“Is he okay?”
“The surgeon thinks she got it all, but he has to have radiotherapy just in case.” Lexie glanced at the growing crowd. “Coming to something like this makes you realize how many people have been brushed by cancer either personally or through family and friends. Didn’t your mom die of cancer?”
“Yep.”
Telling people Linda died of liver cancer was easier than revealing the truth: that the liver failure that killed her was self-induced by her alcoholism. Cancer generated understanding and sympathy, whereas alcoholism brought out judgement and criticism. The latter had been the ever-present backdrop of her childhood.
The terse disapproval of Linda’s lifestyle by doctors, teachers, social workers, neighbors—let’s face it, by most middle-class adults—had circled Jess and her mother like a high wall of condemnation. Few people had differentiated between Linda’s many failures and Jess’s childhood naiveté. She’d hated them for it, but she’d hated Linda more for putting her in the position to be censured as “the drunk’s daughter.” Thinking about Linda wasn’t something Jess allowed herself to do very often, because it always dampened her mood.
Shaking away the memories, she said, “Want to walk with Leo and me until Ian comes?”
“I’d love to! I thought you’d be walking with Libby?”
“That was the plan. But when your best friend’s a doctor, you get used to last minute changes.”
“Libby’s loss is my gain then.” Lexie grinned at her with a mix of delight and gratitude before sliding her arm through Jess’s. “It feels like ages since I got off the farm. Let’s walk and talk and you can fill me in on all the town gossip.”
“You’re in good hands, Lexie,” Tenika said, joining them. “Not only is Jess always up to speed with the gossip, she tells it in such an entertaining way.”
Jess smiled, enjoying the praise. “Sadly, I’m going to have to let you down today. Apart from the public exchange of insults in the Buckets and Bouquets section of the Gazette, the town’s pretty quiet.”
“Surely you can do better than that.” Genevieve stepped in, flanking Jess.
“I’ll try and do better next time.”
“Why don’t you tell Lexie how you’ve been screwing your best friend’s husband,” Tenika said.
Lexie’s feet stalled and her pupils dilated so fast that black obliterated most of the hazel. “Tenika! That’s a terrible thing to say.”
Shock whipped through Jess, racing her heart and loosening her gut. They knew about Leo? No! Not possible. Even if the senior Hunters and Pirellis or Alice had broken rank out of spite and spread a rumor she was having an affair with Nick, they would have protected the children.
Come on! Get it together. Show no fear. Jess schooled her face into what she hoped was an impassive mask of disinterest. “Language, Tenika. There are lots of little ears flapping.”
“Including the product of your affair,” Genevieve snapped. “After what you’ve done to Libby Hunter, you’ve lost all rights to be the moral compass.”
Holy Mother. How did they know? But right now, “how” wasn’t important. They knew and the implications pummeled her like the jagged spikes of an ice storm. A tremor in her toes quickly gained momentum and as she tried to keep her legs steady, a second wave of horror caught her. If these women knew Nick was Leo’s father, then all the members of the toy library, toddler gym, daycare, playgroup and the wine and whine club knew too. Her entire social network! Her throat threatened to close.
Years of well-honed survival skills fought their way through her thick fog of shock. “Genevieve, you don’t get to use unsubstantiated gossip to denigrate my character or inaccurately broadcast my private life at a public event.”
“I do when it’s the truth.”
“You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you.”
“I think it’s you who’s been bitten.” Genevieve gave a triumphant humph. “Libby told me what you’ve done to her.”
Betrayal slammed so violently into Jess that it almost knocked her off her feet. The denigrating soundbites from her childhood escaped their soundproof box, screaming at her. Her best friend was so driven to hurt her that she’d just broken their long-held secrets pact and exposed innocent little people to the vicious gossip of the town. Jess had a momentary desire to inflict pain.
A white-faced Lexie dropped her arm away from Jess’s and glanced between Genevieve and Tenika. “Nick Pirelli’s Leo’s father?”
Tenika nodded vigorously, her eyes glinting with glee. “It’s disgusting, isn’t it?”
The growl of a lioness filled Jess’s ears and then a red hue blurred her vision. “My son is not disgusting!”
“He might not be yet, but give him time. He’s tainted by you and your mother.”
Years of fury poured out of her. “Leave my mother out of this!”
“I don’t think so. According to my mother, yours was a drunk and a ho.” Genevieve smirked. “You might have gone to university, had some high-flying job and worn designer clothes, but on the inside, you’re exactly the same as Linda. You’re white trash. You’ve got the morals of an alley cat and you’ll screw over anyone to get what you want.”
The muscles in Jess’s legs quivered like jelly and she gripped the handle of the stroller so hard her hands ached. “You’re talking BS like usual, Genevieve.”
“You’re not welcome here, Jess,” Tenika said. “It’s time you left.”
“This is a public event. I have as much right to be here as any of you.”
“Enjoy walking on your own then, because you stink so bad no one will come anywhere near you. Come on, Lexie,” Genevieve said.
The women turned as one and walked away.
Jess stood, aware only of her thundering heart and the sound of her blood in her ears. As if registering the sudden silence after all the vitriol and yelling, Leo’s eyes filled with tears and then he was screaming, his little chest heaving with great hulking sobs. With shaking hands, Jess unbuckled him and lifted him
