8
Lia was at her small kitchen table going through her bills when a knock sounded on the door the Sunday after Christmas. “Hi, sweetie.” She smiled as Taylor came into the foyer.
“Mommy!” Taylor hugged Lia’s waist. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too. Did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, wait till you see all the things Santa left me at Daddy’s. I think Santa was confused and thought I was going to be there on Christmas.” She glanced back at her father. “Candice thought so too. Right, Daddy?”
“That’s right.” He was dressed casually in jeans, a black sweater and a wool coat. All clothes Lia didn’t recognize.
“You’re going to get the stuff from the car, right Daddy?”
“Right.” He smiled down at Taylor. “Let me just get rid of these.” He was laden with bags of gifts. “Should I put them in her bedroom?” he asked Lia.
“That’s fine,” she replied coolly, thinking how much shorter he was than Joseph Craig as he walked away.
“I have lots of new toys,” Taylor said. “We left a lot at Daddy’s house because there’s so much more room there.” She slipped off her coat and handed it to Lia.
“Would you go watch TV for a little while?” Lia asked as she turned to the closet. “I need to talk to Daddy alone for a minute.”
“Okay.”
“Where’s Taylor?” Ned asked a few minutes later when he returned from his car with more gifts.
“She’s watching TV. I need to talk to you.” She felt a stirring of anxiety in her stomach.
“About what? Candice is waiting in the car.”
“I need to borrow some money,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes. “I’m broke.”
“How are you broke? I thought you had some great job with Zurtech.”
“I stopped working there a week ago.”
“You mean you were fired?”
“I quit,” she corrected. “And I don’t want to talk about it,” she added when he looked like he was going to say more. “I just need enough to help me cover the rent and some groceries. Fifteen hundred or so.”
“You quit? Jesus, Lia.”
“I don’t want to discuss this with you.”
“Oh, but you want to borrow money from me?” He opened his eyes wider. “Maybe you should have looked at how low your bank account was before you quit your fucking job. You’re unbelievable.” He turned and reached for the doorknob. “Borrow the money from your mother.”
“Ned, no.” She grabbed his arm. “I can’t. I owe her too much already. She paid for my school.” She hated the desperation she could hear in her voice. She should have just taken another advance on her credit card.
He looked pointedly at the hand gripping his arm. “You aren’t my responsibility anymore.”
Lia dropped her hand to her side. “Well Taylor is, and based on the cars you drive and the clothes you wear, you aren’t hurting for money.”
“My clothes and cars are none of your business.”
She stared at him, wondering why he hated her so much. He was the one who had left her, and yet he treated her as if she had done something to him. “I’ll pay you back.”
“I won’t hold my breath.” He turned and reached for the doorknob.
“Where are you going?”
“To get my checkbook from the car.”
He was back several minutes later, a check in hand. “You can thank Candice for this. And we do expect to be paid back.”
The check was from Candice Merrick’s account. She wanted to rip it up and throw it at him, but she couldn’t. She needed the money. She’d overspent in October and November, not realizing her job would suddenly come to an end. And now she was in trouble. She only had one hundred and twenty-five dollars in her checking account, and her rent was due on the first of the month.
“You will tell me when you get a raise, right?” She looked up from the check.
“What do you mean?”
“The child support is based on your income.”
“So?”
“So, are you still making the same amount of money you were when we came up with the agreement?”
He turned to the door. “I hand you a check for fifteen hundred and you accuse me of not paying you enough?” He shook his head. “Yeah. I’m still making the same money.”
“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Taylor?”
“Say goodbye for me.” He opened the door and hesitated. “This is the last time I’m bailing you out, Lia.”
“Happy New Year, Martha.” Joseph stopped in front of his secretary’s desk the day after his return from Switzerland. “How was your holiday?”
“Wonderful,” she said, looking up from a stack of mail she was sorting. “I see you made it back in one piece.”
He smiled. “No tree jumped out in front of me this year.” The year prior, he’d returned from his winter holiday with a cast on his arm.
“And how about Ms. Paige? Did she fare as well?”
“Yes, I brought her back in one piece too.”
“Good. I hope it was relaxing.”
“It was.” He set a ring box on her desk. “Please return that to Cartier. You can find the receipt in my email. And would you get Nick Prossi on the line for me?”
Lia was reading an online job posting when her cell phone began to ring just after 10:00 a.m. She glanced at the display and, after identifying a Washington DC exchange, brought he phone to her ear.
“Happy New Year, Lia,” said an achingly familiar voice.
“Hi, Joseph.” She was surprised and pleased at how normal her voice sounded. She’d been consumed with thoughts about him since their meeting.
“How are you? How was your holiday?”
“It was fine,” she lied. She’d actually had a terrible week, worrying about money and trying to find a job. “I’m sure it wasn’t as nice as yours.” She closed the computer and stood up from the kitchen table, the room suddenly not feeling big enough.
“Gstaad is beautiful at Christmastime. Do you ski?”
“When I was younger, but I haven’t been since I was married. Ned didn’t ski and I…” She trailed off, realizing she was rambling. “No, I don’t ski anymore.”
