Happily Ever Never

34. Brooke

34

brOOKE

I grab my cell phone from the nightstand as soon as I wake up. It’s Sunday. The day I visit my parents. I could have gone yesterday instead of helping out at the theater, but Saturday is a busy day at the bakery. My mother would have felt obligated to drop everything to spend time with me, and she and I still need every cent that we can earn.

As I pick up the phone, I see there’s still a small patch of blue paint on my hand, from painting a sky on a backdrop yesterday. It felt really good to be working with Tara, who worked side by side with me in the scenery department yesterday, because it’s a small theater and she wears a lot of hats.

I’m still home, in Manhattan. I think I’m here forever now. I’ll never see Green Acres again. This is what I wanted, what I prayed for, but still I feel a deep, sharp pang of sadness for friends I’ll never see again. It helps a little to know that they’ll be all right, and that we helped steer them on the path to better lives.

And they’ll never miss us. They’ll never even know we’re gone. Susie and Jasper have taken our place. I bet Susie will be Brenda’s maid of honor .

"Hello?” I say, hoping against hope that it’s Lucas calling me, but it isn’t.

“Brooke, it’s so marvelous!” my mother sings out.

“What’s so marvelous?” I’m doing another round of sitting up and feeling around my bed as we speak.

“Are you kidding me? They’re doing such a marvelous job on the house, sweetheart. And he’ll be home tomorrow. Can you believe it? Tomorrow!”

I am beyond confused. She must be talking about my father, but how could he be coming home tomorrow? And who’s doing what to our house, and why does she think I know what she’s talking about?

“So, uh...” I trail off. “Sorry, I just woke up. I’m a little slow right now.” Apparently I’m supposed to know all about this.

“Well, meet me at the house, silly! And then we’ll go see your dad and give him the good news.”

The good news. At least that sounds promising.

“See you in a couple hours,” I say.

I quickly shower and make myself some coffee.

Tara, who is doing ballerina twirls in the kitchen, is also in a great mood.

“Guess what,” she says.

“Chicken butt?”

She stops spinning. “No, you rube. We’ve been contacted by some mysterious patron of the arts who’s going to make a big investment in our theater. We actually have enough money to hire people now. Such as a full-time set designer.” She arches an eyebrow. “We can pay a reasonably good salary, and also, it comes with amazing health benefits that cover everyone in the family.”

“Seriously?” I chew my lower lip. “I... am considering it.”

“Really?” she shrieks. “Omigod! Omigod!” She dances around the room again, waving her arms wildly, and knocks over a hanging fern. “Fern!” she shrieks. “I’m so sorry. Did I kill you?”

“Calm down, I said I was considering it. Yes, I would love to work with you,” I say, as I fetch the broom and dustpan from our small broom closet.

The two of us carefully scoop the dirt back into the pot and re-hang it.

Then I lean on the counter to take a few sips of coffee and consider what she just told me. “If you have an actual job with an actual salary and benefits, I could work at the theater and maybe I could also waitress a few nights a week, and I might be able to survive financially.”

I never dreamed I’d really have the opportunity to work with Tara, but I don’t know if I even have a job anymore.

I have left many, many messages for Lucas.

He hasn’t answered a single one. I keep checking the news to see if there are any reports of him getting in a terrible car crash, but I know he hasn’t. He’s choosing not to speak to me, and I don’t understand why.

I don’t know if he still wants me to work for him. I don’t know if I even want a job with him anymore. We went through the most incredible experience together and we made it back home and now, he’s ghosting me. What a dick move.

Unless maybe he doesn’t remember anything about what happened, and I’m the only person in the world who knows about Green Acres. I don’t know. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I guess we’ll find out when I show up for work on Monday.

“I’m heading out to visit my parents. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I’m taking the job,” I say to her.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Tara says. “Send my love to your parents.” I leave to take the Metro North Railroad to Connecticut .

I arrive at my family’s house via Uber to see a construction crew swarming over the grounds.

My mother is standing outside watching them, and she greets me with a hug as the Uber pulls away. I hug her back really hard. It wasn’t that long ago that I thought I might never see her again.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this for us,” she cries out. “I can’t believe you kept it a secret! Oh, honey, it’s so wonderful. Your father will be so happy.”

