Chapter 13
When Felicity heard Taylor crash into the apartment at two .., she thought for a
minute about pretending to be asleep. But she decided to deal with it calmly and remind
him that he was staying at his parents’ apartment that night, not hers. He had come home
like a homing pigeon to roost. So now he was her problem. And would be for the next
fifty years after tomorrow. She remembered the lineup of men at the bar drinking shots,
so she had no doubt how drunk he was. Very. And that had been five hours before. He’d
had a lot to drink since then, and he was unpredictable when he drank. It all depended
on how much of what liquor. She wanted to get him back out the door quickly, and on
the way to his parents uptown.
She quickly put a robe on over her nightgown, turned on the light, and went to meet
him. He had knocked over the metal and glass coffee table in front of her couch, and she
could see that one of the sides was broken.
“Hi, Taylor,” she said blithely, “let’s get you away from that so you don’t cut
yourself.” He was too unsteady to get to his feet, so she pulled him up and he stood
weaving in front of her. He was in bad shape. She could see that he had already cut
himself, but not badly.
“Did someone break a glass?” he asked her.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “Your mom and dad are expecting you. I’m going to call you
an Uber. It’ll be here in two minutes. They’ll be worried if you don’t come home
tonight.”
“Fuck them,” he said, slurring his words, “I want to sleep with you.” He collapsed
onto the couch as he said it.
“That’s sweet, but we’re not supposed to see each other tonight. It’s bad luck. We’re
getting married tomorrow, remember?”
“Of course I remember. You’re my wife. I want to fuck you.” It would have been
funny except she knew how bad he could get, and he was already belligerent. That was
Phase Two. She wanted to get him out before he got to Phase Three and started breaking
things in a rage. He wasn’t there yet, but he could get there quickly if she refused him
what he wanted.
“We’re not going to do that tonight. We’re saving that for the honeymoon,” she said
innocently.
“I want you now, you’re my wife. You can’t say no to me.”
“I’m not saying no,” she said in a calm voice. “I’m reminding you that your mom and
dad want you to come home and they’re waiting for you.”
“Fuck them. I want you.” As he said it, he reached out and grabbed her arm, and he
pulled her so hard that she literally flew through the air and landed on him, and quickly
scrambled off onto the couch, wanting to escape him. He grabbed her by the back of the
neck, pulled her to him, and pressed her face down on his crotch with one powerful
hand, and unzipped his fly and released himself with the other. “You know what I want,”
he said harshly. “I like how you do it.” She struggled away from him, but he tightened
his grip on her neck. “Do it!” he shouted at her, and she knew she was in trouble. There
was no reasoning with him. He was insane, with all the physical strength that gave him.
“Taylor, you need to go home,” she said gently. “We’re getting married tomorrow.
Don’t spoil it.” He was beyond reason as he slapped her hard across the face and she
could taste blood in her mouth, and before she could get away from him, he had torn
away her robe and nightgown, grabbed her breasts and bit them, and entered her so hard
that he knocked the wind out of her as she lay under him on the couch. Everything went
black for a minute, and she came to with him pounding into her with all his strength, as
he had once before when he raped her the night they got engaged. He turned into an
animal, and kept raping her, until she was whimpering and begging him to stop. He
looked down at her as though seeing her for the first time, got up, staggered across the
apartment, and walked out, slamming the door on his way. He was clearly deeply
deranged. She didn’t know what to do, or who to call, the police, or Violet, or her
mother, and what if he came back and killed her if she called the police? Somewhere
inside him, there was a madman, a demon, and alcohol unleashed it. She couldn’t marry
him, and she didn’t know what to tell her mother. She crawled to the bathroom, her legs
shaking so hard she couldn’t stand at first, and cleaned herself up, and looked in the
mirror. He had knocked out a molar, which accounted for the blood in her mouth. There
was a bruise on her cheek where he had slapped her, and his handprints on her neck.
