Chapter Three: What Secrets Do They Whisper?


“Phase one,” Sophia pronounced, “is complete.”

She stepped back and turned Aaliyah toward the full-length mirror.

Aaliyah gasped, as she looked at her reflection. That couldn’t be her. Her brown eyes sparkled behind the compact lenses of her new wire framed glasses. The subtle makeup enhanced her features, defining her bone structure. Her curvy form was shown to its best advantage in heavy cotton pants in dark taupe. Her sweater was cream-colored cashmere, hugging her curves when she moved. Her knee length coat, in a light cream, swung about her form as she moved. Her leather boots were a dark brown, with a slight cherry tone, their pointed toes peeking out from under the sweep of her pant legs. Her long, natural black hair had been coiled under the wig Friday night, but was now shaped into long natural spirals, going three quarters of the way down her back.

Phase one, according to Sophia, was to make over Aaliyah as Aaliyah. After hearing her out Derrick agreed, and even wrote a check to cover the expense. After all, he’d argued over both their protests, Aaliyah couldn’t afford to go on an unexpected shopping spree and makeover and maintain her current investment strategy. She hadn’t been out of school long enough. Sophia was tagging along for his sake, and should allow him to do something in return.

That had been Friday night. Saturday morning, eight o’clock saw Aaliyah at the spa where she was poked, prodded, plucked, waxed, buffed, massaged, moisturized and manicured within an inch of her life. By Eleven o’clock, she was being fitted for her new glasses. By twelve, they were fitting her for a new wardrobe. After a late lunch, they had picked out some new exercise attire, retrieved her new glasses, and picked up the first several altered suits in her new wardrobe. Her hair and glasses garnered compliments at church, but she didn’t bother to wear a new outfit under her robe, as it was her Sunday to sing in the choir.

Now, it was Monday morning. She was beginning to have second, and even third thoughts about showing up at the office looking so different.

“Will you please stop worrying? Even if this guy doesn’t work out, so what? You barely even know him, beyond the fantasy man you’ve built around that gorgeous package over the last year. Besides, somebody’s going to spot you in this outfit. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got asked out to lunch today.”

“What if he figures it out?”

“He won’t figure it out. Not yet, anyway.”

“What do you mean, not yet?”

“Aaliyah, men never do, until it‘s been so long and they‘re so happy that they don‘t want to upset the apple cart.” Then, she explained for the umpteenth time, “You just keep your nose in the air, and he’ll have to be persistent to get your attention. That means that as you gradually let him into your life, he‘ll appreciate how hard he’s worked to get there. In the meantime, he needs to get to know who you are, and you need to get to know who he is, beyond the hedge.”

“What if all this is for nothing? What if he takes one look at me and laughs, or what if I don’t like the man he is, beyond the hedge?”

“Then you will have lost nothing, and gained a new wardrobe. Anyway, we don’t have time for this chitchat. What time is it?”

“Seven Fifty-Eight! I’ve got to get down there.”

They raced down the stairs. Aaliyah usually let up her garage door and began warming the car at Seven-Fifty. Just before she got in, she would walk through the garage and pick up her paper from the driveway, where the careless paperboy tossed it every morning. Gabriel, performing a similar ritual, would usually nod, travel coffee cup in hand. Quickly, she let up the garage door using the remote, even as she opened the door leading to it. Then, she cranked up the car and practically ran to the outer door before slowing down and walking coolly outside. She followed Sophia’s instructions to the letter, stooping down to pick up the paper without glancing toward the house next door, then stopping to absently unbind it and scan the headlines before walking back into the garage to leave. At least, that was the plan.

“Aaliyah!” he called over the hedge.

As instructed, she flicked him a casual glance, nodded, and mumbled “Good morning,” before looking back down at the paper and continuing on her way. Just then, she heard her name again, this time from the direction of the road.

“Liyah!” It was Lucas Delessandro. He was jogging in place on the sidewalk in front of her house, wearing gray sweats that did no justice to his muscular physique and a set of beats headphones, currently hanging around his neck. His black hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his white teeth shown brilliantly against darkly tan skin. “Looking good, Baby.”

“You think so?” She smiled, raising her arms over her head and giving a little hip-swinging twirl that elicited a wolf whistle. She blew him a kiss, and he put a hand over his heart, staggering backward and flashing his brilliant smile. Laughing at their silliness, she waved and again turned toward the house.

As she entered the garage, she could feel Gabriel’s eyes following her. She ran back into the kitchen.

“Well?” she asked anxiously.

“He looked like he swallowed his tongue,” Sophia laughed.

“Are you sure he didn’t just burn his tongue with his coffee?” Aaliyah asked doubtfully.

“You didn’t see the expression on his face when you barely acknowledged him.”

“Yes, I have seen that expression. It’s called rejection, and I see it in my own mirror every morning as I pull out of the yard.”

“Well, now you get a taste of how the other half lives. Oh, there he goes.”

Aaliyah joined her at the window as Gabriel pulled out of the drive.

“Okay, we’d better go before we’re both late for work,” said Aaliyah. “I’ll drive you to your car.” Sophia had parked a few houses away.

“That’s okay, I’ll just walk. You go ahead, and enjoy your day.” She waved and disappeared down the sidewalk as Aaliyah loaded her briefcase into the car and backed out of the garage.


* * *


Gabriel felt frustrated as he drove to work. So Aaliyah wouldn’t smile at him. So what? It didn’t feel like a small thing, though. Not today. Over the weekend, he’d tried to convince himself that making a fool of himself in front of one woman after an hour of good conversation and a great kiss was nothing. When he’d looked up to perform the daily ritual of nodding politely over their morning papers before returning to the garage however, he’d been transfixed. Small wonder he hadn’t recognized her at the party. She looked like her own daughter, compared with the woman who generally faced off with him over the hedges.

