AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That he is,” I said under my breath with a knowing smile.
I didn’t get a chance to sit again before we heard several voices and a big commotion. “Terri and Justin must be here.” It was quite a process because along with her came a wheelchair, crutches, and a walker. Her disposition had become quite snarly, and I knew it was frustration over not being able to walk, but I hoped she didn’t show that side of herself today.
Susan pulled me aside and mentioned that it might be good if I spent a little time with her alone at first, since this was her first visit here. I agreed, so I cut Justin off before he wheeled her into the main living room and had him make a detour to the smaller one down the hall.
Once he got her parked, I shooed him away and gave her a hug.
“Wow, quite the place here, huh?” She glanced around the room.
“Yeah, but you’ll love his family. I wanted to talk a bit with you first and then take you on a mini tour since I can’t push this contraption up the stairs.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed.” Sarcasm coated her words.
Getting straight to the point, I asked, “How’s Terri these days?”
Her answer plowed into me like a freight train, and I wasn’t expecting it. “Why the fuck don’t you ask Justin, Lex? He can tell you. He can tell you how I feel about him whoring around.”
I reeled at the vehemence of her words. “Terri, I ...”
“Shut up, Lex. You knew and didn’t say a word to me. I have one question for you. Why?”
“It wasn’t my place to tell you. It was Justin’s. It was his sin, not mine. Just like it was my place to tell Pearce about mine.”
Her face crumbled like a cookie. Then her whole body shook as she started to sob. I put my arms around her and told her how sorry I was. I knew she was hurt, but this was more than just a reaction to Justin’s infidelity. They hadn’t even gotten to the point of exclusivity in their relationship. This had to be coming from some place far deeper.
When things started to subside, she finally wheezed out, “Look how the tides have turned, huh?”
“Doesn’t matter, Terr. You were there for me, and I’ll always be here for you.”
“I’m fed up with this leg thing.”
“I’m sure and patience never was your virtue.”
“No shit, Herman.”
“Um, Terri, I think it’s Sherlock.”
“Oh.” Then she giggled and we both started laughing. And then it got worse. It turned into one of those “remember when” moments. We were howling before it was all over.
“Damn, Lex, I shoulda come for a visit a long time ago.”
“I tried, but you wouldn’t leave your house.”
I noticed the lines etched around her eyes that weren’t there before and it seemed the sparkle that was always present wasn’t quite as bright as it used to be. “I’m sorry this has all been so awful on you. But maybe next week, when they take this tree trunk off your leg, things will get better.”
“I’m really scared, Lex. What if I can’t walk right? What if I can’t run anymore?”
“You need to take it a day at a time. What does Justin say?”
“We don’t talk much really. As soon as this mess is over, I’m done with him.”
I knew things were rough between them, but I didn’t know it had come to this.
“Does he know?”
“Yep. He still blames himself and he overcompensates and then there’s that whole thing with those women.”
I sighed and didn’t know what to say. If she felt that way about what he did, then she really must have thought I was a scumbag. Throwing caution to the wind, I addressed that gray elephant.
