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The man practically races out of my room, and I’m left staring at his back with my mouth hanging open. His behavior makes me want to go and find out what is up with him. I race through unpacking and then head downstairs.
I find Dad in the kitchen, the one room in the house where there’s any warmth. He’s standing at the island and looking out the wall of windows. You can see the mountains in the distance, it’s a view I’ve always found peaceful. I find it comforting how the view here and in Spokane aren’t very different.
“Dad?” My voice is tentative as he turns toward me quickly, clearly surprised about how fast I unpacked. I just want to get this conversation out of the way. “What is it you need to talk to me about?”
He motions to the stools at the island, which is where I eat most of my meals because if I’m doing it alone then I see no reason to be at the dining table. Why go farther than I need to?
Dad fidgets in his seat and I swear sweat is rolling down the side of his face. I want to give him a push to start talking, but I’m afraid it’ll make this worse. Whatever the hell this is in the first place.
“Evelyn,” Dad reaches for my hand, and I let him grasp it, “I need to tell you something very important.” I nod as he takes a deep breath while clutching my hand like it’s a lifeline. “I met someone.”
For a few seconds, I just stare at my dad. He met someone? Met someone? My dad who I didn’t think has even gone out on one date in years met someone?
“Okay,” I hold the word out and try to understand why he’s making this out to be like a third world war has started and we know men on the frontline. “I don’t remember you ever dating before. You should be happy, Dad.”
He smiles at me gratefully, but there’s still worry in his eyes. “Things moved fast, Evelyn. I want you to know I never intended to leave you out of it.” I find myself nodding even though I have no idea what he’s talking about. “I met Marilyn and fell in love with her instantly.” The worry disappears from his face and a dopey, love-struck look takes over. “I married her a week ago in Vegas. We eloped.”
My eyebrows shoot so far up that I’m tempted to reach up and make sure they’re still on my head. I speak slowly, “You got married? To a woman I’ve never met?” I start to look around the house frantically, but don’t see evidence of anyone else living here. It looks exactly like it did when I went to Mom’s for the summer. “Where is she?” My voice breaks a little, “Why didn’t you call me?”
I hate the feeling of betrayal bubbling up inside me, but I can’t help it. When Mom got remarried, I was in her wedding. She made sure to include me in the whole process. This is like being slapped in the face and I’m not sure how to react.
“I know, duckling. I messed up by not talking to you about it. The whole thing took me by surprise.” He shakes his head, clearly ashamed of his actions and I find myself closing the distance between us and hugging him to give him comfort. “I think you’ll really like Marilyn. She has a son your age. You’ll have a brother.”
I try and shelve my skepticism about the whole situation, but if this is real and Dad is married, I’m going to have to suck it up. I nod and swallow hard, pushing away my hurt and all the questions I have. It is what it is and there’s nothing I can do to change it now. I learned a long time ago to roll with the punches.
“Okay.” My voice sounds hesitant and full of forced cheer, “I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Thank you,” he breathes out before he straightens up. “They’ll be moving in here in a few days. We wanted to wait for that until after you came home, and I could talk to you about it.” Home. What a crock. “They should be here any minute for dinner. Think of it as a chance to get to know Marilyn and her son.”
I’m nodding, but dread is filling my belly. I want to curl around myself and find a dark, quiet place to hide, but I know I can’t. I can’t do that to Dad. He’s put his job and me first for so long. He deserves to be happy.
He does.
Maybe if I say it enough times then I’ll really believe it.
The doorbell ringing has me jumping slightly and I hate the sting of tears forming in my eyes at the way Dad lights up like a fucking Christmas tree because his wife is here. His wife. Wow.
He hustles out of the room, and I’m lost in the daze of this new information, of everything changing, of feeling off balance. When I hear a throat clearing, I snap back into the present and look up to see a beautiful woman with her hand tucked into the crook of Dad’s arm. She has hair so dark that it looks black and light-colored eyes I can’t tell the exact color with the distance between us.
I’ve always been good-mannered, and I feel the need to make this woman feel at ease, in my house, because I can see how uncertain she is. It’s written all over her face. I start to move toward her but freeze when I see the guy standing slightly behind her.
Bennett Douglas.
He’s not just ‘my age’ as Dad put it. I’ve been in school with Bennett for years.
As if that’s not bad enough, we don’t get alone. Bennett is one of the popular guys in the school, even though he doesn’t play sports or work hard. Everyone flocks to him because he has a bad boy air to him that everyone can’t seem to get enough of.
Even me, and I kind of hate myself a little bit because I’m attracted to him. I don’t want to be pulled into Bennett’s allure because there might as well be a giant neon sign following him around that says ‘heartbreak lives here’. I’m sure the girls he’s left in his wake would agree, not that it stopped any of them from getting involved.
Whenever I’ve been around Bennett, he has found a way to make a dig at me. It always cuts deep. I swear he knows just what to say to bruise me.
When he talks about my curves, which I try and embrace and love, is when it hurts the most. I swear there have been times when I’ve seen him look over my body with lust and want in his eyes. At least, I think so. It’s not like I have a lot of experience when it comes to guys, but I know how my body reacts when he gives me those looks.
Or I’m just delusional.
The jury is still out on that one.
“Hi Evelyn,” Bennett rasps, a sly smile on his face. He’s enjoying this.
