Chapter Nineteen - Lu
Chapter Nineteen
Lu
L u lit candles and placed fresh tulips in a vase. She chilled a bottle of Riesling—something to pair with the seafood gumbo she’d had Lorenzo prepare for her Friday night dinner with the girls. Zach and Gideon had disappeared into town to catch up over a few beers. The girls needed their time. Their space. And Lu needed answers about this Kenya-and-Gideon thing.
Kenya was the first to arrive, and Lu couldn’t help but notice the glow that danced across her face. Her braids were pulled up on her head and she wore a short white halter dress with embellished sandals on her feet. Something was different about her friend, yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“You look pretty. Kenya, you’re glowing.” Lu grinned wide at the sight of her best friend. She pulled her into an embrace, held her longer than usual.
“Look at you. I’ve missed you, my friend,” Kenya said.
“Feels like I’ve been gone forever.”
“I can agree with that.”
Lu pulled out her chair and sat. “Where’s Natalia? The two of you usually walk the beach together—arm in arm.”
“I tried calling her before I left. She didn’t answer. I figured she was changing into something comfortable, unwinding after leaving the winery.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Let’s have wine while we wait.” Lu handed Kenya a glass of wine as she took a seat across from her at the table. She poured herself one. “Left your computer at home, I see.”
“I did tonight. Figured I’d give you my undivided attention. I want to hear all about this trip to California and all that you’ve learned about Papa John, and Yana, of course.”
“Girl, brace yourself.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I don’t even know who the heck my mother is anymore.”
Kenya laughed. “You know your mama is a whole trip.”
“Let’s just say I’m pacing myself before I see her. Confront her . I learned a lot on that trip. Needless to say, my emotions were all over the place. I can’t even put into words what I’m feeling right now. There are so many layers to this emotional roller coaster—things I learned about my mother, John’s health, attempting to connect with my siblings. My sister Milan.” Lu shook her head.
“You mean Satan’s spawn.” Kenya laughed.
“She could benefit from some therapy. She seriously has some deep-rooted issues.” Lu raised her glass in the air. “But I don’t want to think about all that tonight. I just want to catch up with you two. I need to know why the heck you’re glowing.”
“I’m not glowing.”
“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You’re glowing. I don’t think I’ve seen you like that since . . . you know.”
“I must admit, I like him.”
“Wow, she admits it. Oh my God, I should’ve recorded it.”
“Don’t blow it out of proportion. I like him, and I’m just waiting for him to do something to make me not like him.”
“You know, what’s messed up about that statement is, you’re serious.”
Kenya chuckled, but Lu knew her friend well. She knew that she wouldn’t give herself a chance to be happy.
In the distance, Lu could see Natalia tramping toward Lu’s Seaside Inn, a fast, intentional pace. Lips pursed, eyes wide, her arms swung aggressively from side to side. Her strapless sundress blew in the wind. In fact, the wind was so forceful it caused her steps to quicken.
As she got closer, Lu raised her glass in the air. “Well, we’re glad you could join us. As you can see, we’ve started without you, my dear.”
“Yes, we’ve been waiting forever.” Kenya giggled.
“Lorenzo is preparing a special dinner for us,” Lu announced.
Natalia didn’t smile at their playfulness. Nor did she reply to their comments. There was a crease in the center of her forehead, a frown on her face. She almost looked as if she might burst into tears. She stepped onto the veranda and stood there, refusing to sit. Her eyes bulged; her nostrils flared.
“What’s wrong, honey? Is it Nic again?” Lu grabbed a glass, poured wine into it for Natalia. “I know you need this.”
“I don’t want wine.” Natalia stood in front of the table in a defensive stance, hands on her hips. “I just have one question, Lu. Did you tell Nic that I took prescription meds and killed our baby?”
Lu’s eyes widened. Her breathing sped up. She was speechless. The question hit her hard, caught her off guard, made her tremble. Had she known it was coming, she’d have been better prepared. She’d have searched for a response. Instead, she lowered her glance.
“Well?” Natalia begged. “Did you?”
Lu whispered, “Yes, I did. And I’m sorry.”
“What are we talking about here?” Kenya asked. “What prescription meds?”
Natalia disregarded Kenya’s question, peered at Lu. “I told you that in confidence! I trusted you!”
“I know, honey, and I . . .”
“I thought you were my friend.”
“I am your friend, Natalia.” Lu stood. She wanted to reach for her, hug her. “Natalia . . . I am your friend.”
“Friends don’t repeat what’s told to them in confidence.”
“He came over one night . . . and . . . and . . . he was a mess. He wanted to understand why you were obsessing about having a baby. I thought I was helping.”
“Well, you weren’t helping, and it was not your place to tell him.”
“It wasn’t. And I’m so, so sorry.” Deep regret pierced her heart. There had been so many times she’d wished she could take that moment back—the moment she’d opened her big mouth.
“It was the reason he left, you know.” Natalia paced the stretch of the veranda as if she was in deep thought, as if she was reasoning with herself. “I kept thinking it was me. Thinking that I had run him away. Tormenting myself—examining every conversation we had leading up to the day he moved his things to Atlantic City, just trying to see if it was something I said or did. But all the while it was you . You were the one who ran him away. My so-called friend.”
Kenya interrupted. “Why don’t you sit down, sweetheart, have some wine, and let’s hash this out. We’re friends. Sisters.”
