Chapter 27
Kendall became aware of laughter and someone speaking in French. She opened her eyes and felt disoriented for a moment. Then she smiled. She was in Zach's bedroom. As she stretched, she heard a door close, and Zach came strolling into the room. He had a bag in one hand, and a tray with cups in the other hand. "Breakfast! I called Etienne and asked him to have it delivered. He told me that since I have never asked for delivery before, there could only be one reason. So he said it was on the house." She smiled, biting the side of her lip. "This is the first time you've had breakfast delivered to a girl here in your bed?" Zach set the coffee cups on the side table, and then cheerfully flopped next to her on the bed. Kendall almost laughed at his positively boyish expression. "I've lived the life of a monk, here in Paris. The folks at the jazz club have been horrified by my celibacy. They're always threatening to ship me off to someplace where that sort of thing might be appreciated - like Tibet."
Zach opened up the bag. "I got a variety of things because I wasn't sure what you like. Brioche, croissants, cream puffs. Also, Etienne's special secret coffee blend that goes down smooth and then slaps your insides awake. I usually need it, too, because the jazz club keeps me out pretty late." Kendall picked out a brioche with a dusting of powdered sugar on it. "I've never heard you say the name of the jazz club. I don't recall seeing a sign, either." Zach selected a chocolate cream puff and licked the sides. "It doesn't have a name. Gervaise apparently went through many name options, thinking that they all sounded too pretentious or affected. He finally threw up his hands and decided that it would just be called 'the jazz club.' That's not the name of the club, just what its called." He looked up and saw that Kendall was staring at him. She blinked when she saw his questioning look. "I um…got distracted watching you lick all the cream out of that puff." Zach paused mid-bite. Seeing the look in her eyes, he set what was left of his pastry on the side table, then took Kendall's brioche and set it aside as well. Then he reached for Kendall.
They eventually got around to finishing their breakfast. Kendall was putting on her dress, and sighed in exasperation over the broken strap. "This is going to sag down too much for me to go out in public." She looked around and spotted Zach's shirt on the floor. She grabbed it and put it on over her dress, rolling up the sleeves and knotting it in front. "This will get me back to Bianca's, at least." Zach gazed at her for a moment. "Kendall, I was wondering if you would consider…" A knock at the door interrupted them. Zach was surprised. He went into the living room to answer it, Kendall trailing behind him. He opened up and saw his son standing there. Kendall exclaimed, "Ethan? What are you doing here?"
Ethan pushed past them into the apartment. "I called Bianca last night to ask how Miranda was doing. She told me about seeing you, Zach. Naturally, I hopped a jet, made a few phone calls to find out where you lived, and 'Voila!' here I am to settle some unfinished business." Ethan looked over at Kendall. "Did he hurt you, Kendall?" She frowned in puzzlement. "Of course not, why would Zach hurt me?" Ethan glared at Zach. "To get back at me, of course. When I took away his gaming licenses, he fled town, but I knew….I knew that he had to be plotting his revenge. And now I know that he's using you to do it."
The resounding crack of Kendall's hand against Ethan's cheek startled them all. "How dare you! How dare you imply that Zach only thinks of me as some tool. Zach may only be interested in getting into my pants, but at least it is a personal interest in me. The world does not revolve around you, Ethan. Where is this coming from, anyway? I thought you finally understood why Zach denied you were his son. I thought you had come to the place where you wished that he hadn't left town. Were you putting me on? Was Zach right to be skeptical that you weren't ready to forgive him?"
Ethan stared at her, holding his hand to his cheek. Zach leaned against a doorjamb. Kendall threw up her hands. "I think you two need to work this out between yourselves. Make peace or kill each other. I can't be a part of it." She grabbed her little purse and walked out the door. She paused on the threshhold just long enough to look at Zach in silent goodbye. He gave her a small smile. Then she was gone.
Ethan glared at Zach. "Please tell me that you didn't sleep with her to get back at me. Was it because she slept with your brother and me, so you wanted to get in on the action?" Zach walked up to Ethan and with one hand pushed him down onto the couch. He leaned over him. "Don't think I can't still take you over my knee, boy. I don't want you talking about Kendall anymore. It's none of your business. You open your mouth and so much as say the name 'Kendall' I will make sure you regret it." Ethan stared at him incredulously. "You and…er…Whatshername seem to have quite the violent streak these days. I guess you really are into each other."
