The Wives of Beverly Row 1: Lust Has a New Address (6 page)

“And that’s not Hank.”

“That’s not Hank at all. He’s so gentle. He’s kind. But he’s
too
gentle, if you know what I mean.”

“I think I do.”

Ariel looked at Veronica. She really was a beautiful woman and now Ariel saw that there was so much more to her than she’d originally noticed. On the surface Veronica was prim and proper and looked like the perfect wife, but underneath, she was a whirling mess of emotion and desire. And she wasn’t being satisfied.

Veronica leaned over and whispered in Ariel’s ear.

“I probably shouldn’t even say this, but what I want more than anything is to be taken
in the ass
by a man who wants me so badly he’s ready to explode! That’s what I want and I want it so bad it hurts.”

“You want butt sex!” Ariel said, laughing out loud.

“I want it so hard I can’t walk the next day!”

IX

“M
OM, WHERE ARE THE SHORTS
we bought last week?”

Ariel rolled her eyes. Becky had been fretting about getting ready for over an hour. She always got like this when her dad was coming to see her. She got so excited. Ariel was happy for her but sometimes she worried. She knew how it felt to be let down by Gabe and in the back of her mind she knew that he would let Becky down sooner or later.

“They’re in your closet, honey.”

She heard Becky run across the landing to her bedroom.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The doorbell rang.

“I’m not ready, mom. Will you get it?”

Ariel breathed deeply. She’d seen Gabe on numerous occasions since the divorce and he’d always been polite and friendly. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a little apprehensive as she went to the door. She stopped at the mirror and examined herself. She’d already touched up her makeup but she brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Darling,” Gabe said when she opened the door.

“I’m not your darling.”

“Oh, I know, honey, but you know what they say about old habits.”

“That they’ll kill you?” Ariel said, dryly. She made her way back to the kitchen and Gabe followed her.

“Nice spread,” he said.

“It’s amazing what a couple of million dollars will get you these days,” she said. Gabe looked embarrassed when she said that but she didn’t care. It was all money that he’d purposely hidden from his own family for years. “Your daughter will be down in a minute.”

“Mom,” Becky called from upstairs. “Can I wear your lipstick?”

“You don’t need lipstick. It’s not a date, honey.”

“Please.”

Ariel sighed. She looked at Gabe. “It’s a date,” he whispered from across the kitchen.

Ariel called up the stairs. “Just a little, honey. And hurry along. I’m sure your dad’s anxious to get going.”

Gabe was giving her his charming, boyish smile. It was the same smile she’d fallen for when she was eighteen and he’d gotten her pregnant. He’d always had a way with her and he knew it.

“So what are you going to see?”

“I don’t know. We’ll just go down to the Chinese Theatre and see what’s playing.”

“You’ll be back by ten? It’s a school night.”

“Sure. Has she eaten dinner?”

“No, she wanted to eat with you.”

Gabe smiled. He looked at Ariel. She knew he still found her attractive, even after all the years and all the things they’d been through. She found him attractive too but she’d been through so much with him that she didn’t allow herself to notice.

“Ariel,” he said.

She looked up at him.

“Thanks for making this so pleasant.”

She nodded. “Of course,” she said.

*

B
ECKY WAS THRILLED TO BE
sitting in the front seat of her dad’s jeep, next to him. He had a way of making her feel special that no one else in the world seemed capable of managing. When she was with him, everything seemed to be a game, a great big fun game that the whole world was in on.

“What do you want to see?” he said to her.

She looked up at him and smiled. “I don’t know. Whatever’s in the Imax?”

“That’s my girl.”

“I was taught by the best.”

“Yes you were,” he said and put his arm around her.

“Have you been to the movies lately, dad?”

“Without you? Perish the thought.”

She laughed. “Me neither, so pretty much any movie’s up for grabs.”

They drove down Hollywood Boulevard with the roof down, listening to loud rap music, and when they reached Highland her dad used the valet parking. She loved that about going out with her dad. He always knew what to do. He knew where to go, he knew where to find the valet, he knew where to eat, he seemed to know everything.

