“Jules!” Piper exclaimed, feeling her cheeks hot with embarrassment.
“I think that’s a valid question, Jules,” Marty cut in, trying to calm the moment with his tone. “I was planning on talking to you about that tonight, Piper, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“Yes,” Piper muttered sardonically, her eyes still locked on Jules. “I can see how that topic would need to be handled tactfully.”
“Your resemblance to me is uncanny, and the timeline of your mother and me being together when you were conceived certainly fits. But as a doctor, I tend to turn toward science for a concrete answer on anything. If you’re comfortable with it, I can set up an appointment at our lab tomorrow for the test.”
Piper hesitated. She felt confident this was in fact her father, but the thought that science could prove her wrong and take the chance of all of this away gave her reason to falter. She also knew he was right, however, and there would be no point, no future, if she didn’t go forward with the test. “That would be fine.”
“We’d probably have the results back in a couple of weeks, just before Christmas.”
“That would be great,” Piper smiled, still squeamish about the whole idea. “We’re likely heading back to Edenville in the next few days. Bobby and I are going to visit his parents tomorrow. Then we really have to be getting back. Would you call me with the results? If it’s good news I can plan a trip back up or maybe you could plan a trip down.”
“No,” Connie pleaded with far too much urgency for the situation. It drew everyone’s attention, and even Piper couldn’t discount the emotionally charged reaction. Connie quickly righted herself with a smile and a change of tone. “I mean, we were hoping you’d spend Christmas with us. You’d have a great chance to meet some of our extended family. Why would you have to go back so soon?”
Bobby and Jules locked eyes with each other, their telepathic conversation annoying Piper.
“Jules’s mom would want us all to spend Christmas together. Our friend, Michael, is down there as well. We should really be heading back.”
“Why don’t you invite them up? The city is beautiful at Christmas. There is so much to do. We’d love to have them. The more the merrier as they say.” Connie had transitioned from slightly panicked to completely overcompensating.
Piper looked back and forth between Jules and Bobby, hoping their faces would help her navigate this. And in normal Jules fashion, she hopped right in.
“If anyone was going to get Mom up here it would be you, Piper. I think you should give her a call.” Bobby furrowed his brows, assuming Jules may have some other motive for agreeing to this odd invitation. “And if she comes, I’m sure Michael will want to come, too.”
And there it was, Piper thought. She knew if Jules went back to Edenville now, back to her old life, she’d be stuck there. She’d have to face Michael with no escape route. She’d have to figure out work, assuming she’d still have a job. It was one thing to disappear for a couple weeks after a serious attack on your life, but quite another to take off again with nothing but a vague phone call and no set date for your return. It was no wonder she was looking for a way to stay in New York longer, it was like her own personal escape from reality.
“Wonderful,” Connie said, slapping her hands together and bringing the conversation to a close. “So it’s settled. You give them a call and invite them up for Christmas. And like Marty said, by then we should have your results back and have something wonderful to celebrate.” Marty slid his hand across the table and Connie met it with her own. They laced their fingers together, and Piper thought she saw the shadow of tears gathering in Connie’s eyes.
“We better get up to see Eli before he decides to come down and look for us. We’ll never get him back upstairs then.” Marty pushed his chair away from the table and everyone followed suit. They moved toward the door and pulled their coats on, hands shaking, goodbyes passing among them all. It had been a nice meal in a beautiful home with kind people, but Piper had to admit it lacked the effortless camaraderie of Betty’s Wednesday night dinners. She had wanted to sit with Marty and Connie and feel the same comfort she felt with her friends back in Edenville. But much to her disappointment, Piper felt a pang of sadness cut across her stomach as she realized maybe she wouldn’t fit perfectly into this existing jigsaw puzzle the way she had dreamed.
Chapter Nine
“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Piper asked, as she peeked in on Jules one more time. She watched as her friend lifted her head ever so slightly off the toilet bowl and groaned. She’d been vomiting all morning. “Do you want me to stay here with you?”
