Broken (28 page)

30

A Miracle

N
oon
e
inside said a word except for Ray. He whispered to Larkin, "The tail I had on Patrick told me he was living with a girl. They even sent me a picture, but I had no idea they were married."

"Why didn't you tell Raif?"

"I
did
. I told him Patrick's roommate was a female, but I
didn't
tell him where she works."

"That would be?" She stretched her eyes wide.

"A gentlemen's club. She's a stripper."

"Ray." She shook her head. "You're exasperating sometimes. Too late now," scolded Larkin. "Be quiet. I want to try to hear Raif."

Ray glanced around. "So does everybody else."
He's so soft-spoken nobody will hear him. I bet they're all wondering if this will be the one time he finally snaps and yells like I do. Nope. Not my brother.

Jenna sat uncomfortably at the table. She felt every person must be staring at her. Her eyes welled with tears.

"Excuse me," said Neely softly. She went to Jenna. "Come with me." She held out her hand and took the girl to the master bedroom.

In the garden, Raif asked simply, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Where do I begin, Patrick?" He leaned his head to the side. "Two years. How did you meet her? When did you decide to get married?
How
did you get married? Why have you been lying for two years? Do you realize you've made me a criminal? I've claimed a married,
independent
child on my taxes for the last two years. Income tax fraud is a crime. Do you want the IRS to take everything I own
and
put me in jail? Talk to me, Patrick."

Patrick rubbed his chin and looked around at his mother's meticulously kept flower garden that had some kind of flowers blooming all year. The bronze, orange, crimson, and yellow mums seemed to speak encouragement to him. He took a deep breath and began.

"I met Jenna right after that plagiarism trash. The guys took me out to celebrate where she works. We started dating, and I fell in love, Dad. You know the night at Aunt Larkin's Christmas shindig when I got a call?"

Raif nodded.

"It was Jenna. She had been assaulted at work. When I saw the bruises on her arms, all I wanted to do was take care of her and make sure she was safe. I thought the best way to do that was as her husband. We went to Butler, Alabama, and got married. I couldn't tell you that Christmas because it was the first Christmas after Mom's death. You were still hurting so
much
. Then, there was the stuff with Trista and Townes followed by your involvement with Neely. Then, there was the Neely and Trista crap. Then, you were away. Then, the girls. There was never a right time."

Excuses are like asses,
floated through Patrick's mind.

"Bullshit! This is
not
about me." Raif snapped. "Colleen told me you brought a girl to dinner at Amile's, and Ray told me your roommate was a girl. You were being watched during the Lloyd stuff while everybody else was under some kind of protection. I take it you never listened to Uncle Ray's voicemail to you." He shook his head. "What is it about this girl you don't want me to know? Is she an illegal and married you for a green card?"

"No, Dad. I love her, and she loves me."

"Yeah, so much you kept her a secret until she threatened to leave you. There's something you're still hiding. What is it? If you don't tell me, I'll ask her."

"Mom's voice told me to tell you."

Chris spoke to Patrick too?
"You heard your mother's voice, and didn't listen?" Raif snorted. "She talks to me too. I listen. Now, I'm giving you the chance to come clean. Don't make me ask Jenna."

Patrick shuffled his feet in the fallen leaves. "You wouldn't."

"Watch me."

Raif went inside. "Where's Jenna?"

Larkin said, "Neely took her to y'all's room."

"Thank you."

"Dad!" Patrick shouted at the door.

With a sharp point toward his son, Raif said, "You had your chance."

Raif walked into his bedroom to see Neely holding Jenna to let her cry. She sobbed, "I don't want 'im to 'ate me, Neely. I love Patrick so much."

"It's gonna be all right, darling. Raif's here. Talk to him." She let go. "I'll be right outside."

"Be gentle," came Chris's voice.

Neely left Raif with his daughter-in-law. He said kindly, "First, I don't hate you. Why has Patrick kept you a secret? He's spouting all kinds of hogwash about my mourning and pain and problems. He's lying to me. Don't do the same. What's he keeping from me?"

"'E's ashamed of me though 'e won't say it."