Her breasts were bitten and bleeding, and she felt as though someone had torn her
insides out. He was a big man and had taken her with such violence. He had the strength
of insanity when he did. She wasn’t sure if he even knew he’d done it, or would
remember it, but she would for the rest of her life.
When she stood up, there was blood running down her legs and she almost fainted.
She felt as though he had torn something inside her. All she could think of, other than her
injuries, was the wedding her mother had put together, all the money and effort, and she
couldn’t marry him. She didn’t know what to tell Dominique, and she was too ashamed
to call anyone. She wondered if it was her fault, if she had provoked him. But in her
heart of hearts she knew that the only thing that had provoked him was the tequila and
whatever else he’d had to drink. Somewhere lurking in him was a very angry, dangerous
man.
In the end, not knowing what else to do, she called Violet. She woke her out of a
sound sleep, and told her what had happened between sobs, and Violet started to cry as
she listened, and Jamie watched her, frightened about what had happened. “I think I
need to go to a hospital, I’m bleeding a lot.” Felicity didn’t tell her sister she was
pregnant, it was too much to add.
“Do you want me to come and get you?” Violet offered.
“I’m okay, I’ll take an Uber. I’ll meet you at Lenox Hill.”
After the call, Violet told Jamie what had happened and he looked horrified.
“He raped her? Were they already making love?”
“No, he let himself into the apartment, I guess after he left the bar. She said he’s done
it before, but not as badly as this time. She sounds terrible.” She jumped into a pair of
jeans and Jamie dressed, and they hurried down to the street and hailed a cab. Felicity
had just arrived when they got to the hospital, and nothing had prepared them for the
condition she was in. Violet sobbed when she saw her, and held her hand, and Jamie
stood by them, and asked if Felicity wanted him to leave. But she was covered by a
blanket. The resident explained that they needed to call the police and to photograph her
injuries, and Felicity agreed. Two female police officers came very quickly, and they
were kind and compassionate while they took the photographs they needed. It was five
o’clock in the morning by then, and Jamie waited in a small waiting room, while Violet
was in the room with Felicity when she gave them the statement of what Taylor had
done. Violet felt sick as she listened, and she hugged Felicity.
The resident told her then that she had suffered a miscarriage and the fetus hadn’t
survived. Felicity was sorry but relieved. She didn’t want his child. She wanted no part
of him in her life.
Violet looked at her in amazement. “You were pregnant?” Felicity nodded.
“I wasn’t happy about it. I was going to tell you after the wedding.”
“Does Mom know?” Felicity nodded in response.
“I had to tell her because of the wedding. She was really sweet about it. I wanted an
abortion, but Taylor went nuts and wouldn’t let me. His parents know too.” But it
wasn’t a problem anymore.
“What happens now? Other than canceling the wedding?” Violet asked.
“I think they arrest him. Not exactly the day we had planned for today.” Felicity
looked calmer, but her bruises had darkened and looked bad. There were bandages on
her breasts, and they were going to do a D&C, but she wanted to call their mother first.
Dominique would be devastated by what Taylor had done. Jamie hoped they’d send him
to prison. He was a sick sonofabitch to do what he had done to her. He had never seen
anything like the condition Felicity was in. He was heartbroken for her.
They waited until seven in the morning, and Felicity called and told her mother as
simply as she could what had happened, and Dominique sat straight up in bed and was
horrified.
“I’m so sorry about the wedding. All that money. I’m sure it would have been
beautiful,” Felicity said.
Dominique was crying, and said she’d be right over. “I don’t care about the money.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. He must be insane. Thank God you didn’t marry him,
or have the baby. I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she said, and then she sat down on her
bed and thought for a minute. She didn’t want to call Bill, but she wanted his advice.
She didn’t know if they needed a lawyer, but she wanted Taylor to be punished. He
could have killed Felicity, and the memory of that night would be with her forever.
