Page 104 of Take Two

“Wade was behind it.” I want to tell her it was Spence, but I don’t. When I tell her to continue, she says, “Remember that night I met Charlie? Remember he gave me his phone so I could talk to his mother?” I nod and wait to hear the rest. “While we were talking, Charlie got another call from a Holly Smith. The night was otherwise perfect, but the other woman’s name is the only thing that gave me pause. When I got home, Wade asked me how everything went. I should have been on alert because he was being so nice about it. I let my guard down and told him everything. I told him what a wonderful young man Charlie was and how nice his family was. I admit I gushed about meeting the basketball player and his author wife. Wade said it sounded too good to be true. That’s when I mentioned the phone call from Holly Smith.”

Everything is starting to fall into place now. I spent the entire flight from Alabama trying to figure out how Spence could have found Holly on his own. Charlie is barely on social media, and I believe that he cut off contact with everyone from his past because they were all drunks. But this makes sense.

When I remain quiet, Mom looks at me. She swipes more tears and says, “I threw him out. I’m done with him. He’s gone too far,” she says.

She looks around and gasps when she sees Brett. When I explain why he’s there, she smiles back at him. Instead of continuing our conversation, she takes my hand and leads me upstairs to her bedroom.

“Did Wade tell you he did this?” I ask.

She nods and says, “We got into a big fight. He was pressuring Terri to go back to Spence and make their marriage work. I disagreed. Terri told us everything that Spence has done to her.” She stands and goes to the window, giving me her back in the process. “The other women. The lies. The verbal and emotional abuse. The vasectomy he had behind her back, though I’m grateful there will be no custody fight. Can you imagine?” Her shoulders sag. “That’s what the fight was about. I told him we need to support our daughter through this divorce. He lost it on me. He said my other daughter was already a mess and he wasn’t going to let that happen to Terri too. I got in his face and asked him which daughter he was talking about because you’re a goddamn success the last time I checked. Things escalated and he ended up telling me about Holly Smith, and how it was only a matter of time before things fell apart with Charlie. He was so angry. It was almost like he turned into a different person. He said he told Spence about her, and he knew there’s no way a man could be serious about you. He said more. They were horrible, and I won’t repeat them.”

“Mom, if you had questions about Holly, why didn’t you ask me instead of telling my business to Wade of all people? Did you seriously think that he would ever give a damn about me?” I go to the window and stand next to her.

“I had hoped,” she admits. “I know it was stupid, but I had hoped.”

“But why? Why would they do this? To what end? And does Wade not care about how horribly Spence has treated Terri?”

“Wade wanted to cause friction between you and Terri. Spence thought Terri would come crawling back to him after you kicked her out of your life again. He convinced Wade he would be a better husband.”

“They thought that would work?” I add with a snicker. “Like we wouldn’t figure it out?”

“No one ever accused them of being smart. Well, that was the last straw with me and Wade. There was a lot that happened. Things I didn’t share with you or Terri over the years, but I’m done. Another failed marriage in the books for me.” She wipes a tear, and as much as I want to hug her, I can’t. At least not yet.

“It really hurt when he moved in here and you allowed him to take on a role he had no business taking. Suddenly he moved in and I felt like an outsider in my own home. Like you three were a united family, and I was just there. That’s why I wanted to go live with my dad. I never told you this, but Wade told me the only reason you wouldn’t let me go stay with him is because you didn’t want to give up the child support you were getting.” She gasps and all color leaves her face.

“Never,” she says, grabbing both my hands. “You’re my daughter, and I love you. I wanted you with me, not an ocean away with a man who worked seven days a week.” She lets go of my hands only to grab my chin, forcing me to look into her eyes. “It was never about child support or money when it came to you. Tell me you believe that,” she whispers. “Tell me.”

I cast my eyes down and won’t admit that I believed it when he said it. I was an angry teenager, and Wade knew that. Over the years, I’ve come to realize the truth.

“I believe you, Mom,” I whisper back. “What I don’t understand is why you got back with Wade. He’s done a lot of other awful things. Why didn’t you leave him when he stole money from my college fund to pay for Terri’s tuition?” That’s another thing I wasn’t supposed to find out. It was another thing I overheard when my mom and Wade were fighting. They shut up when they saw me standing there, and my mother refused to answer any more of my questions. This happened a few weeksafter I dropped out of college, and our relationship was very combative. I stormed out promising them I’d get answers from my dad, and I did.

She takes a deep breath at my revelation, but she soon looks away as if she’s ashamed. “Because I was so afraid of being alone. Your dad was always working, and when our marriage ended, I made up my mind not to be alone again. I thought with Miles an ocean away, Wade could have been a good role model, but I should have focused on you and Terri. You were never meant to find out about the money. But I’m ashamed that he was able to access that account. He had no way of paying it back. He had already gone through the money I had set aside for Terri’s education, and he never used the money he stole to pay for anything. He gambled it away. Your father is the one who covered what Terri’s scholarship didn’t. He paid for her room and board and hasn’t thrown it in my face once. Wade knows this and that’s the source of his resentment. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to Miles, but it was either that or Terri couldn’t register for classes, so I swallowed my pride. Whatever flaws your father has, he’s never been cheap, and he’s always been good to Terri. He’s been better to her than her own father. I’m so sorry that you were unhappy in your own home because of Wade.”

Chapter 57

Violet

Iburst into Terri’s bedroom. The blinds are shut and she’s under a mountain of blankets despite how warm it is. There are wine bottles everywhere, and the room is a mess. I yank the blankets off of her and open the blinds. Sunlight fills the room, and my sister groans as she covers her face with her hands.

“Drinking and feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to fix anything. Get up.” I take her wrist and pull herinto a sitting position. That’s when I notice she’s totally naked. I rummage through a pile of clothes on the floor until I find a nightgown. “Put that on,” I say as I toss it at her head. “Go shower because this is ridiculous. I should be at work running my business, not here dealing with your bullshit.”

When all she does is sit there and rub her hands over her face, I put the nightgown over her head. She eventually puts it on, but she lies back down. I pull her up. “You are not the first woman to leave a shitty marriage. You’ve wallowed enough. Spence ain’t worth it.”

I’ve been here since yesterday afternoon, and Terri’s been in bed almost the entire time. Other than hearing her in the kitchen in the middle of the night, she hasn’t come out, and I’ve had enough.

“You’re not mad at me?” she asks.

“The world does not revolve around you. As far as I know, you’re still on probation, but get your ass up. You stink. Take a shower and wash your hair. It looks matted.” I pull it for good measure.

“Ouch,” she says, slapping my hand away. I lift her to her feet and push her toward the door. “Did Mom tell you everything?”

“About your loser husband and hateful father? Yeah, she did. Were you in on it?” I ask.

Her eyes widen in shock. “I would never,” she says.

“Then I’m not mad at you. I was hoping to borrow some clothes, but I guess not,” I say as I look around the mess. Clutter makes my skin crawl, so I leave the room and gesture for Terri to come out. I follow her down the hall until she goes into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, as I’m rummaging through the fridge, the doorbell rings. I look at my mom who shrugs. She’s put backtogether now. She’s in capri pants and a matching top. Her hair is styled and she’s wearing makeup.

---