“That son of a bitch,” Heidi breathes. “I didn’t want to mention it,” she continues, her voice careful. “But I’ve had some trouble at work lately, too.”
“What kind of trouble?” Ian asks grimly.
“Someone submitted a series of complaints to the school board about me. Anonymous, of course. They claimed to be a parent of students in the district and said I shouldn’t be allowed to teach middle schoolers because I’m a lesbian. That I’m pushing some kind of agenda on the kids.” She rolls her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nicole demands.
“My principal is handling it. He told the board the complaints were baseless. It’s probably going to be fine.” Her smile is weak. “I didn’t even consider that Richard might be behind it, but after hearing about your lease…it’s a real possibility.”
My throat tightens. After the petty stuff he’s done to me, it’s not hard to believe that he would try and punish someone for helping me. I hate that it has affected my friends.
Ashleigh tosses back the last of her drink and grimaces. “Unfortunately, I think there’s more.”
“What?” I can barely get the word out.
“Dog-Eared Pages has gotten a wave of bad online reviews. One-star ratings, complaints about rude service and dirty bathrooms. Dozens of them, all in the last couple weeks. The owner has been passing them on to me to fix the issues.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I say automatically. “We have the best customer service, and the store is spotless.”
“That’s what I told her. She’s working to get them removed because they’re clearly fake. But hearing all this stuff about your ex, the timing is suspicious, right?”
The pieces slot together in my mind, forming a picture I don’t want to see. Richard is trying to destroy everything I care about. Everyone who’s helped me. Everyone I love.
“This is my fault.” My voice comes out strangled. “I’m so sorry, you guys. I had no idea he was taking this out on anyone but me.”
“Hey.” Ian’s arm wraps around my shoulders, bolstering me. “This is not your fault. This is him being an asshole.”
“But if I hadn’t—”
“If you hadn’t what? Left an abusive marriage, something we’ve been telling you to do for years?” Nicole’s voice is fierce. “Julia, you did the right thing. If Richard wants to continue being a dick about it, the blame is on him.”
I know she’s right. But my heart is screaming that I’ve brought this down on the people I love.
“I’ll handle it,” I say, surprising myself with the steadiness of my voice. “All of it. I’ll make sure Richard stops and fixes everything he’s tried to break.”
“Babe, no offense, but how?” Heidi asks gently.
I think about the manila envelope stuffed with evidence about Richard’s shadier dealings. I’ve been hesitant to use it because of how it might affect the girls, but now the gloves are off. I’m going to hit him with everything I have. I sip my drink. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Just promise me you won’t get arrested,” Heidi jokes. “That’s what I always tell Nic when she gets one of her wild ideas.”
“I promise. Richard, on the other hand, might want to watch his back.” Everyone laughs, and the mood shifts after that. We let out our frustrations on the mic, one silly Christmas song at a time.
Heidi pulls me up for “Santa Baby,” and we get the whole bar singing along. We ham it up, flirting outrageously with the audience.
Nicole follows with an aggressive metal version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” directed at Heidi with enough intensity to make the couple at the table next to us fan themselves. She drops toher knees for the big finish, and Heidi pretends to swoon.
Ian takes on “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It’s pretty awful, but he commits fully to it, throwing his head back on every howl, and the orcs in sweaters give him a standing ovation.
By the time we’re on our second pitcher of the Grinch, we’re doing group numbers and I’ve almost forgotten about Richard’s dickishness. I’m just enjoying being surrounded by people who love me. Belting out “Feliz Navidad” along with everyone else in the place, my hand on my belly where the babies are kicking along to the beat. The only thing that would make it better is if the girls were here with me, too.
The next morning, Ian drives me to Mako Brinely, Esquire’s office, a modern building downtown. The lawyer is exactly what you’d expect from a great-white shifter in human form: tall, steely-eyed, with too many teeth that seem a little too sharp.
“Your husband has been sloppy,” Mako says as he sits across a conference table from me and flips through the contents of the background check. “Hemight think he’s untouchable because he has money and connections. He’s very wrong. We willdestroyhim with this. He will lose his will to live.”
I choke a little at his harsh tone. “I really just want a fair settlement. The girls’ education covered. Compensation for the years I supported his career. And I want him to stop harassing my friends.”
Mako sighs dramatically. “All disappointingly reasonable requests that a judge is likely to grant. You’re sure you don’t want anything I could really sink my teeth into?”
