Tender Touch (33 page)

“This doesn’t make sense. Lanessa is always
dressed nice and shops at the best stores.” Jade did not like the
cold lump forming in her stomach.

“She’s shopping on credit, usually mine. I
want her to have nice things, but not so more of her money can be
spent on drugs.” Alex rubbed his eyes.

“Drugs? Now wait a minute, you said—” Jade
sat bolt straight with alarm.

“Three months ago, I found out she’s been
taking prescription drugs. She goes from one doctor to the next,
trying to get them to give her refills.” Alex’s light brown eyes
were filled with apprehension. “But doctors these days are alert to
what they call drug-seeking behavior. I’m afraid she’d going to
connect with street dealers next.”

Jade felt as though the room was twirling
around her. How could this be? Lanessa was always so cool, so in
control. She had beauty, brains and charm. Using drugs was an
escape. But why would Lanessa Pellerin Hampton Thomas, a woman
envied by other females most of her life, need the kind of escape
drugs provided?

“You’re just trying to make Nessa look bad
in case we file charges against you,” Jade said, grasping at
straws.

“Then why would I risk more trouble by
seeing you? Look, do what you have to. But don’t keep hiding from
the truth.” Alex gripped his glass, tense with the effort of trying
to convince her.

“I’m going to talk to Lanessa about this,”
Jade said.

“Fine. Let me tell you exactly what’s going
to happen. I should know. I’ve been through this with her at least
a hundred times or more.”

Jade did not want to hear the awful things
Alex was saying about her sister. Yet his words were like missing
pieces of an elusive jigsaw puzzle. A picture was forming that
scared her. The last times she’d been with Lanessa, she noticed a
kind of stretched tight quality to her behavior. Her laughter had a
note of threatening hysteria. Lanessa did not so much seem happy as
she seemed busy being happy. Her anger of two weeks before
evaporated in the face of such a terrible threat to her sister.
With her stomach churning, Jade left the restaurant and headed
straight for Lanessa’s house. A strange car was parked in the
double driveway. Jade went to the front door and rang the bell. A
young man wearing a gold necklace answered.

“Hey, baby. What’s up?” He looked at Jade in
a suggestive way. “O-wee, come on in even if you at the wrong
house.”

“I’m looking for my sister.” Jade wanted to
knock that silly leering grin from his face. “Where is she?”

“Come on in, baby girl.” He stepped back
just enough to let her pass, but so that she had to brush against
him as she did so. “Ump, ump. Sweet stuff.”

“Jade, what are you doing here?” Lanessa was
still dressed in a suit from the office. “Uh, this is Malik.”

“Jade, huh? Fine name for a fine honey.”
Malik bobbed his head up and down.

Lanessa smoothed down her wrinkled blouse.
“Malik, thanks for coming by. I’ll talk to you later.” She could
not keep her hands still.

Malik seemed about to protest, but then
shrugged. “Okay. I got places to be anyway. See ya, Lanessa.” He
gave her a half smile that was not pleasant to see. “You know how
to get in touch with me if you need to.”

Jade watched him saunter out with the
bravado of a young Turk who owns the world. After locking the door
behind him, she turned to Lanessa with both eyebrows raised. “Who
was that?”

Lanessa’s glance slid sideways. She picked
up a bottle of vodka and poured it into a glass with grapefruit
juice. “A friend of mine. We met at a party.”

“You met him at a party given by one of your
friends? Which one?”

“Uh, Verise I think. Or maybe Rodney. Oh, I
don’t remember.” Lanessa took a long drink.

“He sure doesn’t look like anyone your
upscale pals would invite to their homes. Looks like a character
from one of those gangsta rap videos.” Jade put down her purse and
walked over to sit beside Lanessa at the bar. “He seems kind of
young.”

“What is this anyway? One minute you’re not
speaking to me, next thing it’s the third degree. I don’t have to
explain my social life to you.” Lanessa banged the glass down. She
got up from the sofa to pace in front of the fireplace.

“I’m curious because he’s very different
from the other people you hang with, that’s all. Lanessa, come back
and sit down.” Jade did not want to start an argument.
“Please.”

“Mother sent you over here to spy on me,
that it?” Lanessa shook a cigarette from a crumpled pack.

Jade took it from her. “Lanessa, you
promised to quit after the last bout of bronchitis.”

