The Family You Choose (12 page)

"I want what’s mine," Michael said, not
taking his eyes off of Alex. "I’m more than entitled at this point,
don’t you think?"

"As soon as you’re twenty-five-"

"You’re the trustee!" Michael shouted, and
Miranda jumped back. "You know as well as I do that you can change
that, especially since I’m so close to turning twenty-five."

"You have the house."

"I want the rest of it!"

"You have an allowance, as well as your
job-"

"Which I’m sure is really part of his
allowance," Miranda muttered.

"Shut up!"

"No, this isn’t your house anymore! You don’t
get to talk to me like that. The only one who is going to shut up
is you!"

"You get my money for me, little girl, and
I’ll be happy to never speak to you again."

"If only."

"I’m sure you have your ways."

"If I did, I would have gotten you out of
here years ago."

"Then I guess you’re just as useless as you
ever were."

"Yet another compliment."

"Are you done now?" They looked at each
other, then looked at Alex. "Michael, I have tried to tell you
repeatedly, it isn’t what you think. You’ll never have to worry
about the necessities, but-"

"I have seen the account, so stop trying to
low ball me."

"What are you talking about?"

"The one that you opened right after my
parents died. Did you really think I wouldn’t find it? Why do you
think I wanted a job at your investment firm?"

Alex took a deep breath. "Michael, that isn’t
what you think it is."

"That account is worth millions, and I will
not be cheated by you again."

Miranda scoffed, but Alex didn’t say a word.
Michael was shaking in anger. It was the first time she’d ever seen
him lose control in front of Alex. "My parents, my house, my money,
my life—you took all of it away from me! I can’t get my parents
back, but I can have everything else. And I will, or you’re going
to regret it." Without saying another word, he stood up and
left.

Miranda didn't even wait for the door to
slam. "Has he lost his mind?"

Alex had both hands on the back of his chair
and stared at his glass. "No," Alex said, shaking his head. "He
just remembers things differently."

"What did he mean about his parents?"

