by Jodi Vaughn
“What do you need, Veronica?” I said in a bored voice.
“I’m just checking on you. I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s everything?” She leaned in as if I were going to tell her a big secret.
“Everything is going wonderfully. And your family?” I glanced over at the time on the clock. The bell should have rung by now. The kids would soon be pouring out of the building like ants.
“Well, you know Elizabeth Grace won first place in the science fair, and she’ll be going to Nationals in a few weeks for band. She’s also garnered some interest from two Ivy League schools.” Veronica smirked and lifted her chin.
I lifted my brow. “She’s only fourteen. I didn’t realize colleges started recruiting so early.” I didn’t believe a word coming out of this woman’s mouth. She had lied so many times about so many things that no one ever believed anything she said.
“Well, they do if you have a prodigy.” She chuckled. “How are Arianna and Gabby? You know it’s not too late to put them in band. Studies show that kids that take band are smarter and make better career choices.”
“You don’t say?” I looked a few car-lengths ahead of me and saw my friend Liz from book club. She had gotten out of her vehicle and was waving at me.
I lifted my hand in greeting, and Veronica turned to see who I was waving at.
Liz spotted Veronica, her eyes narrowed as she wrinkled her nose in disgust, quickly getting back into her Range Rover. I grinned, thinking I heard her lock her car even from where I was.
“Liz!” Veronica screeched and rushed over to Liz’s car.
I rolled up my window and locked the door in case the bitch got bold and tried to get into my car. She’d done it before and nearly scared the hell out of me.
Kids were now trickling out of the building, and I quickly spotted Arianna.
I let out a sigh and waved to her. She nodded but didn’t wave back. She was with her friends, and I didn’t want to embarrass her.
I cut my eyes to Liz’s car. Veronica was talking loudly through Liz’s closed window. My friend wouldn’t even roll hers down. Smart girl.
My phone buzzed. I glanced down and grinned at Liz’s text.
This crazy woman won’t leave me alone. Can you run her over for me? I’ll buy you Starbucks if you do.
Arianna opened the back door of the Volvo and got inside.
“Hey, pumpkin. How was school?” I smiled at her in the rearview mirror.
“It’s school. Same old, same old.” Arianna didn’t even bother looking up from her phone, concentrating on whoever it was she was texting.
I picked up my cell and sent a text back to Liz.
Don’t tempt me. That woman is a whole lot of crazy. Besides, you’d owe me 2 coffees at Starbucks. Not one.
I looked up when the car door opened, and Gabby scrambled inside.
“Hey, sweetie! How was your day?”
“Great.” Gabby cocked her head. “Mommy, you look like a movie star with your big sunglasses and fur coat.”
Arianna looked up from her phone. “Fur coat? Since when do you wear a fur coat?”
“It’s the one your father gave me years ago. I found it in the closet and thought I’d wear it since it’s gotten cold and snowed.” I shrugged and started the car.
“What about those ridiculous glasses?” Arianna leaned forward. “Geez, you look like a pimp.”
“What’s a pimp?” Gabby asked with wide-eyed innocence.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” I said and shot Arianna a stern look. I knew she couldn’t see it, but she knew from my tone that I wasn’t happy.
She smirked and went back to her phone.
I pulled out of line. Veronica waved like mad, but I pretended I didn’t see her and merged onto the street. My phone buzzed again, and I was pretty sure it was Liz to rant about Veronica’s conversation.
I would look at it when I got home.
We made the short drive and were back at the house within fifteen minutes.
The girls got out of the car and were into the house before I could even get my door open. I hit the garage button and sealed out the light before exiting my vehicle.
I frowned as I noticed Miles’ car in the garage. He was supposed to be working.
I shrugged out of the coat and stowed my sunglasses in my purse before walking into the house.
I followed my daughters’ voices into the kitchen. I stopped short when I saw Miles standing there in his scrubs, talking to Gabby about her day.
