Forever Starts Tomorrow (14 page)

Scott has always been very logical and pragmatic, so she could only imagine what he’d think of her lapse of judgment.
It was more than that
, a voice whispered, as Melanie struggled to come up with some kind of plausible explanation for the madness. It wasn’t like her to act so spontaneously, but she had to admit that when it came to Scott, her usual common sense failed, over and over again.

‘Best way to wake up in ages.’ His words broke into her unhappy thoughts, the laughter in his voice cheering her up just a little. ‘Still feels like a dream.’ He kissed the top of her head, a happy, tired kind of kiss that made her want nothing more than to curl up at his side and drift to sleep.

‘I should have left you alone,’ she murmured into his chest, her face finding her favorite spot where his neck joined his shoulders. ‘It was a hell of a day, Scott.’

‘Well, this was a definite improvement. Unless you feel we didn’t reach the right level yet. I am ready to work on that at any time.’

He laughed, and she knew he meant it. Scott had been a passionate lover, their lovemaking often lasting into the wee hours of the night. It wouldn’t happen now, though.

‘Look, I feel like an idiot about the whole thing.’ So much for her diplomatic talent. ‘I just don’t want you to think that…’ She paused awkwardly, not sure how to convey the message. To be honest, she didn’t know herself what she wanted. ‘That… everything is fine just because we had sex.’ It sounded horrible, and she knew it.

‘I get it, Mel.’ To her amazement, Scott nodded, his teeth glistening in the silvery moonlight. ‘I know there are no shortcuts to getting back what we had.’ He kissed her again, his stubble scratching the sensitive skin of her cheek. ‘But I'm warning you, I do intend to get it back, whether you like it or not.’ He sat up, fastening his pants and looking for the shirt, crumpled under the coffee table. She couldn’t avert her eyes from his chest, which was illuminated by the silver moonlight. He was perfect, she thought desperately, the last days making her realize that she didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. The thought itself was silly, of course. They had been together for seven months, six of them living together. She had agreed to marry him, falling head over heels in love with what she saw. Yet, the perfect, comfortable world that she imagined was so much more than what she was willing to settle for. Scott was so much more.

She had known him as the confident lover, who swept her off her feet and whose larger-than-life personality swallowed everything around him like some kind of a supernova, unstoppable and victorious in whatever he did. Now the picture grew, the colors and textures gaining a depth and vibrancy she would never have expected. There were shadows and dark colors blended into the palette, the picture not all happy and bright. He'd had his share of experiences that left their mark on the way he saw the world and himself as a part of it. And yet, she had never found him as fascinating as now, every one of his insecurities, flaws, and vulnerabilities making him even more appealing. She had a feeling that the last few months, wonderful as they were, had only scratched the surface of the complex person he really was.

‘Would you like to stay over and sleep with me?’ she asked quietly, getting up from the sofa. She saw her T-shirt, a pale stain on the darker fabric of the couch, and put it on, not bothering with the shorts. She glanced at him from under her lashes and saw him watching her, his hands busy with buttoning up his shirt.

‘I’d like that very much, Mel,’ he finally said, his voice gentle. She wondered if her offer were too needy for his taste. The Scott she knew didn’t like clingy people and had clear boundaries that were not to be trespassed.

He put an end to her doubts as he followed her to her bedroom, waiting gallantly for her to lie down. She nestled into his arms, the fabric of his shirt under her cheek. His hand pulled the coverlet higher, tucking her in as if she were a child. He kissed the top of her head, a swift, tender kiss, and let his cheek rest against her hair. ‘Sleep well,’ he whispered, his low voice lulling Melanie to close her eyes and drift away, her tired body deliciously satisfied.

Her last thought as she drifted to sleep was that she wished they could stay like that forever, that the outside world, with its problems and worries, would always stay far away. A bit of peace and quiet would be good, she thought, drifting into the realm of dreams.

TEN

His favorite sushi restaurant had gained a number-one fan. Scott watched, amused, as José polished off a plate of sushi, his newly acquired chopstick skills improving with each little roll that disappeared in his mouth. Considering that he had never so much as held chopsticks before, he was doing amazingly well. The restaurant was made to look like part of Tokyo’s subway, down to the seats and colorful posters decorating its walls. Modern and captivating, the hodgepodge of accessories and art added to its flair, making it one of his favorite spots in town. Plus, the food was to die for.

