All of the strange phone calls between our mothers...
All of the nights Gavin and I spent locked away with only each other...
All of the nights our fathers were away on business...
The entwined double R’s that made up their company logo.
“They were lovers, weren’t they?” I whisper.
He nods, tears streaming down his face.
“Our dads loved each other. They had an affair,” I whisper, and I wonder how I never saw it before or how this managed to stay out of the press. Mrs. Reynolds must have had one hell of a PR person because this is the kind of juicy fodder reporters love to throw around.
Two international businessmen who share a company are caught embezzling funds and oh, plot twist, they’re also sleeping with other and their wives have no idea.
Only, their wives had every idea.
“I’m so sorry,” he says. “I had no idea, Emmie. I didn’t know.”
“Would it have mattered?” I ask him, looking up at Gavin. He was hurt for such a long time. It’s only in this past week that either one of us has actually been talking about or dealing with the things that happened to us. For years, we’ve stayed away from each other, forging an impossible distance between us even though the other person is the only one who could have possibly understood.
Gavin shakes his head at me, like this is a question he can’t answer.
It’s impossible.
Would he have been such a jerk to me if he’d known our dads had been involved with each other?
Would he have blamed my father less if he’d had all of the information?
Would he have taken it out on me?
Or would Gavin Reynolds have embraced the fact that I’m the only one who could possibly understand what it’s like to lose a father in this way?
And suddenly, I can’t breathe.
The asthma attack sneaks up on me quickly. Usually, I at least have some sort of warning before my lungs start aching and burning and begging for air, but now my chest feels tight and my lungs feel like they’re squeezing in on themselves.
“Inhaler,” I manage to say, and Gavin realizes that there’s a problem.
“Where is it?” He asks, fumbling for my purse. He brings it out and rips the cap off. He lifts it to my lips and gives me one puff, and then another, but it’s no use. This is a big one, and a regular inhaler isn’t going to work.
I’m going to need more.
I’m going to need a nebulizer treatment.
“Hospital,” I say, and he doesn’t even ask questions or make me repeat myself. He just starts the car and he starts driving.
“You hang on, Emmie,” he whispers. “I’m going to get you there, okay? I’m going to take care of you. No matter what.”
THE NURSING TEAM AT the hospital is fantastic and as soon as we’re inside, they instantly get me a nebulizer treatment. It’s exactly what I need at this moment, and almost right away, I get the relief I’m seeking. I take deep breaths into the plastic mask they hold in front of me.
“Are you sure she’s going to be okay?” Gavin is squawking with concern, and the nurses are trying to calm him down.
“Sir, are you her brother?” One of the nurses ask, and I know why. They’re going to kick him out if he says he’s my boyfriend.
“Are you family?” Another one asks gently, trying to get him to give the right answer. Suddenly, he seems to realize what’s happening, and he nods.
“Yes. We’re family.”