Seeing Red (35 page)

“I know, but we can’t just ignore it. Leave it to
me. We’ll do something as soon as you’re better. Okay?” Heather
whined.

Oliver nodded.

“No, promise that we’ll do something when you’re
better.” Heather whined some more.

“Okay. Okay. I promise.” He had both hands up in
surrender.

Heather smiled triumphantly. “I love planning
parties!” She squealed.

“I see that.” Oliver smiled.

“I wanted to wish Xander a happy birthday, but he
doesn’t seem to be around. Guess I’ll send him a text.” Jill said
as she grabbed her phone and began typing.

“Ladies, I can’t thank you enough for all your
help.” He grabbed them and gave them a big group hug before they
left.

The night before the trip, Heather walked in,
whistling and holding a bag from Neiman Marcus.

“What’s that?” Jill asked.

“Our dresses for the gala.”

“What?”

“Oliver gave me his extra ticket for the trip, and I
know that all of you have a plus-one ticket, so I’m either your
date, Oliver’s date, or Xander’s date. You pick.”

“I’m not going.”

“You don’t like fancy parties? What girl would hate
getting all dressed up and going dancin’?”

“No. I’m not going on the trip, Heather.”

“Yes, you are honey. The boys will be here tomorrow
morning, and we’re flying to that island of yours. On Saturday
night, you and I are going to get all prettied up and go to this
party with a couple of tall, blond, gorgeous men. You wouldn’t
stand your boys up, would you? Or me for that matter. Sugar, the
man of my dreams might be waiting for me over there. Would you do
that to your friend? Deny her finding her future husband?”

“Yes, I would.”

Heather laughed. “Okay, sweetie, but I am going to
leave you with one thought. I don’t know what game you’re playing
with those boys, but they are both head over heels over you, and
they are some mighty fine-looking men. They are going to be all
dressed up in nice tuxedos with a room full of women gawking at
them, so don’t come cryin’ to me when they’re swept off their feet
by some gorgeous rich non-psychic, non-dramatic debutante.”

“Are you calling me dramatic?” Jill laughed.

“I certainly am. You have all these issues that
you’ve made up in that mind of yours. You’re causing yourself and
those boys all sorts of heartache. Just decide already.”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about. There
isn’t a decision to be made. I don’t care who they get swept up
by.”

“Sure you don’t, darlin’. Bless your stubborn,
little heart.”

“And, by the way, Heather, I’ve been getting a
feeling that Oliver doesn’t quite see me like that anymore. Ever
since he came to stay with us and met you—well, let’s just say a
girl knows when she’s no longer a priority in a man’s life.”

“Oh, Jill, stop with all the baloney. That boy is
crazy for you. I don’t know who is crazier for you—Oliver or
Alex.”

“I’m serious, Heather. He likes you and I think you
like him too.”

“Hush. You’re as crazy as they are. Get some rest;
they’ll be here at 6 a.m.”

“I can’t believe you bought me a dress. That was
very presumptuous of you.”

“I knew that the jealousy over the Jacobs would get
you to come. Your heart would stop if you saw them with another
woman.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Oh, of course not,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m paying you back for this dress.”

“So, does that mean you’re going?” Heather squealed
and pulled the dress out of the bag seductively so as to entice
Jill with the beautiful long royal-blue chiffon dress with crystal
rhinestones around the waist. It had a fitted torso then flowed all
the way down to the floor. It was quite the dress.

“Wow, “Jill sighed.

“Well, nothing less for the woman the whole island
will be honoring. Try it on.”

“No need. I’m not going.”

“Humor me, please, and try it on.” With a sigh and a
roll of her eyes, Jill snatched the dress from Heather’s hands and
tried it on. Not surprisingly, it fit like a glove.

“Wow, Heather, it’s beautiful.”

“I know. I wanted it for myself, but I knew blue was
your color. The boys are going to drop dead when they see you.”

“Thank you, Heather, and stop saying that about the
boys. It’s not like that; you know we are just friends.” Jill
lied.

“Jill, can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“When are you going to put them out of their
misery?”

“We’re family; it could never happen between us. Any
of us.”

“Darlin’, I have family. I don’t look at none of my
family the way that they look at you.”

