The Sweet Road Back Read online

  “I’m impressed,” she said without suppressing her smile. Darius had never before tuned Dan out or put her in front of his business schedule.

  He chuckled. “Well, good. I haven’t been able to impress you in a long time.”

  A comfortable silence filled the interior of the car. Melissa folded her hands in her lap. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad. They used to spend Saturdays together schlepping around, doing the tourist thing, and eating pounds of junk food. At night, they’d fall into bed with their bags scattered at the foot. Everything was funny then, he could make her laugh with the most mundane statements. She hadn’t dissolved into laughter since she’d left her sisters in Bristol.

  “Can you tell me what we’re going to do today?” Melissa hoped she didn’t sound like a control freak who couldn’t go with the flow or show spontaneity. Even though his gesture was nice, it was time for her to find her way. Maybe moving back to Bristol would improve her life. It seemed to be working well for both Asa and Dakota. She had enough attitude to gather the reigns of her life. How hard could it be?

  “You’re not going to be happy until I tell you, right? Okay.” He paused as he pulled into a parking garage in Nob Hill. “This is just a spur-of-the-moment outing, so I thought I’d take you to your favorite shoe store in all the world, and then we could have a late lunch at your favorite place down on the wharf.”

  “You mean McCormick and Kuleto’s?”

  He pulled into an open space and turned off the car. “Yep, you know the one.” He hopped out of the car and opened her door.

  Without asking, he slipped his hand around hers and led her onto the crowded street.

  “First things first. I owe you a pair of expensive boots, don’t I?”

  “That train left the station weeks ago. Remember? Let’s not put it back on the tracks.” She pretended to scratch her arm so he would release her hand. To buy the shoes now would be like getting a birthday gift six months late. The gesture would be nice, but there wouldn’t be any thrill. If she kept falling for his charm, then she deserved all the unhappiness that visited her. Carrying the box around Nob Hill, pretending to be a happily married couple would only mark how low they had sunk. Darius was used to getting everything he wanted. The silver spoon in his mouth was a small part of his family keepsakes. There was a time when he thought he wanted her. The way he’d kept showing up on her parents’ doorstep, even though she’d spent most of her day ignoring him, had finally worn her down. He had spun a wonderful tale of what their lives would be like in California. She couldn’t help but place her heart on the closest thing to a silver platter available and hand it over to him.

  Not a smart move. Now, all she needed was a seat on one of those salacious daytime talk shows to discuss how gullible she had been. Putting everything on hold just for him.

  Melissa slowed her gait. “I’d really like to pick up some loose teas while we’re in Chinatown.” She turned in the opposite direction. The small gesture to take control of life made her feel better.

  “Are you sure? I thought you ordered your teas online.”

  She picked up her pace. The more distance she put between her and shoe shopping, the less pity churned in her stomach.

  In the small, cramped teashop, she tasted a few sample brews and smelled several varieties before selecting the sweet-scented Oolong and a dark Rooibos. Instead of glancing at his watch or checking his cell phone, Darius stood by her side, tasting and sampling alongside her. While he poured on the charm, she had to step higher or drown in the pool of make-believe.

  Two young girls stepped into the shop, their heads bent as they giggled in each other’s ear. They didn’t look old enough to be out without parents, but each wore impeccable make-up.

  The tallest preteen shrieked and pointed. “Look, it’s Darius B!” She shrieked again and added a jump to punctuate the sound.

  The two of them began to squeal and slapped each other’s hands.

  “You might as well give them your autograph before they pass out.” Melissa tried to sound casual. Young girls weren’t the issue. It was the women who simpered around him and wanted more than his signature that caused the riffs.

  After snapping pictures with the most sophisticated cell phones Melissa had ever seen, Darius signed a piece of paper provided by the shop owner. Both girls left the store giggling harder than when they walked in.

  “Where to now?” Darius asked after she made her purchase and they stepped back onto the crowded, narrow street. “Tell you what, since our dinner reservation isn’t until later, how about I buy you a corn dog to hold you until then?”

  “I think I’ll pass. While you’re eating your wiener, I’ll get some chocolate.”

  “Deal.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and steered her towards the wharf. She didn’t want to be happy, but she was.

  ****

  Hand-in-hand, they climbed the stairs to McCormick and Kuleto; Darius didn’t try to downplay the jocularity he felt. It was the best time he’d had in months.

  “Are you hungry?” He held her by the waist as they waited for the hostess to return to the desk.

  “I am. After so much walking, I’m famished.” She held up her bag. “And I saved some chocolate for dessert.”

  “You’ll share with me, won’t you?”

  “I’ll think about it.” She gave him her prettiest smile. The same one he’d fallen in love with and hadn’t seen since she’d returned from Delaware. All he’d seen was the half smile she had adopted. Actually, it was a cross between a smile and a sneer.

  The blonde hostess bounced to the podium. “You’re Darius, the singer, aren’t you?” The hostess placed her hand on top of his and licked her glossy lip. This freight train needed to be stopped now.

  He pulled his hand away. “Is our table ready?”