“I don’t know,” Jules moaned, shooting an icy glare up at Piper. “Can you do anything to make me feel better? If not, I’d prefer to do this without an audience.” She punctuated the last word with a dry heave and used her foot to slam the door in Piper’s face.
As Piper turned to leave she was met with the wrinkled old face of Sister Benine. She’d taken an interest in Jules and began stopping in to check on her. Today she was standing with a cup of tea that Piper thought smelled savory and spicy. She imagined Jules taking one whiff of it and launching it across the room.
“Oh hello, Sister Benine,” Piper said, bowing her head a little then realizing how stupid she looked. This was a nun, not a karate teacher or a Chinese diplomat. How exactly did you greet a nun? Sign of the cross, kiss her ring? Piper was lost for a moment as she sorted through her own ineptitude.
“How is Jules this morning?” Sister Benine asked, graciously overlooking Piper’s lack of confidence in her decorum.
“She’s not great. She’s throwing up a lot. Do you think something is wrong with her? I can’t see how being pregnant can make you that sick.”
“Carrying a child is one of the greatest gifts and greatest challenges God presents to a woman. I have seen women much more ill than she, and they have all had healthy babies. I’ll stay with her.”
“Should I stay, too? I was planning on meeting a friend and going to visit his parents today, but if you think I should stay, I will.”
“Can you make her stop vomiting?” Sister Benine asked, raising an eyebrow and dismissively moving past Piper.
“No.”
“Then I suppose you should be on your way,” she said serenely, without looking back.
Piper slipped on her coat and the sound of Jules heaving again flooded out the bathroom door as Sister Benine entered. She couldn’t do anything to help Jules, so she’d direct her attention toward helping Bobby. She didn’t know what today would bring—maybe he’d prove himself right and he’d find himself buried further beneath his own guilt. But there was a chance he’d find some hope for himself and, in turn, for them.
Last night, anticipating their long drive and hoping for an early start, Bobby had stayed just down the street from Stoneybrook. The short drive to the hotel gave Piper time to prepare herself for the topic she knew he would bring up. He and Jules had refrained from commenting on Connie and Marty’s odd behavior at dinner during their drive home the night before, but she knew it would be highly unlikely for the subject to be ignored during their drive to New Jersey today. She was sticking to her explanation: nice people, weird situation. She’d just tell him to mind his own business.
As she pulled up to the rundown hotel, she huffed. She was annoyed at the sight of his familiar smile as he walked toward her car. Damn his smile, it was so sweet but so dangerous. It reminded her of a project she’d done in science class about lilies of the valley. They are beautiful in their simple and majestic form, but they are toxic. What Piper remembered most about that project, what made her think of Bobby, was how the toxins impact a person’s heart. They slow the heart rate down and then speed it up. His little, seemingly innocuous, greeting was like a beautiful poison. It might not kill you, but it would certainly be enough to knock you down for a while.
She stepped out of her car and walked around the back to get in the passenger s
eat. They hadn’t talked about who would drive, but it was more or less implied at this point. In the past, Bobby drove so Piper could sit in the center of his truck and lay her head on his shoulder. She’d fiddle with the radio and he’d tease her about whatever station she’d pick. This trip would be different. She’d be fighting off the urge to ask him why he left the previous morning after they made love in the hotel. And knowing him, he’d be beating back the worry he had about her newfound family. She’d have to remind herself hundreds of times not to slip up and tell him about Jules being pregnant. This would be a well-calculated trip with lots of subtext and lip biting.
As he settled into the driver’s seat, he cleared his throat uncomfortably, and all Piper could think was, here we go.
“Thanks for coming with me,” Bobby said, putting the car in reverse and pulling onto the main road.
“Of course. Have you told your parents why we’re coming?”
“No,” he groaned. “I’m dreading the conversation. I didn’t want to get them upset before I got there.”
