“I know you better than most. You’re not the kinda guy to be single forever.” Thor kept social behavior notes on his buddies when it came time for hooking up.
“You’ve both been single forever. Why can’t I?”
Thor held his hand over Vive’s and responded, “I’m designed to be a solo act. When I tested positive for HIV back in college, I made a promise to live my life with no apologies. I go to clubs. I pick up men. I have consensual casual sex with other poz guys and I party the night away. You, however, are not designed for those activities.”
“Oh, no?”
“You want monogamy and all that happily-ever-after stuff. I sure as hell do not and that’s okay, Blake.”
“And I attract the wrong men,” Vive interrupted. “I want a man. A hairy-chested gorilla who’s going to throw me over his knee and—”
“Vive, enough.” He forgot any topic going off Viveca Farnworth caused her to fret. Domination didn’t play into her loneliness, either—booze did. He turned to Thor and asked, “What am I designed for then?”
“A husband, kids, house in the country, sporting J. Crew, not Lycra. Don’t you see? It’s who you are,” Thor declared.
“I’ll have a baby without another husband. I’m looking into surrogacy.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Vive snapped. “Why don’t you take Hedda Hopper for a week? You’ll learn the TLC demands for my furbaby before you go off planting your seed in a surrogate’s womb or picking up a kid from China.” Her Scandinavian, ice-blue eyes rolled around clockwise then counterclockwise in annoyance.
Done with their lunch, Thor sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “The longer you stay on the market, the deeper and faster your stock’ll depreciate.”
“Stock?” First it was lemons, now the stock market.
“Listen, a certain hot factor arises when you’re first single. You’ll see it at Lex and Massimo’s wedding later this week. The men at the reception will be all over you, like flies on shit.”
“Don’t you mean bees on honey?” Blake smiled. “That’s assuming there’s even going to be a wedding.” He shot Vive a snide look. “Besides, Mig will be glued to my hip.” He shared with Thor the Seven Needs list Miguel had counter-proposed. Vive, who’d been previously briefed on the Seven Needs, asked the waiter for a gin refill.
“Are you nervous about meeting his dad?”
“No. Should I be?”
“Mr. Santana is”—a faint sadness threaded in Thor’s throat—“not well.”
“What did Miguel tell you guys?”
“He’s dying.”
Shocked, he dropped the glass from his hands. “Why the frick didn’t you two tell me this sooner?”
Fashion District
Against Massimo’s wishes, Lex went into work. She had to; it was who she was. Birdie agreed to watch M2 for the day.
At her desk, she sat, toying with who to call first to cancel the wedding. Over two thousand people had confirmed. Guests coming as far as Sydney and Massimo’s royal associations from the Mediterranean, but they didn’t mean as much to her as Vive and Blake. Massimo’s parents were both deceased, and she debated if the wedding was that important to her fiancé or if she’d gone off her rocker and overreacted.
Her interoffice phone light lit up. She pushed the button and said, “Yes?”
“Miss Easton, Taddy Brill is here to see you,” her office coordinator announced.
“Send her in.”
Lex stood. On her desk, the City DNA Lab letter stared back at her. She picked it up. Then put it back down. God, there were no rules or etiquette on how to do this. In her head, she’d gone over what to say at least a million times, maybe even two million. But right then and there, she couldn’t remember what they were other than you might be my sister. Which sounded so dramatic and made for TV. Was this really happening?
“Darling.” Taddy came in as her office coordinator closed the door behind her. Kissing Lex on both cheeks, she took a seat by the desk, crossed her long legs, and asked, “Feeling any better about the wedding?”
“No.”
“Vive and Blake will come around. They’re at lunch today. In fact, they should be eating and talking right this very minute about how they’re going to help make this the most amazing wedding ever. So please, don’t cancel.”
“I haven’t called the wedding planner yet. So, it’s not official.”
“Good girl.”
“Masi won’t let me.” The control that man had over her drove her crazy. “But I’m going to, you’ll see.” When her mind was made up to do something, she did it.
