Once Upon Another Time (41 page)

As I shook her
hand, I was surprised to know Mr. Davis had a sister, and that he had mentioned
me to her.  “It’s nice to meet you as well.  I apologize for being so bold.”

“Don’t worry about
it,” she said, while waving her hand dismissively.

I nodded.  “So,
how’s he doing?”

“The doctor said
he’s strong and that he has seen signs that lead him to believe that Otis might
rouse from his coma soon.”

It sounded funny
to hear him referred to by his first name.  “That’s wonderful news.  When he comes
out of his coma, could you please let him know I was here.”

“Of course,”
Althea said, through softly painted lips.

As I walked out of
the hospital that day and crossed over the circular drive to step onto the
grassy boulevard, I stopped under the maple tree and turned back to look at the
building.  Nine floors of windows spanned from left to right on the half
hexagon shaped hospital.  As I stared at the building, I wondered about all the
people who had died there and of those, how many had never found their way
out.  Are spirits roaming hospital corridors night after night?  A morbid
thought of Matt being lost and roaming the corridors of South County Hospital
had flashed in my mind.

* * * *

As I pulled my SUV
into the driveway at my parents’ house, my father zoomed past on his riding
lawnmower as if he were racing the Daytona 500, his long gray hair waving in
the wind like a checkered flag. 

“Hi Grandpa,”
Nicholas shouted as he waved out the passenger window. 

“Mom,” said
Nicholas, as he hoisted his backpack over his shoulder.  “Grandma asked me what
I wanted for my birthday.  I brought a picture of the interactive pet robot
dinosaur to show her.”

“Where did you get
a picture?”  

“I found it online
and printed it out.”

“There’s my boy,”
said my father, letting the lawnmower idle, as he opened the door and helped
Nicholas out of the vehicle.  I got out and walked over to my father.  “Hey,”
he said, while hopping back on the lawnmower.  “Just a warning, your mother
wants you to try out one of her newest concoctions.”

“You mean those
fruity smoothies she’s testing for your new business venture?”

“Sort of,” he said
with a grimace, as he took off on the lawnmower.

As I walked
through the garage and opened the door that led into the laundry room, I heard the
loud whir of the blender and found Mother in the kitchen.  She’d been
experimenting with fruit drink concoctions and tasty vegetable drinks for weeks. 
Only ten days before the grand opening of “Good Vibrations,” their new juice
bar business, and she wasn’t one hundred percent sure they had enough flavors
on the menu. 

“Aubrey, what do
you think about wheatgrass juice with a twist of lime?” she hollered over the
high-pitch, noisy blender that whirled a foamy dark green mixture.  “One ounce
of this juice has the nutritional equivalent of two and a half pounds of
vegetables.”

Sounded great, but
one would have to imbibe the slimy looking green monster to get those
benefits.  Mother turned the blender off, poured a sampling of the juice into a
shot glass, and did her signature Cher flip to toss her hair off her
shoulders. 

“Here, taste it,”
she said, practically putting the glass up to my face. 

“Um, I trust it’s
good.  Don’t think I need to,” I said, wrenching my neck to get my face far
away from the glass.

“Please,” she said
with a pathetically sad look on her face. 

Taking the glass of
juice, I examined its lumpy texture.  “I take it this isn’t going to taste like
the fruity smoothies or delicious tomato basil drinks you’ve been testing on
Nicholas and me.”

“Hmm, it might
have a little bite.  It’s more along the lines of a healthy herbal drink.  One
that has lots of vitamins,” she said, while anxiously waiting for me to try her
new concoction.

 On the count of
three, I chucked it down my throat like a shooter.  Within a matter of seconds,
my face must have contorted into not less than ten different expressions of
disgust.  Mother seemed totally oblivious as she smiled at me in anticipation
of my comments.  All I could think about was that the taste was probably
equivalent to drinking sweat.

“Well,” she said. 

I clucked my
tongue and swallowed repeatedly.  “Let’s just say it isn’t exactly
a-party-for-your-mouth kind of taste.” 

“So, is that a
no?” she asked, looking disappointed. 

“Grandma, look what
I have,” Nicholas said pulling the page he’d printed of the toy dinosaur out of
his Spider-Man backpack.  It was a remote controlled, new-age silver
plastic-bodied, head turning, tail whipping tyrannosaurus rex.  Not exactly the
traditional looking dinosaur we’d seen at the museum.

