In Confidence

“I haven’t been happy for a long time, Rachel.”

She simply stared at him, wondering at his selfishness. “I think you’ve managed to convey that message now, Ted. But, just out of curiosity, if I hadn’t seen you and Francine together, when were you going to tell me you were unhappy?”

“I knew you’d freak out. Or start a campaign designed to fix the problem.” He took a drink. “Some things can’t be fixed.”

She gave a bitter laugh. “I don’t know if my reaction over your infidelity was freaky or not, but I can tell you I certainly freaked out when you pulled the financial rug out from under me and your children. I’m not going to sit by while you grab everything we’ve worked for in eighteen years. I’m fighting you on this, Ted.”

“It’s a moot point, anyway, now,” he said, running a palm over his two-hundred-dollar haircut. “I’m the one who’s had the financial rug pulled out from under me.”

She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Walter. He talked the other doctors into voting me out of the practice. When I got there Monday morning, they’d already met over the weekend and had a document drafted with the buy-out terms. It’s totally unacceptable. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let him grab my practice. I’ve spent twelve years building up that practice. Who the hell does he think he is?”

“I think that’s pretty obvious. He’s your partner and you stole his wife. It’s a betrayal of the most hurtful kind.”

“That wouldn’t have happened if Francine had been getting what she needed from him,” he said, staring into his drink.

Rachel sank back against the chair’s cushions. “Then I can assume the same thing? You weren’t getting what you needed from me and you could get it from Francine?”

“I told you, it just happened. We didn’t plan it.”

“Uh-huh. And I heard you the first time.” She stood up. “As for the manner of Walter’s revenge, you must have had a clue when he stormed over Saturday morning with blood in his eye. You can’t steal a man’s wife and expect him to have no hard feelings. And you can’t expect the other doctors in the practice to turn a blind eye either. Everything that’s happened is so predictable, Ted. How did you not assume there would be some negative fallout? Walter simply chose the most effective way to retaliate.”

“I’m not taking this lying down. I’m fighting them in court.” Setting his drink aside, he reached for an envelope in his jacket. “You’ve got a stake in this, too. Think about it. If their offer stands, it will affect you and the kids, too. If Walter screws me in this deal, our joint net worth is cut in half. No way is he getting away with this.” He gave her the envelope. “Here, my lawyer drew this up.”

She took it, frowning. “What is it?”

“It started out to be the terms of a tentative separation settlement, but it had to be revised after I arrived at the practice Monday morning. Everything’s changed.” He glanced toward the stairs. “Are the kids here?”

“No, Nick’s still at baseball practice and it’s Kendall’s day for gymnastics.” She glanced at her watch as she pulled the folded document from the envelope. “I have to pick her up at six-fifteen,” she said, scanning the first page. She frowned, struggling through the usual legalese until she finally reached the meat of it. Then her eyes widened in disbelief. She looked up at Ted. “You can’t be serious!”

“When have you ever known me to joke about money?”

She held the blue-bound papers as if they were poisonous. “You’re seriously suggesting we sell the house? This house? What makes you think I’d even consider such a crazy thing? This is Nick and Kendall’s home, Ted. It’s not yours to use to get your tail out of a crack.”

“If you can come up with a better idea, I’m open to suggestions.”

As he rose from the chair to freshen his drink, the front door crashed open and Nick burst into the room. “Mom, I gotta talk to you!” He broke stride only momentarily when he spotted his dad, then ignored him to light into his mother. “You have really messed up.”

She gave him a stern look. “Can’t you see your dad and I are having a discussion now, Nick? We’ll be done in—”

“Why did you tell Coach about Dad walking out on us?”

She gave him a startled look. “What are you talking about?”

“Coach saw me after practice and offered a shoulder to cry on, Mom. It was—” Tossing his jacket on a chair, he shook his head as words failed him. “Jeez, Mom. Ward heard it and I don’t know who else. I can see it now, I’ll be trying to live this down for the rest of my life. I don’t believe you did something so bogus!”

“I did not tell Monk Tyson your father walked out.”

“Then how’d he know it?” Nick demanded, his face filled with outrage.

“This is a small town. Word gets around, Nick.” Rachel drew a deep breath, knowing this was not the last time she would have to try to ease the fallout from Ted’s desertion. “Monk mentioned it in the break room this morning,” she explained. “He expressed concern, nothing else.”

“And you let him think I’m such a baby that I might not be able to handle what’s happened?”