"Miranda," he said at last, "sometimes
getting the truth isn’t everything you think it’s going to be."

~~~

Miranda endured another sleepless night. When
she came down to breakfast she could see that Alex had as well. She
also wasn’t at all surprised when he announced that he had to leave
for a business trip that evening.

She took a deep breath. "What time?"

"My flight is at nine tonight. It actually
works better; I’ll be getting in just in time for the meeting."

"In New York?"

"It’s a very large international
teleconference. My favorite," he said, sipping his coffee.

"Then you should take me with you."

Alex looked up, surprised. Then he smiled. "I
don’t think you’ll enjoy yourself. I’m going to be in meetings
nonstop for a few days, and I won’t have much time to show you
around."

"If you’re going to be gone for so long," she
said, before she could think it through, "then you have to take me
out to dinner."

"My flight is at nine."

"So take me out at five."

"Don’t you have a class?"

"It won’t kill me to miss one class."

Alex thought for a moment. "Alright, tell me
where and I’ll meet you there at five."

Miranda missed not one but two classes that
afternoon. She went to Neiman Marcus and bought the sexiest black
dress she could find. She took two hours to get ready, then took a
cab to the restaurant. She waited in the private room until Alex
arrived.

A well cut black dress makes most women look
good, but it makes a beautiful woman breathtaking. And indeed, Alex
couldn’t breathe for a moment, and he couldn’t hide it. He took her
hand and she stood up.

"You look beautiful."

"You shouldn’t sound so surprised."

"I’m not."

They went to their table and ordered. Miranda
made Alex talk about his trip and why he was going, and listened
with genuine interest. She talked about her classes, and he
listened as if he were hearing all of it for the first time. They
hardly touched their food, although Alex did finish his brandy.

It was six thirty when the check came. "I
think we should go home," Miranda said simply. "Your flight, I
mean."

"Of course, my flight."

They held hands as they waited for the car to
come around. Miranda looked at Alex with a small smile as they sat
in the car. He looked at her but didn't say anything.

They were quiet the short distance to the
house, but Miranda still smiled. Keith came out to park the car.
Miranda knew he’d make himself scarce. "I have to get some papers,"
Alex said, looking at the door as he unlocked it. Miranda nodded,
following him into his study.

She closed the door behind him and turned off
the lights. Without a word, he kissed her. She kissed him back. He
squeezed her hips; she wrapped her arms around his waist. He took
off her coat and she took off his jacket. He hungrily traced the
line of her back, from shoulder to hip. She loosened his tie and
unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt, then pulled his
shirt out of his pants and warmed her hands on his hairy skin.

"Tell me you love me," she whispered.

"You know I do," he said. "I try so hard not
to, but you don’t make it easy."

"You’re not as smart as you pretend to be,
because there’s no reason not to now. I’m not a child. I’m
twenty-two."

He kissed her on her neck, and she thought
she was going to melt into the floor. "You’ve noticed that I’m a
little older than you are."

"Just pretend I’m your third or fourth trophy
wife, and it won’t seem wrong."

"You’re not a trophy. You’re the reason I get
up in the morning."

"Then stop pushing me away."

"You deserve something better."

She kissed him again. "There isn’t any
better. You’re the one I want, the one I’ve always wanted."

In the dark, she could see him smile a little
bit. "You could have anyone you wanted, you know. It’s stupid to
want me."

"Calling me names isn’t going to get you out
of this."

"But why me? There’s no reason to have a
crush on me now."

"You are incredibly handsome and sexy, in
case no one ever told you."

"They did, I just didn’t care what they
thought. Whoever uses phrases like ‘The most eligible bachelor in
Boston’ doesn’t really deserve to be taken seriously."

"And they’re wrong," Miranda said, standing
on her tip toes so she could kiss his forehead. "Because you aren’t
eligible, you’re mine."

"Are you sure you want me?"

"You’re the one always trying to escape from
me. You know how I feel."

"But you can do better," he whispered. "You
wouldn’t want me if you knew everything about me."

"You’re wrong," she said, then kissed him
again. "You like your secrets too much, my love. I’ll want you no
matter what."

"What are people going to say?"

"To hell with them," Miranda said. "And
besides, just consider yourself lucky that I don’t have any parents
you need to go through."

Immediately, Alex’s body stiffened, and his
arms dropped off of her. He took a step back. He switched on the
light, then fixed his shirt and tie as if nothing had happened. Her
eyes filled with tears as he reached for his jacket. "I’m sorry. I
really have to get going. You know how security at the airport can
be these days."

She stood up straight. "Right," she said.
"Well, make sure you get a look at your face before you get to your
meeting. I don’t think you want to have to explain to everyone why
you have lipstick all over your mouth." She walked out of the room
and up the stairs. She heard him leave five minutes later, without
so much as walking up the stairs to check on her.

She got out of her dress and took off her
makeup, then packed another bag of things to take to Zainab’s
apartment in the morning.

Emily was quiet when she and Mitch met that
night. What was wrong?
Jesus
, he thought irritably,
what
did I do now?
He leaned back and closed his eyes, noticing her
disappointment, but what else was new?

She walked ahead of him when they got off the
train, holding the doors open just long enough for him to enter.
Alright, he shouldn’t have ignored her. By the time they got into
their studio, she wouldn’t look at him.

He slammed the door. "Why do I always have to
ask what it is?"

"Oh, grow up!" Emily scowled as she reached
into her bag. She took something out and threw it at him. He caught
it. It took him a second to figure out what he was looking at.

"Oh. Honey. Wow. Why didn’t you-"

"Because you’re being a passive aggressive
jerk!" She stormed into the bathroom and turned on the water. He
knew he should go after her, but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t take
his eyes off of the plus sign on the pregnancy test in his
hand.

~~~

Miranda called Emily the next day. She
sounded flat. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I’m just...a little rundown."

