Danielle Steel - Family Ties

“He always is,” Liz volunteered, and they all agreed that he seemed to be unusually so this time.

“If he keeps seeing her, she’ll show up eventually. Maybe she’s funny looking or weird or something,” Kate suggested.

“Yeah, like with a lot of pierces and tattoos,” Liz teased her, and they all laughed. Whatever Ted was up to, they all assumed correctly that he would tell them about it when he was ready to. For now it was a mystery, and he wanted it that way. And Annie respected them all too much to try and pry it out of him.

Ted ran up the stairs in Pattie’s building as fast as he could. He had promised her he’d try to be there by five, and it was nearly six. But he hadn’t been able to get away before that. He hadn’t wanted to run out on Annie and his sisters on Christmas. Their traditions were important to all of them, and to him too.

He rang the doorbell, and for a long moment she didn’t answer, and Ted was worried that she might not let him in. She had said she’d be there. He felt suddenly like a very young boy who was in trouble. It was an unfamiliar sensation to him. He had always been responsible and well behaved. Annie had very rarely been angry at him, and when she was, it was hot, clear, and direct. She gave a short blast, and it was over. She had never dragged it out, held a grudge, or been passive-aggressive with any of them. Pattie seemed to be punishing him for spending Christmas with his family. And then finally she opened the door to him with a pained look. It was obvious that she’d been crying, and she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms the moment he walked into the room. Ted was stunned.

“How could you leave me alone today?” she said accusingly, and he looked around and didn’t see her kids.

“Where are Jessica and Justin?” he asked, looking baffled.

“I sent them to the movies with Mrs. Pacheco. I wanted to be alone with you when you came.”

“I brought some little presents for them,” he said, setting the gift-wrapped boxes down on the table. “And I didn’t leave you alone, Pattie. You were with your kids, and I was with my family. I couldn’t just walk out on them.” He sounded calm and reasonable, but her hysteria and demands on him concerned him. It was too soon in the relationship for her to expect so much.

“So you walked out on me instead,” she said softly.

“I didn’t walk out on you,” he corrected firmly. “And we’ve only been dating for four weeks.”

“I’m in love with you, Ted.” He would have been more convinced if she hadn’t said it to him the first night. For him, love was something that grew slowly over time, not something that burst into full bloom on the first night. He was growing more and more attached to her, but he still wanted to be sure that it was love and not just fabulous sex.

He was pleased to see that she was wearing the sweater he had given her, although she hadn’t seemed excited about his gift and wanted something else from him. She forgot that he was twenty-four years old and a student, and a white cashmere sweater was a big gift for him. Annie had been thrilled with the cashmere shawl he had gotten from the same place. But Pattie had made it clear she wanted a promise ring. The very idea of that had stunned him. It wasn’t appropriate after only four weeks. She was going much too fast for him, and it made him uncomfortable. Even a man her own age wouldn’t have been ready to move that quickly.

As he looked at her tenderly, she handed him his gift. And as he took off the wrapping, he was ill at ease to see that it was some kind of jewelry box. He gasped when he opened it-it was a beautiful old gold man’s watch, and not at all the kind of thing he would wear. He was wearing the Cartier diver’s watch from his sister, which was much more age appropriate. And he was even more uncomfortable seeing that Pattie’s was an expensive gift.

“Do you like it?” Pattie asked hopefully. “It was my father’s.”

“It’s beautiful,” he said quietly, closing the box, without putting it on his wrist. “But I can’t accept it. That’s a really big gift, and it was your father’s. You can’t just give that to someone like me.”

“Why not? What do you mean?” She looked hurt.

“You hardly know me. What if we break up? You don’t want me going off with your father’s watch. You should keep that for Justin one day.” Just as his own father’s watch was waiting for him, but he had never worn it yet. Annie had it in a safe for him.

“Then don’t break up with me,” Pattie said, sounding pathetic. “I want you to have it, Ted.”

“Not now,” he said gently, and silenced her with a kiss. And a moment later the predictable happened, their clothes were in a heap on the floor, and the tensions of the past two days had found release. Their passion overwhelmed them both, and they lay breathless, first on the couch and then in her bed, clinging to each other insatiably. He couldn’t get enough of her, and she seemed desperate in the way she made love to him, as though she wanted to swallow him whole and become a part of him.

