Underestimated Too (4 page)

Drew made slow, obsessive love to me, knowing I
needed to be close to him, close to something permanent in my life. I think he
needed the same thing, and once again we melted together, both needing to belong.

***

“What are you doing for the next couple days?” Drew
asked at breakfast.

“Changing my shirt,” I laughed as Nicholas sputtered
orange baby food from his mouth. He was so happy in the mornings.

“After that?”

“I’m going to the doctor with Alicia, probably get
some lunch, maybe get our nails done. Why?”

“Curious. Are you taking little man?”

“No, he’s staying with Ms. Marta,” I inform Drew,
then face Nicky. “Aren’t you, Nicky?”

“That’s it. I’m changing his name.”

“Maybe when Alicia has her baby I’ll stop,” I lied.
I liked calling him Nicky.

“What’s she naming her?”

“She’s got a couple picked out: Daisy—which Celeste
hates—and Trinity.”

“I hate them both.”

“Yeah, Celeste isn’t crazy about them either. She
wants to call her Gabriella.”

“I like that. That’s much better. I could do
business with a Gabriella better than a Daisy. She’ll never be taken seriously.”

“That’s stupid. Maybe she won’t grow up to be in ‘the
business,’ maybe she’ll be an artist like Alicia.”

“I doubt that, not if Celeste has anything to do
with it. You should hear Vincent’s role play closing techniques with her. He’s
a spitting image of her.”

I rolled my eyes. I was like Alicia in that
department; you don’t role play closing techniques with an eight-year-old. I’d
save that conversation for Alicia. Drew and I would never agree on that. He’d
be doing the same thing with Nicholas, I was sure.

“Drew, let’s go,” Celeste announced, pointing her
arm towards the door. She was worse than Drew when it came to work.

I stood and kissed his soft lips.

“I love you,” he whispered hot words to my mouth.

“I love you too. I’ll talk to you later. Hurry home
to me.”

“I will,” he replied, kissing my forehead and
turning his attention to noisy, babbling Nicky. “I love you too, little man.
Daddy will see you later on the computer, okay?”

“Drew!”

“I’m coming,” he yelled at Celeste, kissed me one
more time and disappeared.

“It’s just you and me again, buddy,” I said, shoving
more food into Nicky’s mouth for him to spit it back out. I hated Drew
traveling all the time. Why couldn’t we have one or two stores? Why did we need
twenty four strung about the country? I think that’s what we were up to anyway,
I didn’t pay much attention.

***

“Spend the night. I don’t want to be home alone,” I
begged Alicia once we were back from our errands for the day.

“Okay,” she agreed. I knew she would. She hated
being home without Celeste too, and Vincent loved our house, well, the pool, I
should say.

Marta, Alicia, and I made more food than we’d ever
eat. It was mostly Alicia’s fault. She was the one eating for two. You would
have thought she was eating for ten. We ate out by the pool and then watched a
movie with Vincent. Alicia and I traded kids for the evening while Marta
cleaned up. I helped Vincent with his spelling words, and she bathed Nicky.

“He’s down,” Alicia whispered, closing the door
behind her. I placed a finger in the air, letting her know I was on the phone
when she entered my room.

“She is not sleeping in my bed,” Drew demanded.

“Yes, she is. She always sleeps with me when she
stays here.”

“I know and I don’t like it.”

“You never minded before.”

“That’s because you never rubbed your pussy all over
her before.”

“Oh, my god, Drew. You’re ridiculous. Alicia, you
can sleep in the same bed, but I’m not allowed to rub my pussy on you. Drew’s
afraid I’m going to cheat on him with you in my bed.”

“Drew has the whole place guarded like Fort Knox.
Tell him if we do, he’ll be able to watch.”

“I’m going to beat your ass when I get home,” he
threatened.

I laughed. “Okay, you can do that. Maybe I will have
Alicia do that, you know, just to tide me over till you get home.”

“I don’t think you’re cute at all.”

“Yes, you do. I’m just kidding. Where’s Celeste? Is
she in her own room?” I asked, knowing that she was not.

“No, we have work to do, but she has her own bed
here. That’s different.”

“How’s
that
different? You’re letting a
beautiful woman sleep in the same room as you, and I’m just supposed to be okay
with it?”

“Yes, aren’t you?”

I shook my head. “Yes, Drew. I’m okay with it. I’ve
been on trips with you two. You’re both ridiculous. I’ll talk to you in the
morning. We’re going to watch a movie.”

“Sleep in pants.”

“I love you,” I retorted, hanging up. I couldn’t
believe he was suddenly jealous over Alicia. All because of the night I’d drank
a little too much and grinded with the pregnant girl.

“We should go to the beach house soon. You’re going
to be too pregnant to go soon.”

“I’m already too pregnant. I can’t believe I agreed
to do this. How much longer?”

“Not even three months. It’ll be here before you
know it.”

“Oh my god, Morgan. I can’t watch this.”

“Why?” I asked, looking up to the sex scene,
laughing.

“Were you this way when you were pregnant? Always
wanting sex?”

“I wanted it, I didn’t always get it. Drew and I
spent a lot of those months apart, remember?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how you did it, and it seems
like it’s worse when she’s gone. Why do I want sex when Celeste leaves town?”

“How do you and Celeste have sex?”

Alicia chuckled. “You do know that your husband is
listening to this conversation, don’t you?”

“Yeah, he probably is. I’m curious, tell me.”

“Like any other couple does, minus the penis.”

“You mean you have like toys and stuff?”

“Do you have toys and stuff?”

“Yes, but Drew has a permanent one that is always
there.”

“Celeste sort of does too. There is not a human on earth
that knows how to use their mouth better than she does.”

“I’d argue that. Drew is amazing with his tongue.”

