Page 8 of A Little Bit Whiskey
“You shouldn’t be covering for him either,” his father said. “You two are too old for that shit.”
“Tell me about it,” Noir said. “I’m tired of it and I’ll deal with it. I’m not going to live with him and his new wife. Now I have to go find a new apartment because he wants ours.”
“It’s about time the two of you have separate lives.” His father nodded. “Why don’t you move into the cottage. No one is living there now. It’s yours if you want it. You can move in anytime.”
“Really? Because I’ll start moving in tonight,” Noir said.
“Your father wouldn’t have offered if we didn’t mean it.” His mom smiled. “It would be nice to have you closer.”
“Now, you mentioned there was something else. What’s going on with you, son?”
God. Noir hated it when his dad used the wordson.It either meant his dad thought he knew something, did know something, or was pissed about something. None of which was good for Noir.
“I brought a date to the wedding,” Noir admitted.
His mother smiled. “I’m not surprised.”
“Tamsyn, I take it,” his father stated as fact, not a question.
Noir opened his mouth, but no words tumbled from his lips. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Why would you immediately go to Tamsyn Tuttle?”
“Because you’ve been in love with her since the eighth grade.” His father laughed.
“Did you really think we didn’t know about you and Tamsyn?” his mother asked. “She’s come into the winery three times in the last two weeks. She never buys wine from us. That girl has always been a little bit whiskey. Now she’s buying cases and cheese boards to go with it?”
“Not to mention we saw the two of you buying takeout,” his father said. “We’ve been patiently waiting for you to tell us. It hasn’t been easy to bite our tongues.”
“Just please tell me you didn’t run off and get married too.” His mother leaned back and gave him that funny look with her crinkled nose and crooked smile. It was meant as a teasing look, but he hated it nonetheless.
“Of course not,” he said. “It’s not that serious. But I’m a little shocked that you’re not pissed.”
“Well, that child does owe me an apology.” His mother cocked her head. “She did all but accuse me of murdering her mother.”
“Weezer, she was a nineteen-year-old kid when she did that. She didn’t mean it. Besides, you gave everyone in this town an eyeful when you threatened Elizabeth.”
“For good reason.” His mother pressed her hands on the table and rose. “My darling husband, I know I promised you to keep my mouth closed all these years, but now that Tamsyn is dating our son, and she knows the truth about you, she should know some other cold hard facts about her mother.”
“She’s heard all the horrible things this town has had to say about Elizabeth,” Noir said. “Just because her mom wasn’t a pillar of society, doesn’t give people the right to disparage her.”
“Some of those things are true,” his mom said in a soft tone.
The sound of feet shuffling into the kitchen caught Noir’s attention. He turned his head. Tamsyn stood in the doorway.
Tamsyn
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Tamsyn stood in the doorway. “But since I heard some of that, I feel as though I should address it.” Her heart hammered in her throat. She’d been standing there for what seemed like an eternity, listening to Carter and Weezer talk about her, her mother, and the horrible situation that had plagued her life.
Noir raced to her side, taking her hand. “No. We shouldn’t have been talking about you and your mom like that.” He kissed her cheek. His soft lips brought some comfort, but not enough to erase the pain of the past.
“It’s okay. We knew this all would come up the second I walked into your parents’ home,” Tamsyn said. “I know my mother suffered from a mental illness. My memories of her might be limited, but I lived with her and I remember certain things, like the men that came in and out of our home. The drinking. The drugs. She wasn’t the best mom, but she was the only one I had. The only parent I had.” Tamsyn raised her hand. “I understand that what she did to Carter was wrong and maybe I should have used the paternity test to put an end to all speculation of whether or not Carter was my father.”
“That was always up to you,” Carter said. “We know the truth and that’s all that matters.”
“But it’s not fair to you that I’ve allowed people to keep talking about it simply because there isn’t any other man in this town who ever showed my mother kindness.” Tamsyn leaned into Noir’s strong frame for support. “If Noir and I are going to go public, we’ll need to put an end to that. And I am truly sorry for my accusation. I was acting out and I had no right. However, my mother wasn’t a bad person. She made mistakes, no doubt, but just because she was a drug addict and mentally ill, that shouldn’t be used against her.”
“I don’t disagree with that.” Weezer strolled across the room and took Tamsyn’s hands.
In all the years Tamsyn had known Weezer, she’d found the woman to be a contradiction. She’d seen her be kind and warm. Generous even. But cross her, and you made an enemy for life.
