His Other Woman: A Renny and Rachel Christmas Romance (6 page)

“Really?”

“For now. I need … we need to figure this Jasmine thing out.”

“Who cares? She left. Whatever she was hoping to happen, didn’t. Let’s forget her. I have,” he renewed his attack on my neckly flesh.

I wanted to forget her, I really did, but this was bigger than just her. Someone had invited her. This year. Not last year. This year. What was different this year from last? Me. Someone was trying to either get me to leave or get Renny to realize I was too old or boring or whatever, for him. Someone was showing him what he’d had and what he could have again. As for why she showed up, well, that was a totally different question.

“Who invited her? Help me with this Renny. Who hates me that much?”

“No one hates you, how could they?”

“Rosalie does.”

“Rosalie doesn’t hate anyone. She’s a sweet kid.”

“Yay, well, your sweet kid told me she’s mad at you for making Jasmine go away.”

“It wasn’t Rosalie. She wouldn’t even know how to get a hold of Jas.”

“Please don’t call her that.”

“Sorry. She wouldn’t know how to get ahold of that wicked bitch. Better?”

“Much. So not Rosalie. Then who? Reade?”

“Naw, I don’t think so. If it was him, he’s toast.”

“He isn’t thrilled with me, that’s for sure.”

“I had it out with him and Garrett after I left your house last month. Neither one of them would dare to cross me again, not after what I threatened them with.”

“Are you sure?” She had said Garrett. Clear as a bell. Garrett.

“I told them I’d quit the band if they ever interfered in my life again.”

“You what?”

“I was serious too. They know why we split and if they … I wouldn’t be able to work with them again.”

“Too bad we can’t ask her.”
Tell me, tell me
, I begged him. My powers of telepathy were sadly lacking though. He didn’t.

He pulled me to my feet and kissed me again. “She’s gone. Let’s forget about it, okay? We need to get ready for dinner anyway. I’m off to take a shower. Care to join me?”

“Oh Renny,” I said, starting to cry.

“Baby, what is it? Please don’t let her ruin this visit. Please. It’s what she wants.”

“No sweetheart, she wants you. She wants you back.”

“No way.”

“Trust me.”

“Well, she can want all she wants, it ain’t happenin’. Not now, not ever. Even if I hadn’t met you, I would never want her back. You have to believe me Rach.”

I wanted to. I really did. Trouble was, I didn’t.

9.

She hadn’t left. Oh, goody.

We came down to dinner, holding hands and laughing, to find her standing with a couple of cousins, holding a drink. She had changed as well and was stunning in a peacock green, slinky gown that accented her slanted green eyes and long, raven hair. She was exotic, sparkling and my worst nightmare. I looked down at my dusty blue outfit that had cost as much as a month’s of my wages and felt like I’d come from the rag shop. Damn her.

Renny was beside himself. He went over and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside from the group. I could hear their conversation and so could most of the room. A scene was definitely being made.

“What the hell are you doing here? I told you to leave.”

“I was invited and beside I don’t do what you tell me to anymore darling,” she answered sweetly as though crashing her ex-husbands family Christmas celebration was an everyday event for her. “Could you please let go of me?”

Jonathan and Ruth appeared instantly, smiling at everyone and trying to diffuse the tension.

“Dinner’s served everyone. Please find your place card. Thank you,” Ruth announced as people filtered out of the living room and into the enormous dining room, the two side rooms and the scattered patio tables which were all set up for dinner.

I hoped Renny and I were in a different room than Jasmine, or better still, she had no place card at all. No such luck. We were at the far end of the table near Ruth while Jasmine was seated right next to Jonathan. Was that a place of honor? I couldn’t give a shit, I was livid. I was no longer embarrassed. Someone was trying to put a big, fiddle-playing wedge between Renny and me.

Small talk and clanking of silver against dishes occupied a good half hour as masses and masses of food was passed, served and eaten. It was all delicious but I didn’t have much of an appetite. I kept glancing down the table at Jasmine. She was talking as though she hadn’t a care in the world. Those around her laughed at her jokes or leaned forward to listen just a little closer. She was comfortable in this environment. At one point she looked right at me and smiled. It was a challenge, pure and simple. She was here for one reason and one reason only; to get Renny back.
Over my dead body,
I thought, though I doubted that would stop her.

I was so busy plotting revenge that I missed a question from the auntie across the table from me. Renny nudged my knee and pointed at her.

“I’m sorry. What was that?” I asked.

“I was wondering if you had plans to go back overseas. Renny’s been braggin’ on you non-stop. Tells us you won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting from Afghanistan. He’s awfully proud of you young lady.”

Suddenly the table fell silent and everyone was listening. Renny had bragged about me. Young lady? I looked at her and realized she must be somewhere in between ancient and dead, so to her I was young. Bless her. Still I couldn’t miss the muffled snort from the far end of the table.

“I... well… it was team effort. My photographer also was cited.”

“But it must have been so scary,” a young woman a couple seats down commented. “I‘d be too afraid to write a word. You must be very brave.”

