Page 2 of A Chance at Forever
The Lockridges’ yellow and white, two-story farmhouse sat a good distance off a rural road. Clusters of old oak trees surrounded it and lined the long gravel driveway. Derek parked next to their father’s shiny black Lexus and remarked, “Dad’s home. Carter is out with Amelia.”
“I don’t want to tell him or our big brother what happened tonight. Not yet, anyway.”
“Okay.”
In the purple dusk of evening, a soft summer breeze drifted through the open windows. Thin white curtains billowed. Derek and Victoria entered the spacious living room and headed toward the homey kitchen.
“Want a drink?” Derek asked as he reached for a bottle of beer in the refrigerator.
Victoria shuddered and shook her head. “No. I’ll have water.”
They perched on barstools and gazed at each other. “Spill it, Tori.”
Her heart pounded and blood thrummed in her ears. “Alan invited me out tonight for the express purpose of telling me we’re over. He cheated on me. More than once. His words, not mine.”
Derek’s slate-colored eyes flashed with anger. “What a cold-hearted snake!”
“Then, a fangirl gushed all over him. Alan allowed her to sit on his lap and kiss him on the cheek while she took a selfie.” Victoria paused and gathered her breath. “I lost it, Derek. For the first time in my life, I lost my self-control. I dumped a whole bottle of wine over both of them and threw the sapphire necklace Alan gave me for Valentine’s Day at him before I left Le Bernardin.”
While she’d been speaking, Derek checked his cell phone. He clicked on the video of the incident at the restaurant. When he saw the expression on Alan’s and fangirl’s faces after Victoria dumped the Merlot on them, he burst into laughter. “Guess he never saw that coming.”
“It’s not funny, Derek. The video has gone viral, and I’m getting nasty text messages. Dad is not going to be happy about this.”
“I think he’ll be more concerned about you than the company.”
Victoria drummed her fingers on the granite countertop. “I know.”
They fell silent a moment before Derek asked in a quiet tone of voice, “Are you in love with Alan?”
She stared at the bottle of water in front of her. Condensation dripped down its rippled sides. Alan Richmond, star quarterback of the New York Jets, swept her off her feet. With his blond hair, classic good looks, and bright blue eyes, she’d been smitten by his attention. Up until now, she’d always considered herself a smart and savvy woman withtwodegrees from Harvard—one in English and Drama Education and the other in Business Administration. But Alan had blinded her with his charm. They’d traveled for both pleasure and business, and he’d spent an exorbitant amount of money on clothes and jewelry for her. None of which she’d needed or wanted or demanded from him.
Had she fallen in love with him?
“No. I’m humiliated and embarrassed but not devastated.” Her finger traced drops of water on the bottle. “Don’t you wish we could find what Mom and Dad shared before she passed away?”
Derek took a final swig of his beer. “Yeah, but that’s rare these days. Nothing was more important while they were building Lockridge Cosmetics than us kids and each other. How they managed to balance a full work life with family life is a mystery to me.”
“Me, too.” Victoria slid from her barstool and hugged her brother. “Thanks for rescuing me tonight and for listening. Keep what happened to yourself?”
“Yeah.” He extended his pinky. “Pinky promise, Tori.”
She hooked her pinky with his and kissed him on the cheek. “Good night.”
On her way upstairs, Victoria glanced into the living room. Her mother’s old upright piano caught her attention, and the pain of losing Catherine ten years ago ripped through her again. Victoria had spent countless hours sitting next to her mother on the piano bench as she learned how to play and sing. The memory of her mother’s music haunted her, so she’d stopped playing the piano because it hurt too much.
Though Victoria loved thelocationof the farmhouse, she didn’t loveit. It had never felt like home to her. Only a few mementos of her mother adorned the living room: family photos, the piano, and one of the quilts she’d designed draped the back of the country blue sofa. Every day on her way to work, Victoria caressed the quilt, the equivalent of a physical mom hug. Tears formed in her eyes again. Three years ago she’d left a teaching career she loved to join the family business because she missed her father and brothers. It was a decision she believed her mother would have approved. She had never wanted the family to be separated.
Victoria released her breath and dashed away her tears before she headed upstairs. In a sudden rage when she reached her bedroom, she dumped her jewelry box and threw every piece Alan had given her into a small wastepaper basket in the bathroom. Then, she ransacked her closet and tossed every fancy dress, evening gown, pair of pants, and blouse purchased by her philandering boyfriend into a pile on the hardwood floor. If it were wintertime, Victoria would throw the pile into the fireplace and burn it to ashes.
Her eyes fell upon a framed photograph of her and Alan taken at the Globe Theatre in London where they had attended a production ofHamlet, and her rage subsided. Alan had been especially attentive that night, taking her first to dinner, then to see her favorite Shakespearean play. The evening had ended in his bed. Victoria blushed. At least her first experience had been the stuff of her romantic dreams. Though it lacked mutual love, it hadn’t lacked passion. Instead of ripping the photograph to pieces, she shoved it into a nightstand drawer.
Victoria’s energy waned. She changed into a pair of cotton sleep shorts and an old T-shirt and curled up in the window seat. Her bedroom overlooked the well-tended garden planted in her mother’s memory. She drew her knees up to her chin, wrapped her arms around her legs, and let the tears flow.
*
Victoria awoke lateSaturday morning. She stumbled into the bathroom and studied her reflection in the mirror. Pale skin. Puffy eyes with dark circles beneath them. Traces of tears still on her cheeks. She must have cried during her sleep.
A hot shower eased the tension in her muscles, and she dressed in a pair of yellow shorts and matching blouse. After pulling her hair into a ponytail, she headed downstairs. Once in the kitchen, Victoria helped herself to a plate of French toast with fresh fruit and a cup of coffee and joined her father and brothers on the patio where they were enjoying breakfast by the pool. She set down her plate and cup on the frosted glass tabletop and greeted her father, Richard, and brothers with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
