Chapter 3
When she opened the door, she found Joshua standing outside with a box of vegetables in hand and a winning smile. Mallory was so taken aback to see him that she didn’t even say hello.
“Can I help you with something?” she asked, blinking in confusion.
His smile faltered a little and he furrowed his brow. “I’m sorry, is now a bad time?”
Mallory didn’t know how to answer that question, so she simply gestured to the box in his hands and arched a brow. She knew she was being a bit rude, but that was truly the only way she could conduct herself, considering her current circumstances.
“Oh, yeah.” Joshua lifted the box briefly. “I ended up finding some more veggies that I thought your mom might want… And I was in the neighborhood, so I figured I’d drop them off. Is she… here?”
Mallory cocked her head to the side and eyed Joshua for a few seconds, trying to decide how blunt she was going to be with the man she’d clocked right away as having a crush on her mom.
It wasn’t his fault that he’d shown up at the worst possible time, but she couldn’t shake the gnawing thought that he might be involved in all this.
He stared at her expectantly, probably waiting for her to invite him in like any normal person would.
But Mallory crossed her arms, staring him up and down with a suspicious look. “Are you dating my mom?”
Joshua laughed with noticeable shock. “What? No. We’re not—did she say something? Because we aren’t but…”
She could tell from his reaction that he was telling the truth, but this only made her feel slightly at ease. “Okay. Well, in that case, you can come in and put the veggies in the kitchen. But I’ll warn you… we’re dealing with a bit of a chaotic situation right now…”
“So… it is a bad time. Got it. Well, in that case, I can come back later.”
“Joshua, hi.” Callie came up behind Mallory before he could get away. “What’re you doing here?”
“He brought more…” Mallory glared at the box and then her mother. “I can see you managed to make your escape after all…”
Callie clicked her tongue and let out a nervous laugh. “Sweetie, let’s not do this in front of our guest, okay?”
Joshua winced and slowly bent over to set the box on the ground. “Why don’t I just leave these here… and let you two go back inside.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was really not trying to interrupt anything, and I know you’ve got the whole family here for the holidays—”
“It’s true,” Mallory said with a cynical laugh.
“We’ve got the whole family. Including a half-sister I only just found out about today.
” A bitter smirk formed on her lips, and she gave Joshua an inquisitive look.
“But hey, what about you? Did you know that my parents weren’t together and hiding it for twenty something years? !”
Joshua blinked and stared in awe at Callie, who shrugged in defeat. “It’s okay. Just answer honestly.”
He let out an awkward half laugh. “Uh—In that case, yes. I did know your parents weren’t together like that. I sort of thought everyone knew.”
Mallory scoffed. “Oh, do they? Everyone except the Ward children... apparently. How fun is that? The whole town of Ferndale knows, but of course, let’s not tell the people who are going to be most affected by the decision!
” She snickered and threw her head back.
“Why am I even surprised at this point?” With that, she turned on her heels once more and stormed back inside.
In the living room, Mallory was comforted at least by the fact that her brother and sister also seemed equally upset.
Taylor was scowling and stood with his elbow leaning against the mantel.
Meanwhile, Ariel peppered their dad with questions, her voice high-pitched and her face red from holding back tears.
Erica sat in silence, but her mouth was set in a straight, discouraging line.
Sasha was tucked so far into the corner of the couch that it looked like she hoped it might swallow her up.
Mallory wondered what would happen when one of the kids wandered downstairs and found all the adults in such a state.
Whatever. Let my parents handle it. They made this mess…
“It’s just so irresponsible,” Ariel argued. “I mean, come on, you had to know that something like this would happen sooner or later, and you’d have to tell us the truth anyway… Weren’t you afraid we’d find out from someone else?”
“That’s a very valid question,” Mallory said. “Especially considering the fact that it turns out we’re the only people in Ferndale who didn’t know!”
“What?!” Taylor snapped, his eyes flaring with hurt and anger. “We were the only ones?!”
“It’s not like we went around announcing it to the world!
” David said defensively. “But you know how things go in Ferndale. Once one or two people find out a piece of news like this, it spreads. Plus, once your mom and I started dating, our only option was to be honest with people. We didn’t want our friends to see us out with someone else and think one or both of us was having an affair. ”
“So, you were worried about what your friends thought,” Mallory said, “but not what your own children might think?”
“No, no, you’ve got it all wrong,” David insisted, waving his hands.
“It’s because of how much we care about you kids; how much we value your opinion and love this family.
That’s why we didn’t tell you. We always planned on having this conversation eventually.
In fact, when we first decided to separate, we agreed that if either one of us started dating someone seriously we’d sit down with everyone and explain the situation. But that never happened.”
“I think that should tell you guys something,” Ariel said, her anger fading for a moment, “now that you mention it.”
David looked at her with a raised brow. “Hmm?”
“The fact that the two of you never fell hard for anyone else,” she said.
“And that you’ve lived so happily and comfortably together all this time.
Doesn’t that tell you that you’re meant for each other?
That it was a mistake to get divorced, or that you just didn’t try enough to make the romantic side of your relationship work?
That’s what it seems like to me, at least.”
