Chapter 37
That night after Mary finished editing the video, she drove from the station straight to her cousin’s. The sun was just setting, and the sky was a fiery red. Darbi and Jacqui sat at the patio table, sharing a pizza.
“I did it!” Mary shouted. “I interviewed Dean.”
“Oh my!” Jacqui jumped from her seat and wrapped Mary in a tight embrace. “I’m so happy for you.”
Darbi sat deadly still, her face a sickening shade of green.
“Darbi? Are you okay?” Mary asked.
“I’m just ...” Darbi stopped and gulped down water. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“It’s a wonderful thing. That means Mary may be able to get back.”
Darbi swallowed hard. “Well, if she gets the promotion, yes.”
“Why are you being such a killjoy?” Mary snapped. “I thought you’d be excited.”
Darbi shredded her napkin; little white pieces fluttered to the ground. “I’ll save my excitement for when you actually get the promotion.”
Mary glared at her cousin, tired of her lack of support. She was starting to suspect Darbi wanted her to remain stuck here. The thought terrified her, because the only reason Darbi would want her to stay here was if she’d changed things in her real life. Nope. She wasn’t going to think about that.
Jacqui waved a dismissive hand toward Darbi. “Never mind her. When will the interview air? We should have a viewing party.”
“A week from tonight. In prime time on all ICNN stations. Can you believe it?”
“Oh, honey, congratulations.” Jacqui embraced Mary again. “Invite your friends over. We’ll have a barbecue and watch on the outdoor TV.”
Darbi rose from her seat as if in a stupor. “Excuse me. I’m not feeling well.” She rushed toward the sliding doors.
“Told you the pepperoni wouldn’t agree with your stomach,” Jacqui called after her.
The sound of the blender crushing ice blasted through Darbi and Jacqui’s backyard. Kimberly’s fiancé, Tyler, tended bar, tossing bottles in the air and catching them like Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail . Kimberly sat on a stool, sipping a pina colada. In the pool, riding on Brady’s shoulders, RaeLynn shrieked. Darbi and Jacqui set bowls of salad, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and chips on a table covered with a red-and-white-checkered tablecloth. Carl manned the barbecue, charring pineapple and grilling burgers, steak tips, and chicken.
With Frank Sinatra curled up on the ground next to her, Mary sprawled in a lounge chair, looking up at twinkling fairy lights strung over the fence. They reminded her of chasing fireflies around the backyard in Hudson with Kendra. Tomorrow morning, Mitchell would announce who was receiving the promotion. Mary smiled at Kimberly, wishing they could both get promoted.
“Food’s ready,” Darbi said. She’d had a pained expression ever since Mary arrived.
“We need to put the TV on,” Kimberly said.
“Remote’s in the top drawer behind the bar,” Jacqui called.
Kimberly switched on the television and turned the station to Channel 77. An episode of The Big Bang Theory played. The special prime-time news show with Mary’s interview of Dean was scheduled to start in ten minutes.
Everyone gathered in front of the food table to make up their plates. Mary and Darbi stood at the end of the line. Soon they were the only two remaining. Darbi pointed to Mary’s overflowing dish. “That’s a lot of food.”
Mary smiled. “I might come back for more.” She leaned closer to her cousin and lowered her voice. “The calories don’t count. I might be back in my old body by this time tomorrow.”
Darbi’s sunburned face paled, and she rubbed her peeling nose. She picked up the tongs for the pineapple, but her hand shook so much she wasn’t able to grab a piece. In frustration, she threw the tongs back into the bowl and used her fingers, knocking the ketchup to the ground with her elbow in the process.
Mary bent over to retrieve the bottle. “Is everything okay? You seem on edge.”
“I’m afraid you’re counting your chickens before they’re hatched. You need to remember what we talked about, making the most of your life if you can’t go back.” Darbi said it gently.
Mary froze. “I feel like you’re rooting against me every step of the way, like you want me to stay here.”
“Th-that’s the l-last thing I want,” Darbi stammered.
“Mary, Darbi, come sit down,” Jacqui called.
“I just don’t want you to be disappointed.” Darbi’s chin dropped to her chest. Her shoulders slumped as she walked across the patio to join the others. Mary trailed behind, breathless with dread.
“It’s on.” RaeLynn gestured toward the bar, where the television hung on the back wall.
On TV, Mary stood in front of the clubhouse wearing a red top and gray skort as if she were about to play a round of golf. “Three years after a penalty stripped him of victory at the US Open, retired PGA golfer Dean Amato finally breaks his silence and talks about what happened,” TV Mary said. “I accompanied him on a round at Addison Heights Golf Club, where he’s been volunteering this summer as a favor to his brother, who’s the head pro there.” The shot changed to Dean hitting off the first tee.
“He’s hot,” RaeLynn said.
“Yeah, for an old guy, he’s all right,” Kimberly agreed.
Old guy. Mary frowned. Funny how when she was in her twenties the first time, people in their fifties seemed ancient, but now she understood that fifty wasn’t old. There was still a lot of life left to be lived, new dreams to chase after, lots to look forward to. Anyway, age was more an attitude than a number. People in their fifties could be just as young as those in their twenties. The key was to take advantage of all life had to offer and not to take it for granted.