‘This is delicious,’ Scott's half brother declared, peeking at the tray in the middle of the table with a sheepish expression. ‘Are you going to have some more?’

‘No, not really. It’s up to you to finish it off.’ He smiled, pushing the teal plate toward José. For a twelve-year-old, he had an enormous appetite. His initial hesitation to try seaweed had turned into awe in a span of seconds. He dipped his kappa roll into the little tray of soy sauce, his dark eyebrows drawn into a focused line. He did look a lot like him, Scott thought once again, still amazed at the unexpected turn his life had taken. If someone had told him two weeks ago he’d be sitting with his brother at his favorite sushi restaurant, skipping work and actually enjoying it, he’d have declared that person crazy.

‘Don’t tell Grandma, but I like it more than burritos.’ José's eyes were conspiratorial. ‘She is always saying we should be grateful for whatever we have, no complaining.’

Scott didn’t want to go there. In the last twenty-four hours he had spent with José, he had learned enough about his life to make up his mind about the future. Whether he liked it or not, José was there, in his life. Abandoning him the way his father had was out of question. From the snippets of their conversations, he managed to puzzle together a much clearer picture of his father’s behavior. José might well idolize him, talking about the fun they'd had together, but Scott wasn't wearing rose-colored glasses. His father sent José a minimal amount of money, never legally acknowledged his son, visited whenever he felt like it, and most of all, never helped Esmeralda. Maybe if he'd owned up to what happened, she wouldn't have died in a freak accident, hit by a drunk driver as she walked to work.

‘Well, maybe we should send her a plate of sushi to the hospital. What do you think?’ He winked at the boy and was rewarded with a wide grin. The warm feeling in his gut felt good, even though he did realize that José was getting over the idolizing phase. He needed a male role model in his life right now, and Scott fit the mold.

It scared Scott stiff, because he knew that it couldn’t last. His brother was bound to find that he was just a human, less formidable and perfect than he expected him to be.

‘She’d never eat it.’ The boy shook his head, moving on to the
wakame
salad that came with the meal. ‘I’m just glad she's doing better. I was very worried about her when she got sick; she couldn’t really breathe, and I thought she’d choke.’

In fact, Maria was doing more than better. It helped that she had been moved to a suite on the upper floor, thanks to his chat with the doctors. The bright, apartment-style place came with a physical therapist and sessions of gentle exercise to help her get back in shape. He was bracing himself for the discussion he wanted to have with the old lady once she was well enough to talk. It would be not an easy task, given the fact he wanted to persuade her and José to move into a different apartment, closer to his own home. She might be old and fragile, but something told him she was feisty and proud, not ready to accept handouts. He’d have to be diplomatic about it and make her feel that she was actually doing him a favor by accepting his offer. It wasn’t a complete lie. He wanted José nearer, and most importantly, he wanted him safe, taken care of, and free to enjoy the life of a kid.

José ’s laughter made Scott look up, distracting him from his worried thoughts. The kid was watching one of the Japanese cartoons displayed on a huge flat screen TV in the corner of the restaurant. Scott laughed too, watching the hilarious antics of the cartoon characters.

‘This is on the house.’ The owner, dressed in his immaculate black kimono, approached, a tray with Japanese sweets in his hands. Heads were turning curiously to see who the lucky customer was. Matsumo Yoshida didn’t just stop to chat with all of his clients. Usually, Matsumo stayed in the back, supervising the kitchen and making sure that everything that left the small, steam-infused room was up to his highest standards.

Scott and Matsumo, however, had forged a bond that had less to do with Scott’s money and fame than with the discussions about life they’d had over the years.

‘Wow, this is so cool.’ José smiled at the older man, his dark eyes huge. ‘I’ve never seen things that looked that pretty and were meant to be eaten. You’re an artist.’

‘Scott, feel free to bring your little friend anytime.’ Matsumo grinned, pleased with the honest compliment. ‘He is wise beyond his years.’

