Page 71 of Perfect Assumption
“After your parents died,” I concluded slowly.
“Yes. Ward and I had just inherited a fortune—one which we had no idea about. We were instantaneous millionaires. Christ, if we were selfish, we’d be worth billions at this point.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine the burden of that kind of money.”
Relief crossed Carys’s face. “Thank you.” At my confusion, she continued. “Not many people appreciate it is a burden. And this wasn’t the same kind of thing as picking numbers or scratching off a ticket. It wasn’t an unexpected joy to share. We lost the best thing in our lives to acquire fortune. And no one seems to remember that every time they mention us in the media. At the core of who we are, it changed us. Ward especially.”
I leaned forward and laid my shaking hand on hers. For just a moment, we were just two people who had survived the worst life can throw at us in the most public way possible. There weren’t scandals and degrees separating us. We were just women who knew what it was like to have our pain laid out on page one for everyone to digest on their morning commute.
A whisper of cold races through me, jostling me from my thoughts. “Crap. I don’t have much time.” Quickly, I dash down the steps and run into the garage to hang up the rake and shed my duck shoes. Closing the garage door, I climb the stairs to the main level to get ready for the arrival of my… I stop in the hallway as the word comes to me. Friends. Somewhere along the way, Carys and David transitioned from being my bosses to being my friends. I don’t have to watch what I say around them. I don’t have to hide my emotions. I can just be me.
Slowly, I turn towards the mirror hanging in the front hall. Then I take a step forward until I can face the woman staring back at me clearly. For the first time in ten years, I’m not ashamed by the emotions reflecting back at me.
Wariness.
Fear.
And maybe…excitement?
Suddenly, a surge of anger makes me want to hurl the antique mirror across the room. “Damnit, after all this time, don’t I deserve to forgive myself? I sacrificed my entire life to tell the truth. If they chose not to believe me, shouldn’t they be the ones unable to look in the mirror? I didn’t lie,” I yell. It’s something psychologist after psychologist tried to tell me for years. My grandparents, Sula, they tried to make me believe it. I don’t know what changed, but I feel terrified and exhilarated by the realization that maybe they were right.
“I’m entitled to happiness. No one has the prerogative to make me feel fear. No one.” With that, I turn and hurry up the stairs to get ready for the first guests I’ll ever entertain at my home other than Sula.
* * *
“It’s charming, Angie”are the first words Carys calls out. Her blonde head immediately ducks into the back seat.
“Thanks.” I step out the front door onto the porch and lift a hand. “Need any help?”
David gives a quick wave before he walks around to the trunk. “No. We’ll just put Ward to good use.”
My heart stutters as another door flies open. “I heard that. No wonder you guys invited me along.” Ward’s dark hair catches the overhead sunlight as he emerges from the back of the car. “Hey, Angie. I hope you don’t mind my tagging along?”
“No, no. Not at all. Welcome.” The demons in my head try to take over, cackling about unplanned attacks. I shove them aside. Ward didn’t seek me out on his own. He came with his sister, his brother-in-law, and his nephew, for crying out loud. Bravely, I walk down the flagstone steps and reach them at the car just as Carys pulls Ben from his car seat.
Rubbing his little eyes, he blinks a few times before his little mouth forms a perfect O. “Mama. Look, trees!”
Carys smooths a hand up and down his back. “I know, baby. There’s lots of trees here.”
He squirms to be put down. “Unca Ward. We play?” His question is more of a demand, with the confidence of a little boy who knows he’s unequivocally loved.
“I should clarify, Angie, it was Ben who insisted Ward come with us.” David slams the trunk. “Ward comes over and both Carys and I disappear.”
“Don’t pout, David. I seem to recall you and Carrie disappearing while I watched the little bugger this morning.” Ward’s smile is pure wickedness, his meaning clear.
I blush to the roots of my hair. Carys stomps over to her brother, still holding Ben, and whacks him in the arm. “You’re embarrassing Angie. Be nice.”
Ben leans over and smashes his hand on Ward’s mouth. “Nice, Unca Ward. No time-out. We play.” Then Ben flings his arms back high over his head, his delight so obvious all the adults can’t help but absorb his enthusiasm. Even me.
“Ben,” I call to him. His tiny head whips toward me. “Do you want to jump in some leaves?”
His little body quivers in excitement. “Yes. Puhlease.” He tacks on the latter after a stern look from his father.
“Well, I happen to have a pile of them in the backyard and cocoa for after, but only for well-behaved boys…”
“And girls?” Carys pipes in. Even as my jaw falls open in shock, she turns to Ward as they head toward the trunk. “When was the last time we jumped in a pile of leaves?”
“You were in college, and I must have been in middle school.” He reaches over and ruffles her hair. “Such a brat, jumping right in the middle of the pile I’d just raked up.”
