Chapter Eleven

 

“Devon, go sit in the car and wait there,” Claire ordered. “Make sure you lock yourself in and don’t open the doors for anyone but us. Go.”

Devon shoved her untouched plate of spaghetti and meatballs away and made a grand fuss of leaving the table. She didn’t even bother looking at her mother for moral support, knowing all too well she would side with Claire. She stomped away from the table, but not before casting Claire a murderous look.

Claire returned the stare with equal wrath.

Devon pretended to leave but hid in a nearby alcove and eavesdropped.

“Claire, I let her have the wine, it’s my fault,” Analise apologized.

“She drank the whole glass.”

“We should have been paying more attention.”

“She’s used to getting away with murder, Analise. I do question your parenting skills sometimes,” Claire stated, tossing back her own wine and refilling both of their glasses.

“That’s a bit harsh. I love my daughter and I try to be a good mother. You can’t expect me to keep her on a leash.”

“Manners and discipline are what I expect. Trevor is a model son, meticulously groomed, polite, and even enjoys doing his own laundry.”

“Devon is intelligent, inquisitive, and extremely sensitive. She is the kind of person who has to experience things herself, not take someone’s word as rote. Besides, this isn’t a competition, Claire.”

“You know I love Devon, Analise.”

“If you love her be more patient with her. If you love me, be more patient, period.” Analise put her hand on Claire’s.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I’m used to being in charge and running things, you know it’s hard for me to turn off. And it’s been much too long since we’ve been together, if you know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean, Claire, and of course we’re both frustrated, but if you don’t stop being a bitch I’m not going to want to share a bed with you, if you know what I mean.”

“Sexual blackmail?” Claire whispered with a devilish smile. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me,” Analise raised a brow.

“Okay, I’ll put away my guns,” Claire conceded. “But I still don’t think it is right to let Devon drink, period.”

“That’s duly noted and I agree.”

“And she has been mouthy with me.”

“Growing pains, Claire, that’s all. Please, can we drop it now? Let’s get her something else to eat.”

“She had a plate of spaghetti that she refused,” Claire said.

“You ordered it with meatballs. She doesn’t eat meat, why can’t you respect that?”

“She needs proper nutrition.” Claire began.

“She’s my daughter,” Analise said looking away. “You hate kids, remember?”

“I thought we were doing this together,” Claire snapped, trying her best to suppress her anger.

“If you want to do it together let’s do it. I am ready. I have been ready. It has been a long time since we devised our plan to be together. It has been over ten years and we still live in separate houses, I am married to a work-a-holic who is never home, and who has the sex drive of a rock, thank god. You live with man with the ambition of a pair of socks who only through his good looks and his family tree was able to get elected to office.”

“And my hard work,” Claire reminded her.

Analise nodded. “Of course. The reality is that he gets to sleep with you every night and wake up with you in the morning. I don’t even want to know what goes on in between.”

Claire began to say something but Analise shushed her.

“Please, don’t say a word. I can tell when you’re lying with my eyes closed. I don’t want to know. Don’t make a fool of me.”

“I love you and only you,” Claire murmured. She leaned forward and whispered. “The plan wasn’t supposed to go on this long and you know that. You are the one who wanted to have kids. We would have been out of the marriages by now and as wealthy as I knew we’d be.”

“I’ve put away plenty of money,” Analise reasoned. “I say we leave now. Take the kids and just leave. Why can’t we?”

“I think we should wait until the children are in college,” Claire replied, her eyes far away and hardening.

“What’s the real reason, Claire?”

Claire was silent and Analise noticed the vein on her temple getting larger.

“What are you trying to prove?”

Claire fixed her with eyes that said they had never met.

“When is it going to be the right time?”

“When I say,” Claire scowled.

* * * *

It was a stupid ass glass of wine, the world didn't stop turning. Devon sat in the back seat of the car wondering how hard she would have to choke her throat to make Claire's eyes pop out. She giggled. She liked the way the wine made her feel. Fearless and wild. She studied the arrowhead by the light of the moon. She had stopped listening to them yak after the sexual blackmail part, whatever that was. It was dumb blabber. She closed her eyes. A sense of peace washed over her. Touching the amethyst arrowhead made her feel clean, whole, and pure.

She thought of Jameson. She closed her eyes and fantasized about her soft lips brushing hers. The way she smelled. How she really did read her thoughts. The wine made her head spin and opened her mind to imagine what might have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted.