Page 5 of Saltwater Secrets
“Thaddeus,” Aria whispered, her voice cracking. “I think we both know what we need to do. I don’t want to be too frightened to do it.”
Thaddeus looked defeated, his cheeks blotchy. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Aria squeezed his hand. “You do know.”
Thaddeus’s eyes traced to the ground. There wasn’t oxygen left in the kitchen to breathe, and Aria’s lungs quivered.
It was unspoken. They needed to break up.
Maybe it wouldn’t have to be forever, Aria thought. Maybe after four months apart, they’d realize that they wanted to be together for good. It was what had happened to her mother and father, after all. But they’d needed twenty-plus years to realize it.
Could Aria wait twenty-plus years to get back together with Thaddeus? She’d be in her forties by then, the same age as her mother, practically.
She felt the great story of her unwritten life stretching out before her. She wished she could understand it.
“I do love you, Aria,” Thaddeus said.
“I love you, too,” Aria whispered.
There wasn’t much left to say after that. It was time for Thaddeus to get ready for work, where he’d give his boss a week’s notice, and he’d celebrate his internship with his coworkers. They kissed goodbye, but Aria had to pull herself away, lest she change her mind.
When Thaddeus pulled his car out of the driveway and drove to the restaurant, Aria flung herself upstairs to pack a bag. She couldn’t stay there a moment longer.
Chapter Three
Late May 2025
An hour or so after Aria left Thaddeus, Hilary received a phone call from her daughter. Hilary was on the back porch of her mother and father’s place, recounting stories from her honeymoon, basking in the glow of a beautiful late-spring day, and drinking a glass of white wine. Estelle, her wonderful romance-writer mother, was rapt, asking question after question, wanting to know every detail of Hilary’s happily ever after.
“It’s Aria,” Hilary said of the call.
“Tell her to come over here!” Estelle ordered. “I texted her already about dinner, but she didn’t answer.”
Hilary didn’t tell her mother that Aria had been incredibly distracted lately, that the hollowness of her eyes that she and Marc had spoken about so much during their honeymoon had seemed to deepen. She answered, saying, “Hi, honey! I’m at your grandma and grandpa’s place.”
Aria’s voice was like a limp string. “Oh. Okay. Is it all right if I come over?”
“Yes! Your grandmother already texted you about it. Are you okay?” Hilary asked, straightening her spine.
“I’m fine.” Aria whimpered. “I’ll see you in a sec.”
Aria hung up.
Hilary threw her phone to the edge of the porch sofa, her chest frothing with frustration.
“What’s going on?” Estelle asked, wrinkles deepening between her eyebrows.
“Aria’s been a bit off lately,” Hilary admitted. “Marc and I are worried.”
“But she’s coming over?” Estelle asked.
“She is. But we’re trying not to grill her about anything,” Hilary said, although she knew her mother had enough tact to know not to do that.
“Of course,” Estelle said. “We’ll shower her with love and food and wine.”
“That's all we can do,” Hilary admitted.
Aria entered the Coleman House like a slumped-over ghost. Her eyes were ringed red from crying, and her hair was limp and stringy. She collapsed next to her mother on the back porch and sobbed into her hands. Estelle immediately got up, hurrying to pour Aria a glass of wine and prepare a plate with cheese, crackers, and strawberries. Aria’s wails broke Hilary’s heart.
