Chapter Thirteen Nico #2
Maybe Lee can relate to Phoebe’s situation more than I can.
Mei says it’s about keeping her engaged and stimulated, but Phoebe’s pretty set against moving up a grade and I have no idea what the right thing to do is.
I don’t want her to be unhappy, but I don’t want her to be stifled either.
It feels like there’s no right answer, and I’m the adult, I’m the one who is supposed to know what to do, but every decision I make has such enormous consequences for the rest of Phoebe’s life.
The money is part of that, too.
‘I want her to know that she has nothing but choices, open doors and a father who supports her. It would be selfish of me to throw a tantrum and turn my back on this money if it can provide a future for my daughter. I can jump through a bunch of stupid hoops… for her.’
Lee considers this for a moment. ‘So,’ she says slowly, ‘this is what Magda was talking about. With the trustee investigating you, a quickie divorce from the woman you drunkenly married in Las Vegas is—’
‘A disaster,’ I finish. ‘Ironically, I’m the most stable and responsible I’ve ever been. Phoebe must have overheard me joking with Magda that the only thing I needed was a pretty, dependable wife to go with the kid and the dog and the house in the suburbs.’
‘Of course, nothing screams dependable like a ready-made wife who’s an accountant,’ she says, and I don’t know if I’m imagining the touch of hurt in her voice.
‘This is why I didn’t want to tell you. It’s my mess, not yours. Magda means well but she should never have let Phoebe talk her into this. I’ll figure something out.’
I have no idea what, but there has to be a way around it.
‘When is the trustee coming to assess you?’
‘Next Sunday. A week from now.’ My jaw tightens at the idea. ‘Maybe there’s a way to keep this all quiet. Rush through the paperwork.’
Lee shakes her head. ‘I don’t think so. If this person is any good at their job, they’ll have run a background check on you.
Our marriage certificate is filed. They’re probably expecting to meet your wife.
It’s actually better that you heard it all from me now, rather than having it dropped on you then.
At least there’s still time to prepare.’
‘Bloody hell.’ I can’t believe that hadn’t occurred to me.
Of course Lee’s right. There’s documentation; the wedding might have been a drunken blur but our marriage is legal.
It’s why Lee came all this way in the first place.
Obviously my dad’s lackey is going to know about it already.
If it wasn’t such a massive fuck-up it would be funny – I was literally the last person to find out I have a wife.
Lee. My wife.
‘What if I stay?’ Her voice rings loud in the quiet of our surroundings.
‘Stay?’
Lee lifts her chin again, ‘That’s what everyone’s been hinting at, right? What if I stay and pretend to be your wife? It would only be for a little while, wouldn’t it? Just until the assessment is over.’
‘I don’t know how long they plan to be here,’ I say slowly, my heart beating a bit faster. ‘It could be a few days, it could be longer. I have no idea.’
‘But they can’t stay indefinitely,’ she points out. ‘My job is flexible. I can work remotely for a while.’
‘What about Gran?’ I ask a bit desperately.
Something passes across her face then, something I don’t like. ‘She doesn’t need me. She made that clear.’
‘What does that mean?’
Lee doesn’t answer; her expression smooths out, impossible to read.
I sigh, realising that Lee has shut the conversation down. I’ll get nothing out of her now, but I file it away – a matter for another time. ‘You’re supposed to be the sensible one here,’ I remind her.
Obviously, I’ve miscalculated. If anything, she looks even more determined now. ‘The circumstances are far from typical. Who says this isn’t the best plan?’
‘A mad ruse in which you and I pretend to be happily married, living in a small town and raising an eight-year-old?’ I laugh. ‘We should just get you a flight home.’
‘Why won’t you let me help you?’ Lee asks.
‘Why would you want to?’ I fire back.
She flinches and I hiss out a breath in frustration. ‘I only meant that this isn’t your problem. I don’t see why you need to be dragged into it. I can handle things.’
‘I thought I was your friend.’ Her voice is small.
‘What?’
‘I know that you and Jack are best friends. I know I’m just his sister, but I thought…
’ Her hand drops to the boardwalk and she traces an absent circle with her finger.
‘Before Vegas. I thought we were friends, too.’ She looks up at me then and it feels like someone has taken a baseball bat to my gut.
This morning Lee told Phoebe the story of when we first met, and I realised I hadn’t thought about it for a long, long time.
That solemn little girl with the big, sad eyes.
She didn’t even cry that day. Not while her parents were inside the house, screaming obscenities that would make a sailor blush.
Not when everyone had forgotten about her and she crept away to hide.
Thinking about it now makes me want to put my fist through a wall.
‘Of course we’re friends,’ I say, hoarsely. ‘That’s why I don’t want you wrapped up in my problems. I care about you. I care about you a lot.’
The words hang in the air between us and I resist the urge to laugh them away, to claw them back or make them smaller.