After a few minutes, Ashley put down her phone and looked at her. “It’s been ten days.”
“Ten days?” A week and half had gone by before her sister bothered telling her that her marriage was over?
“I thought he’d come back, you know? Like maybe he’d blow off some steam and then we’d talk about it. But he didn’t come back. And when I called him, he just closed up and it was like talking to a machine.” Ashley stared at her coffee, shaking her head. “More than usual, even. So the more I hope we can work it out, the more he does the thing I can’t live with anymore.”
Lydia took the time to consider her next words carefully. She had her sister’s back, 100 percent, but sometimes having a person’s back wasn’t as cut-and-dried as blindly agreeing with everything they said. “He’s always been quiet. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the other guys call him the ice man. It’s not just with you.”
“He can be however he wants with other people, especially the other guys. I’m hiswife. If I’m upset and worried or pissed off, I need to feel like he at least cares.”
“Have you thought about counseling?”
Ashley shrugged. “I mentioned it once and he changed the subject. I’m not sure what the point would be in talking to somebody when he doesn’t talk.”
“Thatisthe point. A professional can help you guys communicate, including helping him break through whatever block he’s got up and talk to you.”
“I left a message on his voice mail, asking him if we could set up a time to meet somewhere for coffee. If he shows up, I’ll mention it.”
“Just don’t make it about him—thatheneeds help because he can’t communicate. Make it about you feeling like it would be good for your marriage.”
She nodded. “Assuming he even calls me back. He keeps texting me, but I want him to stop taking the easy way out and actually talk to me. I want to hear his voice.”
“Where’s he staying? With his parents?” Ashley’s mouth tightened and Lydia leaned back in her chair. “No. Don’t even tell me.”
“He’s staying with Scotty.”
“Of course he is.” Lydia’s hand tightened around the coffee mug and it took supreme will not to chuck it at the wall. “Is Scott working today?”
Ashley looked at her, and then slowly shook her head. “Don’t, Lydia. You’ll only make it worse.”
“It’s not right. You’re his sister.”
“It’s better than not knowing where Danny is or having him shack up with God knows who.”
“There are plenty of other guys who could offer him a couch,” Lydia argued. “He could crash with Aidan or Rick. Jeff. Chris. Any of them. It didn’t have to beyourbrother. In our father’s house.”
When Ashley just gave a small shrug, Lydia wanted to shake her. As far as she was concerned, Scott had crossed a line and she wanted her sister to be pissed off about it. To demand the respect and loyalty the Kincaid men should be showingher, and not Danny.
But she knew Ashley wasn’t wired the same way she was and it took a lot to make her angry. Just like their mother, once she’d had enough, she could give Lydia and Scott a run for their money, and that’s what Lydia wanted to see.
“Did I really jam you up by asking you to come back?” Ashley asked. “I’m sorry about what I said about your job, by the way. I was so desperate to get out of being at the bar, but that was dirty.”
“I forgive you because God knows I’ve vented at you often enough. That’s what sisters are for. And you didn’t jam me up at all. You were right about me hating that job and, when I go back, I’ll find one I like more.”
“You should go back to bartending. You’re a natural.”
Lydia shrugged. Bartending was something she was good at and she honestly enjoyed it, but she’d taken the waitressing job because she wanted something different. Tending a bar that wasn’t Kincaid’s Pub had seemed at the time like it might be too painful for her.
“I thought about going to school,” she said. “But I spent weeks looking at brochures and stuff online and nothing jumped out at me. If I’m going to invest that time and money, I want it to be for something Ireallywant to be, you know?”
“If I had the chance to go to college, I’d go for office or business stuff. I don’t even know what it’s called, but I think it would be awesome to work in a medical clinic, like for women’s health.”
“Have you thought about going to the community college?” They’d both been thrown into work young and college had never been a big deal in their family, but if Ashley wanted to go, she should.
“Danny and I talked about it a while back. He was supportive, but Dad made a big deal out of needing me at Kincaid’s and you were getting a divorce. Plus working around Danny’s hours would be a pain. It was easier to forget about it.”
Lydia shoved back at the guilt that threatened to overwhelm her and make her say something stupid, like offering to stay in Boston so Ashley could go to college. Her dad had accused her of being selfish when she’d taken off, and maybe she was, but she couldn’t be responsible for everybody’s lives. She was still working on her own.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Lydia said when it became clear Ashley had nothing else to say at the moment. “We should go out for breakfast.”
