Hank finished her thought. “That seems like a bad idea.”
“Yes, it does,” I added.
“No, it’s an excellent idea,” Sue replied with her hands on her hips. “The last thing your parents need is this bullshit. If you two are going to fight like hell, do it at my piece of shit cabin. You’ll stay there for a week and work out whatever the hell is happening here.”
“What about the hockey team?” I asked.
“Weren’t you planning on ditching the team in a few weeks anyway?” Cody responded. “Besides. It’s only a week. People go on vacations during the summer.”
This was the most absurd thing I’d ever heard. There was no way I would be alone in a cabin with Cody. I couldn’t see how that would end well at all, and I was ready to tell this bitch that. “I don’t think—”
Sue raised a finger and spoke as she approached me. “I don’t think I give a shit what you think, Rafael. You,” she pointed to me, “and you,” then to Cody, “are not staying here while this is happening. Jill doesn’t need it, Hank doesn’t need it, and I don’t use the damn cabin anyway. I can’t think of a better use for it than this. You two will work this out. Period.” Sue sauntered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The four of us left in the living room just looked at one another, completely gobsmacked. Sue walked back in holding a beer and shouted, “Now! Go pack now!”
Cody
I didn’t know what Sue had up her sleeve, but something told me this was her way of throwing me a lifeline. If I wanted an opportunity to break through Rafael’s bullshit, this was it. Being alone with him for an entire week in the woods was the Hail Mary pass I needed. If Rafael still left after a week together, I could accept it. Would it hurt? You bet your ass, but at least I’d know I gave it my best fucking shot.
Sue was waiting in the car as I put my bag in the trunk and sat on the passenger’s side. Mom and Hank followed me out to watch this crazy shit show unfold. Mom looked beyond worried. I’m sure she was terrified about what might happen between us.
Rafael walked out of the house with his duffle bag and stood in the center of the yard. “Is this really happening?” he asked. “Hank, don’t you think this is a little ridiculous?”
Sue answered before Hank had a chance. “Shut your mouth and get in the car, you little shit!”
The look on Rafael’s face told me that he genuinely might be afraid of Sue. It almost made me chuckle. Rafael, the big, bad Alpha dog, had met his match in Sue. He ambled over to the trunk and threw his stuff in, slamming the lid with too much force, then huffed into the backseat.
Sue started the car and backed out of the driveway, calling out to Mom and Hank, “Have a romantic week alone while I take care of these two lunkheads!”
Then, in true Sue fashion, she rolled up her window and drawled, “Or should I say lovebirds?”
Rafael exaggeratedly groaned, and I just rested my head against the window and stared at the passing houses as Sue continued, “I knew it. I knew it at the brunch. He’s kind of wonderful. Jesus Christ, do you two have any idea what a mess this is? Cody, get me my smokes from the glove compartment.”
I did, and she pulled one out with her lips and lit it with the car lighter. “I thought the jig was up once you two started fist-fighting, but Hank and Jill are truly oblivious. I, on the other hand, have married four assholes, so I know a lovers’ spat when I see one.”
“You really think that was just a spat?” Rafael asked.
Sue huffed out a laugh, the smoke shooting out of her nose. “Compared to the fights I had with my husbands? Yeah, that was just a spat, hon. I broke Bill’s nose once and the asshole was a cop! He thought he knew how to take a hit until he met my mean ass. That fucker was afraid of me by the time we were through.”
“Is this supposed to be inspiring or something?” Rafael asked. “I’m really not in the mood to hear you regaling about your fucked-up marriages.”
Sue pointed at him through the rearview mirror. “This is my car, you little prick. I’ll regale you with whatever the fuck I feel like regaling about.”
I threw my hands up in the air and said, “New car game. Whenever someone says regale, we have to moon the car next to us.”
Sue’s raspy cackle filled the car. “I like that! And it’ll piss off crankerpuss back there, which is even better.”
“What the fuck did you just call me?” Rafael asked.
Sue took a long drag of her cigarette, then turned to me and said, “Jesus, is this really the one worth wrecking the family over? He’s as cheerful as a scorpion.”
I said nothing, and Sue knew from my silence that the answer was yes. Yes, that scorpion in the backseat was worth wrecking the family over.
I looked in the side mirror, and Rafael’s eyes met mine. He took a deep breath, placed his cap over his eyes, and napped.
It took a long time for me to tear my gaze away from him, and, when I did, I caught Sue looking at me.
“You got it bad,” she whispered.
I don’t know when it happened, but while despising Rafael, I somehow became completely obsessed with him, and that obsession morphed into more. The idea of Rafael leaving was too much to bear. I didn’t know how, but I had to make him fall in love with me at the cabin.
