Page 31 of Before the Storm

Tara’s voice was direct. “I need you out of the house immediately.”

Josie could hardly believe what she was hearing. She wanted to jump up and down.

Tara’s eyes were bloodshot. Standing as she was in one of Donnie’s band T-shirts and a pair of pajama pants, she looked so small and sad. But she pointed a finger at Donnie’s chest, and Donnie fell onto the sofa. She was too strong for him, even like that.

Josie wanted to tell Donnie he was pathetic. But she knew this was Tara’s battle to fight.

“I won’t have you here acting like this with Winnie asleep upstairs,” Tara continued. She sounded on the edge of tears.

“Come on, Tara. It’s all right. I was a little loud, but I’ll be quiet now. I’ll be fine,” Donnie said.

“I want you out.”

“Tara, come on. Don’t believe what Josie said!”

But Tara crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him so ferociously that even Josie was frightened.

“Come on, Tara. Let’s just get in bed. Let’s—”

Tara spun on her heel and stormed to the kitchen. Donnie tried to get up but fell again.

“You’re pathetic,” Josie whispered, not loud enough for Tara to hear.

Donnie began to sob loudly. Josie wanted him out of the house. She wanted Tara and Winnie to wake up tomorrow to a life that no longer felt messy and jagged because of Donnie.

Josie entered the kitchen to find Tara with both palms flat on the counter. She gazed out at the inky-black night.

“I’m going to put him up in the motel,” Josie said. “He can’t drive himself.”

“Make sure he has some cash,” Tara whispered.

“Okay.”

Josie returned to the living room to find Donnie crumpled up and weeping. But she didn’t have compassion for him. She helped him to his feet and walked him to her car, then backed out of the driveway. Because he was so drunk, he’d parked his truck so awfully that he was half in the driveway and half in the yard, and the mailbox was in pieces. He’d always resented that it still said “Steiner” on it. Now, it always would say Steiner. He’d lost his right to the house. He’d lost his right to their lives.

Josie checked Donnie into a motel room and left him snoring and fully clothed on the double-wide bed. She left twenty bucks on the bedside table and paid for the room in full. When he woke up with a hangover, he’d have to remember what happened and what he’d done. She hoped that it would hurt.

He hadn’t known what he had. He hadn’t known to appreciate the love in his life.

Now, he wouldn’t have it at all.

Chapter Ten

January 2025

Nantucket Island

The waiting room at the Nantucket Hospital was empty save for the receptionist and a statue that looked straight from ancient Greece. Tara and Josie sat in cushioned chairs. Josie was flipping through a magazine about celebrities as Tara stared ahead, stirring with anxiety. It stood to reason Josie wasn’t as nervous as Tara was. Having cancer was old news to her at this point. Plus, Josie had basically decided she didn’t want more treatment and had only taken this appointment for Tara’s sake. Tara imagined Josie had already practiced telling the doctor, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Tara was still stumped on how to convince her.

“I don’t know how I feel about Tom Cruise,” Josie said now, clucking her tongue. “He always seems so slimy, doesn’t he?”

Tara wanted to ask,how can you think about celebrities at a time like this?

But instead, she said, “He was really good-looking back in the day.”

“He wasn’t my type,” Josie quipped.

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