“Yes. So she can have my insurance. I put the paperwork in today. She has a big mortgage to pay on her own, so now she doesn’t have to worry about paying for insurance because she’s covered under me.”
Dad was silent as the waitress brought our food over to the table.
“We’re still friends. It’s just an arrangement.”
“An arrangement,” he said slowly, his eyes narrowing as they met mine.
“Yes, she’s in New York. I’m here, for now. I couldn’t let her go home with no insurance. I’m still worried sick about her, but at least she has that.”
“That’s noble of you, and I know the two of you have always been close, but what happens when you both start seeing someone else? A marriage of convenience can’t be easy to explain.”
“Dating is the least of my concerns. All that matters to me is Julie, and I don’t care about anything or anyone else.”
“I know, son,” he said, examining me as a tiny smile drifted across his mouth.
“You seem like you have something else to say.”
He shook his head, his eyes flicking to me as he picked up his burger and took a bite.
“I don’t,” he mumbled into his napkin. “I’ll wait for your brain to catch up to your actions.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
He stilled as he was about to take another bite and set the burger back down on his plate.
“When we talk about your mother, we don’t speak of that time right after she died. I was a mess, and you took care of everything. Something I’ll never forgive myself for.”
“Dad, it was fine—”
“No, it wasn’t. Your mother would have kicked my ass, but that’s not the point of the story. I couldn’t help you like I should have, but I’d watch you, wondering when you’d finally cry. Family even pulled me aside to ask why you hadn’t shed a tear. I knew it was because you didn’t want to make me feel worse by seeing you upset, but I didn’t really answer any of them. Julie stayed at our house the weekend after everyone went home.”
“I remember,” I said, memories flashing through my mind of how I didn’t let her go for ten minutes once she came in the door, but I didn’t say a word to her or anyone.
“When I’d finally snapped out of it a little and went downstairs to find you, you were sobbing in Julie’s lap. She was the only one able to get through to you and the only one you wanted. I was always grateful to her for that.”
“So, you get it. We’re best friends. I help her the way she helps me.”
“Oh, I get it, son.” He nodded, a sad smile pulling at his lips. “But you don’t.”
“Not you too.” I let my head fall back against the booth. “We arefriends. And I did this for her because I could, because I wanted to.”
“I will drop it. And I am glad you were able to make sure she has insurance. But keep in mind that the universe only gives you so many tries.” He held up his hands. “But we’re here to celebrate, not argue. When do you move back?”
“They want to move fast. So maybe in a couple of weeks, they’ll send me up just to look for an apartment and check out the office space. It’s a small office. We’ll all mostly be remote for a while.”
“When you come up, we’ll all have dinner and you can meet Darlene. Bring my daughter-in-law.”
“Sure,” I laughed and picked at the fries, mulling over what my father said. “She’d love to see you.”
Was that why I couldn’t get Julie out of my head? Why everyone else always assumed we were together when we weren’t? My brain was fully aware of my actions. I’d married Julie because I loved her. Because I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
“Are you all right, son?” Dad asked me around a mouthful of burger. “You look like something just slammed into you.”
“I’m fine,” I said, clearing my throat as I reached for my beer, taking a long gulp before the next puzzle piece slid into place, and I had no choice but to see the whole picture.
13
JULIE