Ted finally spoke up. “Nobody thinks that, Nick. And of course you can handle it. If you ask me, it’s a good coach who’s aware of more than just a kid’s stats on the ball team.”

Nick turned on Ted furiously. “What the hell would you know about stats, Dad? You haven’t made one of my ball games this season.”

“Don’t talk to me like that, boy,” Ted ordered. “You know the rules around here about profanity.”

“Yeah, and I guess you’re going to leave it to Mom to enforce the rules as usual, right?”

“Please…” Rachel lifted a hand to stop them. “Let’s all calm down. Nick, my conversation with Monk was not personal, so you have no need to feel embarrassed. He offered to help if you seemed to need it, that’s all. There’s nothing for you to be upset about.”

“Except the whole team is thinking what a trip this is,” Nick said bitterly. “You should have heard Ferdy, then you’d understand. You’re a guidance counselor, Mom. This isn’t supposed to happen to you. Everybody thinks you’re supposed to fix things.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Ted said. “You’re looking at real trouble if you start listening to what everybody says.”

“I’m sorry, Nick,” Rachel said quietly, ignoring Ted. “I didn’t see this coming and I can’t fix it. But we’ll get through it. Now, why don’t you go to the kitchen and get yourself something to eat. I picked up a pizza on my way home. We’ll talk later.”

Nick turned on his heel. “I’m not hungry.” He snagged his jacket from the back of the chair and stalked out.

When he was gone, Rachel gave Ted a meaningful look. “What was that you were saying about the kids being fine with this?”

“They will. It’ll take some getting used to, but Nick’s tough. He’ll adjust.”

She looked briefly at the ceiling, praying for patience. “Okay, Ted. Whatever you say.” She realized she still held the legal papers in her hand. “Was there anything else you wanted to tell me about this? Like Nick, is there anything more I need to adjust to besides the fact that you want to sell the house out from under us?”

“As I said, I’ve talked to my lawyer. According to the terms of the original agreement when the practice was established, if Walt and the others are unanimous in any decision—and that includes demanding the ouster of any partner—they can do it. The only negotiable is how much they’ll agree the departing member is worth. And that’s where it all gets sticky. If I don’t accept what they offer—and I’m not about to—then I have to take them to court. Who knows how long that’ll take. Could be months. A year. I’ll need the money—” He paused, then started again. “We’ll both need income while this is ongoing. Your salary at school won’t cut it. The money’s there…once we sell the house.”

“What does Francine have to say about all this?”

“She’s shocked, naturally. She says Walter’s just doing it to hurt her.”

“He’s probably feeling pretty hurt himself, seeing his wife has been sleeping with a man he thought was his friend.” She waved him quiet when he started to argue and said wearily, “Never mind trying to spin what you and Francine have done as anything except the trashy thing it is, Ted. What you and I have to do now is figure out what to do to survive this disaster and to help our children.” She gestured with the papers. “First of all, I hope there’s some place in the fine print here that establishes a regular income to the kids and me while you pursue this lawsuit.”

“There is, but it’s not enough to maintain this house and all the other perks of our current lifestyle.”

“You’re planning to stay in the cabin at the lake, I assume.”

He nodded. “For the time being.”

“We could sell that, I suppose,” she said, looking beyond him at nothing in particular as she considered various possibilities.

“There’s one obvious solution that will take care of everything,” Ted said. Something in his tone caught her attention, but he turned away and, with his back to her, tossed off the rest of his drink.

“And what would that be?” she asked.

“You and the kids could move in with Dinah.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s the logical thing to do, Rachel.” He tipped the bottle and poured himself a fresh drink. “Now that Dinah’s out of her apartment and settled into her new house, I bet she’ll be happy to have you and the kids for a visit.”

“A visit.”

Hearing her lack of enthusiasm, he made an impatient sound. “It won’t be forever, goddamn it! Just phone her and see what she says before you blow off the idea. That’s all I’m saying.”

“It’s an imposition, Ted. Think about it. She’s a widow in her sixties. She isn’t used to young children. It’s too much to ask.”

“Explain the problem. She’ll understand.”

She stood looking at him, wondering at his audacity. “You’re really serious about this,” she remarked.

“Yeah.”

“And is it really only a separation, Ted? Or have you decided you want a divorce?”

“The only thing I’ve decided is that I want to be with Francine right now. I don’t know where that’ll go.” He brought the drink up, then set it down again. “It’s Walter who’s caused all this trouble, Rachel. He’s being a first-class son of a bitch.”