She didn’t know if it was the right thing to do. They had ended it two weeks ago, or
she had, and now she was calling Bill for help. But he would give her good advice. He
always did. She called his number, and he had just let the day nurse in. He saw
Dominique’s number come up, and he answered immediately.
“Happy wedding day,” he said, so happy to hear her, but she sounded serious.
“Not exactly. He raped her last night and nearly killed her.” She told him what had
happened. “The police have already been to see her at the hospital. She’s still there
now. I don’t know how this works. I think they’re going to arrest him.”
“Yes, they will, and they should. These situations within a relationship are
complicated, but not with the kind of damage she sustained. He must have a psychiatric
history of some kind.”
“I don’t know. He must be crazy.”
“I’ll be there in an hour,” he said firmly.
“You can’t do that, can you?”
“Yes, I can. And I should have done it a long time ago. I’ve been thinking for the last
two weeks. Dominique, I love you. I’ve been an idiot, and you’ve been a saint. Let’s
talk about it later. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
He was there less than an hour later, in early morning Saturday traffic, and she’d
never seen a more beautiful sight than when he walked through the door. She had cried
when she saw Felicity and hugged her. And she cried again when she saw Bill. He held
her tight for a minute, and then he went with her to talk to Felicity. It was a clean case.
With the injuries Taylor had inflicted, he could spend many years in prison, or a mental
hospital.
Bill met with the police then, while Dominique and Violet sat with Felicity. They
were going to take her to do the D&C in a few minutes. Violet called Tommy, and he
and Marlene came within minutes. They were staying at The Mark Hotel, which was
only two blocks away. Marlene was somber and sympathetic and said she had been
raped at fifteen, by a stranger, and Dominique was touched by what she said. There was
more merit to her than she realized. She was gentle and compassionate with Felicity.
They all huddled together in the waiting room waiting for Felicity to come back from
surgery. They were talking softly, shocked by what had happened. Dominique called her
main assistant and told her to get all the help she could to cancel the wedding and email
all the guests. She texted Elizabeth Whitfield herself, and told her that due to shocking
circumstances that aggrieved her deeply, the wedding was canceled, and Felicity was in
surgery at that moment. Dominique didn’t use the word “rape” in her text.
Bill explained to them that the police were getting a warrant signed by a judge for
Taylor’s arrest, for multiple counts of rape, great bodily harm, assault, and intent to
commit murder. It was a long list, which included causing the miscarriage and causing
the death of the fetus. When Felicity came back from surgery, they were all there, and
Marlene sat next to her and held her hand, stroked her hair, and told her that she was
going to be fine, and Dominique’s eyes filled with tears as she watched them.
Dominique had checked in with her assistants again, and they were emailing all the
guests and had notified the museum, the caterers, the technical teams, the florist, the
band, and everyone involved with the wedding of the cancelation. They were telling the
guests that due to an accident, the wedding had been canceled, and apologizing for the
inconvenience. Dominique had called her ex-husband and told him what had happened.
He didn’t offer to come to the hospital, but asked her to keep him informed and sent
Felicity his love.
They left Felicity to rest at the hospital, she was still sedated, and they went to lunch
at The Mark, and Bill went with them. He sat next to Dominique and held her hand, and
he left quietly after lunch. He was coordinating with the police for her, and promised to
call her in a few hours and come back the next day.
“I have some things of my own to take care of,” he said to her quietly. “We have a lot
to talk about. I’ve been working on it for the last week. I should have done it years ago.
I don’t want to lose you, Dominique.”
“Me too,” she said.
“You did the right thing. It woke me up. I’m going to talk to Eileen about it, and
we’ll work things out like grown-ups.” He smiled at her. “I’m so sorry about Felicity.
What a terrifying experience.”
“It breaks my heart to see her,” Dominique said with tears in her eyes.
“They’re going to arrest him this afternoon,” Bill told her.
“The doctor said I could take her home tonight.”
None of them could have predicted what had happened.
“Will she have to appear in court with him?” Violet asked, devastated for her sister.
