17. Gigi
CHAPTER 17
Gigi
START OF THE NEW SEMESTER
With my head held high, I march into the administration building. It doesn’t take long before the fake confidence tapers off. They try to be discreet, but I notice people, both staff and students, gawking at me. A pregnant sophomore with a humongous baby bump is a sight to see, that much is true. Especially when the bump was barely visible before the winter break. Especially when the girl in question is the one whose boyfriend killed himself only last year.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Zach when I spot him clutching a stack of documents.
He replies with an easy smile, sauntering toward me down the hall before giving me a side hug. “Need some of these stamped by admin for my scholarship. You? I thought you were taking the semester off?”
“I am. I’m meeting Luke for coffee at Java Point. You want to join?”
“I’ll join you guys after I’m done.”
“Awesome.” Zach takes a step forward and I hold out my hand. “Thanks again for taking me to my appointment last week. You were a lifesaver.”
“Any time, Gigi,” he says with a small smile. “Just give me a call if you ever need anything.”
I give him a nod and make my way to the coffee shop that’s tucked behind a meeting room that used to host one of my electives last semester. I used to pick up a cappuccino there all the time before class. A bittersweet feeling washes over me when I see posters from a Design Thinking workshop that took place last year on the wall. I’m going to miss going to college. A year is not that long, Gigi. Chin up. It will go by in a blip.
Ordering myself a bottle of water and a blueberry muffin, I sit and wait for Luke to arrive. My index finger mindlessly scrolls through the notifications on my phone.
Mom
I can’t visit next Saturday. Sorry, baby. We’re short-staffed this month.
Luke
I don’t think I’ll make it. Forgot I’m also taking Global Business Strategy this semester. See you at home later. Love you, Gi.
Zoey
How is your first week of not going to college? Relaxing or annoying?
Michael Palmer
Gigi, could one of you please return our calls? Despite everything that happened, we would like to congratulate you in person. I also would like to apologize for all the pain we’ve caused you and Luke. If Judith can find it in her heart to forgive me, I hope you both can, too.
I take a screenshot of the message from Andrew’s dad and send it to Luke. The audacity of that man is something else.
“Stupid fucking idiot,” I mutter to myself, shaking my head.
“Who’s a stupid fucking idiot?” Zach slides into the seat in front of me with a coffee mug in one hand and a turkey sandwich in the other.
“Andrew’s dad. Remember when Luke told you we’re kind of fighting with him?”
Zach studies me for a moment. He probably doesn’t want to poke the bear. He knows my hormones are out of whack lately. “Because of the video, right?” He asks carefully.
I nod while rolling my eyes at the same time. “He just sent me this.” I show him my phone. “God, I hate that man.”
“What does he mean with if Judith can find it in her heart to forgive me, I hope you both can, too ?”
Oh, yeah…shit.
“Well, uh, that.” I take a sip of water and gulp it down quickly. I press my lips together even though my insides are dying to share this with him. With anyone . I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. About Andrew. Being at home while Kai and Luke are in class or at work has been doing funny things to my brain. Tapping my nails on the table, I decide to bite the bullet. Sharing this with Zach wouldn’t be that bad, right? He’s the perfect person, actually. He knows everyone involved. He might even be able to help me fill out a few details. “If I tell you this, promise me you’ll take it to your grave?”
“Scout’s honor.”
“Andrew’s dad cheated on his mom.” I grimace. “Repeatedly.”
“Really?” He doesn’t sound like he believes me. Why would he? The great Pastor Palmer and infidelity don’t go hand in hand. The irony is not lost on me that he leads a class at his church for couples on the brink of a divorce.
“Yeah,” I sigh. “Really. And I think one of his mistresses had a son who was bullying him. It got him all fucked up and Andrew blamed his dad for it. At least that’s what it seemed like to me when I watched the video.”
I feel the back of my eyes burning at the thought. Poor Andrew. His whole life must have been shattered when he found out Mike was not as holy as he portrayed himself to be. Andrew, Luke, and Becca all worshiped the ground Mike walked on. I’m pretty sure Becca still does.
“Is that why he didn’t let you guys watch it?” Zach asks.
“I guess.”
“Is that why Luke was asking about who bullied Andrew at school?”
I nod. “Apparently the guy also goes to Ravensfield.” The tidbit perks Zach right up, causing his eyes to widen. I know, buddy. Everything is so crazy my head is spinning. “I’ve been thinking about it, and everything is starting to make sense. The second half of senior year…Andrew was just so off.” The cheating, the fight at that football match, the general pissed-off vibe he always carried with him. “And then he became a different person after graduation. He was still really excited for everything when we started orientation week, but a few days into it, something changed. I don’t know if that was because he found out his bully went to Ravensfield as well or he caught his dad cheating with someone from the theology department.”
“His dad cheated with someone from the theology department?”
I close my eyes, swallowing the shame that I am legally related to Michael Palmer. “Yep.”
“That dude is fucking crazy.” He shakes his head.
“I know.”
Zach takes a bite of his sandwich and eats in silence, digesting both his lunch and the mega load of information I just dumped on him. With his mouth still somewhat full, he asks, “So did he kill himself because of his dad or because he got bullied?”
“His dad.” Definitely his dad. “He’s the root of all evil. The bullying wouldn’t have happened if his dad kept it in his pants. But it probably didn’t help.”
I debate with myself when it comes to telling him about Rachel. What if Zach is close with her? I don’t want to open that Pandora’s box. But after he shares with me about his parents’ divorce and how that messed him up a bit, I start to become open to the idea. And when he tells me that Andrew was probably troubled by the fact that he caught Mike cheating multiple times, that his dad probably messed him up beyond repair, I feel like he gave me insights that I never saw because I was too engrossed in the wrong details and too close to the problem. Like Michael Palmer being a serial cheater, for example. I mean, my parents got divorced amicably and that impacted me. I can’t imagine being Andrew and going through all that. I wish he would’ve told me, but his mental health must have been a warzone.
When Zach starts spewing funny stories from his dating escapades, an obvious attempt at trying to lighten the mood, I feel like a new level has been unlocked in our friendship. For the first time since Zoey left, I feel lighter, too. Less lonely. More… happy. And with that, I confide in him the most humiliating, puzzling, and awful story of my senior year. The tale of my first taste of being cheated on.