Page 129 of The Husband Hour
Howard moved closer and she saw he had a manila envelope tucked under his arm. He handed it to her, and while she opened it, he said, “It’s the signed paperwork for the sublease. It came to the house today. You really saw things clearly when I was too mired in panic. I owe you an apology for not coming to you sooner.”
They were the words she’d needed to hear all summer.
She looked into his eyes, gray and steady; but for the crow’s-feet, the same eyes she’d been staring into for half her life. He leaned forward and kissed her, and she forgot everything around them: the heat of the kitchen, the clamor of the restaurant guests, even the problems with their daughters.
That’s all a husband is. Just a man. Flawed. Infinitely fallible. The only way marriage works is to forgive and move on.
“I wasn’t angry at you for losing the house,” she said. “I was hurt to be shut out of the decision-making.”
“I know.” He nodded. “Believe it or not, I was trying to spare you the worry.”
“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
He shrugged. “Pride?”
“Oh, Howard.”
He kissed her again, and she threw her arms around his neck. He pulled away just long enough to get the wine and hand her a glass.
“A quick toast. To you, Beth. You were right about this summer. I’m lucky to have you as my partner. I’m lucky to have you as my wife.”
She put down the wine and kissed him again. A timer pinged.
Howard glanced at the dozens of doughnuts cooling on the counter. “Can I help you plate those?” he asked.
She looked pointedly at his sports jacket.
“What?” he said. “You think I’m afraid of rolling up my sleeves?” He pulled off his jacket and set it on a wall hook. Beth, eyebrows raised, pointed to the sink. She stood beside him as he washed his hands.
“What’s with your sudden interest in the kitchen?” she asked, passing him a clean towel.
“Beth, you weren’t right about just the summer,” he said. “You were right about something else: it is your turn.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Lauren held on to Ethan’s hand and felt her own shaking as she led him to Emerson. She glanced back over her shoulder at Stephanie, who was watching like a protective mama bear.
When they reached Emerson, she found her tough, stoic former brother-in-law staring at Ethan with tears in his eyes.
“Ethan,” Lauren said. “This is a…family friend. Mr. Kincaid.”
Emerson glanced at her, and she nodded. He pulled out a chair and sat so he could talk to Ethan eye to eye. He asked Ethan about school and about what sports he liked to play. Ethan told him soccer.
“We should kick the ball around sometime,” Emerson said, looking to Lauren for the go-ahead.
“That sounds great, doesn’t it, Ethan?”
Ethan nodded, and Emerson held out his hand for a high five, which Ethan delivered before darting off.
“I remember when Rory was that age,” Emerson said. He turned to her with tears in his eyes. “Thank you, Lauren.”
“No problem. I mean, we’re family now, right?”
He nodded, clearly unable to speak. When he collected himself, he said, “What’s going on with that film?”
“The documentary? I don’t know. It’s…the truth will come out, Emerson. As we’ve seen.”
Stephanie made her way to them. Lauren wondered when they’d last seen each other. Not at her wedding, since Stephanie hadn’t been there. It might have been sometime during the summer when Lauren was at Georgetown instead of at the shore. The summer when their fates changed forever.