“Uh, okay. What exactly am I doing again?”

She gives me a puzzled look. “Well, you used that grant from work?”

When I don’t say anything, she keeps going. “The one that helps out families of people with dementia... retrofitting the house to make it safe for your dad, and then we have the team of caregivers coming in starting tomorrow, to watch over him when I’m at work?”

The grant from work? So Lucas is behind this. He won’t even speak to me on the phone, but he’s spending a small fortune to change my family’s life?

Well, for me it’s a small fortune, anyway. I’d never have been able to do this, and the guilt of having my father in a residential care facility has been eating away at me, no matter how nice a facility it is. He wants to be home.

I suck in a breath, staring at the house saucer-eyed. “Oh. That.”

My mother’s brow creases. “Are you all right?”

“Sure, of course. I’m just... ah, very emotional seeing all of this come to fruition.” There are men putting security cameras up around the outside of the house, and a team putting what look like sensors on our doors and windows. Another team is putting up a fence around our property.

My father won’t be able to wander off anymore. And with a team of caregivers, he’ll be safe at home while my mother works or runs errands. My mother could even cut back on her hours at the bakery and maybe hire somebody to help her, and she could spend more time with Dad.

“Well, it’s incredible. Remember to thank your boss for me a million times over. He’s changed our lives, he truly has.” My mother is teary-eyed and smiling at the same time. “I’m going to bake him a cake.”

“I’m sure he’ll like that.”

“Well, let’s go visit your father!”

Stunned, I let my mother lead me to her car.

_ _ _ _

Lucas’s apartment building is on the Upper East Side. I rarely make visits to it, mostly because he’s at work just about every waking moment, so there’s no need.

I need to talk to him, though, because I know why he came up with that fake grant and had one of his crews redo my family’s home, and what I have to say can’t wait until Monday morning.

Standing in front of the building, I take a moment to steel my nerves. I suck in a deep breath and let it out. Then I stalk into the lobby and fix the concierge with a cold glare. “I’m here to see Lucas Sheffield. My name is Brooke Langley.”

“Uh, I don’t think he’s in.” He looks alarmed. “He doesn’t take unannounced visitors. You’ll have to contact his office to make an appointment.”

“Oh, he’s in, all right. And you’ll have to call the police if you want to get rid of me.”

His face takes on a haughty demeanor. “That can be arranged.”

“No need, Marcello.” Lucas is walking through the front door. I spin around to face him. So he’s healthy, he’s fine, he hasn’t been hit by a bus. He’s just chosen to ignore my calls. Good to know.

“Hello, Lucas. Or should I call you Jasper?”

“Brooke.” He gives me a sad smile. “Let’s take a walk.”

“Yes, why don't we do that?” I say icily.

He holds the door open for me, and we meander down the street. Manhattan. We’re home. Cars are honking, skyscrapers loom over our heads. He and I should be celebrating together, dancing in the street, going to every cafe and restaurant, running through Central Park hand in hand.

But that’s never going to happen. I can see it in his face, in the infinite sadness shining from his eyes.

“You got my messages,” I say accusingly.

“Yes, I did.”

“And?” I spit the word out furiously.

“And... I’m sorry. Uh, you were at your parents’ house today. My foreman told me. Looks like your father should be able to come home tomorrow.”

I stop dead. He stops walking too. I slap him so hard my hand stings.

“Are you kidding me?” I scream at him.

He blinks hard. I can see a red print appearing on his right cheek. “I deserved that,” he says quietly. “I deserved that and more.”

“Don’t try to buy your way out of this, you son of a bitch. Get your crew to undo everything they’ve done.”

He shakes his head. “No. I will do anything in the world for you, but I won’t do that. Your father needs this. Your mother needs this. You don’t know how much time you have left with your parents—I mean, none of us know that—and your father should be able to enjoy his final months or years or whatever, at home.”

