Chapter 50 Henry
Chapter 50
Henry
Penny exits the kitchen, leaving them with her sage advice. They’re quiet, staring at each other, soaking in her words. He needs to stop asking himself how they got here because he knows. Most people do. You look deep and long enough, and you see the signs. The silences. The hand not held. The shape of your lover’s shoulders as she turns away. The trail is obvious and long. You don’t need a special lens to see it.
But could he live without Lucy?
“Are you attracted to my husband?” Sienna asks Lucy.
“God no,” Lucy replies. Adam rolls his eyes. Adam believes that anyone with two X chromosomes wants him. “I was in a weak moment.”
Henry studies her carefully. “It’s no excuse,” Lucy continues. “I wasn’t myself. I was weak. He filled a hole.”
Henry is about to say, He sure as shit did , but he stops himself.
Sienna and Lucy have always been able to read each other. They’re halves of a whole, their phone conversations spilling late into the night. Henry rarely had to guess who was on the other end of the line.
“You should’ve come to me. Why didn’t you?” Sienna says, tilting her head toward Lucy. This betrayal is bigger than a marriage. Henry thinks of dominoes lined up. One push and all the tiles topple over.
Lucy’s face is lined with regret; dark circles frame her eyes. “I never intended to hurt you. And I understand if you never want to talk to me again.”
“It was just a kiss,” Adam tries to explain. “And a little boob. What’s the big deal?”
“You seriously need to stop,” Sienna shouts. “Your stupidity isn’t helping anything.”
“It’s never just ,” Lucy begins, unable to say his name. “It’s always more.”
Henry’s surprised at his reaction to his wife. He knows he should feel every ounce of bitterness. He should be finger pointing and blaming, the visual of Adam on top of her repelling him, but he feels something else as he watches Lucy come clean. He loves her. He loves her honesty, how she admits how she’s failed. It was just a kiss. Penny and Leo weren’t the only ones. Just a kiss had broken up a million marriages. And he wonders, if any of the scorned had taken the time to focus on the real problem, the circumstances leading to the kiss, would the couples be together today?
He loves Lucy. And he’s unexpectedly afraid to lose her, desperate to keep her. And he feels a tidal wave of regret for pushing her away.
“What were you about to say?” Sienna asks Lucy. “Before Penny walked in?”
“Guess you thought you were off the hook.” Lucy directs this at Adam.
“I’m outta here.” Adam stands, addressing Sienna: “I don’t even get why we’re having this private conversation here. With them.”
But Lucy is unwavering. She stands too.
“Private.” Sienna laughs. “You opened us up to this. This is on you.” She turns back to Lucy, and Henry can’t imagine what she’s about to do.
“Adam called me Suzy,” Lucy says.
Sienna’s cheeks burn crimson, and she grabs on to the table.
“Suzy?” Sienna shouts. “Who the fuck is Suzy?”
“He said it more than once,” Lucy adds.
“I knew it. You’re so predictable.” Sienna stands and points at the door. “Get out. You need to get the fuck out of here. And out of my life.”
And Adam surprises them by heading for the door and leaving them speechless.