Was that another snort? Either Jasmine was deriding my accomplishments or someone had let Tilly in.

“It’s mostly boring,” I told the woman. “If anything is gonna get you it’s the extreme weather. It’s either blazing hot or frigid.”

“How long were you there?” This was another cousin.

“Two years, give or take.”

“And you’re going back?” This was Jasmine.
Fat chance
, I wanted to yell,
you’re not shipping me off overseas so you can get your hands on Renny.

“She’s not. Going back,” Renny told her. “She just finished a book about her experience.”

“Oh wow,” the original aunt chimed in. This was followed by a barrage of questions, “when can we read it?” “What’s it called?” “What’s it about?”

I smiled. I loved the attention, I’m not going to lie. And this was my territory, something I was good at. I might not be able to play a fiddle but I could play a computer. Mighty fine, I might add.

“It will be out in the spring if all goes well. My editor just sent me reams of notes that I need to take care of when I get home. Then I’m going on a book tour sometime in May.”

“You are?” Uh-oh, I hadn’t told Renny. Oops.

“I just heard. I’ll tell you more about it later, okay?” I flashed my eyes at him. He smiled but his teeth were grinding. Oh shit.

“Speaking of tours,” Garrett broke in, “we’re heading out in a couple of weeks too. Sticking close to home though so I expect you all to come out for us, right?”

The table turned to him and the barrage of questions went his way.  Jasmine smiled knowingly at him before adding, “We’re doing 27 cities though. It’ll be a killer of a tour but fun, I think.”

What?

Renny had my back. “What?”

“Didn’t Garrett tell you?
Focus
is opening for you.”
Focus
was her new band.  Garrett was the one who invited her. For whatever reason. Garrett was my new enemy.

Garrett shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry bro, slipped my mind what with …”

Renny was furious. He threw down his napkin, pushed back his chair and glared at Garrett with so much venom even I was scared.

“After what she did, you invite her here? You forget to tell me the minor detail that she was coming on the tour? This is low Garrett, even for you.”

“I didn’t invite her here, and I just found out about
Focus
yesterday. You’ve been a little preoccupied with your new lady-love for me to tell you.”

“Tell it to your new lead guitarist, ‘cause I’m out. I warned you guys.” He stormed out. Garrett and Reade exchanged shocked glances before Reade hissed, “I told you,” before following Renny from the room. Garrett looked sheepishly at everyone before stumbling after his brothers. Jasmine sat smiling. The cat that ate the cream.  Mission fucking accomplished, the little bitch. I think she would be just as happy ruining Renny’s life as having him back in her bed. A woman scorned to be sure.

Silence. Ruth slowly rose and moved to Jonathan who was looking much the worse for wear. She took his arm. “Come along darling,” she whispered to him. As they moved to the door she turned to the group. “Please enjoy the rest of dinner and thank you all for coming.” Then she elegantly moved them out of the war zone.

10.

I expected the room to go crazy with gossip as soon as Ruth and Jonathan left but instead it was eerily quiet. The older folks looked at their food and pushed it around on their plates but the younger people first stared at me then, at Jasmine like they were watching a tennis match. I don’t know what they were waiting for. Maybe they thought Jasmine and I would cat fight all over the good china.

The only person still eating was Jasmine who seemed composed and fine through the whole thing. She almost seemed triumphant. Maybe she was. Maybe she had done just what she planned to do by coming here today; caused a rift between the brothers. Somehow I don’t think I had much of a role in any of it, I don’t think she saw me as a threat at all. Whatever happened between her and Renny was not about another woman.

I weighed my options; I could sit here and be looked at like a monkey in a zoo or I could do what I wanted, which was find Renny. Not feeling in the entertaining mood I got up and walked out without a word.

I found them on the patio right outside Garrett’s music room. They were in heated battle and I wasn’t sure if it was safe to approach, but I did anyway. Hell, it couldn’t be worse than the mujahedeen, right?

Don’t count on it. As I got closer and they noticed me Reade said, “Well, if it isn’t Yoko now.”

That made me mad. Having lived through the break-up of the Beatles I knew it wasn’t Yoko’s –or my –fault. He couldn’t have said anything worse to inflame my already scalding rage.

“I had nothing to do with your little spat. I’m not the one who invited her here, nor am I trying to get Renny to leave the band. You two genius’s seem to have accomplished that all on your own.”

Garrett broke in, always a bit calmer than the twins, “We didn’t invite her here, either.”

“So you say, Jasmine’s been telling me a different version of events.” Renny wasn’t buying it.

“What? I didn’t invite her Renny. I swear it. “He seemed beside himself. Garrett wasn’t a very good liar so I was inclined to believe him on this one. Jasmine probably said his name instead of Reade’s’ since he was married. She was poison, pure and simple.

“I believe you Garrett, it’s not your style,” I told him.

“But it
is
mine?”

“Well, Reade, I don’t know. You were the one to stir things up in Toronto so you would be my guess.”

“Listen up Yoko …”

“Stop calling her that,” Renny rushed to defend me.