“You should take it up again. Taylor’s at the perfect age.”
“I should,” she said, knowing she was a long way from being able to afford to take Taylor skiing. “When did you get back?”
“Yesterday.”
“You must be tired.” She dropped down onto her bed.
“Not particularly. I slept on the plane.”
“Ah, first class,” she guessed. “You couldn’t say that if you flew in economy.”
He chuckled softly. “No and, uh, I wouldn’t go to Europe if I had to fly economy. I’m too big for those seats.”
“That’s true,” Lia agreed, imagining him. He was at least six foot four, maybe taller.
“How’s your job search going?”
“Slow,” she sighed. “Everyone’s been away for the holidays.”
“I just got off the phone with Nick Prossi.”
“Of Prossi Designs?” Prossi Designs was a high-end athletic clothing line.
“That’s the one. He’s my law partner’s brother and a personal friend of mine. He’s expecting your call.”
“Really?” She couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Really. Do you have a pen?”
“Yes.” She jotted down the number he recited. “What kind of job? I mean, I’m not being picky. I just want to be prepared when I call.”
“I told him you were interested in finance, but your degree is general business so there are other options as well. Nick’s a good guy—you’ll enjoy working with him.”
She gripped the phone. It sounded like he was saying she already had a job. “Thank you, Joseph. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.” She closed her eyes, afraid she might cry.
“I’m happy to help. Are you going to call him now?”
“Well, I thought I would do a little research first and then call him in an hour or two.”
“Or you could call him now,” he said, and she knew he was telling her the job was already hers. “He’s expecting your call.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Lia. I’ll be in touch.”
“Hi.” Kathy smiled, stepping back from the doorway as Joseph entered her foyer later that evening. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to see you.” He touched her waist as he met her lips for a brief kiss.
“You needed to see me?” She snaked her hands up around his neck as she leaned into him. “You just spent ten days with me.”
“I know.” He gripped her hands and slowly pulled them from his neck. “We need to talk.”
“We do?” She frowned as she stepped back from him, crossing her arms over her chest. “What do we need to talk about?” Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her face was free of makeup. “What’s the matter?”
“I just—we need to talk.”
“Joseph?” She frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” He began walking back towards her family room. “I just want to talk.”
“You’re not going to take off your coat?”
He retraced his steps to the foyer as he shrugged out of his cashmere coat. Moments later, he was sitting beside her on the white linen couch in her family room, his arm stretched out along the back of the cushions behind her.
“Are you okay?”
He moved his hand to the side of her face, letting his fingers trail over her cheekbone, his eyes following the movement. “You’re so beautiful.” He met her eyes. “I never stop thinking that when I look at you.” He breathed in deeply and let his hand drop back to the cushion.
“Joseph, you’re scaring me. Are you okay?” She touched his hand.
“I don’t know.” His gaze traveled to the sitcom showing on her flat-screen television.
“What’s going on?”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he dropped his face into his hands.
“Did something happen at work?”
“No.” He turned his head, his gaze meeting hers. “This isn’t working for me.”
Her face paled. “What are you talking about? What isn’t working for you?”
“Us.” He sat up and turned to her, his eyes looking into hers. “I can’t do it anymore.”
“I don’t understand.” Tears came to her eyes. “We just spent ten days together. I thought we had a good time.”
“We did, but it’s never going to be more than that. And you’re looking for more.”
“I’ve never said anything about more. I’ve never pressured you.”
“Kathy?” He turned his head to the side. “I know what you want, and I’m not the man who will give it to you.”
“Joseph—”
“I’m never going to marry you.”
She pulled her head back as if she’d been hit, tears coming to her eyes. “I don’t understand. I—I thought you loved me.”
“I do,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand. “I do love you. It isn’t you—it’s me.”
“What does that mean? Did something happen in Gstaad? Tell me what’s changed,” she pleaded. “I don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t feel right. Something is missing for me.”
“Maybe you need more time. Maybe—”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Are you breaking up with me?” she whispered, pulling her hand from his. “Are you telling me you don’t want to see me anymore?”
“Yes,” he said, his eyes meeting hers. “You deserve someone who—”
“Get out!” she cried, coming to her feet. “Leave.” She pointed towards the hallway.
“Kathy?” He came to his feet and moved to her, gripping her arm.
“Don’t touch me!” she cried, pulling her arm back. “Get out of my fucking house!”
“Kathy, please. Don’t act like this.”
“Like what? Like what, Joseph? Like you’ve broken my heart?” She wiped at the tears that were falling from her eyes.
“It doesn’t have to end like this,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of good times we—”
“I don’t want to ever see you again,” she whispered, meeting his eyes. “I don’t want you to call me in a few days because you need to have sex.”
“Kathy.” He shook his head. “Please, don’t. I’m sorry,” he said again.
“Me too,” she managed to say. “Now please leave.”
He watched her in silence for several seconds and then he was crossing to the front door, retrieving his coat and walking out into the chilly January evening.