Gotta Get Next To You (21 page)

“You went there to prance in front of John
Mandeville and his wife. Admit it.”

“I could care less what that crumbucket and
his crummette think. Believe me.” Charlene wore a smug half
smile.

“Charlene—”

“I’ve told you a million times, call me
Mother. And what is this tone? You sound like Mama, for goodness’
sakes.” Charlene brushed back her hair with one hand.

“You knew he’d be there,” Andrea pressed on,
pointing a forefinger at her.

Charlene lifted a shoulder. “I didn’t think
about it really.”

“Mother,” Andrea said through clenched
teeth.

“All right, so maybe I did have reason to
think he would be there.” When Andrea’s lips pursed with
disapproval, Charlene pouted. “It’s a free country, for crying out
loud!”

“Listen to me, this isn’t a game. The clinic
is too important to a lot of people. You could even say it’s a
life-line. We can prevent serious illness, even premature deaths,
with the care we give. I—”

“Fine, fine. No lectures. Sheesh, you’re more
like your grandmother every day.” Charlene put her glass down.

Andrea sighed with frustration. “And you act
more childish the older you get.”

“Now, just a minute, young woman, I’ve had
enough of your condescension.” Charlene glared at her.

“Charlene—” Andrea bit off the rest of her
sentence when Charlene’s mouth flew open. “Mother, you never
thought that maybe your dramatic scenes might affect my ability to
work and live in Bayou Blue?”

“These people know better. John wouldn’t
allow it, baby.” Charlene patted her knee. “Don’t you worry.”
“You’ve overlooked something. Victoria Mandeville has influence of
her own.”

“Pooh! Vicky may be a poor dresser and a
little plain, but she’s not stupid. She won’t cross John, not on
this.” Charlene smiled with confidence.

Andrea tried to figure her mother out,
something she’d been trying to do since childhood.

“You seem very sure of that.”

“I am. The board is behind you one hundred
percent. Of course, you’re doing a fantastic job,” Charlene said.
“We told them so. It’s better to let them take credit for finding a
wonderful director.”

The word “we” rang in her ears as loud as a
bell. Still Andrea kept control. “Thanks. And thank John for me.”
“He was happy to do it after I..." Charlene’s voice faded. Her eyes
widened with alarm. “Let me explain.” Andrea stood up. “Oh, you
better believe I want to hear an explanation.”

“There’s that tone again.”

“You lied to me from day one. What was your
story? Oh yeah, some pal of yours in Health Services told you about
the job. I should have known better.”

“Andrea, calm down!” Charlene stood and tried
to get her attention.

“I don’t need or want his help. Why can’t you
under-stand that? He wasn’t there for me.”

“What does it matter? He owed you that much
and more! I never lied about wanting you home, wanting to get
closer to you.” Charlene raised her voice to be heard.

Andrea continued to pace and talk. “I don’t
want anything from him. Louis Noble was more man than he’ll ever
be. He was my father in every true sense of the word.”

“You listen to me, Andrea. I did it for
you.”

Andrea whirled around and faced Charlene.
“For me? I’m supposed to be happy you crawled to that man again for
me?”

Charlene’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve never crawled
to him or any man,” she snapped.

“John Mandeville never once lifted a finger
to help you or openly claim me. We’re his dirty little secret. The
way he snuck around with you shows what he thought about us.”

“You stop it this instant.” Charlene shook a
finger in her face.

“And you let him do it! You were so happy to
bag a rich man; you didn’t care about your self-respect or me!”
Andrea shouted. “In fact, I’ll bet you used getting me a job as an
excuse to see him.”

Charlene flinched as if she’d been slapped.
Her eyes glistened with tears. “How dare you talk to me this way,”
she said in a wavering voice. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my
life, but you could at least give me some credit. I made a choice
to be with John, that’s true. But if you think I ever let him
debase me, then you don’t know me very well.”

“You two met in the shadows, ducking and
hiding so his white society pals wouldn’t be offended.” Andrea did
not back down.

“We kept our affair secret, yes. It was
reality back then, Andrea. We were just kids trying to figure out
what we felt and what to do about it. Interracial dating wasn’t
just frowned on. It could get someone hurt, even killed.”