“As lovely as that thought is…” David replied, but when he looked over his shoulder, he caught sight of Joshua and Callie stepping into the living room. “Oh, hey Joshua,” David said with a wave.
Joshua seemed deeply uncomfortable, but he offered everyone a smile and wave regardless. “Hi, there. Sorry to interrupt. I realize this isn’t the best time for me to drop by, and I was just about to be on my way—”
“Oh, yeah, by the way, this is Joshua,” Mallory said with a snarky look at her siblings, “mom’s boyfriend.”
Ariel’s eyes widened, but it was Callie who gasped. “Mallory, stop it. You know Joshua’s not my boyfriend. You’re just saying that to stir up trouble. Don’t you think this situation is dramatic enough without you making up lies?”
Joshua laughed awkwardly and took a step back. “I’m just going to excuse myself. I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend. Bye now.” He turned and quietly walked out the front door, closing it behind himself.
Callie gave her daughter a look. “Why would you do that? Joshua is a nice guy who doesn’t deserve to be humiliated.”
Mallory knew she’d crossed a line, but she wasn’t about to admit it.
She shrugged and turned away from her mother’s harsh gaze.
“I just thought we should get everything out in the open. Maybe Joshua isn’t your boyfriend, but he clearly likes you, and since he knows you and dad aren’t together…
” She paused, allowing everyone to come to their own conclusions.
Callie exhaled a fuming sigh and sat down next to Sasha.
“I don’t know how much this is going to matter to you kids right now, but I want to make it clear—your father and I are truly sorry for lying.
It seemed like the right thing to do at first, and then over the years, we just got further away from the truth.
We didn’t know how to come clean, and we thought everyone would just be happier if we didn’t say anything. ”
“Good call. Look at how happy we are now.” Mallory rolled her eyes and then sneered at Sasha. “Oh, and let’s not forget that Dad ran around with Sasha’s mom but somehow didn’t know she was pregnant?!”
“I swear,” David started. “I would never knowingly abandon a child of mine. That much I hope is clear.” Out of the corner of her eye, Mallory spotted her dad approaching Sasha.
“I would’ve been there for you in all the same ways I was there for my other children.
I wish your mother had said something, but I can understand why she felt too scared to do that.
The situation between Callie and I was confusing, and we hadn’t divorced officially yet.
She probably thought there was more to the story than I was telling her. ”
“Gee, I wonder where she would’ve gotten an idea like that,” Mallory muttered.
“Please, Mallory, just come and sit down,” her mother pleaded. “Nothing is going to be accomplished by you standing over there muttering to yourself.”
“I disagree. It’s making me feel less angry, which I would say is an accomplishment, wouldn’t you?”
Callie sighed. “We’re never going to resolve anything if we don’t talk this through like adults. That means no more snide remarks or—”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Mallory put her hands in the air. “I didn’t realize there were rules I was supposed to follow when it comes to finding out my parents have been lying to me for half my life. Is there some kind of guidebook you can give me, so I’ll be a little more prepared next time?”
Nobody responded—not that she was really looking for an answer. Mallory turned to Taylor with a smug expression. “You’ve grown awfully quiet over there. Do you have any thoughts you’d like to share with the class?”
He caught her eye for a second and then looked down at the cold, empty fireplace. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Mal. I’m pissed too, but I can also see where they’re coming from to some degree.”
“What?” Mallory scoffed. “How?”
“I don’t know…” He rubbed his face with both hands. “I’m not saying it was right—it was definitely not the decision I would’ve made—but I think they really were trying to protect us...”
“Protect us from what?”
“From being disillusioned?” he suggested.
“You said it yourself the other night, you idealize their relationship. They probably didn’t want to shatter our childhood memories or their love for each other.
And it’s not like they’ve been secretly hating each other this whole time.
They still love one another and seem close.
.. who cares if they don’t sleep in the same bed?
If you really think about it, nothing much has changed now that we know. ”
Mallory pressed her fingers to her forehead and blinked quickly, seeming unable to fathom what she’d just heard.
“What?! Nothing’s changed?! Are you serious?
Everything’s changed! Everything’s a lie!
” Mallory scoffed and shot a sharp look at Ariel.
“And what do you have to say about all this? Are you going to take their side as well?”
Ariel sighed. “There are no sides, Mal. At least, I don’t think there are.
I’m not in any sort of fight with mom and dad.
I’m just trying to understand… And I suppose I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sad.
It’s hard for me to think about their romance having ended so long ago.
I also always looked up to their relationship too, but…
if this is what makes them happy...” She glanced up with sad, sympathetic eyes at her sister and shrugged. “What can we do?”
Mallory clenched her fists, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red—she wanted to scream.
For a moment, she considered asking Erica for her opinion, but she knew it was wrong to put her sister-in-law in the middle of all this.
The only other person in the room, besides a literal baby, was Sasha—but Mallory didn’t want to hear another word from her.
In fact, she didn’t want to hear another word from anyone in that room.
“I can’t do this,” she said finally, shaking her head. “I just—I have to get some air.”
Callie stood up when Mallory marched toward the front door. “Honey—” Callie reached for her hand.
Mallory pulled away without even meeting her mother’s gaze. “No, Mom. I need to leave.” With that, she opened the front door, stepped outside, and shut the door behind her.