“Will you knock it off? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of freaking out right now.”
“Oh, I noticed. Everyone in the whole town’s probably noticed. So what’s the problem? Let’s talk this through. Tell me all the reasons this is a bad thing.”
“Okay, well, he’s kind of cold and distant. I mean, yeah, he’s not as bad as he once was, but he’s still really, I don’t know . . . aloof, I guess. I don’t know what he’s thinking half the time, and that drives me crazy. Then there’s the fact that I babysit his son. I mean, that right there just screams messy. I really care about Eli. I wouldn’t want to do anything to mess that up.”
“And?” she dragged out, knowing good and well there was more.
“And . . . he’s Frank’s brother.”
At that, all the teasing went right out of her tone. “Are you worried he’ll turn out to be just like Frank?” she asked gently, her voice laced liberally with concern.
“No,” I stated vehemently. “He’s nothing like Frank. In fact, the two of them are like night and day. Hell, I’m not even sure Pierce likes him.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“It’s all so complicated. I mean, how would it look, starting something with him when I dated his brother for three years. People would talk.”
“Fuck ’em, then,” she snapped. “If they want to talk, let them talk. You can’t put stock in other people’s opinions, and you certainly can’t make decisions based on what other people may think. It’s your life, not theirs.”
“Yeah? Well what about the tiny little fact that his mom pretty much hates me and blames me for the whole breakup?”
She sat up straight on her stool. “There’s something seriously wrong with that woman.”
“Yes, we already know that. But if I start something with Pierce, I’m putting myself right back into that whole screwed up dynamic.”
She shrugged casually and sipped her coffee. “Then it’s simple. Don’t get involved with him.”
I felt my forehead pinch, creasing into a frown at the idea of nothing happening between Pierce and me.
“See?” Tali cried, stabbing her finger in my face. “That right there. You can’t hide anything. You want to get involved with him.”
“Okay, so what if I do?” I relented with frustration. “That still doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
Her face was serious as she put her cup down and leaned forward. Taking my hands in hers, she adopted her serious big sister persona. “Babe, good idea or not, you aren’t going to be able to ignore your feelings or simply turn them off. You like this guy, and that’s not going to go away. The longer you try to bury it, the more miserable you’ll be. You came here for my advice, right?” I nodded. “Well, then I say throw out all the reasons you shouldn’t do this, and just have fun. You deserve it.”
Flipping my hands over beneath hers, I laced our fingers together and held tight. “You’re the bestest big sister ever. You know that?”
“Well, duh,” she said with a snort.
The mood began to lighten, and as I turned to reach for the coffee that had been sitting neglected on the counter, I spotted her laptop and noticed the webpage she had pulled up.
“Are you looking for a job?”
She puffed out a heavy sigh and reached across me to slap the laptop closed. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately. I updated my resume last week, not that there was much of anything to add to it. Despite how freaking hard it is, Stay at Home Mom doesn’t really catch people’s eye.”
“Hey. This is a good thing,” I said enthusiastically. “Maybe if you have something for yourself, something that’ll get you out of the house for a while that doesn’t revolve around being a wife or a mom, things will start to get better?”
The look on her face just then didn’t fill me with hope. “Actually, the reason I started looking is because . . .” her words broke and her voice cracked as her eyes began to well up. “I think I’m going to leave Nick.”
All the air whooshed from my lungs. “What?”
“Yeah.” She laughed bitterly, batting at the few tears that had broken free. “I think he’s cheating on me.”
Oh God.
“I don’t have proof or anything, it’s just a gut feeling, but . . . yeah. This is the first time I’ve said it out loud. I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
Oh shit. Oh God. Oh no. Shit, shit, shit!
“Tali, maybe it’s not what you think.”
“Not that it really matters if he is or not,” she continued like she hadn’t heard me. “We’re basically just roommates at this point. God, Marin. I can’t even tell you the last time we had sex. I just . . .” Her throat worked on a thick swallow. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“Sweetie. What can I do? How can I help?”
“You’re doing it, right now. Just being here and listening to me. That’s all I need. Oh, and maybe wine. And definitely more of those maple bacon muffins.”
“The wine I can do. And I’ll get you more muffins if it means I have to tackle everyone in line ahead of me or hold Dani hostage until she makes a thousand just for you.”
I pulled her into a tight hug, and she returned the embrace, laying her cheek on my shoulder and letting out a sigh that sounded like it was carrying the weight of the world.
“Thanks, Mar. I love you.”
“Love you too, Tali.”
It was official. I was going to kick Nick Allen’s ass!
16
Marin
Every single part of me was itching to drive all the way to the city just so I could rip my stupid, idiotic, moron of a brother-in-law a new asshole for making my sister cry. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards. I’d had rehearsal earlier that day, then picked Eli up from school.
“So what’s the plan for today, Cool Guy?” I asked, glancing briefly in the rearview mirror. Eli was sitting in the booster seat I’d gotten from Pierce, swinging his little legs back and forth.
“I think I wanna color.”
I scrunched my face up in mock thought. “Hmm. Coloring. That could be fun.”
He tapped his chin like a little man considering his busy afternoon schedule. “And then maybe I’ll jump on the trampoline.”
“If you do that, I could set up the hose and spray you while you jump.”
“Yeah!” He punched his little fist into the air. “Let’s do that!”
“But you have to eat your snack first. You know what that means.”
His tongue peeked out of his mouth like he’d just gotten a whiff of dog poo. Or maybe one of Titan’s farts. My God, who knew a dog could be so damn gassy? No matter how many times I yelled at him to stay out of the trash, it felt like each time I turned around, he was back in it again.
“Fruit and vegetables,” he grumbled sullenly.
“Yep. Fruit and vegetables.”
I was actually pretty pleased that I’d gotten him to choke down the healthier food the past few days. I should have gotten a prize or some kind of medal for that.