AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Appalled, Lila wasn’t prepared for this. “So you told him. Did you think the truth would make a difference?”
“I think I hoped it would. He was getting ready to pop the question. I knew it because someone from the office told me. I was a secretary at the same law firm. Evidently, this other woman was a friend of Bob’s, and he’d told her the plan. We were going to go to Mount Soledad, and he was going to ask me to marry him there. I wasn’t sure though. Your father is so intense.”
“Mom, he’s more than intense. He’s brutal.”
“Aw, don’t be too hard on Bob. He’s passionate about everything.”
“You’ve always made excuses for him,” Lila replied. “I have a lot of hang-ups because of it.”
“I’m sorry for the part I played.”
So they were going to skirt the issues after all, not get down to any nitty-gritty there on the wealthy streets of La Jolla.
“Tell me about Big Mike,” Lila said.
“Well, it’s easy, Lila. Mike was ravishing. It was one of those memorable interactions that you couldn’t exist on because they were purely physical. I won’t embarrass you with details, but he swept me off my feet. There was just nothing to compare after being with him.”
A pang of sadness for Bob’s sake hit Lila. A man’s ego would be destroyed.
“But he’s not an intellectual. I knew we wouldn’t last, so I took what he had to offer, and when he was through with me, I made up my mind to commit to Bob.”
“Oh, Mom, wow.”
“Yes. It was amazing the short time we were together. Plus Mike was in love with Roberta. I didn’t want her on my bad side. She’s intimidating at the best of times.”
“I’ve only seen her from a distance,” Lila said.
“Trust me, if you get involved with her brother-in-law, she’ll be in your face. I’m sure his ex hasn’t had it easy.”
“How do you even know about her?”
“San Diego County is a small town,” Elizabeth said, laughing. “Charlie is much younger than Mike, but he’s still too old for you.” She put her hand up when Lila began to object. “But! Like you said, you’re wise for your years. And the truth is, it probably won’t go anywhere.”
That hit Lila like a medicine ball to the face. She even winced.
“I don’t really want to go dress shopping. I just said that so I could get you away from Dad to talk about Big Mike Saint. Do you have anything else I should know?”
“Watch your back with that family. Daddy and the Saints go way back. Mostly union stuff. He’s no fan, that’s for sure.”
“Great. Charlie might be the one, Mom. He even used the L word already.”
“So what? Let him. Your father isn’t going to make trouble for you. Let’s get back home if we’re not shopping. I need a drink.”
So that was it for now. Lila was dying to ask why Bob Conner wasn’t going to make trouble for her. She just knew there was more to it than Elizabeth having sex with Big Mike, the visual of it implausible.
That night, she lay in bed with the lights off; it was dead quiet with Tilly not there and no dog snoring. She began to wonder what it was that she’d buried so deeply that nothing would uncover it, like a body at the bottom of the reservoir. The weight of the water held it down, waving seaweed growing around it, obscuring it from view. Something would force it to the surface eventually. What would it take?