"Why?" Raif shook his head as if he had not heard correctly. "You're stunning and sweet and intelligent. What could he possibly be ashamed of? Himself, I would hope."

"No, Mr. Gautier, 'e's ashamed of what I do. 'E doesn't want his family to know 'e married a stripper. I dance in a gentlemen's club, but that's all I do—dance."

She's ashamed too. That's why she's being defensive.
"Oh." He dipped his chin to his chest, a slight smile on his face. "Isn't there something else you can do?"

"Not and make the kind o' money I do."

"Hmm." Raif sniggered and covered his mouth to try and stifle a full-blown laugh. "He's also afraid I'll cut off the gravy train. He's right. He's about to have to go to work for real—more than eight weeks during the summer."

Raif sat next to the girl. "Jenna, I'd like for you to find another job even if it pays less. It's not the safest job you could have. Patrick told me you were assaulted at work. Do something with your photography. I can't continue to support Patrick. He has to grow up. Has he even been going to summer school?"

"Aye. Don't ya know? 'E said ya pay for it." She nodded vigorously.

"I pay via the account I set up for him. I put money in his account, and he writes his own checks."

"'E's taken a full load each summer. 'E'll graduate this May."

"That's had to have been tough. I know he's taken at least eighteen hours each semester. He must be worn out and so must you."

Her big blue eyes still brimmed tears when she made eye contact with her father-in-law. "Aire ya gonna stop payin' for 'is education? All 'e ever talks aboot is comin' to work with 'is da."

"No, I'll pay tuition and books, but he's going to have to work for the rest. What about you? Who pays your tuition?"

"I do."

"Not anymore. Now, you can afford to get another job. I don't hate you. I
do
wish I had known about you sooner."

"I do, too." She took a deep breath.

Raif took Jenna's hand. "Where's your family? Are you here all alone?"

"Me grandmother lives in Dublin. She's all I 'ave."

"Does she know about Patrick?"

"Aye, but I canna afford to take 'im 'ome to meet 'er."

"How would you like for me to bring her here? Maybe for Christmas? Does she know what you do?"

Jenna shook her head. "She would be mortified."

"Find another job, honey. Would you like her to come?"

"Aye. It would be a miracle."

"Call me the miracle worker. Now, do you think we could go and eat? I'm starving. I can keep a secret, too. I won't tell anybody else."

"Thank ya."

Raif and Jenna came into the sun room with his arm around her. He showed her to her spot next to Patrick, who stared at his empty plate, and took his. Raif picked up his glass. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I'm thankful for my growing family." Raif raised his glass. "The more, the merrier." He bowed his head, blessed the food, and served his plate. Jenna looked at him. He raised his glass to her. She felt warm all over. She knew a miracle had happened. She was welcome in this family.

31

The Miracle Worker

T
h
e
next day, Raif uncharacteristically went into the office. He normally took the whole Thanksgiving weekend off. First, he called Saul Blackwell for they had not had the chance to discuss the situation after dinner.

"Saul, I didn't want to bother you with this yesterday. What do I do to fix the tax thing for the last couple of years?"

"I'll take care of it, Raif. There are certain circumstances under which you can still claim a married child, maybe even his spouse. You might come out ahead in this. I'll get you whatever you need to sign. And if you do have to pay, well, you'll do what's right. We can also make payment arrangements if necessary. I'll get back to you. We may possibly be able to simply make adjustments before April 15
th
."

Raif hung up knowing his dilemma was in good hands. Next, he placed a call to Amelia Thornton on the number he had gotten from Jenna. "Mrs. Thornton, hello. I'm Raiford Gautier, Patrick's father."

The aging grandmother fretted easily. "Mr. Gautier, what's the matter? 'As somethin' 'appened to Jenna?"

"No, no. Don't worry. Everything's fine. Mrs. Thornton, I'd like to give Jenna a special Christmas gift—you. I'd like to fly you here for Christmas. I'll even gladly fly over there to meet you first and make the arrangements from that end."

"Mr. Gautier, I'm quite old. A trip to America might kill me—worse leavin' Jenna to come back might kill me."

