Page 89 of Fake Dark Vows
Ruby reaches across Brandon’s lap and squeezes my hand, and I don’t know if the gesture is one of pity or acceptance, but I’m glad that I tied a chiffon scarf around my neck. Tears sting behind my eyes, and I blink furiously to contain them.
“Me too, Rose. Me too.” Harry seems to sink back into the pillows, eyes closed.
“Perhaps this is your body telling you to take a step back, Dad,” Brandon says.
Harry doesn’t open his eyes. “Next you’ll be telling me to take a cruise around the world, spend my days lounging by a pool and eating too much caviar at the captain’s table.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?”
“I’ve been trying to convince him for years,” Ruby says. “You know your father—if it isn’t his idea, he isn’t playing along.”
“So, what do you want to do, Dad? Long term. Where do you see yourself in five years?”
I’m mesmerized by the green line on the monitor while Harry ponders the question with his eyes still closed. Is this what retirement looks like to a man like Harry Weiss? Hospital rooms and pressure from his family to relax? Is he afraid to slow down because he doesn’t like what he sees on the path ahead, or has he simply forgotten how to?
“In a house on a lake with a fishing boat out the front, and a tennis court out the back.”
Ruby smiles at her husband, reaches across to the bed and entwines his fingers with her own. “Why didn’t you say so? You know I’d love to get out of the city.”
Harry smiles at his wife, a smile that has taken a lifetime to cultivate and now has indestructible roots. “Ruby, you thrive in the city.”
“New York has two airports and more limousines than it can accommodate. You think I’m afraid to travel to dinner parties and events?”
While his parents are caught up in the dream, I’ve been watching Brandon. The color drained from his face when Harry mentioned the house by a lake, and a tic appeared in his jaw that wasn’t even there when he received the news of Harry’s heart attack.
He catches my eye and stands abruptly. “I’ll be outside.”
Ruby watches him leave. “Why don’t you go after him, Rose?”
I nod. Ruby Weiss isn’t the kind of woman you say no to, in any circumstances.
I catch up with Brandon by the vending machine, staring at the options behind the glass panel. “Brandon?”
He faces me, his brow furrowed, as if he has no idea how I got here. “What do you want to drink, Rose?”
“I’m fine.”
How can I tell him that I’m a million miles away from being fine? That I blew my opportunity this morning to give those men what they want, and now it’s too late? That I hate myself for conceding defeat so easily, but his father’s health is more important than a business deal even if it goes against everything the Weiss family stands for?
We hear voices then, approaching the entrance to the ward. Raised voices.
Brandon presses a button on the vending machine panel and a can of soda slides into the tray at the bottom, as the buzzer sounds, and the door opens.
Damon enters first, striding purposefully towards us, Kelly in his wake. She gazes at Brandon before turning her attention to me. We hug. “Rose, is everything okay? You left so suddenly…” She leaves the sentence hanging.
“Of course she’s okay.” Damon grabs my left hand, twisting it around to show her the diamond ring. “My brother had you fooled.”
“I…” Kelly’s eyes are all over the place. Finally, she says, “Not now, Damon.”
Brandon holds the can of soda in front of him, suddenly unsure what to do with it. “It isn’t what you think.”
“Brandon,” Kelly’s voice softens. “You don’t have to explain anything to anyone. I hope you’ll both be very happy.”
“Ha!” Damon snaps. “It’s people like you buying into this shit that allows people like my brother to get away with it. It’s all for show. Give it six weeks, and you won’t even remember her name for fuck’s sake.”
I move closer to Brandon and slide my hand into his. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Damon, but your father is in that room”—I gesture to the doorway behind me— “so, maybe we can discuss this another time.”
A smile twitches at the corners of Kelly’s mouth. “How is he, Brandon?”