Destination D (19 page)

“I'm Debra.”

Nancy scrutinized Dee's appearance. Surely,
she
wasn't the new account executive, coming dressed like she was going to an after-hours party. David and Matthew were waving frantically for her
not
to ask a smart-ass question. But they were too late. “Are
you
the new account executive?” Nancy said, as she eyed her up and down.

“No. I'm dating Steve,” Dee said politely, waiting on her next remark while David and Matthew decided this was their cue to leave. It was all Dee could do to keep from bursting into laughter at the look on Nancy's face.

“Oh, I see. Great dress,” she said, trying to recover.

“Thank you. Well, it was nice meeting you,” Dee said, turning to walk back to Steve's office. She lightly knocked, and waited for him to answer.

“Come on in.”

“Ahem,” Dee said as she folded her arms across her breasts and watched him intently.

“Oh, hold on just a second, Bruce,” he said. He quickly turned around his chair and held his hand over the receiver while his eyes traveled around her body. “You look delicious.”

“And you need to tell Bruce goodbye.” Dee reached over his desk and walked her fingers over toward the phone's button to hang up on his caller. He grabbed her hand before she could press it, sliding her index finger into his mouth and gently sucking it. Dee grinned and slid her finger out his mouth.

“Bruce, I gotta run. I need to put out a fire here. Okay, we'll see you then,” he said as he held onto her hand, taking the finger he'd had in his mouth and pressing it on the phone's button.

Dee looked innocently around the office. “Fire? I don't see any fire.”

“That's just an industry term we use here when things are getting a little heated.” He walked around his desk and pulled Dee toward him. He kissed her tenderly on the forehead, making his way down to her lips before stepping back to take in her beauty. “C'mon, we better go.”

Dee kissed him with her mouth open and pressed her body hard against his. “What's the big hurry?” she said as she pulled his tie, forcing his face to come back toward hers.

“Dr. Briscoe hates it when people are late,” he said between kisses.

Dee kissed him some more. “Who's Dr. Briscoe?”

“Damn, I wasn't supposed to tell you,” he said, pulling back again from her.

Dee gently tugged on his tie again as he resisted. “Tell me what?”

“No, that was my surprise! I can't believe I let you use your feminine wiles to get it out of me,” he said jokingly. “C'mon, I'll tell you more about it on our way to the restaurant.” He grabbed his suit jacket off the coat rack along with her luggage as they breezed down the corridor toward the front desk.

“Have a good evening, Mr. Cushman, Ms. Mitchell,” Mildred said. Dee looked at her and smiled.

“You have a nice one, too,” Steve said, bending down to look in his message box. He still had about fifteen messages that he had to return. “Anything urgent?”

“Nothing that can't wait until Monday. Now, go on and have a nice time!”

“Okay, since you're twisting my arm. C'mon, Debra, let's go get us a couple of martinis,” he said as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

“Drink one for me, too!” Mildred yelled back as they headed out the door.

“Geez, Steve, slow down!” Dee grabbed her head as they went over a large pothole, thinking it would go through the fabric-covered roof of his BMW Z4 Roadster.

“Ahhh, Deb, you'll be fine. I'm sorry. That's what I love about this car; it lets me zip in and out of traffic while everyone else just sits there.”

“I see the thrill,” Dee snarled. Her nails gripped the dashboard until they came to a stoplight.

“All right…all right. I'll take her down a notch or two. I don't want you to be all frazzled when we get there.”

“Well, thank you.” Dee felt relieved when the car slowed to thirty miles an hour until they entered the restaurant's parking lot.

“Good evening. Welcome to The River Café,” the well-groomed valet said, as he walked over to the passenger side to open Dee's door.

“Thank you,” Dee said accepting his hand as she got out of the car. Dusk made the city lights sparkle. Her eyes danced at the sweeping views of the New York skyline. “This is so pretty.”

“I know. It's hard to believe that we are nestled right under the Brooklyn Bridge,” Steve chuckled as he looked down at his watch. “We're a little early. Do you want to go to the bar and have a cocktail before dinner?”

“Sure, why not?” Dee followed the hostess to the Terrace Room. The bar area was filled and conversations flowed around the room. There was a mix of business attire and evening clothes.
Yes, it's true; anything goes in New York,
Dee thought as she listened to the soft piano music playing in the background while they ordered their drinks.

“I'll have a glass of chardonnay,” Dee said to the bartender.

“And you, sir?”

“I'll take a martini, served very chilled with no olive, please.”

“What's a martini without an olive?”

