Chapter 23 Lynley
Lynley
My heart crawls into my throat as I watch Ginny scale the top of the monkey bars.
“Careful!” I call out as she wobbles upright, trying to use the equipment like a balance beam, her arms straight out on either side of her. “No more broken bones!”
“I think I’ve decided what I want to be when I grow up, Mom!” she yells back, ignoring me completely. “I can be an acrobat!”
Mase scoffs from where he’s sitting at the edge of the playground, throwing his baseball up in the air before catching it in his glove. “No way. You’d break every bone in your body.” He doesn’t look up, his face set in a thunderous scowl, and I sigh.
We’ve been living in the new house for a few weeks now.
Grafton held true to his word, helping us go shopping to furnish the place—although we bickered over the price of some items. I was insistent on paying him back once the divorce finally goes through, so I was searching out the cheaper items, trying to stick to a frugal budget.
Grafton, however, had followed me around, grabbing anything that caught my eye for longer than three seconds.
He didn’t even bother looking at the price.
“It’s your first home, darling,” he told me when I got frustrated with him. “The first one that’s yours alone. You deserve it to be perfect.”
He’d been coming over almost every night, which both the kids loved.
He and Mase were bonding over complicated Lego sets, while Ginny convinced Grafton to let her do his hair as they watched a princess movie.
He didn’t even hesitate, sitting down in front of the couch while she sat behind him, filling his dark hair with glittery pink bows and rainbow clips.
Mase and Ginny have settled into our new routine, our new normal, with aplomb. I found a child therapist who gave me good suggestions of how to talk through the changes, and what is still to come. And the conversations had gone better than I expected.
Mase saw it all coming, so he didn’t have much to say.
But Ginny… She’s been a little harder. She didn’t understand why we couldn’t live with Christopher, and why we never saw him anymore.
It took several conversations and lots of tears, as well as reminders that her daddy would always love her.
The last week has been easier, especially when she learned that Christopher is taking them this weekend for a night.
I’d agreed with reluctance, knowing that I couldn’t interfere with Mase and Ginny’s relationships with him, but also aware that his reasons for taking them aren’t about the kids at all.
I still have him blocked, so he got in contact through my lawyer a few days ago, asking to have them. And I immediately knew his reasons weren’t about our children.
It is his father’s birthday today, which means the Delcourts will be throwing a big society party, same as they do every year.
It was expected that Christopher would attend with his family.
He’d be able to explain my absence easily enough, but he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of all of us not being there.
There’s no way he told his family about the impending divorce.
He doesn’t know how to take accountability, and for him to willingly admit that he lost not only his job, but also his wife?
He would never do it. Not unless he’s cornered and has no choice.
“Mom,” Mase says, glancing over at me. “Are you sure I have to go?”
It’s not the first time he’s asked, or even the fifth, and I gave him a soft look. “You know the answer, baby. You’ve got the phone I got you, right? You can call me anytime, day or night.”
“Right,” he mutters, looking away, his face glum—an expression that’s been a constant since I told him about the visit.
“It’s only a night,” I remind him gently.
He grunts before asking, “Is Grafton coming over?”
“I haven’t spoken to him,” I say honestly.
Mase scrunches his lips to the side. “It’s okay if he comes over to keep you company. I might be a little bit sad about it, but I won’t mind too much.”
I furrow my brows. “Why would you be sad?”
He shrugs. “’Cause I’m not there. I won’t tell Ginny, either, because she’d probably be sad too.”
“She’s looking forward to seeing Dad, isn’t she?”
“I guess,” he mutters. “Dunno why.” He stands up and wanders away before I can question him further, but I know that his relationship with his father can’t fall on my shoulders.
Christopher is the one who needs to repair the bridges he’s burned with our kids.
The problem is that I don’t think he even knows that his relationship with them is in ashes.
“Lynnie.”
A shudder works its way down my spine, my nerves feeling like they’re being scraped over with a nail file.
Christopher sits down next to me, close enough that his leg brushes mine.
I shift away, ignoring the frown he sends me as I keep my eyes on Ginny.
Her back is to us, too busy playing to realize her father has arrived.
Christopher clears his throat. “How’ve you been?” He’s softening his voice, easing me into this, trying to make me comfortable. It’s a technique he used to use whenever we argued, like he was trying to slip and slime his way back into my good graces.
