Something to Talk About (34 page)

“For once I have no advice to offer, sweetie. This is one of the reasons I’m never getting married: true love is way too complicated for me to cope with. If I ever get that close to a man it would have to be a totally dr
ama-free situation. You know me;
I can’t handle all that stuff. I think you’re doing the right thing by stepping away from it for the moment
.
Why
don’t we take advantage of your free evening and go to the movies? We can watch something hilarious and stupid and just forget our woes for the night.”

That sounded like a great idea to Alicia and they discussed which movie to see. The doorbell distracted her and she went to answer it while s
ti
ll talking to Roxy. She looked out the peephole and made an exclamation of surprise.

“Roxy, you’re not going to believe it, but Adam is at the door. Hold on for just a second, okay?”

She put on what she hoped was a nonchalant expression and casually opened the door. Adam looked wonderful in a pair of black pleated slacks, black closed-toe sandals, and an off-white linen shirt with no collar. He tried to look cool and collected, but he gave it away with a sheepish grin.

“You’re not ready. Should I wait or come back for you?” he asked as he handed her a sheaf of highly scented gardenias with white roses, freesia, and baby’s breath.

“Roxy, my
fiance
is here and he’s brought me a bribe. I’ll call you later,” she said, but the phone was plucked from her hand before she could end the call.

“Hello, Roxanne,” Adam said formally. “My family is having a party tonight
.
Would
you like to come? We can pick you up if you like.”

Alicia suddenly realized that she was wearing a truly ratty pair of drawstring pants and a paint-spattered MIT T-shirt and those funny rubber things
to separate
her toes so the nail polish wouldn’t smear.

“I’ll be right back,” she said as she sprinted out of the room.

In a record twenty minutes she was ready to rejoin Adam and she had the air of a woman who knew she was looking her best. The look on Adam’s face said that he agreed with that
assessment entirely.
 
He was sprawled on the sofa waiting her return but stood up as soon as she entered the room. He felt a huge surge of desire as she slowly turned around for his approval. She was wearing the beautiful sundress he’d bought for her with the
spectacular
shoes and she looked fresh and sexy, too sexy to be going to a family party. Her eyes sparkled with the addition of some kind of shimmery stuff that made them look bigger and brighter, and as always her lips looked like an invitation, glossy and delicious. Her small diamond studs were her only adornment other than her engagement ring, and her smile was for him alone.

“Will I do?” she asked coyly.

He crossed the room and put his hands around her waist. “If I didn’t know you,” he said slowly, “I’d fall in love with you tonight. Sometimes I look at you and wonder what I ever did that was good enough to win your love.”

Alicia’s pulse began to race as she tilted her head back for his kiss. “You were my friend, my shelter, and my heart. You didn’t have to do anything special, Adam; you just had to be yourself. And you’re awfully pretty.” She smiled. “How could I not love you? You’re the best person I know, Adam, and I’m honored to be with you.”

“Let’s stay home, Allie. Let’s get some champagne and just stay in together,” he
entreated
.

“Not on your life. We look good and we’re going to show out, so get to stepping,
Papi
.”
She executed a perfect pivot turn and flounced toward the door with him following. “We’ll go put in an appearance and if it gets really rocky we’ll leave early.
Promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said glumly.

***

John’s calm demeanor evaporated as they pulled into the circular drive in the front of the big brick house. It had suddenly dawned on him what a bad idea this was. He must have been out of his mind to agree to meet the entire Cochran family at once. He didn’t move from where he was seated in the car, he just stared at the front door of the house and felt his stomach plummet to the vicinity of his ankles. Miss Parker, however, wasn’t in an understanding mood.

“I see that look on your face and you can forget it. I invested valua
ble time to get this dressed up.  I
t took me a good fifteen minutes to hook up this
phonytail
, much less the rest of this ensemble, and if you think we’re going to skulk back to Ann Arbor without meeting these people you’ve got another think coming,” she said in a voice that would tolerate no nonsense.

He was watching her face while she told him off and was struck again by how pretty she really was. For some reason the words slipped out of his mouth before his common sense had a chance to catch up.

“Miss Parker, you amaze me, you really do. Where have you been hiding all this beauty? You’re quite lovely, you know that?”

“How utterly charming,” she said in a disinterested deadpan voice. “Now get those long legs out of this car and come open my door so we can go into the house. That woman is going to die of anticipation if we don’t. You have a choice of socializing for an hour or two or listening to me bitch all the way back to Ann Arbor. Which do you prefer?”

In two seconds he was out of the car and openin
g her door like the perfect gentl
eman he’d been raised to be.

The woman Miss Parker was referring to was Bennie, who’d stationed herself by the front door so she could watch out for John. The first thing on the agenda was to introduce her father to the son he’d never acknowledged, and that would require privacy. She opened the door as soon as John rang the bell and stood there smiling for all she was worth.

“Welcome, John.” She extended her hands to him and he took them, smiling down at her. “I’m so glad you were able to come,” she said warmly, accompanying the words with a kiss on the cheek. John couldn’t seem to stop himself; he gave her a hug, a safe, brotherly hug.

Bennie was the first to recover
herself
and smiled at
Miss Parker. “Your friend is going to think we’re terribly rude,” she said apologetically. “I do apologize, I’m Benita Deveraux but almost everyone calls me Bennie,” she said winsomely.

John had the grace to flush at forgetting his manners. “I’m sorry, too. This is Miss Parker, Benita. She’s been ghostwriting my book and doing just about everything else she can to help me get settled here in Michigan. I wouldn’t be here without her,” he said with
an honesty
that only he and Miss Parker recognized.

