Open Door Marriage (12 page)

“
Not at the expense of another woman
’
s pain! My niece
’
s pain!
”

“
Alicia, at least be willing to talk about this. If you still feel the same way after …
”
H
is voice trailed off because the thought of being without her made his heart tighten the way it had when she
’
d disappeared before. He began again.
“
If you feel this way after the three of us talk, then we
’
ll revisit what we should do. All right?
”

He didn
’
t wait for her to answer. Dallas grabbed a towel from the rack and pressed it to her face to stem the flow of her tears.

She lowered her gaze then closed her eyes completely.

“
I love you, Alicia,
”
he whispered.
“
So please, let
’
s go talk about it.
And if we can make this work for everyone.
”
He paused.
“
There
’
ll be no more talk of you leaving me. All right?
”

Dallas waited several spells before Alicia moved into his arms. He held her close, relishing the sweet feel of her embrace.

One half of his battle was over.

Chapter 14

10:58 a.m.

Thirty minutes later, a portly driver extended his hand to help Alicia from a black sedan. A sudden squeal of tires made her head snap around. The yellow cab tearing down Harper Avenue came to a screeching halt right behind them. She thought it might be Dallas, who was probably angry that she had given him the slip and left the hotel.
“
I
’
ll come to Tori
’
s suite in ten minutes,
”
she had told him, knowing she wasn
’
t going to go at all. One of them had to show a little common sense.

But it was Tori who jumped out of the back of the cab, tossed some bills to the driver, then broke into an all-out sprint, aiming toward Alicia.
“
Wait!
”

Alicia stepped around her niece, knocked the snow from the boots Dallas had bought for her, and walked into the house with Tori fast on her heels.

James looked up from the
Chicago Sun-Times
he was reading and Bernice froze midway across the threshold between the kitchen and dining room. She almost dropped the plate of leftovers she carried.

Alicia made it to the second floor landing, then paused and looked down at her niece, who stood at the bottom of the stairs. Tori wasn
’
t wearing the same dark slacks and silk blouse as she had been wearing the day before. Evidently, Dallas had made sure both women had what they needed.

“
Give me a few minutes, Tori. Then we
’
ll talk.
”

“
Oh, this is rich,
”
Bernice mocked, looking from her sister-in-law to her daughter with a scowl that marred her features.
“
You should have your foot knee deep in her ass, and she wants to
talk
?
”

“
Tori,
”
Alicia said, with a pointed look at Bernice,
“
we should have this conversation somewhere else.
”

“
Fine. Let
’
s go back to the hotel.
”
Tori maneuvered past her mother and moved toward the stairs.

Alicia slid a glance at her brother. An angry vein throbbing at his temple caused her to think twice about having any kind of conversation with him.

Bernice gripped the sleeve of Tori
’
s blouse and shouted,
“
I want answers!
”

“
Well, you won
’
t get them from me,
”
Tori retorted, shaking off her mother
’
s hand.

“
I have to get my things,
”
Alicia said as she moved down the hall and entered the safety of the guest bedroom. During her absence Bernice and James had taken over her master bedroom.

She rifled through her purse, found her credit card, then took a seat at her computer and navigated to Air India
’
s website. A song trilled out once the intro page came onto the screen.

“
Come along, come along with me, and I
’
ll ease your pain,
”
the raspy voice sang.

“
If only a plane ride could accomplish that,
”
Alicia whispered. She moved up the departure date on her reservation and quickly printed the necessary documents.

The Mediterranean cruise Alicia was supposed to be on for Thanksgiving had been cancelled due to an outbreak of the Norovirus and it also postponed her trip to India
—
the last place on her
“
special things-to-do list.
”
As she
’
d stood in the airport wondering what she was going to do for the holiday now that her plans had abruptly changed, she
’
d checked her voicemail and heard the latest of Tori
’
s messages.
Her niece had left so many that Alicia wondered if maybe Tori was right.
Maybe it was time for her to come home.

So, that
’
s what she did and by the time Alicia arrived at the Harper house after an eighteen-hour sleepless flight, she was soul weary from her year of traveling
—
first to Sabi Sand Game Reserve in Africa, sleeping in one of their luxury Treehouses for months, reading and meditating before she choose to visit other parts of the motherland, then to Tibet, Switzerland. The call from Tori was perfect timing
—
a break from trying to repurpose her life.

She
’
d been grateful when she arrived to find the house empty.
She knew everyone was out doing their normal Thanksgiving caravan of visiting friends and family and her plan was to get some sleep before they returned.

Only vaguely did she remember thinking she
’
d heard the shower; she
’
d just been too weary, believing that all sounds she
’
d heard was the carry-over from her travel meds.

