Authors: Renee Flagler
Or, maybe she should just mind her business. Ryan was pretty introverted and probably wouldn't take too kindly to Vonnie prying.
Mike came into the bedroom and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. But for Vonnie, sleep wouldn't come easy. Mike choked back a snore and Vonnie shoved him just enough for him to roll over onto his side. That would give him a few minutes of quiet breathing before he started snoring again.
Pushing the covers away, Vonnie got out of the bed and stepped quietly from the bedroom. She didn't know what to do with herself. It had been years since she'd suffered from sleepless nights.
Vonnie walked to Noelle's room. Lena had come to hang out with her while they went to Nadalia's house. When she peeked in, both Noelle and Lena were sprawled across her bed sleeping, with both the TV and the iPod on. The sight made Vonnie shake her head and smile. She'd closed the door, leaving it open just a crack and headed down to the kitchen.
Vonnie opened the fridge, then closed it, opened the door to the pantry and closed that. She wasn't hungry. She was worried. She tipped back to her room, retrieved her cell phone, then once she was back in the kitchen, she texted Ryan.
Hey. You awake?
Vonnie took a seat at the breakfast bar. She stared at the phone, waiting for Ryan's reply.
“Come on, Ryan. Give me something.” She had hoped that Ryan hadn't fallen asleep, because if she had, Vonnie imagined herself staying up all night worrying. She didn't have to be the best of friends with someone to worry about their well-being and as fragile as Ryan appeared, Vonnie felt like she needed someone.
Vonnie's phone buzzed and she grabbed it so fast it almost fumbled out of her hand. She placed her hand across her heart and breathed a sigh of relief.
Yes. Can
'
t sleep.
Me neither. Just checking on you to make sure you're okay.
I
'
m fine. Thanks.
Okay. Well I
'
m here for you if you ever need to talk.
Vonnie hesitated to hit send on that last text. She didn't want to run Ryan away by pushing too hard. Vonnie exhaled, hit send and then waited. She'd opened the door. If Ryan needed or wanted to confide in her, she was letting her know that she was there.
Ryan never replied. Maybe she did need to mind her own business.
Chapter 16
Pearson
Pearson woke with a headache the size of Texas. Even the soft morning light filtering through her blinds made her eyes hurt. It would have been worse if not for the rain and dense fog.
Her head felt like it was filled with bricks as she tried to sit up. She groaned and lay back down. Covering her eyes to shield the light with one hand, Pearson took her other and felt for Niles. His side of the bed was empty. She sat up quickly, jolting the pain in her head.
Pearson looked at the digital clock on her night stand. It was almost noon. She had missed churchâprobably for the better. Trying to listen to a sermon through a hangover would be sacrilegious. Pearson swung her legs to the side of the bed and noticed the bottles of Tylenol and water. Niles always came to her rescue. She popped two pills and downed half the bottle.
Pearson dragged herself from the bed and headed to the bathroom. That's when she caught the scent of bacon wafting through the air.
The sight she saw in the mirror was pitiful. Her eyes were red and encircled with deep creases. Her hair sat on top of her head like a tangled mess. She gasped and her breath was atrocious. Pearson brushed her teeth and washed her face. Before going downstairs, she covered her naked body with a nightie, and then slipped her feet into a pair of animal print slippers.
The scent of bacon grew stronger as she approached the kitchen and her mouth watered. Niles had always been a great cook. His family owned a chain of soul food restaurants, named after his grandmother, Clara Mae, who loved to listen to jazz as she prepared meals. At ninety-three, Clara Mae was still kicking and running the Day clan like a mob boss runs his family.
Pearson stepped into the kitchen, stopped and sniffed, taking in the delicious mixture flavoring the air. She smiled when she exhaled and then opened her eyes to Niles' back as he stirred a pot of grits.
“Morning, honey!” she said and climbed up on a stool.
Niles didn't respond.
“Morning, honey!” She spoke louder, trying to be heard above the noise of the frying pan.