“I don’t want wine. And I don’t want to hash out anything.”
“I don’t really know what Lu told Nic, but I know Lu. And I’m sure it wasn’t her intention to hurt you. She loves you, like I do, Nat Pack,” Kenya tried to soothe Natalia.
“When were you going to tell me that you’d betrayed me?” Natalia asked Lu. “I’ve talked to you plenty of times since then. You came to my house, read those letters. You pretended you were so concerned, and all the while you knew you’d betrayed me.”
Lu covered her face with the palms of her hands. Tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“I hope that Nic comes back home,” Kenya said. “But don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit? I mean, we all know how much you wanted a baby. How you were obsessing about it . . .”
“For your information, he’s already home, Kenya. Thank you,” Natalia announced sarcastically. “He came home last night, as a matter of fact.”
Lu’s eyes bulged when she heard the news. She was happy to hear that Nic had returned but devastated to know that he’d revealed her secret. She said, “Well, that’s a good thing, huh? It’s what you wanted, right?”
“Is it?” Natalia spat out, hands on her hips again.
“At least he’s home. Just to put it all in perspective, mine won’t ever come home.” Kenya’s eyes saddened. “At least I’ve forgiven myself for it, though—for causing him to die.”
“What are you talking about, Kenya?” Natalia asked.
Lu had the same question. Kenya’s revelation seemed to come out of left field.
“I was the one who killed him. I caused him to die. He needed to tell me something the night before he died, and I was too busy to listen. The next day he took his life. I know we all want to make it seem like it was an accident, but I’ve come to terms with it. He drove right into that eighteen-wheeler, on the wrong side of the street no less. Had I listened, made time that night . . . let him get whatever it was off his chest, I don’t know, he might still be here.”
“Kenya, it was not your fault that Glen died.” Natalia took a deep breath. She seemed agitated. “Glen had cancer.”
Lu and Kenya went silent for a moment. Shock overtook their faces. Simultaneously, they said, “What?”
“He had cancer,” Natalia repeated it.
“Natalia, what the hell are you talking about?” Kenya stood this time.
Natalia spoke in almost a whisper. “Glen had stage four lung cancer. That’s what he wanted to tell you that night.”
“And you know this . . . how?”
“I overheard him talking to Nic on our patio one night. Nic urged him to get treatment—chemotherapy, radiation—whatever, to preserve his life, but he refused, saying that he didn’t want to put you through all of it. He wanted to protect you. He didn’t believe in chemo. Kenya, he was already dying before the accident.”
Lu wrapped her arm around Kenya. She wanted to ease the blow that Natalia had just thrown.
“You knew about this and didn’t tell me?” Kenya peered at Natalia.
“I wanted to tell you. So many times, I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t want to compound your pain.”
“Everybody wants to lighten Kenya’s load, not put her through things.” Kenya spoke about herself in third person. “News flash, people! I’m strong and I’m capable of handling things. I don’t need to be coddled.”
“Yes, you’re one of the strongest people I know, but this, Kenya, was different. You were grieving,” Natalia explained.
“I can’t believe you kept this from me . . . for all this time . . . for three freaking years!”
“I tried calling you that day. I was going to tell you when you got home from the firm. But before I could reach you, I saw the footage on the news about Glen’s accident. After that, it was just never a good time.”
“In three years, you couldn’t find one single good time?”
“It just seemed like it would cause you more pain. I’m so sorry. I thought I was doing what was best.”
“What gives you the right to decide what’s best for me?” Kenya gave Natalia an icy stare. “Do you know how long I’ve blamed myself for his death?”
“I didn’t know that you were blaming yourself.”
“You walked up here all high-and-mighty, intending to give Lu a piece of your mind. Wanting to blame her for betraying you . Well, you betrayed me. I don’t know if I can forgive you for this one. This cuts deep.”
Tears appeared in Natalia’s eyes and crept down her cheeks.
“Kenya,” Lu called. “Come on, Kenya. I’m sure she had your best interests at heart.”
“My best interests? So, you agree that she should’ve kept this from me?” Kenya asked Lu. “You’d have kept it from me, too? Did you know about it, too?”
Kenya didn’t wait for a response. She pushed past Natalia and headed toward her house.
“No, I didn’t know. And I’m not saying that I would’ve kept it from you. I’m just saying . . . you were in a bad place for so long,” Lu said.
Kenya threw her hand in the air, kept walking. A few seconds later, she stopped. Then she came back toward the inn with intention.
“You know what . . . since you two think it’s okay to keep secrets, and since we’re having this whole come-to-Jesus meeting tonight, Lu, you might as well know, I, too, have betrayed you .”
“What?”
“Yeah. I saw your fiancé in Atlantic City a few weeks ago. Yes, the day he was supposedly performing an emergency surgery at his hospital on Cape May—at least that’s what he told you. Well, he was visiting with a well-known divorce attorney. Go ask him what he was doing with her.” Kenya turned and started up the stretch of the beach again.
“What was he doing there?” Lu shouted. “Kenya Lewis, you get back here and tell me what you’re talking about.”
Kenya did not return.
In a huff, Natalia left the inn also. She headed toward her home, a few paces behind Kenya.
In an instant, their friendship had crumbled . . . without warning, and without any hope of piecing it back together.