So, she
’
d laid down, closed her eyes, then felt his presence.
When she opened her eyes, Dallas was there and
. . .

Bernice busted into the room, the same way she
’
d done yesterday.
Her hand was poised on her hip.
“
How could you do this to her?
”

“
I would appreciate it if you left my space,
”
Alicia said, hating to be snatched from her memory of Dallas. She moved toward the dresser to collect
the few toiletries she
’
d unpacked.

“
I
’
m not going anywhere!
”

Tori entered the room, ushered her sputtering mother out of it and locked the door.

Alicia pointed to her ears, then gestured toward the bathroom. Tori followed her inside.
When Alicia perched on the edge of the tub, the top cover of the throne and took a seat.

She waited several moments for Tori to say something, and when no words came, she began with,
“
I
’
m so sorry I hurt you, Tori. Please believe that
—
”

Tori
’
s gaze flitted to the marble tiles, then the glass sink and finally landed on Alicia.
“
So we
’
re in this complicated situation.
”

“
Why did you send him to me last night?
”

“
Because he longs for you.
”

Alicia reached out to touch Tori. When she recoiled, the spike of pain through Alicia
’
s heart was almost too much to bear.

“
That
’
s no reason to sacrifice your relationship.
”

Tori folded her hands and placed them on her lap.
“
Things changed the moment he saw you again.
”
Her golden cheeks flushed with a bright red color as she focused on the seashell designs on the hand towels.
“
You
’
re a basketball fan! You had to know that he was engaged to me.
”

Alicia shook her head, folding her arms on her lap.
“
I detached from my life the minute I left home last year. I didn
’
t care about you, James, basketball, or anything else. So, I didn
’
t know you were a couple,
”
Alicia said.
“
That
’
s really no excuse, but I
’
m so, so sorry.
”

Alicia reached for Tori
’
s hand again. This time, her niece didn
’
t pull away. Instead, she met Alicia
’
s gaze head on.

But then, after a couple of seconds, Tori extracted her hand, finding a sudden interest in adjusting the towels so they hung evenly.
“
He
’
s in love with you. Did you know that?
”

“
He couldn
’
t possibly love me. He thinks he does, but he doesn
’
t know that much about me.
”
Alicia hoped her niece could believe that.
That was how she explained Dallas.
But Alicia had no idea how to explain her own feelings that defied all reasonable understanding. That
’
s why she needed to get as far away from Dallas as humanly possible. India. Yes, India should be just about right. She held a multi-entry Visa that would make it easy to enter the country.

Both women were mute for several moments, and each dodged eye contact.

“
I stayed a virgin until I found the man I wanted to marry,
”
Tori whispered.
“
How did I do all the right things and still lose the man I love?
”

Alicia placed her hands over her niece
’
s.
“
I always encouraged you to respect your body and respect yourself.
”
Then she gave Tori a small bitter smile.
“
But because of what I went through, I also told you that once a woman found her future husband, she
’
d better take him for a test drive before signing up for the long program.
”

Tori
’
s small ears reddened around the edges and she tried to smile, but couldn
’
t.
She tilted her head up and looked at the exhaust fan on the ceiling.
“
I keep thinking all he needs is a little time and we
’
ll be back to normal.
”

Alicia looked at her niece.
“
You don
’
t know how much I want that
—
for you both to get back to where you were.
”

Tori shook her head.
“
Now that he
’
s been with you again,
”
she said,
“
he
’
ll want more. And here
’
s what really scares me: if you
’
re not there, what if he tries to find what you have in another woman? That
’
s something I won
’
t be able to control.
”

“
And you think you
’
re controlling the situation right now?
”
Alicia asked as she looked at her niece intensely.
“
This situation
’
s been running the show ever since you dropped that suggestion to Dallas. I don
’
t see why you even went there.
”

“
I
’
m playing the best hand with the cards I
’
ve been dealt,
”
she countered.

“
You have so little faith in yourself. You have so little trust in him.
”

“
He
’
s a man,
”
Tori snapped, shifting on the porcelain lid.
“
Men have that kind of flaw.
”

“
Your father doesn
’
t.
”

Tori looked down at their joined hands.
“
Dad has a different type of flaw.
”

Alicia didn
’
t counter that statement, because she knew Tori was definitely on the money with that one.
Between his gambling and his wife; her brother could never think straight when it came to his wife. He had forgiven that woman a multitude of sins.

“
I think it
’
s best if Dallas and I continue to live together and he just visits you whenever he can. Until he gets tired of all this.
”
Tori
’
s dismissive wave of her hand showed exactly how she felt about the prospect.
“
And he will tire of it, right? It
’
s all tied to sex, right?
”