Zach straightened up and stepped back. Ethan stood up. "Does this mean she's not going to marry JR? I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing." Zach's cell phone emitted it's jazzy little tune. He fetched it and checked the ID. It was Etienne. "Thanks for breakfast. The cream puffs were especially enticing." Etienne chuckled. "Merci, but I did not call to check up on your pastries. I know you told me when I called you last night that you were going to take the day off – I assume to spend with your lady love – but unfortunately we are having major problems. No less than three of our regular volunteers will not make it today. Rene is positively frantic. Do you know anyone at all who could come?" Zach glanced over at Ethan. "You're in luck. My plans were cancelled, so I can come. I will also bring someone with me." Zach listened to the effusive Frenchman for a minute, then said his goodbyes.
Ethan folded his arms. "Is that 'someone' supposed to be me?" Zach nodded and smiled. "If you want to take care of that unfinished business between us, you'll have to come with me. I'm needed urgently. Its also time you made yourself useful." Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Doing what?" Zach grabbed his wallet and keys and opened the door to the apartment. "I'll tell you on the way." Ethan paused for a moment, then followed. Minutes later they were heading into a Metro station. Ethan looked around. "Don't you have a car?" Zach shook his head. "It's impractical in a big city. Even if I did have one, I wouldn't take it to where we're going. We're heading to a rough part of town in order to volunteer at a homeless shelter."
Ethan looked at Zach as if he had grown two extra heads. Zach tried to figure out if this was because Ethan didn't want to be caught dead in a homeless shelter, or maybe he was just surprised that Zach would be caught in one. Zach was still a bit surprised himself. He hadn't planned on getting involved with the shelter. He was strolling by his favorite café one day, and saw Etienne packing boxes into a van. Apparently every day the old man took all his leftover pastries from the morning to the shelter. He invited Zach to come with him, and the rest was history.
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Kendall entered Bianca's apartment and when she closed the door, she sighed and leaned back on it. Bianca looked up from paying bills. "Thanks for letting me know you'd be out all night." Kendall grimaced. "Sorry Binks. It wasn't exactly planned. I couldn't very well call you while in the heat of the moment." Bianca held up her hand. "Spare me the details. I'm glad you are all right. Miranda and Maggie should be getting back from the playground any minute so you can say goodbye. Unless…you aren't leaving today?" Kendall bit her lip. "Well, Zach and I do need to sort some things out between us. But he needs to sort things out with Ethan first, so I should probably go home and get out of their way." Bianca gave her a puzzled look. "Ethan? He called last night, and I told him about seeing Zach. Did he find out Zach's phone number and call him?" Kendall laughed. "Binks, he did more than that. He showed up on Zach's doorstep this morning." Bianca's eyes widened.
At that moment, Maggie came through the door with Miranda. Bianca grabbed her up and gave her a big kiss. Kendall came over and ruffled Miranda's hair. "I better go pack if I'm going to be out of here in an hour." Bianca looked at the clock. "My goodness, you're right. I better get Miranda cleaned up so we can take you." Kendall waved her hand. "Are you kidding me? I'm not going to make you drag a toddler around an airport. I'll just get an airport limo." She went into the guest room to pack. She put her suitcase on the bed, and started to untie Zach's shirt. She paused a moment to breath in the scent of his cologne. She'd lived an old cliché and had a magical night in Paris. Kendall had a feeling the night would have been magical no matter where they had been. She clutched the shirt, as the cynical side of her sneered at her use of the word 'magical.' She threw the shirt on the bed next to the suitcase, disgusted with herself for being so sappy.
She quickly changed out of her dress and into something comfortable for the flight. After she had finished putting all her clothes and toiletries into the suitcase, she picked up Zach's shirt and folded it neatly. Should she give it to Bianca to return to Zach? The cynical side of her screamed, "Get rid of it!" Nevertheless, she gently put it in the suitcase. If Zach wanted it back, he would just have to come get it in Pine Valley.
Kendall's flight back to the U.S. was uneventful. When she'd finally cleared customs, she was startled to see JR waiting for her. Then she remembered that he had promised to pick her up. He smiled. "You look beautiful. Paris certainly agrees with you." He kissed her cheek, and tucked her arm in his. "How about we go have a drink at the lounge while my chauffer fetches your luggage?" She handed the chauffer her claim ticket. "It's a large suitcase with a green paisley print." JR escorted her to the lounge. As soon as she walked in, she suddenly realized where she was. This was where Zach kissed her on New Year's Eve. Her eyes flew to the booth in the back. JR gestured to it. "You like that one?" She shook her head. "Um, no, let's sit at the bar."
