Kate passed her a handful of tissues and Laura dried her eyes. “I have to go talk to him now, don’t I?”
“Yeah, you do.”
Blowing out her breath, Laura rose from the bed. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this. How am I going to say good-bye to him?”
Kate helped her up and put her arm around Laura’s shoulder. “You know what you have to do. Just remember that I’m here if you need me. I will always be here.”
*
Laura walked slowly down the stairs, through the hall and to the kitchen. She stopped when she saw Annie sitting at the island. She liked Annie; she was smart. It was like she could handle anything, kind of like Mom. Her sad smile told the whole story. She knew this was going to be bad, too. Laura drew as deep a breath as she could and walked into the den.
David stared at her, disappointed, and she felt ashamed. She was just getting to know him and she hated that she might have lost his trust already. Jay Hemmings looked at her like she was evil, just plain evil. And then there was Jack. He was slumped in a chair, staring at the TV.
Laura sniffed in because she wasn’t even trying to stop the tears, and Jack finally looked at her. His face was hard and angry, and she knew she deserved everything he was going to throw at her. He left his chair and stood before her. He was so tall, so big, and she looked away, feeling small and almost a little scared.
“We need some privacy.”
Laura nodded and even though she wanted to run away, she turned and headed toward the front of the house. She brought him to the library. The dark paneled room had big leather furniture, shelves from floor to ceiling, and her piano. She closed the French doors behind them and stood with her back to the glass, never fully advancing into the room.
Jack was stalking around like an angry animal. His shoulders strained the fibers of his sweater and she could see he was tight, fuming mad, and all of it was directed at her.
“Jack, I’m sorry…”
He spun at her, the rage coming from every part of him. “The last thing I need to hear is your fucking apology.”
Laura wasn’t prepared for the internal collapse. He hated her. He truly did. Her lip started to quiver and her limbs shook. Everything in her crumbled. She felt the sobs rack her body, painful deep sobs that made her want to die. Behind the fear of being caught in so many lies, Laura had to face the reality that she was going to lose him. This man was everything to her and she was going to lose him. Occasionally, she let a heavy cough clear her lungs, but the air was sticking in her chest now because of sorrow, not her asthma.
“You lied to me. You told me the first lie and then you just kept it up, one after another.”
“I lied about my age.”
“And where you lived, and about your family, and where you went to school. I don’t know you, Laura. I thought I loved you, but I don’t know who you are!”
The truth of what he said hurt. He was right. He didn’t know anything about her. Everything she’d given him had been half a story.
“You were going to let me take you to bed. I don’t do that, Laura, I don’t go after high school girls. You were going to make me that guy, and that’s not who I am.”
“I’m sorry. I am.” Giant tears fell and she sucked in ragged breaths. “I’m sorry.”
“I know I’m the dumb hick. I went to college to play hockey, otherwise I’d be working on the family farm. The guys bust on me about that every fucking day. But I never thought you—” He sat on the couch and dropped his head in his hands. “I trusted you.”
Laura sat on the piano bench and continued to cry. Giant tears plopped onto the keys and all she heard from Jack were deep shaky breaths. This hurt him, too. Laura did this to him and she hated herself for it. That was worse than anything she felt, because for the first time in her life, Laura understood what love was all about. The tears slowed and she started to resign herself to the fact that it was over.
He hadn’t ever lied to her, and all she’d done was lie to him, except when she told him she loved him. That was all the truth she had. “I’m sorry, Jack. I never meant for this to happen.”
He looked up at her and his eyes were so sad. Laura touched the piano keys and a single note filled the room. It made her heart hurt. She was a single note, now. Not part of anything.
“I guess I do know one thing about you,” he said. His voice was hoarse, deep.
“What’s that?”
He stood and approached her. “I know about your music.”
Laura’s eyes met his and she could see he loved her, but she’d broken more than his heart. She broken his trust, and that was far worse. “It’s my heart, just like you.”
The silence was chilling and lonely. Laura was so tired; all she wanted to do was sleep.
Jack took three steps and he stood before her, tall, strong, and so very handsome. “Goodbye, Laura.”
She bit her lip as it trembled. “Goodbye, Jack.”
He ran his hand over her hair and then left the room. Watching him go was crushing, and all the pain from the inside was floating to the surface. Not knowing what to do, Laura turned to her piano, and letting her hands run over the wet keys, started to play.
*
Jack hesitated when he saw Kate sitting in the kitchen. She’d poured herself a glass of wine and knew she looked like hell. She didn’t care. Now it was time to be the mom. Jack had said his piece to Laura, and now it was Kate’s turn to talk to him.
He stepped to the big kitchen island and made uneasy eye contact. He was fidgety, taking his hands in and out of his pockets, tapping his fingers. Jay, Annie, and David were watching from the den, but Kate didn’t want to be distracted, so she did her best to tune out the noise.
“I’m sorry if you think I was too hard on her… maybe I was.” He shuffled his feet like the boy he was.
“You’re angry. I understand that.”
“Still, I… I know she’s hurting, too.”
“She is, but that’s not what has me upset with you.”
“I treated her right,” he said. “I was a gentleman.”
“No, Jack, you weren’t a gentleman.”
“Excuse me?”
“I heard what you said to her, that you weren’t ‘that guy’. You know, the one who went after high school girls. But did you tell her you are the guy who discussed taking her to bed with your friends?” Jack’s face froze. “That you discussed it with them? Does Laura know you’re that guy?”
He said nothing.
“What she did was wrong, but that was between you and her. You ruined her reputation, made her a joke.”
“I didn’t think…”
“Wow, does that sound familiar?” She cut him off and didn’t care that he felt the need to explain. “People do stupid things sometimes. She loves you and she’s going to be miserable as a result, but everything she did was because she had feelings for you. Right or wrong, that’s it.” Kate came around the island and faced him.
“What did you tell people? What you were planning? That she was a virgin? It seems a lot of people know about things that should have stayed private.”
Jack glanced around, looking for help, but saw he was on his own. “I… I didn’t mean for anything to become public knowledge. I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“Well you did. She has a lot to answer for, but so do you. Here’s something for you to chew on, farm boy—I don’t care where you came from, or how much education you have. The reason I would never want you around my daughter is because you don’t respect her.”
Kate walked out and left Jack with his head hanging—and David, Jay, and Annie with some insight about Kate the Mom. Stopping by the library door, she saw Laura, throwing herself into the music, trying to play away the pain. The room was dimly lit and her beautiful girl was sitting at the black Steinway in the oversized shirt and fuzzy slippers, her face wet and swollen from tears.
Kate didn’t flinch when David’s arms slipped around her from behind, she simply placed her hands over his and leaned into the strength he gave her. His chin rested in her hair and the two of them watched Laura play.