Page 66 of The Biggest Secret
“Big brother, not while I’m in uniform! Come on, let’s go home and have a beer at your house. I want to talk to you about something.”
“Oh yea? Are we going to talk about Farrah?”
He narrows his eyes at me, a smile playing across his lips.
“No, not about Farrah. I need help with something.”
“You need me to fix it? They call me the fixer, Al, did you know that? I found out I have a bunch of names. The Principal. Jackson calls me Bobby Knight. Then there’s AAA.” I lean in, “That one isn’t so nice though.” I laugh to myself thinking about when Chelsea told me what it meant. The smile that spread across her face, that she knew a secret I didn’t. “But the fixer. That’s my favorite.” I pause. “Maybe I need a fixer now. Al, can you fix me?”
“Come on, man, let’s go. Thanks for calling me, Mr. Gargulo. I’ll take care of him from here.” Tom grabs my phone off the bar top and begins to drag me out the front door when Grace comes from around the corner.
“Hey, Adam, where are you going? I thought we were getting out of here.”
“Sorry, but my brother needs me.”
She wanders over closer to me. “But I need you, too.”
“There’s only one girl who needs me, Georgia, and you’re not her.”
“My name is Grace.” I hear her sharp tone as she bites out each word, then I hear Tom chuckling in my ear as he eases me out the door, not a clue as to what just happened.
“Oh brother, that’s gonna hurt tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
CHELSEA
After our fight, and after I walked away from Adam, I didn’t sleep at all. I heard his truck start up after he left my house, and then I never heard it come back home.
Pouring a cup of coffee, I hear Adley pad down the hall. She rounds the corner into the kitchen and slides onto a stool at the island.
“How’re you doing, sis?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I mumble, “It was just a matter of time.”
She gets up and makes her own cup of coffee then sits opposite me again. “Can I say something without you biting my head off?”
“Depends on what it is.” I narrow my eyes at her.
“I’m not condoning what Adam did. He promised to spend the day with Dom, and he didn’t follow through. But shit happens, sis. How many times have you called me because you got stuck at work? And, as far as he knew, he did tell you. He was panic stricken when he came tothe door last night. All the missed calls, he thought something happened to you guys. I’ve never seen him look so afraid.”
“Smart guy. He should have felt afraid after what he pulled.” I look away from her when her stare becomes too much.
“Chelsea. Come on, give the guy a break. He’s been through a hell of a lot since you came back with Dominic. He’s had a short amount of time to adjust his entire life. From what I see, he’s doing a pretty good job, too.”
“Are you seriously taking his side?”
“I’m not taking any sides; I’m just trying to help you seebothsides.”
I’m quiet, taking in her words. She’s right, though I don’t want to admit it. I don’t know how to admit when I’m wrong, when I haven’t outgrown the feeling of being wronged by everyone else. So, I did exactly what I’ve taught myself to do–leave before they leave me.
If I want to grow as a person, in my relationship and as a mother who can teach my son the right way to go about handling conflict, I can’t run. I have to stick things out when they get bad, when I feel backed into a corner. I have to learn to talk things out, not shut people out.
Sighing, “I need to apologize to Francesca and Farrah. They caught my wrath yesterday and it wasn’t fair.”
“Good girl, you’re learning.” She sits with a smug look. “Go get Dom ready. We’ll head to town and then stop and see them afterward.”
Forty-five minutes later we’re walking into the bridal shop where we’re picking up the items we’ve put aside for Chess’s bachelorette party. This place has all the sexy goodies she’s going to need for her wedding night. Thanking the saleswoman for holding everything for us, we exit the store and head down the sidewalk toward the Roasted Chestnut. It’s a Saturday, which means Farrah is most likely there helping her parents with the shop.