She stared. “Walter.”

“I just told you what he’s doing.”

“Ted. Wake up and smell the coffee. Walter isn’t the cause of your trouble. I can’t believe you! The trouble is your own selfish insistence on having an affair and damning the consequences.”

“Let’s not get started on that again, Rachel. Just tell me you’ll mention to Dinah the possibility of moving in with her temporarily. She’s crazy about the kids. It’ll be okay, you’ll see. And by the way, I’ve talked to a real estate agent. We can make a ton of money on this house.”

“You talked to an agent before even mentioning it to me?”

“I just asked,” he said, shrugging. “I figured you’d be happy to hear what a good investment we’re sitting on.”

Rachel simply gazed at him in silence for a long moment. “If you thought I was freaked out over your shoddy affair, Ted,” she said in a dangerously soft tone, “then you will really be shocked if you hang around another minute.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Rachel.”

She pointed to the door. “Out, Ted. Now.”

Muttering an obscenity, he slammed his drink on the bar in disgust and left.

Eight

Three months later

Cam’s first job on his to-do list after finishing his book was to repaint the trim on his porch. Trying to keep the old place in good repair was a never-ending challenge, but he’d found that he liked tinkering around the house where he’d been raised. It was surprisingly satisfying. Not only was the house shaping up, but while doing the work, he found that with his hands occupied, his mind was free to flesh out the proposal for a new book. It was nearing midday now and he was almost finished repainting the trim when he heard the roaring sound of a huge moving van gearing down, then braking to make the turn at the corner of the street. New neighbors…and close by, he thought, since Morningside was a short street. He stopped what he was doing, balanced the paint brush on top of the can and reached for a rag soaked in turpentine to clean his hands.

The van appeared to be slowing to a stop. With a frown, he saw the driver peering at the number on his own house and then his neighbor’s, Dinah Hunt. Cam watched, assuming the driver had stopped to get his bearings, but then a car turned the corner, pulled in front of the moving van and stopped at curbside. Out of it came Rachel Forrester, her son, Nick, another teenage boy in a baseball cap and a little girl. This couldn’t be what it appeared, he thought, even as he watched Rachel approach the van driver.

With a sense of impending doom, he saw the driver’s helper get out and head toward the back of the van. Once the doors were opened, he adjusted the load ramp and disappeared inside. The little girl raced up Dinah’s sidewalk yelling, “We’re here, Gran! We’re all ready to move in!”

It couldn’t be, but it was. Tossing his paint rag aside, Cam slapped the lid on the can and gave it a smart thump with a hammer, heedless of the color splattering his shoes. Scowling, he snatched up the newspaper he’d used to protect the porch floor and stuffed it into a plastic trash bag while out of the corner of his eye he saw the boy, Nick, break away from his buddy and head his way. Just what he needed right next door, Rachel Forrester and her son, highly visible and constant reminders of Jack and how he’d died.

“Hi, Mr. Ford.”

He straightened slowly, scooping up the smelly rag. “Cam,” he reminded the boy. “How’s it goin’, Nick?”

“I guess you can tell we’re moving in with Gran today.”

Looking up from scrubbing paint off his shoe, Cam saw the first load—three large boxes—was now being wheeled down the ramp on a dolly. “I figured that out.”

Nick’s gaze drifted back to the van where the helper was carefully handing a cat carrier over to the driver. Inside, a big yellow tom meowed in protest. “It’s sort of a family emergency. Nobody’s happy about it except Gran and Kendy.”

“Kendy. That would be your little sister.”

“Yes, sir. Kendall. She seems to think it’s some kind of vacation, us going to live with Gran. The truth is, my mom and dad are getting a divorce.”

And Rachel was screwed out of the house? Had she let him con her into using the same lawyer, playing on her denial that he wouldn’t take advantage of her? His infidelity alone should have given her grounds to take him to the cleaners. Instead, here were Rachel and the kids being displaced, not Ted. Cam swiped one last time at his Nikes and tried to keep what he thought off his face. He found it gave him no satisfaction that he’d been right about Forrester. Straightening, he said, “I’m sorry about that.”

Nick shrugged with a kid’s fatalistic acceptance of having no power over grown-ups and their decisions. “Mom says the move’s only temporary,” he said, watching Kendall coax the scared cat out of the carrier. “We’ll have to wait for the details of the divorce to be worked out before finding another house, but it’ll be in Rose Hill.” This he said with certainty, but a scowl darkened his face. “No way we’ll move somewhere else.”

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