“He’s a smart guy.”
She licked her lips, trying to find courage. “Taddy, do you remember the summer we were sent to live at Avon Porter?”
Her friend’s forehead wrinkled as she shifted in the chair. “How could I forget? Jesus, did my parents fight that year.”
“Right. Joseph Graf fought with Irma over your paternity test.”
“Yup, I’m not my father’s daughter.”
Taddy spoke about it as she always did, matter-of-factly. The love she had from her boyfriend Warner enabled her to heal. Lex understood this. Her friend was a better woman for having Warner in her life. But why didn’t her friend yearn for answers as she did?
“Haven’t you ever wondered who your real dad is?”
“When I was younger, sure, all the time. Irma even offered to tell me. But as I’ve gotten older, I’m not interested.”
“But why? Don’t you want to know?”
“It won’t change anything.” She paused. “Lex, why are you asking me about my birth father? Is this what you wanted to discuss today?”
“Sort of...” She spoke so quietly, she wasn’t sure if Taddy heard her.
“And here I thought we’d be talking about sending Vive off to rehab or something. I went by her place last night. She wouldn’t answer the door.”
“Why not?”
“The doorman let me in. I found her on the living room floor, passed out cold.”
“Drunk?”
“Last night was the worst she’s been in years. She’d apparently thrown up.” Taddy shook her head and closed her eyes then muttered, “Vomit dried on the floor around her. Poor Hedda was shaking in the corner. What if Vive had choked on her own bile? She’d be dead right now.”
“Taddy, why didn’t you call me?” Lex couldn’t help but get upset.
“You have enough going on with the wedding. I thought I could manage Vive. But I don’t have the detox contacts you do, so I’m telling you now. We have to try one more time. Can Birdie get her in to Hampton Horizons?”
Hampton Horizons remained the only facility Birdie was able to get dry from after Eddie died. She was such an advocate of their innovative therapy treatments she signed on to be a spokesperson and do all of their commercials. Granted, they’d paid her three million dollars for the endorsement, but Birdie had been desperate to get sober. Making money along the way was a great bonus considering she’d been broke.
“Let me make a few calls to Mr. and Mrs. Farnworth and see what we can do.” She thought back to how their friend had failed rehab a few times.
“Vive most likely won’t talk to us ever again if we push for this. Will she?”
“Not if it backfires. Hampton Horizons is hardcore and experimental, but worth it. I’ll let you know what they say.” She almost forgot the reason she’d asked her to come. “But it’s not Vive I wanted to talk about. It’s you.”
“All right.” Taddy sat back in her chair. The tension on her face subsided.
“Mom brought over some old photos the other day. I found this in one of the boxes.” She picked up the paper and handed it to her.
“City DNA Labs,” Taddy read out loud suspiciously. She opened the letter, and her jade eyes scrolled from left to right. She glanced up at Lex and then back down at the paper and gasped. “Jesus Christ, Lex.”
“Did you ever think my dad…”
“Never.
Shit! I mean, I knew Irma cheated. Why didn’t they just tell us? If not them, why hasn’t Birdie said something after all this time?”
“At first, Mom wouldn’t open up to me about it. But this morning, when she picked up M2, I got some answers. She said she’d made a promise to Irma never to talk about it. Mom wanted to tell you when you were older. Then older came and went, and you filed for emancipation from Irma. She was going to tell you a few years ago, and then Dad died, and she felt too bad about not telling you and thought it would only make matters worse, because he was, well, gone.”
“This is all suspect, right? It’s not for sure. Eddie was supposed to get the test, but according to the letter, he didn’t.”
“Right. But, Taddy, come on. We’re both tall. Our voices sound alike on the phone. My father and your mother were lovers. It makes sense.”
“Okay, so Eddie is my father. Big deal.” She tossed the letter back on the desk.
Taddy didn’t seem to care. Was she only putting on an act as a defense?
“Don’t you want to be certain?”
