After Dark (8 page)

“Sure thing. We'll cook.”

“Good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” Dawne kissed Elizabeth's cheek and darted for the door, running smack into Brian Jennings.

Elizabeth's knees got weak, but nothing could prepare her for the hug Dawne gave Brian before taking his hand and leading him over to a stunned Elizabeth. She couldn't breathe.

“Brian, this is my mom, Elizabeth Lewis, she's one of the co-owners.”

Elizabeth's heart was racing out of control.

“Mom?” Dawne looked at her mother quizzically.

Elizabeth felt faint. She finally saw Brian's hand extended toward her. She thought she shook it, but wasn't sure until she felt his strong fingers wrap around hers.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lewis.”

“Brian and I went to John Jay College together. He stopped in the restaurant a few weeks back. And—” she grinned “—we were planning our first date for tomorrow.” She turned to Brian. “What are you doing here?”

Oh, my God, Elizabeth thought.

“I heard great things about the place and wanted to check it out.” He patted his very flat stomach. “I could always use some exercise.”

“Well, I've got to run. Desi is going to kill me,” she said to her mother. She looked up at Brian. “I will leave you in my mother's very capable hands. Call me. We'll decide about tomorrow?”

“Tonight,” Brian said.

She finger waved and ran out.

Brian turned to Elizabeth. “I know what you're thinking,” Brian began, “but I had no idea she was your daughter. We hadn't gotten close enough to get into our family histories,” he explained.

Elizabeth felt ill. She couldn't speak. Slowly, she returned to the desk and sat down. She lifted her head to look at him. “You can't continue to see her…Start to see her,” she stammered. “There has to be some kind of ethical violation or some code you'd be breaking or something…” Elizabeth said as she felt hysteria bubbling in her stomach.

“I'm sure there is. But I have a problem and so do you. I like Dawne and I want to get to know her better. But, if I do get to know her, that might cause a conflict of interest if your business comes under investigation. And, if I continue to see her, that might mean that I would have to step away from this investigation. That's where the trouble comes in. Whether you believe it or not, I'm your ally. If I'm out of the picture, I'm sure you are going to get someone whose main goal in life is to make Ron Powers's and your lives miserable…someone like my partner, or someone worse.”

Elizabeth blew out a ragged breath.

“I came to tell you, off the record, that, for the time being, no warrant is being issued. It seems that they can't find enough evidence to support one. And I also came to advise you to be sure that all of your papers and your documents are in order in the event that a warrant is issued.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

He looked directly at her. “I didn't.” With that he turned and walked out of the spa.

T
here was only one highlight to the day that Elizabeth could fathom and that was that Sterling had found nothing unusual in the documents. He was going to have his assistant come in and do a thorough read, but, at least, on the surface, everything appeared to be in order.

She didn't mention to anyone that Brian had come by and she certainly didn't mention that he planned on dating her daughter. Every time she thought about that her stomach started spinning. What in the world had she done in a former life to get herself in this predicament?

Elizabeth made the left turn onto Ron's street. As much as she wanted to see him, she dreaded it at the same time. There was a lot that both of them were dealing with at the moment, they were vulnerable and tensions were high. She just hoped that neither of them said something they would regret later.

Surprisingly, she found a parking space. Had she arrived an hour later she might have been circling the block like a buzzard. Fortunately for her, most folks were still on their way home from work.

She locked the car door and walked up to his building. She used her key and let herself in the front door then headed for the elevator.

As much as he'd told her it was okay to use the key to his apartment, she still felt awkward. She rang the bell. Ron opened the door moments later.

“Hi. How come you didn't use your key?”

“Oh—” she screwed up her face “—I keep forgetting.”

Ron stared at her. “No, you didn't,” he said seeing right through her white lie. “Come on in.”

She walked in front of him and into the apartment.

“You know, Ell, you're really beginning to scare me. If we can't be honest with each other about the little things, what's going to happen down the road?”

The impromptu visit by Brian Jennings leaped to mind. She ignored his question. He shut the door.

“Can I get you something?”

“No, thanks. I'm fine.” She put her purse down on the couch and sat down.

“I'll get straight to it,” Ron began. “I know I shouldn't have just walked out the other night without saying anything. But I really thought it was the best thing to do.”

“Why? You were the one who said I should go to the hospital.”

“I know. That was my gallant side, the humanitarian Ron, speaking. But then the man who's in love with you spoke up.”

She felt her face grow warm.

“And I got scared,” he said.

She searched his face with her eyes. “Of what?”

“Of the fact that you feel you have to hide things and lie to me when it comes to him…that this illness may be the thing that brings you back to him. And that, if something was to go on between the two of you, you wouldn't tell me.”

She lowered her eyes, realizing that he was edging very close to the truth. There was no way she could tell him about what she felt when she was with Matt, the things that went through her head, the memories, the feelings. She couldn't tell him because she was so unsure of it all herself.

“Would you?” he probed.

Her gaze jerked up. “Of course I would…but there's nothing to tell.”

