Chapter Seven
When Sadie awoke on Sunday morning, she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. For the first time since she’d left home, everything that had happened came flooding back into her mind.
She’d wondered if she was in shock, if her brain was refusing to process what had happened – what she’d seen. She’d kept pushing the thoughts away and focusing on what needed to be done. Even during the long hours in the minivan as she drove across the country, she hadn’t allowed herself to dwell on what had happened.
Now, the vivid image of what she’d seen when she’d opened the door to Dale’s office filled her head. The strange thing was that she didn’t feel the same shock and horror that she had. She frowned at the ceiling, trying to find the name for what she was feeling. When the word came to her, she sat bolt upright in bed. Relief! That was what she felt. It was strange to have to acknowledge it – she might have expected words like devastated or betrayed or something along those lines. But the truth was that she felt relieved.
She rolled the concept around in her mind, wondering what it was about. Why would any woman be relieved to find her husband of more than thirty years not only in a compromising position, but also engaged in a more than compromising act with another woman?The woman, Adrienne, was someone whom Sadie had known for years. She was a sales rep for one of the manufacturers. She wasn’t exactly a friend, but…
She let out a short laugh. She was far from a friend and… Wow! Sadie was surprised when it hit her that as far as she was concerned, Adrienne was welcome to him. And Sadie herself? She was so much better off out of there.
She glanced over at her cellphone that was sitting on the nightstand. It was seven-thirty already. She should get up. She reached for the phone. Seven-thirty here, meant ten-thirty on the East Coast. There was a decent chance that Josh would be up and about. She dialed his number and waited.
“Hey, Mom. How are you? Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine, sweetheart. I made it to Grandpa’s.”
“That’s good. I know you love it there. You can still come here if you want to, you know.”
She laughed. “I know, thanks. But we both know that’s not ideal. I love you for offering, but you have your own life to be getting on with. I’d only be in the way. At least here, I can feel useful.”
“How’s Grandpa doing?”
“He’s more banged up than I realized, but he hasn’t done any major damage. And he’s in good spirits.”
Josh laughed. “Let me guess – he’s happy that you left Dad, right?”
Sadie frowned. She wasn’t sure that she liked the way that sounded. She’d left Dale? That made it sound as though she’d walked out on her marriage. The truth was, he’d left her no choice. Still, that wasn’t something that she wanted to get into with her son.
“I’m not going to lie; of course he is. The two of them have never gotten along.”
“That’s an understatement! They hate each other’s guts.”
“True.”
“So, do you think you’re going to stay there? Have you talked to Dad?”
“Yes, I think I’ll stay. Grandpa could use the help around here. As for your father, I haven’t heard a peep out of him.”
“He’s an asshole.”
“Josh!”
He laughed. “What? We both know it’s true – even before he did what he did. And if you’re hurting, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be an asshole myself. It’s just that with time, you’ll get it, you’ll see that I’m right.”
“Can I tell you something strange?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I’m not sure that I should tell you this.”
Josh laughed. “What, because you’re the parent and I’m the delicate little child who might be traumatized by what you have to say?”
She laughed with him. “No, I gave up trying to protect you years ago. It’s just… I suppose I don’t know what I think myself, so I’m not sure how it’ll sound.”
“Try me.”
“You said, if I’m hurting – I’m not. I’m not even sad. I’m… I was just thinking about it, and the word that came to me was relieved – I’m relieved, Josh. I feel like I should be angry – I know I should be angry. I’d understand it if I were sad. No matter what he did, we shared a lot of years together – there’s a lot to grieve, you know?”
“I know what you mean, but if you think about it, you probably did all your grieving before it ended. You used to get angry at him years ago, but it didn’t change anything. When I left home you were sad, and I don’t just mean about me leaving. You’d been sad for a few years before that. It was almost as though you were resigned to how things were, and you were sad because you knew that your life would never be what you’d hoped.”
Sadie closed her eyes and leaned back against the headrest. “I’m sorry, Josh. Was it really shitty for you?”
He chuckled. “No. It was fine. I had a great childhood. You and I used to have a lot of fun, and he mostly stayed out of the way. What I’m telling you now is what I’ve figured out looking back. I was barely aware of any of it at the time. All I knew was that I wished you were happier, but I didn’t see how you could be while you were married to him, and I didn’t think you’d leave him.”
“I could have made a better life for us if I’d left him years ago, couldn’t I?”
“Don’t, Mom. That wasn’t what I was saying, and I think you know it. It is what it is. Looking back and thinking about what you could’ve done differently is pointless. You know how the saying goes; you can poop in one hand and wish in the other and see which fills up first.”
