Chapter Twenty-Two
I ALL BUT black out for the next minute as Amy and Sid make small talk.
Some part of me assumed Tom Sullivan was nothing but a sadistic gremlin who spent all his time ruining people’s lives, but Amy is clear evidence to the contrary.
Even that man has a family. I can see the resemblance now in her red hair, but it’s hard to believe that anyone so cheerful could come from the same genetic stock as Tom.
The bartender calls to her and she places a hand on Sid’s arm. “That’s my drink. I should probably let you go, but I’ll stop by the farm sometime. There’re some campaign opportunities we should talk about.”
“Sounds great—” Sid starts.
“Oh, don’t leave on my account,” I cut in. “Eat with us! You two can catch up and then I can quiz you about him.”
“Kayla.” Sid scowls at me, but that only makes my grin wider.
Amy’s eyes dart between the two of us. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Absolutely! We’d love the company,” I say, like a lying liar who lies. “And you’re the first ex I’ve met, so I need all the gory details.”
Amy laughs. “I’ll do my best. It just was so long ago we—actually, if I’m staying, I should save the stories for the table. I’ll be right back!”
She prances back to the bar where her drink is waiting. In her absence, Sid and I whisper at each other furiously.
“What the hell? You dated Tom Sullivan’s daughter?”
“Niece. But same difference. He raised her.”
“Oh.” It’s not the same, actually. Who you’re raised by says a lot about who’s dead in your life and—to my displeasure—Tom Sullivan is now not only a man who has family, but one who’s lost family, too.
“What are you doing, inviting her to join us?” Sid asks.
“Trip to the farm. I’m saving us from another surprise attack.” I would much rather get this over with than live in dread that one of Sid’s ex-girlfriends could show up at a moment’s notice.
Sid huffs sharply through his nose. “Fine.”
Amy returns with a chair, thanking me again for letting her join. “Talking shop is such a buzzkill, so I really appreciate it. How long have you two been dating, anyway?”
I turn to Sid with what I hope appears to be an affectionate smile, because I am truly at the mercy of the current in this conversation.
“So…” Sid starts haltingly. “I don’t know if Tom mentioned, but I got my first sanctuary case.”
Amy sputters into her wine. “Are you serious? She’s your sanctuary seeker?”
“Yup.”
“Tom never tells me anything. Confidentiality and all that,” says Amy. “So, this was how long ago?”
“Ummm… six weeks?” He looks at me for confirmation, which is annoying because it’s not like I know. I nod anyway. “Yeah. The wedding was two weeks ago, so in total it’s been about six—”
“The wedding?” Amy pales.
“We just really hit it off,” says Sid. “I know how it looks, but we had this special connection—”
This is bad. For all the progress we made today, we’re about to flame out the same way we did with Tom.
Maybe Sid would be doing better in front of a neutral party, but Amy is a particularly awful test case.
For all I know, he still has feelings for her.
It could even be reciprocated. Am I about to watch my fake marriage crumble in front of me?
I don’t care who he shacks up with a few years from now, but for the sake of April’s broken pancreas, I have got to do something to mark my territory today. I scootch my chair closer to his and grab his hand.
“By special connection, he means I hit him with a rock.”
Sid turns the same colour as his pickled beets, while Amy’s hands fly to her mouth, muffling her shriek.
“More! You have got to tell me more,” she says, leaning forward.
“It was a total accident. I’d just come to the acreage and Carlos wanted to see how I used to hunt rabbits. Someone should have told Sid we were using the slingshots,” I say. “And then bam! Just like that, Sid’s got a bleeding hand and we’re arguing over whether or not to go to the doctor—”
“I can totally picture it.”
“And… I dunno, it’s funny. But I just said to myself, I could yell at this man forever.”
“Is that seriously what happened, Sid?”
“Well—”
“Babe, show her your scar.”
Sid gives me a withering look, then lifts our joined hands to reveal the shining mark that may or may not have occurred in the manner I just described. But it seems to ratify my story, giving us a slap-slap-kiss vibe that our dysfunction can probably sell.
“I love it. I always knew you’d end up with someone with a bit of fire in her, Sid,” says Amy. “You’ve got to tell me everything. Where did you come from? How are you liking the island?”
“Oh, it is so great!” I lie.
A kale and goat cheese salad arrives for Amy, but she hardly touches it, preferring to quiz me instead.