“We don’t have soccer practice because of the soggy ground.” Gabby hopped on the barstool at the kitchen island and grabbed a banana from the crystal bowl.
“Why do you have that fur coat out?” Miles asked.
“It was the first thing I grabbed to go pick up the girls,” I said quickly.
“Mommy looks great. ” Gabby offered.
“Thanks, sweetie.” I gave her a smile, and my heart lifted at the sight of her. My girls always had that effect on me.
I scooted out of the kitchen and went to the closet to hang up the coat. I made sure to stay out of the spots where the sun was shining on the hardwood floors.
I grimaced as I glanced around the living room. I hadn’t realized how large the windows were in my house. When we built the house, I’d made sure that there were plenty of windows to let in natural light. I loved how it made me feel optimistic and joyful.
Now, I wished there were fewer windows—so many made me feel vulnerable.
What I needed were curtains. Long, thick curtains.
I opened the closet and quickly stowed away the fur coat. I went through the rest of the outerwear and sweaters, checking to see if any of them would provide full coverage and not look as ridiculous as the fur. Walking around in a fur coat in March was sure to set tongues wagging in Charming.
“What’s for dinner?” Miles’ voice made me jump.
I spun around and shot him a glare.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He reached out and touched my arm. I recoiled and took a step back.
“What are you doing home? I thought you had work?” I frowned.
He dropped his hand. “I did. I finished up early.”
He was never home early. If he came home by six, that was early. He always said he was working late at the office, seeing patients or in surgery.
Now, I was beginning to wonder if he’d lied and had actually been with Nikki the entire time.
“You’re never home this early,” I stated. I turned and closed the closet door.
“I wanted to be home with my family.” I barely heard his low response.
My gut tugged. I felt sorry for him. Actually felt sorry for him. Yet it still wasn’t enough for me to forgive him. Not yet. I knew myself, knew what I was made of, and I wasn’t sure I was capable of pardoning him for what he’d done to our family.
In my eyes, he’d murdered our family bond and burned our future. I still wasn’t sure how he could stand in front of me and act like everything would be okay.
“Mom, look what I made in English today.” Arianna bounded into the kitchen, her face shining brightly. “Mrs. Grisham said I was the only one who had all the spelling right and who got the three bonus spelling words correct.” Arianna held out her sheet and smiled brightly. There was a grade of 103 written in red ink at the top. “Even Elizabeth Grace didn’t get a perfect score.”
Elizabeth Grace. Veronica’s daughter. She was a know-it-all, just like her mother. She was all polite and sincere when around me, complimenting me on everything from my clothes to my home. I’d never met a child who was such a brown-noser. My gut told me Elizabeth Grace was probably a troublemaker.
“That’s wonderful, Arianna. And what an achievement.” I smiled.
“Well, remember, honey, it’s not nice to brag,” Miles countered.
My spine stiffened. “She’s not bragging. She’s just telling us about her achievement.” I looked back at Arianna. “You’re a smart girl, Arianna. And
there’s nothing wrong with being proud of your achievements.”
“Thanks, Mom.” She gave me a sheepish smile before leaving me alone with Miles.
Irritation burned in my gut, and I looked at him.
“Rachel, you don’t want people thinking you are trying to be better than them. It’s best not to encourage her too much,” Miles said.
“First of all, she’s my daughter, and I will always encourage her and be proud of her accomplishments. She did the work. She earned it. Second of all, I give zero fucks what anyone else thinks.” I shook my head. “Thirdly, you are the last person to be giving advice or worrying about what people think right now.” I turned on my heel and headed to my bedroom.
“Be reasonable, Rachel.” He hurried behind me.
“Your hypocrisy is overwhelming, Miles.” Something in my chest hardened like the coating on a candy apple.
“Think about our family.” He grabbed my arm, stopping my retreat.
The words boiled over in my chest.
