Page 24 of Reckoning

“I feel like Cinderella after midnight. Going back into that house is the end of all things good and kind,” she said.

“You don’t have to defend me to them. Let them fuss. Stay above it,” he said, as they climbed up the steps. Then he paused beneath the light, reached in his pocket, and gave her back the money they didn’t spend. “Give that to your dad. Tell him I said thanks for lunch.” Then he kissed the ring on her hand, and then her. “Good night, darlin’. See you in my dreams.”

“Love you,” she whispered.

“Love you more,” he said, then waited until she was inside the house before going back to the car. Part of him felt like he was leaving her unprotected in a lion’s den, but he knew they wouldn’t physically hurt her. It was her spirit and patience that were in doubt.

* * *

Roger was surprised when Briar was home so early.

“How was your day? You didn’t stay for fireworks.”

“It was the best day ever. We circled the park about a jillion times, saw all there was to see, and had hot dogs and lemonade at noon. Oh…and here’s your change,” she said, and gave him back forty dollars. “Tate said to thank you for lunch.”

The shock on Roger’s face was evident. “You didn’t spend it all?”

She shrugged. “On what? We don’t do carnival rides. After we got tired of the heat, we went to his house. His mom had cold pop and brownies. We played Monopoly for hours, and his dad grilled burgers for supper. They are the nicest people. And after the end of a long day, neither Tate nor I gave a flip about fighting mosquitoes just to watch fireworks. So, he borrowed his mom’s car and drove me home. Now all I want is a long, hot bubble bath to soak my feet, then crawl in my bed.”

Roger wanted to be jealous. But he couldn’t. They couldn’t have replicated that day with their daughter. Mariah insisted on banning Tate from their home. And that was their loss.

He watched as Briar stopped to kick off her shoes before going up the stairs, and as she bent over to pick them up, Mariah came barreling through the kitchen and into the foyer.

“Here you are, sneaking in. What have you been up to?” she shrieked.

The strident tone of her voice set every nerve in Briar’s body on edge, but she turned to her dad instead.

“Feel free to share my day with her. She’s too drunk to do anything but argue, and war is your method of communication, not mine.”

Then she walked up the stairs with her shoes in one hand and her purse in the other and, when she got to her room, slammed and locked the door.

Mariah was livid. “How dare you let her talk to me like that?”

“How dare you accuse her of sneaking? She’s been in the living room talking to me for a good ten minutes. She had a good time. Brought back forty of the sixty dollars I gave her. She’s tired. Her feet hurt, and she’s right. You’re too drunk for logic. Go to bed.”

Mariah intended to make a righteous sweep out of the room, but stumbled over her own feet, hit the floor with a thud, then started wailing in pain.

“I think I broke my hip! Call the ambulance!” she cried.

“Oh, for the love of all that’s holy. You fell on your hands and knees, not your hip,” he muttered, then he helped her to her feet and walked her back to bed.

Unaware of the downstairs drama, Briar was in the bathroom, naked except for Tate’s ring on her finger. She clipped up her hair as her tub was filling, then stepped into the water, sank up to her chin in lilac-scented bubbles, and closed her eyes.

Best day of my life.

Chapter 5

Summer was one sweltering day after another, but because of all the plans Tate and Briar had been making for the past three years, when school started that fall, it would be their last semester.

Mariah had fussed and whined every day about going on vacation, but Roger was too busy to take off for that long, and Briar had zero interest in being her mother’s traveling companion, let alone being forced to listen to her constant barrage of reasons why she should have nothing to do with Tate Bandy.

That night, as they were sitting down to dinner, it all came to a head.

The moment Mariah sat down, she brought up the subject of vacation again. She served herself a piece of fried chicken, then passed the platter to Roger.

“I don’t see why you can’t go on vacation like Jeanette’s husband. They’re going to New York City to see shows and shop.”

Roger took a piece of chicken and passed the platter to Briar.