She couldn’t imagine anything like it happening to any of them, committed by someone
they knew.
“We’ll ask to have it handled in front of a judge in chambers so she doesn’t have to
see him. I’ll call you tonight,” Bill said gently to Dominique. It was a relief to see him
again and she was glad she had called him. He was a good man. He had fallen into an
easy pattern for years, and he knew it had to change. It already had.
After he left, Dominique thought about the wedding they would have given that night,
and was grateful Felicity hadn’t married him. She wondered what would happen to him
now. Felicity had been very clear about agreeing to send the police, and Dominique was
sure the Whitfields were going to be distraught, but their son was a dangerous man.
Dominique went back to Felicity’s room then. Marlene was still sitting with her and
holding her hand, and Dominique got a glimpse of what Tommy saw in her. She was a
kind, compassionate person, and Dominique had warm feelings toward her for the first
time.
Felicity went home with her mother that night, but the next day, on Sunday, she wanted to
go home to her apartment. She shuddered when she saw it. There was blood on the floor
and on the rugs. There was still broken glass on the floor from the table he knocked
over, and blood on the couch. It brought back the memories vividly, but she knew she
was safe. On Saturday afternoon, the police had called before she left the hospital to tell
her that Taylor had been arrested at his parents’ apartment and was in custody. He was
being arraigned on Monday, and they were sending him for evaluation at a psychiatric
prison facility for thirty days, and after that they would determine if he was able to stand
trial. The police explained that he would probably make a deal with the DA eventually
and plead guilty, and accept a sentence at a mental facility of some kind. He had a long
road ahead of him, and would be marked forever as a sex offender. Felicity blamed
herself for not seeing it sooner, and not reacting when he raped her the first time. She
hadn’t added that incident to the charges. He had enough on his plate now.
Taylor’s parents had tried to tell the police that he and his fiancée had had a little
spat, and that she had probably provoked it. They said it was just a lovers’ quarrel, and
they had implied that Felicity was immoral and unbalanced. The police had shown them
photographs of Felicity’s injuries and they didn’t say anything after that, but they hired a
criminal attorney. Taylor was currently in jail, pending the arraignment, and more than
likely the judge would not set bail, and would send him for the psych evaluation
immediately.
The Whitfields made no attempt to contact Dominique or Felicity and didn’t respond
to Dominique’s text. Felicity was sure they would try to blame her for what had
happened.
On Monday, they all tried to get back to normal. Tommy, Marlene, and the boys went
back to L.A. Marlene and Felicity had formed a bond. The boys were disappointed that
they never got to deliver the rings, and Marlene told them they could do it another time,
maybe at their great-grandmother’s wedding that summer. She asked Tommy to ask
Marie-Aurélie if they could.
Jamie went back to work on Monday, and he and Violet had tickets to a Yankees
game that night.
Felicity began reclaiming her life. She packed all of Taylor’s clothes and belongings
and sent them to his parents, and returned the engagement ring by courier to Elizabeth.
She didn’t want any souvenirs from Taylor. It was a chapter she wanted closed. She
went to the dentist to replace the tooth she lost and told them she’d been in a car
accident. The bruises to her soul would be harder to fix.
She checked in with her gallery and they had sold two more of her paintings and
were very pleased. She was trying to decide what to do now, to find her footing again,
since there was no marriage, no honeymoon, no Taylor, and no baby in her life now. She
was considering taking some more art classes in Paris for a few months, and renting a
studio there, near her grandmother. They had a close relationship. She hired a service
that dealt with catastrophes and crime scenes, to get the bloodstains out of her rug and
apartment. She got rid of the couch, although she liked it, and ordered a new one.
