Page 22 of The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie
“Was it all the children?” I ask him. “Is that what put the strain on your marriage?”
He shakes his head now. “No, the kids are great. I’m sorry about that part—I’ll genuinely miss my kids.”
“Did you disagree on the color of that dress?”
“What?”
“Nothing. Never mind.” I frown up at him. “So, what was it?”
“It’s…” He digs his heel into the soil of our yard. “It’s a little painful to admit. I… I don’t know you very well, and I don’t want you to think less of me.”
“I won’t think less of you.”
“Please. I don’t want to say it…”
There’s pain in his eyes, which reminds me of the pain I felt during my marriage. I don’t know what he was going through, but I am starting to suspect it was just as bad as my own situation. Like me, he clearly needs somebody to talk to.
“Tell me. Please, Brant.”
“She…” He squeezes his eyes shut. “She doesn’t like Nickelback. And I…” His Adam’s apple bobs. “I love them. There—I said it. Nickelback is my absolute favorite band of all time, and my own wife can’t stand them.”
“Brant…”
“You have no idea what it’s been like.” He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. “We’ll be in the minivan together, and ‘How You Remind Me’ will come on the radio, and she’ll say to me, ‘Shut that awful music off.’ She says they… they’re super fake, and their songs are made for… entirely commercial reasons.” His voice trembles dangerously, threatening to break. “She says that…they’re not even a real band. She says nobody really likes them, and there must be something wrong with me.” He lets out a strangled cry. “And now you probably think there’s something wrong with me too.”
I blink, staring at him in disbelief. “Brant, IloveNickelback.”
He gives me a wary look. “You can’t possibly mean that. You’re just messing with me.”
“No, I do! I love Nickelback! They have such a good vibe, their lyrics are so profound, and their tunes are a perfect mix of pop and grunge. They’re my favorite band.”
A slow smile spreads across his lips. “I… I thought I was the only one.”
“I thoughtIwas the only one!”
Our eyes meet, and for a moment, I wonder what my life would have been like if I had ended up with a different brother. I don’t know Brant well, but it suddenly feels like we connect on a level that Grant and I never did. After all, we have something in common that very few people in the world do.
“I’m sorry I was following you,” Brant says softly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after my brother died.”
“I’m okay,” I say. “Actually, I am more than okay. Grant was… He wasn’t always good to me. As Chad Kroeger would say, living with him damn near killed me.”
“Although I enjoyed the Nickelback quote, I’m really sorry to hear that.” Brant reaches out to gently touch my shoulder. “Grant did have issues. We had a difficult childhood, to say the least.”
“Really? He never told me that.”
“Yes, it was awful.” He winces at the memory. “It was all those identical-twin studies we did when we were younger.”
“Identical twin studies?”
“Yes, they were endless,” Brant groans. “We were constantly having our IQ tested. On one occasion, we were both given marshmallows and told that if we were able to keep from eating them for five minutes, we would get a second marshmallow. And once, they sent Grant into space, and when he came back, they tested our blood, saliva, and urine to compare them. He was only six at the time!”
That does sound rather unpleasant. Although it doesn’t excuse what he did to me.
“Listen,” I say, “you had better come inside the house. If you stand out on the lawn long enough, one of the neighbors is going to see you.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You trust me enough to let me into your house?”
I hesitate for a split second, but then I bob my head. Even though I only met Brant today, I feel an inexplicable connection to him. I trust him. I don’t think he would hurt me.
