This Time Forever (10 page)

Chapter 15

Fall was quickly approaching and Elliott had not made any plans to get back to LA.  Of course, he had been keeping in contact with Daniel to stay apprised of what was going on.  “So, level with me man, you coming back?”  Elliott
chuckled and said, “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming back.  I just want to spend as much time with Kayla and Matt as possible.”  Daniel asked him how he was getting along with them and Elliott said “Kayla is great.  We have lunch every Friday.  She recently introduced me to her boyfriend, Mikhail, and I can tell he is really serious about her.   He’s in medical school.   “How are things with you and Matt?  I know things were rocky at first.  Are they any better now?”  “He actually has come around a little bit.  He’s not as distant.  He and his girlfriend come over every weekend with Kayla and Mik to visit.  Mom and dad make lots of food and we spend the evening just talking.”   They talked on some more and when Daniel asked about Renee, Elliott let out a big sigh.  He gave Daniel the abbreviated version of why Renee left the way she did and that Renee has been friends with E and Liza since moving to New York.   Daniel decided to question just a bit further, “Do you still love her?”  Elliott replied, “She’s the mother of my kids.  I . . .”  Daniel said “I know she’s the mother of your kids.  Do you still love her?  Elliott took a deep breath and said “Yes.”  And there it was.  He just admitted what he had been denying to himself for so long.  “But I tried to talk to her, to tell her that I was sorry and that I didn’t understand that her mother had been so horrible.  She told me that I didn’t owe her anything, and she wouldn’t even look at me.”  They talked on for a bit before ending their conversation.   He had an idea.

Elliott enlisted Matt and Kayla to accompany him on a visit to see Dennis.    Kayla teasingly said “So you need us for backup, huh?”  Elliott laughed at his daughter’s good-natured ribbing and said, “It couldn’t hurt.”  Matt agreed to go along, too.  He had just talked to his grandfather a couple of days ago and promised that he would drive up to see him soon, so now seemed like a good of a time as any.  They made plans to visit Dennis and Sharon the following day, Sunday.   “Okay, Dad,” Kayla said, What time do you want us to be here?”  Kayla had started referring to Elliott as “Dad” recently.  It was quite unexpected.   He had picked her up at the University one day for lunch.  While they were enjoying a slice of pizza, Elliott was telling her that while Mikhail seemed to be a very nice young man with a good future ahead of him, that he didn’t want her to get too serious too fast.   She asked him quietly, “Do you think you and Mom got too serious too fast?”  He was taken aback by her question.  He thought about it before he answered her.  “We were so young and things were a little different then.   I don’t think we got too serious too fast.”  Kayla could see that Elliott was uncomfortable with her question so she said, “Well, Dad, don’t worry.  I’m not looking to settle down like that any time soon.”  They both realized what she had just called him.  They didn’t make a big deal of it, but they knew it was a big deal and they felt good about it.  Matthew had not gone as far as referring to Elliott as “Dad,” rather he stuck with calling him “Elliott.”  Matthew had let his guard down quite a bit.  He no longer felt that Elliott was there to hurt Renee, and actually was starting to figure out that Elliott still had feelings for her.  Lena and Ben had helped Matt to understand things a little better, and that sometimes things are not always so cut and dry.   A major breakthrough in their relationship came when Matt challenged Elliott to a game of basketball.  Matt teased him about being pretty good for an old man.  Elliott laughed and told him that old school would always have the upper hand on new school.  When the game was over, Matt asked “So when you came here, you just wanted to see E and meet Liza, and then hook up with Mom?”   Elliott replied, “Yes, I did want to see E and meet his family.  I did not come here to hook up with your mother.   I did want to see her and see how she was doing, see if she was happy.  I would never do anything to hurt her.”  Matt reminded him of how he had yelled at her that day in his office.   “Yeah, I have regretted doing that practically since it happened.  But you have to understand.  I was shocked and hurt.  I had no clue as to why she would do that to me because I loved her so much.   After your grandmother told me what happened, I understood why she did it.”   They sat on the hardwood floor at the gym in silence for a bit longer before Matt stood up and extended his hand to Elliott to help him up.  “Still love her.  You said you loved her, but you still love her.”  They were both standing now.   Elliott didn’t answer.   There was no need.