“It’s nice to meet you, but don’t pay him any attention. My name is Nina, Nina Whitney. Miss Parker is an invention of his,” she said, giving John a look devoid of any expression.

“Well, Nina, it’s nice to meet you,” Bennie said, extending her hand. As they shook hands, she added that she’d love to hear the story behind the Miss Parker moniker.

“John will have to be the one to tell you that,” Nina said demurely. “I’m sure you two have things to discuss. May I be of some help in the kitchen?”

Bennie glanced at John and smiled at Nina gratefully, pleased that she
was making the situation a littl
e less awkward. “I’m sure my sisters-in-law would love some help. I’ll take you into the kitchen and introduce you,” she said.

Nina waved her suggestion aside. “Just point me in the right direction, I can introduce myself,” she said in a cheery voice totally unlike her normal means of communicating. “See you soon.” She gave John a look that he would have sworn was meant to comfort him if he hadn’t known her better.

Now it was
just
he and Benita, something that should have made him uncomfortable, but didn’t
.
He was too curious and she was too disarming to let the moment become strained.

“John, Daddy’s in the study. I thought you’d want some privacy so I asked him to wait there.
”
She took his hand again and looked into his eyes. “Are you ready for this?” she asked with a tremulous smile.

“Never more ready.
Let’s go,” John said with more assurance than he was feeling. They crossed the big living room and approached a wide paneled double door. Bennie knocked softly and released John’s hand to slide the doors apart. They entered the room and John was face-to-face with the man who’d given him life, Andrew Berna
rd Cochran, Senior.

Benita quietl
y made the introductions, saying, “John, this is my father. Daddy, this is John.”

The two men shook hands silentl
y, each taking the measure of the other. John was struck by the resemblance that even he could see: the height, the coloring, the nose and mouth were just like his. So this was what he’d look like in his seventies. The thought made him smile
his crooked smile that was so much like his half-brothers.
Taking that as a show of relaxation, Bennie asked if the two men needed anything. When both said no, she said, “Well, then, I’m going to leave you alone for a while,” and
discreetly
left the room.

Benny sighed deeply as he looked at John. Even if he wanted to he couldn’t have denied that this was his son. He looked as much like Benny as any of this other sons. They looked at each other for a long moment, the silence broken by Benny, who gestured to the sofa.

“Why don’t we sit down? I’m sure you want to ask me a few questions,” he said with a sad irony.

***

Miss Parker, or Nina as she was properly named, had made
herself
useful when she got to the spacious kitchen. She introduced herself as Nina, a friend of John’s, and asked if she could be of any assistance. Angelique had gratefully welcomed her and introduced her to the other Cochran wives, Renee, Tina, and Faye.

“We could really use another hand,” Angelique admitted. “We didn’t get much notice for this, so it’s going to be pretty haphazard.
 
Not that this crew will mind much, our husbands are known to eat anything. If it’s smaller than they are and can’t get away, they’ll eat it,” she said with a laugh.

Nina looked at the array of food in amazement; if this was a casually haphazard gathering she could only imagine what the holidays were like. The women had set up a huge buffet of potato salad, coleslaw, green salad, three-bean salad, fruit salad, and
crudites
with three kinds of dip. There were two smoked turkey breasts, a spiral-sliced ham with a brown sugar glaze, and a vast assortment of sweets, including a German chocolate cake, pound cake, and a huge array of cookies, all of which looked homemade.
As
Nina’s eyes roved the incredible spread, Renee shrugged.

“Alan and Andre are grilling the chicken and steak and all the drinks are set up out there. This isn’t much, but it’s such an impromptu evening I think it’ll be okay. As long as there’s plenty of food no one will really care what they’re eating. Do you mind helping me get the tables set up outside?”

She indicated a stack of colorful cotton tablecloths on a serving cart, along with packages of
disposable plates, cups, and cutl
ery. They wheeled the cart outside where two long tables were set up on the patio, as well as several smaller tables. Folding chairs were also available, a huge row of them leaning against the garage. Nina’s eyes grew huge as she beheld more Cochran
s; Alan and Andre were efficientl
y manning a huge grill and Andrew and Adonis were just finishing the arrangement of the last tables. Renee directed a couple of teenagers to get the chairs set up.

“Prescott and Drew, when you get done with that I’ve got a couple of other things for you to do.
You’re such a big help,” she said warmly. “And where is your sister?” She looked around in vain.

“I think she’s with the aunts,” Drew replied.

Renee nodded absently and began spraying the top of each table with an antiseptic cleaner and wiping it down with paper towels. Nina followed suit and soon each table was ready to be covered with a bright cloth, lending the backyard a festive air. The women worked quickly and efficiently, placing a large, heavy candleholder in the middle of each table to keep the tablecloths in place. Renee was saying something about lanterns that mystified Nina completely until Andrew and Donnie appeared with a couple of strings of large illuminated paper lanterns, which they strung up in next to no time. Nina watched in amazement
.

“I take it you folks entertain a lot
You
seem to have this down to a science,” she remarked, waving her hand to encompass till the activity going on around them.

Renee smiled and agreed. “We do a lot of entertaining at home because there’s just too many of us to do otherwise. There aren’t too many restaurants that really enjoy seeing this horde descend upon them. Sometimes we go out to brunch after church or to celebrate a birthday, but not often.”

Nina looked around at the tall handsome men and asked curiously, “So which one of these is yours?” Andrew overheard the question and joined the two women, putting his arm around his wife and kissing her soundly.