Chapter 26 #2
He cleared his throat, pulled a check out of his slacks pocket. “I have something for Bree.” He held it out to Zona.
She took it. It was for seven hundred dollars. Surprise and anger cycloned through her. It was so little compared to what he’d taken. If he was looking for gratitude, he was going to be disappointed.
He spoke before she could say anything. “I know it’s not much. But I wanted to prove to her, to both of you, that I’m going to make things right.”
“Why didn’t you give it to her?” Silly question. Bree had blocked him from her phone. She wouldn’t welcome him at work any more than she’d take a call from him.
“Frankly, I figured if I showed up at Starbucks, she’d throw hot coffee on me and end up getting fired.”
“If she did, I wouldn’t blame her,” Zona said.
He nodded, dropped his gaze. “I wouldn’t, either. I’ve joined Gamblers Anonymous, Zona.”
If only he’d done that before he’d taken a wrecking ball to their lives.
“I’m sorry for the hurt I caused you and Bree. We had a good thing, and I screwed it up.”
“Yeah, you did,” she said.
Louise chose that moment to come swinging down the hall, ready to greet Martin. She stopped at the sight of Gary standing at her front door. “Gary,” she said in disgust.
“Hi, Louise. How are you?” he ventured.
“On crutches, that’s how I am,” she said, her words clipped. “Why are you here?”
“I’m working on changing my life for the better. I brought a check for Bree,” he added, probably fearing Zona wouldn’t share that info.
“Good. I’m glad to see you’re trying to make up for your past mistakes.”
Mistakes. Was that what you called what he’d done? “Gary was just leaving,” Zona said, and started to shut the door.
“Zona, wait,” he begged.
“What?” She kept her hold on the door, ready to slam it.
Louise hovered behind her. Darling came running up and Zona stepped outside to finish their conversation.
“I need you to know how sorry I am, and I’m hoping you can, somehow, forgive me for what I did. I honestly didn’t mean to hurt you,” Gary said, sounding so sincere.
“But you did.”
“I was going to replace the money.”
She didn’t bother to ask how. “But you didn’t.”
“It’s a sickness.”
“And you let it grow until it killed everything we had, Gary. How am I supposed to get past that?” Break the rearview mirror, rev the engine.
“Maybe you can’t. I don’t blame you.” He pointed to the check in her hand. “But I’m going to spend the rest of my life making up for everything, I promise.”
It was a beginning. He had good intentions, but who knew if he’d follow through on them. It was a lot of money to pay back.
She held up the check. “I’ll give this to Bree.” She didn’t add a thank-you. It wasn’t a gift.
Louise was seated at the dining table, on a chair nearest the door, when Zona stepped back in. “Okay, what was all that about?” she asked.
“He wanted me to hug him and tell him what a good boy he is,” Zona said, and showed Louise the check.
“It’s something, and something is better than nothing.”
“Which is what he left us with.”
“He’s trying to make amends,” Louise pointed out.
“Too little, too late.”
“Was this a onetime deal?”
“No, he says there’ll be more,” Zona said. “He’s joined Gamblers Anonymous.”
“Good for him.”
“Yeah, good for him. Why couldn’t he have done that before ruining our lives?” Zona demanded.
“Because he couldn’t see that he was ruining your lives,” Louise suggested.
“Oh, he could see,” Zona said bitterly.
“Sometimes people have to hit rock bottom before they can really take stock of where they are. It looks like that’s what happened with Gary. At least he’s working on making things right. Maybe you could work on forgiving him just a little.”
“He devastated me, Mom. And now here he is with his little check, hoping I’ll give him absolution. It’s like somebody stabbing you multiple times and then visiting you in the hospital with flowers.”
“We all get stabbed by someone sooner or later.”
Those were not the words Zona wanted to hear. “You know, it wasn’t so long ago that you were wishing all kinds of bad things on him.”
“You’re right,” Louise admitted. “I hated him for what he’d done to you, and I wasn’t happy to see him at the door just now. But this is a new Gary, trying to make things right. Maybe it’s time to forgive him.”
Zona gave a disgusted huff. “How am I supposed to do that?”
Louise shrugged. “Don’t give him any more headspace. Quit looking back. After all, you can’t change the past. Be thankful he’s at least trying to improve your future. Just don’t depend on him for it.”
Break the rearview mirror. Rev the engine. Run over Gary’s foot as you drive away.
“I’ll think about it,” Zona said.
Maybe it was time to get Gary out of her head. She didn’t need him in there, messing with her decision-making gears.
Zona texted Bree that there was a check waiting for her at Gram’s and got busy getting dinner ready. She doubted seeing a small check from her former stepdad would soften Bree’s heart toward him any more than it had hers. Either way they’d take the money.
Gilda arrived with cupcakes from Crust & Crumble, with Martin on her heels bringing wine and a DVD.
“What are you guys watching tonight?” Zona asked him.
He held it up. “Invitation to a Murder.”
“Charming,” she said. “Just make sure Mom doesn’t accept the invitation.”
He chuckled. “Your poor mother. She’s never going to live down her mistaken assumptions about Alec James.”
“Afraid not,” Zona agreed.
Louise had arrived to greet him and in time to overhear their conversation. “I wasn’t all wrong. There was trouble over there.”
“Well, there’s not now, so you can put away the crazy,” Zona told her.
Louise scowled. “I have never been crazy. Mistaken maybe. But not crazy. Or senile,” she added.
Zona was glad to see Louise had gotten rid of that worry. And no, her mother wasn’t crazy. Just a little . . . overimaginative.
She left them to their murder and went off to do a shift in her car.
It felt like a sick coincidence when the next evening she was at the Ontario airport, dropping off a traveler, and saw Gary pull up in front of the rideshare pickup curb to meet someone.
She unloaded her passenger, then drove past him, keeping her eyes looking straight ahead.
She could almost feel him knocking at the back of her mind, asking to come in and stir up her anger.
Sorry, no headspace available.