Page 12 of Side Hustle
Amelia let go of Titus and ran over to jump and snatch it out of Polly’s distracted hand. “Hallelujah! I’ve been waiting for this. Finally, the results to prove the mayor's a sleezebag. No offense, Rip.”
“I know, I’m sorry. Total pregnancy brain. I forgot to mail it off and then I was supposed to pay before they sent the results and I forgot that too.” Lucy cringed.
Amelia swiped her hand through the air as if all was forgiven. She couldn’t take her eyes off the stack of papers she ripped out of the envelope. Maybe I was the only one to notice, but Polly kept edging backward to the doorway to the kitchen. Tension was in the air and I had no idea why.
“Why are we analyzing a used condom?” I whispered to Titus.
He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. His face was the same shade as Polly’s. He almost looked guilty. For what, I had no idea.
Lenora scooted over to Amelia and read over her shoulder. “The guy is almost one hundred percent English. Whoa. One percent haplogroup A1. What the heck does that mean?”
Lucy gasped and we all looked over at her. “Me too! It’s highly specific to West Africa, actually. Rare, too.”
Polly made a strangled noise and all heads swiveled in time to see her lurch back against the doorframe and slide right down to the floor in a dead faint. For her size, she was remarkably graceful going down.
“Mom!” Lucy hopped off the couch and ran over to her mom, crouching down while Bain put a pillow under her head.
I stepped over her to get a glass of water from the kitchen. I’d passed out a time or two growing up, mostly when my father had hit me so hard I lost consciousness briefly. For some reason, I’d always been thirsty when I woke up and I figured Polly would be too.
By the time I got back to her side and peered over the huddle of people around her, Polly’s eyes were fluttering open.
“Oh my,” she mumbled.
Then her gaze sharpened on Lucy and she struggled to sit up. Bain got behind her and braced her so she didn’t slide back down into a heap.
“Back up, guys. Give her some room,” I told my friends.
They complied, all of us now an odd party of guests half in the kitchen, half in the living room. Heston slept on in Hazel’s arms. Not that I was looking.
“Is Nana okay, Mommy?” Roxy tugged on Lucy’s shirt, climbing onto her lap and putting her little hands on Polly’s cheeks.
“I’m okay, sweetheart. Just a little shocked, that’s all.” Polly gave her kisses, but you could tell there was something on her mind.
“What happened?” Lucy asked quietly, her arm tucking Roxy back into her lap.
Polly looked around at all of us, realizing she had an audience.
“Want us to go and give y’all some privacy?” Lenora asked kindly.
Polly shook her head, but took the water glass I extended. She took a quick swallow and handed it back to me.
“Thank you, dear, but no. This involves a lot of you. Might as well tell the story just this one time.” Curiously, she kept her gaze locked with mine, making my stomach clench in fear. No male ever wanted to be locked in Polly’s sights. She was the town male basher. Or staunch feminist, depending on who described her.
“There’s a secret I’ve been keeping for a lot of years.” Polly finally looked away from me and held Lucy’s hand. “I’m sorry. I had my reasons, but I’m sure that won’t mean much when I tell you.”
We all heard little Heston burp in the silence that stretched out. Polly took a long, shaky inhale.
“Lucy, honey. Your daddy is Mayor Bennett. Rip is your half brother.”
The glass slipped from my hand and I bobbled it twice, sloshing water all over Jayden’s shoes. Thankfully, I didn’t drop it, and Jayden rushed off to grab a towel from the kitchen to wipe up my mess.
“Are…are you sure?” Lucy’s voice held a wobble as big as Polly’s double chin.
Bain rearranged Polly, who continued to lounge back against him, before getting a hand free to lay on his wife’s knee. Lucy clasped him tight, her eyes blinking comically.
Holy shit. My dad was more of an asshole than I thought. I huffed out a laugh, though nothing about this was funny. I’d thought he was an asshole because of the way he treated me and because of the criminal way he ran this town, but cheating on my mom and fathering another child whom he then ignored? It was the mangled cherry on top of a crap sundae.
Polly’s cheeks went as red as Amelia’s lipstick. I’d never seen her look anything less than uber confident, so this embarrassed version of Polly was as shocking as her secret.
