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“Not today. When we talked about moving down here, it was in generalizations. I had the fantasy of having a big family and sitting on the beach with everyone, and that wasn’t Tony’s. But he agreed to come along, and now we know why—he could continue his double life. If I hadn’t gotten pregnant, I wonder if I’d ever have found out.”
“How did you find out?” Ryan asked.
“He tried to break up with his girlfriend, and she called me.”
“Ouch. Jeez, I’m so sorry. Men do these things and think we can get away with it and won’t hurt anyone if we’re not discovered.”
Sandra looked at him sidelong. “You’re not a big cheater, though. What happened?”
“It was just easier to go with the flow instead of facing up to the truth. For me to go to Lisa and say, ‘I can’t stand it here anymore, I’m leaving’ was too difficult. But letting a stranger I didn’t know perform a sex act on me took little effort. Then it was like ‘Okay Lisa, I did it. I’m bad, so I’m going to leave.’”
“That sounds like bullshit,” Sandra said.
“I get it, though,” Kassandra said. “Tony wouldn’t have come to me to say ‘You work too many hours and I’m getting bored, so I’m going to play around on the side.’ I don’t know if that’s how it happened. Maybe he never wanted domesticity, and it was just easier to keep doing what he’d always done, and that was sleep with his work associate.”
“And that’s not acceptable to you. I get it,” Ryan said. “The longer I’m away from Lisa, the more I realize that I don’t want to play around like I did, but I don’t want to be the head of a household full of kids, either. I hope I can find the happy medium.”
“You know Max is talking about adopting Morgan,” Sandra said.
Ryan bristled. “No, I didn’t know that, and she’s not available for it, either.”
“Then you’d better step it up. Lisa is going to stop paying your support payments to Alison.”
“How do you know all this?” Kassandra asked.
“Laura and I talk, and she tells me what she hears. It’s the way of the hood. I feel more allegiance to Ryan than Max and Alisonbecause we have history,” Sandra said. “I want him to do right by his kids before he has to fight to keep them.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Max to adopt Alison’s children,” Kassandra said.
“She’s got two with a guy who lives in Europe, and I’m sure Max will adopt them,” Sandra added.
“Let him,” Ryan snapped. “He can’t have Morgan.” He looked at his watch. “Shoot. I have a conference call in twenty minutes, or I’d love to stay here and talk. Let’s do it again. I’ll be in touch, Sandra. Kassandra, what’s your number?”
They exchanged numbers and got up to leave. Ryan cleaned off the table, and Sandra handed him her box of pastries.
“I have a bunch in my basket for my kids,” he replied. “And I’ll ask Alison to bring Morgan over, and if she won’t, I’ll invite myself to her house.”
“Good for you. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you, but now I’m glad I did.”
They went their separate ways, Kassandra uncertain about Sandra sharing intimate secrets about Max and Alison, Sandra triumphant that she might have saved Ryan from a court battle, and Ryan wondering how he was going to balance everything that was coming his way.
Chapter 13
Pam said goodbye to Dan and got ready for a run. She was going after school was in session and before the kids got out at three o’clock, to avoid a run-in with Megan and Lisa. Not that she disliked talking to them, but the only way she felt she’d accomplished anything was by running alone. She didn’t want to jog at a pace that allowed talking.
She ran up to the causeway, hoping not to see Kassandra, and then back home. Once she got home, she went around to the front of the house to arrange Christmas lights that had blown off bushes in the wind. That was when she saw that Dan’s former house had a FOR SALE sign out front. Immediately, she thought of pregnant Lisa. It wasn’t like Pam to interfere, but she was going to enable Ryan again by ensuring that he lived close to his family.
Standing on the sidewalk, she saw the realtor listed on the sign was someone she wasn’t familiar with. Getting out her phone, she keyed in the number.
“I’m inquiring about the house for sale on Sea View,” she said when the call was answered.
“Yes! That’s a lovely, completely renovated 1955 Mid-Century. Would you like to see it?”
Pam asked about the price and was shocked to hear that it wasn’t much more than what Dan had gotten in the sale.
“The market isn’t as volatile as it was a year ago,” the agent said. “It’s priced to sell.”
Then, surprising herself, Pam replied, “I’m interested. Can I see it?”
