The Common Thread (34 page)

“I’m guessing they all love you. You’ll work it out. Maybe you just need more time.”

“Of course they love me. I know that. That doesn’t make this okay, though.”

“When you have kids, you’ll probably do things that piss them off. I think it’s part of the parent-child relationship.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you want to hear the story of how I learned about my dad’s cancer?”

“If you want to tell me.”

“Okay, I’ll share. It was a Monday night, and I’d just gotten home from the office. I sat down to watch the news—I was still wearing my suit, just put my feet up, and my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. It was my friend Mary Jane—one of my closest childhood friends. She still lives in West Nanticoke and she’s an OR nurse in Wilkes-Barre. She doesn’t call me often, so I figured something was up, and I answered.

“She started talking as soon as she heard my voice. ‘How come you didn’t tell me about your dad? I saw his name on the OR schedule for tomorrow and changed room assignments so I can be in on his case.’

“So I took a deep breath and leaned back, thinking. I didn’t want her to know I had no idea what she was talking about, so I just pretended I did. I was hoping he was having some minor wart removal or something, but the fact that she was calling was a concern. ‘How long do you think the surgery will take?’ I asked.

“‘Oh, it could be anywhere from two to four hours, depending on if the tumor is stuck to stuff.’” Rae turned to Nic. “I’m using layman’s terms here, of course.

“‘Are you on your way home yet?’ she asked.

“‘I’m packing now,’ I said, and I was by that time. I called my brother in California and he had no idea. Then my sister who lives in the house next door, and neither did she. Two hours later, I was sitting in their living room, crying, and they were mad at me for taking the day off from work to come home. They told me they planned to tell us after the surgery, when they had more information. They were trying to protect us.”

“Have you forgiven them?”

“Of course. They’re my parents. What choice do I have? I’m never getting any more so I have to make it work with them.”

“Good point.”

“So you should call your parents, Nic.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“Do you want to lie in my hammock with me? It’s very cozy.”

“Actually, I think I should go to bed. I can’t keep my eyes open.”

Rae sat up and hung her legs over the side. “Any big plans for tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yard sales in the morning, biking and swimming in the afternoon. I’d invite you to join us, but I know you want to catch up with your parents.”

Rae made a funny sound. “Tsk. They’re not home. My mom called last night and told me they were going to the Finger Lakes for wine-tasting this weekend. Someone invited them on a bus trip and off they went.”

“You poor baby,” Nic said. “Stood up by your parents is pathetic.”

Rae nodded in agreement. “Tell me about it.”

Nic looked across at her—black hair melting into the night around her, eyes dark shadows on her beautiful face, mouth upturned at the corners in a hint of a smile—and her heart skipped a beat. “You can always stay here, you know.”

Rae’s smile was so bright it was evident even in the darkness. “I happen to have my jammies in the car.”

“Well go get ’em.”

Nic rinsed their glasses and put them into the dishwasher, and that quickly Rae was back, a duffel bag dangling from her hand. “Ready?” she asked, and when Rae nodded, she steered her up the stairs to her bedroom. While Rae sorted through her bag, Nic slipped into the bathroom and changed back into the pajamas she’d been wearing before Rae had called. Then she brushed her teeth, turned off the light, and walked back into her bedroom.

The sight of Rae there, standing beside her bed, wearing only cotton boxers and a tank top, caused Nic to stop moving. Rae turned slowly, a smile lighting her face. It lit up Nic’s heart, too. She’d never felt this sort of attraction before, and the force of it upset her equilibrium. She was tempted to push Rae back onto the bed and climb in with her, to take off her clothes and spend what was left of this day making love and to bring in the new day that way as well. Yet something inexplicable held her back, and so she simply smiled back and then pushed Rae—not onto the bed, but away from it.

“This is my side,” she said as she pulled back the sheets and slipped beneath them. But a few minutes later, when Rae finished in the bathroom and lay next to her on the other side of the bed, Nic closed the gap between them and rested her head on Rae’s chest, and the last thing she heard as she drifted to sleep was the comforting sound of Rae’s breathing.