Elliott had called Dennis prior to going for his visit.   When they pulled into the driveway, Dennis and Sharon were already coming out of the house to greet them.  First, they hugged and kissed Matt and Kayla, and then Dennis gave Elliott firm handshake and introduced him to Sharon.  “It’s been way too long, Mr. St. Claire.  It’s really good to see you again.”   Dennis agreed and said, “This is my wife, Sharon.”  Sharon smiled warmly at Elliott.  “It’s nice to meet you.  I’ve heard so much about you.”  There was a moment of uncomfortable silence until Matt said, “Sharon, did you make lemon squares.”  Matt had always loved Sharon’s lemon squares and when she knew that he was coming to visit, she always made sure to have plenty on hand.  “Of course.  In the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.”  Matt made a beeline to the kitchen to grab one of the delicious squares.  Meanwhile, Dennis said to Kayla, “You get prettier and prettier every time I see you.  How’s school treating you?”  They chatted for a while her final classes and her on-campus job.  Dennis said “You’re a real smart girl, Kayla, just like Renee.”  Sharon said, “We’re just so proud of you and Matt.  Speaking of Renee, how is she?”  Kayla said that she was doing great, just very busy with launching the new salon.   “I can’t wait to see it.  I know it will be fantastic,” Sharon said.  Dennis stood up and said to Elliott, “I hope you won’t mind, but I invited my sister Sophie and her husband Leonard over.  They had so much to do with raising Kayla and Matt, and really want to meet you.”  Elliott, though somewhat nervous at the prospect of meeting more of Renee’s family, said, “Yes, I would like to meet them, too.”  They sat around chatting for a while longer while they waited for the roasted chicken with vegetables that Sharon was cooking to be ready.   Within the next few minutes, Sophie and Leonard arrived.  Sophie had made Kayla’s favorite double chocolate/chocolate cake.  “My sweeties!” Sophie exclaimed when she saw Matt and Kayla.   Sophie ran her fingers through Kayla’s curly hair and said “You have got to tell me how you did that, or better yet, come over one day and do to my hair what you did to yours.”  Kayla replied “It’s the new mango cream from mom’s salon.  I can’t be without it.”   Leonard walked over and gave Kayla a hug and asked her how she and her mother were doing.  “Mom’s doing great.  I was just telling them about how busy she’s been with the new salon, but she loves it.”  As they were making their way into the house, Elliott and Dennis were on their way outside.  Elliott introduced himself to Sophie and Leonard and extended his hand for a handshake, which Leonard obliged.  Sophie gave Elliot a hug and said “It’s nice to finally meet you, Elliott.”  He returned Sophie’s hug and said, “So nice to meet you, too.”  They went into the house where Sharon had just finished with setting the table.  “Okay, everyone, it’s time to eat up.”  After Dennis said the prayer, everyone started putting food on their plates.  After they finished their delicious meal, everyone went into the living room.   Sophie said to Elliott, “Well, has the surprise of fatherhood worn off yet, or are you still getting used to the idea?”  Elliott said, “It’s definitely not a shock to me anymore.  It’s something that is welcome.  Having spent the past couple of months with Matt and Kayla has been great.”  Leonard asked, “Are you going back to LA soon.”  Elliott said that he would eventually go back, but for now he did not have any immediate plans.  Having gotten better acquainted, the conversation flowed easily.  Sharon, Sophie, and Kayla were discussing the latest happenings around the city, while Dennis took Elliott, Leonard, and Matt outside to show them his new barbeque grill.   Dennis asked Elliott if he had the chance to talk to Renee.  Elliott told Dennis that he had stopped by Renee’s office on Friday to talk to her.  He also told him about E and Liza, and how he had known E for years.   Dennis and Leonard sat there shaking their heads in disbelief.  “So, it’s just been one surprise after the next for you since you got here,” Leonard said.  Elliott nodded in agreement, “Yeah, but it’s okay.  I can handle it.”  Sophie came outside to let Leonard know that it was getting late and that they should be leaving.  Sophie and Leonard said their goodbyes and made Elliott promise that he would not go back to LA without seeing them.  He promised that he would see them before leaving.  As he and Dennis were walking up the driveway to the house,  Elliott said, “When I went to seen Renee, she wouldn’t talk to me, wouldn’t look at me.  I know she was just as shocked as anybody to find out that I had known E all these years and had recently met Liza.  But it was more.“ Dennis nodded his head and Elliott continued, “It was like she shut down.  I wanted to apologize to her, to tell her that I had no idea that Maggie had been so horrible to her, but she just kept telling me that everything was okay and that I didn’t need to apologize.  I just felt so closed off from her.  So different from the way things were.”  As Dennis listened to Elliott, it was becoming clear to him that he still had feelings for his daughter.  Dennis had always known that Renee had feelings for Elliott.  Anytime his name had come up, Renee would grow silent.  She never had harsh words for Elliott, as there was no need for that, but the expression of pain, hurt, and heartbreak was always there at the mention of Elliott.  Dennis said, “If you want to see Renee and really talk to her, don’t go to her office.  She will use meetings and anything work-related to get out of an uncomfortable situation.  I’m not saying to corner her or anything like that, ‘cause you’ll freak her out, but you have to find a way to get through to her.”  By this time, Sharon had come outside.   “You’ll have to do something so that she will listen to you.  And, I bet she really wants to talk to you too, Elliott.  Right now she’s just embarrassed and scared.”  Elliott said, “Embarrassed?  Scared?  Why . . . “  Sharon put her arm on his shoulder and said she’s embarrassed that she let Maggie screw her over the way she did, and she’s scared that maybe you won’t understand.”  Elliott said, “But I do get it.  I . . .”  Dennis then said, “Then you need to find a way to get through to her.”  Elliott agreed.  He knew they were both right.  He had to find a way.