In the lobby, Gabe bought the biggest popcorn, frozen yoghurt, candy, pop, even a hotdog.

“What about dinner?” she said.

“I’ll be ready to eat,” he said. “Don’t you worry about that.”

*

A
FTER THE MOVIE GABE ASKED
Becky where she wanted to go for dinner.

“Mel’s,” she said.

“You’re the boss.”

They walked to the diner and asked for a table for two.

“Are we celebrating anything tonight, folks?” the waitress said.

“Well, this is her favorite restaurant so I guess we’re celebrating that,” Gabe said.

“Come on, honey,” the waitress said to Becky. “I’ve got a table right by the window for you.”

They looked over the menus but Becky knew what she wanted.

“Could I get spaghetti and meatballs and a chocolate shake?” she said.

“Sure, honey, and you, mister?”

Becky liked the waitress. She was a little heavy, in her forties, and had a foreign accent, maybe Russian.

“I’ll have the meatloaf,” Gabe said.

“Gravy and mashed potatoes?”

“Gravy and fries, please. And coffee.”

“Sugar and cream?”

“Black.”

Becky sat across from her father and smiled at him. Her milkshake arrived and it was delicious.

“So how’s the new house?” Gabe said.

“It’s really great, dad. We love it. We have our own pool, a huge TV, all new kitchen stuff. Mom loves it.”

“That’s great. I’m glad.”

“Mom got me a lot of new clothes.”

“That’s great, honey.”

Becky knew about the whole issue of her father hiding money from her mother. She’d heard all about it. She wanted to ask him about it but she was afraid of upsetting him. She wanted to know what it was that made him want to hide money from his own daughter, to let his own family be poor when they could have been rich, but she didn’t want to ruin the evening.

“What about you, dad?” Becky said. “When do I get to see your new place?”

“Oh, I’ll take you there soon, sweetie.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“What?” Gabe said, looking a little flustered.

“Well, do you?”

“No. I don’t have a girlfriend. Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Not yet,” Becky said, “but there’s a boy on our street who’s smoking hot.”

“And what age is he?”

“My age.”

“Sixteen?”

“Well, he’s close to my age.”

“Well, just remember, boy’s can be a lot meaner than you think, so be wary.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of that, dad.”

He looked at her meaningfully. He picked up his coffee and took a sip. Becky looked outside. People were strolling along the street enjoying the cool evening. She saw a couple pushing a stroller, an older man in a suit walking a dog, a kid on a skateboard.

“Hey,” Gabe said gently. “Listen up. There’s something I’ve been meaning to bring up. I know that you’ve probably got some issues about the things I did when I was married to your mother.”

Becky shrugged. She hadn’t wanted to get into a discussion like this.

“And you have every right to feel that way, Rebecca. You really do. I can’t explain why I was the way I was. I couldn’t even promise that I’d be any different if I got back together with your mom.”

“But you’re not going to get back together, are you?”

He shook his head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I just meant, I know I was a bad husband and a bad father. I accept that. I know that about myself. And I just want you to know that it was because of issues that I’ve had for my whole life. I had them before you were born and I’ll probably have them for as long as I live.”

“You can choose to change, dad.”

“I know, honey. I’m not making excuses. I’m just trying to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

Their food arrived. Gabe looked at Becky.

“That I love you, honey. I love you more than anything on earth. That’s the God’s honest truth. None of the things that I did, none of the secrets I kept from your mother, nothing can change that fact. I know I messed up. And I know I’m lucky to be even sitting here with you after the things I did. But I always loved you, through everything, and I always will.”

Becky didn’t say anything immediately. She picked up her fork and twisted it into the spaghetti.

“You used to call that Sgetti when you were little.”

“Did I?” she said.

He nodded. Becky got up from her seat and scooted into Gabe’s side of the booth, next to him.

“Let’s sit together,” she said.

He smiled and put his arm around her and they ate like that.