He came to stand in front of her and squatted down until they were at eye level. He stroked her cheek with the tip of his finger. “I don't believe you, baby. And I don't think you believe it, either.”

She drew in a sharp breath of alarm. “Ron—”

He put his finger to her lips. “Shh,” he said gently. “Listen to me. I want you to take the time you need to deal with Matt. I
need
you to take that time, Ell, 'cause I gotta know that, when you're with me, you're with
me.
I don't ever want you to wonder. Ya know?”

Her throat tightened until it hurt. Her eyes burned. He was telling her to go? Telling her to be with another man? Her gaze followed him in disbelief as he stood.

“Besides, with this cloud hanging over me, I don't need them checking any further because of my relationship with you.” He pushed out a breath. “That's the way I see it, Ell. Best thing.”

“So…it's over? Is that what you're telling me?”

His throat worked up and down for a moment. He glanced away then looked at her. “Yeah,” he swallowed, “that's what I'm telling you.”

Elizabeth felt like fine crystal that had just been dropped onto concrete, splintering into a million ragged pieces. But, if she was in a million pieces, she'd have to gather as much of herself and her dignity as she could and leave. Leave without falling apart further. Leave without him touching her and saying he was sorry he'd dropped her. Oh, God. Oh, God.

She blinked several times and blindly reached for her purse. Pushing herself to her feet, she drew in as much air as she could and walked to the door.

“Ell…”

Elizabeth turned the knob. If she looked at him, she knew she would fall apart. She opened the door and walked out.

“W
onder where Ellie is,” Barbara was saying to the “girlz” as she checked the clock.

“Yeah, I'm usually the last one to arrive,” Stephanie said.

“Did she call?” Ann Marie asked.

“No, but she did say she needed to see Ron before she came here. So…” Her sentence hung in the air.

They all knew little bits and pieces about what was going on with Elizabeth's ex-husband, the issues surrounding Ron and how it was all twisted up together.

“Hey, maybe they kissed, made up and forgot all about us,” Terri offered.

“I like the sound of that,” Barbara said, “even if we will miss her being here.”

Ann Marie brought out the chafing dish with the barbecue chicken and put it on the serving table next to the seasoned rice, green beans and potato salad.

“Sorry I didn't get to do too much,” Barbara said, apologizing for the meager spread. Generally, at their get-togethers, they had two choices of meats, and a fish, two vegetables and a salad and at least two starches. Not to mention dessert.

“Barbara, please,” Stephanie said, “there's plenty. We usually have too much.” She put on a pretty pout. “So what, if there won't be any for me to take home.”

The ladies laughed. Stephanie was notorious for her bad or rather nonexistent cooking. She was the main one who loaded up the Tupperware after one of their soirees.

“Try to save the poor chile' some leftovers,” Ann Marie crowed. “We don't want that little baby she's carrying to starve.”

“Yeah, Steph,” Barbara said, dropping a spoonful of green beans on her plate. “You're really going to have to buckle down on your cooking skills. You can't eat out every night. It's not good for the baby.”

Stephanie wrinkled her nose. “Tony is a great cook. I'd eat his cooking any day. Which I generally do.” She chuckled.

“Hey, Steph, maybe me and you can take a cooking class,” Terri said. “I can't cook worth a damn, either.”

“If I must,” Stephanie said with a dramatic sigh, and flopped onto the chair.

The doorbell rang. “That must be Ellie,” Barbara said, heading to the door.

The instant Barbara pulled the door open, she knew something was wrong.

“Sorry I'm late,” Elizabeth murmured, and walked inside, her gaze never making contact with Barbara.

“Honey, what's wrong?” Barbara closed the door and followed her inside.

The light banter stopped when Elizabeth walked into the room. All eyes zeroed in on her.

She barely spoke but went over to the serving table and began filling her plate. They all looked at each other with wide-eyed concern. And then they heard her soft sobs.

Barbara was the first one at her side. “Ellie, what is it?” she asked, and put her arm around Elizabeth's shoulders.

“It's over,” she said on a ragged breath. She wiped her eyes with a napkin.

“What's over? What are you talking about?”

“Me and Ron. It's over.”

Barbara took the plate from Elizabeth's shaky hands. “Come and sit down.” She guided her over to the couch and all her friends gathered around.

“What happened?” Stephanie asked.

“He said it's best that we ‘take some time' until everything is settled with Matt.”

They all knew what “take some time” meant—they'd all been there and done that.

Murmurs of understanding fluttered in the air.

“Why would he tell you something like that out of the blue?” Terri asked, not privy to all the details.

Elizabeth sniffed and wiped her eyes. “He thinks I'm still in love with my ex-husband.”

“Oh…”

“Well, are you?” Ann Marie asked, always direct and to the point.

“That's just it, I don't know. I thought it was all over between us, you know? The divorce was final. I'd moved on and he'd moved on and then…” She told them all of the events of the past few days, Matt's diagnosis, the note that Ron found in her kitchen, everything leading up to Ron's declaration.