“No, Renny, I can handle this myself,” I put my hand on his chest but allowed him to wrap his arm around me. “Stop calling me that,” I said to Reade, then smiled up at Renny. “I told you.”

“Listen up Rachel … that better?”

“It’s my name though I haven’t heard anyone turn it into a cuss word before.”

“Whatever. If you knew what we know,” he said, pointing to Garrett and himself, “you would know we would never want that bitch around.”

“You both seemed pretty chummy with her and I don’t remember anyone asking her to leave.”

“We don’t do that here. It’s the South lady and we are polite no matter what, but that doesn’t mean we wanted her here.”

“If you’re going to call me lady, I’d rather you call me Yoko. But I do believe you. Do you?’ I asked Renny.

“I guess. He’s right, I don’t think they would call her.”

Garrett and Reade relaxed.

“That still begs the question; who did?” Renny asked.

“Your father invited me.” She stood silhouetted in the doorway, the light coming from behind and making her float like an apparition. An evil apparition. The boys were dumbstruck, either from her beauty or her pronouncement. I was just confused as Renny’s arm slipped off my shoulders.

Renny walked up to her and because she was still inside and a step up, they were almost nose to nose.

“That is a twisted, evil thing to say.”

She pushed past him and took center stage, all of us circling around to hear her tale.

“I ran into him a week ago. He was sitting on a bench outside a medical office all alone. So I sat down with him. He seemed quite pleased to see me.”

“You took advantage of an old man’s dementia,” Renny hissed at her.

“He has dementia? I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. He was perfectly lucid when I talked to him. He remembered we were divorced, even for how long. He suggested that it was time to put all the ugliness aside. So he invited me to the party today.”

“And you decided it would be fun to wreck a cherished Taylor tradition, just like always.”

“I didn’t know I had the power to ruin anything. I was under the impression, as was your father, that you had moved on Renny. I read about your new, what do you call her, girlfriend? Lover? Mommy?” She turned her evil-witch smile on me and I would have given anything to be able to smite her with a spell. But this wasn’t a fairytale and I wasn’t Snow White. Or Sleeping Beauty.

“You can insult me if you want Jasmine, I’ve been shot at so you are nothing but an irritation. But if you have any feelings for this family you should leave.”

“This isn’t your house, is it? I’ll leave when Renny tells me to.”

“I believe he already has. Several times.”

Both Jasmine and Renny looked at me quizzically. I whispered to him, “I’ll tell you later.”

“Leave,” he said.

“Don’t you want to know why I really came today? We are going to be on the road together for a couple of months, don’t you think we should iron some things out before that?”

“Is that why you kissed him? Trying to put the past behind you?’

“You were there,” she smiled at me.

“Yes, I was.”

“Well then you know that he kissed me back. Isn’t that right Ren?”

“What do you want, more money?” he asked her, furious, embarrassed and guilty. Now he knew I knew about the kiss. And that he hadn’t told me about it. He knew that was going to come back to haunt him more than the kiss itself.

Jasmine stood her ground. She practically begged Renny. “I want to talk with you alone. Just for a minute.”

“No way. Whatever you have to say you can say in front of all of us. You don’t get to barge in her, make demands and get things all your way. You forfeited that right two years ago, remember? You made your choice then. Now, I am asking you to leave politely because I am a nice Southern boy and because it’s Christmas, but I will drag you by your hair to your car if I have to.” Garrett clapped him on the back while Reade chuckled. Me? I wanted to see some hair dragging.

Garrett stepped up, removing any possibility of delightful violence, put his hand on her elbow and said, “Let me show you the door.” She gave one last long look at Renny and played her last card.

“I came to apologize Ren, I came to ask for forgiveness so we could both move on.”

Renny stood his ground, “I forgave you a long time ago Jas, you are what you are after all, but I will never forget. And just for the record, I have moved on.”

Garrett moved her a couple of steps before she finally wrenched her arm from him and walked back into the house. “I’ll make sure she leaves,” Garrett assured us.

Renny turned and walked a few paces away, clearly still upset. “Why did he invite her? I don’t get it,” Reade asked.

“’Cause he doesn’t know why we split. Mom didn’t think we should tell him,” Renny said.

“That explains it. I just thought the old man was really losing it.”

“He is really losing it but not about this.”

I had had enough of riddles, enigmas and other fuzzy stuff. “What did she do?”

“Shit. I’m out of here,” Reade said as he walked back into the house.

“What did she do?” I asked again, a little louder.

“Not now. Not here.”

“Yes, now, yes, here.”

People were filtering out onto the patio now. Dessert was over and all the entertainment had left so they came to find it. I had been the center of the storm long enough. I walked back into the house, through the great room and over to Renny’s bedroom before anyone could say anything or stop me. I was never in the mood for idle chit-chat but I was afraid I would bite off the heads of anyone who tried at the moment.

What was the big secret? So she left him for another guy? Or girl? Marriages ended, I certainly knew that but what was so terrible they couldn’t tell Jonathan? I wasn’t going to sleep tonight until Renny told me the whole horrible tale.