Nic carefully wrapped potatoes in aluminum foil and carried them to the fire pit at the edge of her patio. It was late afternoon on a beautiful late-spring day, and this was her version of Sunday dinner. A small fire was blazing, and she placed the potatoes on its perimeter, where they’d slowly bake to perfection. Salad and barbeque chicken would complete the meal.

She could hear the sounds of laughter and splashing, and as she looked up, she saw the source. Rae, who’d been standing on the edge of the dock a minute earlier, was now in the water with Chloe and Andre. They were playing football with a waterproof ball, the kids jumping off the dock and catching passes from Rae in midair, holding tight to them to prevent fumbling as they landed in the water. Apparently, Rae had bent over a little too far in an effort to catch a return pass and had paid the penalty.

Pausing for a moment to watch them, Nic could hardly believe the turn her life had taken in just a few days. She’d gone from living alone to having an instant family, complete with the two kids, a beautiful woman, and a nanny. This was a scene of blissful domestication, and Nic figured they’d covered most things a typical family did together over the course of a lifetime in just four days. They’d suffered a tragedy, taken a trip, gone shopping, ridden bikes, eaten at McDonald’s, removed a sliver, and were now preparing a cookout. Chloe had slowly come out of her shell, and now both kids were having a great time with Rae, and had been since they’d first awakened the day before.

Nic’s Saturday morning had been wonderful, too. She’d awakened early to find Rae still asleep beside her, curled up on her side, the first hints of sunshine lighting her face. Nic could get used to seeing Rae in the mornings. That wasn’t such a strange idea—having a woman in her bed. It wasn’t expected, but it wasn’t altogether out of the realm of possibilities. The family, though—that was a strange one. And what was even stranger was how good it felt to have them around.

Nic had spent more than two days as sole caregiver of her niece and nephew, and rather than finding herself anxious to return them to their rightful owner, she was savoring every minute of their time together. They’d video-chatted with their mother, and Nic knew Katie was recovering and would be discharged from the hospital soon, removing Chloe and Andre from this scene of domestic bliss. The thought was as unimaginable as taking custody had been a few days earlier.

She wasn’t sure who’d be more devastated at their departure—her or Rae. Rae was a natural with them. They’d found a bike for her, too, and she’d raced around the lake with them. Rae had spent so much time in the water Nic feared she’d prune. And they’d matched her step for step on their hike past the falls at the state park. It had been a wonderful few days, and Nic tried not to think about how soon it might end.

A sound behind her startled her, and she turned to see a familiar pair walking down the stairs toward her patio. Her avoidance tactics had worked for a few days, but apparently, the game was over. Her heart raced and her breath caught, but Nic refused to let her tension show. She was ready to face them. Her parents were opinionated, overeducated, highly successfully people, though, and disagreements were rarely easy. She braced for the worst.

“Hi, Mom, hi, Dad,” Nic said, and stood tall, meeting their gaze.

“How are you?” her mom asked.

Nic shrugged.

“I think your phone’s broken,” her dad teased her. “I’ve left you several messages, but you apparently haven’t gotten any of them.”

Her mother continued the atypical, lighthearted banter. “Mrs. Bloom wants to know what time the chicken will be ready.”

Nic’s jaw dropped at the mention of her nosy neighbor. Mrs. Bloom had been spying at the lake for about three hundred years, and nothing escaped her notice, but this was unbelievable. “How does she know it’s chicken?”

“Someone saw you at the store. With
black
children. Buying chicken.” Her mother whispered the word
black
for effect.

“I’m surprised the police haven’t been here yet.”

“I think they were, but you were out.”

“Oh. My. God.”

“I’m just teasing,” Ann Coussart said, and then her voice softened, and so did her expression. “We came to apologize, Nicole. We should have told you about Katie. We’re sorry. We thought we were protecting you—but we were wrong.”

