Page 104 of The Best Men
“Hannah. Hey. Oh, hell.” My baby sister iswigging. And this is partly my fault. “Listen. I need you to listen to me right now. Can you do that?”
She wipes her eyes. “I don’t know what you could say that would make this all right.”
For once, though, I do. “In the first place, those drunk texts were more about me than you. I was in a lot of pain over my own marriage. I was really bitter about Bridget dumping me—” I stop myself and marvel for a split second. Very recently I’d been drowning in my own misery.
Funny what a few days of good sex can do for a guy’s outlook.
“You got married too young,” Hannah says glumly. “I get it. But what if I’m making the same mistakes?”
“Look,” I argue. “I have a couple of theories. Right over there—” I point at the pool shed “—I’ve hidden four casserole dishes on a shelf under some chlorine test strips. Because our own mother’s horrible impulses need to be managed with cunning and deception.”
Hannah smiles through her tears. “And I love you for it. But this is about more than ham casserole, Mark.”
I squeeze her ankle to emphasize my point. “I get that. But I think Flip manages his mother by yessing her to death. And then he does what he pleases. If I’m right, we could learn a thing or two from him.” That’s what Asher had said. And after watching the Dubois family in action, I believe him.
“But what if you’re wrong? What if he wants to ship our child off to boarding school before their first visit from the tooth fairy? Does the tooth fairy even visit European boarding schools?” Her lip trembles.
“Hannah, come on, now. Did youaskFlip if that’s what he wants? Did you pull him aside and tell him that some of the things his mother says scare you to death?”
Slowly, she shakes her head. “Not yet. I’m afraid to hear what he’ll say.”
“Don’t be,” I insist, flashing back to the night of the engagement party, the way Flip wrapped a protective arm around my sister?to shield her fromme.
He’ll listen. He cares for her so much. Even if I couldn’t admit it then, I see it now.
“Look, you and Flip are not Bridget and me. You’re just not. Even though I worry about you—which is basically my job as your older brother—you guys were never like us. I barely knew who I was when I met Bridget. I got myself a wife without ever asking if I wanted one. But you and Flip were both ready to meet your forever partner. You two were practically planning your wedding on date number three. Nothing has changed here. You love each other.”
She swipes at her eyes. “I do love Flip.”
“Do you trust him too?”
“Yes,” she whispers. “I trust him to listen.”
“Then just go talk to him.”
She draws in a deep breath, swipes away her tears, and nods resolutely. “You’re right. My freak-out is unwarranted.”
“Yes and no. Your mother-in-law is a category-five hurricane in pearls. But that’s just life, and that needs to be managed by you and Flip together.”
“Together,” she repeats. “I need to speak to him. Right now.” She sounds like my strong, determined sister again as she pulls her feet out of my lap and stands. “God, Mark. I’m sorry to be such a drama queen. I’d blame the pregnancy hormones, but that sounds like a cop-out.”
“Hey, don’t be sorry.” I stand up and pull her into my arms. “Commitment is scary. Some people get burned. There are no guarantees. But you can’t let his mother throw you off course. She’s not the one who matters.”
“Okay. I know. I let her scare me.”
I give her one more squeeze. “Now go and tell Flip that you are not sending a six-year-old to boarding school. See what he says. I’ll bet he already agrees with you. But even if he doesn’t, I bet he’ll listen.”
“He will. You’re right.” She stands up on her tiptoes and kisses me on the cheek. “I love you. Thank you for being here for me.”
“Anytime, Banana. Seriously.”
She darts off toward the house. I listen to the door open and then close again. But I’m still standing here by the pool chair, replaying that moment.
Sometimes you just have to go after what you want tenaciously, whether it’s your forever, or just one night.
34
GREATEST THEFT OF ALL TIME
