Page 5 of Coming Home for Fall 6
“Oh, yeah.” Joshua lifted the box briefly. “I ended up finding some more veggies that I thought your mom might want… And I was in the neighborhood, so I figured I’d drop them off. Is she… here?”
Mallory cocked her head to the side and eyed Joshua for a few seconds, trying to decide how blunt she was going to be with the man she’d clocked right away as having a crush on her mom. It wasn’t his fault that he’d shown up at the worst possible time, but she couldn’t shake the gnawing thought that he might be involved in all this. He stared at her expectantly, probably waiting for her to invite him in like any normal person would.
But Mallory crossed her arms, staring him up and down with a suspicious look. “Are you dating my mom?”
Joshua laughed with noticeable shock. “What? No. We’re not—did she say something? Because we aren’t but…”
She could tell from his reaction that he was telling the truth, but this only made her feel slightly at ease. “Okay. Well, in that case, you can come in and put the veggies in the kitchen. But I’ll warn you… we’re dealing with a bit of a chaotic situation right now…”
“So… itisa bad time. Got it. Well, in that case, I can come back later.”
“Joshua, hi.” Callie came up behind Mallory before he could get away. “What’re you doing here?”
“He brought more…” Mallory glared at the box and then her mother. “I can see you managed to make your escape after all…”
Callie clicked her tongue and let out a nervous laugh. “Sweetie, let’s not do this in front of our guest, okay?”
Joshua winced and slowly bent over to set the box on the ground. “Why don’t I just leave these here… and let you two go back inside.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was really not trying to interrupt anything, and I know you’ve got the whole family here for the holidays—”
“It’s true,” Mallory said with a cynical laugh. “We’ve got thewholefamily. Including a half-sister I only just found out about today.” A bitter smirk formed on her lips, and she gave Joshua an inquisitive look. “But hey, what about you? Did you know that my parents weren’t together and hiding it for twenty something years?!”
Joshua blinked and stared in awe at Callie, who shrugged in defeat. “It’s okay. Just answer honestly.”
He let out an awkward half laugh. “Uh—In that case, yes. I did know your parents weren’t together like that. I sort of thought everyone knew.”
Mallory scoffed. “Oh, do they? Everyone except the Ward children... apparently. How fun is that? The whole town of Ferndale knows, but of course, let’s not tell the people who are going to be most affected by the decision!” She snickered and threw her head back. “Why am I even surprised at this point?” With that, she turned on her heels once more and stormed back inside.
In the living room, Mallory was comforted at least by the fact that her brother and sister also seemed equally upset. Taylor was scowling and stood with his elbow leaning against the mantel. Meanwhile, Ariel peppered their dad with questions, her voice high-pitched and her face red from holding back tears. Erica sat in silence, but her mouth was set in a straight, discouraging line. Sasha was tucked so far into the corner of the couch that it looked like she hoped it might swallow her up. Mallory wondered what would happen when one of the kids wandered downstairs and found all the adults in such a state.
Whatever. Let my parents handle it. They made this mess…
“It’s just so irresponsible,” Ariel argued. “I mean, come on, you had to know that something like this would happen sooner or later, and you’d have to tell us the truth anyway… Weren’t you afraid we’d find out from someone else?”
“That’s a very valid question,” Mallory said. “Especially considering the fact that it turns out we’re the only people in Ferndale who didn’t know!”
“What?!” Taylor snapped, his eyes flaring with hurt and anger. “Wewere the only ones?!”
“It’s not like we went around announcing it to the world!” David said defensively. “But you know how things go inFerndale. Once one or two people find out a piece of news like this, it spreads. Plus, once your mom and I started dating, our only option was to be honest with people. We didn’t want our friends to see us out with someone else and think one or both of us was having an affair.”
“So, you were worried about what your friends thought,” Mallory said, “but not what your own children might think?”
“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” David insisted, waving his hands. “It’s because of how much we care about you kids; how much we value your opinion and love this family. That’s why we didn’t tell you. We always planned on having this conversation eventually. In fact, when we first decided to separate, we agreed that if either one of us started dating someone seriously we’d sit down with everyone and explain the situation. But that never happened.”
“I think that should tell you guys something,” Ariel said, her anger fading for a moment, “now that you mention it.”
David looked at her with a raised brow. “Hmm?”
“The fact that the two of you never fell hard for anyone else,” she said. “And that you’ve lived so happily and comfortably together all this time. Doesn’t that tell you that you’re meant for each other? That it was a mistake to get divorced, or that you just didn’t try enough to make the romantic side of your relationship work? That’s what it seems like to me, at least.”
“As lovely as that thought is…” David replied, but when he looked over his shoulder, he caught sight of Joshua and Callie stepping into the living room. “Oh, hey Joshua,” David said with a wave.
Joshua seemed deeply uncomfortable, but he offered everyone a smile and wave regardless. “Hi, there. Sorry to interrupt. I realize this isn’t the best time for me to drop by, and I was just about to be on my way—”
“Oh, yeah, by the way, this is Joshua,” Mallory said with a snarky look at her siblings, “mom’s boyfriend.”
Ariel’s eyes widened, but it was Callie who gasped. “Mallory, stop it. You know Joshua’s not my boyfriend. You’re just saying that to stir up trouble. Don’t you think this situation is dramatic enough without you making up lies?”
Joshua laughed awkwardly and took a step back. “I’m just going to excuse myself. I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend. Bye now.” He turned and quietly walked out the front door, closing it behind himself.
