Page 18 of A Way Out
Framed posters of Panic Station’s various album covers hung on the walls, and a glass-front case displayed several awards. There were also photos of the band with what she assumed were other famous bands in the display case. Including one with Oz’s band, or so she assumed, since Oz was in the picture. She opened the glass door and pulled out the picture so she could study it more closely.
Oz had his arms flung around the shoulders of an attractive black guy with blond dreads and a good-looking white guy with shaggy brown hair. On that guy’s other side was an olive-skinned man with stick-straight, black hair. Next to him was a woman who so closely resembled Sam that they had to be related. Then Sam, Holly, and the rest of their band, whom Maria recalled meeting at her grandmother’s funeral.
In less than a week, she’d be hanging out with these people, who all appeared to be best buds. She already felt like an outsider.
Her younger sister had managed to find her family, a real family, among these rockers. She’d also found love—true, honest-to-God, real love, the kind that would last forever.
Maria had never been more jealous of Holly in her life. And she’d been plenty jealous over the years, because Holly had figured out how to tune out their mother’s constant criticism, had learned how to ignore the woman, not let her get under her skin.
Maria hadn’t even told her mother that she’d asked for a divorce. She’d been afraid of the backlash. And then, when Vic told her (of course he did), the woman had called and called and called, and for a week straight, Maria had managed to ignore her, which was both stressful and refreshing.
Until she showed up on Maria’s doorstep, and then Elaine Hearsy had perched on the edge of her couch and lectured her for well over an hour about her foolishness.
Truthfully, not reconciling with Vic after that had possibly been the bravest thing Maria had ever done.
Just as Oz had warned, Cat did not return after taking the children to school. Maria took Riley for a walk around the neighborhood, splashed in the pool, and counted down the hours until Oz returned, which was not a decision she was particularly interested in analyzing about herself.
Cat and the kids returned shortly after three, and suddenly the house was full of noise and energy again, and was it crazy that Maria already preferred this to the solitude and quiet?
Heck, she’d had nothing but solitude and quiet for her entire marriage, so no, it wasn’t crazy.
Cat bustled around the kitchen, preparing snacks for the children while they sat at the table and did their homework. Riley insisted on sitting next to Izzie and drawing on her sketchpad. Maria offered to help Cat.
“We’re running low on salsa,” Cat said. “Why don’t you collect the ingredients and start chopping tomatoes?” And then she rattled off a list of food items as Maria rushed to gather them together.
Maria obligingly chopped tomatoes, and Cat fed the children bananas and crackers with peanut butter, along with a bowl of popcorn. Once that task was done, she joined Maria, mincing garlic on a second cutting board.
“Oz says you are Holly’s sister,” Cat commented as she rhythmically bounced the knife against the wooden surface.
Maria wanted to ask when she and Oz had had time to chat about her. Instead, she said, “I am.”
Cat nodded. “You are very different.”
So she’d met Holly. This wasn’t surprising. It was clear Oz was tight with her sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law.
“Holly moved away after high school and never returned. Well, not until last year, when our grandmother passed away.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. But not for your gain.”
She glanced up sharply. “What does that mean?”
Cat dumped a pile of minced garlic into a bowl that already contained tomatoes, peppers, jalapeños, and onions. She grabbed a bunch of cilantro and began chopping again. “Holly was estranged from her family. Now she is not. At least, not from her sister. Which means some good came of her visit.”
That visit had also helped Holly realize she was in love with Sam. Before that point, they’d been pretending to be a happy couple for the sake of the band. Maria was one of a very few individuals who knew that, so she did not mention it to Cat.
“You’re right,” she said instead.
Cat added salt and pepper and lime juice and declared the salsa done. She slid it, along with a bowl of tortilla chips, onto the table where the kids were all sitting, still working on homework, and then set about cleaning up the kitchen.
“Perhaps,” Cat said after a few minutes, “some good will come of your visit here.”
Wouldn’t that be nice?
Chapter Seven
The first thing Oz did when he returned to the house was kick off his muddy shoes on the doorstep and head straight upstairs to shower. He was exhausted, sweaty, and coated with a layer of mulch. Just another day at the office.
In his bedroom, he stripped out of his filthy clothes, tossing it all into the hamper, and strode into the bathroom, buck naked, just because he could. If he were at home, he’d have to wait until he was in the bathroom to strip, and he’d be lucky to have five minutes to himself before someone was knocking, shouting that they had to pee.
