Page 3 of Where She Belongs
“You look like you’re enjoying this way too much.” Despite my tone, I’m grateful for their relationship—that my daughter feels comfortable enough to order him around. She was seventeen when they met, back when I used to host monthly meetings on integrative medicine and they discovered their mutual passion for soccer.
Gabe was twenty-five then, the youngest resident to do his community health rotation in my clinic. Something about his enthusiasm for community medicine resonated with the spirit of Salud Integrada and we found common ground in our shared mission to serve the underserved.
“Andie, you do realize you can’t avoid him forever, right?” Gabe says as he casts me a knowing glance. “He’s her stepfather.”
And there it is.
“I know.” I sigh, continuing, “and it’s not like we agreed to go without plus-ones.”
Gabe’s eyebrows shoot up. “He’s not bringing Kitty?”
Katherine Woodbridge-Allen or simply Kitty, Simon’s former grad student, current girlfriend, and his mistress for the last two years of our marriage. If I hadn’t come home a day early from that conference and found them in our bed, who knows how long their affair would have continued before he’d have the guts to ask for a divorce?
But then, he didn’t have to. Seeing them go at it like bunnies on our bed was all the motivation I needed to call a divorce lawyer the moment I walked out of the house.
“He said with everyone coming from all over, he didn’t want to take attention away from Tristy and Tyler.”
“That’s awfully noble of him,” Gabe says, his voice dripping sarcasm. “Who knew Simon Gaines had an ounce of honor left in his cheating heart?”
“Can you imagine bringing your mistress—who just happens to be younger than your stepdaughter—to the wedding?”
Two years he kept Kitty in an apartment across town. Two years of lying to my face that he loved me as I introduced him to people who could further his television career as a news commentator.
It’s been six months since our divorce became final and even after all the therapy, it still grates whenever I think about it.
Gabe takes my hand between both of his. “Look, I get it. Four days with the man who hurt you isn’t exactly paradise, but thinkof Tristy. Think how happy she’ll be to have you there. You’re her mother, and she adores you.”
“Then why ishewalking her down the aisle?” The words burst out as I pull my hand away to smooth my wrinkled linen pants. I should’ve known better than to wear linen. “Why not me? I raised her—well, with her grandparents until Simon came along.”
Gabe shrugs. “Maybe she just wants to stick to tradition.”
“More like he guilt-tripped her when she initially picked me,” I say. “Though knowing Simon, it’s because Tyler’s sponsors are filming the whole thing and he wants the exposure.”
“The sponsors are covering everything?” Gabe asks, surprised.
“E-very-thing.” I don’t have to tell him about my future son-in-law, Tyler Wilde also known as TurboTy, who is a top-ranked gamer with millions of social media followers. “We’ll have to sign releases when we land. Different colored wristbands to show whether we consent to being filmed.”
“Now that you mentioned it, Tristy did say that when she confirmed I was coming solo,” Gabe says, nodding. “She was expecting me to bring along my latest ‘flavor of the month.’ Her words, not mine.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“Because I never bring dates to weddings,” he replies, grimacing. “What if she caught the bouquet? Talk about pressure.”
I laugh dryly. “Not as bad as being on the same island as your ex-husband for four days though. Wedding photos, dinners… everything.”
“You can always stand on the opposite side of wherever he’s at,” Gabe says. “Problem solved.”
“You’re right,” I say. “I do have choices. Sometimes I forget I do.”
“Look, Andie, I know the divorce is still raw for you.” His arm slides around my shoulders. “But blaming yourself for Simon’s shitty choices isn’t helping you heal. Remember, you’re not the one who had the affair. You’re not the one who gave up. You tried everything to save that marriage.”
“Everything except begging,” I add, my voice cracking. “Maybe I should have done that?—”
“No begging,” Gabe says as he turns to face me, suddenly serious. “That man isn’t worth the ground you walk on.”
I let his words sink in, absorbing the fierce loyalty he always shows me. Rain, sleet, or snow, Gabe Vasquez always stands by me. “What would I do without you?”
“Come here.” He pulls me into a full embrace as I fight back the tears that threaten to spill over, knowing that once they start,they’ll be hard to stop. “Everything will be fine, I promise. I got you.”