She laughed. “You’re right. And thanks, Josh. I’ll do better in the future. I don’t mean to burden you.”
“You’re not. I’m glad that we can talk like this.”
“So am I, but I feel a little bit guilty – kind of like you’re the one doing the parenting here.”
“Nah, I don’t see it that way. It’s more like we’re friends – when your friends are in a tough situation, you want to be there for them, and you want to see them through it, help however you can.”
“I know, and I love that we have that, but…”
“I know what you’re thinking. I know that you don’t think much of parents who try to be their kid’s best friend, but this is different. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not a kid anymore. I’m a fully grown adult with my own life, and my own opinions. I think at this point, us being good friends is a reflection of what a good parent you were.”
Sadie covered her eyes with her hand as she swallowed around the lump in her throat.
Josh laughed. “Don’t go getting all sentimental on me. You know what I mean.”
She sniffed. “I do. Thanks, sweetheart.”
“So, what happens from here? Have you talked to a lawyer?”
“A lawyer?”
“Yeah, you’re going to divorce him, right? He’s going to have to buy you out of the business.”
Her heart sank. “I don’t know, Josh. I haven’t thought about it. I… We built that place from nothing. I don’t think he can afford to buy me out. I…”
“I’ll tell you what, when you’re ready to talk to a lawyer, will you include me? I’ll come out there. It’d be good to see Grandpa, anyway.”
“I…”
“Yes, repeat after me, Mom: yes. He’s already screwed you over. I’m not going to let him do it financially as well.”
She blew out a sigh. “The last thing I want to do is drive a wedge between you and your father.”
“You won’t. I already voiced my opinion of him, and out of respect for you, I won’t repeat it. I haven’t had much of a relationship with him for years, and there’s a reason for that. I think you’re well rid of him, okay?”
“Okay. I’m not going to argue. I’ll just say that if you do want to build some kind of relationship, some kind of friendship with him, it won’t bother me. I’ll be happy for you. I’d never want to come between the two of you.”
“Got it, and thanks for the thought. But it’ll never happen. And this might be a weird thing to say right now, but I’m going to say it anyway.”
“Say what?”
“You remember Theo – my roommate in college? His parents divorced last year, and his mom met someone new about a month after they split. She felt all kinds of guilty, and tried to hide it for a while. There was no need for her to do that – it didn’t bother Theo that she’d met someone new; he’s a great guy. But the way she tried to hide it from Theo caused some problems between them. Anyway, what I’m getting at is that if you meet someone new, I’ll be happy for you, so don’t try to hide it … In fact, no, if you meet someone new, I want you to tell me so that I can vet him, okay?”
She laughed. “What, because you think you’re a better judge of character than I am?”
Josh laughed with her. “I’d say something about you being the one who chose to marry Dad, but if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here. So, I’d say that one wasn’t such a bad choice, it just came at a high price. Seriously, Mom, I guess what I’m saying is that I want to look out for you. If you meet someone new, I want to know for myself that he’s a good guy.”
“Okay, but I don’t think that’s something we’ll need to worry about any time soon.”
“Maybe not.” He chuckled. “But at the same time, you’re not getting any younger. You might want to hurry up about it.”
“Josh! You need to update your thinking. I’m not like a bottle of milk with an expiration date. I could take the next twenty years for myself, and then decide in my seventies that I want to find love. It happens all the time.”
“Yeah, sorry. I was only joking. I think what I really meant is that you deserve to be happy, Mom. I don’t think you need to waste any time getting over what Dad did. It’s like I said, you did your grieving while you were still married to him.”
“How did you get so smart?”
He chuckled. “Genetics I guess – all from my mom’s side of the family. Oh. I’ve got another call coming in. I need to go. Let’s talk again soon, huh?”
“I’d love to. You can call me anytime.”
“Same goes. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you.”
The call ended, and she sat there, cradling her phone to her chest. She’d done her best to raise him to be a decent human being, but there was no way that she could take credit for just what a wonderful man her son had grown up to be.
~ ~ ~
“Are you ready, Uncle Dom?” called Jake.
“Be right with you.” Dominic pulled on a T-shirt and examined his reflection in the mirror. He looked different – he didn’t know what kind of different, but there was something that he couldn’t put his finger on.
He didn’t have the time to hang around figuring it out; he and Jake were supposed to be at Damon and Jo’s by noon. They hadn’t ended up going over there for dinner last night, so Jo had suggested they should come for lunch today instead.
He’d been to the gym this morning. He hadn’t slept well last night, and by the time morning came around he’d felt antsy and out of sorts. His workout hadn’t helped much, and on his way back from the gym, he’d stopped at the beach to take a walk.