Andrea shivered at the grave tone of
Charlene’s voice. Her mother’s expression was just as solemn, her
face pinched. Andrea had never seen her so stricken.

“Did something happen?” Andrea asked
quietly.

“Daddy wanted to confront John. It took two
of his brothers and all three of your uncles to hold him down when
he found out.” Charlene sank onto the sofa. “Mama begged them to
stay all night to make sure he wouldn’t do something crazy. I would
never have been able to live with it if he’d been hurt.”

“My Lord,” Andrea murmured.

“I was young and in love, or at least what I
thought was love.” Charlene massaged her forehead. “Even after I
married Louis, it took me years to realize how stupid I’d
been.”

Andrea thought of the whispers about Louis
and how his marriage to Charlene had changed his life for the
worse. Always the talk ended abruptly when they realized Andrea was
nearby. Charlene seemed in the mood to talk openly about Louis and
their marriage for the first time. Questions crowded her head, but
dread froze her tongue. It was still a subject too painful to
broach. Andrea recoiled from probing such a tender wound. Not yet,
she told herself. She wasn’t ready.

“I didn’t mean to be so bitter.” Andrea tried
to hold back the tears, but they escaped anyway.

Charlene hugged Andrea. “I know I haven’t
been the best mother, but I do love you.”

“And I love you, too, Mommy.” Andrea closed
her eyes and breathed in the scent of her mother’s expensive
perfume. “I’m sorry for those awful things I said.”

“Shh, don’t even think about it again.”

Charlene crooned soothingly and cradled
Andrea in her embrace. They held on to each other for comfort. Once
more they’d successfully backed away from the past.

Charlene went to her bedroom and came back
seconds later with a decorative box of facial tissues. They smiled
at each other self-consciously and dabbed at their eyes.

“I’m glad we talked about this. I really am,”
Charlene said between delicate sniffles. “You know, I think we’ve
made a breakthrough. And we didn’t have to go on one of those
trashy talk shows to do it!”

“Oh, Charlene, you’re too much!” Andrea
smiled in spite of herself. Her mother could always charm her way
out of anything too somber.

“So you’re not mad at me.” It was a statement
of certainty. Charlene was her old self again. “I knew you’d
understand.”

“Hold on, I didn’t say what you did was
right,” Andrea protested.

“Oh, will you just admit the ends justified
the means!” Charlene waved a hand dramatically. “Charlene,” Andrea
said with eyebrows raised. “You’re back in the bosom of your loving
family, you love your job, and those poor patients are getting the
best care they’ve had in years.”

“It’s more than the way John Mandeville
behaved thirty years ago. He’s trouble. Everything he’s involved in
seems to be shady.” Andrea crossed her arms again. “Now I wonder
just how much of the gossip about the clinic is true.”

“We both know about gossip. We’ve been the
subject of it before.” Charlene made a rude noise. “Don’t pay
attention to it.”

“It’s more than gossip. The records are a
mess aid I can’t find some valuable equipment.” Andrea grimaced.
“I’m going to take another look at those files. I was blaming it
all on incompetence. Now ...”

“Of course that’s all it was,” Charlene piped
up. “Listen to me, John is a ruthless businessman and he may break
a few rules.”

“A few rules? What about that insurance
scandal ten years ago?” Andrea stared at Charlene.

“He was never directly linked to anything
illegal.” “At least no one could prove it. He’s slippery,” Andrea
said.

Charlene ignored the dig and pressed on.
“Andrea, John is far from perfect, but I’ve known him for a long
time. He’ll only go so far.”

“Which is pretty far. John Mandeville could
get away with murder in this state even if they found him standing
over a dead body holding a gun,” Andrea retorted.

“Don’t exaggerate,” Charlene said with a wave
of her hand. “Besides, John wouldn’t waste his time on petty
theft.”

“Oh, I get it. Because he wears
thousand-dollar suits and steals millions, this would be beneath
him?” Andrea frowned at her reasoning.

“I never said he was a thief, so don’t put
words in my mouth.” Charlene shook a finger at Andrea’s nose.
“Shame on you, believing nasty talk about your—”

“Don’t call him my father,” Andrea cut her
off. “You know how I feel about that.”

“Okay, okay.” Charlene sighed. “Anyway, the
point is, he’s not as bad as you think.”

