Page 5 of Forbidden Fruit

I laugh. Kay looks at me like I just slapped her. But it’s better than pitying her. That’s one thing she can’t stand and one thing I’m too proud to do.

“Come on, Kay,” I say. “You’re getting a hell of a deal. Don’t make this about Jack.”

“Why not?” she says. “You’ve made everything else about Jack.”

I sigh and put my drink down next to hers. Kay was never very good at the emotional appeal, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.

“Look,” I say. “You’re going to have to get used to it. Life without me doing everything for you.”

“That won’t be so hard,” she says. She’s standing straight again. I knew that look wouldn’t last.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The problem is, I’m not used to seeing you so damned happy,” she says.

“That’s about to change,” I say.

We look at each other, and I see something new in her eyes. It’s panic or something close. She thinks I’ve already moved on. She thinks she’s been replaced.

“Kay, I haven’t—” I start. But then I see the way she’s watching me. It’s almost like a challenge. Almost like the woman I married.

“Oh, forget it,” I say. “You won’t believe me, anyway.”

“About anything?”

“About a lot of things,” I say. “But not about Jack. He needs to stand on his own.”

I can’t tell if it’s a smile or a snarl, but her lips curl as she turns to the window.

“I think you mean me,” she says.

“That’s what you’d like to think.”

“No, Clive,” she says, still looking away. “That’s what you’d like to think.”

I take my drink and toss it back. This was supposed to be easy. Just one quick visit, and then I’m gone. But Kay’s always known how to keep me hanging on longer than I want. She turns around just in time to see me put the empty glass on the table.

“Leaving already?” she says. “I thought I was getting through to you.”

“Getting through,” I say. “But not with what you wanted.”

She smirks at me. I’d like to say it’s the same old smirk, but it’s not. There’s something new in it. Like she’s about to take a swing.

“Tell you what,” she says. “There is something else I want to talk to you about.”

I knew this wouldn’t be simple. I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I heard about Jack, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I saw her, no matter how much I want that. But now she has my attention.

“All right,” I say. “You’ve got me.”

“Two minutes,” she says.

“Try me.”

“Sit back down, Clive,” she says. “It might take longer than you think.”

She was never easy to get away from.

Clive

---