“Maybe, but it won’t be with her.”
“With who then?” Brenna asked. “Is there someone? There is,” she said when I stalled too long before answering. She was good. Either that or I was obvious.
“Someone I met before all this mess,” I said.
“Is that really all you’re giving me?” she asked. I shrugged, keeping tight-lipped. “She’ll be lucky to have you.”
Charlie scoffed. “A drunken gambler with no family values? The picture of an eligible bachelor,” he said. Brenna rolled her eyes.
“Be nice, Charlie.”
I laughed. “Don’t worry, Brenna. He’s right.”
“It’s about time that you owned up to it.”
“I do have family values, just not for this one.”
20
Edwina
“What in the world is going on with you lately?” Missy asked. I fingered the trim of the pillow I was holding, lying on Missy’s bed, feeling like a child being scolded for bad behavior.
“Well…”
“And I want the whole story. Don’t make excuses and don’t cut anything out. This is the man you ditched me for before and now you’re back with him?”
“I’m not back with him, let’s start there.”
“Have you been staying with him?”
“No…”
“Didn’t you say he had a fiancée?”
“Do you want me to tell you what happened or not?” I asked her. She pursed her lips but calmed down.
“Okay, tell me.”
I sighed, glad the interrogation was over for now. “First, I have something to tell you. Well, to ask you.”
“What’s the matter?”
Here we go. I hated to ask friends for money, even though I knew Missy would let me move in on a permanent basis with Riley and Prue if I asked her to let me. I couldn’t take advantage of her like that, but I had no one else to ask. I needed the money. There was no more wiggle room. Money, and a very large sum of it was the only thing that was going to make this better. After that, I was no longer wrapped up with Niall and I could figure out a way to pay her back on my own time.
I wasn’t sure where my money hangups came from. At a time like now, when my back was against the wall, why was it still so hard to put away my pride and ask for some charity? I had grown up fairly comfortable and the sole reason for my marriage to Russell was his purported riches. Marriage was supposed to be a partnership but for me it was a solo show. I had to sustain myself, emotionally support myself, comfort myself. I was by myself when I found out that I was broke. I was by myself now, still broke while Russell was peacefully six feet under.
Missy was safe. She loved me and she’d never judge me for my choices and their consequences, especially not at a time like now.
The best way to do it was to just get it out.
“I’m having some issues with money right now,” I blurted out.
“Oh, babe, why didn’t you just say something?”
“I don’t like asking you for money, you know that.”
“Your despicable ex-husband left you damn near destitute after torturing you for five years,” she said.
“That’s no excuse,” I said.
“One day, you’re going to see that man for what he was and what he did to you. There’s no shame in being a victim, Eddy. It wasn’t your fault and it doesn’t define you.” She got up and walked over to the sofa where her handbag was. “How much do you need? I’m writing you a check.”
“It’s just that I’m not liquid right now. My money’s tied up in assets and I have a debt to pay on a watch I acquired lately,” I said, remembering the night I won the watch and hoping she wouldn’t ask for more details.
“How much?” she asked, checkbook in hand.
“Don’t write it right now. That feels weird.”
“How much?” she said again.
“Twenty-five thousand.”
Missy stalled for a moment, lowering her checkbook. “Oh.”
“I know. It’s my fault.”
“You mentioned a watch?”
“It’s a classic Patek Phillipe, that’s why it’s so expensive. It was useless to me as it was so I tried to sell it and ended up getting much less than it was worth. Now, I’m trying to get it back and the broker won’t give it to me for the price he sold it to me.”
“What? That’s absurd. How did that happen?”
“It was my mistake.”
“How much did they give you for it?”
“Just ten thousand for a thirty-thousand-pound piece.”
“They shouldn’t have sold it to you for that much. That’s robbery.”
“It’s a little late for that now,” I said.
“Well, I can’t give you that much just now, but I can go to the bank in the morning.”
“Thank you so much. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t absolutely need it.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it, really. I’m here for you, whatever you need.” She hugged me. Thank god for her, truly. I didn’t know what I would do without her. Save for Prue and my son, she was all that I had. I was no longer in contact with my family. They didn’t bother checking up on me and the feeling was mutual.
The friends and acquaintances that I had made with Russell had all fallen away when he had died. We had had such an enduring friendship that she felt like family. She loved and supported me more than my blood relatives ever had, that was for sure. I felt like I was using her in this scenario. She would get her money back with interest as soon as I could afford to give it to her. It was all my fault that I was in this mess but without her, things would be a million times messier.
“Should we go have dinner?” she asked. We went downstairs to a feast of a dinner waiting for us in the dining room.
