When Love's at Work (15 page)

So, his marriage was a tender topic. Well,
they’d have to talk about it eventually because she had no
intention of getting involved with a man who was committed to
someone else. Even if they had been together for a long time, that
didn’t explain why he still wore his wedding ring. Maybe he felt
responsible for Callie, like he needed to take care of her. If that
was the case, why didn’t he say so? How was she supposed to trust a
man who wouldn’t even share his feelings with her?

“
This night certainly
isn’t turning out the way I planned,” Alex commented, turning his
back on Purity and walking over to stare into the unlit logs in the
fireplace.

“
Alex, we need to be able
to communicate,” Pure said, as she approached him once again. “You
are already aware that I have huge trust issues. There’s no way I
can get involved with someone who is married.”

“
You knew I was married
before you ever kissed me,” Alex challenged.

“
Yes,” Pure replied,
trying to stay calm. “I figured we’d talk about your situation and
I’d come to understand what was involved in your relationship, but
I don’t really understand. I think, if you really wanted to get a
divorce, you would. That’s how you live every other aspect of your
life.”

“
How do you know how I
live every aspect of my life?” Alex exploded. He didn’t want to
talk about this. He wanted to give Pure her house and have her be
delighted and happy. He didn’t want to be married to Callie and he
didn’t like someone questioning how he had lived the last several
years of his life. He was beginning to regret the day he met Purity
Indigo Zyetta.

“
Maybe I should go,”
Purity said, realizing that Alex’s anger was making communication
near to impossible.

“
Maybe you
should.”

The words stung and Purity dug her
fingernails into the palm of her hand to keep the tears at bay. Why
had she trusted him? Why had she thought Alex McCallister was
different than every other man she had been with?

Purity headed for the door, deciding that
she would take great satisfaction from slamming it on her way out,
which she did. It felt good. Perfect in fact! Her blood was boiling
and the tears fell hot on her cheeks. She didn’t care. Alex
couldn’t see her now, so she’d create a flood if she damn well
wanted to.

As she stormed down the sidewalk and onto
the main road, Purity realized she didn’t have her car with her.
Bobby had borrowed the car to pick up Meg. The plan had been to
have Alex drive her home later. There was no way in hell she was
going to go back up to that house and ask him to take her home.

Purity found her cell phone in her bag and
called Tapestry.

“
Hey, Pure, what’s
up?”

“
I’m stranded at the
corner of Sycamore and 18th St. Can you come pick me up?” Tears
made Purity’s voice sound nasally and much too high.

“
Are you okay?”

“
Yes. No. I’m… such a
stupid, stupid idiot,” Purity said, then sighed deeply. “Remind me
never to trust a man again.”

“
I’ll be right there,” Tap
said, then hung up the phone, grabbed her keys and made her way to
Pure’s location.

On the way to pick Purity up, Tapestry
called Courtney and Meg. It was time for compassionate friends, ice
cream and lots of Kleenex.

Purity thanked Tap for coming to pick her up
and then the car filled with unspoken words, creating a thick
silence that remained in the air for the drive home.

Tapestry could feel the anger and sorrow
oozing from every pore on Pure’s flesh. Words were not needed, or
even wanted in the moment. Tap knew there was one thing that would
surely bring a smile to Pure’s lips, even if only for a moment, so
she headed for the McDonalds drive-through for a large Diet Coke.
She was rewarded for her effort with a wan smile and a heavy sigh
after Purity took a drink.

“
Thanks,” Purity said,
letting the cool beverage calm her mind and give her body a sweet
jolt of caffeine.

When they pulled into Pure’s parking lot and
saw Court and Meg sitting on Pure’s steps, Tap said, “The gang’s
all here.”

Purity saw her trusted friends with signs of
anxiety and concern written on their faces. Hugs were shared all
around and then they all entered Pure’s apartment. Meg headed for
the kitchen to grab bowls to put the ice cream Courtney had brought
into.

Pure was glad she’d only have to recount her
tale once and everyone would hear it.