"Is everything okay?"

Silence. "How about I tell you on
Saturday?"

"How about you come over so we can talk about
it?"

"Um..."

"We’ll be alone."

"Oh."

"And I’ll get the best vegan pastries I can
find, even if I have to ship them in from New York."

Emily laughed. "How can I say no?"

"You can’t. That’s the whole point."

Miranda was sitting in the living room at
five, reading the paper, when Keith announced Michael. "Ugh!" she
said, throwing down the paper. Keith showed him in. "Is there
anything you need now?"

"A dry martini, I think," Michael said,
sitting in Miranda’s chair. Miranda rolled her eyes, but nodded to
Keith.

She closed the door and turned to him. "I
assume you know that Alex is out of town?"

"I do."

"Then you’re an idiot," she said with her
arms crossed. "And after you drink your martini, go."

"Is that anyway to talk to...what would you
call us?"

"How about best of enemies?"

"I’m not your enemy. I’m just another of
Alex’s victims."

Keith knocked on the door. Miranda grabbed
the martini and Keith quickly left. She slammed the drink down on
the banquette. "There. Bottoms up."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might not be
what you see before you? That I could have been better?"

"Yes," she answered truthfully. "What didn’t
occur to me was that several million dollars would be the magic
cure for what ailed you."

"Doesn’t money fix everything?"

"Ask Jessie. Actually, don’t, because she
really is a victim. Yours, to be exact."

"Oh, please. We were just kids. Stuff
happens."

"Jessie was a kid. You were an adult, at
least physically. And you were certainly an adult when you
assaulted Emily, you bastard. You want to argue some kind of mental
impairment, that’s fine, but you should probably know that that’s
likely to hurt your chances to get your hands on that money you
want so badly."

"Okay, Miranda," Michael sighed. "Why don’t
you get everything off your chest so we can talk like two
reasonable adults?"

"Why don’t you just get out before I stick
this fire poker down your throat?"

He shook his head, stood up and drank his
martini, olive and all. "You never asked," he said, casually
holding his empty martini glass.

Déjà vu. "Never asked what?"

"About my parents."

There it was. "Fine Michael. Please, tell me
about your parents."

"I don’t want to bore you with the details of
their lives. Just what happened that led to their deaths and to my
tragic entrance into your life."

"I know how they died. And it’s very sad. No
one should have to lose the people they love like that, especially
when they’re so young. It almost makes me feel bad for you.
Almost."

"No, you actually do feel very bad for me,
don’t you? You always have. That’s why you never really did
anything to me; no matter how much you thought you hated me. Poor,
pitiful little Michael."

"I don’t think ‘poor’ or ‘little’ was what I
usually thought. And, actually, it was more ‘pathetic’ than
‘pitiful.’"

"Well, it wasn’t always like that. My parents
loved me, and I loved them, and it wasn’t perfect, but it was home.
I was safe."

"I’m sorry," Miranda said sincerely. "You
were older than I was. You knew what you were missing. I—I just
have a few little memories, here and there."

"You see, that’s the thing. There you go." He
put down the glass. "The tragedy wasn’t when they died. It was
right before. Because those things—they aren’t accidents are
they?"

Miranda blinked. "Fine, if you want. But..."
She couldn’t resist. "What does Alex have to do with any of that?
He was your father’s friend."

She thought he shuddered just a little bit.
"Some friend. I guess Alex was used to sharing everything that my
father had, including his women."

Miranda froze. "His women? Alex was having an
affair with your mother?"

Michael laughed. "Jesus, no. My mother hated
Alex. She saw him for what he was—someone riding my dad’s
connections to get what he wanted. He was doing that even when they
were kids in school. I mean the other one."

She knew he was saying this to hurt her. "I’m
sorry, Michael. I’m sorry your dad was such a dog that he was
stepping out on your mother enough for you to notice. No one should
have to grow up with that."