washed
her shirt and the two pair of panties in the sink in the bathroom,
wringing them out as best she could. She hung them over the shower
curtain. Finding a fan in the closet, she took it into the
bathroom, set it to blow over her clothes, and went back to the
window seat. Staring out into the dark night sky, Julie thought
about what had brought her to his point. The reason she had run,
had become nothing in the first place. Her family.
Julie’s father and her very best friend
had died of a sudden heat attack two weeks before. Still reeling
and in so much pain and shock, she had gone to dinner with her
mother, Uncle Samuel, her father’s brother, and her two brothers.
They had just left the attorney’s office after the reading of the
will, leaving Julie the youngest and the richest woman in the
world.
“ I still can’t believe he
left you everything, Alyssa. And would you please stop looking like
someone just took your last piece of cake? It’s been a month. Get
over it and move on,” her mother snarled at her.
“ It’s been two weeks, not
a month. And I will mourn how I please for as long as I please. If
this is why you wanted me to meet you, then I have more important
things to see to.” She stood to leave.
Although Alyssa was only seventeen at
the time, she’d not lived at home for more than three years. She’d
been set up first in an apartment in the city with maids to “care”
for her then as recently as six months ago, alone. Her father had
seen how she and her mother had fought constantly and had made
these arrangements to please them both, but mostly Alyssa. Shannon
Howard did not like having her daughter around to remind her of her
fading beauty and Alyssa didn’t—no, wouldn’t be the little girl her
mother wanted. Alyssa didn’t want to be in pageants like the other
little girls; she wanted to go to school. Alyssa was top in her
class everywhere she went, yet she forbade the papers from telling
her story. Things like pink rooms and frilly dresses made her ill;
her hair and nails being done was not something she could sit still
for, and meeting her mother for luncheons and teas with her friends
was completely out of the question.
“ Sit down,” Shannon hissed
at Alyssa, looking around the restaurant. “My God, is everything a
battle with you? Sit down, Alyssa, or so help me, I will never
speak to you again.”
Alyssa smiled. She knew it was an empty
threat. According to the will, Shannon would need to speak to her
daughter if she wanted to continue to live in the manner her father
had decreed in his will. Alyssa even owned the house she was
staying in, lock, stock, and barrel, as her daddy used to say.
Apparently, her daddy had known about the affairs his wife had been
having right under his nose. And he had gone to great lengths to
ensure that Shannon knew it as well. Julie could almost hear her
daddy laughing at what he’d done.
Alyssa sat. Not because she had to, but
because she wanted to hear what she had to say to her.
“ You have five minutes.
Then I’m going home. Spill it or not, Mother. I could care less
what you think you might have to say to me that I might find
important.”
“ All right.” Shannon
looked around the table. “I’m not going to let you ruin my life
again, Alyssa. I’ve had enough of your—”
“ Me ruin yours?” Alyssa
asked incredulously. “How on earth do you figure I had anything to
do with the way you fucked up your life? Could it be one of the
tens of dozens of men you fucked in Daddy’s bed, or maybe the fact
that these two”—she pointed at her brothers—“aren’t even
his?”
That was another revelation that came
out at the reading. Just Alyssa was her father’s child. The boys,
Nathan and Robert, were from two different men before Alyssa had
even been born.
“ You’ll be married soon
enough and you’ll see how hard it is to remain faithful to just one
man. But that’s your problem, not mine.” Shannon glanced at
her shirt and the two pair of panties in the sink in the bathroom,
wringing them out as best she could. She hung them over the shower
curtain. Finding a fan in the closet, she took it into the
bathroom, set it to blow over her clothes, and went back to the
window seat. Staring out into the dark night sky, Julie thought
about what had brought her to his point. The reason she had run,
had become nothing in the first place. Her family.
Julie’s father and her very best friend
had died of a sudden heat attack two weeks before. Still reeling
and in so much pain and shock, she had gone to dinner with her
mother, Uncle Samuel, her father’s brother, and her two brothers.
They had just left the attorney’s office after the reading of the
will, leaving Julie the youngest and the richest woman in the
world.
“ I still can’t believe he
left you everything, Alyssa. And would you please stop looking like
someone just took your last piece of cake? It’s been a month. Get
over it and move on,” her mother snarled at her.
“ It’s been two weeks, not
a month. And I will mourn how I please for as long as I please. If
this is why you wanted me to meet you, then I have more important
things to see to.” She stood to leave.
Although Alyssa was only seventeen at
the time, she’d not lived at home for more than three years. She’d
been set up first in an apartment in the city with maids to “care”
for her then as recently as six months ago, alone. Her father had
seen how she and her mother had fought constantly and had made
these arrangements to please them both, but mostly Alyssa. Shannon
Howard did not like having her daughter around to remind her of her
fading beauty and Alyssa didn’t—no, wouldn’t be the little girl her
mother wanted. Alyssa didn’t want to be in pageants like the other
little girls; she wanted to go to school. Alyssa was top in her
class everywhere she went, yet she forbade the papers from telling
her story. Things like pink rooms and frilly dresses made her ill;
her hair and nails being done was not something she could sit still
for, and meeting her mother for luncheons and teas with her friends
was completely out of the question.
“ Sit down,” Shannon hissed
at Alyssa, looking around the restaurant. “My God, is everything a
battle with you? Sit down, Alyssa, or so help me, I will never
speak to you again.”
Alyssa smiled. She knew it was an empty
threat. According to the will, Shannon would need to speak to her
daughter if she wanted to continue to live in the manner her father
had decreed in his will. Alyssa even owned the house she was
staying in, lock, stock, and barrel, as her daddy used to say.
Apparently, her daddy had known about the affairs his wife had been
having right under his nose. And he had gone to great lengths to
ensure that Shannon knew it as well. Julie could almost hear her
daddy laughing at what he’d done.
Alyssa sat. Not because she had to, but
because she wanted to hear what she had to say to her.
“ You have five minutes.
Then I’m going home. Spill it or not, Mother. I could care less
what you think you might have to say to me that I might find
important.”
“ All right.” Shannon
looked around the table. “I’m not going to let you ruin my life
again, Alyssa. I’ve had enough of your—”
“ Me ruin yours?” Alyssa
asked incredulously. “How on earth do you figure I had anything to
do with the way you fucked up your life? Could it be one of the
tens of dozens of men you fucked in Daddy’s bed, or maybe the fact
that these two”—she pointed at her brothers—“aren’t even
his?”
That was another revelation that came
out at the reading. Just Alyssa was her father’s child. The boys,
Nathan and Robert, were from two different men before Alyssa had
even been born.
“ You’ll be married soon
enough and you’ll see how hard it is to remain faithful to just one
man. But that’s your problem, not mine.” Shannon glanced at
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