As they resumed their usual places in the
living room with their ice cream and cold beverages in hand, Pure
said, “Alex McCallister is an asshole. I don’t know what I was
thinking! I should never have gotten involved with him.”

“
I knew it! I knew this
had something to do with Alex,” Meg jumped into the conversation.
She sighed a deep, breathy sigh of regret. “I’m so sorry, Pure. I
didn’t know if I should say anything or not and Court said Alex
would find out on his own anyway, which he would have,” Meg mumbled
the last part under her breath.

“
I thought you might be
falling for Alex and think his gesture was romantic and a sign that
he wanted to make a commitment to you,” Courtney added.

“
What are you two talking
about?” Pure asked, completely confused by what they were
saying.

“
It wasn’t like it was a
bad thing,” Meg tried to explain.

“
No, I don’t think it was
bad, either,” Courtney quickly agreed with her friend. “Maybe just
a bit misguided. He needed to get to know you better before
assuming you’d accept such a gift.”

“
It certainly implied that
you and Alex were in some sort of long-term relationship for sure,”
Meg continued. “It’s not every day you’re given a house you’ve been
dreaming about for years and years.”

Purity had been trying to piece the
conversation together and fill in the gaps, but it wasn’t making
any sense. What gift? What commitment? What house?

“
Whoa,” Purity said,
holding up her hand. “I need someone to start at the beginning,
please.”

Tapestry interjected, trying to find some
clarity amongst the jumbled up communication. “Pure, why are you
upset with Alex?”

“
I’m mad at Alex because
he’s married and he seems to have no plans of getting unmarried any
time soon. And, he won’t even talk about it! He told me I knew he
was married before I kissed him. What is that supposed to mean? I
didn’t plan on kissing him and I didn’t plan on falling for someone
I work with. And, I didn’t plan on falling for someone who is still
either hung up on his wife, who he claims he can’t get a divorce
from, or is quite happy in the role of caretaker so he never has to
open his heart to someone new and actually have a life of his own.”
Pure was waving her hands around while she spoke and her voice was
rising higher and louder.

“
Oh,” Meg and Court said
in unison, their eyes averted Purity’s to closely examine the ice
cream in their bowls.

“
What were you two talking
about?” Tapestry inquired pointedly at Meg and Court.

The two women looked at each other and then
Meg said, “Alex asked me for Mrs. Cravens’ phone number yesterday,”
she paused and then looked up into Purity’s eyes, “because he
wanted to buy her home and give it to you as a gift.”

The words were like a solid punch in the gut
to Purity. Then the nausea spread throughout the rest of her body.
Alex had bought her the house of her dreams. Pure bit her lip and
scrutinized a dark spot on her carpet. She couldn’t fathom the
idea. Nobody buys someone a house.

Her heart hurt. She knew that someone like
Alex McCallister would do that very thing. He probably hadn’t even
thought the whole prospect over. He would have had the idea and
acted on it immediately.

That must have been what he meant when he
said the evening wasn’t turning out like he planned. All she had
talked about was his wife and all he wanted to do was give her the
largest gift she would have ever received. Purity felt incredibly
small.

Tapestry put her hand on Pure’s arm, “Are
you okay?” she asked.

Pure half-croaked, “Yes.” Then added in a
voice barely audible, “No one has ever even considered doing
something so amazing for me before.” Purity felt stunned. It didn’t
change the fact that he was still married and something was keeping
him connected to Callie, but it also spoke to Alex’s generous
nature and how much he must care about her. Or did he want her to
be indebted to him?

“
I don’t want to owe any
man anything,” Purity remarked, her shock and surprise giving way
to feelings of independence. “I want to make my own way, set goals
and accomplish them. I want to earn the house of my dreams, not be
handed it on a silver tray by a man who has enough money to buy 20
houses if he wants to.” Purity took a deep breath. “It’s a
wonderful and kind gesture, but even if Alex had offered me the
house, I wouldn’t be able to accept it. It wouldn’t feel right in
my spirit.”

Pure looked at Court and Meg and stated,
“Meggie, of course I’m not mad at you for giving Alex Mrs. Cravens’
number. And, Court, you’re right, if Alex wanted the number, he’d
find a way to get it.”

