Читать книгу Suddenly Single - Millie Criswell - Страница 11

LISA HAD BEEN WAITING anxiously all weekend for her sister’s return, so when she heard Francie’s voice on Leo’s voice mail Sunday night, letting him know that she and Mark were back, Lisa hightailed it down the hallway to Francie’s apartment.

Mark answered the door, looking tired, well kissed and as disgustingly handsome as ever. Apparently the trip to Buck’s County had gone well, or else he and Francie had just engaged in a round of fabulous sex.

She rather thought it was the latter.

“Lisa, this is a surprise! What are you doing here? I thought you were in Florida.”

“Sorry to intrude, Mark, but I need to talk to Francie. It’s about why I’m not in Florida—a long sad story, and one I’d rather not tell twice, if you don’t mind.” One she’d rather not tell at all, if she were truthful with herself, but Francie was going to ask probing questions and would expect direct answers.

Though Francie was only two years older than Lisa, she took her job as big sister seriously. But then, Francie took most things seriously. She was the reliable, conscientious, mostly well-behaved daughter, while Lisa was the screwup. Her present situation was testament to that.

“Sure, come on in. Francie’s in the shower. She’ll just be a few more minutes. Let’s have a beer. I’ll tell you about our trip to Buck’s County. We spent the weekend looking at houses and we think we’ve found the one we want, if we can get our price. The sellers seem anxious, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

“That’s great!” Following her brother-in-law into the kitchen, Lisa seated herself at the table, accepting the frosty beer mug he handed her. “I can’t wait to hear all about it. Did you take lots of pictures?” Mark’s eyebrow shot up in disbelief, and Lisa shook her head. “Stupid question to ask a photographer, huh?”

“I took several rolls of film, but I haven’t had a chance to develop them yet. Francie took some nice shots with the digital camera, but I won’t steal her thunder. She’ll want to show you those herself.”

Wrapped in a blue terry-cloth bathrobe, Francie stepped into the kitchen at that moment, her smile melting into concern when she spotted her younger sister. “I thought I heard voices. What on earth are you doing here, Lisa? Is it Mom? Is she okay?”

“Why does everyone always think there’s something wrong with Mom? That woman is going to outlive us all.” Lisa sighed. “Mom’s fine. I’m the one with the problem.”

Francie looked meaningfully at her husband, who was wise enough to take the hint. “I’ve got work to do,” he said, “so I’ll say good-night.” Mark kissed his wife’s cheek, flashing her a smile full of promise. “Don’t be too long, okay?”

After her brother-in-law departed, Lisa stuck her finger down her throat and made gagging sounds. “You two are going to make me throw up, if you’re not careful. Are you always like this?” She shook her head, a bemused smile lighting her face.

“Like what?”

“Sickeningly sweet, lovey-dovey, moony-eyed and horny as rabbits? I feel like I’m developing diabetes just being in the same room with you two sweethearts.”

Used to her sister’s outrageous remarks, Francie merely grinned. “We’re newlyweds. What do you expect? I’m sure you and Alex behave in exactly the same way. I’d bet money on it, in fact.”

Not anymore, Lisa thought. “You’d lose. Alex and I have split. We’re kaput, done, finito.”

“What?” Francie dropped into the chair across from her sister, a stunned look on her face. “What happened? I thought you two were madly in love with each other.”

“Love wasn’t the problem, and neither was sex, which was fabulous, I might add. It was his parents. Alex changed once we got to Florida and began living with them.” Lisa detailed her treatment at Miriam and Rupert Mackenzie’s hands. “When he refused to stand up for me, I got fed up and left.”

“But to leave without telling anyone, Lisa. They must be frantic with worry.”

Lisa laughed, though there was no humor in it. “I haven’t heard a peep from anyone, including Alex.” And that hurt; it hurt a lot. After all, she had a cell phone. Of course, the battery was dead, and it had only been a couple of days, but still…

“I guess he must realize, as I do, that our marriage was a huge mistake. I’m sure he’s relieved as hell that I left. It saved him the trouble of kicking me out.”

Francie reached out to clasp her sister’s hand. “I’m sure that’s not true, Lisa. And you shouldn’t think such things. Alex loves you. I’m positive of that.”

“How do you know? You only met him that one time, right before we moved to Florida.”

“Because I saw the way he looked at you. You can’t pretend love. It was there in his eyes, for all the world to see.”

“Oh, pleeze! You are going to make me throw up. I doubt there’s any such thing as love. Okay, maybe you and Mark have the genuine thing. I’m not sure what Alex and I experienced, probably lust. After all, the sex was fabulous—but you can’t expect sex to make up for all that was lacking in our relationship.”