The image on the television screen morphed from Dean golfing to Mary asking him why he’d wanted to be interviewed on the golf course. Conversation at the table stopped, and everyone turned toward the bar. Darbi’s leg bounced up and down under the patio table as she watched. Every now and then, she fiddled with her silverware. Mary’s sense of dread grew as she watched her cousin, fearing Darbi knew something she wasn’t saying. The others all sat still, not speaking. Even Frank Sinatra seemed to be mesmerized. He sat on a lounge chair, looking up at the television with his head tilted and his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
When the interview ended, Carl clapped, and the others joined in the applause.
Brady stood behind Mary’s seat. “Our own Savannah Guthrie’s making her move.”
Before Mary knew what was happening, Brady had her in his arms in the fireman’s carry and was working his way toward the pool.
“No, no, no!” She banged her fists against his back, laughing. “Put me down.”
Frank Sinatra jumped off his seat, barking, and ran along next to them.
“One. Two. Three.” Brady flung Mary from his arms into the deep end.
She sank to the bottom, water filling her nostrils. She surfaced, sputtering and laughing, and pulled herself from the pool. RaeLynn wrapped her in a towel. “Bless his heart. He’s like an annoying big brother to you.”
The pool deck spun. Mary got that same lightheaded feeling she’d had before a memory came crashing through. She closed her eyes and saw herself sharing a bottle of wine with Brady while binge-watching Ozark . At the end of the night, when he’d gotten up to leave, she’d grabbed his shirt. Ever since she’d moved into the attic apartment, they’d been spending time together, but their relationship, or whatever it was, was purely platonic. She needed clarity, and the wine she’d drunk had made her bold. “You should stay,” she’d said.
Brady’s body went rigid.
“You must know I have the biggest crush on you.”
“I’m flattered, and I think the world of you.” He’d glanced toward the door as if he couldn’t wait to be on the other side of it.
Mary hugged a throw pillow to her chest, wanting to use it to deflect the word “but” she knew was about to shoot out of his mouth.
“But you’re like a sister to me,” he’d said.
Standing on the pool deck next to RaeLynn now, Mary felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She hadn’t cheated on Dean. If she made it back to her old life, she’d have one less thing to feel guilty about. The chlorine from the pool made her skin itch. She had water in her ears. “I need to change.”
Mary came out of the bathroom to find Darbi pacing the hallway, the horrible scent of patchouli clouding the hallway.
“We need to talk.” Darbi led Mary to the guest room in the back of the house and shut the door.
Mary’s body tensed, afraid of what Darbi would say.
Darbi took a deep breath in and pushed her shoulders back. “If you get the promotion, don’t turn it down.”
Mary glared at her cousin, fed up with her strange behavior and lack of support. “Why do you want me to stay in this alternate world?”
Darbi wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth. “The letter’s not real.”
Darbi’s words replayed through Mary’s mind. She shook her head. Clearly she had misunderstood. “What?”
“The letter’s fake. I wrote it.”
“No way.” Mary leaned against the wall, needing something solid behind her to keep herself upright. She knew what Darbi’s writing looked like. All the letters leaned left. “It wasn’t your writing.”
“The neighbor next door helped. I told him what to write, explained the letter was part of an elaborate prank.”
Heat crept up Mary’s neck. Her stomach turned rock hard. She balled her hands into tight fists. She’d relied on Darbi’s guidance in this strange new world, and her cousin had betrayed her. “Why would you do that?”
Darbi’s shoulders slumped, and her spine curved as if she were folding in on herself. “You were so broken up about being stuck here. Moping around in your living room, doing nothing. Destroying your career. Ruining your life. I know nothing can ever replace your family, but you’re here now. You have to make the best of it. For you and for them.”
“So then why did the letter tell me to turn down the promotion? It makes no sense. Unless it’s real.”
“I didn’t know what to write, and it made sense to me that if you made the same decision, you’d end up back where you were. I was trying to buy time to work up the courage to tell you that you can’t go back.”
Mary slid down the wall to the rug and buried her head in her hands. This couldn’t be happening. Moments ago, she’d been almost certain she was going home to Dean and Kendra, and now she knew she was stuck here forever. She wanted to jump in the pool, sink to the bottom, and stay there forever. “You let me believe I was going back to my old life.”
“I didn’t know what to do. You were so sad. I was afraid of what you might do.”
“I’m stuck here in a world without my family.”
“You are, and it breaks my heart every day.”
Mary would never see Kendra again. Dean wouldn’t be a part of her life anymore. She wouldn’t be able to trust Darbi, the only family she had left. She’d be by herself, living hell on earth, all because she’d wanted to feel like she mattered. She’d wanted people to know who she was, but getting recognized by strangers on the street who thought they knew her or felt they had the right to criticize her was annoying. She wanted no part of that anymore. Being Dean’s wife and Kendra’s mother was what was important—being loved by her family and loving them back. How had she not seen that? The burger and steak she’d eaten for dinner bounced around her stomach, threatening to come back up.
She heard footfalls in the hallway and then a knock on the door. “Why are you two hiding back here?” Jacqui asked. “Everyone’s waiting for you for dessert.”
“Does Jacqui know?” Mary asked.
“Know what, honey?”
“There was no letter from Uncle Cillian. Darbi wrote it.”
Jacqui’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, Darbi, please tell me that’s not true.”
Darbi covered her face with her hands. “I was in an untenable position. I didn’t know what to do.” She took a deep breath in and slowly released it. “I was trying to keep you happy, let you live a life with meaning for as long as I could.”