A White Picket Fence

by Laura Branchflower

  “A long one.”

  As soon as Katie lowered her lips to his, he took over, his fingers sliding into her hair as he deepened the kiss, eliciting cheers from the rest of the kids at the table. Katie kissed him back, her mind conjuring up images of Matt as her tongue swirled against his. “Wasn’t that better than a shot?” she asked when she broke the kiss, her forehead resting against his.

  “Hell yeah.”

  “Let’s go, Hunter,” Matt said.

  Katie pulled her head back from the boy, frowning up at Matt who was standing beside the table. “I’m in the middle of a game.”

  “The game’s over. I’m taking you home.”

  “Who is this guy?” the boy asked.

  “The guy she’s leaving with. You have a problem with that?”

  “No, no problem, bro,” the boy said, holding up his hands. “We were just playing a game.”

  Katie’s eyes shifted to the girl beside Matt, the same one she’d seen on the deck. “I’m not going with her,” Katie said.

  Matt turned to the girl. “I have to take her home.”

  “Why?” the girl asked. “Who is she?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll text you later.” He gave her a quick kiss.

  Katie glared at the girl until she was out of sight.

  “Let’s go,” Matt said, holding out his hand.

  Instead of getting off the boy’s lap, Katie lowered her head and kissed him again. “Bye,” she whispered before taking Matt’s hand. When she wobbled slightly, he clasped his arm around her waist, dragging her against his side.

  “What’s wrong with you, Hunter?” Matt asked as soon as they were outside. “You want to be on restriction for another six months?”

  “Was she your new girlfriend? She dresses like a slut.”

  “You’re drunk.”

  “What do you care?” Katie glared at him as she stepped away from him and into the street. “You don’t care about me.”

  “Yeah, and that’s why I’m taking you home. Come on.” He took her hand and continued towards his car.

  “I was having fun,” she grumbled.

  He remained silent until they reached the car. “You’re not going to get sick, are you?”

  Katie shook her head and dropped down into the car. “I can do it,” she said, taking the seat belt from him when he leaned over her.

  “You okay?” he asked a few minutes into the drive.

  “Is she your girlfriend?”

  “We just hang out sometimes.”

  “I don’t like her.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t think she liked you either.”

  Katie turned in her seat, leaning back against the door so she could see him. “Why were you a dick to me when I saw you earlier? You ignored me.”

  He shrugged. “I was busy.”

  Her eyes traveled over his face. He was beautiful. “Why haven’t I seen you around lately?”

  “I’ve been working.”

  “I miss talking to you. Did you miss me at all?”

  He reached out and turned on the stereo. “Let me drive.”

  “You can let me off in front of the house. My parents aren’t home,” Katie said when Matt slowed the car as he approached her driveway.

  “You shouldn’t drink so much,” he said when she swayed a bit after getting out of the car. “I won’t always be there to save you.”

  “I didn’t need your saving. I would have been fine.” She leaned against the brick in front of her house as she rooted around in her purse for her key. “I’m a lil’ dizzy.”

  “Here.” He took her purse and seconds later was opening the front door. “No one’s home?”

  “My grandparents are sleeping in the basement.” She leaned against the wall.

  “You okay?”

  “No, I feel—” She covered her mouth before sprinting up the stairs, making it to her bathroom and dropping to her knees without a second to spare, vomiting until there was nothing left in her stomach. She lay down on the cool tile of her bathroom. She heard steps and opened one eye to see Matt entering her bathroom. “I think I’m dying,” she whispered.

  “No, you’re not.” He filled a glass of water and helped her sit up so she could rinse out her mouth. “You think you’re done throwing up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Here.” He helped her to her feet and led her out of the bathroom and into her bedroom.

  “Thank you,” she whispered as she lay back in her bed.

  He removed her shoes and then sat down beside her on the mattress. “How do you feel?”

  “Better.” She closed her eyes. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

  “Because I’m not a dick.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.” She was still drunk, but she knew she was going to be embarrassed in the morning.

  “I’m going to take off. I’ll leave your key under the front mat so I can lock the door.”

  “I don’t want you to go.” She reached for his hand, lacing her fingers through his. “Would you sing to me?”

  “Hunter—”

  “Please, just one song. Then you can go.”

  “What do you want me to sing?”

  19

  “What did he say?” Lina asked when Phil finished a call with Wayne the following day. They had just started the drive home, and she felt exhausted, the emotional stress from the evening before sapping all her reserves.

  “The same thing Diane told you. There were only a handful of direct witnesses, but everyone knew what happened within thirty minutes. Apparently you were the excitement of the wedding. Besides the bride and groom, of course.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “It was harder than I expected,” Lina said as she looked out the window. “Seeing her, I mean.”

  “Don’t think about her.”

  “That’s a little easier said than done.”

  As soon as Lina saw Adele’s and Shiloh’s cars in front of their house, she remembered the barbeque Alice had planned and felt her whole body tense up. She wasn’t up for a family party.

  “We have everything under control,” Alice said as soon as Lina and Phil stepped out of the mudroom into the kitchen. “Your father and Adele have agreed to handle the grill, and I’m taking care of everything else.”