X

“R
ELAX,” ARIEL SAID AS BECKY
got out of the car. “The first day at a new school is always nerve-racking.”

“I just don’t see why I can’t keep going to Pomona.”

“We’re starting a new life up here. That means a new school, sweetie.”

Becky kissed her mother and took a deep breath as she got out of the car. She had to admit it was a beautiful building. The school had been founded over a hundred years ago, one of the first in LA, and the children of so many actors and actresses had attended over the years that it had its own VIP entrance and security team. The thought of famous people’s kids being at the school only made her more nervous about her first day.

There was a girl sitting on the wall by the side of the steps. She was about Becky’s age and very pretty with a short skirt and knee-high socks.

“Hey,” Becky said.

The girl looked at her but said nothing.

Becky cleared her throat. “I’m looking for the office. I need to register.”

“You new?”

“Yeah.”

The girl rolled her eyes and hopped off the wall. Becky thought she was going to show her to the office but she just walked past her and went down the steps to say hi to some boys who were coming in.

The boys were the typical, good-looking jocks that could be found in every high school in the world. One of them picked up the pretty girl that Becky had approached and kissed her. Becky felt awkward, standing on the top of the steps, staring like an idiot.

“Who’s this?” one of the jocks said as he eyed Becky up and down.

“No one,” the pretty girl said. She didn’t even look in Becky’s direction as she and her entourage of jocks walked past.

Becky clenched her jaw. It was a habit she had when she was nervous and she stopped when she noticed she was doing it. She pulled herself together and entered the main building of Marymount. It looked more like a grand villa than a school but Becky knew it was one of the best schools in the country. She was determined to make the most of it and make her mother proud.

It was the middle of the semester so there wasn’t any orientation programs. Becky just had to find the main office and get herself enrolled for her classes. As she was walking down the corridor she saw the girl again. Now she was with a group of four other girls, all of them beautiful and confident looking with long hair and short skirts.

“There she is,” the girl with the socks said.

Becky looked over at them and they all started giggling. It was the most juvenile thing in the world, the cheerleaders laughing at the new girl, but Becky knew that there was no way around it. She was the new girl, the fresh meat. She would have to get through this in any high school so it might as well be here.

As she walked past the girls, one of them threw a piece of gum at her. It hit her on the side of the face. Becky put her hand up to her cheek and wiped it. The girls were all staring at her. Becky didn’t know what to do, but she knew one thing: If she didn’t stand up for herself, no one else would.

“You girls got a problem?” she said.

“It speaks,” one of the girls squealed and they all laughed again.

Becky looked up and down the hall for a sign leading to the office. She didn’t see one. There were some more kids in the corridor and they were beginning to look at her because of the scene the mean girls were creating. Becky wished she could just run down the corridor and hide in a washroom but she knew that would just make her look even more ridiculous.

Instead she put on as tough a face as she knew how and walked toward the girls. As she approached them they stopped laughing. It was always the same way with bullies. As soon as you stood up to them they backed right off. The girl with the knee-high socks came to the front of the group. She seemed to be the leader of the little clique and the only one with any courage.

All of them seemed to be about Becky’s grade, sophomore. She stood in front of the girl with the socks. She was tall, had beautifully smooth skin, shoulder-length brown hair, expensive clothes. She was about as intimidating as a sixteen-year-old girl could be but Becky refused to be afraid of her. She knew she was pretty herself. She had blonde hair, she was wearing a cute tartan skirt that her mother had taken her out to buy the day before. She knew she looked good and she reminded herself of that as she stood in front of the group of mean girls.

She was sweating because of the intensity of the situation. The strap of her bag on her shoulder felt heavy. She took a deep breath.

“Look,” she said to the girl, “you don’t know me so I’m going to give you a second chance. By the end of the week, every boy on every sports team in this school is going to know who I am. If they don’t, they’re going to want to know me. I’m going to be popular as fuck in this school and if you don’t tell me right now where the main office is, I’m going to spend the rest of the year making sure you regret it.”