He’d enjoyed rock hunting with Sadie yesterday so much that he’d gone back for more. He grabbed a sweater from his closet and smiled when he saw the collection of stones on top of his dresser. Some of them were just pebbles. Sadie had told him that a few of them were quartz. He’d found a couple this morning that he was convinced were rose quartz – only because they were pink. He was looking forward to showing them to her; from the way she talked, he guessed that they were a special find. His smile faded; he didn’t know when he’d see her again.
“We’re going to be late!” Jake called.
Dominic ran his hand through his hair and checked the mirror again. He didn’t think of himself as vain; that wasn’t why he kept looking at himself. It was more that he needed to find out why he looked different – what the difference even was.
He hurried out into the hallway to find Jake standing by the front door.
“Sorry.”
“No worries. Am I driving, or are you?”
“Do you have your keys?” Dominic reached for his jacket from the hook by the door as he asked.
“Yep.”
“Then you drive.”
Dominic fastened his seatbelt as Jake pulled out of the driveway. As he turned his head to click the buckle, he sniffed the collar of his jacket – it smelled good. He sniffed again. It smelled like… Perfume!
He smiled when it hit him – this was the jacket that Sadie had worn yesterday. He pressed his nose against the fabric and breathed in deeply. It smelled like her: sweet, and a little bit spicy. Whatever perfume she wore suited her personality.
Jake glanced over at him when he came to a stop at the crossroads. “Are you okay over there?” he asked with a laugh. “Do you need to wash that jacket?”
“No! I… It’s fine.”
When they arrived at Damon and Jo’s place, Dominic hung back and watched his brother greet Jake. Sometimes, when he saw the two of them together, he wondered what life would have been like if he and Polly had children. But…
“Hi, Dom.” He smiled at Jo, who greeted him with outstretched arms.
“Hi, Jo.” He wrapped her in a hug before standing back. She was a good woman. He loved the relationship that she and Damon had. If anyone deserved a good woman, it was Damon, especially after his first marriage.
Damon grasped his shoulder. “How’s it going?”
He nodded. “All good. How about you guys?”
“All the better for seeing you,” said Jo. “I was hoping that you’d come out on Friday night – but then you had to go on your rescue mission. I thought we might all have lunch while we were in town yesterday, but that didn’t work out either. And then last night…” She shrugged. “I feel like we haven’t seen you in forever. Come on through to the kitchen; we’re nearly ready to eat. What would you like to drink?”
“Can I do anything to help?”
Jo laughed. “You’re good. There’s not enough work to go around – but thanks.”
Damon chuckled. “I’ve been getting under her feet all morning. I’ll get your drinks, but other than that, there’s nothing left to do.”
Jo turned her back to them to check on the pans on the stovetop and asked, “How did it go on Friday night? Nina said that Sadie’s an old friend of hers – hers and Terry’s. What’s she like?”
Dominic tensed, and Damon met his gaze and cocked an eyebrow. He cleared his throat, wondering what he should say, and was relieved when Jake beat him to it.
“She’s awesome! Isn’t she, Uncle Dom?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, that’s right, you met her, too,” said Jo. “Were you able to fix her car?”
“Not yet, but I will. I had to order a new radiator, and it won’t be delivered until Tuesday.”
Dominic turned to Jake. “Does she know that?”
“She does. They got back to me a little while ago – at first, they said they wouldn’t be able to get it here until Wednesday. But Jeff called me back while you were in the shower to say it’ll be Tuesday. I called Sadie to let her know.”
He nodded. It shouldn’t make any difference to him – it didn’t – but it was strange to think that Jake had spoken to her, and he’d missed it.
Jo was asking Jake about how difficult it was to replace a radiator, but Dominic wasn’t paying attention. He was wondering what Sadie might be up to right now. He froze, feeling guilty, when he noticed Damon watching him. His brother cocked an eyebrow, and he shrugged.
After they’d eaten, Jake volunteered to clear up and take care of the dishes. Dominic and Damon offered to help, but Jo shooed them out of the kitchen. She was a sweetheart. He knew damn well that it wasn’t about who cleared up; all she was interested in was strengthening the bonds in their new family. She was making sure that he and Damon got to spend time together and she loved hanging out with Jake.
“Want to go for a walk on the beach?” Damon asked.
Dominic chuckled; he’d already spent more time on the beach this weekend than he had since he arrived in Summer Lake. He wasn’t complaining, though. “Sure, I’ll grab my coat.”
He followed his brother out over the back deck and to the edge of the lawn, where they scrambled down the bank to the beach. When they reached the bottom, Damon grinned at him.