Dominique went to the office. She called Andrew, her ex-husband, and told him the
follow-up and that Taylor had been arrested. He said he’d take Felicity to lunch when
she felt up to it. It wasn’t enough but it was something. Dominique met Bill at her
apartment after work. He spent the night with her and didn’t rush back to Greenwich the
next day. He had left one of the nurses in charge. He had told Eileen he was still going
to help her with her recovery, but he wasn’t going to be there 24/7 anymore. She needed
to hire more nurses or nurses’ aides, and he needed to get back to his office at least
part-time, and to spend nights in the city. He planned to spend four or five nights a week
with Dominique for now. And he and Eileen had to face the state of their marriage. He
was willing to give her his half of the house in Greenwich in a divorce, but they
couldn’t continue living together. It was unhealthy for both of them. They had been
living a lie for years. Much to his surprise, Eileen didn’t disagree, and she was grateful
for the time he had devoted to her recovery. She realized now that she had expected a
lot of him. Too much. And he had allowed himself to drift for years before that. He had
almost lost Dominique because of it, and he wasn’t going to let that happen.
It took two of Dominique’s assistants the entire week to unwind all of the details of
the wedding. The flowers were donated to nursing homes, the food to soup kitchens.
The rented decorations were sent back. They recouped a few deposits that were
eligible, and she swallowed the loss, which was enormous, but Felicity was safe and
alive. That was worth any price. Dominique didn’t care how much money she lost, as
long as Felicity could recover and be whole again. She had a bright future ahead of her
now without Taylor.
“So, are we ready for our next wedding?” Dominique asked her assistants, Sylvia
and Janine, with a rueful smile when she got to her office at the end of the week. “We
still have my mother’s wedding to do,” she reminded them. “That won’t be nearly as
dramatic. And we should be able to pull that off in Saint-Tropez with family only. We’re
staying at some enormous villa that my mother’s fiancé rented for everyone. And I’d
like to rent a boat we can all use in the daytime. We’ll figure it out. It’s not for another
month.” The two young women groaned and she handed them lists of the research she
wanted them to do on the boat, a florist, a caterer, and a small band. A month wasn’t
long to plan even a small wedding. It was already the twenty-sixth of June,
and MarieAurélie and Clément were getting married in the third week of July.
In the meantime, Bill stayed with Dominique in the city, and rented a comfortable
house in East Hampton where they could spend weekends. It wasn’t grand or
overdecorated or glamorous, just sun and sand and basic furniture, a comfortable place
to relax, which they both needed. They spent their first weekend there on the Fourth of
July, two weeks after the ill-fated wedding, and it was a piece of heaven. During the
week he went to Greenwich several times to oversee Eileen’s nursing care, and make
sure she was well cared for. Her period of bed rest was almost over, the doctors said
she could get up soon, and she was greatly improved.
What Dominique and Bill wanted to do was slow things down just to catch their
breath, enjoy life more than they’d been doing, be together, and relax after a hard week,
and the house Bill had rented in East Hampton was perfect for that. Suddenly in the past
two weeks everything was moving quickly and big changes had occurred.
Greenwich was Eileen’s turf, and he didn’t want it to be his anymore. He and
Dominique were amazed at how easily they adjusted to each other on a daily basis, and
how well they got along. It was as though they had always lived together. They had
always gotten along well on their two one-nighters every week. Now they had extended
it, and it was that much better, and her kids were happy for her. She had been alone for
so long. It was her mother who had been the catalyst for wanting more, and realizing she
deserved it.
Eileen’s accident had torn Dominique and Bill apart initially, but created the impetus
for the biggest change of all. Bill was getting a divorce in order not to lose Dominique.
He regretted all the years he had wasted, but they were together now, and he realized
how precious she was to him. And he was deeply sorry for Felicity, and taking care of
all the legalities for her.
Eileen had asked him if there was another woman, and he had been honest with her
and said there was, without offering details, and she said she had suspected it but didn’t
want to know. She wasn’t bitter about it. They were both ready to let go. She said she
wouldn’t have been ready before her accident, but it had been a wake-up call to her too,
and she wanted more of a life now. With both boys in college, she wanted to travel and
be free for a while. In the end, the divorce was a blessing for all three of them, Eileen,
Bill, and Dominique.