On his way back to his house, Matt and Kayla were a little more silent than usual.  They overheard the conversation that Elliott had with Dennis and Sharon.  Kayla said, “Dad, I can try to help you out with Mom.”  As they were getting out of the car, he looked at her and said, “I probably should do this on my own.”  As Matthew and Kayla were getting ready to leave, Matt said, “Look, man, she never wanted to forget you.  You probably don’t know this, but she named me after you.”  Elliott looked confused.  “My middle name is Elliott.”   Kayla stood on her tiptoes and kissed Matt and Elliott on their faces before getting into Matt’s car. 
They drove away in silence as Elliott went into his house.

Elliott went into the living room and sank down into his recliner.  He now felt that he had better insight into things.  The thing that took him by surprise the most tonight was Matt’s telling him that Renee had given Mat
t his middle name.  The fact that she had done that gave him the feeling that maybe there was still something there.  Surely she would not have done that if she wanted to erase him from her mind.  During the time that Elliott had spent in New York, he was becoming more and more certain of his feelings for Renee, feelings that had never changed.  Now, he had to find a way to let her know.

Chapter 16

When Renee got home that evening she took a cool shower and poured herself a glass of red wine. 
Today was her turn to be taken completely by surprise.   Elliott had come to her office looking so good that she wanted to scream.  She was well aware that he knew about the whole situation with Maggie sending her away from him.   Renee knew that he had every right to be angry and that is why she would not let him apologize to her.  She just wished that she would’ve stood up to Maggie back then.  Hindsight is always 20/20.  Renee was not considered by anyone to be a pushover.  She couldn’t be a pushover and have a successful company.  When she first started the company she had to deal with banks, investors, personnel issues, amongst others.  She could be very cool and to some that could read as uncaring.  She could be assertive and to some that read bitchy.  She knew that if she were a man in business a cool demeanor meant level-headed, and that assertive meant smart.   She had always been very careful about not getting too close to anyone that she did not know on a personal level.   Her staff saw her as someone was always cool, calm, collected, and able to handle any situation that arose.  Some of her employees had been with her since the beginning and knew that she had not had a horrible life by any stretch of the imagination, but they also knew that things had not been milk and honey, either.  Her seemingly cold attitude, often lead those who didn’t know her to wonder what type of mother she must be.  She knew this because she overheard two women from the accounting department calling her parenting skills into question.  She had been in a stall in the restroom when the two ladies, Rosemary and Carmen, came into the restroom.  They actually accused her of being too cold to show any love to her own kids.   She stayed in the stall until the women left, but when she finally did come out, she was livid.  After she had calmed her nerves, she went about her day as if nothing had happened.  No doubt, it had crossed her mind to just fire them on the spot, but she devised a much more devious plan.  When employee review time came around she gave them less than glowing reviews, pointing out that they came in late and left early, took longer than allowed  lunches, and dressed too casual on casual Friday.  These were items on which these ladies had been counseled about in the past, yet no improvements had been made.  As such, she could only offer the very minimum in salary increases.   To top it all off, she promoted the very person that both of these women could not stand, Natalie, to manage their department, complete with a very nice upgrade in her salary, nice office, and the ability to telecommute at her discretion.  Before, Rosemary and Carmen had nice positions in the accounting department, even being able to telecommute themselves they were feeling under the weather, had a sick child, or just wanted to work from home.  All of that went away.  Their responsibilities were distributed evenly to others, and they were basically demoted to phone jockeys.   She was as tough with outside vendors.  She had no reservations in letting them know when they were messing up and if they made the mistake of trying to correct her, they were always taken to task because she kept meticulous notes of whom she had spoken with, dates, and always sent followup emails to anyone involved in any transaction.  So yes, Renee St. Claire did not play and people figured this out very quickly.   She was in a business that she knew could be made or broken with just the slightest infraction and she was not going to let anyone take anything from her.   That had already happened with Elliott.  She loved him so much and she let Maggie get in the way of that.  Maggie.  A woman who wouldn’t know love if it bit her square in the center of her ass.  A woman who for as long as Renee could remember never showed her any real affection.  Renee was a pretty doll that Maggie brought out for others to admire so she could get high praises for having such a pretty, smart, and well-behaved daughter.  Behind closed doors Maggie was selfish with her time and affection.   Dennis had always been the one to be there for Renee’s major life events.  Dennis was the one who gushed with pride when she graduated with honors from high school, Dennis and his sister were the ones who supported her through her pregnancy, and it was Dennis, Sharon, Sophie, Leonard, E, and Liza who had attended her college graduation, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.   Renee made sure that she was the opposite of everything Maggie.  Kayla and Matt meant more to her than anything and she made sure they knew that.  As she drifted off to sleep, she had thoughts of how things would have been if she hadn’t been sent away from Elliott.