“I hate olives. I thought I told you that,” he said pulling his chair closer and leaning in to whisper in her ear. “I'm so glad you were able to take some time off and come and visit me.” He brushed a few strands of wind-blown hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead. “Now I can see you better my dear.”

“Me too,” she giggled as the bartender placed their drinks down in front of them. Steve slipped her a one hundred-dollar bill.

“Keep the change. We'll each have one more after these,” Steve said, not looking at the bartender, but keeping his eyes focused on Dee.

“Thank you, sir.” The bartender rang up their order and placed her hefty tip in her pocket.

Dee circled her finger around the brim of her wine glass and looked at him thoughtfully. “So, tell me about this important Dr. Briscoe, Miscoe,” she laughed. “Why am
I
meeting him?”

Steve took a long sip of his martini and slid his arm delicately around her shoulder. “Okay, I guess I'm just going to have to tell you since you obviously don't want me to surprise you, judging from all of your questions. Dr. Bruce Briscoe is who I was talking to earlier when you tried to hang up on him,” he said, playfully scolding her. “He, my gorgeous lady, is the chief of pediatrics for one of the most prominent hospitals in Atlanta. He also happens to be one of my clients, and he was very impressed with how we publicized the opening of his new children's wing at the hospital. And he said if I ever needed anything to give him a call. And since you're studying to be a pediatrician, I thought I would introduce you to him in the hopes that he would assist you in choosing a residency program.” Steve lifted his glass and clinked it against hers, glancing toward the doorway. “As a matter of fact, speaking of the good doctor, here he is now,” Steve said, waving him over.

Dee's face looked as if she had been smacked hard by a block of ice. It lost all of its coloring and her hands shook uncontrollably. Before she knew it, Dr. Briscoe had made his way to the table and Dee was trapped like an unarmed soldier in an ambush.

Decompression

(The Next Day)

T
he living room was dark except for the illumination of the streetlights filtering in through the Venetian blinds. A pint of Haagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream sat on the coffee table, and a lumpy blanket rocked back and forth. Dee was underneath it, sobbing uncontrollably, while pulling its frayed edges up over her head. The front door opened and a flash of light hovered above her head as she continued to cry harder.

“Dee! Are you here? Girl, I've got some great news! I wo—” Pam stopped before Dee could answer. She dropped her purse at the top of stairs and rushed toward her. “Dee, what the…Dee, is that you? Are you all right?” She forced the covers out of Dee's hand and saw her best friend looking as if she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Her tear marks were black from streaks of mascara that had been running down her cheeks, and her hair was so matted to her face that traces of her lipstick were stuck between strands of hair.

Dee looked up at Pam and immediately turned away and began wiping her tears. “Hey, girl,” she said quietly. “Excuse me for a minute, will you? I'll be right back,” she said as she grabbed the container of ice cream. She choked back her tears.

Pam followed Dee to her room and stood in the doorway. “What's going on?”

Dee shook her head silently as Pam hugged her and stared down at Dee's hands. “Dee, what happened to your fingers?”

“It's nothing,” Dee said barely above a whisper as she sat on the bed. She looked down at her hands and folded them between her legs. Embarrassed, she turned her head and moved away from Pam.

“What do you mean nothing? Look at your hand!”

“I was at a restaurant last night in New York and accidentally broke a wine glass that I held too tightly, okay? A friend of mine took me to the hospital and the doctor bandaged my fingers.”

Pam peered down at her hand. “Geez, Dee, did you have to get stitches?”

“No, fortunately. I can't talk about this anymore, okay?”

“Why not? You talk to me about everything.”

“Trust me. Let's just leave it at that.”

“How can you say that? I don't understand.”

“Listen Pam, you and I haven't had a real heart-to-heart since…”

Pam got up from the bed and began to pace back and forth. It was still difficult for her to breathe when she thought about him. “I know.”

“You told me to never mention his name in this house. Remember?”

Pam nodded as she walked over to the small sitting area and sat down in Dee's oversized chair. She placed her head in her hands. Her voice fell silent as she thought about her recent brief encounter with him. “It still hurts. I can't seem to get rid of the pain. I met him at Piedmont Park recently.”

“What? When did he get out of prison?”

“Just recently.”

“But how? I mean, why was he in Atlanta?” Dee was stumbling all over her words. She couldn't get them out fast enough.

Pam laughed softly. “I know. I felt the same way. I guess to see me. But, he's fine. He's moving to Europe.”

“Why Europe?”

