At this point, I would take any advantage I could get.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, darling. I am your husband, after all.” The corner of his weasel lip hitched up, and I knew he was playing me like he played all women, making me wonder all over again why the hell I had married him in the first place.
“Ex,” I finally said in disgust. “I certainly pay you enough money each month for you to be a kept man; but trust me, doll, I threw you out five years ago, and I’ve never been fond of seconds.” He was up to something. There was no way he would just randomly show up for Grammy’s funeral to pay his respects.
The question was what exactly did he want?
“You’ve never been fond of siblings, either,” my twin sister, Tabatha, said in a sarcastic tone from beside me.
She wore black jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. We were identical, but we were nothing alike. I was white diamonds and expensive champagne. She was white gemstones and cheap beer. It wouldn’t have mattered one bit to me, but she was the one who had turned up her nose whenever she was in my presence.
I slowly turned to look beyond her, dreading what I knew I would see. Sure enough my biological parents, Charlie and Rita Scott, stood behind Tabatha…the twin they had kept. They claimed they couldn’t afford to keep both of us back then, since my mom cleaned houses and my dad was a beer vender.
They’d said it was only temporary, and they would come back for me some day. But once I went to live with my grandmother, they’d never looked back. Grammy had disowned Rita, disapproving of her marriage to Charlie and the fact that they had abandoned their own child. So, I took Grammy’s last name and did the same by never looking back.
I’d be damned if I’d start now.
“The only sisters I have are my best friends.” Zoe, Morti, and Harm flanked my sides without hesitation, the way I knew they would. “What do you want?”
“We just want to be here for you in your time of need.” My mother’s tone sounded oddly sincere, as she smoothed her short, golden blonde hair back and lowered her periwinkle blue eyes, so similar to Tabatha’s and mine.
I could tell she was nervous, and maybe a little sad, but I didn’t let that get to me. She’d had her chance, and I had to stay strong for Grammy. I wrinkled my nose to keep the tears at bay. “Right. Like you’ve been there for me for the past forty years?”
“Hey, we can’t help it your grandmother never let us see you,” my father chimed in defensively, giving me a disapproving look for upsetting my mother.
“Oh, don’t even go there, Charlie.” I refused to call him Dad. “Like you even tried to be a part of my life. You pretty much wrote me off the day she took me in. Can you blame her for writing you three off now?” Grammy had made it clear before she died that they were all cut out of her will.
“They did try. Many times, in fact. You’re just too blind to see it.” Tabatha looked at me with disgust. “I told you guys this was pointless.”
“Tabatha, don’t,” my mother said softly. “She’s been through a lot.”
Tabatha threw up her hands. “Like we haven’t?” She gave me a look of pure resentment and then stormed off.
A weird feeling swept through my stomach, but I pushed it down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I know is I never would have made it without Grammy, and I won’t let you or anyone else take that away from me.”
“I’m so sorry.” My mother choked back a sob and then fled the church.
My father stared at me with a frustrated, helpless look. He rubbed his slightly pudgy beer gut, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I know you don’t believe this right now, but I’m sorry, too. All we ever wanted was the best for you, and we’ve never stopped loving you. From the moment you were born, we knew you were destined for great things. Things only your grandmother could provide.”
“That’s right.” I raised my chin a notch. “She did provide for me, and I owe her everything. Not any of you. I don’t owe you a dime.”
“And I’m not asking for one. I didn’t deserve your mother, and I didn’t deserve you. I hope one day you’ll come to realize the sacrifice we made and finally learn the truth. We don’t care that your Grammy cut us out of her will. We’re here for you.” And with that, he turned and walked away, looking as though he had the weight of the world on his weary shoulders. His buzzed, balding brown head hung low, and his faded brown eyes stared at the floor.
“Yeah. What they said. I’m here for you, darling,” Bud chimed in from beside me, looking anything but sincere.
“You’re so fake,” I managed to get out. “You make me sick.”
He leaned in and didn’t bother pretending anymore. “And you’re so rich, you make me horny.” He grabbed his crotch and leered at me. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer, sweetcakes. With my bad back, I’m thinking you owe me more money every month…now that you’re rolling in it.”
“And you’re a pig.” I clenched my fists before I did something stupid and turned around to my friends. “You guys ready to go? I think I’ve had about enough for one day.”
No words were necessary as they hooked my arms and led me out of the church. Just before we walked out the doors, I glanced one last time at my grandmother’s casket and tripped over my own feet.
Matt McGinnis stood staring down at Grammy, saying some sort of prayer over her. Then he stepped away but halted when he saw me. He gave me such a sincere look of sympathy and understanding and regret, that I was more tempted than I’d ever been to throw caution to the wind and hurl myself into his arms. One quick glance at my ex reminded me of exactly why I would never do that.
My heart was much more fragile than anyone knew.
Chapter Four
Once again, I was asking myself how this could happen as I sat in my kitchen one week later, waiting for the girls to arrive for our weekly girls’ night. We’d taken up comforting each other once a week, rotating houses, like we used to back in our cheerleading days. Only, last week we had missed our meeting because of my grandmother’s funeral.
I was sure they were still wondering about the results of our bet on the existence or non-existence of a certain legend tattooed clover, but they had been classy enough not to ask. It had been two weeks since my birthday, and my life was a mess. A complete and utter mess.
I repeat…I hated change, but my life was about to change in a very big way.
The doorbell rang, so I answered. “Hey, girls, come on in.”
I stood back and held the door open as Zoe, Harmony, and Morticia entered. I ushered them into my kitchen and had them sit around my ceramic and glass kitchen table, then I poured them each a drink. A diet cola for Morti, a glass of Chardonnay for Zoe, and a beer for Harm. Normally I opted for a glass of champagne or a martini, but tonight I opened a bottle of sparkling water.
“What was up with your ex showing up?” Morti studied me, looking concerned. “Tell me it’s not what I think it is…again.”
“He’s no fool.” The man gave me indigestion. “Now that I have Grammy’s inheritance, he’s threatening to sue me for more alimony.”
“You’re shitting me.” Harm scowled. “I seriously hate that man.”
“He’s always been lazy. Even when we were married, he claimed he couldn’t work because of a bad back. He was faking it then just like he’s faking it now. He can work and support himself just fine. Same with my so-called family only showing up because Grammy cut them out of her will. I’m sure they were heartbroken that she didn’t leave them anything.”
“I don’t know. We were there, hon.” Zoe gave me a sympathetic look, always the voice of reason. “They sounded really sincere.”