Alicia’s phone rang first, and then mine. I could
hear Celeste yelling before I ever answered mine. Drew did his own yelling,
both ordering us to stop talking about our sex lives. I would let it go, but
now I was really curious. I’d just wait until we weren’t in my bedroom to carry
on this conversation.

***

We spent our next Thursday with Deidra, talking
about me once again. I think she was easing Drew into it, knowing I’d cooperate
a little more than he would. I was worried about his turn to share. Drew was so
attentive, listening to me describe the way I’d been raised, the hard times we
fell on, and the lack of things most people took for granted.

“I don’t think I take things for granted,” Drew
interrupted. “I am very thankful for what I have.”

“You do, Drew. I’m talking about things you don’t
even think about.”

“Like what?”

“Hot water. Have you ever heated water on a gas
stove that you had to light yourself? Heat, have you ever had to pry frozen
wood apart to stay warm? Have you ever eaten popcorn for supper because it was
the only thing in the house? I can name a hundred things in five minutes that
you take for granted,” I assured him, raising my voice. He had no clue. None
whatsoever, and his little pity party was pissing me off.

“Now, I’m going to stop you. We’ve established that
Drew was to blame for Justin. Honey, Drew’s not to blame for this. Drew had
nothing to do with the hardships of your upbringing.”

Well, hell. She was right. I was getting mad at the
wrong person. “I’m sorry,” I said, looking to Drew. He was wearing a sad smile
and a heavy heart for me. Drew would take it all away if he could. I knew he
would. 

Drew refused to visit the beach house, using the
excuse that he had too much to do. He could have done it there. He didn’t want
to see my mother. He was carrying a lot of animosity towards her after the last
few sessions with Deidra. He was forced to listen to things he had no clue
about. He didn’t like it, nor did he like the fact that my mother was a barroom
slut and left me to take care of her baby.

“Drew, you know how I lived. You’ve been to my
mother’s a dozen times. Why now? Why does this bother you now?”

“Because I can’t imagine anyone, letting their
children be brought into a situation like that. Why would she even have kids if
she wasn’t planning on taking care of them?”

“She takes care of Caroline.”

“Yeah, and that pisses me off too. She tossed you
and Justin away and ran off and had another family. Who does that?”

“Drew, you’re the one that told me she deserved a
second chance, and she was trying to make it right. Isn’t that what you’re
doing? Are you not using your second chance right now? Please come with me,” I
begged. I didn’t want to go if he wasn’t coming too.

“Okay, fine.”

Yes!

That was exactly what Drew and Celeste did the whole
four days we were there. They may as well have stayed home. All they did was
work. Alicia and I spent time on the beach, looking for sea glass with Caroline
and Vincent. My mom kept Nicky while we walked the shore in search of treasure.
Caroline and Vincent had a little rivalry going on. Vincent now had twenty-four
pieces of gems, and Caroline had twenty-nine. Of course it wasn’t really fair,
Caroline lived on the beach. Vincent lived in the desert.

“If you don’t pay attention to me soon, I’m going to
explode,” I tormented Drew. It was the first time in three days I’d seen him
alone, without Celeste stuck to his side.

He smiled and kissed my lips. “One conference call
and I am finished for the day,” he promised. I groaned.

“Where’s your sidekick?”

“She left. Alicia was ready to kill her too.”

“One more call,” I warned, holding up one finger.

“Where’s your mom?” I asked Vince who was watching
cartoons.

He shrugged his shoulders, “I dunno. I think Mom
Celeste is outside on the phone, and I don’t know where Mom Alicia is.”

I headed down the hall towards Alicia’s room. I
should have knocked. Why didn’t I knock? Celeste wasn’t outside on the phone. I
stood there, opened mouthed, like an idiot. Alicia had her hands firmly around
the spindles of the headboard, in two tight fists. Celeste was between her
legs, both naked.

“Jesus, Morgan. Get out!” Celeste finally had to
yell, pulling me from my frozen state.

“Sorry,” I managed to spit out, shaking my head,
turning on my heels and getting the hell out of there.

Thank god Alicia was so outgoing. She made sure
things weren’t awkward between us when we all gathered on my mother’s deck for
steaks. Celeste, on the other hand, wouldn’t even look at me. I really didn’t
think it had anything to do with what I’d seen her doing to Alicia. I think it
had more to do with the fact that I caught her like that, exposed and vulnerable.
She needed to be portrayed as sophisticated, put together like Drew. It was
truly disturbing how much alike the two of them were when it came to success.

Celeste would do anything to ensure Alicia got to
stay home with their kids. She was a lot like Drew in that sense too. She
worried about Alicia and Vincent just like Drew did, always lecturing her about
playing it safe.

Alicia totally understood when I complained about
Drew being so protective. Celeste treated her the same way. Like the time I
called him to tell him I was going to the strip, shopping. Little Boys Boutique
was having a sale, and I wanted to go.

“You don’t need to worry about a sale. You’re a
millionaire ten times over. Wait until I get home and I will take you
shopping,” he’d challenged. Of course, I waited for him. I’m not sure what he
was worried about. He just worried.

“Come on, Nicholas. Daddy will take you home and fix
you a bottle,” Drew said, taking Nicky from my mom. He had been distant toward
me since we went over there. He was judging my mother over what he’d learned
during our sessions with Deidra. He had no right to judge anyone. What she did
was no different than what he’d done.

“We’ll be there in a little bit,” I told him,
letting him leave.

“Can I come, Drew?” Vincent asked.

“Sure, come on. Us men will go home, find some
sports.”

I laughed at that. Drew didn’t watch sports. I’d
never seen him watch sports.

“You think that’s funny?” he asked, kissing me
goodbye.