“Hey,” Niles replied without turning away from the stove.
Pearson frowned, slid down from her stool and went to Niles' side.
“What's up with you?”
Niles put down the spoon, drew in a sharp breath and blew it out.
Pearson put her hand on her hip. It was evident that he was mad so she braced herself with her own attitude.
“Let me finish making breakfast and we'll talk.”
“Talk about what?”
“Pearson!” Niles threw his hands up. “Just. Let. Me. Finish.”
Pearson grunted. “I don't see what the big deal is. If you have something to say, then just come out and say it.”
“Give me a minute.” He was exasperated.
“Why can't we just talk now? What's the difference between now and a minute from now?” Pearson crowded him, waiting for an answer. When she was tired of being ignored, she sucked her teeth and then walked out of the kitchen.
Pearson didn't go far. She folded her arms across her chest, paced for a moment and then came right back. When he continued to ignore her, she grabbed the spoon from his hand and tossed it onto the counter. Clumps of grits flew across the stove. “What is it already!” she yelled.
“Dammit, Pearson. I asked you to give me a minute, but since you can't wait. Here it is. I'm tired!”
Pearson's heart dropped.
Tired?
She clamped her teeth together to keep from reacting to soon. “Of what?”
“Your drinking!”
Pearson tried to push down the lump that formed in her throat. Niles had made comments about her drinking, but she'd never seen him react like this. “What?”
“You don't enjoy a drink like normal people. No! You can't just have one or two glasses of wine and have a good time. You have to keep going, and going, and going until there's nothing left in the bottle. You go overboard every single time. Once you get drunk⦠whoa!” He punctuated his expression by raising both hands. “You embarrass me like you did last night!”
Pearson's mouth fell open. “What do you mean like last night?”
“Oh, that's another problem.” He hesitated. “The blackouts.”
Niles' pause was calculated. Pearson sensed that he opted against using stronger language to make his point.
“What happened?” She wished he would just say it.
“You don't recall starting that whole thing between Anderson and Ryan? You asked everyone if you were the only person who saw Anderson ogling Nadalia's ass.” Niles went on to recount the incident. “Clearly you owe Sage and Nadalia an apology for ruining their party.”
Pearson tried hard to stir her memory.
“You were out of line.”
“Anderson shouldn't have been ogling her ass in front of his wife anyway.” Pearson knew that wasn't the right thing to say, but she couldn't bring herself to admit the truth. Niles shot a bewildered glance in her direction. She looked away.
“That's none of your business. If his wife didn't say anything, what gave you the right to?” He was in Pearson's face. She stepped back. “You start drinking before we even get to where we're going. By the time we arrive, you're already halfway drunk. You talk loud, you're obnoxious and you're crass!” Niles walked away. Pearson watched him. She hadn't realized how deeply he was affected before now.
“Life hasn't been the same,” he continued and Pearson wished he would stop. “I don't know what happened to you, but I want my wife back.” Niles walked back over to the stove and pulled out a pan of shrimp wrapped in bacon. “It's ready, let's eat.” Niles tossed the plates and food on the table. “Get the glasses and the juice,” he said.
Pearson closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to get her emotions in order. They sat down and ate in silence. The food was delicious, but she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. Part of it was due to the hangover, but the other part had everything to do with the unsettling feelings that whirled in her stomach. Taking only small forkfuls, both of them pushed their food around on their plates, leaving most of it scattered. Pearson's headache still thumped. The Tylenol wasn't helping. She put her fork down and rubbed her temples.
“Eat the bacon, you'll feel better.”
“What?”
“I said, eat the bacon. Greasy food helps you get over your hangover faster for some reason. I'm not sure why, but I know that it works.”
“Oh.” Pearson was grateful that Niles was at least talking to her in a more civilized manner. She reached for her bacon and nibbled, watching Niles while he ate. She wondered if she was even capable of fixing this.
