Been In Love Before: A Novel Page 4

  The phone rang; it was Ryan. “Where the hell are you? Mary Katherine was already here; she was looking for you and Eian.”

  “I just got in from Key West. Now I’m cleaning up the place a bit.”

  “Well, you better get your ass over here, pronto. And yes, I have plenty of beer. See ya soon, brother. Bye.”

  He grabbed his beer in one hand and the cooler filled with the fish fillets in the other and was out the door. It was not a long drive, but it was worlds away. Ryan lived facing the ocean in the high-rent district just outside Boca Raton. His house was a big white beach house with a pool, but Ryan said it always felt so empty now with Gracie gone.

  When he pulled into Ryan’s driveway, he noticed Eian’s SUV parked in front of the garage. The courtyard was large enough to hold ten cars.

  Hail, hail, the gang’s all here! Robert grinned, thinking of his two younger brothers waiting for him inside.

  He walked down the terrazzo sidewalk lined with pink-and-purple bougainvillea vines, with their blossoming flowers dripping from the white stucco walls that surrounded the courtyard. The fragrant bouquet was welcoming. The scent reminded him of sweet honeysuckle. Mum and Da had had them at home when the brothers were growing up in Georgia. He did not bother to ring the doorbell. This was family; this was home, especially after everything the three of them had been through.

  Ryan’s furnishings were very modern, mainly glass and chrome, and white leather furniture. One of the top decorators from a chic Boca Raton boutique had decorated it. The house was monochromatic, all in white, except for one huge painting hanging over the fireplace, done in subtle blues and bright reds. Gracie had painted it in one of her many creative moments.

  “Hey, bros, the good-looking one is here,” Robert announced, opening the front door.

  “Yeah, well, the smart one is already here,” joked Ryan.

  “Hey, let’s not forget the famous one, the one all the ladies love,” chimed in Eian.

  Robert set the cooler down on the tiled floor of the kitchen.

  “What’cha got in there?” asked Eian.

  “Cobia fillets, fresh caught. Bobby and I just caught them yesterday. Want me to grill up some? Ryan, what about you? You said you got beer?” he asked in rapid succession as he opened the huge subzero refrigerator.

  “Yeah, I’ll have a beer and some of that fish,” said Eian. “I’m starvin’.”

  “Yeah, well, homelessness will do that to you. Besides, you’re always hungry,” said Ryan in jest.

  “What do you mean, homeless? What happened to you?” asked Robert as he continued to search the fridge for beer.

  Ryan chimed in, “Robert, get this. Laura came by and evicted him. Nice in-laws, huh? So Eian is staying with me for a couple of days until he can find someplace else to live or work it out through their attorneys. Can you believe that, his only daughter evicting him?” Ryan started to laugh and soon could not stop himself.

  “Stepdaughter, please,” Eian interjected, his face turning red, showing his annoyance, before he too began to laugh.

  Robert was amused as he imagined his tall, famous, baseball-playing brother being thrown out of his own home.

  “She evicted you . . . from your own home? I’ll be damned,” Robert said, laughing at the turn of events.

  “That’s true family love,” joked Ryan, still smiling.

  “Ryan, where the hell is the goddamn beer?” Bob asked.

  “Robbie, look in the beer chiller on the side of the dishwasher, there, next to the wine cooler.”

  “Got it! For Christ’s sake, college boy, you have separate refrigerators for food, beer, and wine? God, some people live really well.”

  “Don’t start on me, brother.”

  “I’m just saying that some people live very well and—”

  “Hey, can you two cut it out?” interrupted Eian. “I’m hungry. Robert, are those fish steaks done yet?”

  “I’m on my way, now that I’ve found the goddamn beer!” he shouted. “Beer fridge,” he said, muttering under his breath. “What’ll they think of next?”

  “What’d you say?” asked Ryan.

  “Nothin’. Do you want some fish or not?”

  “Yeah, I guess so. Hey, Bob, do me a favor and don’t grill those in the house. Take them outside and cook them on the barbecue grill. I don’t want the house to smell like fish for weeks.” Ryan never grilled or cooked fish in the house—too messy, too smelly.

