Page 46 of Take Two

“You know what, darlin’?” I finally say in hopes of cutting some of the tension. “How about dessert? I made you a surprise, and I hope you like it.” Violet grins and rubs her hands in anticipation when I get up and go to the fridge.

I pull out the two desserts that I made earlier and return to the table.

“I only made two since we weren’t expectin’ any guests,” I say to Terri. I put one in front of Violet and give Terri the other. “Homemade butterscotch pudding,” I announce.

“I’ll share,” Violet says, giving her sister the side-eye. Terri’s oblivious as she digs into the pudding.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” Terri says, but I’m more interested in what Violet has to say. I take a spoonful of pudding and put it to her lips.

“This is the first time I’ve ever agreed with Terri,” Violet says before I feed her another spoonful.

I close the door softly behind me and find Violet angrily pulling things out of a drawer. She throws it on the bed and slams the drawer. I walk behind her and put my hands on her shoulders.

“Can you believe this shit?” she asks. “She eats more than the both of us combined, inhales your dessert, drinks three bottles of wine by herself, and is now too drunk to go home.”

I had to carry Terri to the guest room and help Violet get her into bed.

“I’ll make you more whenever you want, puddin’,” I say, liking that new nickname. “Even though I’m the one who should be upset since I only got a spoonful.”

“Well, you’re lucky you got that. That was too delicious to share. If she ever shows up when I’m not here, don’t let her in.”

I pull her into my arms to lighten the mood. After holding her and caressing her back, I help her undress. Once I undress, I get in bed with her.

She cuddles to my side and rests her head on my shoulder. I dim the lights with the remote on the nightstand and wait for her to speak.

“We have different dads. When my mom was married to my dad, Terri’s father and Mom shared custody. She was always the perfect one who did everything right, but our family was okay. She would spend every other weekend with her dad. Then my parents divorced, and my mom and her dad started up again.”

“Mmhmm,” I say. “You told me this already. What else?”

“She’s three years older, so by the time I was fourteen, she was away at college. She’s super smart and skipped a grade, so she graduated high school early. That helped our relationship. She’d want to spend time with me when she was home. I missed my dad a lot, but having her home was nice even though I could never stand her father, but that’s another story. Anyway, things were good with us. Then I went to college, and she wasworking and going to grad school, so we didn’t spend much time together during those years. Then, she got engaged. I never liked Spencer. Even when they were dating, I didn’t care for him. He gave me the creeps.”

“Why? Did he ever do anything to you?”

“Nothing like that, but two months before the wedding, I was out with a friend of mine, and I saw her fiancé with another woman.” I pull her closer and wait for her to continue. “At first, I thought it was a business meeting, but it wasn’t. It was too intimate. They were sitting close. They touched each other constantly. At one point, he fed her from his plate. I followed them back to his place. I stayed outside for half an hour before knocking. He opened the door, and she was in there, partially undressed.”

“Oh,” is all I say. “And this is the guy she’s married to?”

I nod and say, “I told her. He denied it. Not only did he deny it, but he said I was only saying that because he turned me down whenIcame on tohim.” She sits up and looks down at me. “That never happened. I would never go after another woman’s man, especially my sister’s.”

“I believe you, Lettie. What happened after that?”

“A shit show is what happened. Terri sided with Spencer, of course. Her father accused me of trying to sabotage his daughter since I was such a loser. My mom didn’t know what to believe, but the fact that she didn’t immediately side with me hurt. She said she was stuck in the middle and didn’t know what to do. Terri removed me from the wedding party and pretty much uninvited me to the wedding. My mother insisted that I still attend, but I didn’t. My dad took me to dinner and a movie that night. I didn’t see Terri for months. Not until Thanksgiving. It was awkward, and the only reason I went was because my mom gave me a guilt trip. Terri and Spencer were acting like thetypical newlywed couple, but I could tell it was all an act. Terri’s smiles seemed forced, and she avoided looking at anyone in the eye. After dinner, I stepped outside on the porch to get some fresh air. I didn’t realize Terri and Spencer were out there, but they were having a fight. She said they hadn’t been married six months, and he was already cheating. Then she said, she should have ended things when I told her about his cheating before the wedding, but he promised that would be the last time. And she said she was disgusted that he would accuse me of hitting on him, and she hates herself for going along with his bullshit.”

I turn my head to look at her when she makes that admission. “You’re sayin’ that—”

“She knew I was telling the truth, and that he lied about me, but she threw me under the bus to save her image,” she finishes for me.

“Oh, darlin’,” is all I can think of to say.

“I confronted her about what I heard, and she couldn’t meet my eyes. I went back inside and left soon after. I vowed that day that I would never forgive her.” We stay quiet until she says, “So, that’s it. That’s our history. She’s been calling me recently, but I’ve given her the brush-off. I guess that’s why she showed up tonight, but if I knew she’d get too drunk to go home, I would have kicked her out. I wanted our night to be special.”

“It has been.”

“But Terri—”

“I’m with you,” I remind her. “It’s special.”

“But I couldn’t straddle you and ride your dick at the table like I planned.”

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