“Such as? You don’t have to tell me.” She immediately corrected herself. “It’s just that she said something at, um, the wedding. I keep thinking about it.”
“What was that?”
“That it’s not as easy to call off a wedding as it sounds. I feel like only someone who has actually contemplated doing it would say that.”
“Little did she know it’s easy as hell. Just walk away,” he said with a darkly ironic curl to his mouth, then he grimaced. “I wish she had called it off. She had a more complex relationship with our father than I did. He assumed I would take over and I was interested in the business. No matter what else went on, what disagreements we had, we always had that common ground to come back to. Vi didn’t have the same connection with him, but she wanted to feel like she was contributing to our collective benefit. Her marriage to Neal looked very good on paper. His family made their fortune in video rentals, eventually expanding into entertainment tech and home computers. It was a good fit to merge that under our umbrella, and Neal is a savvy salesman. I can’t deny he closes deals.”
“But?” she prompted.
“But I can’t stand the man. He cheated on her at his bachelor party. I told her to call it off. Dad told her to get over it and finish what she started. She listened to him.” He stabbed a breaded oyster and ate it.
“He didn’t have much sympathy because his wife cheated on him?” she guessed.
“Or didn’t care that she did? I don’t know why he thought Vi shouldn’t be upset, but I had a chat with Neal. He understands that any future infidelity won’t be tolerated byme, though he still finds ways to be a jerk to her. I support her having a family if that’s what she wants, but I also want to tell her to cut her losses. It’s a tough line to walk.”
His protective older brother act always made her wistful for her own.
Which reminded her in a roundabout way of something else they needed to discuss.
“Vienna told me your birthday is coming up—”
“I don’t celebrate it,” Hunter cut in flatly.
“She told me that, too.” She smiled faintly at how firm he sounded. “She didn’t say why.”
“We’re cleaning out the entire family closet tonight?” He sighed and picked up his wine, taking a healthy gulp. “When I was turning eleven, Irina arranged my birthday party. It was the first time she had done something nice for me. My whole class was invited along with their parents. I realize now, as an adult, it was an excuse for her to stage a raging party for day drinkers. At the time, it felt like I was cementing myself as Most Popular Boy heading into middle school.”
Another big gulp, then he set his glass aside.
“You also have to realize that I wasn’t as inured to her behavior as I am today. This was the first time I’d really seen that side of her. She got worse over the years. Much worse, but this was my first exposure to her being a sloppy drunk and making off-color jokes about how long I spent in the shower.”
“Oh, no. Hunter, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not even there yet,” he assured her, holding up a hand. “Dad thought it was hilarious. All the other parents were laughing. I felt like the biggest tool alive when I was forced into the decorated chair, the center of attention as I opened all my gifts. I didn’t want anything except for the day to be over. I didn’t open her gift. I pretended I didn’t see it and, once everyone went back to eating their cake and ice cream, I took it into the house. I was going to throw it away in the laundry room, but there they were.”
Amelia sank back in her chair, asking a dread-filled, “Who?”
“Irina and one of the dads. I didn’t even have a full grasp of what sex was. I sure as hell didn’t know you could do it by dropping your pants around your ankles and bending a woman over the washing machine.”
“No. That’swrong. A child isn’t equipped to process that!”
“Tell me about it. I felt like I was in the wrong for seeing them. I didn’t know whether I should tell my dad. I was sick about it.”
“Was there anyone you could talk to? Your grandparents?”
“I would have taken it to my grave,” he said grimly. “But about a week later, Dad got on me about how I was treating her. I couldn’t even look at her. She told him I was sulking because I’d caught her in the laundry room. She told him flat out in very blunt terms what she’d been doing and with whom. Like it was a joke that I’d seen it and was upset about it.”
“What did your father do?” There was an ache behind her breastbone as she watched old emotions paint across his face—anger and humiliation, impotence and disillusion.
“He blustered about how I should have knocked.”
“No,” she breathed.
“I heard them arguing in the bedroom later. It didn’t last long, and she was still there the next morning. She was always still there.” He took another gulp of wine. “And somehow that other man’s wife found out. I didn’t tell anyone, but the kid blamed me for his parents’ divorce. It was my party where he cheated. That stuck to me for years.”
“I’m sosorry.”
“Not your apology to make. And like I say, her antics grew worse. I learned not to give her opportunities. No more birthday parties.”