“No, I don’t. It won’t change a thing between us. For once, I agree with Birdie.”
Lex couldn’t believe what she heard. “You’re as crazy as our parents.”
“For wanting to keep my sanity? Perhaps.” Taddy got to her feet. “My life won’t be any better because of a test, only worse. Besides, my love for you and our friendship won’t change either.”
“How can you say that? We could be sisters.”
“You’ve always been like a sister to me, Lex. I don’t need a blood test to tell me how important you are in my life.”
“Well, I do.” She had to know.
“Why?”
“Because I just do, Taddy. I can’t explain it.”
On the inside, Lex felt this was a piece to her which was missing. After all the years of secrets and lies from her father, this could be the one truth, the one real thing she might have to hold on to. Since his unexplained suicide, she didn’t have any answers. Eddie did overdose, but he’d done drugs for years; she couldn’t figure out how or why he’d gone to the point of no return.
“It’s that important to you?” Taddy’s face sunk.
“Yes—more than anything. I’ll never ask for another favor.”
Her bestie smirked. “Can I get that in writing please?”
“City DNA Labs merged with GeneLynx. I called them this morning and made an appointment for us to get the test.”
“Oh, really. Wait ‘til the press gets a hold of the news. You have no idea what can of cray-cray you’re unleashing when Eddie Easton’s fan club hears about this one.”
“They won’t know. GeneLynx agreed to do it tonight, after hours. Their chief counselor and medical physician will supervise the test.”
“Your father was—correction, is—the biggest rock-n-roll star in the world. This will get out. It always does.”
Taddy spoke about the press’ actions confidently. It was, after all, her career. She knew what she was talking about. Suddenly, Lex questioned if she might be naïve to think otherwise. Had Birdie done them all a favor by keeping this quiet?
“There’s no way around this, Taddy. We must.”
“I hate needles—”
“It’s an oral swab.”
“Can’t this wait until…after the wedding…after your honeymoon…after I’ve had some time to think?”
“No. Thinking only makes it worse. It’s been tearing at me for a few days now. Trust me, I’m on the verge of freaking out. Look at what I did to poor Vive.”
“The results could take weeks to come back. We won’t know tonight.”
“One hour. The appointment is at seven this evening. By eight, we’ll know if my dad is your father.”
Standing, Taddy cursed under her breath a few times then reached for her Birkin.
Was she going to leave? Lex needed her to agree to this.
“I’ll do it under one condition.”
“Anything.”
“You make up with Vive, we get her into rehab, and move on with the wedding as planned.”
“Geez, Louise! You’re asking for a lot.”
“Then I’m not doing the test.” Taddy headed for the door. “Enjoy your day, darling.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“Call it whatever you want, coercion, manipulation, I don’t care. I have to get back to work. Baden Cosmetics has a wrinkle cream launch. My reality TV star, Neve Adele, is coming—lots to do. It’s a big production over there.” Taddy turned her jaw up.
Lex couldn’t tell if she was fighting back a tear before she said, “You let me know what you decide. Seven tonight we test or not. But the wedding goes on as planned, and you and Vive have a heart-to-heart. If we’re going to get Vive sober, she’ll need you more than ever. I, on the other hand, don’t need this test. Capisce?”
And just like that, Taddy was out the door. She didn’t wait for a reply; she never did.
Lex picked up the phone. “Can you get me the number for Hampton Horizons? They’re out on Long Island. It’s a…rehab facility.”
Bryant Park
Blake couldn’t believe he didn’t know Miguel’s’ father was ill. Was that why his friend acted aloof about his family all the time? “Tell me, what’s going on?”
Biting his lip, Thor lowered his voice. “I may be a gossip about who’s banging who in this town, who’s filed bankruptcy or been dumped. But there are some things you’ll never hear roll off my tongue.”
“Those being?” He clenched his mouth tighter.
“People battling disease, facing death, or swimming upstream away from grave misfortune.” His dark eyes squinted as if Blake should know better.