Obviously, something had changed in her life. One of his college buddies from South Korea always said that when a woman changed her looks, she had changed her mind. When he’d tried to say good morning, and exchange a few pleasantries, she’d made it clear that one thing she hadn’t changed her mind about was getting to know him. He hit the steering wheel in frustration.

Unlike Lucas Delessandro. He could still see the man’s smirk as he’d looked at him while jogging past. Obviously, he hadn’t forgotten or forgiven being cut off for that dance on Friday night. He and Lucas were rivals from way back. They had grown up together, and what the one achieved, the other always wanted to top.

At first their rivalry was a friendly prod in the right direction. Good grades, high achievement in sports. However, in high school their once friendly rivalry heated up as they competed over everything from girls to sports to college scholarships.

More recently, they had crossed swords over a few business ventures. Of course he noticed Lucas going over to visit Aaliyah, but he hadn’t thought anything of it at the time. Now Lucas was making her laugh and calling her “Liyah,” while Gabriel was wracking his brain for a way to get back to the level of a polite smile, rather than the cold, expressionless glance she’d thrown his way this morning. He couldn’t believe how he’d fumbled the opportunity that had been thrown to him on Friday night. She’d smiled at him again. A full, warm and womanly smile. She had even talked to him.

They called her Kitty. He frowned. Maybe it was from a middle name, because there was no way anybody had gotten Kitty out of Aaliyah. Obviously, she’d decided to get made over for her party. He could still see the excitement sparkling in her eyes as they danced. If he closed his eyes, he could picture how intent she’d appeared seated in the conservatory, as they’d discussed every topic under the sun. They’d never run out of things to talk about, and that kiss…”

The horn blaring impatiently from behind made him lurch forward, finally opening his eyes to see the green light ahead in the intersection. “Yeah, well you might as well get over it, Buddy,” he said to himself from between clenched teeth. He was lucky she gave him another chance, after the way he’d treated her. Then he ruined everything. He could still see Aaliyah’s face when he asked about, well, about her. She looked bewildered, then hurt and angry. She practically ran from the room, leaving him to face a furious Derrick who told him exactly what he thought of him, and then asked him to leave. “Great way to win over the family,” he chuckled mirthlessly.

It was going to be awkward, living next door to someone who hated him, he thought to himself as he pulled into the parking garage at work downtown. Then again, maybe hate was a strong word under the circumstances. Dislike was closer to the mark. They’d gone from indifference to dislike, definitely a step in the wrong direction.


* * *

Lucas dried off with a towel after his shower. He then tied it around his tightly muscled waist and swiped a hand across the mirror to clear away the fog. Grabbing the shave gel, he coated his facial hair and picked up a razor to begin clearing away his stubble. He chuckled again, thinking about what had happened during his morning jog.

First of all, Liyah looked great. She had finally shrugged off that bookish look he’d been teasing her about for the last seventeen years. Then Derrick’s girlfriend, Sophia, came barreling down the street to catch up to him. She jumped out of the car and practically attacked him on the sidewalk with a hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she’d exclaimed.

“For what?” he asked a little breathlessly.

“For what? You just filled in the missing gap.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s up?”

“Didn’t you see his face? He looked like he wanted to kill you, and don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it.”

“Ah,” understanding dawned. “You mean Gabriel. Oh yeah, we go way back.”

“Well,” she began, and filled him in on the game plan, and the part she expected him to play.

“You know that I don’t like games,” he began, watching her face fall, “but this one just might work. How soon do you want to get started?”

“As soon as possible, of course,” she answered. “Now, I’m going to the lab.”

He watched as she got into the car and drove off, then ran home.

At eighteen, Lucas had been a sophomore in college when he pledged a fraternity alongside Derrick, a twenty-two year old senior. Despite their age difference, the two hit it off. Being the tallest, Lucas was the last pledge and Derrick stood next to him. Even after Derrick graduated, they kept up with one another, with Lucas visiting the Wyndham household more often than he visited his own. At ten Liyah Baby, as he’d always teasingly called her, had become like the little sister he’d never had.

Lucas filled a gap in her life when Derrick went away to grad school, and then on to make a name for himself in New York. In fifth grade he got her into karate at his old dojo to help build her confidence. In sixth, he helped her learn to dance in time for the sweetheart’s ball. In seventh, she’d cried on his shoulder over her first crush, and so on. Even after he’d finished his Master’s degree in music and took off for the west coast to pursue a career, they’d stayed in touch with calls and visits. Even now his protective instincts wouldn’t allow him to stop checking on her every evening, especially since he’d cut a business trip short to fly back following the break in. If any other feelings were going to develop between them, it would have happened a long time ago, right? Of course, he smiled to himself; Gabriel didn’t have to know that.

He had always enjoyed a good argument, something he and Aaliyah had in common. As a child he enjoyed the rivalry, but Gabriel always took it so seriously. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Lucas pretended to feel the same way. He toured for years, playing with, as well as composing for, a number of artists. When his reputation as a composer placed him in high enough demand more than three years ago he moved back home where he belonged, even helping Liyah find a job with an entertainment lawyer he knew in town. These days he dabbled in real estate, when he wasn’t writing new music from his home office. He and Gabriel sometimes clashed over a particular piece of property, and they’d exchanged some hard words on occasion. In spite of his faults, Lucas knew that Gabriel was a good man with a solid family background. Still, he had to make him squirm for a while before he could get back into Liyah’s good graces, just on principle.