24 #FightOrFlight

July 8, 2017
Saturday

 

“Teddi?”

 

Teddi looked up from the laptop to her assistant.  Saturdays were workdays in her world, which meant Julia was here, catching up on invoicing and whatever email had come through since the Fourth of July holiday. 

 

“Yes?”

 

“I guess you were busy and didn’t hear the chime.  There are guests at the gate.”

 

Honestly, she was looking at Jon’s Instagram post from last night.  While she’d been posting about being as one with nature, he was musing about the wonder of kaleidoscopes.  She knew what colors and patterns he was thinking of, and even if he didn’t use hashtags, it had her pulse race with a bit of clandestine excitement. 

 

At Julia’s guest announcement, however, Teddi’s heart took an instinctive leap into her throat.  Who could be here, and why?  Unexpected guests were arriving too often for her taste lately.

 

You weren’t complaining last night.

 

Yes, but Julia said “guests” not “guest”, so it likely wasn’t Jon requesting entry. 

 

“Do you know who it is?”

 

“No, other than they’re in a locksmith’s truck.”

 

Stef?  She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since the chat in her pool a few weeks ago.  What was he doing here?  And who was with him?

 

Teddi pulled a light frown and accessed the security software she should’ve referred to in the first place.  Looking at the cameras for herself would save both time and questions, and when she did, the heart lodged in her throat thumped enough to gag her.

 

If Stef was here alone, it could’ve meant he decided to stop by while on a call in the neighborhood.  That had happened once or twice in the last few years, but that obviously wasn't the case today.  She could make out Maggie’s wild hair in the passenger seat and Cat sitting in the back of the dual cab. 

 

With his sisters in tow, this was practically an unprecedented event.  The only time more than two Biharis had come calling together was when she'd tried to avoid the Ides of June outing.  They’d arrived with a flash mob mentality and whisked her out the door. 

 

What was today’s agenda?  Catarina lived in the vicinity, but Maggie should be back in California.  Kizzy didn’t appear to be with them, so she must’ve actually gone home to Chicago. 

 

Or they’re here for a reason that’s crazier than she wishes to participate in.

 

Like that had ever happened.  CPA Kizzy might be the most conservative of the lot, but she usually went along with whatever was happening, if only to supervise.  She was definitely in Chicago. 

 

“They’re my cousins,” she neutrally informed Julia while opening the gate with a sense of trepidation. 

 

“Oh, really?  I didn’t realize you had family in the area other than Tori.  They never come visit.”

 

“We usually keep in touch via texts and calls.”

 

Dimples slid into play.  “Of course.  Sometimes I forget about your condition.”

 

Teddi wished she could.

 

“Yes.  Well, thank you, Julia,” she dismissed with a nod that gave the other woman permission to return to invoicing at the kitchen desk.  Which reminded her…. “Oh, and please don’t send any further billing for the Bon Jovi consult.  That contract has been cancelled, and I’d like any payments returned.”

 

Dark eyes went wide as Teddi rose from her chair.  “Do you realize how big that check was?”

 

Making sure the latte cardigan and ivory silk tank covered the curve of her neck – and Jon’s memento from last night – she then smoothed linen capris with a wry, “Enough to pay your salary for several months, as I recall, but we're still sending it back.”

 

“Whatever you say, boss.”  The eyes that rolled back in her head said that Teddi had lost her mind.  “Since you have company, I’m going to the market before I do that. Anything else you want while I’m out?”

 

“Just the list on the kitchen counter.”  The menu for Jon’s dinner had been completed this morning, and the necessary supplies added to her usual weekly shopping list. 

 

“Okay.  I’ll let your cousins in as I leave.”

 

“I would appreciate that, thank you.”

 

She didn’t, but it was the right thing to say, so therefore an acceptable lie.

 

The assistant’s long, ebony ponytail was still shaking with disbelief as she left the room, but Teddi didn’t have time to dwell on it.  She was busy sliding open the lap drawer on her desk to fish out an anti-anxiety pill.  The symptoms were mild so far, but with the impromptu arrival of three Biharis and an unknown agenda….  Things could escalate quickly.

 

Slipping the medication in her mouth, she washed it down with cold chamomile tea and turned to the credenza behind her.  Tapping the switch on the aromatherapy diffuser, she bent over to capture the mist of lavender it emitted.  She inhaled the therapeutic scent once, then twice, silently willing its serenity to slow her racing pulse.   

 

This is your family, not a crowd of strangers.  Slow your heart rate.  You are in control of your emotions.

 

Two more deep breaths allowed Teddi to straighten with some semblance of confidence, and by the time she crossed to the office door, she presented her usual outward appearance of composure.  Unless she counted the meditation rings going for a dizzying spin on her middle finger. 

She didn't.  Not when her front hall held multiple bodies.

 

“Teddi!  Oh, honey…” 

 

Maggie was the first one to reach her, but Cat wasn’t far behind with Stef lagging to close the door.  It was his face a bewildered Teddi sought when both women trapped her in a crushing group hug.    

 

“Hel…lo?”

 

“Tori called,” was his reply to the poorly voiced question.  “She wanted to come today but couldn’t.  She was on her way to Florida or something.”

 

“So we came,” Cat finished with a stroke to her cheek, and oddly enough, Teddi's perplexity took precedence over anxiety.  The least affectionate of the group, Cat wasn't a hugger by nature, and she certainly didn’t pet people.  

