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‘Yeah, that was a mistake,’ he tells her. ‘Ex-boyfriend.’
‘You said they owned the house together?’
‘Not for long,’ Declan adds. ‘Can I go? This happy-clappy stuff isn’t for me.’
‘You can go,’ I tell him. ‘Honestly, things like this just go so much easier without him.’
I wait until he’s left the room before I say the second part.
‘Wait, he isn’t your boyfriend?’ Rocco asks.
‘No,’ I reply. ‘We broke up over a year ago. Wait, did you think he was my boyfriend? Is that why you were mad at me?’
‘Wait, wait,’ Gail insists. ‘Hold the stick of truth. No one apart from me is allowed to talk without it. Who wants it?’
I grab it, before Rocco can.
‘Did you think I had a boyfriend?’ I ask him, then I turn to Gail. ‘Can he nod?’
‘Yes, okay, he can nod,’ she replies.
Rocco nods.
‘And that’s why you’ve been so mad at me today?’
He nods again.
‘Well, that’s highly hypocritical of you,’ I point out. ‘Considering you’re married.’
Mum gasps.
Gail reaches out to take the stick from me.
‘Rocco and I had a chat, while you were gone,’ she tells me. ‘I think he has something he needs to tell you.’
Rocco pulls a face at his mum.
‘Is this really the way to do this?’ he asks her.
‘This family needs to heal,’ she reminds him. ‘It all needs to come out, to everyone, right now.’
Rocco sighs as he takes the stick of truth.
‘I’m divorced,’ he says directly to me. ‘I’ve been divorced for a while, but I didn’t tell my mum because, well…’
Rocco gestures as if to say, ‘something like this would happen’.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Billie, but it felt weird to tell you when we’d just met, and before I’d told anyone in my family,’ he explains.
‘I was only mad at you because I thought you were still married,’ I point out. ‘I don’t care if you’re divorced. We’ve all got our baggage, look around the room.’
He smiles at me.
‘Stick me,’ I say to him, reaching out to take the spoon.
‘Again?’ Jess jokes.
Oof, too soon.