“Have you thought about what you’re going to say? What you’re trying to accomplish?”
“I just want to see if I know the whole story or if there is something I’m not aware of. If I’m going to base my life’s philosophy on a single experience, I sure as hell better know the whole story.” He rubbed at his neck, rolling it back and forth, pain wrinkling across his face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, taking note of the discomfort.
“I’ve slept in seven different beds since I got here. I’ve been bouncing around to all different hotels, whichever is cheaper for the night. My neck is killing me.” He rubbed at it again and froze for a second as her hand crossed the car and slipped under his. Her slim fingers rubbed the tender muscle, and he leaned into her touch.
“Don’t get too excited,” she teased, using her thumb to make deep circles into the tight muscle of his neck. “It’s a long ride, I don’t want to fall asleep and wake up to find you gone.” She saw his lips tighten and knew the jab had stung him. Good, she thought, that was her intent.
“I thought we both agreed it wasn’t going to change anything in the morning.”
“I know, I just didn’t expect you to be gone. But I guess it didn’t mean anything and so you thought it was fine to leave.”
“Or I left because I was trying to convince myself it didn’t mean anything.” Her hand came to a stop on his neck as she saw that small spark of conflicted love flash in his eyes. She pulled back her hand and rested it in her lap. He’d admitted he had felt something that night. She should be happy. So why did it feel so terrible to know she was the cause of his constant internal struggle?
Piper adjusted the radio station. She was desperate to find something that wouldn’t fill the car with any more tension. No country songs about unrequited love, no old classics that would remind them of simpler times. She’d found the one thing that couldn’t be construed as a message or omen—rap. She turned up the volume and started nodding her head to the beat.
“Really?” he asked, looking her over with half a scowl that turned quickly to a smile. She broke into the fast, choppy lyrics with practiced precision, and his smile turned into a laugh. The more she rapped, her hand gestures growing more dramatic, the more he couldn’t hold back his laughter. Their time together, so far, had been filled with plenty of chaos and hefty doses of seriousness—it was refreshing to see him laughing.
When the song ended, their laughter subsided, and as they both caught their breath, Bobby spoke first.
“Whatever I find out, Piper, whatever it means for us, I’m glad I met you. I’m not a big believer in fate, but I think I met you for a reason, even if the reason isn’t clear yet.”
All she could muster was a simple, “Me too.” She fixed her gaze out the window and watched, as the city street turned into the highway, the buildings nothing more than small flashing memories in the rearview mirror.
They chatted and Bobby tried to fill her in on anything that might help her understand what they were heading toward. He explained how lucky his parents had been to be able to buy back their old house. The timing had been perfect, and they counted that as a sign they were doing the right thing. The rest of the ride was quiet. There didn’t seem to be much more to say. When they pulled up at the house, Piper felt a small wave of panic. She wasn’t sure how Bobby had explained her presence today, how he had labeled her. Just a friend who came along for the ride?
They walked slowly up the driveway of the old two-story home with its wrought-iron railings and historic siding. Maybe it was for warmth, or comfort, Piper wasn’t sure, but she slipped her arm under Bobby’s, linking them together. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, it swung open, and a woman, whose smile was almost as large as her opened arms, greeted them.
“Oh Bobby, I’m so glad you’re here,” she shouted, her voice peppered with excitement. Bobby shook off Piper’s arm and fell into his mother’s.
“Hey, Mom,” he said, pulling away and kissing her on the cheek. “This is Piper.” He avoided the label of friend or more. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited since you guys moved back up here. I’ve been meaning to. This place just has so much history.”
“I know it does, that’s why we didn’t pressure you to come.” She waved them into the house. Piper took notice of the beautifully framed art that covered almost every inch of the entryway.
“These paintings are amazing,” Piper admired, leaning in to take a closer look at one. It was a small girl, painted only in shades of red, sadness layered in every brush stroke.
