“And what is Tyler doing about it?”
I cringe.
“Please tell me you’ve talked to him about this,” Mr. Andover says, his voice stern.
“Erm, no. But only because I can’t talk to him about her.”
Mr. Andover levels me with a glare. “That’s bull. You don’t want to talk to him. There’s a difference between can’t and don’t. Can’t means the option isn’t available. Don’t means you choose not to.”
I look to Millie for support, but her expression makes it clear she agrees with her husband.
“You have to tell him.”
“I don’t see the point,” I argue. “What’s he going to do, arrest his ex-girlfriend?”
“She’s not his ex-girlfriend,” Millie says, her voice louder than usual. “Having relations with someone doesn’t make them a girlfriend. Don’t confuse the two.”
I shrug and cross my arms. “He knows her better than he knows me. For all we know, he’ll think I’m the one creating an issue. It’s not like I have proof of what she’s been saying.”
“Your word is proof enough,” Mr. Andover encourages.
“Felicity says he knows she’s a nut,” Millie tells me.
“Then why is he still messing with her?” I challenge.
“Child, you of all people should know that not everything that bursts forth from Rita’s mouth is based in reality. Until you bite the bullet and talk to Tyler, you’re just guessing.”
That stings. I feel like keeping quiet and not stooping to Rita’s level is the adult thing to do.
“He’s taking her calls for a reason, and my thought is that it’s because they’re together again. We need to keep this between us, at least for now. If it gets worse, I promise I’ll say something.”
Millie shakes her head. “That’s not acceptable. If you don’t tell him, I will. This is serious, Ashley. You’re an employee of the police department, and she’s abusing you while you’re on the clock. Now, to be clear, no matter when she did it, I’d have an issue. But this? No. Too far. I’ve had it with that damn girl.”
“Millie’s right. You can’t let this stand.”
Looking between the Andovers, I can find no wiggle room. They both want me to fill Tyler in on what Rita’s been doing, and there will be no changing their minds.
“Your pride is making decisions your brain knows are wrong,” Mr. Andover says. “Rita is a master manipulator, and right now, she’s got you right where she wants you. Staying silent only gives her more power. You have to face it head-on and nip it in the bud. Hesitating is doing nothing but making a bad situation worse. Give Tyler the information and let him handle it. It’s the only way things will get better.”
There’s no going back from this. I know Millie. She doesn’t say things she doesn’t mean, so her taking a stand and saying she’ll tell Tyler if I don’t is serious. That Mr. Andover is giving me what-for about talking to Tyler brings it home that much more. I have to say something.
“Okay. I’ll talk to him about it this week. Either tomorrow or the day after at the latest,” I promise.
“No. You’ll talk to him about it now. Get up and walk down to his house. You’ve let this go on long enough, child. You need to bring him into the loop.”
My stomach immediately clenches as my nerves go on alert. “No, no. I don’t want to bother him outside of work with this.”
Millie gives me a look that offers no quarter. “I wasn’t suggesting it, my dear. I was telling you. Get up from this table and go talk to the chief. Rip the Band-Aid off.”
“She’s right,” Mr. Andover says. “You need to take action. The longer you wait, the worse it will get. You’ve put up with enough.”
“Ugh. Fine. I’ll go.”
“Don’t sass, child. We’re forcing the issue, because we care. You know darn well your grandparents would say the same thing,” Millie says.
Bowing my head, I sigh. Picking up my napkin from the table, I quickly dab my lips and then wave it in a circle. “I surrender. When you’re right, you’re right.”
“There you go,” Mr. Andover says, his tone clearly approving.
“Take a mint or a cinnamon candy before you go,” Millie instructs. “Good breath is important.”
I hold back a laugh and nod as I rise from the table. This is the first time she’s ever said anything about taking one of the candies for the sake of my breath. Her matchmaking game is about as subtle as Miley Cyrus swinging on a wrecking ball. In all the years I’ve been coming and going from this house, I’ve never left without a handful of candy from the huge fishbowl sitting next to the front door, and I’ve also never had to be reminded.
I mean, it’s me, and there’s chocolate candy in the mix. Millie buys two five-pound bags of Brach’s candy mix every month, so there’s always plenty. And since I’m the only one who eats the Star Brite chocolate mints, there are always a ton of those available just for me.