The conversation is nothing short of exhausting.
I give Amy a shortened version of my life, consistent with what I told Tom.
Little tears prickle in her eyes when I tell her about living through the fall of Port Alberni and later my mother’s death.
When I mention I have a younger sister, she perks up, asking how she likes school, and is particularly delighted to learn April got an A on a math test a couple of days ago. All the studying is paying off.
“I always wanted siblings,” says Amy. “But… well, it’s probably for the best it was just Tom and me. How’s he treating you, by the way?”
“Oh, he’s great.” Biggest lie yet.
“Really? That’s amazing! I mean, I’m not surprised. He takes his job very seriously.” But there’s something to the way she says this that tells me she knows. No one is saying it out loud, but Amy Sullivan is perfectly aware that her uncle is an asshole.
“Okay, my turn. I want to know more about you, Amy. Sid told me you were running for office, but I’m forgetting what you do for work now.”
“I’m head logistical officer at the Reinventor’s Guild,” she says, drawing herself up happily.
“The… what?”
“Sid! You haven’t told her about the Guild?” Amy rounds on him, aghast.
Sid, who has had the luxury of silence for most of this conversation, straightens in his seat. “I guess it never came up.”
“Not even when you talked about the campaign? But that’s my whole platform. Innovation!” Amy sounds more distressed than she ever did asking us about our supposed romance. Maybe she isn’t interested in Sid that way after all.
“Oh, I told Kayla that. I said you work in innovation.”
“He did,” I chip in.
“Well, you should come by the guild. If we’re going to align our campaigns, it would be better if both of you know what I’m working on.
I can give you a tour. You can bring your sister too, if she’s interested.
No, wait!” She bounces in her seat, fingers flaring into sunbursts of enthusiasm.
“I’ll do you one better: I’ll talk to Tom.
We can organize a formal tour for new immigrants and their sanctuary hosts.
The branding will be perfect! Immigration and innovation all together.
And with Tom there to give it some gravitas—”
“Sounds a bit contrived,” says Sid.
“It’s a photo op. Of course it’s contrived. I’ve got a friend at the paper. I’ll tell her about it and see what she thinks,” says Amy.
“Wait, photo op?” I say. “How the hell would you take a photo?”
Amy flashes me a grin so dazzling, it reminds me of James. “Come by the guild and I’ll show you.”
“Hmmm.” Sid scratches his chin. “I mean, I trust you when it comes to publicity—”
“As you should.”
“—but Kayla and I need to talk about it. If we’re involving her sister, I want April to be comfortable.”
“Totally understandable,” says Amy. “Crossing my fingers, though, because I am excited about this. I think I’ll head back to the office and see if I can’t work out some details.”
“But you’ve hardly touched your lunch,” I say.
“Oh, I’ll take it to-go.” Amy waves for one of the waiters. “Honestly, I come here because you never know who you might bump into, not for the food. I forget to eat all the time.”
That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life. Choosing to skip a meal is one thing, but forgetting to eat? Clearly, she’s never wanted for food.
Amy packs her salad up into a beaten-up plastic box which, despite its rough appearance, still seems like a luxury to me. “Sid, can I borrow you for a second? I promise, I won’t take him away for long,” she adds with a wink.
“Oh… sure.”
Sid follows her toward the bar. I watch her place a hand lightly on his arm. The tiny gesture makes my throat clench as I wonder if I let my guard down too soon. Is she coming on to him? And if she is… what can I reasonably do about that?
He shakes his head, which plays all too well with the narrative I’m building around them. What if he’s said no for now, but she keeps asking? What if she wears him down?
Finally, he comes back and I rise from my chair to greet him, pulling him into my arms so that Amy gets a parting view of how desperately in love we are. As his chest presses into mine, he trembles with laughter.
“What’s so funny?” I whisper, watching Amy leave. “Is she on to us?”
“Not exactly. But she’s a smart girl. She knows something is up.” Sid pulls back from me, a wide grin on his face, despite the flush of embarrassment that colours his usually pale skin.
My heart sinks. What’s so funny? I left out all the stuff about April being sick when Amy quizzed me, but we’ll be in a shitload of trouble if everyone figures out why we’re together.
“What did she say?”
“Well, she’s trying to make sense of why I would get married to someone so quickly.”
“And?”
“Kayla… she thinks I got you pregnant.”