“I know. And I trust you. It’s just that we have a special guest and I want everything to be perfect.”
“Not to worry. It’s going to be a beautiful party.”
“With your reputation, I don’t even know why I said anything.” Her eyes darted around the house, her mind already elsewhere. “I have a lot to do and errands to run. My husband already left the house. He won’t be back until the party is over. My daughter’s sleeping with friends in her room. I doubt you’ll see them since they probably won’t wake up until God knows when.”
“Just relax and know that it’s our job to make everything perfect.” Julie knew that, at this point, they needed Carol to leave them alone to work their magic.
Carol nodded with a smile. Julie watched her leave the room and then followed Kelly, who was already heading out the sliding glass doors to the backyard.
The hours before the party went by in a blur as she and Kelly along with their staff worked to turn the backyard into an island getaway. She had ordered fans to keep it comfortable and breezy like the beach. The tents were open and mostly just for shade. They were lightweight in bright, basic colors. Exotic flowers were placed everywhere. Several tiki bars had been set up, offering a variety of frozen drinks that Julie was sure would appeal to the women attending. Carol had been at Noah’s party and liked it so much, she wanted the theme replicated
The guests began arriving around twelve thirty. Julie had dressed, as had the female staff, in a colorful wraparound skirt and halter top. The men were wearing flowered shorts and shirts. Kelly, as usual, remained in the kitchen. Julie found herself cooking less and less. She missed it, and yet she enjoyed working the clients.
When most of the guests had arrived, Julie signaled for the staff to start helping them find their seats. She was just about to review the updated agenda Carol had given her when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she felt the smile on her face freeze. Deanna Jamison was looking at her, an unpleasant smile on her face.
“I must say, you’re the last person I expected to see here. Whoring must not be that lucrative for you.”
Julie held her breath and counted to ten. She needed to remain calm. There was no way she wanted to create a scene with this woman, especially when she working.
“I didn’t expect to see you here either. If you’ll excuse me, I have a lot to do.”
“Yes, of course. Busy little thing, aren’t you. You were working the last time I saw you.”
Deanna’s barbed insult hit home. “I’m no whore,” she said between gritted teeth. “I happen to be a part owner in the firm that’s catering this event.” She knew immediately she had said the wrong thing by the look of surprise that turned to glee on Deanna’s face
“Now isn’t that interesting. This really is luck, my running into you.”
“This conversation is over,” Julie said, moving away from the woman whose face she wanted to slap in the worst way.
Deanna grabbed her arm. “Not so fast.”
Julie looked down at the finely manicured nails that were digging into her arm.
Releasing her, Deanna said, her voice sickly sweet, “You’re not going to see Noah again. Not ever. He and I may be divorced, but he’s still in love with me. It’s obvious to me now that you’re being paid in trade. You fuck him and the boys, and he makes sure your client list grows with the elite of San Francisco society. He always was a generous man.”
“That’s not true. You’re just jealous. You must be delusional if you think he still loves you or that he’s the only reason I have clients.”
“You’re the one who’s delusional. Once the women hear about your sexual appetite, which is much more creative than any event you’ve catered, they’ll be less inclined to want you anywhere near their own husbands. I can ruin you, and I’ll take pleasure in doing it.”
Julie tried to keep her hands from shaking as she walked away from Deanna. She didn’t look back. All she could think about was putting as much distance as she could between herself and Noah’s ex-wife. Every fiber of her being was screaming in agony. She might not know Deanna well, but her instincts told her that Noah’s ex would do exactly what she threatened. Before she reached the sliding glass doors to go inside, Deanna walked in front of her, barring her progress.
“Oh, and if you’re thinking about telling Noah about our conversation, I wouldn’t if I were you. I would hate to let it slip that he and the boys were only some of many men you’ve been fucking. You see, I have friends in San Francisco that owe me. I could call in a few favors very easily, and Noah would believe them because he would have no reason not to. Are we clear?”
“You’re an evil woman,” Julie cried. “Now get out of my way.”
“I said, are we clear?”
“We’re clear,” Julie said in defeat as she pushed past Deanna and into the house where she ran for the bathroom. She closed the door behind her as she fell to the floor in a heap, her body shaking with sobs.
Julie still wasn’t sure how she had made it through the party, but somehow she had, and no one had been the wiser that she was crumbing inside from that woman’s threats.
Noah had called to ask her if she would like to go out to dinner or eat in. She had all but forgotten she was supposed to go see them tonight. Normally she would have never forgotten something like that. In fact, she would have been thinking about it though out the day.
But, after the day she had, the only thing she wanted was to close her eyes and make it all go away. She needed to a break from everything. No sooner had the idea come to than she was calling the airline. Once her flight was confirmed, she decided to leave a voice mail for Noah, Keith, and Mark. She knew it was cowardly, but it was her only option at this point. She couldn’t chance having them try to change her mind.
She held the phone and waited until she was prompted to leave a voice mail. “I’m sorry to be leaving you a message like this. It’s just that my dad’s not well and I have to go home. I can’t really talk now, but I’ll be in touch soon.”
Julie knew that Deanna could have cared less if she had continued to see Mark and Keith. It was Noah she wanted out of Julie’s life. But Julie knew she couldn’t see one man and not the other two. She loved them individually and as a whole. She also knew they would have never allowed it. She had never thought in her wildest dreams she could have fallen in love with three men. But she had, and now they were being ripped away from her by a jealous ex-wife, and maybe, just maybe, it was what she deserved. She had been harboring a fantasy that she knew could never come true. Deanna had simply been the catalyst to make her face it.