“
So what now?” Court
inquired.

All eyes were on Purity.

“
I don’t know,” Pure
stated. “I’m not exactly sure where Alex and I stand now. I told
him I won’t be involved with a married man, so if he intends to
stay married, then…”

“
You sort of issued an
ultimatum. Either he gets a divorce from his wife or you won’t be
seeing him any more,” Meg said.

“
Yeah, I guess that’s
exactly what I did.”

“
Can you live with that
decision?” Courtney inquired.

“
I think I have to. If he
chooses her, then he chooses her,” Pure remarked. “I won’t play
second fiddle and I want a lifetime commitment. I’m not settling
for anything less this time.”

Alex stared at the door Purity slammed for
well over ten minutes. Obviously, she wasn’t coming back. She had
some nerve challenging him about his relationship with his wife.
Why would he stay with Callie one day longer than he absolutely had
to? Why would she think, even in some small way, he wanted to still
be married?

He would never understand women. Never.

Alex decided to work off some of his tension
and anxiety by calling Mark Watterson to see if he wanted to play a
game of tennis at the indoor court at The Kids’ Place. Luckily,
Mark was home and available. They arranged to meet each other in
half an hour.

“
Couldn’t wait to get beat
for the third week in a row, huh?” Mark began the back-and-forth
banter that always ensued when the two men played any
sport.

“
Something like that,”
Alex said, half-heartedly. Mark noticed the change in his friends’
demeanor, but remained silent. If Alex wanted to tell him what was
going on, he would do it at his own pace.

The game was over in short order, with Mark
scoring all the points. “I thought you said you wanted to play
tennis?” he chided Alex.

“
Guess my head’s not quite
in the game.”

“
Where is it?”

Evading Mark’s question, Alex inquired, “Do
you think I want to get a divorce from Callie?”

Mark used his racket to bounce his tennis
ball against the court flooring a few times, thinking about his
answer. “That’s what you’ve told me for several years,” Mark
finally stated.

“
But do you believe that I
want to get one?” Alex insisted.

“
Where are you heading
with this?” Mark countered, as much to get to what was bothering
his friend as not to speak words his friend might not want to
hear.

“
I was told today that if
I wanted to get a divorce, I would have done it,” Alex finally
confessed part of what had been eating away at him.

“
Purity?” Mark
inquired.

Alex’s eyes met Mark’s. “Yes. She gave me an
ultimatum today. I either get a divorce or she won’t see me any
more.”

“
That’s rough,” Mark said,
wondering if this was just the push Alex needed to finally close
this chapter on his past. “You think she has a point?”

“
No. Not at first. But
it’s been bugging me ever since she said it. I wanted to give
Callie time, but two years is a long time. More than enough time to
decide if we should be together or not,” Alex replied.

“
It’s something to think
about,” Mark commented, measuring his words carefully. He could
tell that Alex was in his processing mode. He was a wise man and
once he found a bit of perspective, he would take action to change
whatever he felt was out of alignment. The only real question was
how long would it take for him to see that his marriage to Callie
was over a long time ago and it was past time to move
on.

“
I think I’ll try to get
over and see Callie tomorrow. Maybe find out where she stands on
things,” Alex said, running his hand through his hair. After a
short pause, Alex offered, “Best two out of three?”

Mark knew this was Alex’s way of signaling
that the conversation was over.

“
It’s your money to burn,”
Mark replied with a grin.

Callie had agreed to meet Alex at 12:00 noon
at the Dragon Tail restaurant.

In the car on the way there, Alex had done a
lot of thinking about the past few years with Callie. He hated to
admit it, but there was a part of him that responded strongly to a
woman in need. He liked being the provider, the protector. It
certainly had been easier to not get involved with someone again
after he and Callie’s relationship had died away. All he had to say
was he was married and women backed off. Well, most women. Even
just wearing his wedding band sent the message that he was off the
market. Plus, no one tried to set him up on dates or ask him over
and over why he wasn’t married.