Smart Girls Think Twice (25 page)

“Why come back now, that’s what I want to know,” Lulu said. “After all this time . . . what were you hoping to accomplish?”

“I wanted to try to explain . . . I couldn’t find the words before. I still don’t have the right words to express my regret at hurting you. I’m married now to a great guy, a therapist who’s helped me deal with a lot of stuff.”

Jake couldn’t help seeing the shock flash across Lulu’s face at this news. Clearly she hadn’t expected Zoe to be married. A moment later Lulu had her angry expression back. Jake could relate to his half sister . . . Wow, he had a half sister. And it turned out she was a lot like him. Not that he could feel her pain or sappy stuff like that, but . . . okay, he
could
feel her pain. There was a hell of a lot of it hidden inside her and he could relate to that.

“He’s taught me how to be a better person.”

“I suppose you’ve got kids with him now.”

“I’ve got two stepsons. I’m a good stepmom . . .”

“Do you really think I want to hear about how you’re great with your stepkids but couldn’t be bothered with me? How do you think that makes me feel? Do you even care? Obviously not. This is all about you, not me. You came here to make yourself feel better.” Lulu shook her head, as if denying everything around her. Jake saw the tears well up in her eyes before she turned on her heels and ran out.

“I’m, uh, gonna take a rain check on that lasagna,” Jake told Jerry and Zoe.

“Tell her that I love her,” Zoe pleaded with him.

Jake met Lulu outside. “I’m not crying,” she said fiercely, angrily scrubbing away the few tears that escaped. “I’m not a crier. Ask anyone.”

“I don’t have to ask. I can tell you’re not a crier.”

Half an hour later Jake and Lulu were seated in Angelo’s Pizza place eating a loaded pizza.

“I suppose I should look on the bright side,” she said around a mouthful of pizza.

“Which is?”

“That I got a kick-ass half brother out of the deal.”

“And I got a kick-ass half sister.”

“Yeah, right. Like that was on the top of your holiday list last year.”

Actually it was. He’d wanted to track down his roots to find out who he was because he’d started to question everything after that deadly day on the mountain. But he didn’t know how to convey that to Lulu.

“That’s okay.” She patted his hand. “You don’t have to lie.”

“You remember that day I came into Cosmic Comics to ask you to walk Mutt?”

“Yeah.”

“I really came to check you out. I had a short list of three possible birth mothers.”

“Really? Who were the other two?”

“I’m not saying. It’s not relevant. Anyway, I wanted to meet you in case you were related to me, in case Zoe was my birth mother after all.”

“Aren’t you angry with her for giving you up?”

“No, I’m actually grateful. My parents were awesome people.”

“But you ended up in foster care after they died.”

“Shit happens.”

“I know. I’ve got the T-shirt
and
the bumper sticker on that one.”

“Your grandfather was right, you know.”

“About what?”

“About hanging onto hate and grudges. That crap does eat you up inside. Your grandfather seems like a guy who knows what he’s talking about.”

“He’s your grandfather too. And he does know what he’s talking about usually. He also makes great lasagna.”

“So I’ve heard. Maybe you should consider his advice about letting go of the past and starting new. Will you at least think about it?”

She snatched the last piece of pizza before reluctantly saying, “Okay, I’ll think about it. No promises, though.”

“Good enough.” Jake snatched the pizza right out of her hand before she could take a bite.

“Nice move.”

He grinned. “I thought so.”

She snatched the remaining piece back and stuck it right in her mouth.

Jake cracked up. “Oh yeah, you and I are
definitely
related.”

Emma was pumping gas at Gas4Less, trying to remember the last time she’d had to fill up her hybrid car. Today was Monday . . .

“Are you the one doing that survey about Rock Creek?” a woman approached her to ask.

“Yes.” Emma couldn’t place the woman but then there were a lot of participants in her study and she didn’t remember them all by sight. Unless she was someone from the town meeting? “Did you have a question about it?”

“Yes, I have a question. How do you sleep at night?”

Emma belatedly noticed the woman’s belligerent stance.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean you have some nerve coming back here after all these years and telling us how to live.”

“I’m not doing that at all.”

