Chapter Twenty - Lu
Chapter Twenty
Lu
L u sat on the steps of the inn, watching as the stars danced across the dark sky above the ocean. It was pitch-black out there, and she listened as the crickets chirped. Her face was a mess as mascara ran down her cheeks and there was an empty bottle next to her; she had finished the last of the wine alone . She felt as if she needed something stronger but wanted to have all her faculties about her when she confronted Zach.
She heard his and Gideon’s boisterous laughter as they rounded the corner of the inn. She could hear them before she even saw them. She wished he wasn’t intoxicated because she needed him to be highly alert when she read him his rights—didn’t want any misunderstandings, no bewilderment, no fog. She wanted him to be fully aware. However, her angst wouldn’t allow her to wait until morning. No, she needed answers tonight.
Suddenly she heard the most off-key, falsettolike voice belting out the chorus of Prince’s “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.” On a normal night, she’d have burst into laughter, thought it endearing, but tonight she wasn’t in the mood for Zach’s playful serenade. He tried, though. The moment he saw her, he danced in front of her and sang the words as if they’d been written specifically for her. He stopped long enough to plant a kiss upon her pouting lips. She didn’t budge. Her mouth didn’t curve into its usual smile; her eyes didn’t dance. In fact, her fixed stare, narrowed eyes, and flared nostrils should’ve been an indication that this wasn’t an ordinary night. But he missed all of it.
“Did you ladies have a wonderful dinner?” Gideon asked as he plopped down on the steps next to Lu.
“No, we didn’t,” Lu exclaimed. “In fact, it was a horrible night.”
“What?” Zach lost his balance and plopped down on the opposite side of Lu. “What’s wrong, babe?”
“So much is wrong, but I can’t talk to either of you right now.” Lu stood up and closed her eyes. She felt the tears coming again, but she willed them away. She headed toward the door of the inn.
“Hey Lu,” Gideon called just before she went inside. She turned to look at him, hoping he’d say something to stop her heart from aching. His eyes danced, and with a wide grin, he asked, “Did Kenya say anything about me?”
Lu groaned and went inside.
* * *
As the sunlight crept inside the window and danced against the white curtains, Lu handed Zach a glass of water with an Alka-Seltzer fizzing inside.
“Thanks, sweetheart. I’m never drinking again.”
“. . . says everyone who drank too much the night before.”
“No, I’m serious. This is terrible.”
“Okay,” Lu stood with her arms folded across her chest.
Zach tapped the bed next to him, “Babe, have a seat. Talk to me.”
“I’ll stand.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“What’s this about you visiting a divorce attorney in Atlantic City?” She just cut to the chase. “Are you sleeping with this woman?”
Zach’s eyes widened. He lifted himself up to get a better position. “No, of course not.”
“Kenya suggested that I ask you about why you’re seeing a divorce attorney. Is there something you need to tell me?”
Zach’s eyes averted to the opposite side of the room, as if searching for the answer there. He exhaled. “Actually, there is. Please sit down.”
Lu eased her behind onto the mattress next to Zach, crossed her arms again, and stared off into the distance.
“A very long time ago—long before I met you, when I was fresh out of med school, in fact . . . I had a friend who I married.”
“What?” She searched his face, hoping for the punch line of a joke. She’d thought their marriage would be his first and hers.
“Yes. She was an Ethiopian girl I knew. I married her so that she could gain her US citizenship . . .”
“And you’re still married to her,” Lu determined.
“I didn’t think that I would ever get married again, so I never worried about it. But then I met you, fell in love, and everything changed.”
“And you didn’t think it important enough to tell me?”
“I thought I could handle it before the wedding, and then I would tell you . . . after it was all behind us.”
“You mean after you got me to the altar and too late for me to call off the wedding.”
Zach shrugged. “Well, I . . .”
“This is so messed up. I feel hurt, betrayed . . .”
“Wasn’t my intention to hurt you, sweetheart.”
“Well, you did. And I don’t think that I can trust you anymore.”
“Come on, Lu. You don’t mean that.”
“I mean it.” Lu raised her eyebrows and gave him a scornful glance.
“I didn’t lie to you.”
“No, you just omitted the truth, which is worse.” She rose to her feet. “I think you should pack your things and move back into your place.”
Zach’s home near the hospital was a quaint and modest space that he’d planned on selling once they were married. Though it was closer to work for him—walking distance, even—he only went there to water the plants and let fresh air in from time to time. He spent most of his free time at the inn with Lu.
She moved quickly toward the door. She had rehearsed what she would say to Zach once he had sobered up, but she knew she had to move quickly, get it all out— without tears . Otherwise, he wouldn’t take her seriously. “The wedding is off.”
“Lu.” His heart was wounded; she could tell. He maneuvered his body, then tried to stand. “You don’t mean it.”
“I absolutely mean it.” She removed the engagement ring from her finger, laid it on the antique dresser. She placed her hand on the door handle. “Don’t come after me. I need my space.”
Lu needed to stand her ground. She opened the door and moved swiftly to the other side of it. Then she shut it and leaned her back against it as she lost her fight with the tears. They welled in her eyes like an uninvited guest. Her heart raced with great intensity. She could barely breathe. She rushed down the stairs and retreated to the laundry room—the only place she could think of to hide. To cry. To think. To regain her composure. She locked the door and stood there as the sheets in the dryer spun in circles, humming a tune.
Her issues with Yana had suddenly taken a back seat to last night’s fiasco with her friends. How had things gone so wrong? The fear of Nic revealing her secret to Natalia had come to fruition. In a way, though, it freed her. She’d held on to it for so long, it had become exhausting—a burden of sorts. But now, at least she could breathe. However, the news of Glen having cancer had her off-balance. Her heart ached for her friend, but at the same time she was angry with Kenya for not telling her about Zach and the divorce attorney sooner.
So much had changed in just a matter of hours. If she thought that her life was in turmoil before with John Samuels’s and Yana’s antics, it certainly was now, and she didn’t know how to begin to piece it back together.