Page 51 of Living for Truth
Aly wanted the bouquet to have alyssum in it, since it’s the flower she’s named after, so we used those as filler and added some pink roses and carnations. Whitney used to love pink roses, so I hope she still does.
When the doorbell rings, Aly shoots up from the couch, but I tell her to sit tight, and I’ll get it.
Whitney is dressed in what can only be described as business casual, which is weird for an outing with a nine-year-old. She has on black slacks and a sleeveless tan blouse. Her platinum blonde hair is tied in a tight ponytail, and her eyeliner is sharp and neat.
She looks like she’s had some botox done, which, to each their own, but she’s only thirty-one, so I don’t think she actually needs it.
“Hello, Whitney.”
“Morgan.” She nods and comes into the house, looking around like she hasn’t been here before. Maybe she’s just forgotten everything because she hasn’t been here in well over a year. “Where is yourgirlfriend?” she asks.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but she’s not here.”
Whitney hums. “Hmm. Bummer. I wanted to give her my condolences. Shame she has so many…issues.I would have thought you’d want more kids.”
I rear back. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Whitney’s mouth upturns into a vicious grin. “Oh, she didn’t tell you? Well, I can’t blame her. I’d be ashamed too if my body couldn’t keep a baby in it.”
Hannah had alluded to having a miscarriage, but why the hell does Whitney know that? “Don’t talk about things you know nothing about, Whitney,” I snap.
Whitney holds up her hands like she’s innocent. “I’m just saying. I know more about it than you do, apparently. She lostsevenbabies, Morgan. Why would you want to be with someone who can’t give you the big family you’ve always wanted? Someone so…defective.There’s obviously something wrong with her if she couldn’t keep a single baby alive.” The way she says it makes it sound like Hannah’s some type of murderer who targets babies. Not a woman with fertility issues.
“Hi, Mom,” Aly says, rounding the corner before I can rip Whitney a new one.
“Alyssa! Wow, you’ve gotten so tall. Are you ready for a fun day?” Whitney asks, her tone changing to something high pitched and nasally, like how someone would talk to a toddler.
“Yes. I—I got you a Mother’s Day present.” Aly holds out the bag with the candle and the flowers.
“Oh… thank you,” she says tightly. “I’ll open this later. We don’t want to hit Saturday traffic.”
Aly hugs me goodbye, and I whisper in her ear to call me if she needs me. Then she and Whitney leave, and I get in my car and drive over to my dad’s to grab his truck. My parents aren’t home, which is probably good since I don’t have time to chit chat. I need to get to my girl.
The whole way to Hannah’s, I’m wondering why Hannah didn’t tell me about her miscarriages. I mean, she has kept things pretty locked down because of her trust issues, but I feel like we’ve shared a lot with each other.
Is she embarrassed? It sounds like her ex blames her based on Whitney’s accusations and the wording she used.
The more I learn about Liam Whatever-His-Last-Name-Is the more I hate him.
I’m glad Hannah is no longer married to him, and that—hopefully—I have a chance with her. I want to show her how she deserves to be loved.
When I get to the Layton residence, I see boxes already out on the porch, and a brunette woman with a seventies style shag is hauling more out the front door.
I park on the street and open the back of the trailer, then walk to the front door right as Hannah comes out with another box.
“Oh!” she startles. “Hey. Thank you so much for coming and helping. Sage is here to help, too. I don’t have a lot of stuff, so we should be able to get it done pretty quickly. I assume we’ll need to clean—”
“Already taken care of,” I cut her off, giving her a gentle smile, taking the box from her hands and walking it to the trailer.
“Taken care of?”
“Alice told my sisters and my mom about you moving into the apartment, and they took it upon themselves to spruce it up and make it ‘homey.’ Their words, not mine.” I slide the box into the trailer and turn to her. “They’re really excited about you living there.”
Alice couldn’t stop gushing about Hannah over text. The family group chat was blowing up with texts from everyone wanting to know every single detail about her. Even Kendall was ribbing me about finally finding a good partner, and he usually avoids all talk of romance, the commitment-phobe.
I didn’t give in to their demands for details because I don’t want to give them hope for something that might not last. We’re still firmly in the “friends-who-are-fake-dating” box even though I don’t want to be. I’m taking her lead on things, and she needs to be ready to do this for real.
“That’s really nice of them. I—” she pauses like she doesn’t want to say whatever had been about to come out of her mouth.
