I step forward, feeling a charge of regret and anger. “That’s not true,” I defend. But I’m not sure why I’m attempting.I’ve been a little more than absent over the past few years.
Summer stands with her hands in fists hanging at her sides. “Really? At the funeral you hid in the back. When Bo was born, you didn’t even visit.” Nor could I watch Zac and Summer together after they eloped or while they held their son together. “Just like you didn’t when Zac was sick. How many times did you visit him then?”
My palm soars up to calm her. “More than you realize. Damn, Summer, you know I saw him a few times in private.”
Just not enough.
She scoffs at me. “Away from my watch, right?” Her voice is soft and subdued, her eyes dropping low.
A long silence floats in the air as we both relay the facts of history in our head.
“He loved you.” More than I could, or at least that’s what I tell myself to dull the pain.
She strikes her glance up to me with tears pooling in her eyes. “He did love me, and I loved him… but you know it’s not…” She hesitates doesn’t finish her sentence.
It’s Summer. She and Zac were close friends since they were probably thirteen. She always looked out for him when they were teenagers. And for that, she held a high position in our hearts.
In high school, she ignored social hierarchy and was kind to everyone. Zac had been sick, in and out of the hospital for cancer treatment more times than I care to count, and every single time she showed up with the right movie or care package to make him happy. They were always friends, until recently.
The only thing Summer has ever done wrong is…
Stopping myself, I divert my thoughts away from facts that nobody knows except her.
“We’re both in a situation we never planned on. You’re a widow now and?—”
“Don’t you dare say it, Nash.” She walks past me, and I follow her trail before she turns back to me, frustrated. “What? Am I not playing the part of a grieving widow enough? Do I look like someone who needs a man to sweep in and save her?”
I bring my hand to my hip while I swipe the other across my stubbled jaw. “It’s his request,” I reiterate.
Way to go, Nash, saying that for the thousandth time.
“You were his wife, he… I also spoke with my mom.”
She eases a smidgen. “I’m in contact with Walter and Gail, update them a few times a week via text about Bo. I guess they need space to mourn, and that’s why they’re staying at their vacation house in North Carolina.”
My lips twitch from the fact that they are hurting, too. Zac, the favorite son. They always had a better relationship with him, I can’t deny that. “They want to stay there for a change of scene, and they’ve decided to sell their house here and want me to handle that.” Her mouth forms an O shape. “And… they are worried about you. You’re alone in taking care of their grandson.”
Her sound of anger hits my ears at record speed. “Don’t,” she barks out. “They wouldn’t try to take him from me, would they?”
I’m quick to clarify. “Absolutely not. It’s just… they also want me to ensure that you and Bo are okay.”
She tosses her arms up in the air. “Can everyone in your family get a grip? My family too. My brother checks in nearly every day in place of my parents who are always MIA. I’m fine, not made of glass. I’ve mourned, and I refuse to feel guilty for finding a routine again.”
It’s a long pause because I’m mulling over if I believe her. “They care. I ca— Watching out for you is what your husband would have wanted.”
Her eyes shoot to mine. “Nash, I don’t want to talk about my marriage or my late husband.”
But he got you, and you had a baby with him.
“You two were always going to be something.”
She begins to pace back and forth. “That makes it easier for you, doesn’t it?”
That boil begins inside of me, and only she can cause it. “This isn’t about me.”
“It is. Because you know Zac and I always cared for one another?—”
“He was madly in love with you,” I state the truth, and it was my downfall too.