“It’s complicated.”

“I’m sure it is, but it isn’t healthy. You need to
figure it out before someone gets hurt.”

“I know. I know.”

“Which one is it?”

“Which one is what?”

“Which one is the one you love?”

“I love them both, Heather.”

“But which one makes your heart stop beating when he
walks into the room.”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do, Jill. I want to hear you say it. You
need to say it out loud, because you are denying something that is
just so obviously tearing you apart inside. When Oliver had the car
accident, I saw your look of relief when you found out it wasn’t
Alexander.”

“You did?”

“Y’all have a chemistry that can be felt from across
the room.”

“I know, but we fight like cats and dogs. We don’t
agree on one single thing. On the other hand, Paul made me feel
loved and cared for, and so does Oliver. Paul isn’t even in the
equation anymore, but it felt good while it lasted. I don’t think I
can feel that way with Alexander.”

“It’s passion versus permanence?”

“Yes. Sort of.”

“Jill, I asked you who you love, because I wanted to
hear it from your mouth, but I don’t need you to tell me. You are
so in love with Alexander that a blind man can see it. And sweetie,
he feels the same way. It’s obvious. What’s stopping you? What are
you so afraid of?”

“Oliver. I can’t hurt him. He told me he was in love
with me a few months ago, and I told him we couldn’t cross that
line. What if I choose Xander and it doesn’t work out. I can’t hurt
Oliver if things get weird between Alexander and me. We fight all
the time! And what scares me the most is that they’ve known me for
so long and we know each other so well and have been through the
same crazy situation that they are confusing it for love of some
sort.”

“Are you confusing it?”

“I don’t know, Heather. I . . . I think about Xander
all the time. The more we fight the more . . .”

“Ha! The more you want him. Passion always wins
darlin’, and wait till he sees you in this dress.”

That night, for the first time in weeks, Jill
dreamed all night of Rocco Taylor, her father. She ran towards him.
Her mother cried, telling her not to go back to the island. She
yelled for her to stay away from Rocco, but she couldn’t. She was
like a moth to a flame. In the dream, Helen consoled Esther when
Rocco finally embraced Jillian for the first time. Jillian felt
whole, even if her mother and aunt disapproved. She finally had
family—real family—and when they finished hugging, Esther and Helen
disappeared. The dream left Jill completely out of sorts.

The next morning, Jill ran into her bedroom and
locked the door when Alexander walked out to put her luggage in the
car. Heather and Oliver knocked on her door.

“Sweetie, get your pretty little ass out of that
room ’cause we are going to miss our plane.” Heather scolded from
the other side of Jill’s door.

“Jillian, you’re being irrational. Give me a good
reason why you don’t want to go.” Oliver yelled.

“What’s going on?” Alexander said as he walked back
into the apartment and saw the commotion. Jill heard Oliver tell
him that she was locked in the room.

“Jesus, Jill. I spend half my life knocking or
breaking down your bedroom door. This is getting old. You’re going
and that’s that. Why are you making it so hard on everyone? Open
the door, Jill. If not, I’ll just break it down, again, and buy
another one—again. At this point, I will probably get a two-for-one
deal at the hardware store.”

“You guys aren’t listening to me. I do not want to
go. Why are you making me?” Jill yelled through the door. The dream
seemed real. Her mother was warning her.

“Babe, open the door. Let’s talk about it. I promise
I won’t force you to go.”

Jill opened the door, reluctantly. “Yes, you will.
Why do I even bother arguing?”

“You’re right. I will force you, but just answer me
this one question. Why don’t you want to go? Did you have a vision
or something like that?”

“No, Alexander. Just forget it. Let’s just go. I
know you, and I lost this battle.” Her eyes were watering.

“Hell, babe, I don’t want you to go in tears. I want
you to go because I think it’ll be fun. Don’t you want to go back
to see it after all these years. Wait. Is this about Paul?”

“Paul? No. He’s never called me again. I just don’t
want to go back there and talk about our life to a room full of
strangers, but I guess I don’t really have a choice.” She shrugged,
grabbed her purse, put it over her shoulder, and walked out the
door, feeling completely and utterly defeated, but most of
all—scared.

