Chapter 13 The Calvary Has Arrived… and Her Name Is Josephine James #2
“Yeah! And that family is about to be ripped apart suddenly by this … this homewrecker!”
Vivian’s head snaps back and her eyes fly open, and I immediately wish I could take back the word.
Gasping, my mom says, “Do not talk about Vivian that way! She is no homewrecker. She’s a kind, thoughtful woman who cares very much about your brother’s future, which is more than I can say for you.”
Oh no. No one is going to tell me I don’t care about my brother.
“What are you talking about? The entire reason I called you was because I’m trying to save Dom from making the biggest mistake of his life, and I’m sorry, but she doesn’t care about him.
She cares about views and followers and sponsors. ”
My mum sets her jaw and folds her arms, and I know she’s about at the end of her rope. Her tone is quiet but firm, which is what happens before she blows. “You need to apologize to Vivian right now.”
Vivian shakes her head. “No, that’s fine. He doesn’t have to—”
“Yes, he does.”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “Sorry, Vivian. I’m not trying to insult you. I’m just worried about Dominic.”
She shrugs her eyebrows, then says, “Got it. It’s pretty insulting to be called a homewrecker and be accused of only caring about my business, but I get it. You’ve got a good thing going with your brother and you don’t want to lose it.”
Oh my God, how is it that I’m on the losing side of this war when I’m right and they’re all crazy? “That’s not what this is about.”
“Isn’t it?” Dominic asks.
Shaking my head, I then say, “A little bit, sure. But can you blame me? You’ve been here with me this entire time.
You’re my family. You’re the only person I can count on to be here day in and day out.
And now, you’re about to take off and leave us alone forever.
Have you even thought about what that’s going to do to Henry? ”
“Don’t do that,” Dominic says. “Do not try to guilt me into staying forever. Henry will bounce back. He’s a resilient little guy, and he’ll always know how much I love him. We’ll do Facetime calls and we’ll be back to visit often.”
“It’s true,” Vivian says. “I’ll be coming to see Paige anyway, so we’ll be back a lot.”
I give her a look that says I don’t want to hear another word from her, and she takes the hint. “You know what? I think I’ll turn in and let you guys talk.” She gives my mother a hug. “Good night, Josephine. It’s been so fun getting to know you this evening.”
“You too, sweetie.”
Dammit, she’s already calling her sweetie. The war is over. I lost.
Twenty minutes later, I’m lying in bed in the dark, fuming, when my bedroom door swings open. I lift my head off the pillow in time to see Dominic coming in carrying a pillow.
“If you’re here to suffocate me, it won’t work because I’m awake,” I say. “And I’m much stronger than you.”
“Oh my God, you’re such a man baby. Should we have an arm-wrestling contest? Maybe invite the neighbors and get Mum and Vivian to wear bikinis and hold up our scores?”
“First of all, never talk about our mother wearing a bikini again. And second, I would never arm-wrestle you in public because I’d humiliate you, which would only make me look like an asshole.”
He tosses his pillow on the bed next to mine. “Well, then the world will finally see you for what you are. Now, move over.”
“What do you mean, move over?”
“Move over. I’m sleeping here.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Uh, yeah, I am,” he says.
“Get out. This is my room.”
“Well, my room is occupied by our tiny, tipsy mother, who, you’ll recall, was invited here by you to sabotage my wedding. And since their house is currently being rented out because she’s supposed to be somewhere in Africa, it means she’s in my bed. So I’m in here.”
“Go sleep with your future wife.”
“Eww, no.” He lifts the covers and climbs into bed. In response, I turn over, tugging the blankets as hard as I can to my side. This leads to a childish struggle that reminds me of every family vacation we ever went on. Finally, we both give up and sigh loudly.
We lay in silence for a minute, then Dominic says, “I’m so disappointed in you.”
I don’t say anything, because he already knows where I stand and why I called our mother. I did what I did for all our sakes. Did I screw it up? Yes. Did I insult Vivian? Absolutely. But my heart was in the right place.
“Honestly, Ben, after everything I’ve done for you and Henry.
