Odalisque

Constance thought, and then wrote as honest an answer as she could muster. I’m not sure I could survive another year.

Jeremy nodded. “I thought so. You’re in love with him.”

It was pointless to disagree. Constance wrote, That doesn’t matter. Love isn’t part of the code. Anyway, we don’t belong together. I’m deaf.

“I’m quite sure he doesn’t care about that.”

And I have plans. Dreams. Things I want to do. Kai wants children, and I don’t. There are a lot of reasons it wouldn’t work out. She put a heavy period at the end of that line and tucked the pen into the edge of the book.

Jeremy waited a moment for her to look up at him. He pushed the pen back toward her. “But are there any reasons it would work out? Say, for instance, if he was in love with you too?”

God, she was in trouble. He had that implacable look again.

*** *** ***

Kai and Nell were relaxing down in the living room after a very rousing session. If Constance had the most spankable ass in the world, Nell certainly ran a close second. Kai went to get her a drink, and on the way back was waylaid by Veronica.

“Oh. You.” He looked down his nose at her, all the satisfaction of the past hour’s scene ebbing away. “Can I help you with something?”

Veronica batted her eyes at him in that passive-aggressive way she had. “Why are you avoiding me, Kai?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because I hate you?”

Veronica pouted, folding her arms over her pert breasts. “Are you still angry about that old stuff?”

“That old stuff?” Kai gave Nell’s drink to Mason to deliver, and took his ex-wife’s arm and steered her toward the back hallway. “That ‘old stuff’? Is that how you refer to the fact that you secretly deprived me of three children?”

“Oh, you never wanted children,” Veronica spat at him. “You just wanted a reason to be mad at me.”

“You grifting me out of 35 million dollars wasn’t a good enough reason? Why are you here?”

Veronica stuck out her chin. “Jessamine invited me. You and I have a lot of the same friends. I don’t know why we can’t get along together. I had kind of hoped we might stay friends.”

Kai stared at her, his jaw open in disbelief. “Really?”

“I miss you, Kai.”

It was unspeakably rude, but he laughed out loud. “It’s New Years Eve, Veronica, not April Fools Day. Sorry. I was stupid enough to fall for your games once--”

“Games? What games?”

“The games where you pretend to care about me in order to take my money and abort my kids. Those games.”

“Kai--”

“What about your date there, your handsome Mr. Universe?”

“I don’t care about him. Being with him has made me realize how much I need you. How much I miss you.”

“Is the money gone already? How do you buzz through 35 mil in one year?”

“The money’s not gone. This has nothing to do with that. Can’t I have a change of heart?”

Veronica blinked up at him, lower lip trembling, in full blown delicate-flower act. How he’d loved her once. For a moment he was that impressionable young man again, who couldn’t believe such a beauty would be interested in him. But he was wise enough now to look past the delicate flower to the thorny stalk beneath. “Not a fucking chance, woman. Give it up.”

“Kai--”

She grabbed his arm and he pulled away. “Either leave my house, Veronica, or leave me alone. Just stay out of my face--”

Jessamine’s shriek interrupted their argument. With a muttered curse, Kai pushed past Veronica and into the living room. All the conversation had stopped, the various couples clustered on the outskirts of the room. In front of the New Years telecast, Jessamine was waving a fistful of papers in front of Mason’s face.

“You fucking bastard. Explain this. Explain it to me!”

“What’s there to explain?” Mason yelled back. “You’re an intelligent woman. I’m sure you can fucking figure it out.”

“Oh, I figured it out all right.” She slapped Mason upside the head so hard Kai flinched. “You’re fucking Kai’s little deaf girl right under my nose. How many times have you had her? I knew it! I knew it at that Lincoln Center bash in New York. Where is that little whore?”

“Jessamine.” Kai crossed the room. “Look, calm down. It’s twenty minutes to New Years. Sit down, have some champagne--”

“You knew about this?” Jessamine turned her fury on him. “I should have known. The two stooges. He’s always loved you more than me. What are you, a couple of closet homosexuals?”

“Jess,” Mason warned.

“What are you even talking about?” asked Kai, prying the pages from her hand. He scanned them, recognizing Constance’s handwriting, and Mason’s. “Where did you get this?”

“They were sitting on top of the piano,” Jess fumed. “Apparently Mason spent one of his hours plotting the end of my marriage with your sanctimonious, whoring little bitch.”

“Enough,” Kai snapped. “Don’t talk about Constance that way.”

Jess spun on Mason again. “How dare you? We promised never to keep secrets. Where is she?”

With impeccable timing, Jeremy appeared at the door to the odella with Constance at his side. Jessamine went tearing up the stairs. Jeremy positioned himself in front of Constance, but Jess went pushing past, into the odella. Mason and Kai ran behind, along with the other guests.

Jessamine took in the bright bed, the harem-like curtains and decor, and spun toward the saray. She looked inside, and when she turned around to Mason, her face was white and drawn. Her voice shook with the force of her rage. She pointed at Constance and barely spoke above a whisper. “Is that woman an odalisque? Answer me. Is she your odalisque?”

Mason shook his head. Kai held Constance close and said, “She’s mine. I went and got her on my own. Mason had no part in it.”

Jess fixed her gaze on her husband. “And you slithered over here behind my back to be with her. For how long?”

“I invited him, Jess,” Kai interjected. “Don’t just blame him--”

“You stay out of this. Just fucking shut up.” She gave Constance an eviscerating glare before she turned back to Mason. “I’ll ask again. How long?”

Mason looked as enraged as his wife. “Since summer. Six months ago--”

“You fucking ass!”

“Since you started spending all that time with your fucking Out of Bounds co-star!” Mason’s voice rose, hoarse and tortured. “Since you started hooking up every other night with those slutty waitresses from Eau de Vie. Since you started swinging with your fucking personal trainer and your bodyguard. Since you left me!”

“I never left you! You knew about every one of my lovers. You agreed! We agreed to an open marriage.”

“What choice did I have, Jessamine?” Mason’s voice cracked and broke. “Yes, I agreed. But I don’t agree any more. I’ve had enough.”

In the frozen silence that followed, Kai heard, with a sick sinking feeling, his sister’s bright voice from the stairs.

“Constance! Hey, are you up there?”

Satya’s face appeared in the door. She took in the sixteen naked bodies and Mason’s stricken expression, Jessamine’s rage and Kai’s flustered scowl.

“Brother,” she asked softly. “What’s going on?”

Kai swallowed past the tightness in his throat. “We’re having a little party.” His voice sounded strangely normal, considering the circumstances. He belatedly remembered to put a hand over his genitals, after seeing the other men covering up. “What are you doing here?”

Satya was looking anywhere but him, anywhere but at the naked party guests. “It’s New Years Eve. I was lonely and I wanted to come spend it with you and Constance.”

“I thought you were spending it with your boyfriend.”

Satya’s eyes were shining, like she was about to start crying. “We actually just broke up.

” From downstairs, the sound of the countdown blared up from the TV. 5...4...3...2...1...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!