Pam shrugged her shoulders. “I didn't ask—just didn't want to know.” She could feel herself getting emotional again. She walked back to the window and stared at the Friday night traffic piling up on Peachtree Street.

Dee didn't know what to say. The last time she'd seen Greg, she had told him in no uncertain terms to stay away from Pam. Pam was so vulnerable after the loss of the baby and her marriage that she thought just seeing him would only push her over the edge.

Pam managed to look over at Dee. “He told me that you had been seeing him while he was in prison. Oh, and he's saved too,” she said casually.

Dee bowed her head. “I wanted to tell you but I couldn't. I'm sorry, but there just never seemed to be a good time. I'm not surprised he found some religion. He needed to do something to save his sorry soul.”

Pam smiled at her comment and felt the tears fall gently down her cheeks. “I understand, Dee,” she said as she wiped them away. “At first I was so mad at you for seeing him behind my back, but then he explained what you were trying to do and I appreciate that. I just thought I should let you know that. But your words hurt me earlier. Your situation has nothing to do with what happened to me and
him!
I can't believe you feel like you can't talk to me.”

“It has
everything
to do with you. Just look at how emotional you are. Still.”

“Dee, I've made my peace with him now. I'm fine, really.”

“No, you're not! You haven't been able to deal with anything that's not work-related since he went to prison! You can't even say his name out loud!”

“Dee, I'm fine.”

Who do you think you're fooling?
She watched Pam pull a tissue from the tissue box on the dresser and blow her nose. Dee said her words cautiously. But, they came out quicker than she planned. “What about Amanda?”

Pam turned around briskly still holding the tissue to her nose. “What did you say?”

“I said…what…about…Amanda?”

“So, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“When did you talk with her?”

“I ran into her last week.”

“And you didn't tell me?”

“I was hoping you would tell me! I'm sick of being caught in the middle of you two!”

“You feel caught in the middle? Why?”

“Because I have always been the one to try and keep the peace.”

“Peace?” Pam laughed.

“There has never been any peace with the three of us. That was the reason why we worked so well together. All of us had our own way of making noise!”

“Pam, you just can't let it go can you?”

“Sure, I've let it go. You and Amanda are the ones who seem to be clinging on.”

“You're joking right?”

“Dee, you brought this on, so let's finish it. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you love what you do.”

Dee immediately got up and started walking away.

“Where are you going? I asked you a question.”

“This isn't about me, Pam.”

“Sure it is. It's about you and Amanda still clinging on. You want to be a lawyer, but are too damned scared to take the bar. Amanda wants to be a lawyer, and she's let her excuse of being of a single mom not allow her to do what she's good at.”

“She's a good paralegal.”

“No, she is a great paralegal! But, she would make a helluva attorney! And it still pisses me off that both of you have taken the easy way out. That's why I gave her such a hard time at work. I wanted her to quit and go back and get her law degree. She knew those cases just as well as I did. I kept her there night after night, trying to get her to see that she could be just as good, if not better than I am. She hated me for it. But, I knew exactly what I was doing.”

“But, it backfired on you.”

“Yes, it did. And just like you, she just didn't have the confidence. She let her excuses of being a mother, or not being married take over her passion. And you, geez, I just don't know what happened to you. You can't possibly enjoy flying around being a servant in the sky!” Pam placed her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. “I'm sorry Dee. I didn't mean—”

“Yes, you did. You meant every word of it.”

“Okay. You're right. I did mean every word of it. But, I didn't intend for it to come out that way.”

“Well, that's why you are the successful one, Pam. You say what you mean and break people down until you get what you want, right?”

“Okay, let's call a truce here and end this discussion before it turns into something that we'll both regret. I've already lost one friendship and I don't want to lose another.”

“So, you do regret that Amanda quit?”

Pam looked at Dee piercingly. “I'm done talking about Amanda. I'm changing the subject. So, are you going to be able to work like this?” she asked, turning the attention back to Dee's hand.

Dee was glad to see that Amanda's departure did strike a chord with Pam. Now, the only thing she had to do was hope that the two of them would mend their friendship. For now she would play along.

“Okay, okay truce! If I tell you about it, will you stop bothering me?”

Pam laughed. “Yes, I will.” She lifted Dee's hand again and examined it. “What happened to make you hold the glass so tight?”

“I don't know. I guess it was just cheap glass, okay? “The doctor said it would heal in about a week. I'm off for a few days anyway, so I'll be okay to go back to work. Now, you know all about me and my drama, so since you won't let me bring up Amanda, are you ready to tell me how you're really doing since you saw—”

“No! Please let's just leave him in the past. I've worked out my feelings. Really.”

