Crossing Boundaries [COMPLETE]

This Next Choice

After eating late lunch, which Chris had prepared, both he and Tiffany nested themselves on the sofa at the living area. He was gulping down some beer, while she stared at him.

Tiffany moved her right palm to his cheek, softly brushing his beard with her thumb. "Thanks for the lunch."

Chris caught her hand and pressed the back of her palm to his lips. From where she was sitting, she could see his laugh lines forming around his eye. "Enjoy it now coz that's about the only heavy meal I could cook."

She shifted from her seat to lean on the backrest of the sofa, Chris still claiming her right hand. Tiffany closed her eyes. Her breathing was back to normal now. She felt so much safer and more courageous with him around.

And yet, buried deep in the corner of her mind, the idea that they shouldn't be together, made worse by Chris's manager's unexpected visit but was there, nevertheless, long before that. Try as she did to ignore it, the thought kept resurfacing.

"Before I forget, we had an agreement that..."

Chris didn't make her finish. "I also clearly remember saying that if Mike screws you up, our agreement is off."

Tiffany twitched from her relaxed position. "How would you know if Mike did something less desirable?"

It was a question Chris hoped he wouldn't have to answer. He, after all, gave her his word he would let her deal with her ex-husband in her own terms. On the other hand, he didn't want to lie either.

Chris cleared his throat. "You watched my movie's press con?" Tiffany nodded. "The last question mentioned you having an administrative case."

Before he continued, he stirred from his seat, so that he was now facing her. "I know no one else from this town who's bent on horking us but Mike." The eyes that stare at Tiffany bore sincerity. "I know I promised I wouldn't interfere with your dealings with your ex-husband but when that question came up, I couldn't just let it go. Outing our relationship to the press is one thing. Spilling something about your life is another especially that that case still needs to be resolved."

Chris's exhales were sharp. "So, I decided, on that same day, to hire a PI to look into Mike." He clutched Tiffany's hand like a rock. "He owes the bank he was working for some money, Tiff. That's why he's giving you a hard time with the divorce papers. Maybe, that's also why he keeps on blubbering to the paps."

He was anticipating a stunned reaction from her but all she did was squeeze the hand holding hers. If someone ended up rather startled, it was Chris. "You... you don't look surprised."

Tiffany pursed her lips before speaking. "I... went to see him today. That's where I came from."

The room fell into an unexpected silence. Judging by her facial expression and how she reacted when she saw him, Chris feared the two may have already come into an agreement. Tiffany recounted her first sit-down with Mike and their lawyers and what they had talked about a few hours ago. It became even clearer to Chris that she really was about to do something drastic.

When she finished speaking, he remained mum, staring at Penny scratching her left ear with her paw. Tiffany took his silence to mean her plans didn't sit well with him. So, she remained silent with him. The last thing she wanted was a disagreement, least of all with Chris. Suffice to say, the man beside her wasn't up for any argument, as well.

With his voice, laboring to be calm, he spoke. "So, you're giving him the money?"

Tiffany hissed. "I know, no matter how much you're trying to be supportive, you do not approve of my plan." She choked down weariness before speaking again. "On an ideal day, I would choose what is right and what's right is to let him fend off for himself, fight until someone draws blood."

"But since we got back from Bled, every day I'm becoming more and more washed out of all the uncertainties. So, I'm choosing what's easy. It's a second choice but at least I'm certain that will happen in a few weeks. If I fight him, he could simply make me suffer for God knows how many years, sell whatever story he has to the press and have your career be shaken. If I pay him off, I could get him off our backs. I could have my freedom. You get to be free from bad publicity."

Chris was aware, from Tiffany's tone, that she really was exhausted from all that was going on. The arms that he wrapped around her body was affectionate, warm and heartfelt and she could feel it enclosing her. She was right in saying her decision was something he didn't hope for. But, at the same time, he understood perfectly where she was coming from.

The question now was "How will you pay him?"

Still in his arms, Tiffany replied, "I have a couple of hundred thousand from the inheritance so I'm still short of..."

"I will provide you with the rest," Chris said.

She broke the embrace, yet let her hands linger on his arms. "No, Chris. Definitely not. Whether you agree with me or not, I brought this problem on us. I'm the one with the excess baggage. I'll bail us out."

"But where will you get the rest?" Chris was afraid to find out the answer to his question, but he asked anyway.

Tiffany's eyes became even more morose as if life had escaped them. "We are in it."

At first, he creased his forehead trying to figure out what she meant. Then, it dawned on him. He started shaking his head. "No, Tiff. You will not. This is your home. This is all you've got to remember them by."

The mere mention of home was enough for a tear to fall down her cheek. She brushed it off with the back of her index finger. "It is a house, Chris." She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself with what she just said. "It's the memories that make it a home and all the memories, I have here." She tapped and let her hand linger on her chest.

Tiffany had to stand and move about just to get rid of the blue devils fleetly taking over her spirit. A part of what she had been mulling over for a long time was where to get the money in case it would have to end this way, and for a long time now selling the house popped more than a few times in her mind.

"Freedom and sanity come at a great price," she commented while she poured water in a glass. "At least, after this, I only have one thing left to face." She drank from the glass. "And I'd rather spend my time with that than battling my ex-husband."

From her periphery, Tiffany could see Chris shifting from his seat. She turned to face him. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

"I need to clear my name from that school scandal and I would willingly focus on that. Clear my name and get myself back on track."

After hearing what she said, the reason why Chris came home, in the first place, flooded back in his mind. He cleared his throat. "Tiff, about that." Just like that, the atmosphere in the Foster home became even denser as though a winter storm threatened to ring in.