Nic closed her eyes, summoning the will to hold back her tears. She hadn’t thought about this moment, but if she had, she would never have imagined it like this. Debate, yes. Reprimands, yes. Admission of guilt? Never. And then her parents did something else unprecedented—they hugged her, in broad daylight, on the lawn in plain view of a dozen boaters on the lake and Mrs. Bloom’s binoculars. Her mom’s arms wrapped around her, thin but strong, her frame just a few inches taller than Nic’s, and her father engulfed them both, wrapping his long arms around their shoulders as he kissed the top of Nic’s head. She wasn’t sure what made her happier—the hug or the fact that they were giving it to her. “We love you, Nic,” her father said.

“I know, Dad. I’m just having a hard time with all this. The…betrayal and the fact that my twin is in the SICU recovering from bullet wounds.” Nic sniffled, no longer able to hold back the tears. “I always wanted a sister, you know?”

To their credit, they offered no further excuses; they simply acknowledged her feelings and validated them.

“Perhaps you always missed her, honey. Maybe on some subconscious plane you knew she was out there,” her mom offered.

“Or maybe I was just a lonely only child.”

“We did our best, Nic,” her father whispered, not defensive, but perhaps sad that he’d let her down.

It saddened her to hear the defeat in the strong voice of the man whom she loved so much, and she was ashamed to have done that to him. She hadn’t intended to hurt them, any more than they’d wanted to hurt her, and the irony was difficult to ignore. She couldn’t do anything to change what they did, but she could control how she responded now. They’d raised her well. “And you did a great job. Especially compared to the Finans.”

“We would have taken both of you if we could have,” her dad told her.

“I know. Jeannie told me the whole story. It’s okay, really.” Nic couldn’t bear to see them so upset, and suddenly her anger faded as she realized how much she loved them and how lucky she was that such wonderful people had adopted her. No, the Coussarts weren’t perfect parents, but they had always done what they thought was best for her. They’d tried her whole life to give her everything she needed, and most of what she wanted, and to guide her in the right direction. They provided her with love and opportunity and the tools to make something of her life. And she had. She might not have found personal happiness, but she’d done something good with her life, and it was in fact a wonderful life.

As she looked across the yard to the lake, where Rae and Chloe and Andre were playing, she thought that perhaps happiness might be in her grasp as well.

“Okay, knock it off, you two. You’re going to confuse Mrs. Bloom. She’s probably got binoculars trained on us. Come down to the lake. I want you to meet my niece and nephew.”

“And how about the young lady? Who is she?” her father asked, his tone teasing once again.

Nic had been out to her parents since college, when she grew tired of their questions about boyfriends and decided to tell them about her girlfriend. Since then, she’d had many dates, and never had she brought a single one home to meet her parents. In fact, it was a rare occasion that a woman even came to her apartment in Philly. She preferred to meet people on their turf, so she was free to escape when she felt the need.

Her parents had politely inquired and occasionally kidded her, but had never pressured her about the women she was dating. Nic knew they were curious, but she suspected they were also concerned. They wanted her to settle down so they could die happy, and so far she wasn’t cooperating.

“She’s my lawyer,” Nic said.

“Oh, no, what have you done?” her mother asked.

“Don’t worry, Mom. It’s all good.”

“Hey, guys,” she called to them from the edge of the lake, “come meet my parents.”

They emerged from the water with skin the texture of raisins, and Rae rubbed a towel over a shivering Chloe as Nic gave Andre the same treatment.

“Are you going to be our grandparents?” he asked.

“Why not?” Ann replied, shocking Nic yet again.

She looked at her mom skeptically, wondering just how much her parents would do to get back into her good graces. They really didn’t need to do anything—she’d already forgiven them—but it seemed they were going to make the effort anyway.

After chatting for a few minutes, Rae took the children into the house to bathe and change while her father prepared cocktails, and Nic talked to her mom.

“You seem to be adapting,” she observed.

“It’s been exciting. And exhausting. How do parents do this?”

“I suppose you’re treating them with a little more attention than their mother does. She has to concentrate on things like homework and housework. You can just have fun.”

“Well, all of this fun is wearing me out.”

“When do you work?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

“Who’ll watch them?”

“Oh,” Nic said, surprised. “You haven’t met Nan. She’s their sitter.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”

“Yeah, it is. She’s great.”