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The longest night of Drew’s life started with a school concert and ended with him sleeping on his sister’s short, flowered loveseat.
He followed Jeff home. When he eased into the back kitchen door from the garage, using his key, he could tell his sister and her husband hadn’t started fighting yet. Relieved, he hurried through the house to find Amanda and Jeff in the living room. She stood on one side, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. Jeff huddled by the front door, looking shell shocked.
When Drew burst into the room, they both whirled to gape at him.
Amanda recovered first. "What’re you doing here?"
Lifting both hands, he started, "Both of you, don’t say anything to each other yet. Okay? Just … go somewhere else. Go to my place. I’ll stay here with the kids. Just don’t start fighting here. You don’t want you to scare the children. Especially Natalie. She’ll understand too much."
"Okay," Amanda said. She rubbed at her arms as if she was freezing. "Okay," she said again, more jittery-acting that he’d ever seen her. "That’s a good idea." She started for that door, past Drew.
He reached for her arm to give it an encouraging pat as she passed, but she paused and gave him a full hug in return, holding him hard and burying her face in his shoulder. He cupped her head and kissed her hair. She shuddered and sobbed out a hiccup-type moan.
Stroking her hair, he quietly murmured, "Shh. It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay," though he had no idea how. Could anything ever be okay again?
Amanda found courage from his words though. She straightened, stared him in the eye for a good five seconds. Then she managed a watery smile. Nodding, she patted his cheek lovingly and started from th
e room without glancing at her husband.
Once she was gone, Drew shifted his gaze to Jeff. At least the man looked suitably guilty and apologetic.
"You guys can ride over there separately," he said.
Though he’d never given his brother-in-law a command before, it didn’t come out timid or even feel awkward. He was actually ready and willing to give Jeff a few more commands, telling him where to go and how to get there. But this wasn’t the time. He was only here to act as the babysitter, not get in the middle of a married couple’s dispute. So, he held his tongue.
Jeff nodded in response to Drew’s suggestion. As if wanting to give his wife a head start, he waited until they heard Mandy’s Honda start before he made a move toward the door. Then he bowed his head and started out. Drew stepped aside to give him more room to pass, but Jeff paused next to him.
He reached for Drew’s shoulder as he said, "Thank you, Drew."
But Drew stepped back before his brother-in-law could make contact. He had no sympathy for this man. No "it’ll be okays" or heartfelt hugs for Jeffrey.
Jeff waited a frozen moment before dropping his hand. Then he nodded in understanding before he ducked his head and fled.
Finally deflating, Drew sagged against the door and stayed there until he heard Jeff’s car start as well. Then he slumped toward the loveseat and collapsed. He was tired, but sleep didn’t come. Too many thoughts raced through his mind to allow him rest. He wondered what Amanda and Jeff were talking about. He pictured Mia’s shock as she glanced outside and caught sight of Jeff’s car in her driveway. He worried how his nieces and nephew would react if he was still here in the morning when they woke.
Since they were his main priority at the moment, he eased down the hall toward their rooms, hoping their parents hadn’t done anything to wake them before he’d arrived.
They were still dead asleep, thank God. Felix lay sprawled out on his back, totally open and relaxed with his arms and legs hogging the whole bed. Lucy curled into a ball and looked like a kitten nestled among the sheets. Natalie stirred restlessly when he checked on her. She’d scissor-kicked her sheets half off. He took the edge and pulled them back over her.
Once he returned to the living room, he stood in the center of the floor and rubbed at the center of his forehead, wishing he were somewhere else, wishing this wasn’t happening.
Neither wishes were granted, so he settled himself once again on the loveseat. It was warm, so he kicked off his shoes and removed the throw blanket Amanda had draped over the back rest. He lay down with his feet hanging off the end and stared across the dark room, wishing he could do something a little more productive to help Amanda, like beat her lying, cheating husband to a pulp. But watching her kids was the most helpful he could be, so he stayed put, drifting in and out of sleep, waking to check the clock on the wall every few hours or wander through the house, making sure Natalie, Lucy and Felix were okay.
He was still conscious when Amanda returned home alone at five in the morning. When he heard the garage door open, he sat up, yawning. His muscles were sore and cramped. Ignoring his shoes, he padded through the house to meet Amanda in the kitchen.
Her face was dry but her eyes were red and swollen. There was no sound of Jeff’s Charger pulling into the drive.
Drew breathed out a curse, imaging the worst. Amanda burst into tears, and he ran his hands through his hair, remaining frozen, telling himself not to ask. If she needed to talk about it, he’d be here, but he wasn’t going to force her to open up if she didn’t want to. She was upset enough as it was.
"We’re getting a divorce," she sobbed.
As the truth repeated itself through his head, a burning heat washed over him and his face flamed with emotion. He glanced away from his sister, blinking rapidly. Though it had been twenty-one years since his mother had walked out and his dad had told them she wasn’t coming back, he still remembered the moment clearly. And it hadn’t hurt like this. But he hadn’t been so aware back then. Plus he’d known Jeff longer than he’d known his mother and formed a stronger bond.
Refusing to lose it in front of his sister who needed him to stay strong, he sniffed his misery back in and quietly asked, "Where is he now?"
She shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe he went back to the hotel he’s been staying in while he was pretending to be in Denver. Maybe he’s at her house. Who cares?"
"Do you," he gulped in a breath. "Do you want to talk about it?"
