Page 43 of A Family Affair: The Vow
“ND Manufacturing. How may I help you?”
“Betty, it’s Rae. I’m trying to get in touch with Vic and he’s not answering. Do you know where he is?”
Long pause followed by a hesitant “He’s busy right now.”
“Oh. Is he in a meeting? I just need to talk to him for a second and…” And what? Ask him why he didn’t return her phone call or text? “I just need to talk to him for a second.”
More silence, a tiny sniff and then a mumbled, “Something’s wrong, Rae. He came in a little while ago and said he was not to be disturbed. No matter what. I swear, he sounded like Nate back in the old days.” Another sniff, more mumbling. “He slammed his door so hard I’m surprised it’s still on its hinges.”
Richard had gotten to him. “I’ll be there in five minutes and don’t tell him I’m coming.”
“My lips are zipped.”
For once, Rae hoped Betty could keep quiet. She grabbed her jacket and rushed out the door. Relationships had always confused her, mostly because she’d never been in one where she totally opened her heart to getting hurt. But she and Vic were definitely full-on, in-deep, and it was time to admit she loved him. Was she scared? Yes, but not as much as she thought she’d be because it felt right.
Once she opened her heart to Vic, they’d head back to her house where he’d grill the perfect steak, she’d fix the sides, and they’d share a bottle of wine. After, she’d present him with the chocolate cream pie she bought at Sal’s this afternoon and they’d talk about the future—theirfuture. And then she’d clasp his hand and take him to bed where she’d show him just how much he meant to her, how much he belonged in the center of her world.
Rae focused on all the things she planned to tell Vic as she stepped out of the car and into the building, mouthed a “hello” to Betty and made her way to Vic’s office. She listened for sounds from the other side of the door, but there was nothing but quiet. Rae eased open the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind her.
Vic sat at his desk, shoulders hunched, head buried in his hands, a bottle of bourbon and a glass near his left hand. Rae moved toward him, stopped when she was on the other side of his desk. “Vic? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.”
Several seconds passed before he lifted his head, stared at her as though she were someone he didn’t recognize and not the person he’d shared his heart and a bed with these past several days. “What are you doing here?”
Stay calm. Tell him why you came. “I tried to call you and I was worried about you. We have dinner plans.”
The laugh that fell from those beautiful lips she knew so well jolted her. Cold, harsh, unforgiving. “Really? So we can play house? I don’t think so.” His blue eyes narrowed on her. “I met your ex-boyfriend today, but I’m guessing you already know that.”
Focus on the soft side of Vic, the one who holds you at night, strokes your back when you cry and whispers about how life is a series of challenges that can be met and overcome.“He told me, but Richard isn’t always the nicest person.” Pause and a hesitant “What did he say to you?”
Vic ignored her question asked one of his own. “If he wasn’t ‘always the nicest person’ then why were you with him?” His voice turned sharp, almost angry. “Forthreeyears?” He dragged a hand through his hair, made more pieces stick up. When she didn’t answer, he continued, “He doesn’t love you.”
“This isn’t about Richard. Vic, I want to talk about us.” She moved to the other side of the desk, touching distance away. “I’m so sorry for anything he said and I want you to know I’m not going anywhere. I’m right where I want to be.” She offered the truth, soft, hesitant. “With you.”
* * *
“I thinkyou had it right three years ago when you told me I didn’t fit into your life plans.”
“What are you talking about? I was wrong… I didn’t understand what we could share...but I do now. You see that, don’t you?”
She was so damn beautiful. There’d been a few minutes when he’d believed they had a chance, but he’d been a fool to think they belonged together and could make a life. “Did you tell Richard that having a child was negotiable, as if you were discussing the terms of a business deal?”
The color leached from her face, and she looked away for a second before she answered. “I might have said that but it was a different time in my life and I was with a different person. Not you…”
“Can you for once just answer the question without the commentary?” He reached for the bottle of bourbon, poured another two fingers in the glass. At this rate, Betty would be driving him home or he’d be sleeping in this chair.
Her response was so quiet he almost couldn’t hear her.” Yes, I said it.” She bit her bottom lip, rested her hands on the desk and leaned toward him. “Listen to me, Vic. Please. I said a lot of things I regret back then, but mostly what I said to you and how you didn’t fit into my life. We belong together and I should have seen it three years ago, but I was so blindsided by my desire to succeed in a career that I now find inconsequential, that I refused to listen to my heart. Please don’t let the past ruin what we have.”
“What do we have, Rae? I really did think we were building toward something, but I’ve been kidding myself because we don’t share the same ideas and values. We don’t even live in the same world. Sure, you can tell me right now that you want to be with me, want a future, hell, you might even want to have my kid, but what about a year from now? Five years? Ten? Will you wake up one day and tell me you don’t feel that way anymore, that you’re with the wrong person, and your life is inconsequential?” Anger burst through him as he considered the possibility and what that would feel like. Worse, what it would do to a family they might share. “And if we shared a kid, would you call him or her inconsequential, too?”
“No! I would never do that because youarethe right person. You’re everything to me.” Her dark eyes turned bright, glistened with tears. “I love you. I want a life with you. Wherever that is.”
“Even in a backward town like Magdalena where you can’t order a decent latte and bar food is considered ‘cuisine’? Did I get that right? Richard told me, but I may have left out the exact description.”
A tear fell, followed by another. “I’m so sorry for everything I said. It was cruel and undeserved, but I amnotthat person anymore. I’d like to think you made the difference, and this town did as well. You made me see what’s real and important, and if you just give me a chance I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much we belong together. How much we can—”
“I can’t do this, Rae.” He grabbed his glass, downed a healthy shot of bourbon, enjoyed the burn. “I want someone in my life who will be here for me no matter what and you’re not that person. I thought you were or could be...” He dragged a hand through his hair, blew out a long sigh of regret. “But the truth keeps pinging my brain, telling me what I think I’ve known for a while. I’ll never find peace with you, no matter how much I care about you or want to be with you. It’s not going to happen and that’s why I have to let you go.”
“Let me go? I don’t want to go. Vic, please. I want to be with you. Didn’t you hear me tell you I love you.I love you.”