  More muttering about a beer fridge came from Robert as he slid open the door and made his way to the outside grill.

  “Put the baseball game on, will you, Ryan? Use the big screen,” Eian said. He switched the channels back and forth, trying to watch two games at one time, until Robert came back into the kitchen. The constant brotherly banter between the two continued for the next fifteen minutes until they heard movement from the outside deck.

  “Fish steaks are done! Grab some plates and clear a space on the table. We need knives and forks. Let’s go! Who’s winning?”

  “The Yankees!”

  “No!”

  “Hey, guys, what do you say we eat in the dining room?” Ryan chimed in nervously as he buzzed around them, envisioning spilled beer and fish stains on his expensive Italian white leather sofa or worse, his expensive Persian rug. “Hmm? Okay? What do you say? We’ll be more comfortable in there, and it’ll be easier to clean up and . . . ,” Ryan said, but his pleas went unnoticed.

  “Nah, this is okay, Ryan. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. We’re good.” They both looked at the TV screen, shouting. “Come on, hit the ball!” Eian and Robert yelled at the batter on the huge screen. “Damn!”

  They watched the rest of the game and then switched to an intense soccer match, the proud Scottish Aberdeen team playing against its fiercest rival, Manchester United. Neither team scored for the first half, until Aberdeen scored one goal at the whistle.

  “Ryan, don’t you have any Scottish milk here at all?” asked Robert, searching the kitchen for a bottle of Scotch.

  “Check his whiskey fridge,” yelled Eian in his tongue-in-cheek way.

  “Funny,” Ryan replied, “I don’t think I have any whiskey, Robbie. If I do, it’ll be in the liquor cabinet in my office. Bottom shelf.”

  While the rest of the house was filled with modern furniture, glass, chrome, and Italian leather, Ryan’s office had their father’s old polished cherry desk and worn leather executive chair. A picture of the five of them at the lake sat prominently on his desk. Da was still alive. Mum was smiling. Good times.

  A few minutes later, Robert came in and said, “Here we go,” holding a bottle of prime Scotch whiskey in his hand, high over his head. “Now we can have a true party.” They trooped into the kitchen for ice and glasses.

  Soon the whiskey bottle was half-empty on the kitchen table, and they were having a grand time simply being together, joking, laughing, just as when they were younger.

  Finally Eian shouted to his brothers, “Hey, let’s go out on the town and have a really good time. I know a place where they have dancing girls, lots of booze, and we can enjoy ourselves. What do you say, guys? Huh? Make a night of it and we can maybe even . . . ?” He turned to look at his brothers, who were standing in front of him staring at something behind him.

  He turned to see what they were staring at and why they had not answered him. It was Graw.

  “Ah . . . hiya, Mary Katherine,” Eian muttered. “We were just talking about you. Come on in, Graw. We’ve been waiting for you to get here, right, guys?”

  “Yes, I’m sure you have,” she said, giving them all the evil eye. “I need to talk to you, all of you. Out there,” she ordered. The three tall brothers towered over the tiny redhead as they shuffled back into the living room and took their seats to listen to what she had to say. She picked up the remote and clicked the TV off.

  “Okay. I’ll be brief. Thanks for coming today.” She sounded as if she were giving a business presentation. “I just have a cou
ple of things to go over with you and then you can go about your business, but no dancing girls, understand? All right? Besides, you boys are too drunk to drive anywhere.”

  “Oh, Mary Katherine, we were just joking. We were going to—” started her uncle Eian.

  “Give me a break, and don’t you ‘Mary Katherine’ me. I’m no dummy,” she lectured them, wagging her finger.

  The three brothers were sitting on the long leather sofa in the living room facing her. The scene was reminiscent of a schoolteacher in front of her classroom, rather than a young woman about to lecture the elders of her family.

  “Listen to me,” she started solemnly. “These past two years have not been good years for the Macgregor clan. We lost our best . . . our dearest.” Her voice began to tremble.