“Don’t you dare say that,” I spit out, curling my fingers into fists so tightly that my fingernails dug trenches into my palms. “Don’t you dare tell me to think about our family.” I shoved my finger against his chest in disgust and anger. “You are the one who should have thought about our family before you started having an affair.”
“Rachel, you need to stop rehashing that. You need to move on,” Miles said.
“What’s going on?” Gabby asked.
“Nothing.” Miles turned and smiled at our daughter.
My chest clenched. I wasn’t sure how long she had been standing there.
Her dark blue gaze landed on me as if for reassurance. “Everything is okay, Gabby. I’ll be back in the kitchen to start on dinner in a minute. Any preferences?” I kept my voice cheery and light, hoping to cover up the mess that was now my marriage. I’d sworn to always protect my children. I didn’t intend to break that promise now.
“Tacos sound good. With that Mexican rice that you make,” she said.
“I haven’t made tacos in a while. I’ll change shoes then grab some meat out of the freezer and get started.”
“What about key lime pie for dessert?”
“I don’t know if it will be ready in time. But I can make some banana pudding.” I grinned.
“Yes! Even better.” She turned and headed toward the kitchen.
My smile faded as I looked at Miles. “You need to watch what you say around the girls.”
“I’m trying to move on. You’re the one who keeps bringing it up. You need to let it go, Rachel.” He released a long-suffering sigh and turned. “I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on. I’ll be in my office.”
I watched his retreating back as anger rose so swiftly, I thought it would burst out like lava.
I headed into my closet and shucked off my shoes then slipped on my comfy pair with the fur on the inside as I sank down on the overstuffed ottoman.
In a few short hours, I had gone from crying over my husband and hoping he’d come to his senses and stay with me, to an emotion I was unfamiliar with: hatred.
I told myself I didn’t really hate him. I was hurt and wanted to see remorse from him. Maybe he was in denial over what he’d done.
All that mattered to me was my girls and keeping what was left of my family intact.
I stood and headed into the kitchen, determined to make a wonderful meal and not let Miles get to me again.
I grabbed the meat out of the freezer and stuck it into the sink in hot water to defrost. I went to the large pantry and gathered up the items for the banana pudding.
I placed my supplies and bowl on the kitchen counter. While the meat thawed in the sink, I began to fix the dessert.
As I mixed ingredients together, I quickly got lost in my task. The scent of vanilla pudding and bananas filled the kitchen. When I was finally done, I popped the dish into the refrigerator.
I touched the ground beef in the sink of hot water. It was still frozen in the middle, so I popped it into the microwave for a few seconds to finish thawing out.
The doorbell rang. I quickly wiped my hands on a dishtowel and headed for the front door.
My stomach clenched, and I prayed it wasn’t one of the neighborhood kids trying to sell something. In a neighborhood the size of ours, everyone’s kids were selling something. Football players in the fall, Girl Scouts in the spring, Christian Summer Camp in the summer, and we can’t forget band in the winter.
Out of all of them, I had a love-hate relationship with the Girl Scouts. I loved their cookies. I hated the extra weight I put on after a box or two.
I tried looking through the glass doors. Whoever was standing on the other side was too big to be a child. This was bad. If it were a kid selling something, I could throw money at them, and they’d be gone. If it were an adult, getting rid of them wouldn’t be so easy.
I took a deep breath, blew it out, and then opened the door.
“Hi, Mrs. Jones.” My landscaper, gave me a smile.
“Mr. McIntyre. I completely forgot you were coming by.” My eyes widened.
“Well, I’m a few days late. Had trouble getting out of my garage with all that ice and snow. Let’s have a look, shall we?” He kept smiling and waited for me to walk outside. I glanced up at the sun hanging low in the sky. I knew it wouldn’t be much longer before it set.
“Let me grab a coat,” I said.
“Of course.” He nodded and walked back down the porch steps to wait for me.
I closed the door and headed for the coat closet. My hand went straight to the fur coat before I stopped. I could only imagine what the neighbors would say if they caught me outside looking like a grizzly bear.
