11. Happy Ending
Happy Ending
"We shouldn't be doing this," I mutter under my breath, fatigue lingering in my bones from the lack of sleep. The nail tech applies a top coat on my blush pink nails, and I can’t even appreciate how cute it looks.
“This feels wrong, Marlow. We should be at the clubhouse or something. Maybe they're back or?—"
"Listen." Marlow sighs beside me as Pippa examines her hot pink acrylics. "There's no point in sitting at home and worrying, okay? This isn't the first time they've gone AWOL, and I'm sure it won't be the last."
I swallow, uneasy. "That's not very comforting."
"Marlow's right, Sav," Pippa chimes in, checking her phone.
"Trust me. For the first five years of my marriage, I did just that; sat at home and waited for my phone to ring.
And yeah, eventually it did, but not by my doing.
" She stands up, circling the plush leather chair and stopping behind me.
She puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"All we can do is keep living our lives.
I know this is new to you, but have some faith in our boys.
It'll take more than a couple of rattlesnakes to put them in a grave.
" She smiles down at me, waiting for some sort of understanding, but I don't understand.
I give her a weak nod, which is enough for now. "Let's go, okay? I need a new bra."
The warm San Diego sun beats down on my face as I lethargically follow Marlow and Pippa in and out of stores.
How can they be shopping at a time like this?
How can they go on with their daily routines?
It's been nearly twenty-four hours since Jesse rode off with Tiny and Rocco.
No calls. No texts. Nothing. What if they're hurt?
What if they're lying in a ditch somewhere? What if...
"Oooo," Pippa sings, grabbing my hand as she drags me inside a bookstore. "Come on, mama needs new smut." She speed walks to the romance section, beaming as she picks up a book. "Hmm... barbarians, huh? Color me intrigued."
"Hey," Marlow whispers in a gentle tone, pulling to the side. "Just relax, Savannah, okay? I know you're worried, but I promise they're okay."
"How can you promise that, Mar?" I ask, slowly weaving through aisles full of happy endings. I pray this one's happy too. "We have no idea where they are or what happened. You said so yourself that the Vipers are bad news. Why aren't you more concerned?"
"I am," Marlow admits, shoulders heavy as she shrugs. "But I trust that Beau can take care of himself. He's not alone out there, Savannah. He's with Jesse and his family; they know what they're doing. And like I said, this isn't the first time they've disappeared, and I doubt it'll be the last."
"And you're...you're okay with that?" I ask meekly, mindlessly picking up and putting down books as we stroll. "The not knowing?"
"I don't have a choice," Marlow says matter-of-factly. "I love him, and this is the life he chose, which means it's the life I'm choosing too."
"I don't know why he'd choose this life," I murmur. "He had so much potential. He could've done anything, and he decided to do this ? I don't get it, Marlow, I really don't."
"Sometimes, it's not our job to understand," she says. "Sometimes, it's just our job to support."
"I don't think I could ever support this," I whisper, shaking my head. "The idea of him being out there...hurt." I swallow. "It makes me nauseous."
"Life doesn't always pan out the way we want, Savannah," Marlow says, her tone wavering from bad memories.
"You think that when I was ten years old, I dreamed of being a waitress?
Do you think I planned on having a mom who was a raging alcoholic and a dad who was in and out of jail most of my teen years?
No. I didn't. But hey, that's the hand life dealt me, and I think we're all just trying our best to make it work. "
"But Beau wasn't dealt a bad hand," I say, defensive. "He was born into a good family, not a broken family."
"Right..." Marlow's face falls as my words sucker punch her in the throat. "And yet we somehow ended up in the same place. Rescued by the same people." She swallows, tone laced with restraint. "Maybe your definition of broken isn't the same as Beau's."
I close my eyes, regretting my harsh observation. Gosh, what am I doing? "I didn't mean to offend you, Marlow. I just?—"
"It's fine," she states, brushing me off.
"I'm sure there's tons I don't know about Beau or his upbringing.
Hell, I didn't even know you existed until a week ago, but let me tell you this"—her tone sharpens—"if it wasn't for the Paxtons, your brother would still be living on the streets, okay?
So you might not like this life, but it saved him. Literally."
I blink. "What? He was...homeless? Why...why didn't you tell me that? Why didn't?—"
"Because it's not my place to share his story," she snaps. "But when you see him, and you will see him, maybe ask him about how he got here. I think that'll fill in a lot of gaps you seem to think are missing."
