Page 56 of This Is How It Started
Brooke stops buttering her gluten-free toast. “Stephen’s a piece of shit. Your sister would be better off without him.”
I jerk back, a little stunned by her bluntness—and her keen observation. From the day Mom found out Stephen was a six-figure lawyer with Google and a Harvard Law grad, he could’ve killed kittens in his free time and she would’ve looked the other way.
“Adam and I don’t know whether to tell her.”
“What evidence do you have?”
I tell her about Legally Blonde and how they shared soup out of the same bowl, about Adam seeing Stephen and a woman coming out of the Fairmont, and of course my brother-in-law’s rendezvous at Harry Asia’s.
“Was it the same woman?”
“Adam isn’t sure.”
She appears to be deliberating. Kind of ironic that I’m asking her advice in connection with a cheating spouse. Then again, why not go to an expert?
“Sounds pretty circumstantial to me,” she finally says. “Either way, Hannah isn’t going to appreciate the interference.”
“So you’re saying I should keep my sister in the dark about her slimeball husband?”
“Nope, not saying that at all. I’m saying don’t expect her gratitude and be prepared for her to throw a lot of hostility your way.”
“Is that what happened with you when someone told your husband about you and Dad?” I’m going out on a limb here. Until today, I was unaware that Brooke had been previously married.
To her credit—or discredit, depending on how you look at it—her face stays neutral. Not so much as a blink of an eye. If she’s angry, she hides it well. And she should be angry because I crossed a line.
“There was no husband,” she says calmly. “Only an ex-husband.”
Unable to stop myself, I say, “But there was a wife,” and stare at her in challenge.
“Yes, there was a wife. I can’t change history, Rachel. I am sorry that it caused your mother, your sister, your brother, and you pain. I could say that I never intended for that to happen, but it would sound hollow and, frankly, idiotic. So I won’t insult your intelligence.”
Her lack of defensiveness throws me off guard, and I find myself temporarily speechless.
“I don’t like Stephen,” she continues. “Never have. And I especially don’t like him for Hannah. But it’s obvious that your sister cares for him a great deal. Or at least the idea of him.” She meets my eyes to see if I’m following. What’s not to follow? The idea of him, meaning he’s handsome, powerful, and successful. In Hannah’s eyes, the perfect husband. Except, I get the feeling that’s not what Brooke is talking about, that she’s talking about something entirely different, and is one step ahead of me.
“All I’m saying is if it were me, I’d tread lightly. But you, Adam and Hannah are close. Maybe she’ll listen.”
She spills her cold coffee out in the sink and puts the butter in the fridge. “I’ve got to get to work. Do me a favor.” I wait for her to say “Don’t ever talk to me like that again” or something equally stepmotherish. But all she says is “Call Campbell.”
As soon as I hear her car wind down the driveway, I swipe my phone off the counter and go outside. It’s the first nice day we’ve had since February, the azaleas have bloomed early, and I can use the fresh air. I sit in my mother’s old tree swing, use the trunk to push off with my foot, and let myself sway back and forth. Why is it that the gentle movement of an old swing can soothe your blues away? And to think it’s a thousand times cheaper than a shrink. Maybe I’m onto something and can quit real estate and sell therapy swings.
I close my eyes, count to ten, and punch in Campbell’s number on my phone.
“Yello,” he says. “We still set to close tomorrow?”
“Yep. Everything is running on schedule. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“No? What’s up?”
“How would you like a quick side hustle to help you with the remodeling budget on your new house?”
“Sounds interesting. Whaddya got?”
“Remember that thing we were doing with the pool house? Well, the construction company Brooke hired is MIA, and we’re sort of on a deadline.”
“Hmm, what kind of a deadline?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, knowing it’s a big ask. “It needs to be done by the second week of April. I know it’s below your usual pay grade, and I wouldn’t ask, but we’re really in a bind. Brooke has already booked the place out for most of next month and currently it isn’t...well, you saw it.”