“Well, did you tell him it wasn't true?” Ann Marie asked.

“Not really.”

Ann Marie huffed. “Well, what da 'ell ya think was going to 'appen?” she blasted, getting agitated. As usual, her accent was more pronounced when she became excited or upset.

“Men can't read between no lines, girl! Ya got to talk to dem straight or they get confused.”

The ladies didn't want to laugh, but they knew exactly what Ann Marie meant.

“Are you still in love with Matt?” Stephanie asked gently.

“I don't know what I feel. I don't know if it's love, if it's concern, fear for him or just a lot of old feelings that I never dealt with.”

“Well, you need to deal with it, Ellie,” Barbara said, “for yourself and everyone concerned.”

“Sometimes, after the dust settles, the past doesn't look so bad, anymore,” Stephanie said, “and we forget what made us leave in the first place.”

Elizabeth's gaze connected with Stephanie's. That much was true, she thought. Matt's abandonment no longer hurt as much as it did. And, over time, although she knew that Matt betrayed her in the worst possible way, she'd begun to remember the good times between them, all the years they'd lived, loved and worked together. Had Matt not been so adamant about leaving her and their marriage, she knew she would have tried to work through it. But it didn't happen that way. She was a divorced woman—a divorced women with doubts.

“I don't know what to do,” she finally said.

“Maybe, as hard as it is, you should take Ron's advice and take some time, Ellie,” Terri said. “'Cause it really sounds like you are uncertain. You have too many emotions and misgivings going on right now to make a clear decision about anything.”

“One of the few things I remember my mama telling me as a girl was, if you have two choices, line them up side by side, da good and da bad, and be honest,” Ann Marie said. “After you make your list of good and bad for each, you'll see which one is best for you.”

Elizabeth offered a crooked grin. “What if they come out equal?”

“Den, ya got yourself in one helluva jam.”

 

Ron walked into the dimly lit bar on Amsterdam and 122nd Street. The raucous laughter from the clientele greeted him at the door. Boos and cheers were directed at the huge television screens around the space. It was just what he needed. After Ellie'd left, he didn't want to be alone with his thoughts so he'd called Ali and asked if he wanted to hang out for a while. Ali had agreed. They decided to meet at the local sports bar and restaurant to watch the Knicks game.

He peered inside and spotted Ali at a table in the back. He wound his way around the circular and rectangle tables until he reached him.

“Hey, man,” Ali greeted, “you look like you just got your teeth kicked in.”

Ron lowered himself onto the hard wooden seat. “Feel like it.”

The waitress approached. “What can I get you?”

Ron looked up. “Beer for me.”

“Same,” Ali said.

“Thought you didn't drink.”

“I don't. But the shape you're in I don't want you drinking alone.” He chuckled good naturedly. He lifted his chin toward the television. “Knicks losing again,” he groused, and shook his head.

“What else is new?”

They watched the game until their drinks arrived.

Ali raised his mug. “To things getting a helluva lot better and quick.”

Ron raised his mug. “Got that right.”

They took long swallows.

“So, you wanna tell me what's going on?”

“Broke up with Ellie.”

“Not over this investigation bs?”

He shook his head. “That was part of it, but it's really about her husband.”

“Husband?” His thick brows rose in alarm. “I thought she was divorced.”

“She is.”

“Oh.” He let out a breath of relief. “Scared me there for a minute. But I still don't get it.”

Ron explained the events that had transpired and how he felt that Elizabeth wasn't being straight with him or herself. “So I let her go.”

Ali leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his broad chest. “Man, are you crazy?”

“Huh?”

“Deaf, too? You don't turn your woman over to another man. Those ain't the rules.” He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “Man, love is like…the Knicks.”

“What?”

“This is the way I see it: The Knicks are a good team. They fight hard all the way through the game until the fourth quarter thinking they got the game in the bag. Then they let their guard down and, little by little, the opponent whittles away all the points until the last two minutes of the game. Now it's a struggle. They have to use all their best plays if they want to win. Down by two, with less than ten seconds to go. Coach says to go with their best three-point man. Game is in his hands.” He paused and looked directly in Ron's eyes. “You're the three-point man. Either you're gonna go for it and win the game, or you're gonna shoot and miss.” He tossed up his hands. “It's on you.”

“Sounds real simple.”

“It is. You're up against a team with a lot of years of experience.” His mouth inched into a half smile.

“Maybe you're right.”

“Of course I am.” He finished off his beer. “Watch the game, brotha, and you'll see for yourself.”

 

Several hours and a few beers later, Ron put the key into the door of his apartment. Something wasn't right. He felt it the instant he stepped inside. Quietly, he shut the door and eased inside.

There was a light coming from beneath the door of his bedroom. He took the bat he kept behind the door. If anything was to go down it wouldn't be easy. He approached his bedroom and pushed the door open, the bat gripped tightly in his fist.

“Ellie! What the hell…”

“I finally decided to use my key.”