Page 30 of The Marriage Deal
Rebecca glanced over her shoulder. "Thank you. We could update the rooms that are not privy to the public, but I likethe style and only update it to maintain it." She strolled to a small bar in the corner and poured a drink into two glasses. She handed me one filled to the brim with dark red alcohol and I followed her to the chaise lounge. I sat down and took a sip. Sherry. Pretty good sherry too, even though it was not my favorite drink.
"You're the first woman Levi's has brought home," she said, patting my knee.
I almost guffawed. "That can't be true."
"It is! Levi is a private man. Was a private boy. He rarely spoke when he was young; I thought he might be simple. Turns out he was the opposite. He is a deep thinker."
I nodded. Levi kept to himself. Sometimes it could be hard to get anything out of him, with how reserved he was.
"It must have something to do with my marriage to his father." When I responded with a blank expression, she added. "The withdrawal. The way he is now. He never forgave me for not being there when he was young. But I was young and stupid and thought doing whatever his father wanted would help me keep him. I was so stupid." She sighed and took a heavy gulp of her sherry. "I wanted to hold on to a toxic man and ruined all my boys in the process."
"Levi is…" I tried to search for the right words. "Fine" was not the right word. He was obsessive. Both in good and bad ways. Introspective and dismissive sometimes. "Levi is a great guy. He turned out well."
She brushed my knee again. "Of course you'd say that. You're his girlfriend." She finished the rest of her sherry. Got up and refilled her glass. Maybe a bigger glass would be better than the tiny ones we were drinking in. She chugged a quarter as she made her way back to the seat.
"But trust me, that boy can be cold if he thinks you betrayed him, woo boy. I'm living in Siberia over here."
"That's not true. He loves you." Even though I had seen the coldness firsthand, I tried to move the conversation to a slightly different, hopefully safer topic.
"How did you and Levi's father meet?"
She sighed. "I was his secretary. How dull and cliche. And he was already married, to add fuel to the fire. But then his second wife died, and he was free to marry me. I was young and dumb and just came from London to New York. I thought I knew the world, but I was so naïve, and I think he took advantage of that."
I don't know why I thought that would be the safer topic. She seemed like a romantic. I didn't think it would immediately turn heavy.
"At least I had three lovely kids with him. My boys, Levi, Sebastian, and Tyler, are the best thing about me." She took a sip of her drink. "The only good thing about me."
She sounded like a good mother. Flawed, but one who tries. Making Levi's attitude towards her all the more mysterious. "That can't be true."
She rubbed my cheek. "You're too kind. I hope you stay. He needs a good woman in his life." She took another big gulp. "It certainly wasn't me."
I didn't know what else to say to that, so I scrambled for a subject change. "So, do you live here?"
"God no. But I do love it, though." Her gaze scanned the room. "It's quiet and allows me to think. "Christmases here are lovely." She dragged the word 'lovely'. "You better come this year."
"You're inviting me?"
"Of course. I hate being the only girl in a room full of boys. The other two never bring their girlfriends no matter how hard I press them." She chuckled, and I laughed as well. At that moment the double doors of the room blasted open and Levi entered.
"Mom. We're leaving," he announced.
A frown fought to appear on her frozen features. "No! You can't go now."
"We have to leave early," Levi said, glancing at his watch.
Rebecca stood up. "Didn't you use the jet?"
"We did." Levi's gaze scanned the room, noting our glasses, and his brows knitting when his gaze landed on his half-drunk mother.
"So?" Rebecca took a sip of her drink. "Tell them you're staying another night."
Levi looked like he was about to say no, and Rebecca became small. She was so pitiful. She made me want to side with her. "I want to stay," I said.
The change on Levi's face was almost comical. He did not look like he wanted to be here any minute longer. Serves him right for being a dick to his mom.
"I'm loving the sherry," I added, raising my glass.
Rebecca raised hers too, wine sloshing and spilling onto the fabric. "Yay! I've already prepared your room!"