Francie arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Such as?”

“We have nothing in common. Alex comes from money, oodles of it. He’s never experienced hard knocks, rejection or parental disapproval. He works for his father’s company; they think he walks on water.”

“So what’s wrong with that? Lots of children work for their parents.”

“The Mackenzies’ blood isn’t blue, France, it’s positively green, as in greenbacks. They’re into all sorts of social activities, like the country club and yachting. Hell, I can’t even swim. I nearly drowned in the kiddy pool at the club. Miriam was not pleased.”

“But you knew about the differences between you and Alex before you married him. You knew he was a mortgage banker and a great deal more conservative than you could ever hope to be. In fact, I worried at your decision to elope. Alex was definitely different from the other men you’d dated.”

Lisa was thoughtful for a moment as she sipped her beer. “I guess I wanted to impress Mom and Dad, be the kind of daughter they wanted. You were getting married to Mark, and I wanted to share in some of the adoration and attention. Pathetic, huh?”

Francie sighed, concern for her sister etched on her face. “Oh, Lisa…”

“Or maybe I thought I had fallen in love and wasn’t paying attention to the differences in our personalities and upbringing. I don’t really know. I just know I screwed up. Big-time.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“Well, originally I was going to ask you for a place to stay until I could get things worked out financially, but then Leo pointed out that might not be a very good idea, so I’ve been staying at his apartment all weekend, trying to come up with a plan.”

Eyes widening, Francie said, “You and Leo? Now there’s an odd couple if there ever was one.”

Offended, Lisa stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“Leo is a compulsive neat freak. Your messy ways will drive him nuts.”

“Oh that.” She waved away her sister’s objection with a flick of her wrist. “He’s already made a few comments about water rings on the table and toothpaste caps being left off. Jeez! Leo’s worse than Mom.”

“How long are you going to live there?”

“Leo’s offer is only good for the weekend, but I’m hoping he’ll give me a permanent place to stay after he sees how well we get on. I’m trying to impress him.”

“With what? You don’t clean. You don’t know a thing about wine. And I don’t need to point out that you’re the wrong sex.”

Lisa made a face. “Like Leo, I like to party and have a good time. And we share a love of toffee peanuts, not to mention that I’m a big Cher fan.”

“Yes, you and Leo are well suited in that way.” Francie shook her head. “I’m not sure, however, that peanuts and parties will be enough to lure him to your way of thinking, Lisa. It takes him a while to warm up to people.”

“Maybe you can help. Put in a good word for me.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but don’t expect me to work miracles. Leo knows you better than you think.”

Lisa brightened instantly. “That should go in my favor then, right?”

Clearing her throat, Francie hesitated, then nodded. “Uh, yeah, right.”

ALEX DROPPED his black leather carry-on bag in the front hallway of Bill Connor’s Philadelphia apartment, where he’d arranged to stay temporarily.

Bill was his former college roommate, and they’d always gotten along well, sharing similar views on politics, movies and music. The one thing they differed on was women—Alex admired them; Bill consumed them.

“I really appreciate your putting me up, Bill. It’s been a long time since Harvard.”

“What are old roommates for?” the lawyer said, nodding toward the kitchen. “Come on in, your room’s all ready. I admit I was surprised when you called out of the blue last night. It’s been what, three years since our last college reunion?”

“Four, actually. Time flies when you’re having fun,” Alex said, sarcasm edging his words.

Lisa had only been gone three days, and he missed her like crazy. He’d fought the urge to phone, to beg her to come back…fearing what her answer would be. He’d come to Philadelphia so he could reason with her, show her how much he loved and wanted her back.

Grabbing two Bud Lights from the refrigerator, Bill handed Alex one and they headed into the living room, which reeked of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. Alex took a seat on the big brown-leather recliner.

“And have you been having fun, buddy?”

“I did for a while. I got married a few months back.” And it had been fun—fun, fantastic and fabulous.

What the hell had happened?

“No shit! That’s great. Congratulations! Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Her name’s Lisa…Lisa Morelli. But…she’s left me.”

“No shit! That sucks. For another guy? I’m sorry as hell, Alex.” Bill patted his friend’s arm consolingly. “If you need a good lawyer, let me know. I’ve got lots of experience in these matters.”

Alex shook his head and sidestepped the topic of divorce. “I’m not exactly sure of the reason for Lisa leaving like she did. She just packed up and split in the middle of the night, no note, no explanation. The bed was empty when I awoke the next morning.” And after they’d made such glorious love, and she’d told him how much she adored him—it had added insult to injury.

