Page 22 of When You're Gone
Rhett gripped her knee: in comfort or in warning, she didn’t know. She shook him off before looking back at her dad and clearing her throat once, then again.
“You want to sell this house?Ourhouse?”
“I—” her dad stammered. “I just…”
Rhett squeezed her knee harder, but it barely registered.
“You’re going to sell the only place I remember Mom so you can live in a one-bedroom with your girlfriend in the Falls?”
Rhett cleared his throat, garnering their attention. “V, it doesn’t make sense for your dad to keep paying the mortgage on a three-bedroom house in Hampton when no one lives here anymore.”
“I live here!” Her head snapped from her dad to her husband, then back again. The ferocity of her reaction surprised her. “I live here,” she repeated, softer this time.
“Sweetheart, you’re never here, and Everhett is right. You know how we’ve struggled over the years to stay in this house. It’s just a lot between the mortgage and the taxes…”
“But we made it work. Even without Mom, even when I had to pick up extra shifts…” A sob threatened to spill over, so she cut herself off.
Rhett’s hold on her knee loosened as he rubbed soothing circles up and down her thigh.
Her dad sighed. “Look,” he started, tenting his hands and pressing the tips of his fingers into the crease between his eyebrows. “Tricia and I have been talking about this for a few months now…”“A fewmonths?”
“Yes,” he stated firmly. “She suggested we move in together around the holidays, but between your surgery and recovery, I wasn’t willing to bring it up then.”
“But my birthday weekend seemed like better timing?” she clipped out. “Victoria. It’s hard to connect with you these days. You might think of this house as your home, but you’re at the Wheelers’ house the majority of the time whether Rhett is home or not. Now, I know I’ve been staying with Tricia a lot, so I shoulder some of the blame. But even when I do happen to catch you here, you’re always running off somewhere with Jake and his friend. I just figured today was as good as any since you were actually here for once, and Rhett’s here, too.”
Nothing he said was wrong. But she still hated all of it.
They were silent for an uncomfortable amount of time, stalled at an impasse. If her dad had been considering this for months… he was telling her his plans, not asking her opinion.
“Hey, V?” Rhett called her out of her spiraling thoughts. “We could buy the house, if you want. Do you want to keep living here?”
She dropped her chin in her hand and eyed her husband. The very idea of having not one, but two empty houses to haunt was ludicrous. She knew that. Rhett knew that. And yet there he sat, offering to buy her childhood home like it was a reasonable option.
“You and I both know that doesn’t make any sense,” she admitted out loud.
“But if it’ll make you happy…”
“No,” she snapped. She was done with this conversation. Done with all of it. “It is what it is. Sell the house. Just let me know what I can do to help pack. Excuse me.” She pushed to her feet without clearing her plate. “I think I’ve lost my appetite. I want to go lie down in my bedroom while I still can.”
She knew she was acting childish. But she couldn’t seem to cap the emotions bubbling up in response to her dad’s surprise announcement. Rhett muttered an apology, then followed behind her.
They silently climbed the stairs, each stride sparking another memory in her mind. They had moved into this house the summer before she started kindergarten. This was the only home she had ever known.
Rhett closed the bedroom door behind them, then leaned against it and eyed her with concern. She flopped down on the bed and sighed.
“I’m so sorry, beautiful. Do you want to talk about it?”
“What’s the point?” she lamented. “You heard him. That wasn’t a discussion. That was a courtesy notice to pack my shit and get out.”
“V,” he chided. “Your dad loves you. He was clearly nervous to tell you. I know it sucks to have to leave this place behind, but don’t you think it’s for the best?”
She raised her head off the bed and glared. Rhett wasn’t deterred by the fire behind her gaze.
“We both know he’s not in a great place financially. It pisses me off he won’t accept any more money from us now than what you used to contribute for bills, even though we could easily help him. When he sells this house, it’ll be a huge weight off his chest, and ours, too. We won’t have to worry about him. I could help him invest some of the money he gets from the sale, then if he’s splitting rent with Tricia, his monthly expenses will…”
“Save your breath, Ev.” She sighed. “I know this all makes sense, but I’m still allowed to be upset.”
“You are,” he agreed as he tentatively approached the bed. He sat on the edge, resting his palm on her thigh. “Maybe it’s time for you and me to look for a place of our own. We could rent an apartment in Holt, somewhere close to campus?”