Dee looked apprehensive. “Pam, you really need to talk with someone.”

Pam burst into laughter. “Oh now, that's rich. You think
I
need a shrink?”

“I mean, look at you.”

“Dee, I'm warning you. I came in here tonight because I care about you. This was not supposed to be about me, remember?”

“I'm sorry, Pam. I didn't mean to come down on you like that.”

Pam saw the drained look in Dee's eyes. There was more to this than broken glass, and she knew it. Pam didn't want to argue anymore. She was tired and had done enough arguing in the courtroom these last few weeks, and didn't want to start over again at home, especially about Amanda or Greg.

“Hey, listen, it's been a long day for me, too. I'm going to take a bath. Will you be all right?”

Dee nodded and ate the last spoonful of melted ice cream and went to her bedroom and closed the door. Pam's earlier exhilaration about winning her case seemed ho-hum right now. She would tell Dee at another time.

The doorbell rang just as Pam was about to retreat into her own room. She walked up the stairs and checked the peephole and opened the door. “Sedrick! Your timing couldn't be more perfect!” Her smile widened as she stood on her toes to reach up and hug him.

He squeezed her hard, almost lifting her up off the floor. “Hey, I just stopped by to say hi and congratulations!”

“You heard?”

“Your face is plastered across all the television screens. My nurses were glued to the television in the breakroom watching you. Here, look for yourself,” he said, walking over to the television and pressing the remote control. Pam was wide-eyed as she watched herself with what looked like hundreds of microphones in her face, a crowd of television reporters, and her client and his family standing behind her like she was their guardian.

“Yes, it was a tough trial, but truth and justice was on our side today. I'm proud to be an integral part of the legal system, and I'm glad that the jury saw who the
real
victim was in this case. Thank you,” Pam said as she turned away from the cameras and walked off with her client and his family.

“Well, all righty now, Attorney Madison!” Sedrick joked giving her a high five. Pam jumped to reach his long hand.

“Well, thank you, thank you very much,” she said imitating Elvis Presley. They both laughed. “I still can't believe the news is still running that story.”

“I can! So, when do you make partner?”

“I don't know exactly, but it should be very soon.”

Sedrick turned to look at the pile of rumpled blankets that had taken on a life of their own on the sofa. “What's all this? Did you feel like you needed a nap after your big trial, Counselor?” He grinned.

Pam put her head down and shook it slowly as she thought sadly about Dee hiding something from her. “No, Dee was.”

“Oh, she's back?” Sedrick sounded surprised. “So, what'd she say about your win?”

“I haven't had a chance to tell her yet. She's kind of down, so I didn't think it was such a good time right now. But, hey, since you're here, maybe you can bring her out of her dark mood. I was going to take a bath.”

Sedrick shrugged his shoulders. “That's cool.”

“I'll tell her you're here.”

Sedrick nodded at her as he took a seat in the kitchen and stared at the starry sky. His career was going great. Could things have been different between him and Dee if they hadn't been such good friends for so many years?

“Hey, Sed.” The sound of a familiar voice interrupted Sed's thoughts. Dee was standing over him, wearing a pink floor-length terry cloth robe with matching slippers when she bent to kiss him on the cheek.

“My! Aren't
we
a lovely vision of Pepto-Bismol this evening?” He stood to give Dee a hug and held her longingly, breathing in the scent of her hair that smelled of fresh strawberries.

Dee laughed and gently pushed his chest. “Careful, I might just barf up all of my ice cream on you.”

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, touching her face with the back of his hand. “What happened to your hand?”

“I'm fine, doctor. Just a little cut. It looks much worse than it is, believe me,” she said impressed, by his warm bedside manner.

Sedrick looked deep into her eyes. He could tell that something was weighing heavily on Dee and he couldn't stand to see her in so much pain. “You want to sit down in the living room and talk?”

Dee sat down next to him with a blank look on her face. “In here is fine.”

“Okay, so why the doom and gloom?”

Dee was silent as her bottom lip began to quiver. Sedrick pulled her toward him and held her close.

“Oh, Sedrick, you're so fortunate,” she said looking at him reflectively as tears again surfaced in her eyes.

“Hey, why the tears if I'm so fortunate?” Sedrick said lightheartedly, trying to make her smile.

“Just like Pam, you go after what you want.”

“Dee, where is all of this coming from?”

“Oh, never mind,” Dee whispered as she got up and walked to the other side of the room. Sedrick followed and stood behind her and touched the back of her head.