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The messed-up thing is behind her less-than-honest grin. The words Hailey spews are the truth. Sheishappy to see her mom.
In this house, though? That one is still up for debate.
Speaking of… “Didn’t yourdadsay he was going to putAidendown so you could stay longer at the party? I bet he’s with him back in his room.”
Her mother lifts a stunned brow. The bitter part of me needs her to know I am very much aware of my son’s life and his well-being.
…Now.
“Yes,” she agrees, recovering faster than I expect. “I was going to make Aiden his bedtime drink when you walked in.” Blinking, she clears away her momentary stupor at my comment.
Is she relieved I know? I can’t be certain and don’t ask how I know, but something tells me she is.
Again, Hailey can’t even spare me a glance. Why won’t she acknowledge me in front of her mother? We’ve met before. The concept shouldn’t seem so foreign for someone raised on the idea of hospitality and good manners.
Instead, I stay rooted to my spot. Cold and wet and with a hand tucked into the soggy pocket of my dress slacks.
“Dad knows you’re here?”
Of course he does. I want to scream at Hailey for being so obtuse.You think your mother just has a spare key after all this time?
Her mother scoffs, eyes rolling to the ceiling. “After I called with the news, he insisted I stay here, even though I told him I could stay elsewhere.”
“He did?”Hailey yelps.
Why does the news of this seem to catch her more off guard than her mother coming in?
Her mother clucks her tongue while I nearly bite mine in half. “Who else do you think has been keeping me up to date since you left? Although”—her peepers find me for the fifth time. I know because what else do I have to do but count—“it seems he hasn’t filled me in oneverything.”
“You talk? Like regularly?” Williams’s voice reaches a new falsetto.
Hailey is as oblivious to this as she has been to everything else. The scar of her parents’ divorce is overshadowing her rationality about what’s happening right in front of her.
They’ve moved on, made peace with the past, and are now friends.
A blind person could sense this, and yet, she can’t see it right in front of her eyes.
“Sure, about once a week.”
“He has a girlfriend,” she blurts out for absolutely no reason.
Her mom chuckles, bopping her nose. “I knew that too.”
Hailey gapes, full-on gawks. I can tell she’s about two seconds away from losing her shit. I’m not sure her mind can handle many more revelations for one night…
“Oh, honey,” her mom sympathizes, taking pity on her. “We’re divorced, not enemies.”
Hailey gulps. The floor becoming very interesting all of a sudden.
“…I know.”
She didn’t.
Once again, I attract her mother’s gaze for what must be the hundredth time this evening, but this time there is no underlining meaning or suspicions, only empathy.
Be patient with her.
I give a clipped nod because it’s all I can muster at the moment. The betrayal of her refusing to acknowledge me cuts deeper than it should. Especially after what I thought transpired between us earlier. An understanding, at the very least.
