CHAPTER THREE #3
“We’ve been remarried a while now. You need to get used to it.” She patted my hand. “Thatcher’s not going to collapse in tears if you mention the divorce.”
I smiled a little at the thought of Thatcher breaking down in tears. It did seem unlikely to happen. “Fine, you’re right. What was the name of the other lawyer your dad suggested?”
“Stay for dinner?” Diane asked as she walked back through the kitchen in an athleisure outfit she wouldn’t have been caught dead in just a few years ago.
Of course, it was a designer brand, so it probably cost upwards of three hundred dollars, but it was still a positive change.
She used to walk around dressed like a nineteen fifties housewife until bedtime.
My own parents had wanted to be just like Jack and Diane.
They’d pretended to be that way, at least. But it had all been a facade.
They had divorced, and neither of them particularly wanted to be a single parent.
So, Gam had stepped up to the plate and taken me in.
My parents had moved—one to Atlanta, one to Boston—and Gam became my parent.
Even though it was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to me because Gam was awesome, I did sometimes wonder what I’d done wrong.
How I’d been so unlovable that neither of them had wanted me.
I’d been glad to have Gam plus four amazing friends growing up… Carrie, Sadie, Drake, and Melinda… who all had amazing parents. And they’d helped parent me as well. We lived in that kind of town. The phrase ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ wasn’t wrong. Indigo Falls took it to heart.
“I can’t today, Diane,” I said a little sadly.
I would’ve loved to stay. “I have to pick up the boys from practice and Selene has a football game in a bit. Of course, I’ll be taking Theo, too,” I said with a smile.
Carrie’s son Theo and my Selene were practically attached at the hip.
It had always been great seeing how well my children and hers got along.
Carrie’s daughter Gracie was the baby of the group at three, and all the kids doted on her.
She nodded. “Well, if you change your mind, come back after all of that and bring all the kids. It’s been a while since Jack and I have seen all six of them at the same time.”
I stared at her for a moment. She was so different than she’d been when I was growing up that it was still startling sometimes.
“I might take you up on that,” I said, seriously.
I hadn’t put the roast in the crock pot to cook this morning like I’d meant to do, and I didn’t really want to get fast food or a pizza.
“You’re welcome any time. I hope you know that.” She gave me a warm smile, and I got up to give her a hug.
“Thank you.” Even though Gam loved my kids to pieces, I’d been so thankful to Jack and Diane for always treating my kiddos like they were their own grandchildren.
I leaned against the back of the enormous kitchen island while Carrie sat at the breakfast room table. We’d done this a million times in our lives, and we’d probably do it a million more. “Now… the lawyer?” I reminded her.
“What lawyer?” Jack walked through, dripping pool water on the floor.
“Do you remember that one you recommended to me when I was about to divorce Thatch?”
He sat down, not caring a bit that his swim trunks were still wet, and made a small frown of concentration as he started scrolling through his contacts on his phone. “Yeah,” he finally said, brightening up. “Here it is. His name is Ellis…”
Diane had been walking towards us with a towel for Jack. Her eyes suddenly went wide, she seemed to forget where she was going, and she slammed into the side of the kitchen island.
Carrie, Jack, and I gaped as the force of her collision knocked her backwards, she tripped over her own feet, and then she fell to the floor. She hit hard, her head bouncing a bit on the tile.
“My God!” Jack had run over to her as he saw it unfolding. “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing,” Diane said in a sing-song voice that fooled no one. She tried to pop right back up but was clearly unsteady on her feet. She brushed invisible dirt off her pants.
Carrie and I exchanged a wide-eyed look. What the hell was going on with Diane? I’d never seen her so much as stumble in my entire life.
“Mom? You ran right into the kitchen island as if you’d never walked through our house before. Are you… okay?”
Diane flushed. “Fine, fine.” She waved a hand like it didn’t matter at all. “Cookies, anyone?” She was holding out a charcuterie board with meats, cheeses, and olives on it.
I stared at her. A bruise was already starting to form on the side of her face.
“I’m going to grab my pen light from my home office,” Jack said, hurrying off.
Diane looked confused by our reactions, then realized what she was holding. “Oh. Well. Not cookies then. Um… sliced meat, anyone?”
“Sit down, Mom.”
Diane sat down. “Who’s with the kids?” she asked.