Andrea pressed her lips together. Charlene
had tried for the past fifteen years to convince her not to despise
John Mandeville. It didn’t work. In her own strange twist of logic,
Charlene had thought Andrea would turn to him as a father figure
after Louis died. At first Charlene had been terrified when Andrea
finally found out the truth when she was fifteen. Then she’d openly
talked about John. The result was that Andrea’s loyalty to Louis,
her true father, had deepened and her anger toward Charlene had
increased. In her mind Charlene had never appreciated Louis.
Charlene’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“Well?”

Andrea blinked back to the present. Strange
how the feelings from her childhood were still so vivid and strong.
“Well what?”

“Are you going to see John?” Charlene leaned
for-ward with a serious expression.

“You two cooked up some scheme. This is too
much. You’re having an affair with him!” Andrea fell back against
the sofa cushions.

“There is nothing between us except that we
both want the best for you. I swear it, Drea.” Charlene put a hand
on Andrea’s arm. “He really would like to make up for all those
lost years.”

Andrea shook her head. “We’re not exactly the
Brady Bunch. I can’t blend into his family.”

“Well, of course not. But you can have an
adult relationship with him. So it’ll be ... different as far as
father-and-daughter relationships go.”

“Different is right!” Andrea retorted.
“Charlene, what am I going to do with you?”

“Call me Mother.” Charlene patted her hand
and sat back.

“Oh my God,” Andrea said with a groan, and
covered her face with her hands.

“You don’t have to decide this minute. Think
about it.” Charlene popped up and went to the kitchen with the tray
and glasses. She returned moments later.

Andrea looked at her. “You must know this
whole situation is bizarre. The only reason I considered living in
Bayou Blue is because he lives miles outside of town.” Charlene sat
next to her and smiled with catlike satisfaction. “I figured you’d
think of that.”

“Wonderful. And here I thought I’d made the
decision to come home,” Andrea said.

“You did, baby. I just helped you to it,
that’s all,” Charlene replied.

“Well, you did make one good point. I can’t
see John Mandeville caring about petty theft. But I don’t see why
he cares about a health clinic that serves poor people.” Andrea
held up a hand when Charlene started to speak. “Please, don’t tell
me he’s just saintly.”

“Frankly, he likes being in control the way
his daddy and granddaddy were all those years. Mandevilles have
been running things in Lafourche Parish for over eighty years.”

“Thank you for that honest explanation.”
Andrea gazed at her in surprise.

“As I said, you’re not a little girl anymore.
I want our relationship to be special.” Charlene’s expression
seemed sincere. “And John wants to get to know you, too. He’s
mellowed in the last few years. Maybe it’s because he’s not close
to any of his children.”

“I’ll have to think about it some more.” A
whole lot more, Andrea added silently.

“Fine, subject closed.” Charlene tilted her
head to one side. “Now back to you and that magnificent man. You’re
so lucky to have him working right next to you all day long.”

Andrea glanced away from Charlene. “
‘Working’ is the right word, nothing else.”

“So you keep saying. I can’t understand why
you’re fighting it. If it were me, I’d—” Charlene stopped when
Andrea squinted at her.

“There are a half dozen reasons why Jamal is
Mr. Wrong.”

“I’ll bet you can’t remember one when he
smiles at you, my dear,” Charlene said shrewdly.

“Which makes him even more dangerous,” Andrea
tossed back.

“And it makes you even more scared. You want
to reason your way through everything. But the heart doesn’t care
about reason, logic, or if two plus two equals four.”

“I don’t want to make another mistake,”
Andrea said quietly.

Charlene put an arm around Andrea and pulled
her close. “There are no guarantees. It’ll be an even bigger
mistake to pass up what may be the love of your life.” “That’s a
stretch,” Andrea said quickly. “I hardly know him.”

Charlene sighed. “I wish there was a man that
looked at me with that kind of passion in his eyes.”

“Oh, come on,” Andrea said. Still she
shivered at the memory of how they’d touched.

“Now who’s not being honest?” Charlene
murmured. She kissed Andrea’s cheek lightly, and then got up.

“It’s almost twelve. Let’s grab lunch, maybe
a couple of shrimp salads, and talk some more.”