Lanessa threw the empty package to the
floor. “Look, you want to mother somebody, adopt. I’m grown, and I
don’t need another mother—especially not with the one I’ve already
got.”

“I can’t believe you’re talking like this.”
Jade was surprised at the bitterness in her voice. “Did you and
Mama have a fight?”

“I’m tired of her pushing me. What clothes
to wear, what makeup to use, how to style my hair, what men to
flirt with so she can brag and play socialite bourgeois mother. I’m
sick of it.” Lanessa jumped up again. She swung her arms wildly as
she spoke. “And I don’t need you to ride me, either.”

“Mama has always wanted the best for you.”
Jade sat in shock to hear Lanessa express such resentment against
their mother. “I mean, you were always so close. You both love the
same kind of fashions, the same kind of parties. I was always the
one reading books and trying not to be noticed.”

“Lucky you. At least she left you alone.”
Lanessa barked a bitter laugh. “How I envied you. No pressure to
perform.”

“Nessa, I had no idea you felt this way. All
these years...” Jade wrestled with this astonishing new view of
their early family life.

“Oh, don’t give me that. You loved being the
one with brains, always showing off your latest triumph in
academia. You know what one guy told me? ‘That’s what I like about
you, Lanessa, you’re uncomplicated.’ Dumb is what he meant.”
Lanessa opened a drawer in the coffee table to pull out a fancy box
filled with cigarettes. She threw Jade a defiant glare. “Well, I
don’t give a damn. I’ve done fine for myself. I’m not so dumb I
couldn’t get great divorce settlements.”

“I have never, ever thought of you as being
dumb.”

“Yeah, yeah. You with the big job. I’ll be
lucky if I can keep being a glorified file clerk with that witch
Jeanne spreading lies about me.” Lanessa seemed not to hear Jade.
She cackled with glee. “To hell with her anyway. I’m going to get
that property Mr. Gerald Maxwell Thomas, IV tried so hard to snatch
back.”

Jade tried to get control of the
conversation. “I thought you started a new job at a bigger
salary.”

“I did, almost. I mean all they had to do
was check my references. I really busted butt to follow her stupid
rules, and still Jeanne slammed me.” Lanessa switched back to a
bitter tone.

“Oh, Lanessa.”

“Well they can both stuff their lousy dead
end jobs. I’ll be living it up.” Lanessa ground out her cigarette
but reached for another immediately. “Maybe I’ll go to Vegas for a
little vacation.” Lanessa spoke rapid fire, punctuating her words
with hand gestures.

“Nessa—”

“My lawyer says that property has doubled in
value in the last ten years. Gerald is already backing down because
he knows I’ll win.” Lanessa looked pleased with herself. “Yeah, I’m
going to get a nice income. Plus I own land out in West Feliciana
with sand and gravel a company wants to dredge. So I don’t have to
put up with crap.”

Jade wanted a way to avoid confronting her
older sister. Maybe this was not the right time. She watched
Lanessa continue her harangue of injustices done to her. Even as
part of her wanted to avoid a painful subject, just watching
Lanessa confirmed her worst fears that Alex was right.

Jade grabbed Lanessa’s arm to get her
attention. “Hush for just one minute. I need to talk to you about
something.”

Lanessa sat in a limp posture, leaning back
now. She seemed to have wound down after ventilating. “Sure, sure.
Hey, you oughta go with me to Houston for a shopping trip.”

“Alex talked to me today about your drinking
and the pills you’ve been taking.” Jade steadied herself for an
explosion.

“Alex talked to you.” Lanessa sat very
still. Her eyes glittered with anger. “You and Alex got together.
So how long have you two been sneaking around?”

“You can’t be serious!” Jade’s mouth dropped
open in shock. This was the last thing she’d expected.

“Sure. He’s one fine man, gotta give him
that. And you’ve been hot for him since you were fifteen years
old.”

Jade took a deep breath. “What the—”

“It’s payback time, huh? For all those
boyfriends of yours I stole.” Lanessa sat straight now. Her voice
was dry and rough.

“This is crazy, Lanessa. Alex loves you.
He’s worried sick.” Jade regretted the harsh things she’d said to
him. It was now clear just how much Alex loved her sister. He alone
had tried to pull her back from self-destruction. “And so am I.
Lanessa, you need help.”

“Get out.” Lanessa stood over her with
balled fists.

