would say it traumatized me for life.'
'Hush,' she ordered, and I fel silent. 'Me and your dad, when we met…wel, it was realy good. Right off the bat. I
knew he wasn't happy at home, and not because he told
knew he wasn't happy at home, and not because he told
me. I'd had plenty of guys tel me al about how their wives
didn't understand them, or how their marriages had been
over for a long time before I came along. I knew what I
was looking at. It wasn't your dad who came after me,
Paige. I went after him.'
'Mom. I realy don't want to know.'
'Wel, I want to tel you,' she said. 'So shut up and let me do it, or I swear I'l come back and haunt you if I die.'
'Stop. You're not going to die for a long, long time.' I told her and squeezed her hand.
'So I fel for this guy so hard it was like someone had
snuck up behind me and shoved me down a flight of stairs.
I just thought he was the handsomest, most special,
smartest…sexiest…'
I grimaced. 'Okay, I get it. You were into my dad.'
'Oh, no. Not your dad,' my mother said. 'Denny. Me and your dad used to go out after work sometimes for drinks.
He needed to get away from home, for whatever reason, I
guess it was because he wife was a ful-on bitch, but
guess it was because he wife was a ful-on bitch, but
whatever. Me and him and Dennis used to go out after
work and just hang out.'
'Denny?' I shook my head, thinking of my dad's longtime
buddy. 'But…you and dad…and…wait a minute.
Denny?'
'Oh, sure. Denny.' She gave a happy sigh. 'He was so
handsome. I was crazy about Denny.'
'But what happened?'
'Wel,' my mother said, 'as it happened, Denny wasn't as crazy about me. I caught him stepping out on me with
some whore he picked up at the Downtown Lounge on
dolar draft nights. What with one thing and then another,
with your dad not happy at home and me brokenhearted
about Denny, we sort of just turned to one another.'
I got up from the bed and paced the narrow corridor
between it and the wal. My world had done its share of
flips over the past couple days, but this had stood me on
end. I finaly sat in the chair and linked my hands together.
My mother had been watching me patiently. 'You al
right?'
right?'
'I'm fine.'
Her laugh trailed off into a cough, and I gave her a drink.
'Paige, I'm sorry. I know you had some idea in your head
about me and your dad, but it's time you knew.'
'He said he loved you!' I blurted.
'Wel, I was pretty damn good,' my mom said. 'Don't men always think they love a realy good lay?'