  “Over the past two years we have lost Mommy, Auntie Alice, and Aunt Tess. We miss ’em all.” The mere mention of the names of the missing hushed the room. She stopped for a moment before resuming.

  “Uncle Eian has done his very best to get out and meet people and make new friends, and get on with his life. Now we just need to have some of those women work in a job that allows them to keep their clothes on.” The ice was broken as the three brothers laughed and kidded the celebrity in the family. They began to joke among themselves.

  “Okay, okay, now listen up. Hey, guys, quiet, please.” The room became still.

  “Uncle Robert, we all miss Aunt Tess so very much. I know you started out with group counseling, but that seems to have tapered off. I want you to rededicate yourself to attending one of those sessions or one of those new social programs and get out and meet some people. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. They have experienced the same kind of loss that you have. I think it will really help you. And that’s what Tess would’ve wanted you to do. Okay?”

  “Yeah, okay. Funny you should mention that, Graw,” he said, as he pulled the business card from his shirt pocket. “I just got the name of someone who coordinates different programs locally. I plan to call her first thing tomorrow.”

  “Good,” and her eyes narrowed, giving him the look. “Make sure you do. I’ll be checking back to see how it went.” Then she turned to her father. “And Daddy, almost two years ago we lost Mommy, and I know it hasn’t been easy on you. It hasn’t been easy for me either, losing Mommy, starting a new job, and looking in on you. We’ll never stop grieving. I’ve always dreamed of Mommy being there for my wedding. Helping me put on my wedding dress, my makeup, and just being there for me.” The strong-willed Scottish woman stopped, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, and looked at all of them. Today she was the true head of the household. A glass of Scottish milk would go down good, she thought to herself. This was tougher than she had thought it would be. She pressed on.

  “We miss them all and always will, but we know that each and every one of them would have wanted us to get on with our lives, and that’s what we are going to do, starting now. I have some things that I am going to need all of you to do for me. I’m getting married in two weeks, and you all promised me months ago you would learn to dance so you could dance with me at my wedding.” She looked at each of them and gave them all the evil stare. “And that hasn’t happened. So . . . I’ve bought dance lessons for each and every one of you.” She could hear them grumble.

  “I can dance, Graw,” said Robert. “You know that. Hell, I been dancing since I was little up at the Scottish-American Club down the road in Lake Worth. The three of us just went two weeks ago to the Scottish Highlands Club and wore our dress kilts and all.”

  “Uncle Robert, that’s Scottish swing. That’s not dancing.”

  “I dance a bit too,” said Eian.

  “Yeah, I know, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. You probably dance the best of the clan, except for Daddy—and he hasn’t danced in years.”

  “I’m not taking any lessons, nor dancing with another woman. I only danced with your mother, nobody else. Never have and never will,” said her belligerent father.

  “You will now! You’ll take lessons and you’ll dance or . . . ,” she said with her hands on her hips, glaring at her father. “I have bought all three of you dance lessons starting this Tuesday night. I set the first one up for five p.m.—sharp! You only need to learn a few dance patterns for the wedding, and don’t worry, I’ll lead. You will all go together on Tuesday and then arrange your next classes with the dance instructor. Her name is Alexi Cassini. Here’s her card. She’s a champion professional dancer and dance instructor from Argentina, and I told her not to take any guff from any of you.” She let her gaze settle on each one to tell them she meant business.

  “She has also been instructed that if you don’t show up, or if you give her any problems”—she turned to look each of them in the eye—“she’s to call me, and I will personally take care of it. Do you understand?” She stood looking at them. She was serious.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” they grumbled.

  “My dream was to dance the foxtrot with my two uncles and”—she turned to her father, pointing at him—“I want to dance the traditional Tatusiu Waltz, Daddy’s waltz, with my father. It has always been my dream. So don’t screw around with my dreams—do you hear me? All of you.” She spoke it like a command.

  “What’s this Tatusiu waltz?” Eian asked Ryan.

  “It’s a father-and-daughter first dance,” he whispered. “Polish tradition. Remember, Gracie was Polish?”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” they rumbled again.