” Uh-oh, here it comes. “Walking up and down the beach with him in the middle of the night so you could get some sleep when he was tiny, making organic baby food, changing countless diapers—and you know he always had his biggest poops as soon as you left for work every day. The snotty noses, the skinned knees, teaching him his letters and numbers and cutting the crusts off every sandwich every damn day for the last three years.” He pauses, but I don’t say anything because I know he’s not done.
“I postponed my career. For years. And now, when something good is finally happening for me for once, you shit all over it.”
He’s right. He’s one-hundred-percent right.
The guilt feels like a thousand-pound weight on my chest. “Please don’t think for one second that I don’t appreciate all of it, Dominic, because I do.
You being here has made it so that instead of just barely surviving, Henry and I are doing well.
And I can see how it looks like I’m only thinking of myself here, but I’m thinking about you too.
What if you meet the guy of your dreams and you can’t have a relationship with him because you’re committed to Vivian?
Or he’s so disappointed when he finds out you’re living a lie that he writes you off?
And what about Henry? It’s easy to say you’ll be back all the time, but let’s be honest. You won’t.
You’ll make it on Broadway and your shows will run for months at a time without any breaks.
And you’ll never come back and you’ll miss his entire childhood, and his memories of you will just be these faded, distant things in the back of his mind.
A vague warm feeling about someone he used to know. ”
He sniffs, then says, “You fucker. You’re making me cry.”
I feel a lump in my throat. “Sorry.”
He clears his throat, then says, “If Mr. Right comes along, what’ll make him right is that he’ll understand why I did this, and he’ll support me.
And how dare you suggest I’m going to fade out of Henry’s life, when I’ve been basically an equal parent in raising him so far?
I love him more than I love myself. I would never just disappear. ”
Don’t say it. Do not say it. “You will disappear. You’re already planning on it.”
Dominic sniffs, then after a second, he says, “It’s nice to know you have so much faith in me after all these years of giving up everything for you.”
Letting out a long sigh, I say, “Dom, I do have faith in you. Of course I do. You’ve been a rock.”
“Yes, I have. And maybe I need a rock now. Have you ever thought of that? I’m about to do something new and big and scary.
I’m about to go for it. Like, really go for it and see if I’ve got what it takes to make it.
This is my shot, and I’m scared as hell.
Maybe I could use a brother who’s standing next to me saying ‘you’ve got this,’ not someone doing his best to keep me chained to the house. ”
Oh, that was a dagger to my heart. I am a shitty, shitty brother right now.
I shut my eyes tightly, wishing I could go back and start this week over and handle everything differently.
Wishing I hadn’t called our mum or called Vivian a homewrecker or basically just told Dominic he was selfish.
But I did do all those things. And I’m going to have to find a way to fix them.
“I’m sorry, Dom,” I say in a soft tone. “You’re right. I’m being selfish.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m also thinking of you, and maybe my version of what’s best for you is all wrong. Maybe I’m going into my default mode of being cautious and worrying about all the what ifs that might never happen. Maybe you’ve got to take your shot and see what happens.”
“You’re damn right I need to take my shot. What kind of life will I have if I don’t?”
“You’re right. You have to do it. I just wish there was a more honest way for you to get there.”
His tone is still huffy, even though I can tell he’s calming down. “Well, there isn’t. There’s this way that has appeared before me. It’s an incredible opportunity and I have to take it.”
“All right. I surrender. I won’t try to interfere anymore.”
“Good. Thank you.”
“And I’ll apologize to Vivian, for real this time.”
“Yes, you better.”
“And I’m sorry I called Mum.”
I can feel a dip in the bed as he turns to me. “Yeah, seriously, what was the thinking there? You do know she’s planning to stay until the wedding?”
Wincing, I say, “No, really?”
“Yeah, really, genius.”
I let out a big sigh. “When’s the wedding?”
“In five weeks.”
“I immediately regret this decision,” I say, quoting Ron Burgundy from Anchorman.
The line does what I hoped, and Dominic lets out a laugh in spite of how angry he probably still is at me.