“Telling us we should be happy with all the changes. Well, we’re not happy. I know what happens in these situations. Outsiders come into a place and the next thing you know the property values go up and then the property taxes go up and the local people can’t afford to live here anymore.”

“You don’t agree that Rock Creek was in trouble before?”

“Sure, but we’ve been in trouble before and come through.”

“All I’m doing is trying to document what’s going on here—”

“Then you need to include the fact that not everyone is happy about the changes.”

“Are you participating in my study?”

“Hell no!”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want any part of it. I believe a person’s life is private and no one has any business nosing around in it.”

“I’m not nosing around in people’s private lives. I’m just asking about their relationship to this town—how long they’ve lived here, what kind of work they do—”

“That’s all personal stuff,” the other woman said. “So just butt out and stop looking for trouble or you’ll get more than you bargained for.” With that ominous note, she hopped into her Camaro and zoomed out of the gas station.

“What were you and Rhonda talking about?” Nancy Crumpler asked as she walked out of the Gas4Less Mini-Mart with a bag of chips and an extra-large cup of coffee.

“She never told me her name.”

“That’s Rhonda. She’s Roy’s sister. You remember Roy, right?”

Emma nodded. How could she forget?

“What did she want?” Nancy asked.

“She isn’t happy about the study I’m doing regarding Rock Creek.”

“She’s not happy about much in her life. Her husband recently took off with a younger woman and left her in a trailer with two kids and no child support.”

“I wish I’d known. There are organizations that can help her get the child support owed to her,” Emma said.

“E-mail me the information and I’ll make sure she gets it.”

“Okay. She said she was worried about property taxes going up.”

“Tough economic times make you worry about a lot of things. Things are going better here in Rock Creek than they have in the past, but it’s a rough world out there for all of us. A lot of uncertainty.”

“I realize that.” Her life was filled with uncertainty too. Would she still have a job in a year? Would her research study turn out to be a bust? Was she an idiot to get involved with a risk taker like Jake?

For some reason Emma had felt nervous about Tuesday night’s family dinner all day.

Leena and Cole were still on their honeymoon in Bermuda. Which left Sue Ellen and Donny along with Emma and her parents all gathered around two tables pushed together at the Thai Place.

Maxie had her hair piled up and held in place with two hair sticks to give herself some Asian flair.

Sue Ellen was wearing a loose smock top with a vivid paisley design that reminded Emma of the wallpaper at the Ritzee Day Spa. No one had said a word about Emma’s new haircut, which she’d only gotten done that morning.

She’d been impressed by Cherry, the designated hair stylist at Leena’s wedding and had sought her out. Cherry had added light honey-colored highlights to Emma’s brown hair.

Her haircut, while not drastic, had a sassy swing to it. Emma was pleased with the results, but she was no beauty expert. To accompany her new look, she’d chosen one of her favorite dresses, the floral one that she’d worn to the bridal shower. But she might as well have worn her good luck running shorts and Penn T-shirt for all the attention her family paid to her. At least they were obeying her “no insults” rule.

Emma couldn’t miss the challenging looks that Sue Ellen and Maxie were tossing each other across the table. Emma glanced at Donny to see if her brother-in-law had a clue what was going on. He looked as nervous as she felt. Something was definitely up.

“So how do you feel about being a grandfather?” Sue Ellen asked their dad out of the blue.

“What?” Sue Ellen’s question was addressed to Maxie, who’d just gasped. “You already know I’m pregnant so don’t try to act surprised.”

“I’m surprised you would make such an important announcement in a public place like this,”

Maxie said in an undertone.

“I’m no fool,” Sue Ellen said. “I figured there was less chance of Dad going ballistic if we’re out in public than back at the trailer.”

“What the hell are they talking about?” Bob addressed his question to Emma, which infuriated Sue Ellen.

“Don’t ask her, ask me!”

“Fine.” Bob shifted his eagle-eyed glare to Sue Ellen. “What the hell are you talking about?

I don’t go ballistic.”

Sue Ellen’s eye roll was so intense that Maxie said, “Don’t do that or your eyes will get stuck that way and you’ll scare your baby.”

