Page 23 of This Moment

She looked up and smiled, but I could see the worry in her eyes. I sat down in the chair opposite her desk.

“Talk to me, Opal. What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Swallowing, she nodded. “I believe I have seen a ghost.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

Dropping back in her seat, she let out a long, tired-sounding sigh. “Once upon a time, I was engaged to be married.”

I tried to hide the shocked look on my face. My aunt never seriously dated anyone for as long as I could remember. Sure, she had a boyfriend here and there, but my motherwould say no one would ever be able to talk Opal into getting married. She would say her only love was the bakery.

“Um, I never knew you were engaged to be married.”

A weak smile appeared on her face. It was then I noticed how much Opal looked like my mother. Her hair was longer, her eyes were blue, whereas my mother’s were brown. And although my mother spent thousands of dollars on keeping herself looking younger, Opal looked at least ten years younger than her age of fifty-five. She was younger than my mother, who had just turned fifty-seven. I knew it bothered my mother that Opal never needed to get the injections or lotions that cost hundreds of dollars. She simply lived a life she loved and followed her passion.

“We all have our secrets.”

I instantly thought of Cadie and regretted grilling her moments ago.

“Why did you feel the need to keep that a secret?”

Opal closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled. Without opening her eyes, she said, “Because your mother ran off and married him.”

Confused, I shook my head slightly and then laughed. “Wait, you were engaged to Dad?”

Her eyes snapped open. “Heavens no. Doug is not my type at all.”

I was positive I was staring at my aunt like she had lost her mind. “I’m confused.”

Rubbing her temples, she mumbled something about secrets and men and how she needed a drink. “Aunt Opal?”

When she finally dropped her hands and looked at me, she said, “I’m not sure I should say anything but it was a long time ago, so not really an issue now. But your mother was married to him before she married your father.”

My mouth fell open. “She was? To whom?”

“His name was Jake, and he was the love of my life. We had so many dreams,” she said as she seemed to get lost in the past for a few moments. Clearing her throat, she went on. “We were going to go to France so I could go to pastry school, and he planned on spending hours painting the beautiful scenery of France while taking painting lessons from some famous landscape artist. I planned to move to New York City, where I would open a bakery, and Jake would open an art studio.” She let out a soft laugh. “The dreams we had.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Your mother. That’s what happened.”

Confused, I asked, “What do you mean? She and Dad dated since high school. Middle school, if Dad was telling the story.”

Opal laughed, but it held no humor at all. “Your mother had gotten into a fight with your father and decided to fly to France to surprise me. She had, of course, met Jake before. He wasn’t from Moose Village and lived in Lake Placid. We met at a mutual friend’s birthday party at Lake Placid. It was love at first sight. We spent hours together just talking about our goals and dreams. We were both eighteen and so excited to start life. He said he would follow me there when I told him about my plans to visit France and possibly attend school there. I thought he was kidding, but one day he picked me up for a date and said he had made arrangements to study with this landscape artist. My mother and father, of course, didn’t know Jake would be going to France. I lied and said he was going to an art school in New York City. I didn’t even tell your mother.”

Opal looked down at her desk and wiped away at nothing. “Needless to say, she was surprised that Jake and I livedtogether in a small flat above the studio where he was taking art classes. She promised not to tell our parents, so I let her stay with us. She slept on the sofa, and while I was at pastry school, she explored Paris. Jake accompanied her a few times, and I never thought anything of it. Jake had an art exhibit to go to, and I couldn’t go, so your mother suggested she should go. Something inside me said it was a bad idea, but I trusted Jake and his love for me.”

It felt like a lead brick had settled in the pit of my stomach. “What happened?”

She closed her eyes as if going back to that moment. “Jake couldn’t handle his alcohol, and your mother, well, she could. They got drunk, went back to our studio apartment, and your mother slept with him.”

It was my turn to close my eyes. It was sad to think about it, but it didn’t surprise me that my mother would do that. When I opened my eyes, Opal was wiping a tear away.

“I came home and found them passed out in our bed. I threw a bucket of cold water on both of them. Jake couldn’t even remember sleeping with her, and your mother said it wasn’t a big deal. I tried to forgive them both, but the trust was broken. Your mother left and went back to the States and back to your father. Jake and I tried to work through the betrayal, but I couldn’t get past what he had done. He slept with my sister. I struggled with it, but we eventually worked through our problems, and Jake asked me to marry him. He said he wanted to make it up to me every single day for the rest of our lives.”

“If he asked you to marry him, how did he marry Mom?”

“Three months after your mother left, she called me and told me she was pregnant—and that it was Jake’s baby.”

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