After a dream-laden night of sleep, Renee glanced over at the clock on her nightstand.  It was
9:30 in the morning.   She never slept that late, even on Sunday mornings.   Her dreams from the night before were vivid.  She dreamt of Elliott and the things they used to do together.  How they made each other laugh, how they could have differing opinions on some things and not let it come between them, how he rolled his eyes in mock exasperation when she told corny jokes, and how they both made each other feel when they made love.  Renee was snapped back into the present when her phone rang.  It was Liza calling to see if she would be interested in having brunch.  “Joe and Elliott are going to see some action-packed guy movie and I thought maybe we could grab a bite to eat and do a little shopping.   Renee accepted Liza’s invitation.  “Okay, sounds like you’re just getting up, so how’s 10:30 work for you?”  Before she hung up, Liza said “Oh, you’re driving.  Joe is going to drop me off.”  Renee replied “Sounds great, I’ll see you then.”   As she was pushing the covers off, she heard a knock on the door.   It was Matt, Kayla, and Victoria.  “Hi, Mom,” Kayla said cheerily.  Renee hugged each of them hello.  Victoria said to Renee, “I tried to tell them it was too early and that you might want to sleep in today.”  Renee told them it was okay and in fact she was just about to get into the shower and that she and Liza would be heading out to brunch in a bit.  “Oooh, Mom,” Kayla said.  “Would it be okay if Victoria and I came along?  I’ve been telling her about that clothing store across from your new salon.”  Renee agreed and told her to call Liza to let her know that they would be joining them.  As Renee was getting into the shower, Kayla peeked her head into the bedroom and said that Mariah, Liza and Joe’s daughter would be coming along as well.  Renee said “Okay, and tell your brother that he can come along if he wants or he can stay here and raid the refrigerator.”   Matt opted for the latter.   After Renee finished showering and spraying water on her dreadlocks, she was looking through her closet for a pair of jeans and a T shirt.  While she was deciding on shirts, she heard a knock at her door and knew that it was Liza and Mariah and that Kayla or Matt would answer the door.  As she was taking a cream-color scoop neck T shirt from the drawer, Kayla came into the bedroom and excitedly grabbed Renee’s hand and led her towel-clad mother out into the living area.  “Mom, look at Mariah’s hair!  I can’t believe she got it cut short just like Aunt Liza’s.  This makes me want to cut my hair.”   As this conversation was going on, Renee’s door was opening.  It was Joe, Elliott and Joe and Liza’s son, EJ.   Everyone was silent for a brief moment, until Joe broke the silence.  “Renee, I just wanted to come up and say a quick hello since I haven’t seen you in while.  She smiled at Joe and said a brief hello.  Though he tried, Elliott could not tear his eyes away from Renee.  She was wearing nothing except the white bath towel that she had wrapped around her body.  Her brown skin shimmered and glowed and her hair fell loosely to her strong, yet delicate shoulders.  Renee tried to gather her senses quickly and said “Okay, I will be ready in a couple of minutes.”  She turned quickly and walked back into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Her heart was pounding.  When she got back into her bedroom, she sat on the bed for a few minutes to slow her breathing and calm her nerves.   She went over to the sink and splashed some cold water on her face.   The day had gotten off to a good start.  She got in a little extra sleep so she felt well-rested and she was going to spend some girl time with her best friend.  Then with no warning, things seemed to go a bit haywire.   It wasn’t enough that Elliott had been in her office on Friday, now he was in her apartment while she was naked.  Why hadn’t she put on clothes before going into the living room?  He had just stood there, not saying anything.   He made her feel absolutely naked.   She tried to clear her head as best she could, put on her jeans, T-shirt, and shoes, grabbed her purse and went back into the living room.   As she walked in Liza said “Okay, is everybody ready to get this day started?  I’m starving.”  Joe looked at his watch and said “We’d better go if we want to make the movie in time.”  Matt had decided to go to the movie with his dad and Joe.  “Okay,” Renee said, “We’ll be back here at around 4:00.  Joe agreed that he would be back at the designated time.  Joe hugged Renee briefly and told her that she needed to come over and she agreed that she would sometime after the salon was officially up and running.  Elliott gave Liza a quick hug before heading toward the door, and Joe kissed Liza on the lips before they left.   