  “How was the weekend?” Lina asked.

  “Fine, fine.” She turned her back to them as she continued to cut vegetables. “Hello, Phillip.”

  “Alice,” he replied.

  “You’re back,” Shiloh said as she came in from the deck. “How was the wedding?”

  “Good,” Lina lied.

  “Is it okay if Julian comes over?”

  “No,” Phil said shortly. “He isn’t allowed in this house.”

  “He’s my husband.”

  “I’m sorry, Shi. My children aren’t going to be subjected to him.”

  “He apologized and—”

  “No,” Phil repeated. “I know you’ve forgiven him, and that’s your prerogative, but I don’t have to. He isn’t welcome here. I’m taking these upstairs,” he told Lina, lifting the bags slightly before leaving the room.

  “So that’s it?” Shiloh asked as soon as Phil was out of earshot. “He’s never allowed here again? What about Christmas?”

  “I’m sorry,” Lina said. “He’s not going to change his mind.”

  “How can he not forgive him? He of all people should know about mistakes. At least Julian didn’t get another woman pregnant.”

  “Shiloh!” Lina gasped.

  “He has no right to judge Julian,” Shiloh said. “Not when he’s—”

  “Shiloh, please—the kids don’t know,” Lina whispered, her cheeks turning red. “Please don’t talk about it.”

  “He’s being unreasonable. You need to talk to him, because if Julian isn’t welcome that means I’m not welcome.”

  Lina wiped her hand over her forehead as she watched Shiloh go back outside. “Why did you tell her?”

  “I
didn’t know it was a secret,” Alice said. “I never kept things from you girls when you were growing up.”

  “It’s not something we can just blurt out. It’s going to be traumatic for the kids.”

  “Only because of the rigid belief system you’re instilling in them.”

  Lina dropped her face into her hands and silently counted to ten. There was no point in arguing with her. “I thought this barbeque was happening at your house.” She stepped to the window and looked out at the group around the pool. Adele was stretched out on a lounge chair and an older man, who Lina assumed was her father, was energetically describing something, his hands moving as his captivated audience, which included Megan and Katie, hung on his every word.

  “I thought it would be easier for you and Phil if it was here.”

  “You mean you knew it would be impossible for us not to attend.”

  “Relax. You don’t have to do a thing.”

  “I’m going for a run,” Phil said when he entered the kitchen several minutes later.

  “Right now?” Lina frowned. “We are eating soon.”

  “Let him,” Alice said as she turned from the sink. “I could feel his heavy energy as soon as he walked in the door. The run will do him good.”

  “Really?” Phil raised his eyebrows. “Do you think a house full of unexpected guests may have contributed to that?”

  “I think your life would be much less stressful if you lived in a state of acceptance instead of trying to control everything.”

  “No, my life would be much less stressful if you understood boundaries. This is my house, Alice.”

  “Mom, please leave him alone,” Lina said.

  “I didn’t know you were back,” Adele said as she entered through from the deck. “Love the new haircut.” She gave Lina a quick hug before her gaze moved to Phil and her smile faded. “Oh, hello, asshole.”

  “Adele.” Lina sighed. “Don’t.”

  “What? I’m just saying hello to my favorite brother-in-law.”

  “He’s in a bad mood,” Alice whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “I’m out of here,” Phil said to Lina, ignoring Adele completely.

  “You don’t deserve her,” Adele called after him.

  “Don’t encourage her,” Alice said to Adele. “She needs to get over this. It’s been months.”

  The group was ten minutes into dinner when Phil, freshly showered after an hour-long run, dropped down at the table beside Lina, acknowledging Alice’s introduction of Drew Rayburn with only a nod of his head. “Where’s Logan?”

  Lina closed her eyes as soon as Phil spoke. It was amazing how much trepidation two words could evoke. She hadn’t told him, and he was going to be furious.

  “He’s at the beach,” Alice said. “He returns tomorrow, right?” She looked to Lina for confirmation.

  “Yes.”

  “Who did he go to the beach with?” Phil asked.

  “That delightful Dr. Drayton and his son,” Alice said.

  “How come you didn’t tell me Logan was friends with his son?” Katie asked.

  Lina could feel Phil’s eyes on her as she focused her attention on Katie. “I was going to. I just hadn’t gotten a chance.”

  “I can see why you go on about him. Such positive energy, and his aura was so clear,” Alice said. “Your father was impressed with him too.”

  “Oh, most definitely, I—”

  “I’m sorry,” Phil interrupted. “Who are you?”

  Drew Rayburn sat up a little straighter in his chair. “I’m Drew—”

  “I know your Goddamn name! But who are you to give an opinion? Do you think any of us care about your opinion?”

  “I do,” Katie said.

  “Dad!” Megan gasped.

  “Phil,” Lina whispered. “Stop it.” She gripped his arm and could feel the tension coursing through his body. “Please.”

  He continued to stare across the table at her father, a look of pure distaste clouding his features, and then he took a deep breath and reached for his beer. “I don’t care to hear your opinion at my table,” Phil said in a much calmer voice, “or any table for that matter.”