Bob looked at Maxie. “You knew she was pregnant and didn’t tell me?”

“Have some tea, sweetheart.”

“I don’t want tea, I want answers. Am I the last person to know you’re pregnant?” he bellowed.

“There are probably people down the block who didn’t hear you,” Sue Ellen retorted angrily.

“Is that why you got married? Because you got knocked up?”

“I love your daughter and I’m not going to sit hear while you talk to her that way,” Donny said in a quiet but I-mean-business voice. “Come on, Sue Ellen. We’re leaving.”

Two minutes later Emma was alone at the table with her parents. Accustomed to being a peacemaker, she tried to think of some words of wisdom to make things better but couldn’t come up with a thing.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” her dad demanded, clearly still itching for a fight.

Emma just shook her head. “I’ve got nothing.”

“I suppose you think I was too hard on your sister.”

“Affirmative.”

“You could have given me some warning so I’d know what to expect.”

Emma wasn’t sure if the reprimand was aimed at her or her mom or both of them. “Sue Ellen wanted to tell you herself, but she was nervous about your reaction,” Emma said.

“With good reason as it turns out.”

“I just hoped that my first-born daughter had gotten it right for a change.”

Emma stuck up for her. “She did. She and Donny are thrilled about the baby. They planned on getting married before this happened. They genuinely are in love with each other.”

“Any idiot could see that,” Maxie sniffed.

“So now you’re calling me an idiot, are you?” Bob growled.

Maxie shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”

Great, now her parents were fighting. “Come on, guys, let’s all calm down and order something to eat.”

“Calm down? You’re always calm.” Maxie made it sound like an accusation, a deep character flaw of some kind.

“Hey, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it,” Emma said. She waved a server over and told her, “I need an order of spring rolls really badly right now. Please.”

“Sure thing. On the house.” The server patted Emma’s hand reassuringly. “Do you need some Dr Pepper too?”

Emma blinked in surprise. “How did you know?”

“Jake told me. He eats here a lot or gets takeout.”

“Right.” Emma nodded. “Jake.”

“Speaking of Jake, how serious are you two getting?” Maxie asked. “Should we start planning another wedding?”

Emma’s dad groaned. “I sure hope not.”

“What do you have against Jake?” Maxie demanded.

“She can do better than a bartender.”

“He’s an extreme sports hero,” Maxie said.

“She can still do better,” he insisted stubbornly. Then he narrowed his eyes suspiciously and looked very Marine-like as he glared at Emma. “You’re not pregnant too, are you?”

“Shh.” Maxie looked around nervously. “Everyone is staring.”

“This dinner was obviously a mistake.” Emma’s throat was so tight she could barely get the words out.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” her dad said.

“And I don’t intend to. I’m an adult. My private life is my business. Could I have these spring rolls to go?” she asked as the server placed them on the table.

“Certainly. I’ll just be a second.”

“What do you mean your private life is your business?” her dad said. “I’m your father.”

“I realize that. But that doesn’t give you the right to interrogate me as if I were a private and you’re the drill sergeant.”

“That’s not what I was doing. If I were, then I’d be yelling an inch from your face. That’s the problem with you young people today. You’re spoiled. You demand instant gratification. You don’t know how to work for something.”

Emma put her hands on the table and angrily leaned forward. “I know damn well how to work for something. I’ve worked my butt off to get my degrees.”

“And a very nice butt it is too,” Jake noted from behind her. “And before you ask me what I’m doing here, I heard there was an altercation and I figured you had to be involved.”

“Meaning Sue Ellen and Donny went to Nick’s Tavern and told you,” Emma said with a toss of her head.

“Nice haircut,” Jake noted approvingly.

“I’m glad you showed up,” her dad told him. “It gives me the chance to ask you what your intentions are regarding my daughter.”

“Dad!”

“What? I’m your father. I have a right to know.”

“Don’t answer him,” Emma told Jake.

“Maybe I should pull up a chair,” he said.

“No. You have to get back to work.”

“I quit,” Jake said, taking the empty seat beside her.

“What? When?”

“Last night.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How are you going to make a living?” her dad demanded.