“Wow, that’s
pretty cool!”

“I know Grandma;
this is what I want for my birthday.  It has a laser tracking system that draws
his path to the prey, and he can also play tug of war.” 

I mused at the
thought of perhaps convincing Nicholas a toy like that qualified as a pet, so I
wouldn’t have to get him that rabbit he had wanted.

As they jabbered
on about his birthday, I was hoping Nicholas wouldn’t bring Gavin into the
conversation.  I still hadn’t decided how and when I was going to tell him
Gavin was no longer in our lives.  Equally bad was the thought of telling
Mother.  I was certain she had secretly stashed bridal shower gifts somewhere
in the house. 

Morning dawned and
I had awakened from a morose dream about Mr. Davis in the hospital sharing a
bright yellow urine-filled Foley bag with Matt. 

My surroundings
registered in fragments.  Slowly turning blades on the ceiling fan straight
above…night table to my right…alarm clock facing me.  It was six-ten in the
morning.  The beginning of daylight seeped into the room through a slit in the
drapes.  I felt sweaty, as if I’d just run a marathon.  Throwing the sheet off
my body, I happened to recall the conversation I had with my parents the
evening before.

Gavin’s name came
up once, but I quickly changed the subject and told them about Mr. Davis having
a heart attack.  My father said he’d go to St. Theresa’s and light a votive
prayer candle for him.  Mother was going to perform a Buddhist chant. 

As the blades of
the ceiling fan slowly whirled above me and cooled my body, I was overcome with
dread.  It was Black Friday, the day I would end my relationship with the man I
had thought was my soul mate.  I tried to convince myself I didn’t care.  Who
wants a procrastinator, a boyfriend wannabe, someone who drools when he sleeps
and enters Forrest Gump territory every time the TV is tuned to a sports channel? 

I turned on my
side, adjusted the pillow under my head, and gazed at the pink ballerina snow
globe on my dresser. 
You could always play hooky from work again,
she
seemed to say with her relentless stare.

I got out of bed
and marched through the house, woke Nicholas up for school, made him a bowl of
oatmeal, had a cup of coffee, showered, dressed and got Nicholas on the school
bus.  As I drove to work, I practiced my breakup speech to Gavin.  

Oh, you want to
know why I haven’t returned your calls.  Well, let me just sum that up in one
word--Vanessa!  By the way, as far as her attributes, I think most people would
agree she’s like the prize in a Cracker Jack box--a cheap throwaway.  However,
if you prefer that kind of woman to someone who has done everything but balance
a three-legged stool on the tip of her nose to show you she loves you, then
fine--you deserve each other.  So now it’s over, that was then, and (deep sigh)
this is now. 

By the time I had
reached the office, Gavin’s deceitfulness weighed so heavily on my mind, I felt
as if I could spit rocks.  I planned on setting up our talk for early evening. 
I’d made arrangements; Mother was picking Nicholas up from school.  I couldn’t
wait to rid myself of the constant ball of tension I’d carried inside me for
the past five days.

Barreling off the
elevator, I charged down the hall in a huff, mumbling to myself.  As I reached
my office the fast-paced click, click, click of my stilettos hitting the hardwood
flooring, came to an abrupt halt. 

Speak of the
devil!

My heart pounded
like a jackhammer, while looking at the back of Gavin’s head.  He was in my
office occupying the black leather chair that faced my desk.  Slightly angled, I
could see his arms folded across his chest, legs stretched out with ankles
crossed.

“Good morning
Aubrey,” Ashley called.  She was standing in the alcove next to the printer.

“Morning,” I said,
as my stomach tightened.  This was not a good way to start my day.  I wasn’t
fully prepared.  My immediate thought was to turn around and walk away before
he noticed me.  Just excuses, I told myself, for not wanting to have to say
goodbye. 

Get a spine
McCory
.

“Ashley, how long
has Gavin been waiting for me?”

“I don’t know.  He
was here when I came in.”

“Thanks.”  Taking
a deep breath of courage, I opened the door and breezed into my office.