"Then, I'm sure I could arrange for you to stay. We can begin permanent arrangements, if you'd like. I'm an architect. I could even build you a house if everything works out."

"Does Jenna want me there?"

"I think she misses you. I hear the catch in her voice when she talks about you. So, will you let me do this?"

"What kind o' man aire ya to do this for a stranger?"

"You're the grandmother of my daughter-in-law. That makes you family. We need to get the immigration process started so we can have you here by Christmas. I might take quite some time to make you a permanent resident though. I can fly out next"—Raif flipped through his calendar—"Wednesday. Will that suit you?"
I will never tell this lovely lady that Patrick kept his marriage a secret from us. Damn it, son! I am still so angry with you
.

"More than ya know, Mr. Gautier."

"Please, call me 'Raif,' and I'll call you whatever Jenna calls you."

"She calls me 'Gram.'"

"Then, 'Gram' it is. I'll see you Wednesday, Gram."

Raif's next call was to Pierre Charmant. "Raif, darling, what can I do for you?" Pierre greeted his old friend.

"You can give my daughter-in-law a job."

"Your what?"

"Yes. It seems while I was dealing with the loss of my wife, Patrick was dealing with the gain of his." Raif snorted over the line. "Patrick eloped two years ago, and finally found it necessary to tell us yesterday when the girl got fed up with living a lie and threatened to divorce him."

"That must have made interesting dinner conversation."

"You have no idea."

"Do tell."

"He married a
bonny Irish lass
." Raif affected an Irish accent. "She's a fledgling photographer. She might even have a show for you in a couple of years. Her brogue alone will bring in a crowd."

"Actually, one of my hostesses just quit. What has she been doing? Is she a student? Would this be part time?"

"Yes, to the last two questions. She has been—are you ready for this?" He took a deep breath. "She has been dancing in a gentlemen's club."

Pierre cackled. "Patrick eloped with an exotic dancer?"

"Yes."

"Raif, I'll give the girl a job if you invite me to family Thanksgiving next year."

"Why wait? Come for Christmas. Bring Charles with you. Lord, the two of you have been together thirty years. Like I toasted last night about this crazy, mixed-up, very unconventional family, 'The more the merrier.'"

"Well, I accept. I also need to talk to you about an expansion. I'd like to annex the adjacent building, but it needs a lot of renovation. Which genius can you send me to make it grand?"

"Hmm. How about another novice with a lot of talent? How about Patrick? I've seen his designs. He's good. He gets it from me." Raif chuckled. "Besides, he has to work now that he's a married man."

"Well, I know he gets his talent from his father. Of course, I'll give him a shot."

"You know, Pierre, I'll look over whatever he gives you. He has to do an internship next semester anyway. He's lucky he has a business just dying to bring him on board."

"He's lucky to be your son. Send both of them around next week. I'll see you Christmas afternoon. Give my prize artist a kiss for me."

Raif leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Lord, give me strength to deal with all of this. I've been on this emotional rollercoaster for two and a half years. Lord, I'm tired. I never realized how easy life was with Chris. I do thank you for my family. We are a miracle, aren't we? Thank you. I found my strength.

Raif's next call was to Ray. "I was wondering when my phone would ring," answered Ray. "Wanna talk?"

"Yes. Lunch at Amile's at noon."

"I'll be there."

The brothers met for lunch. Raif ordered two glasses of wine. "I need this to tell you the whole story, but I don't drink alone."

"Wow!" laughed Ray after hearing all the events. "It sounds like you really are a miracle worker."

"I'd still like to strangle Patrick, not because he married, as rash as that was. I want to knock a knot on his head for lying. How does he think that poor girl felt? It was completely selfish to keep her a secret. She really loves him, Ray."

"Well, we all know about her now. Courtney and Trista are throwing her a little surprise shower this afternoon. What d'ya say we drag Patrick to a gentlemen's club and get him wasted?"

He scowled at his twin. "There's a young man in our inner circle that's too young to go to a gentlemen's club."

"Kyle?"

Raif nodded. "He'd be hurt to be left out."

"I'm still Chief of Police until the end of the year. I'll get us a private room and sneak him in. Technically, even the groom is too young to drink."