Kendall never passed by the lounge on her few trips to see Bianca, so this was the first time being confronted with that particular memory. The passion in that kiss had overwhelmed her. Even now, so soon after they had consummated that passion, she felt the heat of it. JR touched her arm and she jumped. "Are you okay?" She nodded. "I just get tense travelling. Always afraid I'm going to show up at the wrong gate, or wondering if my luggage made it okay. Never mind, how's it going with you? All set for the custody hearing?" JR tapped his fingers on the bar. "The hearing date has been moved up to tomorrow. I know we weren't supposed to get married for two more days, but I was hoping we could go directly to the courthouse from here."
Kendall gaped at him. "You mean get married today?" JR bit his lip and gave her the puppy dog look. "I know it's short notice, but my hands are tied. Please be okay with this, Kendall. You're my only ace in the hole." She tried to smile reassuringly, but probably failed. She took a deep breath. "JR, I need to go to the ladies room. I'll be back in a few minutes." She tried not to walk too quickly from the lounge. She found a relatively quiet corner in the vicinity of the restroom. Her thoughts were so muddled. She should have known that sleeping with Zach was going to be a lot more than scratching an itch. Something had changed between them. Enough that she had to wonder if she should marry JR after all. On the one hand, it was essentially just a business transaction. She wouldn't exactly be bonding her heart or even her body to JR. And it wasn't like she was going to need her wedding ring finger free any time soon. Whatever was going on with Zach was in the early stages. When JR gets sole custody of his son, and everything has been sorted out, they would annul their marriage and she would be free for whatever else developed. On the other hand, marriage was such a major milestone, symbolically. Plus, she was sure that Zach has probably had quite enough of wooing married women. Then there was her own self-destructive nature to factor in. Her personal reason for marrying JR, after all, was to avoid falling in love, and now here she was thinking about cancelling the whole thing because she was….
Kendall squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in her breath. No, no, no, no, no! She was not even going to contemplate that she could be falling for Zach. It was just sex, damn it! Really great, fundamentally awesome sex, but that was it. Tears threatened to fill her eyes as she thought about the silly grin on Zach's face as he lounged in bed eating a cream puff. This was stupid. Here she was torturing herself, and for all she knew, Zach could care less whether she married JR. He hadn't really given his opinion on the subject. He'd had a look of distaste when she told him about their plans, but JR seemed to bring that out in a lot of people.
Kendall fingered her cell phone. She would call him, and let him know she got back to Pine Valley. She would mention that she had his shirt, and that she left her shawl at his place. And oh, by the way, the wedding has been moved to today. She nodded to herself and dialed his cell number. A voice that sounded like Ethan answered. "Ethan? This is Kendall. Why are you answering Zach's cell?" There was a lot of noise in the background. "Kendall! Zach's occupied at the moment. It's been a long, busy day. Is there a message I can give him?" Well that's just great, she thought, not at all what I planned. "Um…I just wanted to let him know that the wedding to JR has been moved to today." There was a loud noise. "Damnit, Kendall! You're making a big mistake. JR will eat you alive. I asked Zach about this earlier, but we didn't end up talking about it. Some other things came up. Listen, he'll have to call you back. We're really swamped here. I have to go." Ethan hung up before she could say goodbye.
Now she was really confused. They didn't end up talking about it? What did that mean? Kendall couldn't even begin to guess where they were or what they were doing. She took comfort in the thought that wherever they were, they were together. They needed each other, and she wanted it to work out for them so much. At that moment, it became clear why she had to marry JR. Little Adam needed to be with his father, and she could help accomplish that. She walked back to the lounge so she could tell JR the good news.
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Ethan put Zach's cell phone back in his pocket. He went over to where Zach had just finished helping an old man sit down at a table with a tray of food. Ethan pulled him aside. "Zach, you just got a call from Kendall. Her wedding to JR was moved to today. It was hard to tell with all the noise, but it sounded like she wasn't sure what to do. I think you need to call her and convince her not to go through with it." Zach closed his eyes. He was mentally and physically exhausted from working at the shelter for so many hours. He didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with this. But time was apparently ticking. He reached out his hand. Ethan started to pull the cell out, but his eyes widened, and a fraction of a second later there was shouting. Zach turned around and saw that two of the shelter's most notorious customers had started a food fight. He and Ethan sprung into action.