Read A Note From an Old Acquaintance Online
Authors: Bill Walker
Tags: #Romance, #Man-Woman Relationships, #Suspense, #Contemporary, #Fiction
A Note From an Old Acquaintance (36 page)
Every man in the room turned toward the door where Joanna stood, clutching a file folder against her chest, righteous anger burning in her eyes. It took a moment for Brian to realize the significance of that manila folder. It was the same file Ruby had shown him all those years ago—it
had
to be. And somehow she’d found it.
When Zack saw his mother, he ran to her and hugged her. She shook with emotion and Brian’s anger toward Erik Ruby rose another notch.
Joanna let go of her son and stepped forward. She held up the file. “I know everything, Erik. How you bartered for me like one of your buildings. Do I have such little value to you that you would do such a thing? How dare you! How dare you turn me into one of your deals!”
The man’s smile faltered. “How dare you betray me! How could you be with
him
?” He jerked his head toward Brian.
Joanna turned her gaze to the floor, her body trembling. “I’m not going to make excuses. Nothing I say will ever excuse what I did.” She raised her head, her eyes defiant. “But I also won’t apologize for falling in love with a man who truly loves
me
, a man who when faced with a choice of giving me up and helping his family or pursuing me and losing everything—chose to do the right thing.” She looked to Brian and smiled. In that one moment, Brian loved her more than he’d ever loved her. He returned her smile with one of his own.
Joanna turned back to her husband. “You could have come to me, Erik. You could have said that you knew and that you were hurt and that you loved me with all of your heart, and could we try and work this out? You could have said all those things. And I would have listened....
“But, instead, you turned us into a business transaction. And you waited. You waited for the perfect moment you knew would break our hearts. And I’ll never forgive you for it.
“We’re finished, Erik. I’m leaving—for good this time. I don’t know what I’ll do, where I’ll go, but I’m going. And Zack is going with me.”
Ruby took a step forward, his eyes wide. “NO! You won’t take my son. You have no idea what I’ve gone through, what I had to do.”
“But I do know,” she said holding up the file again. “Zack is nothing like you, and I won’t have him growing up to be anything like you. You want to know what I saw in you? I fell in love with a man who once went out of his way to help a young girl and her child. That man died somewhere along the way, and I was too blind to see it.”
Ruby stared at the floor, his body shaking. When he raised his head a moment later, Brian saw a cold anger in the man’s eyes.
“But I did everything for you, Joanna. All for you....”
Ruby’s words hung in the air. Zack looked from his father to his mother, his lips trembling.
Joanna shook her head. “No you didn’t, Erik. You did it all for
her
,” she said, pointing toward her photo on the wall. “And that woman is nothing but a shadow—a ghost. You created her that day at the photographer’s studio, hung her on the wall, and put all your hopes, desires and dreams into her, made her come alive. But I’m not her, Erik—I’m
not
Galatea. I’m Joanna—just Joanna, and I don’t love you anymore.”
The room was as quiet as a grave. Brian watched Ruby, wondering what the older man would do, but he simply stared at his wife and then at her picture on the wall, his expression unreadable.
He opened his mouth to speak. “Joanna—”
The phone rang, startling everyone. It rang two more times before Mosley walked over and picked it up.
“Ruby and Associates.... Yes, sir, I’ll tell him.” Mosley held the phone to his chest. “It’s the mayor.”
Ruby’s entire demeanor changed. “Put him on the speaker.”
When Mosley hesitated, Ruby reached over and stabbed the speaker button. “Good evening, sir.”
“Erik, I knew you’d be working late, and I wanted to be the one to give you the news. The Government Center Project is yours. The council vote was unanimous.”
Ruby closed his eyes and exhaled, as if a great weight had lifted from his shoulders. “Thank you, sir. You don’t know how much this means to me. I’ll make the city proud.”
“Never had any doubts. Now, if you can tear yourself away from that office and that pretty wife of yours, a few of us are meeting at the club for drinks. I’d be pleased if you would join us.”
“I’d be honored.”
“Great. We’ll see you there in twenty minutes.”
The phone went dead and Ruby stared at it, a sardonic smile curling his lips. “I’ve been waiting nearly ten years for that call,” he said, shaking his head. “It would seem some dreams are meant to be, after all....”
Then, as if reaching a decision, he straightened his spine and walked toward his wife. He passed her and stood gazing up at her photo. “We could have shared that dream, Joanna, but you’ve made your choice, haven’t you?” He paused, his jaw clenching. “I’ll be home later to pack some things. I’ll be staying at the club until my living quarters are ready here. My attorney will also be in touch. I’d suggest one for you, but that would clearly be a conflict.”
Brian was stunned, and if Joanna’s open-mouthed expression was any gauge, so was she.
“I—I’m sorry, Erik,” she said.
Ruby turned from the photo. “A little late for that, now, don’t you think? I just hope Mr. Weller’s pockets are deep. You’re going to need it.”
“There’s nothing you have that I want,” Joanna said, meeting his piercing gaze with one her own.