  “Yes, of course. If you’ll just follow me.” She picked up a couple of menus and led them to a table. “Please let me know if you need anything. Anything at all,” she said, before walking away.

  Melissa clucked and held her hands together.

  No way was such a minor incident going to ruin the day. “Ignore her, please. It was nothing.” He positioned Melissa’s chair to see out the window. “Your favorite view. And look, the sun is setting.”

  She rested her chin in the palm of her hand while staring at the darkening purple and pink sky. “I do like sitting here and seeing Alcatraz. You’d think I’d get tired of looking at it, but…” She hunched her shoulders.

  “I wanted our day to be perfect. We needed it.”

  “Well, you’ve outdone yourself. And we haven’t said one cross word to each other all day. I think we have a new record.”

  He nodded. “Can I order for you?”

  She put her menu down. For the briefest moment, everything was perfect.

  Dinner flew by in a rush. Nothing slowed time no matter how long it took him to butter his bread or chew the lobster. His full stomach coiled with disappointment when the server placed the check in front of him. Her easy manner at dinner had left the door open just enough for him to push through. As soon as they got home, he’d planned to test her just a bit.

  “I hope you enjoyed dinner,” he said.

  “I did. But I’m exhausted now.”

  “Thank you for coming today.” He studied her face, happy to see a genuine smile.

  She folded her napkin and placed it on the table before turning her gaze to the window. The only thing visible was the glare of distant lights in the dark sky. Even the outline of Alcatraz was hard to make out.

  “Oh no, here she comes again.” Melissa’s eyes flared with anger.

  The hostess rested her hand on his shoulder, lingering a moment too long. The heat from her hand penetrated his shirt. He shifted just enough to escape her touch.

  “How was your dinner?” she asked.

  Before he could respond, Melissa piped up. “Everything was delicious. Thank you for asking.”

  Without looking at Melissa, he cou
ld feel the tension settle over the table. It was the same tightness that existed in their house and in the words they spoke to each other. How silly he’d been to think they could escape reality for just one day. She didn’t want to understand the games he needed to play in this industry. Being rude to fans could stall his career. If Dan had taught him nothing else, he’d drilled in the importance of connecting with the public. Always.

  Instead of looking at Melissa, he focused his attention on the folio and paying the check. A business card fluttered to the floor like a butterfly in flight. Without seeing the details, he knew what it said. A phone number. An address. An invitation for a night of coitus. It wasn’t the first time he’d received such an offer slipped to him in the most ridiculous ways. But in front of his wife–it caused his stomach to churn. He suppressed the urge to yell or call the manager. Now wasn’t the time for his ego to control the situation. Melissa deserved respect and he wanted the hostess to give it to her, but Melissa would hate it if he made a scene.

  Melissa plucked the card off the floor. “Don’t look so surprised. She probably thinks I’m just the bimbo for the evening since nobody knows I’m your wife.”

  “Tonight is about you. I don’t care what is going on in her head. I’ve never seen her before and I’ll never see her again. Leave the card on the floor. That’s where it belongs.” He pushed away from the table. “I’m ready to take my beautiful wife home.”

  Melissa flipped the card onto the table as he secured his hand around her waist and escorted her out of the restaurant.

  Chapter Eight

  Melissa remembered when the most eventful part of their dates was the hot night of sex afterwards. Now, with his music so famous, whacky fans meant almost anything could happen, even in upscale places. She pushed her shoulders back and allowed Darius’s hand to ride her waist as she exited the restaurant, and they made their way to the parking garage.

  “It comes with the territory, Melissa,” he said as he held the car door open for her.

  “I know. I’m not saying a word. But I often wonder if you’d be as patient with me if I were the star and men were always in pursuit of me? Seriously, what would you do?”

  She could almost see the thought scroll across his brain. He rested his hand on top of the car.

  “I would do everything possible to help make your dream come true.” His face darkened. Darius had a tinge of jealousy coursing through his veins like blood. There was no way he would tolerate half of the insolence or flirting that she put up with, and her patience was waning too.

  “Your statement sounds like it’s laced with qualifiers. You see, it’s not as simple as it seems,” she said.

  “I know how difficult this situation is for you. And even though you might find this hard to believe, I don’t like it either. But it won’t be much longer, I promise you.”

  As she slid into the passenger seat, he rubbed his hand over her butt. Maybe he hoped she’d forget the incident in the restaurant. She’d try to make an effort to remain nonchalant. If he could handle what happened in the restaurant, then she certainly would find a way to get through the absurdity too. At least for one more night.

  With her seatbelt secured, he closed the door and walked to the driver’s side. After he got in the car and locked the door, she said, “If I wasn’t with you tonight, what would you have done with the business card?” She contracted her stomach and waited for his reply. She sounded as insecure as a kid on the first day of school, but picking at the scab made her feel better.

  “If you hadn’t been sitting beside me, I would have called the manager. I think a hostess at a fine dining place should be used to seeing celebrities. But tonight, I was determined nothing was going to ruin our day, so I let her stupid behavior pass.” He paused. “Why? What do you think I should have done?”

  “I guess I wanted you to defend my honor or something archaic along those lines.”

