"And you're the poor, pitiful middle child. You need to find another label, Willow. You've worn that one out."
"I'm not imagining things. You guys forget about me all the time. I got left behind at Disneyland when I was eight."
"It was crowded. And I've heard that story a million times. If you want to be noticed more, do something that merits attention. But you don't like to do that. You like to stay in the background, and then you're shocked when no one notices you're missing." She shook her head. "This is a pointless conversation."
"I agree," I said, knowing she wasn't completely wrong. Melanie had said the same thing to me. She'd told me I needed to take part in life, not just photograph it. Well, I wasn't photographing anything anymore. I was participating. I was living. I was hearing things. "Okay. You want me to say something that gets your attention—here you go. Tonight, I heard Sean Chadwick and Mom having a flirtatious and inappropriate conversation. It sounded like they were having an affair."
Brooklyn's face paled. "That's absurd. You must have heard wrong."
"I didn't hear wrong, Brooklyn. Sometimes when people don't know you're around, they tell the truth."
"What did they say?"
"Mom said sometimes she hates him, and he said not all the time. Sometimes she really likes him. It sounded like they kissed."
"Where were you?"
"In the pantry."
"So that's where you eavesdrop?"
"Don't turn this around, Brooklyn. Did you know they were involved?"
Brooklyn stared back at me, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. She clearly knew something. "You can't say anything about this to anyone, Willow. You didn't tell Kelsey, did you?"
"No, I haven't seen Kelsey. But I can't promise that I won't say something."
"Just stay quiet until after the wedding. If you say something now, it will be a disaster. Do you want to hurt Kelsey? Because this will."
"I don't want to hurt Kelsey, so I won't say anything before the wedding." I paused. "But it's weird that you're more worried about Kelsey than about Dad."
Her lips tightened. "I think if Mom went to Sean, then Dad has a lot to answer for."
"You're blaming him?" While I wasn't particularly close to either of my parents, I definitely had a warmer relationship with my father than with my mother. "Why is Dad responsible for Mom's inappropriate behavior?"
"He's not the perfect husband. Neither of them is perfect. But they're our parents, and it's not our business. So, let's pretend you heard nothing, and this conversation never happened."
I felt like there was something significant that she wasn't telling me, something about our father.
"Was Dad cheating, too?" I asked.
"I have nothing more to say. Just leave it alone, Willow. In a few days, you'll be back to your life, and none of this will matter. We'll see each other for the occasional holiday or birthday. It won't be any different than it is now. You have your life. Let everyone else have theirs. And don't say anything to anyone."
Brooklyn's persistent demand that I stay silent made me wonder what else people had stayed silent about.
"I'm going to bed," Brooklyn said, as the silence lengthened between us. "You should do the same. You look tired."
I felt exhausted, but that was more emotional than physical. I didn't think I could sleep with so many questions buzzing around in my head. But I had several busy days to get through, and I doubted they were going to be any easier than this one. "I'll be up in a minute."
Brooklyn's gaze softened. "I know it's difficult for you to be back here, Willow. Believe it or not, it's not that easy for me, either."
"Because of James. Or are you going to continue to deny that?"
She tipped her head in concession. "I will admit that seeing him again has brought back a lot of feelings, but not in the way you think. I don't want to live in the past. And I don't think you do, either. So let's move forward. Stop looking over our shoulders. Mom and Dad will be fine. They'll be who they've always been. They'll love us and we'll love them. Don't make things more complicated than they need to be."
Brooklyn was the fixer in the family and, clearly, she could see that I needed to be fixed. Unfortunately, when you refuse to acknowledge the truth of a problem, it can't really be repaired. "It's not that simple, Brooklyn."
"It really is, Willow. Do you think some revelation from you is going to make anyone feel better?"
"I get why you don't want me to tell Dad. But why can't you just talk to me—sister to sister?"
Brooklyn hesitated, then her gaze moved toward the door as our dad came into the kitchen.
"Someone got into my chocolate, I see," he said, tipping his head toward the candy bar in my hand.
"Caught me," I replied with a guilty smile. "But there's still plenty left."
"Don't tell your mother that."
"I think she knows, Dad." I wondered if there really were any secrets between my parents. Maybe my dad knew everything about my mom, the way she knew everything about him.
He chuckled. "Perhaps. I'm not the best at keeping secrets."
I saw a pained expression cross Brooklyn's face.
"Where's Kelsey?" my father asked.
"She and Gage wanted to spend time alone together," Brooklyn said. "They know how busy the next few days will be."
"That's true. Good for them. I was just thinking it might be fun to make some popcorn and watch a movie together, the way we used to when you girls were little."
"We can still do that," I said.
"That sounds fun, Dad," Brooklyn said. "But I think we should wait for Kelsey. She'd be so disappointed if we did it without her. Let's do it tomorrow night. I'm sure Willow is tired from all the traveling."
"Oh, of course. Sure. Another night," he said.
"I'm not that tired," I protested.
"We'll wait for Kelsey," he said decisively. "Now I'm going to get some chocolate. Sleep well, girls."
As he went into the pantry, I followed Brooklyn out of the kitchen. "I wasn't going to say anything," I told her.
"Well, now you won't be tempted. And it would be more fun to do it with Kelsey. I think she'd feel left out."
"Well, we wouldn't want her to feel left out."
My sarcasm only made Brooklyn roll her eyes. Then she jogged up the stairs in front of me, closing her door as I hit the upstairs hallway.
I entered my room and flopped on the bed, feeling like my life had turned upside down again. My mom was cheating on my dad. Maybe he was cheating on her, too. I didn't know how to feel about it all. I felt sad and angry, and also somewhat unsure why it was bothering me so much. I rarely saw them, and I wasn't a child. It was their relationship, their business, but it still made me unhappy. It made me feel like the ground had shifted beneath my feet once more.
Brooklyn hadn't been upset at all. But she was very much like our mother. She liked to gloss over bad news. It was distasteful, annoying, and not worth her attention. She'd just put it away and not think about it.