Read Online A Taste of Sin by Fiona Zedde - Free Book Online

matter what time of day it was.
    “And now, let’s really get started.” Claudia brandished the tongs. “Who wants a Cornish hen?”
     
    Victoria was a meat eater. She tasted some of the tofu with red and yellow roasted bell peppers that Dez had made for Sage and Nuria, but ended up eating a hen and a half, throwing compliments at Dez and Derrick between bites. Her lips glistened from the olive oil and from her tongue’s repeated journey over them.
    “You never cook like this for me,” she chided her best friend around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
    “I think everybody at this table knows that you’re lying,” Derrick pointed his fork at her. “That was one of the first ways I tried to get you to fall for me when we first met.”
    Victoria blushed and laughed, the subtle color moving like a wave under her butterscotch skin.
    Dez caught her eye over the centerpiece of floating candles and flower petals. “You should taste what I can cook up in the kitchen.”
    “I think she is, darling.” Eden shot her an amused glance.
    Dez smiled back. As soon as Eden looked away her smile faded. She suddenly felt very tired.
    The dinner was wonderful, almost like old times, even before their father left, with Claudia being the brilliant diamond in their midst, laughing and showering her light on everyone at the table. Dez took part in the festivities, may have even seemed like her old self, flirting shamelessly with all the women, talking the usual round of shit, and eating much more than she should. But inside she felt herself slowly shutting down. Sensations came and went, lightning fast, before she could access them. Even Victoria’s presence couldn’t engage her. After the first course, Trish asked if she was all right. Dez nodded a yes and found somewhere else to look. What else was she supposed to say?
    Derrick went into the kitchen to get his dessert master-piece, an exquisite guava-and-cream-cheese flan with slices of the pink fruit fanned out on top. That was what Claudia said she wanted for her birthday, not cake. So her children obliged her. The women oohed and aahed over the gorgeous dessert, some eyeing Derrick like he was part of the meal. Dez excused herself to smoke on the deck. In that moment, she felt too heavy to be among all those bright and laughing people.
    Dez lit her cigarette and took a long drag. Smoke hit her lungs in a deep, burning stroke. Yesterday she was fine. Even this morning. She had managed to all but forget that her mother could be dying and that Claudia had told Derrick about it and not her. But now the memory of the call from the doctor’s office rose up to suffocate her. Dying. Death. Dead.
    “Dinner was marvelous.”
    Dez put away her emotions before turning to face Victoria.
    “I thank you and Derrick thanks you.” She looked beyond her to the party still going on inside. “Is it time to open presents?”
    “Almost, but not yet.”
    Dez ashed her cigarette over the railing and turned so the smoke wouldn’t blow toward Victoria. She took a deep breath. “So what brings you out here?”
    “You.”
    She attempted a smile. “Really?”
    It had rained while they ate so the air was cooler now. Victoria shivered in her thin white blouse and crossed her arms to warm herself. Dez deliberately kept her eyes on the other woman’s face.
    “Your mother highly encouraged”—Victoria said the word with a wry grin—“me to tell you to get your ass back inside.”
    “Ah, I see. No other motives, then?”
    She smiled. “None whatsoever.” Her eyes caught a flash of something from Dez. “Are you all right?”
    “Not really. But I’ll live.”
    Victoria’s mouth began to shape a question, but Dez never found out what that question was.
    “Desiree, stop brooding and come join the party.”
    With a low sigh, she crushed out her cigarette and tossed it into the darkness behind her. “Coming, Mama.” She waved a hand before her. “After you, Ms. Jackson.”
     
    That night, sleep