“Sutton and Sophia are out there.” The girls were old enough to watch their younger siblings and Carrie’s kids as well.
“Thatcher is out there, too,” Carrie reassured her.
She nodded, drew in a deep breath, and looked both nauseous and very pale.
I was relieved after Jack did a thorough assessment and pronounced that she didn’t seem to have a concussion. “It just threw you off for a bit, huh?” he asked kindly.
She nodded, her color slowly starting to return. “Can I have a drink?” she asked her husband.
“Sure.” He stood to get her whatever she wanted. “Water?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Wine, please. No… make it whiskey. Or a gin and tonic. Or tequila.”
The room was quiet as we watched Jack turn to cock an eyebrow at his wife. “We have wine and whiskey, but I don’t think we have any gin or tequila. In fact, I’m pretty sure we’ve never had gin or tequila around unless we were having a party.” He gave Carrie and I a worried look.
“Whiskey is fine. Just… bring the bottle.”
“You’re sure she’s okay, Dad?” Carrie stared at her mother as if she was an alien.
“She’s fine. The fall just shook you up, right, Diane?”
She gave a weak smile, not bothering to answer.
He poured her two fingers in a lowball glass before sitting back down. He went through his phone. “Back to the lawyer.” He looked up at me when he was finished scrolling. “His name is Ellis… Malloy.”
While he was texting me the contact info, Diane’s eyes widened. She seemed to have just realized why I would need a lawyer.
“Why would you divorce your husband?”
I didn’t really want to tell her.
“Mom—that’s private.”
“Right,” Diane said, then tossed back the entire contents of her glass in one gulp. Then she poured twice the amount she’d originally had into her glass.
Jack, looking disturbed and confused by his wife’s behavior, finally turned to me. “This guy’s the best. Several friends of mine have used him over the years, and they swear he helped make their divorces more amicable.”
Diane leaned forward. “I’ve heard he drinks,” she whispered. It would’ve meant more if she hadn’t slurred her words.
All eyes went to the glass of whiskey in her hand. She seemed startled to see it there. She took one long swig and put it down. She was eyeing the bottle again.
“Mom, I think you’ve had enough.”
“Probably,” Diane agreed while pouring herself another. Her eyes went to Jack. “I thought this Ellis fellow only practiced in Halliwell.”
A frown creased Jack’s still-unlined face. “I don’t think that’s true. Anyway, let’s get you settled. Do you need some ice for your head?”
She put up a hand to the side of her head and hissed. “Yes, please.”
Carrie stood up. “Come on, Blair. Let’s go get some sun.”
This, of course, was code for ‘let’s get away from my crazy mother and discuss things where she can’t hear us.’
I followed her down the hall. “Why does your mom seem to not want me to use that lawyer?” I asked once we were out of hearing range.
“No clue.” Carrie shrugged. “But I’ve heard he’s amazing and so has Dad. I think you’d be in good hands with him if you do decide to divorce Scott.” She glanced at me. “Is that what you’re going to do?”
“Like I said, I’m leaning that way. I have one last test for him. I want to be able to tell the kids one day that I gave the marriage everything I had. Let’s see how he does, and then I’ll make up my mind.
“Um… pretty sure you could easily say that already, Blair. What kind of test?”
“I’m going to drop in on him at work and meet this new employee he’s texting with. I think he’s going to fail that test. If he doesn’t, I’ll re-evaluate things.”
Carrie was studying my face so closely I was becoming a bit uncomfortable. “I’ve never seen you this… cold about something.”
I flinched at the word ‘cold.’ “I’m not trying to be cold; I’m just tired of being the only one in our marriage that cares about it.
I’m always trying to be a better wife, a better mom.
Scott is just sort of coasting through life without noticing his family.
He never makes me feel important or loved.
” I glanced around. “Unless it’s for sex,” I whispered.
“That’s the only time I feel close to him at all. ”
She squeezed my arm. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m just surprised by how calm you are.”
I gave her a quick hug. “Believe me, I’ve cried so many tears and freaked out so many times that I don’t have anything left.” I shrugged. “Of course, if I walk in on him cheating on me, it might be a different story.” I forced a smile. “Then you can comfort me through my tears.”
Carrie winced. “I hope I don’t have to. I wish he could just be who you deserve.”