Between the connecting flights and the layovers, the
trip had taken almost twenty-four hours. It was Saturday morning
when they arrived. They were beyond jet lagged. They each had their
own room in an enormous suite that was bigger than both of their
apartments combined. Actually, it was twice the size of both of
their apartments combined.

The suite had a formal dining room, a living room
with a seventy-inch flat-screen television, and a full bar,
overlooking the ocean. The décor was decadent and luxurious. There
was a huge ten-person hot tub on the balcony and a full kitchen. A
family could live in this hotel room. After they all awed and cooed
over the suite, they each picked a room and began to unpack. Jill’s
room had an adjoining door with Heather’s room. On the other side
of the suite, Alexander’s and Oliver’s rooms shared a door.

“I should just unpack here because this is where I
plan to sleep every night.” Alexander teased Jillian from her
doorway. She threw a shoe playfully at him, and he walked to the
room across from hers.

There were invitations on top of each of the beds
inviting them to a day at the spa for that same day. They all put
on their waffle-knit robes that were also lying on the bed, and
after unpacking, they all headed to the spa.

“And you didn’t want to come.” Heather jested.

“I have to admit I could get used to all this
pampering.”

When they arrived at the spa, they were awaited by a
butler holding a tray of champagne. They each grabbed a flute and
were escorted into a room with four massage tables. The rest of the
day was one of relaxation and pampering. They had lunch together on
a terrace overlooking the ocean.

“I can’t wait to go exploring.” Alexander said.

“Don’t you think we spent enough years exploring,
Xander?” Oliver asked.

“It’s been eleven years since we’ve been here, and
we were kids. Aren’t you curious?”

“Yes, I am, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.
I think we’re all too tired, and the gala’s tonight, so we have to
get ready.” Oliver replied.

Heather stood up and grabbed Jill’s hand, “Good
idea. We can explore tomorrow. Jill, I made us appointments while
you were getting your facial to have our hair and makeup done for
tonight. So if you don’t mind excusing us, boys, we will see you
later.”

“Ugh.” Jill grunted.

“That’s the spirit.” Alexander laughed.

“How did I let you three convince me to come here?
And I really don’t want to go to the gala. You guys won. I’m here.
Isn’t that enough? Can I please just skip it?”

“Are you crazy, hon’? You’re going. Come on. We have
to get prettified.”

“Ugh!” Jill grunted again and Oliver and Alexander
laughed.

“Now, that’s an attractive noise.” Oliver said.

***

Alexander

Alexander walked to the door and turned the knob, but
it was locked.

“Jillian, open the door.”

“I can’t. I’m contagious.”

“Food poisoning isn’t contagious, and that’s what
you told Heather you had.”

“Oh. It’s a stomach virus.” She coughed.

“What is that cough about? You’re confusing too many
fake illnesses, Jillian. Open up right now. Do you realize that I
spend a good portion of my time with you yelling or fighting on the
other side of locked doors? You are infuriating.”

“Go away.”

Oliver walked up and knocked again, harder this
time. No answer.

“Woman! Open the door.” Alexander yelled, again.

“No!”

“Why?” Oliver asked.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t. I have a weird feeling about
tonight.”

“Okay, please open the door and we’ll talk about
it,” Oliver pleaded.

“No, if I open it, you guys are going to make me
go.”

“Damn straight.” Alexander mumbled under his
breath.

Oliver stomped his heel on Alexander’s foot. “Shut
up, stupid.”

“I promise. I just want to talk.”

She opened the door. Alexander’s and Oliver’s mouths
fell open.

“Oh Jillian . . . You look . . . Wow. You look
beautiful, Jill.” Alexander sighed.

“Wow. You look stunning—breathtaking. Oh, and you
have the shell necklace. You’ve had it all this time? I can’t
believe it. Let’s just go for a little while. Don’t let that dress
go to waste.” Oliver pleaded again, looking awe-stricken.

“Wow to you two as well. You guys look very
handsome. I’m sorry I can’t go. I’m sick.” Cough, cough.

“You can’t go or you don’t want to go? You’re not
sick. You’re a terrible actress, by the way.” Oliver said.