactly do you think Renee will react when you do tell her?”

“All I need to do is come up with an ironclad story, just like you said, a believable one, and Renee will be handled.” After a pause, he said, “You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Renee is actually the least of my troubles. She really
has
always been like clay…If I continue to play my cards right, she won’t be a problem at all.” As he spoke, Frank saw him transform into the cocky, egotistical man that had gotten himself into this ridiculous mess in the first place.

“Okay, so you don’t have to worry about Renee. What about your little girl? How are you gonna stop her from ending up like Olivia?”

“Hell—I don’t know. When all is said and done, I think I need to work on my primary responsibilities before I worry too much about the secondary, don’t you? Besides, Denise is still young yet. There’s plenty of time.”

“Nope. Like you said before, that little girl needs a father. How do you think you’re gonna feel when Renee finds another man and Denise starts calling
him
Daddy? I know that would piss
me
the hell off.”

Reggie shook his head. “I’m the only man Renee sees. There won’t be another. After all these years, I can’t believe that you of all people don’t know that.”

Frank put his hands up in resignation. “All right, all right…I guess you know best. But hypothetically,
what if
she does meet someone else? I mean, you aren’t gonna be around nearly as much anymore, right? Love or no love, buddy, a woman can get lonely and—”

Reggie cut him off in midsentence. “Look, it won’t happen. I know Renee, and I’d bet everything I own that I’m it for her.”

You’re that sure of yourself, huh
?
thought Frank. “Would you say the same about Tracy?” Frank watched him for a reaction. This was where he would have the
most
fun.

Reggie stood in front of the window again, gazing out at traffic. His words were so low that Frank strained to hear them. “That’s part of the reason I want to stay home, isn’t it?” He paused. Then in a practical whisper he added, “Of course…I should just admit it.”

The look in Reginald’s eyes spoke volumes of truth: they were somber, his expression grave. Franklin didn’t doubt that Reginald loved Tracy.
He’d kill for Tracy
.

Frank got up from the recliner and turned toward the kitchen before he smiled. He couldn’t help it. He smiled the wide, ear-to-ear smile that continued to melt the hearts of many women.
This couldn’t be more perfect,
he thought. From the kitchen, he called out, “Want a Bud?”

“Yeah,” Reggie absently replied from his spot at the window. Reginald turned just as Frank returned to the living room with two Budweisers. He tossed one at Reggie as he slumped into the recliner. They sat in silence, sipping beer for quite some time, each preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Finally, Reggie said, “I’m gonna head back to the office before Dana puts out an APB on me.” His stab at humor didn’t work. Neither man could laugh. He put his empty beer can on the coffee table and grabbed his keys.

“So you’re sure you’re all right? I mean, you’re sure you’ve got all this stuff straightened out?”

“Well, I’ve got another week or so to figure out what I’m gonna say to Renee. I hate to say it, but it looks like I’m going to have to sacrifice raising Denise for a while in order to salvage my relationship with Olivia and Valerie. Let’s face it…
they
were my first priority. If I have to choose—and right now I really need to choose—it’s definitely Tracy and the girls.”

This conceited prick
!
When does he ever think about anybody but himself
?
“That’s a really fucked up way to look at it, Reggie. It’s not that little girl’s fault she wasn’t your firstborn.” Frank managed to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Shrugging, he said, “All right, buddy. Keep me posted.”

“Yeah, I’ll call you. We’re thinking about having a barbecue on Saturday, so make sure you don’t plan anything, all right? And bring Theresa with you.” Reggie was out the door before Frank could respond.

The a
lmighty Reginald Brooks,
Franklin thought again.
Well, let the games begin
.

Franklin suspected the day
would come when the invincible Reginald would come tumbling, slipping, and sliding off his high horse. He recalled the night Reggie called him from Orlando, saying that he had unintentionally gotten a girl pregnant. Renee Jameson had refused to have an abortion, and although he tried, Reginald couldn’t convince her otherwise. Renee had only been a warm body for him while he was on his brief stints working in Orlando, but before he could say
birth control
, she’d gotten pregnant. Then, taking Frank’s counsel, Reggie softened to the idea of being a father again. Frank convinced him to embrace the challenge of leading separate, clandestine lives.

Denise Rose Brooks was born on March 11, 1998. By then Reggie had bought an illustrious town home and moved Renee into it. He told Renee that he’d move up to Orlando and they’d be a family—the first two weeks of every month. Renee didn’t like it, but what could she do but accept it? He wasn’t about to tell his wife about her
,
nor did he see a reason to let
her
know about his wife and kids.

Frank chuckled as he remembered how he’d helped Reginald manipulate everything to perfection…

First, Reggie went to his boss, Roger Roman, CEO of Hart-Roman, Inc., and proposed management of the Orlando division on a
very absolute
basis, personally overseeing the promotions for the Disney World account they had recently acquired. Despite the fact that Reginald had been the driving force behind landing Disney, it had not been easy convincing Roger that it would be beneficial to have him there as a permanent fixture. But in the end, Roger conceded.