“I’m not really interested in small talk with you, Christopher. The kids are ready. I just need to grab their bags from the car.”
“Lynnie—”
“Unless you’re talking about the children, please keep it between our lawyers.”
I stand up and walk away, about to call the kids, but he follows me, his voice snapping out. “Are you being serious? Ten years together, and you won’t even give me the chance to talk?”
I snap, whirling around, rage burning through me at his audacity.
“You fucked my sister!” I hiss venomously, still rational enough to keep my voice low so the children don’t hear.
Christopher blanches, falling back a step.
“You fucked a lot of people. You put me and my health at risk, our children’s health at risk.
Do you think you’re clever because you only just got caught now?
” I bark out a laugh. “No, Christopher. You got lucky. Imagine if the media got wind of those cameras? Imagine if that footage had gone public?” I lift my brows. “Hell, it still might.”
“You can’t!” His voice is an octave too loud, and he quickly looks around before lowering it. “Lynnie, you need to think about our family. Our future.”
“Why?” I ask tonelessly. “We have none.” I point behind me at the kids. “They’re my family. You aren’t in it. And future?” I shake my head. “Don’t make me laugh. You’ll be busy enough with your new family.”
He frowns, confused, but Ginny’s seen him. She rushes up, crying out, “Daddy!”
He hesitates a beat, but then crouches, holding his arms out to catch her flying body, listening as she talks a mile a minute.
I’m not sure how much he’s actually understanding as her sentences run into each other, but a smile twists my mouth when I hear her mention Grafton a few times.
Christopher doesn’t seem to notice, but I am past the point of caring.
When she starts running out of steam, he stands, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Mase!”
I turn and find our son standing out in the grassy area bordering the playground. He’s stock-still, his head turned in our direction, but he doesn’t move. Christopher scowls, but I yell before he can say another word. “Mase, come on, baby!”
His shoulders lift dramatically, but he stomps in our direction.
“My car—” I start, but Christopher cuts me off impatiently.
“I know. I saw it.”
We head for the parking lot, the stilted silence hanging heavily between us. As we approach, I look up as a car door slams, my eyes widening as a familiar figure strides toward us, her smile bright and waving a hand in greeting.
I spin on Christopher. “Tell me you’re joking,” I say between gritted teeth. “Tell me you didn’t actually bring her to pick up your kids.”
His mouth flattens into a thin line. “She was supposed to wait in the car,” he mutters petulantly. “Look, Lynley…” He trails off, eyes flickering as he realizes my lack of surprise. “Wait. Do you know her?”
My smile is cold and humorless. “Do I know the woman you’ve apparently knocked up?” I ask, and he falls back a step. “Well, yes, actually, I do.”
Angelica reaches us before he can say anything else, her eyes on the wary children as she tells them, “Oh my god, I’m so excited to finally meet you guys!”
Mase stares at her like she’s a frog he’s about to dissect. Ginny is a little more cautious, Angelica’s over-the-top enthusiasm throwing her off. She sidles closer to me, pressing into my side, and I tuck an arm around her shoulders.
Fairly vibrating with tension, Christopher’s eyes are bouncing around in wild panic, never quite landing anywhere. “Angelica,” he says stiffly. “I asked you to wait in the car.”
“I didn’t want to be rude.” She’s still smiling, but uncertainty has crept into her eyes. She looks over at me, chewing on her lip and looking so damn young. “Lynley.” She gathers herself, straightening and cloaking herself in confidence. “It’s good to see you again.”
I press my lips together, knowing absolutely nothing complimentary is going to come from my mouth, and my children are standing right here. She can’t actually think I’m going to be happy to see her when she has been fucking my husband and is fully aware that he is married to me.
“Again?” Christopher demands, and Angelica falls back a step, eyes widening at his irate tone. “Um, yeah… We met at work one day. She was with—”
“Christopher,” I interrupt. “Maybe the kids should wait in the car.”
I grab their bags out of the trunk before crouching down to give them the biggest, tightest hugs. I take a moment to whisper to both of them, “Call me, okay? You need anything, you call me.”
Ginny’s confidence has fizzled in the face of the strange situation, her eyes big and watery. “You’ll come get us, Momma? If we want to come home?”