Snubbed, he sat back in his chair. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to imply you’re a bigmouth. But you are.” He couldn’t help himself. Thor was the male equivalent to Cindy Adams or Vive Farnworth. He wasn’t a bigmouth, he was the biggest mouth.
“Ask Miguel yourself.” He glanced down at his plate. “I made a promise I intend to keep.”
“I respect your position and won’t pry.” He’d never known Thor to be so tight-lipped. It must be more serious than he realized. Nevertheless, he turned to Vive for an answer.
She offered, “I will say I don’t suppose Miguel’s father has much time. If you know what I mean.”
He nodded in agreement; he’d drop it. Blake respected Miguel’s privacy. But it was odd how his friend never shared childhood stories from his days in Mexico. He never shared much about himself at all. It was what prevented them from getting closer.
Thor, on the other hand, was an open book about his life, including his diagnosis with HIV a few years back. Vive spoke often about her addictions. The dialogue and sharing created a bond between them all, which he’d always wanted with Miguel. He just needed to figure out how to make it happen. How did one get a guy to open up when his only vice was keeping quiet?
Blake remembered the park bench conversation. He knew if he asked or forced any issue with Miguel he’d be shot down. No one would ever tell that Latino what to do. It’s infuriating!
“I’ll be there for Miguel, in whatever capacity he wishes. When he’s ready to share the information, he will. Okay, on to lighter subjects.” Blake reached down into his Jack Spade tote and pulled out the black box.
Thor sat up in his chair with excitement. “Ooh, this sounds like it’s gonna be fierce.”
“This morning, I get into work and not more than an hour into my day, the messenger service drops this package off.” He placed the box on the table. “Taddy thought it was for her, so she’s seen it.”
“What is it?” Vive asked.
“It’s from Miguel? Open it up.” Thor reached for the box and tore the lid off. “My. My. My.” His eyes were sharp and assessing. “You must’ve died knowing Taddy saw this.”
“You gays are unreal.” She laughed so hard the editors next to her sat up in their chairs to look in the box.
r /> Inside was another, smaller white box with green lettering from the drugstore: Fleet Enema.
“I’ve never used an enema. I don’t even know what to do with one,” he confessed.
“Enema virgin here also, honey,” she added.
Thor held the box up and pointed to the illustration on the side under the directions. “Kids, you don’t have to read English for directions. They’re drawn on the box’s side with pictures.” He snickered. “I use this brand all the time. Right before I get gang-banged.”
He gulped. “What do I do?”
“Leave work a lil’ early. Go by your apartment and shove this plastic nozzle up your who-haw.” Thor lowered his voice. “You lie in the fetal position on your bed and rock back and forth, back and forth.”
“And then what?”
“Hold it for about five or so minutes and then go to the bathroom and…” He dusted his hands off.
“Gross!” she screamed.
“Right.” Thor placed the enema box back into the wrapping. “What’s this?” He reached for the note inside.
“The address where I’m to meet Mig at tonight. I’ve already texted him and told him I’d go.”
“Do you know what location this is?”
“No. Do you?”
“Umm…yeah.” She snatched the card from Thor’s hand and fanned herself. “It’s The Dupree Club.”
“Where you girls go to exercise?” he asked.
Thor snorted and corrected, “Workout their pussy maybe.”
“Yes, it’s where we attend dominatrix classes. The BDSM class after work is on Thursday nights. I bet Lex gave Miguel the idea. It’s an infamous sex club.”
“Oh.” His attendance to the city’s gay clubs and bars were minimal, let alone a sex club. In the office, he’d heard Taddy talk about Queen Dick Dupree often, but didn’t put two and two together until that moment.
“Perhaps he rented a room,” she added as Thor licked his lips.
“Room?” Lordie.
“Miguel’s going to throw you into a sling and fist you.” Thor’s mouth quirked with humor.
“A fist up this ass?” Blake shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about it since this morning. I can’t do it.” He wanted to bottom, yes, but not this.