If it wasn’t for the real possibility that Deanna would ruin her and Kelly’s business, she would have gone directly to Noah and told him about Deanna’s threats and confronted him about his feelings for the woman. She knew in her heart that neither he nor Mark and Keith would have believed Deanna’s lies, but there was the real possibility Noah was still in love with her. Her mind was going wild with suspicion and guilt for what she knew had always been a relationship that was destined to end.
She had a short layover in Phoenix. When she deplaned, she turned on her phone. There were over a dozen missed calls from Noah, Mark, and Keith. She sat down in a small café where she ordered a sandwich and a cup of coffee. She proceeded to text them that she was fine, still in transit, and that she’d be in touch soon. That should satisfy them for a little while. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to them. She wasn’t sure she could without bursting into tears. She desperately wanted to feel their strong arms around her. She needed them to tell her everything would be all right and not to worry. The thought of never feeling their hands on her body or their lips on hers made her physically shiver from the coldness that surrounded her heart.
Thankfully, once she was settled in for her next flight, the pill she had taken to calm her nerves made it easy to fall asleep and put an end to the torment that consumed her, if only for a little while. She slept soundly until she heard the pilot’s voice announce they were circling Logan airport. Julie stretched, turning to her seat mate, who was smiling at her. The woman, probably in her sixties, had kind eyes.
“You must have been real tired,” she said.
“I was. I hope I wasn’t snoring.”
“No snoring. Although you were talking. However,” she said quickly, “it was all garbled. So your secrets are safe.”
Julie tried to smile. Secrets were something she seemed to have more of than she would have ever imagined. It wasn’t long before they were taxiing on the runway to their gate. Once the plane came to a stop, she helped the woman, who said her name was Margaret, retrieve her carry-on and proceeded to look for her own. Most of the passengers had left before a stewardess came to help in her search.
“I thought I stowed it in the overhead across from me, but I can’t find it anywhere.”
“Not to worry, I’ll look in first class. We did have a shortage of space and I did have to rearrange a few bags with some being taken up front. I’ll be right back.”
Unfortunately, the stewardess came back empty handed. “I have no idea what happened to your bag. Possibly another passenger took it by mistake. You’ll have to go to customer service and fill out a claim form. I’m so sorry.”
Julie just shook her head. “It’s just par for the course with the luck I’ve been having.”
When she finally found customer service, it was packed with irate travelers. She wasn’t the only one missing luggage. She waited for a half hour before she was finally able to speak with a representative. They took her information and assured her they would contact her when her bag was found and deliver it to the address she had given them.
At least there was an abundance of taxis lined up at the curb when she walked through the sliding doors, exiting the airport and into the cool evening air. She hadn’t even packed a jacket, not that it would matter now since her bag had disappeared. She gave the cabby her parents’ address. They weren’t expecting her. She had thought about calling but then stopped herself, fearful they would tell her they were busy and not to come. It had been well over two years since she had seen them. Most parents would be happy for an unexpected visit from their child, but her parents weren’t most parents, and surprises weren’t something they enjoyed.
When she paid the taxi driver, she realized that her parents were going to assume something horrible had happened. She was visiting without warning and as far as they were concerned, she had no luggage. Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the front door and knocked.
Her mother opened the door, shock written all over her face. “Julie?”
“Hello, Mother. It’s me. Can I come in?”
“Of course you can come in. I just,” she said, moving back so Julie could enter, “can’t believe it’s you.”
“I know this is a bit out of the ordinary, my just dropping in like this, but I had this wild idea that I’d surprise you.”
“Surprise is an understatement,” her mother said, closing the door behind them. “Your father’s in the garage working on that old car he’s fixing up. Give me a minute and I’ll go get him.”
“Then you don’t mind if I stay?”
“Julie, you’re our daughter. This is still your home. You can stay for as long as you like. Now, wait here and let me get your father.”
Julie looked around the home she had lived in until she went to college. It looked the same except for some new curtains and a few new furnishings. Nothing was out of place. Her mother may not have been the best of cooks, but she was an excellent housekeeper.
When ten minutes had passed, Julie began to wonder if her father might be less than happy about her surprise visit. However, a few minutes later he walked into the living room with a smile on his face.
“Julie, I couldn’t believe it when your mother told me you were here. I think we’re both in a semi state of shock. You might have called and warned us.”
“I told Mother I wanted to surprise you.”
“Where’s your luggage?” he asked, his eyes darting around the room.
“Lost, I’m afraid. I’m hoping the airline will call soon telling me they found it.”
“No matter, I’m sure your mother can find something for you in the meantime.”
Her mother ushered them into the kitchen, where she pulled out a pie and made a pot of decaf coffee. She explained they couldn’t drink anything but decaf at this hour. Julie told her that was fine.
She knew they wanted to question her about her appearance from out of nowhere, but that wasn’t their style. They were never ones to pry, and tonight she was thankful that they expected nothing more than small talk.
“I’ll have to call your sister in the morning. I’m sure she’ll want to see you, and wait until you see the kids. They have grown so much. Pictures just don’t do them justice.”
The last picture Julie had seen was one her mother had sent her about a year ago. She suddenly felt guilty that she had never been a real aunt to them. But then again, her sister had never promoted that kind of thing.
Although she had slept on the plane, she was exhausted.
Her mother showed her to her old room that was now a guest room. All signs of her were gone. It felt strange to be sleeping in her old room even if it didn’t resemble the room she remembered. Her mother gave her a nightgown and a change of clothes for the next day.