“Pardon me for saying so, Alex, but this woman sounds like an insensitive bitch. You might have dodged a bullet on this one. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

Heaving a sigh, Alex replied, “That’s just it. Lisa’s not a bitch. She’s great. She’s impulsive, I’ll admit that. But she’s not the type to purposely hurt someone.”

“So why did she leave then?”

“My guess is that it had something to do with my parents’ treatment of her. You know how snobbish they can be. They never accepted Lisa, never thought she was good enough for me, and they let her know it, in many subtle and not so subtle ways.

“Maybe she got tired of their rudeness.” Alex shook his head. “I don’t know for sure because she never complained or said a word. I know now that I should have stepped in and tried to smooth things out, but I was hoping they would resolve their differences once they got to know each other better.”

“Man, it’s tough when your parents are involved. There’s that whole divided loyalties thing to consider.”

“But that’s just it, Bill. My loyalties weren’t…aren’t divided. I’m on Lisa’s side, but I guess I never let her know that, not really, not like I should have. I screwed up, royally.”

“Yeah, well after you’ve been married a time or two you figure these things out.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me that you’re divorced? Hell, I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even know you were married.”

With his sandy hair, deep blue eyes and dimpled smile, Bill had always been popular with the girls at school. He flitted from one relationship to the next, never tying himself down long enough to get serious about anyone in particular. So to find out his friend had been married, not once, but twice, came as quite a shock to Alex.

“It was brief—they both were. Each one of my marriages lasted less than a year. I wasn’t good at the whole matrimony thing.”

Alex sipped his beer, then said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you dating anyone now?”

“Yeah.” Bill grinned. “Annie’s a flight attendant. She’s gone a lot, which works out good for both of us.

That way we don’t get on each other’s nerves. I like her a lot, but I like my space even more.”

“I miss Lisa like crazy. I want her back. I’ll do anything to make that happen.”

Bill’s lawyerly instincts came rushing to the fore-front. “Whoa, buddy! Don’t start talking like that, or she’ll have you by the balls before you know what hit you.”

“I don’t care. Lisa’s the only thing in this world that matters to me. I just wish I’d let her know that. She probably hates me now, probably thinks I’m as shallow as my parents.”

“It’s hard to know what a woman’s thinking, Alex. I find it’s easier not to even try. It’s just too damn frustrating. And being men, we usually end up guessing wrong anyway.”

Alex shrugged, wondering if his friend was right.

“The Eagles are playing the Washington Redskins tonight at nine. Let’s order in some Chinese and drown our sorrow in a few dozen beers while we watch the game. Things might be clearer in the morning when you’re not so tired.”

Alex nodded. He was tired and confused and hurt. And he had no answers for any of the unsettling questions that kept popping into his mind.

The only thing he knew for sure was that Lisa was gone, and he had to figure out a way to get her back. How he was going to do that, he wasn’t certain. He knew only that his future happiness depended on it.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, you’re going to look for an apartment? You’re married. Have you forgotten? Married women live with their husbands. And they don’t live with other men, even if those men are fanooks.”

At times like this, Lisa wondered why she visited her mother. It was too early in the morning to be driven insane, and Josephine definitely made her crazy with her unwanted opinions and advice. But after her talk with Francie the previous evening, she’d had the strongest urge to see her mom.

Now, of course, she wished she had just taken an enema and gotten whatever it was out of her system.

Lisa gulped down the strong, black liquid that her mother tried to pass off as coffee and replied, “I told you, Mom, Alex and I are through. I’m not going to live with a man who doesn’t respect me and is tied to his mother’s apron strings. I didn’t know when I married Alex that I was marrying a mama’s boy.”

“How could you know? You barely knew the man.”

Lisa winced at the truth of her mother’s words.

“And so what if he shows respect? What’s wrong with that? A son should respect his mother. Look at your brother. Jack’s crazy about me. He’s a good boy, your brother.”

“First of all, Jack is a teenager and should still be tied to your apron strings. Alex, on the other hand, is a grown man—a grown married man. He should have cleaved to his wife, like the Bible says. Go ask Father Scaletti if you don’t believe me.”

Josephine was of the opinion that everything that came out of the parish priest’s mouth was gospel, so Lisa figured she might as well use it to bolster her case.

“For someone who rarely goes to church, it surprises me that you would know what the Bible says.” Josephine took her daughter’s hand, her tone softening.

“Why must you make everything so difficult, Lisa? You made vows with this man. Now you must try and work it out between you. Just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean you should throw it away.

“Marriage takes work. No one said it was easy. You think your father and I didn’t have our share of problems over the years? We did. But we stuck it out, for better or worse.”

Lisa heaved a dispirited sigh. “I knew you wouldn’t take my side, Mom. You never do. Now if it were Francie having the problem, things would be different. You always stand up for her.”