What in the world is going on here?

 

“Forgive me for being rude, but why did you come?”

 

Maggie’s chandelier earrings tinkled, and her flowy skirt breezed past Teddi’s ankles as sandaled feet took a step back.  Stef assumed the vacancy in Teddi’s personal space, touching a kiss to her cheek while Cat gently petted her arm. 

“We heard the fucker died.”

 

That was Cat’s “pet name” for Randolph Peabody and had been for decades.  Sometimes Teddi did the right thing and chastised her for being crass, but today she didn't give it a thought.

 

“And now you’ve come to... console me?” 

 

“Not console.  Support,” Maggie clarified.

 

They were all circled around her – surrounding her – in a configuration that would normally give Teddi hives.  Quite frankly, it was peculiar to not be on the verge of a panic attack as she blinked at three watchful pairs of eyes.  But, while their shades of gold may vary, all conveyed the same look of protectiveness that held her anxiety at tenuous bay.

 

“Support.”

 

Stef nodded at her blank repetition of the word.  “Cat and I can’t get away from work, but since Mags doesn’t start her new gig for a couple weeks, she’s going to Boston with you.”

 

“I… beg your pardon?” 

Hugs, petting, and now Boston?  Nothing here made sense.  Tori had dropped that little bombshell about the will last night, which Teddi would call about on Monday, but going to Boston was not on the agenda.   

 

“Yeah, I finally did it,” Maggie breezily misinterpreted Teddi’s confusion with a carefree wave of her hand.  “A vineyard up in the Hudson Valley made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  I’m staying with Cat in the meantime – and look at the perfect timing.  Kismet.”

 

“Congratulations, but that’s not what I was speaking of.  Why is it you believe I’m going to Boston?”

 

“That’s what Tori said.”

 

Cocking her head, she regarded Cat as though English wasn’t her primary language.  “Well, Tori was mistaken.  I’m not going anywhere.”

 

“Uh…”  It was Stef’s turn to be confused.  “You don’t have to be there for the reading of the will?  ‘Cause we thought you did.”

 

“That’s what Tori said,” Cat repeated again, and this time it struck a nerve. 

 

She was going to kill Tori for the misinformation that instigated this bizarre yet heartwarming show of family support.  First of all, she still didn’t quite believe the will nonsense was true.  She hadn't spoken with Randolph or his children in years.  Secondly, even if it was true, there was no need to have a group of people gathered for a “reading of the will”.   That was only in television and movies.

 

“If I am included in that will – which I highly doubt – there’s no need for my presence in Boston.  In this day and age, everything can be handled remotely through technology.”

 

The uber-confident Bihari siblings were not used to being unsure of themselves.  It put them in unfamiliar territory and had them exchanging hesitant looks.

 

“Well, yeah.  It makes sense now that you say it," Stef slowly agreed.  “But-“

 

“But,” Maggie interrupted.  “Tori told Cat that you have to be there.  The fucker wrote it so they won’t execute the will unless everyone is present.”

 

Again, she bypassed the name calling to summon her meager knowledge of the law.  Could they really not execute the will without her?  Surely not.  Randolph Peabody wouldn’t hold up his estate waiting on her arrival. 

 

“May I ask why Tori shared this information with you instead of me?”

 

Another ripple of uncertainty shifted among the siblings, and the sisters silently elected Stef to explain, “So we would make sure you get packed and on a plane.  The funeral is tomorrow and they’re doing the will right after.  Your flight’s in a couple hours.”

 

On a plane?  In a couple of hours?  

 

“It’ll be okay, sweetheart,” Maggie soothed.  “I’ll be right there with you the whole time.  We're staying with Tori's mom and dad tonight.  We figured you’d need time to settle before facing that dragon-breathed sister of yours, but don’t you worry.  If she says one fucking word out of line, I’ll put a hex on her ass.”

 

Oh, dear God.  A hex.  Not that Deidre couldn’t use a good hexing, but…

 

Anxiety refused to take a backseat any longer.  It shook her with a wave of dizziness that had Teddi clutching her necklace amid the cousins’ palpable concern. 

 

Stef appeared as though he thought she might vomit on his shoes, and Cat was indecisively hovering.  Maggie oozed sympathy, and it was she who reached to wrap a consoling hand around Teddi’s.  Sweet as it may be, it only proved to be more agitating, and she gently pushed the hand away.    

 

It wasn’t Maggie’s fault, really.  Teddi just didn’t find physical contact soothing in these situations.  There was only one person who’d ever successfully calmed her with a touch, and he wasn’t here. 

 

“Oh my God,” Cat gasped, reaching to tug at the neckline that had shifted with Teddi’s movement.  “You’ve got a bite mark on your neck!”

 

“She has sex?” her sister squealed with equal astonishment.

 

“Well, I guess she does!  She sure as hell can’t bite herself this way.”

 

“Her Royal Highness has a biter.”  There was no denying the pride in Magdalene’s voice.  “I knew you had passion inside you.  Tell us who he is!”

 

Behind Teddi’s closed eyelids, Jon’s image came bright and brilliant.  He was lounging amid her colorful bedding, looking sated and so very sexy.  So very expectant.  

 

“Let me take you to dinner.”

 

Teddi’s eyes flew open with a gasp.  But... but... she couldn't go to Boston tonight.  He was coming for dinner and sex tomorrow! 

Damnation!