I poked around until I found the heavy coat I usually wore when we went skiing. It was thick and had a hood to cover my head. I grabbed my sunglasses and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I tucked my head farther back into the hood, hoping the sun wouldn’t bother me too much.
I opened the door and walked out into the front yard.
Mr. McIntyre’s eyebrows shot up when he saw me.
“I’m very cold,” I said.
“I understand. My wife is the same way. She’s usually curled up in a quilt even when she’s inside in the summer.” He shook his head and grinned. “Let’s take a look at your flowers.”
“To be honest, I haven’t really looked since I called the other night.” I had been too busy trying to figure out my new life.
We stopped in front of the landscaping. He groaned.
“Oh, goodness. I see what you mean.” Mr. McIntyre cleared his throat and rubbed his chin. “You know that petunias aren’t meant to survive a snowstorm. I could redo it for you, but I’m going to have to charge you for the flowers.” He looked back at me.
I stared down at the landscaping. It was right in front of the house in the middle of the yard. Because our house was on a hill, the garden with the college mascot was the first thing everyone saw.
“What’s going on?” Miles asked behind me.
“Mr. Jones, I was just coming over to talk to your wife about how we’re going to fix the landscaping problem.” The landscaper shoved his fingers through his hair and studied the ground. “I sure am sorry the snow ruined your surprise. It was supposed to be the Ole Miss mascot, but now it looks like…”
“Jesus. It looks like some guy’s junk.” Miles’ eyes went wide.
I’d forgotten that Miles hadn’t seen it yet. I stifled a giggle.
Both men looked at me.
“It was supposed to be the Ole Miss Landshark. Your wife wanted it to be special, for your birthday. She said it had to be perfect and, well, that darn snowstorm just ruined it.” He shook his head.
“Well, it can’t stay like that.” Miles looked over his shoulder as a car passed by and honked.
“I told Mrs. Jones that I could fix it. But I’ll have to replace the flowers.”
“Why don’t you go inside, Miles, I’ll talk to Mr. McInty
re,” I offered. I couldn’t help but be pleased with how uncomfortable Miles was about the neighbors seeing something that wasn’t up to his standards. He always cared way too much about what people thought. It was a constant battle and, to be completely honest, it was exhausting.
“You sure?” He gave me a worried look and then looked back at the street.
“I got this.” I gave him what I hoped at least appeared to be a sincere smile.
He nodded and hurried inside.
I turned and looked back at Mr. McIntyre. “Why don’t we wait about a week. I want to make sure there are no more surprises from Mother Nature. I sure would hate to plant more flowers and have them destroyed, as well.
“But what about Mr. Jones? He looked like he wanted this taken care of right away.” He frowned, knowing if Miles weren’t happy, he’d let his friends know. Mr. McIntyre was all about the bottom line.
“I think he wants it done the right way. No use in a big rush.” I leaned closer and lifted my sunglasses from my eyes. I held his gaze. “Let’s just wait on replanting everything.” I grinned.
Mr. McIntyre’s smile slid off his face, and he stared at me. His pupils dilated, and he leaned into my personal space. For a second, I thought he might try to kiss me. I’d never seen him look at me like that.
“I’ve got to go inside.” I took a step back.
He only nodded and continued to stare at me without blinking. He looked like he was in some kind of trance. I turned to walk inside, and he just stood there like some kind of idiot. I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong with him, but he wasn’t my problem. I had enough issues of my own.
When I reached the front door, I turned. Mr. McIntyre was still standing in the front yard, staring at me with that same stupid look on his face. I squinted. He actually looked like he had a bit of drool dangling from one corner of his mouth.
“Mr. McIntyre. Go home. I’ll call you and let you know what to do about the flower bed later, okay?” I gnawed on the corner of my fingernail, a little worried. I’d never seen the man like this. Maybe he was having a stroke.