Gavin glanced over
his shoulder, uncrossed his ankles, and sat straighter in the chair.  Wanting
to savor his strikingly handsome face, and great body dressed in pressed blue
jeans, a bright white dress shirt and navy sports jacket, I quickly looked away. 
His clean, just showered aloe scent filled the air like a Glade Plug-in.  This
had to be why breakup via text messaging had become so popular.  Nevertheless,
it was going to take more than his physical attributes and my desire for him to
squelch the fury I felt inside of me. 

Even in the airy
openness of the sun-filled room, it was as if the walls were closing in.  I
felt his eyes on me, as I slipped past him and walked around to my desk. 
Placing my briefcase on the credenza, I sat down and began straightening a
stack of papers when my gaze meandered across my desk and then up at Gavin. 

“Okay, Aubrey I’m
here.  Is this what you wanted?  Now can we talk?”

As our eyes met, I’d
forgotten everything I’d rehearsed in my head.  My mind was like a blank canvas. 
Although I could pick up the brush, I was unable to make even the smallest of
strokes.

“I guess I’ll go
first,” Gavin said, his voice sounding weary.  “You want to tell me what’s
happened in our relationship to make you treat me like I’m some kind of leper? 
You don’t return my phone calls.  You don’t explain your behavior toward me. 
Nothing.  You’ve kept me in limbo for almost a week.  Why?”

I thought I might
as well cut to the chase.  “Well,” I said softly, “about last Sunday, didn’t
you tell me you were going to do some work at the office?”

“Yeah, and that’s
exactly what I did.”

As I cast my eyes down
at the Rhode Island paperweight on my desk, I wanted to reach for it and crash
it through the window.  “Hmm, all afternoon?”

I looked up just
as he winced.  “Um...”  He cleared his throat.  “Not all afternoon.”  He
fidgeted, diverted his eyes from mine, and nervously glanced around the room. 
I saw no sense in playing the usual cat and mouse game. 

“I saw you at the
mall with Vanessa.  To be exact, I saw the two of you in the jewelry store
looking at engagement rings.”

Gavin looked down
at his scuffed up loafers and squeezed his eyes shut, as if he were in pain
from the shoes cutting off the circulation in his toes.  He looked at me
sheepishly, his lips parted.  “You saw us?”

“Did I stutter?  Why
did I have to find out like that?  Couldn’t you have been honest?  Couldn’t you
have told me you made a mistake and that you really are in love with her?  I’m
not going to deny that it wouldn’t have hurt, but finding out this way ripped
my heart out.”

Gavin slid to the
edge of his seat and leaned forward blinking and squinting, as if the light in
the office was suddenly too bright.  He looked at me quizzically.  “You think
that Vanessa and I...that we were...that the two of us...?”

“What
ever
,”
I said sarcastically and folded my arms across my chest.

He stood, rubbed
his eyes, then his forehead.  He looked as if he were trying to rub out the
truth when he abruptly began to laugh, while I was ready to beam him with the
paperweight. 

“Oh, honey.”  He
sighed, while walking around to my side of the desk.  “Come here.”  He put his
hands on my shoulders and guided me to my feet.  As his strong arms began to
circle my waist, I quickly grabbed hold of his wrists and pushed him away.

“Aubrey,” he said,
as he reached to touch my face. 

Swatting his hand
away I said, “Just get on with it!”

“Okay,” he said,
putting his hands up in mock surrender.  “First of all, I was never so scared
in all my life, as I was this past week when I thought I had lost you.  You
have no idea,” he said, shaking his head. 

Okay buddy, I
think I do.

“I was afraid of
seeing you today.  Afraid you’d tell me that you changed your mind about us or
that things were moving too fast and you needed some space.  I didn’t know what
to think.  It was terrible not seeing you...not being able to talk to you.”

Okay, now I was
frigging confused.  Was talking in circles part of his MO when getting busted? 
Or was he was trying to tell me he wanted to marry the skank and keep me as
some sort of booby prize?  Like David, wanting to have an affair with Laura
even though he was married.

“Vanessa and I
have been friends for eons.  She can be a little scatterbrained once in a while,
but she’s got a good heart and she’s a wonderful person,” he said.

Here it comes, the
BS I thought, he’s going to tell me he can’t make a choice between the spawn of
Satan, who I seriously thought of throwing a bottle of holy water at, and me so
he wants us both.