Page 32 of Circle of Strangers
Ugly for everyone . . .
The sun shifts lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the patio. The air feels heavier now, weighed down by the things we’ve said—and the things we haven’t.
As the sound of the front door opening drifts out to us, I glance toward the house. Will steps out onto the patio, carrying Jackson in one arm and Georgie trailing close behind. His easy, effortless smile spreads across his face as he spots us.
Mara shifts in her chair, sitting up straighter. Once again, with a casual, practiced motion, she unfastens her wrap and lets it fall away, revealing her toned, sun-kissed body in a sleek black bikini. The move is, once again, subtle but deliberate, her gaze flicking toward Will, as if she’s mentally willing him to notice.
He doesn’t so much as glance her way, at least not at first.
He’s all about me, as he should be.
“Hey,” Will says, his voice warm as he walks over to us. He gives me a quick kiss on the top of my head, then finally glances toward Mara with a polite smile. “Good to see you again, Mara.”
Mara smiles, her eyes lingering on him a second too long. “You too, Will.”
Tension coils in my chest, sharp and uncomfortable. I know what she’s doing—she’s testing my husband’s loyalty, gauging where he directs his attention.
I stand, folding a striped pool towel under my arm.
“Thanks for coming over,” I tell Mara, my voice chilled but polite. “We’ll have to continue our conversation another time.”
“Definitely,” she says, moving to a lounge chair and lazily draping her wrap back over her thighs. She settles in, apparently not planning to go anywhere any time soon.
“Maybe tomorrow?” I suggest, but only because she’s not getting the hint. I thanked her for her visit and folded my pool towel. My family is home. I’m not sure how any of this serves as an invitation for her to linger. There’s nothing worse than an unwanted houseguest—except for maybe an unwanted houseguest who very much wants my husband.
“I need to start on dinner,” I say, taking Will’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Come help me in the kitchen?”
Will glances at me, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes, but he nods. “Of course.”
Heading in, I glance back one last time at Mara, who’s still lounging by the pool, her expression unreadable behind her giant sunglasses, though she’s positioned in such a way that she’s staring into the backside of our house—which is mostly comprised of floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors.
“She’s sticking around?” Will asks, thumbing toward the pool.
“I guess,” I say. “I think she needs some space from Oscar right now.”
I don’t elaborate. The less I say, the better.
“So just to be clear,” he says, “we need to steer clear of the Morenos, but it’s okay if you drink wine with her by the pool?”
“Don’t.” I snip at him and I instantly regret it. “It’s complicated. Woman stuff.”
He shoots me a look as if I’ve insulted his emotional intelligence, and I know that I have.
“Marital issues. She thinks Oscar’s cheating on her. I’ll fill you in later,” I say, though sharing this information with him feels like the wrong thing to do and for reasons I can’t quite understand at the moment. “And I’m sorry for snapping at you. Mara’s grating on my last nerves. I can’t take another afternoon of being her free therapist.”
Will moves behind me, massaging the tension from my shoulders before kissing the back of my head.
“I’ll handle it,” he assures me.
Turning to face him, I shake my head. “No. Don’t. I don’t want her to know I’ve shared any of this with you.”
“You haven’t really shared anything with me, though ...”
He’s not wrong. I pause. Before I have a chance to respond, Jackson and Georgie’s screams trail in from the next room. I’ve never been so relieved to hear my children fighting over something.
“We’ll talk about this later.” I excuse myself from this conversation to tend to the children. When I’m finished, I return to Mara withmy regrets, walk her to the side yard, and then I spend the rest of the afternoon avoiding Will at every turn.
I can’t shake the feeling that this is all about to blow up in everyone’s faces—and it’s been a long time since I’ve felt so powerless.