“Oh, where is my head?” she asked, wiping the extra paint off her hand and extending it to Piper. “I’m Genie. Thank you, Piper, for the wonderful compliment. These are mine. I’ve taken up painting in the last couple of years. I’ve found it very therapeutic. I’m so glad Bobby brought you here today, I’m always anxious to meet the people in my son’s life.”
“These are really nice, Mom. I knew you were painting, but I didn’t realize you were so good.” Piper watched as Bobby scanned the wall and his eyes settled on a picture that clearly meant something to him. She watched as it stole his breath for a moment. She pieced together that the painting must be of Jedda. He had a large gapped-tooth smile on his face, his eyes so bright they could cast a shadow on the world.
“Thank you,” she said, watching his eyes take in her interpretation of Jedda, rubbing his shoulder like it was an old wound she could heal with a touch. “Come in. I’ve got some cheese and crackers out for you. I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out what brought you here today. My mind has been going wild with crazy thoughts. Marriage proposal? A pregnancy? Moving back up here maybe?”
Piper could tell Bobby was about to deflate his mother’s hopes with the declaration that the visit was a little less exciting than that.
“Nothing like that, Mom. I didn’t want to upset you when I called, but I actually just want to talk about Jedda, about what happened.” They all settled into the living room, the walls covered with even more of his mother’s art. She seemed to paint with a compulsion, a feverish need, rather than just as a hobby.
“Okay,” she said, stretching the word out as she sat across from them and crossed her legs. She was dressed in overalls splattered with paint. Her dark hair was streaked with gray and pulled back, a red handkerchief tied skillfully around it.
“I’m sorry for springing this on you. I know it’s probably rehashing a lot of tough stuff for you, but I’ve been struggling lately with some decisions I’ve made. I feel like I have all these ideas of right and wrong in my head, and it always comes back to what happened to Jedda. I realize I was only nine years old at the time and maybe there were things, more information, I didn’t know about.”
Piper sat in silence, trying not to let the sound of her nervous swallowing break the moment that was growing between Bobby and his mother.
“It certainly was a difficult time. The hardest of my life. Maybe if yo
u tell me what exactly you’re struggling with, I can see if I can help you.”
Bobby hesitated, wringing his hands nervously. “Maybe it’s the guilt I’m struggling with the most. We’ve never really talked about that letter we got from Jedda. I know how upset you and Dad were with me. I feel like if I had told you what I knew this whole thing could have been averted. So many lives were destroyed that day.”
“Stop,” his mother said, slicing her hands through the air to silence him. “I guess we do need to talk about this, because nothing you just said is right. We never blamed you for not telling us what you knew. You never should have been in the position to know any of it in the first place. There was plenty of blame to go around, but none of it fell on you. I was responsible, Jedda was, too. But, for a while, I blamed your father the most.”
“Why would you blame Dad?”
“I guess there are things we never told you. Where was I all those afternoons you were here alone with Jedda?”
Piper watched as the wheels in Bobby’s head seemed to turn. Trying to think back to that time. When he didn’t speak, his mother cut back in.
“I was at therapy. Some days it was individual therapy, other days group, and then once a week it was marriage counseling. About a year before everything happened with Jedda your father had an affair.” She was speaking so matter-of-factly that she barely hesitated to acknowledge Bobby’s reaction, the blow he’d just taken to his chest. “I was devastated. I had been struggling for a few months prior to the affair. I was thrilled to have adopted Jedda, but I was dealing with the death of my mother, and I couldn’t really pull myself out of it. Your father and I had drifted apart and he had a fling with a secretary or intern or someone at work. When he told me, I went off the deep end. I left you boys here to fend for yourselves. We took our eye off the ball. We had no idea that Jedda’s sister was in peril or that Jedda intended to take matters into his own hands. When we found out that he had killed his real parents I couldn’t even comprehend it.”
Changing Fate (Book 3) (Piper Anderson Series) Page 9