"All right. Get everybody there. How about Bobo's? I designed the place. I've got to have a little payback. I want to see how he reacts to another exotic dancer or two. But, remember, nobody but you can know about Jenna's former job."

"I'll protect her, Raif, but Larkin already knows."

"Well, Larkin is all right."

"Jenna's really sweet. I think she's what Patrick needs, but honestly, what difference does it make that she works as a stripper? You can bet that everyone already knows. Our family is a collection of misfits, so Jenna fits right in."

While the women made Jenna feel as if she belonged with a wedding/lingerie shower in the Reynolds's home, the two Raifords poured a couple of shots of Irish whiskey for Patrick before the other men began to buy him drinks. They hooted when Bobo's authentic Arabian belly dancer gave Patrick a lap dance. All the other men in attendance laughed just as hard when Patrick pushed the woman away from him because they thought it was just good fun at the bachelor party they never got to have. Patrick glared at his father and uncle who both shrugged and grinned mischievously before taking their own shots.

Patrick could hardly stand without wobbling when he started toward his father. "Oh, hell," Raif grumbled. "I didn't want him shitfaced. I'm feeling this a bit myself." He grabbed his son around the waist. "Let's get you home."

Raif made eye contact with Dupree, who had only had a couple of beers. Dupree nodded and went to get the car.

As Raif guided Patrick through the front door, Jenna sprinted to her husband's side. "Patrick!" she said in alarm.

"He's drunk!" laughed Raif who was not completely sober.

"I've never seen 'im like this."

"And you probably never will again," assured Raif. "We threw him a little bachelor party. Everybody is a bit tipsy. Even Kyle had a couple of beers." He held up a finger. "With Saul's approval. Saul is his stepfather."

Patrick moaned, "I'm gonna be sick."

Raif steered him to the downstairs toilet where he was, indeed, sick. Raif, then, guided Patrick to bed so he could sleep it off before he himself fell onto his bed.

Lydia walked up to Raif and said, "Daddy, are you drunk?"

"Yes, baby, I am. We threw Patrick a little party to celebrate his marriage."

Lydia chided, "Well, we ladies had a party for Jenna, and none of us are drunk."

"Good point," admitted Raif. "Women are smarter than men about these things."

Jenna peeked through the open door. "Mr. Gautier, do ya need some 'elp?"

Raif sat up. "No, I'll be fine. Jenna, call me 'Dad.' All my other children-in-law—Is that a word?—call me 'Dad.'" Raif kissed Lydia on the head. "Go get Mommy."

Raif looked at Jenna after Lydia left. "I lied. Help me to the bathroom. I'm going to be sick." Jenna piloted Raif to the bathroom where he threw up as Neely came in.

"I have him now," she said. "Jenna, I've never seen
him
like this either. Thank God there's only one boy to throw a bachelor party for."

Neely helped Raif back to bed. "Go to sleep," she said. "We should all go to sleep. We have another party tomorrow."

"We do?" asked Jenna.

"Yes, tomorrow is Larkin's annual Christmas-tree-decorating party."

Raif mumbled, "Jenna's going to be a photographer. Tell Larkin to get her a camera ornament. DO NOT get a dancer!"

"He's drunk," laughed Neely. "Go to bed, darling." She placed her arm around Jenna's shoulders. "This family is just crazy, but we work because we love one another unconditionally."

Once everyone was settled, Neely called Larkin. Larkin answered, "Don't worry. I didn't get a dancer, not even a ballerina. I got a shamrock because I didn't know she was going to be a photographer. However, I did have the date back dated two years, and I had them a special first Christmas ornament made for their tree."

"Good thinking," said Neely. "Was Ray drunk?"

"Yes, and so were, Christopher, Saul, and Albert—even Papaw! Kyle was the only one who could drive home."

"I hope they can handle hangovers. Dupree drove home here. He's the only one who was sober enough. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm still bringing the shrimp dip and chips."

Neely lay down beside Raif. "I'm so tired," she whispered to no one.
Lord, I'm so tired. I've felt like this for days. Please, give me energy for the rest of the holiday season.