Page 45 of The Summer Request
“I’m thirsty after all that,” she said.
They ordered drinks and took a seat at a booth facing the window. Val wanted to be sure they could see anyone who might be coming after them.
Michelle kept a close watch, too. Her nerves seemed just as shot as Val’s. “Should we call the police and report them?”
“I don’t know.” Val sat back, relishing the cushy booth. It felt nice to not be sitting on the floor. “He could just come after us and claim we’d broken into his vacation homes.”
“That’s true.” Michelle frowned.
Val turned to Lisa. “What do you think?”
Lisa looked up from her phone. “What? I’m sorry. Did I miss something?”
Val leaned in. “Is Lou sending you threatening texts or something?”
She forced a smile. “No. It’s Neil. He’s…I don’t know. He left me four voicemails.”
“Is he okay?” asked Michelle.
Lisa took a long sip of her iced green tea. “Not really.”
Uh oh. Val suddenly remembered Chloe might be in trouble, too. She pulled out her phone, relieved to see a text from her dancing on the screen. The preview said, “Lou dumped me. He was pretty mad, but I asked him about…”
She’d read the rest later. At least Chloe was alive.
“What’s wrong?” Val asked. “Do you need to go home?”
“No.” Lisa let out a sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe. He called and said there’s no food in the house, he doesn’t have any money, and…it’s just a mess. He’s gambling again.”
“Oh.” Val sunk into her seat. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. He’s just…” She shrugged.
Val felt so sorry for her. Neil had always been pathetic, not malignant like Lou. Yeah, he was sort of a bum, but it seemed to work for them. Lisa was her same, bubbly self, and she never complained. He didn’t deserve Lisa, but she’d always seemed happy, so Val didn’t question it.
But now she looked tired. So very tired.
“If you need to go home, we understand,” Michelle said.
Val nodded. “Yeah, of course. We appreciate you, and you were the real MVP back there, but if Neil needs you…” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t actually want Lisa to leave, but what was she going to do? Tell her to abandon her husband?
Lisa nodded, eyes down. “I don’t want to talk about all of that. This trip has been such a wonderful break from his problems.” She looked up. “It’s rare I get a break from his problems.”
Wow, that was bleak. Val didn’t know what to say, so she just sat there, hoping Lisa felt the solidarity in her silence.
After a moment, Lisa spoke again. “Reading all of those entries from Justine’s diary made me feel…I don’t know. Something. I’m angry for her. I’m angry Lou didn’t love her the way she deserved to be loved.”
Michelle nodded, her eyes misty. “Justine was a gift to this world.”
Val bit her lip. Her vision was getting cloudy, too, but she didn’t want to face any of that sadness. She didn’t want to think about her sweet friends’ terrible marriages, or her own terrible marriage, or any of it.
Her thoughts drifted to Lou and sharpened. Anger trumped sadness, pushed it aside and allowed her to breathe.
“Something is clearly up with Lou,” Val finally said. “You saw his face when you said Sam’s name. He folded like a house of cards. We’re going to figure it out. For Justine.”
“Yeah.” Lisa nodded. “I’m not going home. Not yet. Neil is an adult; he can figure it out for a few more days. I want to go back to Venice Beach.”
“Oh?”