  “And finally, guys, can you please—” Her cell phone rang, and they jumped from their seats. “Hold on, I’m not finished yet. Keep your seats.”

  She looked at the caller ID, and a smile lit her face. “Hiya, Mickey!” She turned away to talk to her fiancé.

  “Hey, girl. How’s it going with the gang there?”

  “Oh, just some grumbling and such, but they took it well. I’ll be leaving here soon. Call me at home, all right? Love ya.”

  “Love ya too, bye.”

  Turning back to them on the sofa, she said, “Where was I?”

  “Wait a minute, when do we get to know this Mickey of yours better?” asked Robert. “We only met him that one time at the Thanksgiving party. Is he a ghost or something?”

  “No, he’s not. He just travels a lot for business.”

  Theirs had been a whirlwind courtship. He had swept her off her feet and proposed six weeks later. She had hired a wedding planner to help with all the details, and now the date was fast approaching.

  “Well, I’m having dinner this Thursday with him and Daddy. Next week he’ll meet all three of you at Duke’s Tuxedo Shop on Linton for a tuxedo fitting. The four of you can go out to dinner together afterward. Just don’t give him a hard time, okay?” She softened her tone and said to the trio, “Oh, and one last thing . . . I want you all to bring dates to my wedding.”

  “What?” they all howled in unison.

  “You heard me, and . . . this is not a request. It’s time for the three of you to rejoin the human race again. And by the way, clean this place up. It’s a mess. You have beer bottles, whiskey glasses, and pizza boxes everywhere.”

  “Pizza! Oh my God!” shouted Robert as he sprang to his feet. “I gotta go. I forgot, I left a pizza in the oven.”

  She hollered at him as he ran for the door, “Don’t forget, Uncle Bob, Tuesday is your first dance class. Don’t be late.”

  His tires squealed loudly down the driveway as he sped away, hoping it was not too late. He drove as fast as he could toward home.

  As he approached his street, racing down Boynton Beach Boulevard, he saw the flames rising above the tree line from three blocks away. He turned onto the gravel road leading to his house. It was blocked by fire trucks, police cars, and an ambulance, with their red, blue, and yellow lights flashing in his driveway. He could only stand there and watch his house be consumed by the flames as they blazed high in the sky.

  Hours later he realized the house was a total los
s as he walked through it searching for anything that had been spared. The tall Scotsman’s shoulders drooped as he walked amid the still-smoldering rubble. Everything he had had was gone. The only things he had left were his memories. Gone. Now he would even have to find a place to stay. What was he going to do?

  When he turned around, he saw his two brothers there, standing beside him. They all joined together, wrapping their arms around each other.

  “Everything will be okay. We can rebuild it, Bob, better than before. You’ll see,” said Eian.

  “Grab your things, you’re staying with me,” said Ryan.

  Robert turned to have one last look at the smoldering ruins. His home was gone, but not his memories. Time to move on.

  Chapter Six

  Michael Thompson, Mickey to his friends, listened to her voice on voice mail before ending his call. No answer. Her cell-phone message box was full. Where was she? He tried again and finally left a message on her machine at home. “Graw, are you there? Call me when you get this message. Love ya.” She must be out and about, he thought to himself.

  Mickey loved her and trusted her, even though they had known each other for only a little over six months. He did not normally give of his emotions so freely, but he had been in love with her from the moment they met. He believed in fate, and as fate would have it, he was in love with a Macgregor. Head over heels in love.

  They had met at a charity dance event his company was sponsoring for the House of Ruth. They clicked immediately—like a match and gunpowder. At first they fought every other day, then made up at night. They both were headstrong and iron-willed. Friends said it would last only a week, but they endured.

  He had never felt this way about anyone else before and had asked her to marry him six weeks later. Much to his surprise, she had accepted. How he loved that fiery redhead. Yelling at him at the top of her lungs one minute, and wrapping her arms around him, kissing him, the next.

  He stood in his penthouse office, high above the city of Boca Raton. He looked at his reflection in the tall window and instinctively touched the wavy white streak in his hair for good luck. He would need it for his meeting today.