She was trying to process this. Why in the world would he think such a thing? But she knew she couldn’t ask him. “CT, I love you. I would never, ever do anything like that to you.”
“You did it. I know you did. I was there. I was embarrassed. They all laughed.”
She felt as if she’d been punched in the pit of her stomach. How could he possibly imagine she would do something like that? Did he really think she was capable of being so cruel and barbaric? He’d been mixed up before, but never like this. How could his brain get so scrambled? And yet as she looked at him, she knew he believed what he was saying. How could she make him understand it was totally false?
“Hey there,” Jewel called out as she came into the house.
“We’re in here,” Honey called back, trying to keep her voice even.
She walked into the living room. “Is this your coffee?” Jewel held out the mug Honey had filled.
“Yes, thank you.” Honey took the cup with a slightly trembling hand.
“Are you okay?” Jewel frowned.
“Not exactly.” Honey nodded toward CT. “Your father thinks I made him go to the Oroscos’ party last night in his undershorts and nothing else.”
Jewel started to laugh. “You’re not serious.”
Honey looked from her daughter to her husband, unsure of what to do. CT looked even more agitated now. “I am serious, Jewel.” Honey inserted warning into her tone. “Your father is convinced this is true.”
“Well, it’s perfectly ridiculous.” Jewel leaned down to peer into her dad’s face. “Dad? You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“I know what she did.” CT glared at Honey. “She embarrassed me.”
“No, you embarrassed yourself. Don’t you remember?” Now Jewel paused as if she realized how ridiculous it was to ask that. “No, you don’t remember, do you? I’m sorry. But I can assure you.Mom did not take you to the barbecue in your undershorts.” She stifled another laugh, then reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone. “Actually, I can prove it.”
Suddenly Honey remembered the photos Jewel had taken. Bless her heart! Soon Jewel was scrolling through and showing them to her father.
“Remember the fishpond?” Jewel asked him. “You were counting the fish. I took this of you and Mom. You had on your Hawaiian shirt.”
CT’s brow was still creased, but he nodded almost imperceptibly. “That’s me. That’s my shirt.”
“You were wearing it last night,” Honey told him. “Remember when you fell down and used the shirt as a flag?”
CT looked cloudy again. “Flag?”
“Never mind.” Honey reminded herself to keep it simple. She pointed to the photo CT was staring at. “See, that’s you and me. It was taken last night. You had on clothes.”
“Really?” He looked up at her with confusion. “I really did?”
“CT,” she said gently, “I wouldn’t lie to you. I love you.”
“Why?” His voice cracked slightly. “Why do I think that?”
She pointed to her forehead like she often did when trying to explain things to him. “It’s your brain, sweetheart. It’s messing with you again.”
“My brain?”
“You know how it’s hard to remember ... sometimes?”
“My brain is goofy?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Yeah. It’s kind of goofy.” She mouthed “thank you” to Jewel, hinting that perhaps she should make her exit now.
“I’ll send you copies of the photos,” Jewel called over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchen. “For posterity’s sake.”
Honey smiled as she picked up the breakfast tray. “Peanut butter and honey sandwich, anyone?”
