Page 64 of Takeover

The last time he ran to Alan, Vickie intercepted and picked him up.

“Look, Mother. Kids are running away from you now. It’s not just the other way around.”

Vincent giggles when Vickie tickles him, but the rest of the room is filled with an awkward silence. Alicia sips her champagne, swipes her bangs out of the way, and puts a fake smile on her face.

“My original sin. I left my marriage, not my children. I’ve never lived more than two miles away from you.” By the time she finishes her drink, her face is flushed. I don’t know if that’s from the drink or the conversation. “Dads leave all the time, and they don’t get this much scrutiny.”

“Yeah, they do. They’re called deadbeats,” Vickie says. Vincent manages to escape Vickie and runs to Alan.

Alicia slams her glass down and stands up, likely ready to defend herself. Cheryl stands up right along with her.

“Let’s all calm down. Darling, we’re celebrating you and Alan’s birthday. This is not the time. And let’s not make Ethan uncomfortable.” Vickie nods and looks around the table.

“Did you bring us any cake, Mother?” Vickie asks. She tilts her head in her mother’s direction, but I know a concession when I see one.

Alicia sits down, still visibly shaken by the attack, but she takes a couple of deep breaths and calms down.

“Of course, I did. Lemon cake for you and Alan, and I got chocolate cake for Tater Tot.” She reaches over and runs a hand over Tara’s head. “I’m sorry I missed your birthday.” After planting a kiss on her cheek, she turns to the table and announces, “I got presents for everyone, too.”

The tension dies down, and the servers bring more food. When Vickie calls Tara to the other end of the table, I’m left alone with Alicia for the first time. She turns and looks past me and smiles sadly. When I look past her, I see the rest of the family, including Bernie and my son, all laughing at something Alan just said.

“I’m the black sheep. Whatever I do, it’s wrong.” An unreadable expression crosses her face, but she smiles through it and looks back at me. “I’m so glad to be meeting you. I can’t remember the last time I met one of Tara’s boyfriends, not that she’s had many.” She exhales and fills her champagne flute. “I ask myself every day if I messed them up when I left. But the thing is, I never went far. I guess I could have handled it better.” She finishes the drink in one gulp. “Enough about that. Tell me about yourself and that adorable little boy? Don’t let me have any more of these,” she says after refilling her glass again.

We talk, and I learn that Alicia Bradford is similar to her daughter not just in looks, but in wit. She’s sarcastic like her, but unlike Tara, she has a deep sadness. She went to Columbia like her daughter but majored in communications, not business. She works for one of the local news channels but never became an anchor like she wanted.

“So, what do you like most about my daughter?”

“She insulted me on the first day I met her.” Alicia snorts and nods. “Tar Tar.” Tara looks away from Alan and looks at me. “Tell everyone what you said to me when I asked if you wanted to have lunch with me and your father the first day we met.”

Tara laughs and looks me right in the eye and says, “I’d rather drink rat poison than have lunch with you.” The table laughs. “He wasn’t much nicer to me.”

“You see what I had to deal with?” I ask the table. “I was a gentleman and asked her to lunch, only to get insulted.”

“Dad got mad at her, and she blamed you,” Alan admits. He shakes his drink and says, “Truth serum.”

“It was not my fault you behaved like a brat,” I tell her.

“Has anyone else noticed that Tara, Ethan, and Vincent are wearing matching outfits?” Vickie says.

“Like Ethan can ever look as good as me in black pants.” Tara stands up and spins around. The entire room claps, including me. I hold my hand out to her, and she takes it.

“Are you having fun?” she asks, her lips against mine.

“I am. I like your mom. She reminds me of you.” She pulls away from me, and her smile disappears. With a shaky hand, she grabs her water glass and brings it to her lips. When she puts it down, she smiles, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “What?” I ask her. She shakes her head at me, but I grab her chin and force her to meet my eyes.

“I love her, but I don’t want to be like her,” she confesses. “I don’t want to talk about it now.” She smiles at me again, and the tension is broken when two servers roll in two cakes. Vincent’s eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees the two cakes. He stands and sings happy birthday louder than anyone there, and he’s rewarded with the first piece of each cake and ice cream.

When I choose lemon instead of chocolate, Tara calls me a traitor and feeds me a piece of hers.

37

“That went on way longer than it should,” Tara says, coming out of the bathroom wearing that ugly robe. “Vinnie’s out. I think he’ll sleep until about noon tomorrow.”

She unties the sash and takes the robe off. My mouth waters when I see the short, black silk nightgown. After the restaurant, John and Cheryl had everyone over at their house, including Alicia. All the tension from the restaurant evaporated, and what was left was a family who loved and laughed at each other.

“Come here.” I pull her into my arms and enjoy the feel of her body pressed against mine. “It was nice dancing with you tonight.” She wraps her arm around me, and we sway together to the sound of our heartbeats. The visit to the Taylor house turned into a party, and we only came home when Vincent started to get tired and whiny.

“Me, too. I liked having you there.”

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