“Your sister uses her head before she rushes into things.”

“You mean before she rushes out of the church, don’t you? I hope you’re not forgetting the three failed wedding attempts you paid for before Mark Fielding came along to hog-tie and drag Francie to the altar.”

“I’m not saying your sister can’t be stubborn, but most of the time Francie listens, something you don’t do. You think you know everything.

“I tried to tell you that the kind of men you were dating were wrong for you. Who dates a female impersonator? Tell me that? But would you listen? And now that you’ve found a normal one, you want to get rid of him.” Exasperated, Josephine slapped her hand to her forehead.

“If you met his parents, you wouldn’t think Alex was normal.”

“I spoke to his mother on the phone, after you told us you had eloped. She’s a cold fish, that woman. I could tell right away. But I’m sure she loves her son the way I love you and wants him to be happy.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah. Miriam wants Alex to be happy, just not with me. She doesn’t think I’m good enough for him, Ma. And his father feels the same way.”

Upon hearing that, Josephine let loose a string of curses, and then crossed herself to atone for her sin. “What is this woman, Mussolini, that she thinks my daughter isn’t good enough? I should call her up and give her a piece of my mind.”

“It wouldn’t do any good. Honey oozes out of Miriam Mackenzie’s sweet Southern belle mouth. She looks right at you and smiles, and then pushes a knife into your back. I’ve got so many holes I should be leaking like a sieve.”

From the start, Miriam had gone out of her way to cause trouble between Lisa and Alex. The woman was always bringing her son’s old girlfriends into the conversation, going on about how accomplished they were, how beautiful, how much Alex had adored them, trying to get a rise out of Lisa. She would probe for information about Lisa’s education, knowing her daughter-in-law had only a two-year degree from a junior college, or ask her about certain poets or composers in an attempt to make Lisa look stupid, which usually worked.

Lisa was up on her Aerosmith and Bono, but didn’t know a thing about Bach or Beethoven.

Crossing herself again for good measure, Josephine pondered her daughter’s comments, and then tried to reason with her. “I didn’t get along good with your father’s mother, either, before she died. God rest Carmela’s miserable soul. She was a nasty old woman, your grandmother. In fact, Carmela Morelli was so nasty that she made my mother, who’s no picnic, look like a saint.”

“I heard that!” Grandma Abrizzi shouted from the living room, making Lisa smile.

The elderly woman, who lived with Lisa’s parents, was a feisty old gal who said what she thought, shooting straight from the hip and rarely taking any prisoners.

Lisa liked to think she was a lot like her.

“But you didn’t marry Alex’s mother,” Josephine continued. “You married Alex. And I assume, since you went to so much trouble to marry him quickly and outside the sanctity of the church—” she kissed the gold cross hanging around her neck “—that you love this husband of yours.”

Not about to give her mother any ammunition that the wily woman could use against her, Lisa hedged. “I don’t know. All I know is that our marriage was a mistake. As soon as I can afford to hire a lawyer, I’m going to file for divorce.”

“That would be a sin, for more than one reason.”

“Would you have me live my life and be unhappy? Is that what you want for me?”

“I want all my children to be happy. I want what is best for you, Lisa. You know that. But in my heart I don’t believe that divorcing Alex Mackenzie is going to make you happy. In fact, I think it will make you very unhappy and you will come to regret it.”

Lisa felt betrayed by what she deemed her mother’s lack of support and understanding. “There’s no point in discussing this further, Mom. We are not going to agree.”

No surprise there! They rarely agreed on anything.

Sighing deeply, Josephine shook her head at her daughter’s stubbornness. “So where are you going to get the money to rent an apartment?”

“I intend to find a job to support myself. I’ve already decided that I don’t want any of Alexander’s money.”

“Have you spoken to Leo about letting you live with him a while longer? You know you can always come home, if he says no.”

“I know, Mom, and I appreciate that.” Not!

“I’m going to talk to Leo this evening when he gets home from work. I’m sure he’ll expect me to be gone. He sort of hinted at that this morning. But Francie’s going to put in a good word for me today, so maybe he’ll be more agreeable by tonight.”

“For all of Leo’s sins in the eyes of God, he has a good heart.”

“Yeah. Let’s just hope his generosity and goodness extends to me.”

“Living with a gay man is going to be awkward, no? What about his…” Josephine searched for the right word. “Friends?”

Lisa shrugged. “That doesn’t bother me in the least. To each his own, I say.”

“You young people have strange ideas. I don’t understand your way of thinking.”

Now that was one statement of Josephine Morelli’s that she could agree with wholeheartedly.