MacKenzie immediately felt a feeling of dread settle on her shoulders. Although she was furious with him, she could see he was struggling to tell his story. “Okay, I won’t interrupt you.”
“Thank you,” Carlos said with a nod. “Diana first contacted me through my mother. What she had to say was something we as a family had decided to keep hidden. She threatened to expose me if I didn’t do what she wanted, when she thought the time was right. She deemed the time to be right the night I took Noelle for a visit. Everything was planned ahead of time. Don’t ask me how. All I know is, that woman is the devil!”
MacKenzie kept her word to remain silent even as Carlos broke off and shook his head as though in remembrance.
“I had to do it MacKenzie. I didn’t have a choice. I have my career to think about,” Carlos pleaded with her for understanding.
No longer able to stay quiet, she asked the question that should have been of concern to them both. “What about Noelle, Carlos, didn’t she mean anything to you?”
“Yes, she means something to me, but she’s a baby. My career is happening now. By the time she’s grown, nobody would care about what happened to you.”
MacKenzie wasn’t sure if Carlos understood the level of selfishness he directed towards her and Noelle; either way, she was done with the conversation. “If you have nothing else to say, I suggest you leave.”
Carlos licked his lips and hung his head, which told MacKenzie he wasn’t finished.
“There’s one last thing. I’m leaving for Europe tonight. I won’t be coming back to the States for the foreseeable future. They love me in Europe,” Carlos said, his face lighting up with pleasure.
“When I get there I’ll be making a statement. I wanted to give you a heads-up before it reaches Stateside. MacKenzie I’m gay... or maybe bisexual,” Carlos shrugged. “I don’t hate intimacy with women exactly, after a while it just leaves me unfulfilled sexually. I’ve hidden that side of myself for so long I want it out in the open. That’s what Diana found out about me.”
MacKenzie was more than a little surprised. Then she began to place together bits of forgotten scenes, all of them with his manager. A sharp pulling apart when she entered the room. Them ensconced in his locked office, and so many other incidences that should have been obvious but at the time were not.
“Say something,” Carlos pleaded.
Looking at him, she could see he was under enormous stress. Yes, Carlos was a selfish bastard who had treated her appallingly, but he had a right to his happiness, as did they all.
“You treated us very badly, Carlos, and it’s going to take some time for me to forgive you for that. Nevertheless, I wish you well. You go on and do what you have to do. I also think you need to take some time to consider whether you want to be a part of Noelle’s life. When you’ve made up your mind, let me know. Whatever you decide, will be fine with me, and I’ll have formal documents drawn up.”
“Thank you. I thought this was going to be much more difficult than it turned out to be,” Carlos said with a smile of relief.
“Yeah, well telling me was the easy part. There’s going to be a lot of people out there who won’t wish you well. For my part, I hope you find your happiness. I think I may have found mine.”
An awkward silence followed them all the way to the front door. With each step she took, MacKenzie wondered if this would be the one where he asked to see Noelle before he left.
Stepping outside, Carlos turned back to MacKenzie and kissed her on the cheek. “That was for Noelle. Tell her I love her. I just need some time, MacKenzie, okay?”
With one final nod, he was gone.
**********
When Jake received the call that Carlos was at the house, he instinctively knew why he was there. Rushing back to the house his only concern was how MacKenzie would take the news.
The first person he saw was Aviva. “Where is she?”
“She said she needed some time; she’s outside,” Aviva said, showing signs of concern for her friend.
“Where’s the baby?”
“She’s taking a nap. Go find our girl, Jake. Take as long as you need. I’ll look after Noelle.”
Giving Aviva a kiss by way of his appreciation, Jake headed out to locate MacKenzie.
As though by instinct, Jake headed towards the pool. As he approached, he saw MacKenzie sitting facing the water. The figure she presented was so forlorn it broke Jake’s heart. Folding his body down beside her, he too stared out over the water. Jake didn’t initiate a conversation. He wanted to give her all the time she needed with her thoughts. As the silence between them stretched on, all he could hope for was that his presence offered her some comfort should she need it.
“Did you know?” MacKenzie asked.
“Yes, I knew.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I said nothing because the information wasn’t mine to impart.” Jake turned to look at her as he spoke to enable him to gauge her reaction. “What are you thinking?”