Page 43 of Everything We Thought Was True
“No” was all she got out. It sounded garbled, like she was underwater.
Don’t turn around.She wouldn’t, couldn’t. All she wanted was to escape this pain. She’d just lost her mother and couldn’t take any more. This revelation felt like a whole separate loss as she accepted the truth that Frank would never change. That he couldn’t. That the moments of hope she’d clung to over the last few years during their ceasefire were like little life rafts—memories of who they’d once been.
Teresa reached the hospital, burst through the main doors, and hit the elevator button as if her house was on fire and she was trying to escape the flames. She felt like the doors were opening in slow motion. She stepped inside and turned to face Frank, hitting the button for the third floor. He reached his hand out to stop the doors from closing.
“Teresa, I’m so sorry. I didn’t intend for you to find out like this.”
That was when she felt it. Rage. It boiled up from within and burst through her like a tsunami. She spit out her words. “How dare you, Frank? Bringing him here, of all places.”
The elevator starting chiming as Frank continued to hold the door open. “He was just going to wait in the car, not come in. I—”
“You know what, Frank? Stay with your fucking boyfriend. I don’t want you upstairs. You don’t deserve to say goodbye to my mother. You’re too late anyway. She died a little while ago.” An involuntary wail escaped her, tears threatening to overtake her.
“Oh my God, Teresa, I’m so sorry,” Frank said, reaching out his other hand to touch her, but she flinched back. “Truly I am. Your mother was such a sweet woman—a saint.”
“Yes, Frank, she was a saint for putting up with my father, and I’m realizing I’m taking after her in more ways than one. Get out of my sight!” Her voice was like venom dripping with tears, spittle, and yearsof frustration.
Teresa shoved his arm away from the elevator doors, and they closed. Frank stood in shock as he disappeared behind them.
ACT 3: THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE
Chapter Twenty-Four
LENA - LOS ANGELES, CA
August 2015
Istared down at the cake my colleagues had ordered with Way to Go! blazoned across the top. I was basking in the win’s glow. It felt so good to have the Hawke Health Care case behind me—like I was coming down from balancing on a high wire.
I grabbed one more piece of cake and accepted congratulatory high fives from a few more colleagues as I headed out of the conference room.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Marcus asked.
“To my office. I feel so behind from that damn trial. Thought I’d go catch up on some things before the weekend.”
The grueling trial had gone on for weeks. In the end, we’d not only won but had also entered a consent decree to ensure system-wide changes that would positively affect all female physicians who worked for Hawke. This was everything we’d hoped for and more, helping topple the long-standing inequity that Hawke had allowed to fester over many years.
He shook his head. “Nope. You’re taking the afternoon off.” He pointed his finger at me and lifted his eyebrows. I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. “I’m serious. Get out of here. That’s an order.”
I smiled, nodding. “Okay, I will. Thank you.”
“You deserve it. Well done, counselor. Seriously.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “That was some amazing work. You should be proud of yourself. I know I am.”
A warm feeling spread through my insides. I couldn’t help reacting to Marcus’s praise. His opinion meant so much to me. I worried that I actually might be blushing, which was not my typical response. I ducked out before saying something corny and making a fool of myself.
I hoped it would be smooth sailing from now until my dad’s wedding. Other than a quick business trip to San Francisco, nothing on my agenda would take up that much mental space. I was looking forward to a less stressful month ahead.
To kick it off, Kevin and I were going to dinner that night to celebrate the win. And the next day, I was meeting up with Kate in person for the first time since the bar association dinner the previous month. We’d emailed back and forth, texted, and spoken on the phone a few times, but this was the first time our schedules matched up.
I went to my office to grab my laptop. I quickly scanned my email and saw a new message from my dad with the subject line,Mock-up of wedding invitation. I opened it and saw an image of an envelope with the names Magdalena Antinori and Kevin Ryan in a beautiful calligraphy font. I smiled and clicked the digital envelope to open the wedding invitation.
Frank and Oliver are pleased to invite you to their wedding ceremony and reception on the 17th of October, 2015, at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Beneath the fancy black font was a silhouette of two grooms in tuxedos with matching red pocket squares. The image was simple and elegant, and I felt myself getting excited about the wedding for the first time. But the moment quickly passed as I heard footsteps in the hallway and reflexively closed the digital weddinginvitation.
I glanced over my shoulder toward the door, hoping no one had walked by and seen the screen. Toby came into view, slowing down near my open door. Of all people, he would probably be totally accepting of me having a gay father. I pictured telling him and the two of us bonding over it and then caught myself. For God’s sake, this wasn’t show-and-tell in elementary school. And work certainly wasn’t the time or place to have an intimate conversation with Toby. Besides, I hardly knew him. I’d just divulged my secret to Kate after not sharing my family history with almost anyone. That was enough. Gay people had always been there, and it was wonderful that they didn’t have to hide as much anymore. But I’d lived a private life and planned to keep it that way. I didn’t enjoy being the center of attention with personal stuff. Accolades for my career? Fine. My personal business? Off-limits.
“Hi, Lena. Great work on that case. I hope to get to work with you on the next one. Can I make a formal request?” he asked, grinning.