I suck in a furious breath. He’s got me there. If there’s any way for me to have my father spend the rest of his life at home, I’ve got to take it. It would be selfish of me to do anything else. My mother and father were so happy. He’s manipulating me with this farewell present that he knows I can’t refuse. “You conniving son of a bitch.”

He nods, and his eyes are shining with sorrow. “I am that. In more ways than you know.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Lucas, enough with the pity party. Tell me what’s happening. This is me, Brooke Langley, the woman you’ve given countless orgasms to and whispered to when you thought I was sleeping, the woman who’s spent every waking minute of the last couple of years by your side. I think I know you pretty well.”

His gaze is somber. “Better than anyone.”

“So tell me what is going through your head right now. After we went through hell together... well, okay, we went through heck...” I wave my hands in frustration. “Damn it, we went through something!”

“We went through a lot. I’ll never forget it. Brooke, I’m sorry. I’m... I’m a horrible mess. The men in my family have an unbelievably awful history with women. I'm no different than my father and grandfather. No better than them.”

My heart clenches in on itself.

“Don’t be an absolute idiot. We’re not carbon copies of our parents, Lucas, and you know better. I am not my mother or my grandmother. We’re all our own people. We make our own choices.”

Lucas’s face is a mask of misery.

“I’ve been a selfish bastard from the minute I met you. I could have hired a second assistant to handle the overflow, I could have done it easily, but instead I wanted you around me every minute that I could. I told myself it was okay because I was paying you a salary that would help you cover part of your dad’s care, and I was covering the rest of it, but I wasn’t doing it for you. I was doing it for me. ”

“You paid for my father’s care?” I splutter. “Of course you did. That place was like the Rolls Royce of care homes; it obviously cost way more than I was paying. How could I not have seen that?” I fix him with a steady gaze. “So you’ve always cared about me. You’ve always... loved me.” I choke on the words.

He gives me a somber nod.

“But you don’t want a relationship with me.”

“I can’t have a relationship with anybody. That’s different than not wanting one. I know what I am. I know what I’ve always been.”

“And what is that, exactly?” I demand.

His expression turns grim. “A workaholic. A man who’s good at one thing—making money. I am terrible at relationships, at friendships, at life. I can support a few thousand employees across the country by running a very successful business. That’s all.”

“Bullshit. You were a friend to Miguel Hernandez, and Brenda, and even to Brenda’s brother. You went out of your way to help people in Green Acres when you didn’t have to.”

“I did have to. We needed to get back home.”

“That’s not why you did it,” I snap at him.

“I know you want to believe the best about me, Brooke. That’s because you’re a better person than I am. You’ve always been my better half.” Tears are glittering in his eyes.

“You said you loved me,” I tell him, looking him straight in the eye. “Back at the theater. You said it in front of everybody.”

“You remember?”

“Of course I remember. That’s what brought me out of my trance. That’s what set me free. Did you not mean it?”

“It doesn’t matter.” His face flushes.

“Of course it matters.”

“I am no good for you, Brooke. Sooner rather than later, I’d break things between us. You know how I get when I’m at my worst, with clients who are trying to screw me over, with people who try to give me a hard time? Vicious and domineering and downright cruel? That’s how I’d act with you, Brooke. I know how Sheffield men are.”

“Shut up,” I say to him. “Shut. Up. This is you being something I thought you never were. A coward. Well, I can fix a lot of things, but I can’t fix stupid. Goodbye, Lucas. I hope you wake up and let down your walls before you’re old and alone.”

“Wait! I’m going to give you a severance package!” he shouts after me as I stalk away. “A really generous severance package!”

“No, you’re not!” I yell as I march straight ahead. “If you do, I’ll donate it to charity!”

I can’t turn around, because I’m not crying yet, but if I look at him, I might start.

My throat burns. I blink away tears.

I don’t have a job anymore. Well, I do. I have one at Tara’s theater that will probably pay ten percent of what I earned at Sheffield Properties, but thanks to Lucas, I no longer have to help pay for my father’s care, so I can do whatever I want. I’m not trapped in his gilded cage anymore.

And that’s exactly why Lucas did it. Not to be generous, but as a salve for his conscience, so he’d have an excuse to send me on my way with the minimum amount of guilt.