Brooke cut her eyes over at me again. “No. He did have a partner for several years, though.”
“Gotcha.”
“And about Bash… He and I both feel so sorry for Zac, and we also have the greatest respect for him.”
“So you two have discussed Zac’s home life.”
“We have. Bash is like my third son. I would adopt himandZac if they’d let me,” Brooked chuckled. Her motherly affection toward them was sincere and heart-warming.
“They’d probably let you if you asked them.”
“They both have great moms already. I just miss having my son around is what my deal is, and Zac and Bash help to fill that void.”
“How long has your son been in Germany?”
“Three years. He’s made four trips home, but it’s not enough for this momma bear.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“That’s the military for you, but my son loves it so I’m happy for him.”
“Zac and Bash aren’t the only ones who have great moms.”
Brooke smiled at me. “Thank you for that.”
We both grew quiet for about a minute, and then I brought up Zac again. I told Brooke how blown away I was by everything she’d shared about him and his wife.
“It’s a lot to take in, Stevie,” she said.
“What you told me this morning about the attorney side of Zac combined with my personal impression of him from at the bar… Well, I would’ve never guessed he’s dealing with so much bullshit behind the scenes. Looking in from the outside, he appears to have his life together.”
“He’s holding it together in the best way he knows how.”
“Now that I know his background, I understand what I was sensing about him. But tell me this. Is a scratched-up face the worst that Avery has done to him?”
“No. She’s done a whole lot worse than that.”
“Such as?”
“She’s clawed up his neck, chest, arms, and his hands. I’ve also seen bruises on Zac. The very worst thing that happened was when Avery threw a glass of vodka and orange juice at him. It hit his left ear when he turned his head and shattered. Zac had to go to the hospital to get stitches in the deep gash it left.”
“Holy shit, that is insane. And knowing that Zac has had scratches on his hands and arms tells me that he’s literally had to fight off Avery to defend himself.”
“Exactly.”
“Has he ever hit her back, pushed her, or anything that you know of?”
Brooke had started shaking her head no before I finished asking my question.
“Zac has never laid a hand on Avery, and he won’t, because he isn’t that type of man. If he did knock the hell out of her—which I think she deserves—there would be legal consequences for Zac. He doesn’t need that, and he doesn’t want Malcolm to ever be told that his father hit his mother. Your new defense attorney friend is so far from being a violent man. Avery has tried baiting him into becoming violent toward her so many times but it’s never worked. She’s insulted him, cussed, yelled, and physically attacked Zac but he just deals with it.”
“Has Malcolm ever witnessed any of those incidents?”
“He has, but he’s so young that he doesn’t understand them. They just scare him and he cries. Zac tries really hard to shield Malcolm from everything. Several times, he’s loaded up Malcolm into his car and the two of them drive around for awhile or they go stay with Zac’s parents. It’s all to give Avery time to sober up and calm down.”
“Brooke, have the police ever been called in to handle her?”
“Yes, but not by Zac. His neighbors have called the police to intervene on three different occasions.”