Ruby nodded, the confident smirk back on his face. “We’ll see, won’t we?” He turned to Zack, clasping the boy on the shoulders. “I’m sorry you had to see all this, Chief. But I want to make it up to you. How would you like to come with me and meet the Mayor? Another birthday treat. What do you say?”
The boy stared at his father, his expression a mixture of incredulity and sadness. “No, Dad,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m staying with Mom.”
Ruby’s grin disappeared. “Very well.” He marched over to one of the built-in cabinets and pulled out his overcoat, folding it over his arm, then walked back to Joanna’s photo. His eyes betrayed a fleeting moment of pain and longing before disappearing behind the familiar mask. “Mr. Mosley?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Before you go home to that lovely wife of yours, I’ll need you to take this down. Store it with the rest of the outgoing trash. It’s time we got rid of the shadows and the ghosts....” He turned and gave everyone a curt nod and left the room. Mosley followed him, his features etched with concern.
Joanna ran to Brian, collapsing into his arms.
“When I walked in, and saw you two fighting like that, I thought I was going to lose you again! And now everything’s changed. Why do I still feel so awful?” She cried against his shoulder, and he nestled her head in the hollow of his neck. The warmth of her suffused his body.
“It’s never easy closing a chapter of your life,” Brian said. He tilted her chin so he could look into those beautiful tear-clouded eyes. “But I promise you—you’ll never lose me again, Joanna. Never again.”
Seven Months Later...
“
IS
IT
MUCH
FARTHER?” Zack asked, breaking the long silence between them.
“You mean, ‘Are we there yet?’” Joanna said with a sly grin.
“Please tell me I never said that.”
Joanna chuckled. “Oh, you were one of the worst offenders. Annoying, but cute.”
Zack grinned and turned his head to watch the passing New Hampshire scenery. “I’m glad he’s finally back. I hope it’s for good this time.”
His mother gave his thigh a loving pat. “It’s for good.”
Ever since they’d left Boston earlier that afternoon, Zack watched his mother’s excitement grow. She’d been a nervous wreck the night before with all the packing, and spent way more time in the bathroom that morning fussing with her hair and makeup; but he had to admit she looked beautiful in her new summer dress.
Brian—he still found himself wanting to call him Mr. Weller—had been really great during all the months it took for his parents’ divorce to wind its way through the courts, calling from Los Angeles every night and giving her the moral support she needed, and helping him with his writing. All of Brian’s guidance paid off just last month, the day his first story appeared in the June issue of
Harper’s
. Even his dad was impressed, proudly showing off the magazine to all of his bigwig friends.
“The turnoff’s just ahead,” Joanna said.
“Are you sure?”
“If I’m not we’re going to end up in the lake. That’s it up ahead.”
Zack’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but Lake Sunapee was a lot bigger than he’d ever imagined.
“Are we going to live up here?” he asked.
“Just until the new townhouse is ready. This will be our weekend retreat.”
“Cool.”
Joanna slowed the SUV and made a right turn onto a street paralleling the lake. Moments later, she eased the car to a halt in front of a two-story crescent-shaped modern, set on a low rock promontory jutting out into the lake.
The outer curve of the house, mostly windows, faced the lake and the long dock dominating the small cove. At the end of the dock, Zack spotted a sleek all-mahogany 1940s-style inboard speedboat. A lone figure knelt by the craft, snapping on a weatherproof cover over the cockpit and windscreen.
Joanna spotted the man and turned to Zack. “Do I look okay?”
She looked so comically worried that Zack wanted to laugh. Instead, he gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “You look really pretty, Mom.”
Her face lit up. “Thanks, sweetie,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Now, be sure to put the gift someplace special, okay? I’ll leave it to your sharp artistic eye.”
Zack gave her a “thumbs-up,” and grabbed the heavy box by his feet. Joanna ruffled his hair and they both climbed out of the SUV. She hesitated a moment, watching the man work on the boat and then started toward him. Something made him stand and look her way. Even at that distance Zack saw the dramatic change in the man’s demeanor.
“So, how’s my favorite professor?” Brian called out.
Zack heard his mother giggle and then she took off running, pounding down the dock and launching into Brian’s arms.
For a second, Zack was afraid they’d both tumble into the lake, but Brian held her and swung her around. Her laughter echoed across the water.
Grinning, Zack hefted the box and walked into the house. It took him a moment to get his bearings then he passed through the foyer into the living room. He nixed both the fireplace mantel and the glass coffee table in front of the couch. Then he spotted the teakwood table in the dining area and gave a satisfied nod. Perfect. He placed the box on the table.
Through the plate glass window, he saw Brian and his mother standing at the end of the dock, their arms around one another, heads touching, watching the sun beginning its descent toward the mountains beyond the lake’s western shore.
Smiling again, he opened the box and lifted out the sculpture, placing it in the middle of the table, turning it to catch the light just so.
It was breathtaking.
Two hands, a man’s and a woman’s, lovingly intertwined, every bump and line rendered in flawless detail.
And even though he’d placed them on that table mere seconds before, he knew within the deepest regions of his heart those loving hands would remain together... forever....
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