“Let’s talk about this calmly. I’ll go with
you to the first appointment. You need to see a substance abuse
counselor. I’m sure the department has a list of the best African-
American therapists in Baton Rouge.” Jade stood to face her. She
placed a hand on her shoulder. “Honey, we’ll be here for you. Alex,
Mama, Daddy and me.”

“How sweet of you to have my welfare at
heart.” Lanessa jerked away from her. “All ready to have me checked
into some hellhole to dry out. My, how comforting to know you’ll be
there on visiting days.”

Jade ignored her sarcasm. “We don’t know
what the first recommendations will be. It could be outpatient
treatment. I’ve toured several hospital programs. Even our state
facilities are top rated.”

“You’ve gone so far as to look at
hospitals!” Lanessa screamed.

“As part of my job, Nessa. It had nothing to
do with you.”

Lanessa gave a loud grunt. “You’re lying,
Jade. You’ve been plotting all along—listening to Alex’s outrageous
stories. He only wants to make himself look good.”

“Okay, Lanessa, you want the truth?” Jade
shouted at her, her frayed nerves giving way. “I didn’t even
suspect, didn’t have one clue that you were addicted. I was wrapped
up in seeing what you wanted me and the rest of the world to
see.”

“I’m not addicted to anything. I drink
because I want to. When I decide to stop, I will.”

A crystal clear realization flashed into
Jade’s mind. “Then why didn’t you quit for Alex? I think you
finally realize he’s the one man who loves you for who you are, not
what you look like or what you own. He didn’t want to lose
you.”

“You have no right to say these things to
me. No right.” Lanessa’s voice broke.

“Lanessa, let’s face this together.” Jade
took a step toward her.

“You don’t get it. There is nothing to
face.”

“Then going in for an assessment won’t hurt,
will it? Let’s make an appointment now.” Jade went to get the phone
book.

“No! I’ve put up with your self-righteous
attitude long enough. Who the hell do you think you are anyway? I
don’t have a problem with alcohol. My prescriptions are for
migraine head-aches.” Lanessa snatched the phone book from Jade’s
hands. “Now leave.”

“Stop hiding from the truth.” Jade could see
that she had failed to reach her sister. The elegant cocksure
Lanessa, her facade of control in place again, was back.

Lanessa lit a cigarette and took a long pull
from it. “It’s past your bedtime. Go home,” she said in a taut
voice.

“Okay. But I’ll be back. There is nothing
you can say or do to make me stop loving you. And if that means
making you mad, so be it.” Jade kissed Lanessa on the cheek despite
her rigid stance. She looked back one last time before walking out
the front door.

Lanessa’s mouth trembled as tears came down
within minutes of hearing Jade’s car start. “Don’t be so sure you
can forgive anything, Jade-girl. Don’t be so sure.”

Chapter 14

“Thanks.” Jade took the cup of coffee from
Damon and smiled up at him. She concentrated on the dark
liquid.

Jade suppressed a sigh. Dinner had been
strained with conversation coming in spurts punctuated by awkward
silences. Thoughts of how to bring up the subject of Rachelle
without sounding like a jealous woman kept her distracted most of
the evening. She decided not to bring it up in the restaurant, but
now that they were alone in her apartment her tongue was
frozen.

“So how is work?” Damon still held his mug
without drinking.

“Hectic.” Jade felt a little relieved to
have an excuse to discuss something else. “But we can finally start
working on the budget now that Dumaine is off our backs.” She eased
back against the cushions. “Bill handled it well, I thought.”

“Dumaine hasn’t asked for more
documentation?”

“Not yet. Guess he’s preparing for the
session, too. Thank goodness. We don’t need him snooping around.”
Jade thought of the mountain of forms coming in from all the
offices with requests for new budgets. “We’ve got our hands
full.”

“What about the hearings? I understand there
are going to be hard questions asked. I’m planning to testify about
the funds the center gets.” Damon chose his words with care.
“Bill’s name keeps coming up.”

“Bill hasn’t taken one step over the line.”
Jade waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Just sour grapes
because he’s smart and accomplished.”

“So there is nothing to the rumors?” Damon
studied her expression.

“What have you heard? Wait, don’t tell me.
That Bill is somehow setting himself up to benefit, and funds are
being funneled to his pals.” Jade recited the rumors in a singsong
voice.