Page 176 of Movers and Shakers

“No, he was fired.”

“Why?”

“Because he was a terrible fucking person.” It blew out of me, shocking Wilfred into silence. “And I don’t want you to feel bad about it because it isn’t your fault, but he was . . . He almost broke us. All of us. He’s the one who told me I was one of the biggest disappointments in the family and that I’d never make it if I didn’t go to college.”

“I . . . I thought he was good to you all.”

I shook my head.

A frown pulled on Wilfred’s face, a stark contrast to the smile he usually wore. “I’m sorry. I never liked the man, but I assumed I was just jealous because your mom chose him.”

“She thought he was the better option, but money didn’t buy my peace. It only bought us more misery.”

He blew out a long breath. “Damn it. I was hoping that . . . Never mind.”

“You were hoping I was at least happy?”

“All of you, even the two older ones. I thought . . . I thought your momlovedTodd.”

“I don’t know if she did. He was a shit father and she was his enforcer. If there was love between them, I’ll never know. I got out early, but Ruth and Tom . . . well, theyjustfigured out that life isn’t your parents yelling at you to be the best at everything. For a while, I didn’t know if they would ever figure it out at all.”

“I hate that,” he said, his voice shaking. “I would have been there. For all of you.”

There was that damn emotion again, the one that weighed me down and made it hard to speak. “You didn’t know. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Look, I’m far too late and I don’t exactly know what I’m doing, but if you need a dad . . . I’m here.”

“I know. That’s more than Todd was. More than Mom was, even.”

“I always thought that if she came back, I’d be with her. But I don’t think I can now that I know about you.”

“You could do whatever you want.”

“She hurt me by telling me. What’s worse, she hurt you. I’ll always think of these years and wonder what could have been. I don’t think I’ll move past that.”

“Me either. But on the bright side, we have time now.”

“We do. So, let’s make the most of it.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

Lila

Iwas confused when I heard a knock at the door. Barry wouldn’t arrive until later today and I wasn’t expecting a visitor. Juno was already here, going through the plan for all the people coming into town. She raised an eyebrow at me before opening the door.

In the rare event that I had a guest, she gave a spiel about how this was private property. Paparazzi usually weren’t bold enough to knock, but sometimes salespeople or neighbors did. As light spilled into my home from the open door, I listened for any hint as to who it was. And when Juno muttered an, “Oh, uh . . .‍” I knew something was up.

I peered around her and saw red hair tinged with gray, and hazel eyes like mine.

“Mom?” I asked.

“Hi, Rose,” she said, bypassing Juno to walk in and hug me.

“W-what are you doing here?”

She smiled. “I’m here to see your first concert. Your dad is coming too.”

“But you never come to my concerts.”

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