  “This really bothers you, doesn’t it, Melissa?”

  “I thought I could do the famous life. The folks on talk shows make it sound so easy. You know I think I’m tough as nails. But yes, it gets to me and I can’t get over how much you like the attention.”

  “I won’t lie to you, the attention is nice, but not at your expense. I remember when we used to spend time together without going out of the house. Those times were better than anything.”

  “I thought you hated those days. You used to look like your skin was itching to break away from the confines of home.”

  “What I hated…never mind,” he said.

  “What? Finish your statement.” A husband and wife shouldn’t have to struggle so much to be happy. The constant need to tiptoe around his life and tamp down her emotions was exhausting. The weight of trying so hard left no energy to think about herself or her future. The sooner she told him about the divorce, the sooner she could mend her broken life, set her own direction without walking in his wake.

  “I want to make my family proud. They’ve put their hopes and dreams on me and I feel like I owe them something.”

  Melissa shook her head. She understood the pressures of family.

  “Darius, I need to talk to you about something.”

  “I need to tell you something too.” He paid the parking attendant and pulled into the street. “I have to go to New York next week. My tour starts and it’s scheduled to last several months. I’d ask you to come along for the first show but I know you can’t miss school.”

  Instead of responding, she intertwined her fingers and held them tight. Refusing to say one harsh word that might change the direction of their night.

  “School just started and you usually hate to miss class in the first couple of weeks. See, even when you think I’m not paying attention, I am.” He looked so satisfied at being able to remember something, she bit down on her tongue to keep from telling him he was wrong.

  He had no way of knowing how much she’d loved to travel with him. When she got the job at the university she’d made a big point of telling him how important her career was and how she couldn’t go traipsing off with him to every concert or gathering. That tirade haunted her now.

  Her stomach swirled like a cat chasing its tail. “Great,” she managed over the big knot at the back of her throat.

  “What did you have to tell me?”

  “It was nothing.” She closed her eyes and leaned back against the headrest. Telling him about the lawyer seemed less important now. His life was so wrapped around himself, he probably wouldn’t even notice he was being served with divorce papers. Perfection did not exist. She’d have to remember those four words. Especially when her heart started to race with happy thoughts and grand illusions or when the familiar queasy feeling invaded her stomach.

  Every night with Darius could be magical if she could close out the rest of the world and the people who wanted to share his life as though they could claim a piece of him.

  She wanted the uncomplicated lives of her sisters. Where strangers didn’t creep over the boundaries like willow tree roots.

  They rode in silence for several miles. She snatched quick glimpses of Darius as he made his way through the late night traffic. The casual way he rested his hands on the bottom of the steering wheel set her at ease. She tried to clear away the runaway thoughts.

  “Do you remember when we used to stay up all night, just talking?” she asked.

  “Yes. Before we started spending the night arguing.” He chuckled as he focused on the road.

  He pulled the car under the porte-cochere and shut off the engine. Before getting out, he cupped her knee with his palm. “Thanks for not making a big deal out of what happened in the restaurant.”

  “I understand the groupies, the wannabes, and the moochers. What I don’t understand is why I have to act like I don’t exist.”

  “After the studio picks up the soundtrack for the movie. I’ll make some changes. It won’t be much longer.”

  “That’s our new mantra, isn’t it?”

&
nbsp; “I mean it this time,” he said.

  Now was the time to tell him she’d talked to a lawyer about divorce, but it could be their last blissful day together. She still had until Monday to change her mind. On Tuesday, he would be served the papers and she planned to be on a plane back to Delaware.

  Darius ran around the car and opened her door. Once inside the house, Turbo charged him.

  “I need to take the dog for a walk. He’s been cooped up all day.” He reached for the leash.

  “Good night, Darius. I’m going to bed. Thank you again for a lovely day.” She kissed his full lips and then used her thumb to swipe away the gloss.

  He grabbed her wrist. “Wait up for me. I want to talk. I’ll only be a few minutes. Let me take the dog out.” His eyes pleaded for her acceptance.

  She nodded and ran up the stairs before he made another request she couldn’t muster a reasonable objection to.

  After taking a short, hot shower, the tension between her shoulders relaxed. She hummed a Jeffrey Osborne song her mother used to love. Whenever her mother was upset with her father, she would hum We’re Going All the Way, as if by buzzing with the melody she could reinforce their marriage. Somewhere during her marriage, Melissa started doing the same thing. But the song didn’t provide the comfort it seemed to bring her mother.

  While Melissa slathered on her favorite Bvlgari moisturizer, she continued to hum. Then, she wrapped the towel around her back and tucked it tight above her breasts.

  The tap on the door shook her serenity.

  “Melissa, I’m coming in.”

  She opened the bathroom door to find him stretched across the bed. He reached into his pocket and removed an energy drink. The small, red bottle disappeared in his palm.

  “Darius, I’m not dressed yet. Could you give me a minute to put on a gown?”

  He patted the bed, slapping it with his palm. “You don’t need to put on anything. You’re beautiful.”

  His words hung in mid-air. For a moment, she wasn’t sure what to do, grab the gown or follow his advice.