Niles stared back for a moment. Pearson still had no words. At least she felt confident that Niles wasn't leaving. She knew she was a lot to handle at times, but what would she do without him.
Pearson had come into their union with piles of emotional baggage and he accepted her just the way she was. Apparently something shifted.
Yet, Niles was the only person in her life who didn't cause her pain. People always thought being rich solved life's problems. They didn't know that money couldn't buy attention from a mother. It couldn't keep her from feeling abandoned after her father's death. It surely didn't comfort her, un-break her heart or soothe her soul.
Until Niles appeared, she had forgotten what love even felt like. When she drank, it didn't matter. If she could give up all the money she had for a slightly dysfunctional, yet loving family of her own, she would do it without hesitating. Niles was the closest she came to having that.
“Pearse.” Niles broke the silence and her heart fluttered. He'd called her by her pet name. “You really pissed me off last night. I'm concerned. I feel like I'm sitting back and watching you destroy yourself.”
“Niles, I was drinking when you met me.”
“Not like this. You used to have limits and your tolerance has changed. I remember when we could enjoy a glass or two of wine over dinner and that would be it. Now you can't control yourself.”
“Iâ”
“No!” Niles held his hand up. “Let me finish. I've been waiting a long time to say this. I need you to see reality. You have a problem.”
Pearson dropped her head and blinked back tears.
“I don't want to lose you. I meant it when I said until death do us part.”
“Nilesâ”
“Promise me, Pearson!” he interjected.
She remained quiet. After a few beats she looked into his eyes. She could see his pain and hated that she caused it. The tears she held back, now rolled down her cheeks. “I promise,” she said, wiping them away.
Niles got up, made his way around the table and embraced her.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
Pearson laid her head on his chest and let the weight of her life fall on him. She wanted to stay there forever, coddled in his haven, unreachable by the rest of the world. She settled deeper into his arms and he kissed the top of her head.
The house phone rang, snatching them from the beauty of their moment.
“I'll get it,” Niles said.
Pearson made herself busy clearing the table. She was serious when she said promised to work on her drinking. Niles always made her happy and she was going to return the favor.
“Pearse.” The cautious tone of his voice alarmed her.
“What is it, babe?”
Niles held the phone out to her. “It's your mother.”
Chapter 17
Nadalia
After all the effort she had put into making her party fabulous and making Sage happy, Pearson ruined it all. She couldn't shake the anger she felt for that woman.
Now Sage was walking around in a weird mood. She couldn't put her finger on just want it was. Anderson had called him first thing this morning to apologize. He'd accepted, but the whole thing still bothered him.
This was the weekend before Christmas and one of the first weekends that he'd been home in months. She was determined to make the best of it. They still hadn't had sex and not only was she starving for his touch, but her imagination had become overactive.
She found herself more and more wondering if he had been unfaithful, even though that was hard to believe. The two of them together were a match made in perfection. She was beautiful. He was handsome. They were rich. What more did they need?
But something was wrong and she had to warm things up before they got too cold. Her marriage wasn't going down without a fight. What would people think?
Nadalia went into the family room where Sage sat in his favorite chair, yelling at the television screen about how incompetent the coach was for the ridiculous plays he was calling.
“Did you see that crap?” he yelled into his phone. He laughed at whatever the person on the other line said. “Shut up, punk? Just wait until the fourth quarter. We got this, man. Don't count us out just yet. You'll see. What! You've got be kidding me.” He directed that last comment at the television. “I need to focus. I'll call you back,” he said. Sage ended the call, stuffed his cell phone between his leg and the chair, and then suddenly jumped to his feet holding his head in his hand, releasing a cry of agony. No!”
Nadalia smiled as she watched his usual Sunday afternoon football antics.
“Who's winning?” she said as she walked into the room.
“Not the damn Jets! Man!” He sat back down.
Nadalia came and sat on his lap. He kept his eyes on the television, looking around her. She grabbed his head, holding him by the sides of his face, made him look at her and laughed.