‘Will do, for sure.’ Scott took one of the mochi balls and let it melt on his tongue. It tasted divine, as usual. He bantered with Matsumo for a moment, before the chef said his goodbyes and disappeared back into his culinary kingdom.

Scott smiled, his eyes going to José with a wink. ‘You’ve just made a powerful ally. He really likes you.’

José smiled back, his fingers playing with the chopsticks and scraping the remnants of the sweet lotus filling. He'd praised the peanut rolls, which were high on Scott's ‘best food ever’ list. However, Scott couldn’t shake the feeling that José's smile was superficial, the reflex of a polite person who didn’t want to disappoint him. Something was wrong and he would get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.

Scott waited until they were in his car, driving home. The day had been long and tiring, with José visiting his workplace, starry-eyed and speechless when he got to press buttons in the testing room. Afterwards, they took off for a visit to a museum and topped it off with sushi.

‘What’s wrong?’ The boy buckled up, his skinny frame looking very vulnerable. ‘Did something happen in there? You looked kind of sad.’

‘It’s fine.’ José shook his head, but Scott remembered himself at that age and knew that there was more going on. Scott had also hated admitting things. His uncle usually managed to pull information out of him over a span of several days. But Scott didn’t have the luxury of time. José would stay with him for another two days and then return to his grandma. If anything was bothering him, it needed to be resolved before that. For a second, he desperately wished that Melanie were here. She’d know right away how to coax the truth out of the polite, shy boy.

‘No, it’s not.’ He’d try to go with the direct approach. ‘I can see something bothers you, José. I'm your brother, remember?’

‘That’s exactly it.’ José looked away, his profile so much like his that Scott felt his heart turn over. He loved having Marnie for a sister, of course. They grew up together and had memories that couldn’t be replaced by anyone or anything else. But José was different.

‘What do you mean?’ he asked cautiously, not sure where José was going with his statement.

‘You didn’t tell the restaurant owner that we were related.’ Suddenly José was looking at him, his dark eyes hurt and accusing. ‘He called me your "little friend," and you just played along. Were you embarrassed to say who I was?’

‘I introduced you to my friends at work, didn’t I?’ He needed a diversion, and fast. José was more perceptive than he'd expected, and he needed a moment to regroup and come up with a satisfying answer. ‘You heard me yourself, right?’

He could only hope that José wouldn’t realize he had introduced him properly only to his closest friends, people he trusted and who knew he didn’t want the information to leak outside the walls of Triadon. Going public with the fact that he had a brother was huge, especially since the press seemed to find great pleasure in spinning stories about his life. God knew he didn’t give them a lot of real stuff to go on, his privacy too precious to be compromised.

He could hardly explain to José that if they weren’t careful and didn’t plan exactly what they would share and how, both the boy and his entire family would be dragged through the gutter. By that point, Scott himself couldn’t care less what they’d say about his father, who probably deserved any dirt they could come up with. But the story would probably involve José’s mother as well, and the sordid affair described in detail would hurt his grandma and, most importantly, him.

His luck held. José deliberated shortly then nodded, an open smile returning to his small face.

‘Yeah, you’re right. Sorry if I was rude,’ José said.

Scott felt his cheeks warm, the apology making him feel like a fraud. He patted the boy’s shoulder and started the car, relieved that he'd bought himself some time—not much, but enough to form a strategy for what would work best. After all, weren't strategies what he was best at?

The house greeted them with the scent of a cake baking. José sniffed excitedly, as though they hadn't just eaten. He ran down the hallway, toward the kitchen. Scott followed, amazed at the ease with which his brother fit into his home. After just a few awkward moments after they arrived yesterday, he had taken to the place with effortless enthusiasm, admiring everything and asking a million questions a minute. He'd explored the garden, fed the fish in the pond, and eventually climbed down to the beach, returning bedraggled yet utterly happy. Melanie had gone with him, since Scott had had to make some calls, his hiatus from the office giving him only so much freedom. They brought back shells, pieces of driftwood, and two or three rocks José found particularly interesting. They added them to the stones around the pond; the boy was smiling.