"I—I'm sorry." I've clearly upset Marlow. That wasn't my intention. "I didn't mean to be rude or anything. Are you uh—are you mad at me?"
"Honestly, yeah, I am, but I'll get over it." Marlow sighs as Pippa rushes over with a stack of books in her hands. "Families argue. It's part of the package, right?"
"I guess," I say, flicking my nails and ruining my freshly done manicure in the process.
Family?
"Look!" Pippa exclaims, shoving various books in our faces. "I think I'm set for a few months."
"Wow..." Marlow sucks in a stabilizing breath as she forces a grin. “That’s a whole lotta smut. ”
"Which will make for one patient and happy mama," Pippa jokes, handing me a book. "Check this one out."
I frown, examining the book cover and synopsis. "Is this about... alien sex?"
Pippa rolls her eyes. "Don't be such a prude."
"I'm not a prude.” I clear my throat and hand back her otherworld romance. "I just prefer the classics. Can't go wrong with Jane Austen."
Pippa snorts, meandering to the check-out counter.
"Listen, Miss Austen has a way with words that makes your heart throb; I get that.
" She slams four books on the counter and pulls out a few bills from her pocket.
"But when your husband's gone for weeks at a time, it's not only your heart that needs a little throbbing, it's your pussy too.”
"Pippa!" My jaw drops as I glance around the line-up, cheeks burning from embarrassment. "Keep your voice down."
"What?" Pippa raises a cheeky brow. "Don't like it when I say"—she raises her voice and nearly shouts—" pussy !"
My eyeballs dang near drop out of their sockets. "Pippa!"
"Pussy, pussy, pussy, pussy," she sings, grinning at the cashier, who's surprisingly calm despite the vulgar performance Pippa's putting on for all of Barnes and Noble.
She hands him cash and winks. "Keep the change, babe.
" Yanking on the handle of the paper bag, she marches to the door. "Let's go home."
"How old is she again?" I ask Marlow, covering my face so that I'm not identified by the local media as an acquaintance of the woman shouting obscenities in a bookstore. "I can't believe she did that."
"Old enough not to give a fuck ." Marlow releases a snorting chuckle as she glances at me. "Dude, you look like a fucking tomato right now."
"I am embarrassed !" Pippa unlocks her SUV, and I fling myself into the back seat, shutting the doors as fast as humanly possible. "Drive, please!"
"Baby girl"—Pippa laughs, starting the car—"you need to learn how to relax.
" She rolls down her window. "Fuck all these people.
" She points to random passersby. "Fuck him and her and him and her.
" She cranes her neck, grinning at my paling white face.
"Oh, come on, Sav. We're never gonna see these people ever again. "
"Uh-huh," I whimper, sinking back into the leather seats. "Sure."
Pippa rolls her eyes as she rummages through her glove compartment before tossing back a book. "Here, read this. Maybe it'll perk you up a bit."
I blink at the unfamiliar title. “What is this?”
"A cliterature classic," Pippa states with no shame. "I'd start you off with something lighter, but like I tell my kids, start off in the deep end, and you'll learn to swim much faster."
"Excellent advice, Pip," Marlow snorts, rolling down her window and lighting a smoke. "You're really setting those kids up for a lifetime of success. No, I don't want to smoke that joint, but can I get a line? Nice. Can't wait to visit them in rehab."
"Oh, shut up." Pippa punches Marlow in the shoulder. "That's not what I meant. "
While Marlow and Pippa argue the entire drive back to Hawkridge, I can't stop thinking about Beau.
He was living on the streets? How did that happen?
Why didn't he call me? Why didn't he reach out?
There's so much I don't know. A part of me doesn't want to know.
If his life had been nothing but a series of unfortunate events while I was living life as normal, I don't think I could handle that.
It's selfish. I know. But I think my heart would break into so many pieces that it would never be whole again.
"Oh my God! Look! There's Tiny!" Marlow exclaims, jolting me out of my reverie as we pull up to the clubhouse fence a couple hours later. "Drive faster, Pip!"
"Thank fucking God," Pippa exhales in palpable relief as a recruit opens the gates for her.
She swerves into a parking spot, dust clouds filling the car as the three of us bolt out of the vehicle.
"Babe! Are you okay?" Pippa runs up to her husband, snatching his face in her hands.
She examines his bruised face and winces.
"Fucking hell! What happened out there?"