She smiled at his sarcasm. It felt like they were friends, that he was her
“What else did he tell you?” he asked.
“The truth.”
“And that is...”
“That I’m a no-good, lazy drunk.”
He grimaced. “Don’t say that! You made it three months, didn’t you? You won’t break down again.”
“I hope not.”
Ted took her hand and toyed with her fingers. “Did he hit you, Sophia?”
Part of her knew this was information she didn’t want him to have, but she could no longer remember why. Skip was gone. She could tell the world; there was nothing he could do about it. And after finding her like this...what more did she have to hide from Ted? “Doesn’t matter. He can’t hurt me now.”
“So he did.”
“All the time.” She showed him her front tooth. “See this? It’s not real. He knocked my real one out. I didn’t even know he was mad! We got home, and he accused me of coming on to his cousin. I didn’t like the guy, and I tried telling Skip that. But it didn’t matter because his cousin had pulled out a chair for me, and that somehow signified...something. So, out of nowhere,
“He punched you.”
“Right in the mouth. It felt like he’d used a brick or...or a pipe, something more than his fist. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with blood pouring from my mouth. He had to lock Alexa out of our bedroom so she wouldn’t see. But we finally told her I fell and hit my mouth and let her in so she could help us find the tooth. It had flown clear across the room.” She laughed because, when she was drinking, she could. Somehow it all seemed fantastical and not quite real, as if she’d been living in a dream world. “I looked so terrible with that big gap. Skip was horrified. Who’d think he was lucky to have me if I looked like an old hag?”
When Ted didn’t laugh with her, she felt her smile wilt.
“That time you came to coffee with a bruise on your cheek—”
“Oh, that’s when he broke my cheekbone.” She indicated her left eye. “But it was almost healed. I covered it with makeup, didn’t think anyone would notice.”
“It was faint, but we noticed.”
“Anyway, that was nothing. It hurt, but not as much as the tooth.”
A muscle twitched in his cheek. “Why didn’t you get help?”
“I tried to once. But—” she shook her head “—that was a mistake. By the time he was finished with me, I couldn’t come out of the house for three weeks.”
He stood up, shoved his hands in his pockets and began to pace. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t get away from him.”
“It was complicated.”
“How?”
“Because I felt like I deserved it.”
“For marrying him in the first place?”
“For everything I’d ever done wrong.” She struggled to articulate because she knew she was slurring her words. “Causing Scott Harris to get into that—” she winced “—that crash when we were in high school. Acting so spoiled and selfish all the time. Disappointing you by...by getting with Skip.”
“So you were letting him punish you.”
“Not only that, I
When Ted swore under his breath, she rested an arm over her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at him. She couldn’t tell if he was angry with her for not getting away, or for turning to alcohol. Or if he was angry with Skip. “At least he was gone most of the time.”
She’d already started to drift off when Ted spoke. “I brought you some turkey and other leftovers from dinner. Any chance I can talk you into eating?”
“Not right now, but thanks. I had cereal.” She lifted her arm to peer up at him. “Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?”
He hesitated.
“Did something go wrong?” she asked.
“No, it was fine.”
“And Eve? Did she like it?”
“I think so.”
“She’s a nice person. She knew about my drinking when you asked her that night in the Jacuzzi, but she didn’t tell you. I’ll always be grateful to her for that. She’s someone special. You’re lucky to have her.”
Pivoting, he came back toward her. “Since she’s so much better than you, you mean?”
Squinting, she struggled to bring him into focus. “Well, she does have her life in order while mine’s a complete mess, so...” She giggled, which wasn’t appropriate. On some level she knew that, so she forced herself to stop and when he didn’t respond, she rolled over onto her side. “Are you sorry you hired me?”
“No,” he said. “I’m not sorry.”
“Someone else would’ve been less hassle—and wouldn’t have passed out in your wine cellar.”
“Someone else wouldn’t have been facing your challenges. I know you’re doing the best you can, that you’re trying.”
“I’ll try again tomorrow,” she promised, and this somehow evoked a smile from him.
“I’m sure you will.”
“Did your mom like the pumpkin dessert?”
He cleared his throat. “You asked me that.”
She blinked at him, trying to remember his answer. “Did you tell me?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “In case I didn’t, she loved it. Ate two pieces.”
That made her happy. It was the first thing today that had. “I’m glad,” she said. “That’s nice. I was thinking I’d take a piece to my mom, but...you know what happened to the car.”
“I know.”
“Principal Dixon really ate
“Go to sleep,” he told her and, she couldn’t be sure—maybe she just imagined it—but she thought he bent and kissed her forehead.
“Why didn’t you tell me she has a drinking problem?” Ted asked.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Eve answered. “How’d you find out?”
“How do you think? She was here alone all day, on Thanksgiving. Her car was just repossessed and she was trying to cope with her psychotic mother. That doesn’t sound like a recipe for disaster to you?”
“Oh, no. I hope she’s okay....”
He remembered the moment he’d found her lying on the floor. He’d felt such a jolt of panic when he thought she might be injured—or worse. Suicide had crossed his mind, which was why he hadn’t been all that upset when he’d realized it was only alcohol. “She’s fine. She’s sleeping it off. But...I wish I’d known so I could’ve been more prepared.”
“And how would you have prepared?”
“By locking the wine cellar so it wouldn’t turn out to be a booby trap for her!”
“Ted, if she wanted to drink badly enough, she would’ve found a way to get some booze.”
“Without a car? I live five miles out of town. She would’ve had to want it pretty badly.”