After she closed the door behind them, Renee turned around and said, “Is everybody ready?”  Kayla, Mariah, and Victoria had been in what used to be Kayla’s room, mostly to get out of the line of fire.   Liza knew better than to say anything at this point, so she just said “Yeah, let’s get going.  I’m starving and the stores are probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”   They took the elevator down to the garage.   The all piled into Renee’s car and headed over to the pancake house.    Kayla, Victoria, and Mariah sat at a different table than Renee and Liza and when they finished their meal, they decided to do their own window shopping.    Liza finally broke the silence and said, “So, that was something, huh?  I mean, what are the chances that . . . “  Before she could finish, Renee shot her a look that let her know that she was skating on thin ice.  Renee said, “I guess I should’ve just stayed in bed today.”  Liza could see that her friend was upset.  “Look,” Liza said, “It really wasn’t that bad.  So what?  Elliott saw the mother of his children half naked and looking pretty damn hot.  I mean, girl, did you see
how
he was looking at you?   You’re lucky that we were all there because he would’ve ripped that towel right off and that would’ve been all she wrote.”   Liza just kept talking and Renee let her.  Finally, she said, “Liza, please get this crazy notion out of your head that Elliott and I are going to have some sort of illicit, hot affair while he is here.  I’m glad that he knows about Kayla and Matt and that they are able to have him in their lives.  But as far as he and I are concerned, nothing else is going to happen.  He keeps trying to apologize to me for his initial reaction, but he doesn’t owe me any apologies.  I just want us all to move on with our lives.”   Liza sat patiently while Renee rambled on and on.  She said “Oh, so you have thought about a hot, illicit affair with him.  Is that why your voice sounded so sexy this morning when I called?  Were you having a wet dream?”  Renee summoned the server for the bill and when it arrived Liza picked it up.  “I invited you, remember?  I got this.”  Renee sighed and leaned against the back of the booth.  After the bill was paid, they left the restaurant and went next door to the newly opened fabric and accessories boutique.  Liza walked over to the section of silk fabric.   She noticed Renee’s still quiet demeanor.  To draw her into a conversation, Liza held up a beautiful bronze-color piece that was bordered in a soft, velvety black trim.   “Look at this,” Liza exclaimed?  “This is the perfect material for pillow coverings.  Remember I was talking about revamping my bedroom?”  Renee absent-mindedly touched the silky-velvety piece and said, “Yes, this is beautiful.”  Liza gave an irritated sigh as Renee walked toward the door and crossed went across the jewelry store.    When she walked in she was greeted by a friendly salesman who asked if she was looking for anything in particular.  “No, I’m actually just doing a bit of window shopping today,” she replied.  The salesman told her his name and that if she needed help with anything to just let him know.   Renee had perused several of the display cases when a pair of beautiful midnight black Drusy quartz teardrop earrings caught her eye.  The salesman asked her if she would like to see them and she said that she would.  “These are gorgeous,” she said.  “Yes,” replied the salesman.  “We just got those in yesterday.”  Renee held them close to her face, admiring the way they would look on her.   After giving it some thought, and considering her mood, she decided that purchasing the earrings could be a mood-booster.  And it was.  Just as the sales transaction was complete, Liza came in with a couple of bags filled with fabric.  “So, I guess a little retail therapy does do girl’s heart good?”   As they were leaving the jewelry store, they decided to sit on a bench and talk for bit before finding the girls.  “So, you feeling better?” Liza asked.  “Yeah, I guess so.  It just seems like all this weirdness is coming at me at once.   You know, you could’ve told me that Elliott was with Joe, right?”  Liza said, “I had no idea they were going to come up there.  I thought Joe was dropping me off and they were headed out.”  Renee knew that it wasn’t Liza’s fault for that morning’s events.   “I keep telling you that you need to just clear the air with him.  Then, things won’t seem so tense and weird when you see him.”  Renee knew that she was right, but making that first step was so difficult.  “But girl, I can’t even lie.  The sexual energy that was given off this morning, wooohooo!”  Renee rolled her eyes upward and said, “Come on, let’s find the kids and get outta here.”