Page 35 of Our Secret Summer

“Oh, fuck. Mom!”

“I know. It’s bad. I feel bad. I will never feel good about that. I—I might sell the house in Big Bear. It’s a mess, Connor, and I didn’t want to saddle you with all of that before I could start forgiving myself.”

Connor looked a lot paler than he did before. Any joy at seeing his mother again after weeks of absence seemed to have dissipated. He took a sip of water.

“I’m rarely lost for words, but I don’t know what to say to this. I am sorry that you felt like you had to go through this alone, Mom. You should have told me. If only to share the burden.”

I wasn’t alone, Dylan thought. “Raffo, um, helped me come to terms with it. To be honest,” she paused, choosing her words carefully, “it was a blessing that she arrived when she did.”

“Really?”

“She’s… very special.”

“Oh, I know. And she’s having a moment. I’m so excited. I can’t wait for her to come back. Tomorrow, right?”

Dylan nodded while swallowing the dryness out of her throat.

“I’m glad that your—and Raffo’s—future is so bright, darling. I’m so happy for the two of you. You make me really proud, Con.”

“I know you will automatically say no, but, Mom, if you need money… I can help. I want you to know that.”

Dylan would rather sell her Raffo Shah paintings than take money from her son. “That’s very kind of you, but I’ll be fine.”

“You want to sell Big Bear?” Connor’s face didn’t look so ashen anymore. “You love that house.”

“I’ll see. I can also just go back to work. I’ll figure it out.” Dylan leaned forward and took her son’s hands in hers. “Now enough about me, tell me what you’ve been up to this summer.” Luckily, Connor was the kind of guy you didn’t have to ask twice to talk about himself. And Dylan loved hearing his stories about the gallery and Murray and New York. For an unguarded few moments, she simply enjoyed being with her son, listening to the sound of his voice, and pretending that she wasn’t in love with his best friend.

CHAPTER 25

“You bitch,” Connor said while he hugged Raffo tightly. “I’m so happy to see you, even though you lied to me all this time.”

“I couldn’t tell you, Con. I’m sorry.”

“I know, my mom made you do it. Good grief.” He let go of Raffo and gave her a once-over. “You look about a gazillion times better than when you left, so that’s something.”

“I feel better,” Raffo said, although she wasn’t sure how painting would go when she went back to her studio. “Your mom took great care of me.” The words tumbled out before she could stop them.

“You’re besties now after bonding over keeping a secret from me?” Connor joked.

If only he knew. But being here, in Connor’s house, around his energy, made everything, instantly, feel different. The hankering for Dylan that Raffo had suffered from since she’d left had disappeared at the sight of her best friend. Being with him in person, having a conversation, made Raffo able to see reason again. She hadn’t expected it to be so easy, but there you go.

“You’re very lucky to have a mother like that, despite… well, you know.”

“Despite her being a two-hour’s drive away from LA all summer? Tsk.” Connor shook his head. “Despite her lies and deceit.” He brought his hands to his chest. “But I love my mom. And we can’t all be flawless, likemoi.” It was good to see Connor was already in a joking mood about it.

“I need you to know that I felt awful every time we talked on the phone and I couldn’t tell you she was there. I hated lying to you.”

“Ah. I’ll forgive you soon enough.” He shrugged. “I get it. You were staying at my mom’s house.” He cocked his head. “You must really like her then, if you were willing to lie to your best friend for her, and stayed with her all those weeks.”

“She’s, um, very easy to be around.” Raffo’s cheeks burned but, luckily, she had the kind of complexion that could easily absorb a blush. “Are you angry at her?”

“Not so much angry, more like utterly shocked. I’ve always thought of my mom as this really smart woman and then she goes and loses all this money. It doesn’t make any sense to me.” He tapped this chin. “I’ve had a day to think about it and, I mean, she looks fine, and she’s not even sixty yet, but you hear about these cases more and more. People with early-onset dementia.”

Raffo wasn’t sure if Connor was still joking or not. “I think she just got carried away.”

“She’s never displayed any signs before, as far as I know. But what do I really know? And then she goes and hides out in Big Bear for months? I mean, come on. Why didn’t she just tell me? We’re family. We’re meant to share the hard stuff.”

“She felt extremely stupid and ashamed and she didn’t want to worry you.” Raffo couldn’t help but defend Dylan.

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