It was ten o’clock when Mrs. Pacheco called her and asked if she could bring the children home. She wanted to go to bed. They had totally forgotten the time, and Ted still hadn’t left. They dressed hurriedly, and a few minutes later Jessica and Justin rang the bell, and Ted gave them their gifts as soon as they walked in. They loved the games, and Pattie looked happy and relaxed again. The past few hours had convinced her that Ted was still addicted to her. She had been terrified that she had lost him and had made him miserable as a result, punishing him for going home.

“I have to go,” he whispered to her, and she shook her head. She wanted him to stay, but her kids were home, and he didn’t want to do something crazy with them there. Instead he wished them all a merry Christmas, kissed her, put on his coat, and hurried down the stairs. He wanted to get home. He didn’t know why, but tonight had made him sad. She seemed so desperate, and her father’s watch had been too big a gift. It hadn’t touched him, it had scared him. He had left the gold watch on the dresser in her bedroom. They weren’t married or engaged, he didn’t even know if he was in love. He liked her a lot and he wanted to be with her, and their lovemaking was extraordinary, but he didn’t want to become her prisoner either, and sometimes there was a hint of that. He took a big gulp of air as he hailed a cab and got in. She had been sexier than ever, but for the first time in a month of making love to her, he was relieved to leave. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, but he suddenly felt as though Pattie were suffocating him.

The others were asleep when he got home. It had been a long day. When Ted left, they had watched a movie, and after that Kate and Annie had played Scrabble while Liz finished packing for Paris, and then they all went to bed.

Ted tiptoed in when he got home. Annie had left the Christmas tree lit for him, and he sat down on the couch and looked at it, thinking of where he had just been. It was so exciting and intense being with Pattie, but the white heat of her passion seared him at times. And all he could think of now was that it felt good to be home, in the apartment where he’d grown up, with the people he loved. Pattie was like a wild fantasy he couldn’t get enough of. But this was real. He sat in the living room, feeling like a kid again, smiling at the Christmas tree, and happy to be home.

On the day after Christmas, Ted slept till almost noon. Lizzie left the house at ten in the morning for a one P.M. flight to Paris, and Annie was at her desk, working on some plans for Jim Watson’s apartment, when Kate wandered in and asked if she could have a friend over for pizza that night. She was always considerate about asking if she could have people in, and Annie was happy to have her entertain her friends. She had always been very welcoming to all of them.

“Of course. You don’t have to ask, but thank you anyway.” And then she looked at her and smiled. “Is this a new love interest you haven’t told me about?”

“No, he’s just a friend.” But Annie knew better than that after being a surrogate parent for all these years. New boyfriends and girlfriends were always announced as friends. “We might go to a movie, or stay here.”

“Do whatever you like. I have some work to do. I can stay in my room.”

“You don’t have to hide.” Kate smiled at her. “I’m not fifteen. I’m not ashamed of you.”

“Well, that’s nice to know. I was pretty embarrassing there for a while.”

“You’ve improved,” Katie said magnanimously with a broad grin.

“What’s his name?”

“Paul. He goes to my school. He’s really talented. He wants to be a graphic artist one day, but he’s really good at fine arts. His parents want him to learn something practical, like design.”

“How old is he?”

“Twenty-three.” It seemed like a reasonable age to Annie, and she nodded.

“I’ll be happy to meet him. I like it when you bring your friends home.” Katie nodded and went back to her room and called Paul. He said he’d come over around five. And after she talked to Paul, Ted emerged from his room. He looked exhausted. His sexual adventures with Pattie were wearing him out. Pattie had just called and invited him out to lunch with her kids. There was still snow on the ground in the park, and she had suggested a snowball fight or maybe skating for the afternoon. He liked the idea and had agreed.

He left the house an hour later without telling his aunt or his sister where he was going. He just said he was meeting friends and didn’t say when he’d be back. Annie wasn’t surprised, and it didn’t bother her. She didn’t keep track of his every move, and at twenty-four, he had to feel free to come and go when he stayed with her.