  “Have sex with him tonight,” Alice said as she hugged Lina goodbye later that evening.

  “Mom!” Lina pulled back and looked pointedly towards Drew who was seated in the passenger seat and able to hear their conversation.

  “Relax. I’m sure he knows you have sex. Phil is wound as tight as a drum. You need to release that tension. Go upstairs, put on something sexy and—”

  “It had nothing to do with that.” Lina took several steps back from the car, pulling Alice with her. “He blames him.”

  “Blames who for what?” Alice frowned.

  “Drew. Phil blames him for what happened to me and Shiloh. He always has.”

  “What?” Alice made a scoffing noise. “How could he blame him? He didn’t live anywhere near us.”

  “Exactly.”

  Katie sat alone at the kitchen table, staring down at her cell phone when Lina came back into the house. “How was your weekend?” Lina asked.

  Katie shrugged. “Fine.”

  “Do you feel okay? You look pale.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “So, did you like Drew?”

  “We call him Grandpa,” Katie answered, looking up from her phone. Hearing Katie refer to Drew as “Grandpa” seemed absurd, and Lina wanted to laugh, but then she realized there was nothing funny about it to Katie. Her grandma had given him her stamp of approval, and that was enough for Katie. It clearly didn’t matter what her parents thought. “He’s really smart.”

  “Yes.” Lina nodded. “I remember that about him.” She sat down at the table across from Katie. “Is he still a professor at the University of Chicago?”

  “I guess. Grandma really likes him. She said they might get married.”

  Phil was right. Her mother was crazy. “She used that word, ‘married’?”

  “Yes. They slept in the same room. Why was Dad such an asshole to him?”

  “He just doesn’t approve of the type of father he was, or grandfather for that matter.”

  Katie frowned at her. “I think he could be a good grandfather. Do you hate him too? Is that why you barely talked to him tonight?”

  Lina was surprised Katie even noticed she hadn’t talked to Drew. “I don’t hate him,” she finally said. “He’s basically a stranger to me. Do you think you’ll see more of him?”

  “If Grandma marries him I will.” Katie looked down at her phone.

  “Would you like that?”

  “I guess.” Katie began typing on her phone. “Can you stop talking now?”

  20

  Lina was heading into her yoga class the following morning, hoping it would help to shake the feeling of malaise she’d been experiencing since seeing Kim, when she received a text from Nick.

  Thoroughly enjoyed Logan. Does he ever not smile? We should be back in town by 3 p.m., so he can be picked up any time after.

  The right thing to do would be to have Phil pick him up, considering he worked minutes from Nick’s home, but Lina didn’t want to do the right thing. She wanted to see Nick. Talking to him would make her feel better. It always did.

  Logan was born happy. I’ll see you this afternoon.

  As Lina sat in her car taking in Nick’s three-story brick row house, which looked similar to the other homes lining both sides of the street in the tony section of Federal Hill, where restaurants and the theatre were within a short walk, she pondered what it would feel like to live in a city. It was so different than her suburban lifestyle, with their single-family homes and backyards.

  “Come in.” Nick stepped back from his door. “The boys ran down to the sub shop around the corner. They should be back momentarily.”

  Lina passed within inches of him and felt a response in every part of her body. “This is nice.” Her eyes took in dark hardwood floors, crème-colored walls and contemporary a
rt as she walked farther into the house, trying to get her nerves under control.

  “Thank you.”

  A baby grand piano dominated the living room to her left, and she crossed to it. “Do you play?” She trailed her fingers over the keys.

  “Occasionally.” He was leaned up against the doorsill, watching her. “Do you?”

  “No.” Lina bent down to study a black-and-white photograph on a side table of a teenage Nick and an older man on a sailboat. “Your father?”

  “Yes.”

  “You look like him.” She straightened and turned back to him, her heart rate accelerating as she took in his casual stance, his shoulder leaned against the doorsill, one hand pushed into the pocket of his shorts. He seemed to grow more handsome every time she saw him.

  “Would you like something to drink? Water, Coke, wine?” He pushed off the wall, leading her into his large kitchen, which encompassed the back of the house.

  “Water would be nice. Oh, I love it.” Lina stepped to the window, relieved to find her nerves finally settling as she looked out at a private patio overflowing with flowers and plants. “May I take a closer look?”

  “Please.”

  The patio, which was the width of the back of the house, was surrounded on three sides by seemingly every type of flower that bloomed in the Mid-Atlantic.

  “It’s beautiful,” she told Nick when he joined her.

  “It’s all the previous owners’ doing. I just try not to kill them. Do you have a garden?” He was standing so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body and had an urge to lean back into him.

  “I do. Several. It’s kind of my passion or therapy.” She followed him to a small round table. “I spend hours tending to them. The time just disappears.”

  “I’m sure they’re beautiful.” His eyes traveled over her face. “What’s going on here?” He trailed his finger over the skin below her eye. She caught her breath at the unexpected jolt of attraction.

  “I saw her. She was at the wedding we attended. I can’t stop picturing them together. I’ve barely slept in two days.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “How can I love him and hate him at the same time?”