Page 107 of The Singing Trees
Annalisa’s heart kicked hard, throwing her mind into a scramble. “No. I...I...” She felt an urgent need to rush out of there.
He raked his beard. “Yeah, that was the one thing that shocked me when I got home, that you two weren’t together. You were the only sure bet I would have made back then.”
“Things change, don’t they?” She looked around, thinking she really didn’t want to see Thomas right now. She was keeping a baby from him, for God’s sake. And as her body was clearly showing her, she still had strong feelings for him that she couldn’t bear letting him see.
“Some things change, I guess,” Mitch said.
Don’t do this,she thought. She’d been thinking of how she’d finally moved on, and now Thomas was reeling her right back in, destroying her progress.
Annalisa had to ask, “Is he still married and all that? I know he met that girl over there.” The moment the question left her lips, she wished she hadn’t asked. It was better to keep it all buried and get out of there.
“What girl?” Mitch asked, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “After you, Thomas didn’t...” He shook his head. “Thomas will never love someone else. He’s got the Annalisa blues.”
A strange feeling that something terrible had happened began to scratch at her insides. “But I saw the picture. That girl. Mrs.Barnes said he was going to marry her.”
“The girl he’s with now?” Mitch looked around to make sure this person wasn’t within earshot. His deep voice escalating in pitch, he asked, “Robin?”
“I thought her name was Linh?”
“I don’t know a Linh,” Mitch said. “He’s kind of dating Robin, but they’re not serious. I’m telling you. You broke his heart, Annalisa.” Mitch looked down at her hand. “You’re not married?”
She had never been more confused in her life. Part of her still wanted to escape before she learned more and before she saw him, but her curiosity won.
Ignoring Mitch’s question, she said, “Mrs.Barnes said he’d fallen in love with someone in Vietnam. That’s why I left him.”
“What? This is news to me. I feel like I’d know.”
She could still see the photo that had changed everything. Maybe Thomas hadn’t brought her home. Still, why was Mitch covering for Thomas after all these years?
“You didn’t hear anything about another...”
A voice came from behind. “Oh my God.”
She knew Thomas’s voice better than any sound in the world, save perhaps her daughter’s giggle. Correction: their daughter’s giggle.
“Is that you?” he asked as she attempted to steady herself.
Annalisa sipped some air and turned. Thomas Barnes stood there, more than three years older than she’d last seen him but barely changed at all. His hair had grown out some, and he was well dressed in a light-blue shirt tucked into khakis with loafers.
Her throat went dry. Searching for something to say felt like painting with a dry brush. There was nothing there.
Thomas held hands with a redheaded girl, but Annalisa watched his hand slightly loosen around hers. “Itisyou.”
“Hi,” she said, doing everything she could to hide the emotions exploding inside. The anger and attraction. Had time not softened how much she hated what he’d done to her?
In the uncomfortable silence, as the two searched each other’s eyes, the redhead stepped forward and stuck out her hand. “I’m Robin. You must be Annalisa.”
Annalisa broke eye contact with Thomas. “How’d you know?”
The redhead shrugged. “Just a hunch.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Annalisa glanced back at Thomas, who smiled with his lips pressed together. She instantly felt the guilt of lying to Thomas about Celia. He had no idea he was a father. At least she didn’t think so. Surely, he would have asked about her. Celia looked so much like him that if he ever did see her, he’d know. Oh God, so much rushing through her. She’d considered tracking him down but always shied away. Now she wondered if she’d made the wrong decision.
“How are you?” he asked. “What are you up to?”
Annalisa barely got out, “I’m good, thanks. Just ran in to get something on my way home.”
She saw joy collect in his cheeks and eyes, and she knew she was indeed still on his mind. As if they were the only two in the universe, he focused on her and asked, “Where do you live now?”