“Sometimes, I still can’t believe that I live here – with Jo, in this great house, right here on the beach like this.”
“You fell on your feet, Jo’s awesome. You deserve this.”
Damon nodded happily. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, that’s for sure.”
As they walked along the water’s edge, Dominic couldn’t help scanning the pebbles, looking for more quartz.
“You okay?” Damon asked after a while.
“I am. How about you?”
“I’m good. I’m just… Tell me to butt out if you like, but I’m curious about this Sadie.”
“What about her?”
“You tell me.”
“What do you want to know?”
Damon chuckled. “Like I said, tell me to butt out if you want to, but from what I hear, the two of you took a walk on the beach in town yesterday.”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“She… She was at a loose end while she waited for a ride back home. I…” He smiled, knowing that what he had to say next would no doubt divert Damon’s attention. “If you want to know the truth, the girl who brought her over to the garage – Savannah – she and Jake seemed to take a shine to each other the moment we introduced them. Sadie and I both had the same idea – that we should leave them alone and see what might happen.”
Damon grinned. “Really? That’s interesting. What’s she like, this Savannah?”
“Obviously, I don’t really know her, but from what I’ve seen of her she seems like a good kid. She helps Sadie’s dad out, and she works at the diner over in Hidden Valley; she’s not just a waitress, it seemed to me more like she was in charge.” He stopped when he realized that Damon was staring at him. “What?”
“You’ve seen her at work? You’ve been in the diner over there?”
Dominic huffed out a sigh. “Shit! I’ve never been good at hiding things.”
Damon chuckled. “So don’t. Why not tell me about it?”
Dominic folded his arms across his chest and stared out at the water. “Because I don’t know what to say. Because I don’t know what to think.” He pursed his lips. “I guess, if I’m being honest, it’s because I don’t know how I feel.”
“Then, how about instead of telling me any of those things you just tell me what happened?”
“Okay. When I went to pick Sadie up on Friday night – after you called me...” He gave his brother a wry smile. “Now that I come to think of it, this is all your fault.”
Damon smiled back at him. “Maybe so, but somehow, I can’t make myself feel guilty about it. But go on…”
“Right. So, when I went to pick her up, I was surprised – maybe that’s an understatement; I was shocked.”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“I’d already seen her that afternoon. We hadn’t spoken or anything, but I was standing talking to Dalton and Cal in the entrance to the grocery store when she came in. We… I dunno.”
“You didn’t speak to her, but you noticed her?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s it.”
“And she noticed you, too?”
“I guess. Anyway, I’m only supposed to be telling you what happened. So, like I said, I went to pick her up, I gave her a ride over to her dad’s place. I told you Harvey’s her dad. She came home because he had a fall. Well, that’s part of it. She’s here because Harvey fell, she left home because her husband was cheating on her.”
“Damn!”
“Yeah. Her minivan was packed full of her belongings. We transferred them into my SUV, and I said I’d hang onto them for her – she didn’t want to worry Harvey by showing up on his doorstep with her whole life packed into a bunch of trash bags. Anyway, Harvey figured out what was going on – he doesn’t think much of the husband. We ended up having dinner at the diner – Sadie wanted to say thank you, and Harvey didn’t want us under his feet.”
He looked at Damon, who nodded and said, “But there’s more, right? None of that explains why you were walking on the beach with her yesterday.”
“No. I still had her things in my SUV. I arranged to meet her at the garage so that I could give them back and she could meet Jake and see her minivan. And I explained the rest – we made a quick exit when we saw the way Jake and Savannah reacted to each other – and by the way, I think you should be more curious about that situation.”
Damon chuckled. “I’m curious as hell, but Jake taking a shine to a girl? That happens all the time. You, on the other hand…”
Dominic dropped his chin, and the scent of Sadie’s perfume filled his nostrils again. He sighed. “Is that what this is? Have I taken a shine to her?” he asked in a low voice.
Damon grasped his shoulder. “You’re the only one who can determine that, but from where I’m standing, it sure looks that way. When are you going to see her again?”
He shook his head slowly. “I’m not. I mean, I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll see her around – this is a small town as we both know, but…”
“You could call her.”
“Why would I do that?”
“To arrange to see her?”
“I don’t… I’m not…”
Damon gave his shoulder a shake. “Maybe not. Then again, maybe you are. And if you are – ready, that is – then there’s nothing wrong with it, you know.”
He automatically reached for his ring, and his heart leapt into his mouth when he realized that he wasn’t wearing it. He hadn’t put it back on after his shower. He swallowed. He never forgot to put it back on.
Damon raised his eyebrows, but Dominic shook his head. No matter what he might be ready for, he was not ready to talk about his wedding ring.