CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: The Last Say in This Showdown
Blair opened the door and found Calvin dressed in blue silk pajamas and sitting in bed with a silver serving set in front of him. On the tray was a fine breakfast: steak, poached eggs, croissants, and all the trimmings. Calvin loved having grapefruit juice and French coffee in the morning, and he had plenty of both.
“Get this thing away from me, will you, Blair?” he said, referring to the tray. It was obvious that he hadn’t eaten any of it.
“Sure,” Blair said, picking up the tray and then putting it on a table beside the bed.
“Would you like any of that?” Calvin asked him, pointing to the food.
Blair smiled and shook his head. “I just had breakfast,” he said, referring to the four shots of gin he’d consumed downstairs. “Thanks anyway.”
“It’s good to see you, Blair. Thanks for coming to Cynthia’s wake.”
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what happened to her.”
Calvin raised his hands, telling Blair to stop apologizing, so he did.
“Have a seat,” Calvin said after staring at him for a moment. “Are you working?”
“Just on getting by,” Blair said as he sat down in a leather lounge chair and made himself comfortable.
Even-toned, neutral colors of tan and brown pervaded the room, suggesting a quiet modesty. All of the desks, chairs, and tables were either made of solid mahogany, or were upholstered with a floral pattern of velvet with mahogany trim. There was a crystal chandelier hanging above Blair and there was also a spectacular sheltered alcove around a huge, stone fireplace for those intimate moments. The master bedroom encompassed the entire eastern end of the second floor.
European art hung on the walls, originals by some modern masters. Doilies were all around, as well as throw pillows, and exquisite, satin curtains were elegantly draped at each of the towering windows. The rising sun was casting a most celestial shine across the plush, lime-colored carpeting. But the light didn’t reach Calvin’s somber face. Sitting there in the shadows gave him a rather venomous, evil semblance, enough to make Blair consider calling off the conversation.
The bed Calvin was in had satin sheets and was big enough for five people. Its four posters held up a canopy that exactly matched the lime-colored carpeting. Blair wondered how Cal was able to find his wife in that thing. Or maybe he just didn’t want to anymore.
“Did you get past the booze downstairs without stopping?” Calvin asked him, his voice echoing across the enormous room.
“Didn’t touch a drop,” Blair said.
A statement like that was enough to bring a hint of a smile to Calvin’s dry lips. “Now that’s exactly why I fired you, Blair. You’re not a very good liar. And bosses don’t like to be lied to.”
“What about daughters? Do they like being lied to?”
“I never lied to Cynthia!”
“Well, perhaps ‘lie’ isn’t the right word.” Blair scratched his chin. “Humm, let’s just say you managed to tell her only half-truths. And perhaps that’s why she got herself killed.”
“Why did you come here today? To insult me? To get back at me for firing you? What?”
“I’m not here to get back at you. Firing me was one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.”
“Then what’s this all about? The fact that Cynthia didn’t want you around full-time? You were just a part-time playmate. That’s right, isn’t it, Blair?” Calvin shook his head with a grin on his face. “She threw you away like a candy wrapper.”
“She sure did,” Blair said, nodding. “I’ll stop the pretense. I was in love with Cynthia. I would’ve married her, too. But I was merely a distraction for her. You know, somebody to play around with whenever Vinnie was out of town.”
Calvin chuckled; the fact that his daughter was having the last say in this showdown seemed to tickle him. “Damn right,” he said.
“I guess she got that cheating bug naturally, eh Cal?”
Cal’s eyes became riveted on Blair’s face. “What did you say?”
“I’m talking about Kevin Massey’s mother. She’s been a distraction for you just like I was for Cynthia. Am I right?”
“You son of a bitch!” he said, getting out of bed so fast, he hardly looked like a sick man. He had pushed that satin canopy back with authority and his stance told Blair that he meant business. “Don’t talk about Sarah that way!”
“Did you ever marry her? Did you ever promise to marry her? Bigamy is still illegal in this country, isn’t it?”
“Shut your mouth!” Calvin said, looking around as if the walls could hear every word that Blair was saying.
“If it’s Corinne you’re worried about, she left for church several minutes ago. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Calvin sat down in the matching lounger beside Blair. “How did you find out about Sarah?” he whispered.
“It wasn’t difficult. Contrary to popular belief, you are a very emotional man.”
“I guess so,” Calvin said, staring down at the floor.
“How long have you been seeing her?”
“Off and on for twenty years.”
“Twenty years? And Corinne doesn’t know about it?”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Corinne is no idiot,” Blair said. “Twenty years is a long time to keep a secret.”
“She doesn’t know.”
“Has Sarah ever been married?”
Calvin shook his head, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes.
“How old was Kevin? Eighteen? Are you telling me…?”
Calvin stood up and walked over to a window. As he gazed out into that magnificent glow, he said, “Kevin was my son.”
“That explains why you went to Kevin’s wake. I also saw you go into his apartment.”
“Yes,” Calvin said, “I went there all the time. I loved my son. I helped him pay for that little place on Vine.” He shook his head reflectively, a sad smile on his face. “He loved being on his own. His first taste of independence. Helping the boy get his own place was the least I could do after years of neglecting him. Besides, his having the apartment made it easier for me to see him.”
Calvin faced Blair again. “I couldn’t turn my back on Sarah when I found out that she was pregnant. I wanted children, lots of children. Corinne never really wanted any. You see, she was more interested in her figure instead of being put out by pregnancies. My wife, contrary to what most people believe, can be a very self-centered woman.
“Sarah shared herself with me,” Calvin continued. “She cared about what happened to me, about how I felt.” Pausing to rub his face with his hands, he added, “She gave me the son I never would’ve had otherwise.”
“Why did you stay with Corinne?”
He closed his eyes for a moment, and then sat down in the chair again. “Marriage is a sacrament. You find someone and you marry for life. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work? Corinne is a very fragile woman. A divorce would’ve killed her.
“And promises? When I think back on all the promises I made to Sarah over the years and how I never came through on any of them, it makes me sick! I kept telling her that I’d leave Corinne one day, but I never did. Sarah has spent most of her life waiting for a day that never came. And now Kevin, the only part of me that she could ever really call her own, has been taken away from her.”