AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you know his wife?”
Julian nodded. “I was his best man.”
I left the question open because I was dying to know if his presence here had anything to do with her.
“He didn’t tell you why he was here, did he?”
Intuitive Julian. I liked him.
“I bet you’re the peacekeeper of the crew.”
“Yep, Drew is the clown, Doug is the “always up for it” guy. I’m the peacekeeper and Ian is the thinker.”
“I love that you guys still keep in touch.”
“Ian’s passed on most of our trips over the years, but he surprised us all with the invite out here.”
“Why do you think he passed?”
“His daughter. Always Ella. He’s a helicopter dad and won’t miss anything when it comes to her. None of us blame him.”
Finishing my water, I stood and threw it in the trash.
“I will tell you this. He’s not here because of his ex-wife.”
I nodded.
“But he’s been through hell because of her and the damage she’s done is going to fuck with him for some time.”
“Thanks.”
“Sure.”
“As long as we’re giving fair warning, you should know Jasmine’s in a… strange place.”
“We’ve been talking most of the night.”
“Okay, cool,” I said, relieved to be off the hook. “Well, see you in the morning.”
He pushed off from the counter. “Night.”
I got halfway to the hall when he spoke up. “Koti?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for having us.”
“Of course. I had fun.”
“And just in case you need to hear it from someone who knows him, you won’t be easily forgotten.”
But I would be forgotten, at least that’s the way I interpreted it. Unable to think of Julian as spiteful or having any reason to hurt me, my new hopes, even with Ian’s confession of falling, were obliterated. Though I was confused, I refused to ask Julian for a better explanation. I’d already shown too much vulnerability when it came to Ian. I’d given Julian a rock to my glass house and he’d used it.
“Night, Julian.”
“Night.”
Hi, Daddy.
