“Oh, Teri, the last thing I want to do is make you work, what with Elton just recovering,” Mrs. Garrett said.
“We are glad to have you. Come put your things here in the guest room,” my mom said, and their voices drifted away. I walked towards the stairs, taking them on tiptoes until I reached the landing and turned the corner. I saw Harvey’s back in front of the guest room door where our moms were conversing.
What an awkward situation I now realized we were in! And my parents knew nothing of Greg’s infidelity! I smacked myself on the forehead wishing I’d been forthcoming with them about the whole mess. I had to let Harvey and his mom know not to mention it.
As I continued downstairs, the floorboards beneath me squeaked, as I knew they would, and Harvey turned around and gave me the biggest smile. I was so glad we were still friends.
“Hi,” he said coming closer to the stairs.
“Hi,” I said, as my ears got warm. His eyes were trying to tell me something— maybe something about that kiss we shared. I couldn’t read him.
“Thanks for this,” he said. “I’m real happy I don’t have to go stay at that shelter tonight.”
“No problem,” I said, smiling and tilting my head to the side. He was beautiful, even more so each time I saw him. I was going to mention to him not to talk about Greg and my divorce when Mrs. Garrett came out of the room and saw me.
“Teri, you must be happy to have Audrey to yourself, now that Greg is out of the picture,” she said, coming over to give me a hug. I almost pushed her away but instead delved into the embrace while watching my mom’s face turn from confused to shocked.
“I’m sorry, why is Greg out of the picture?” my mom asked. She stared at me, waiting for me to explain.
“Mom, I, um... Well, remember I said Greg and I had a fight?” I said, looking from my mom to Mrs. Garrett (who looked pitifully sorry) to Harvey, who was cringing. I wondered if it was because of his mother’s big mouth or because he’d have to hear the story again after living through it this past week.
“Elton!” my mom yelled, putting her hand up at me so I’d wait for my dad. He walked in, puzzled at each of us silently waiting for him.
“Mom, Dad— Greg has been cheating on me with Natalie. I’m going to divorce him. End of story,” I said and ran out of the room and up the stairs to my bedroom. I shut the door and threw myself on the bed, sobbing. It was not how I planned to tell them, and it certainly had not been my intention to blurt it out and bolt like a teenager who’d gotten caught, but the last thing I wanted was to choke up in between the details and have them see me fall apart.
There was a knock on my door, but I didn’t answer, hoping my parents would take the hint and leave me alone. The door opened anyway, and I left my face buried in the pillow. I knew that my mom would feel bad that I felt bad, and that made me feel worse. Any second now she’d sit next to me on the bed and pat my back. I stayed silent until I wondered if it even was my mom. I lifted my head and looked back to see Harvey standing there.
I wiped my face. “Was that god-awful or what?”
“What’s awful is that my mom is sitting downstairs telling them the story. You should never have told her.” He crossed his arms in front of him.
“No, it’s not her fault,” I said with a sigh. “I should have told them as soon as I saw them.” Harvey sat beside me and brought his thumb up to my cheek, brushing a tear away. Oddly, I was distraught and comforted at the same time. Who was this man that made me feel like a paradox? This man that was so close I could breathe in his musky breath, and yet I felt as if we were light-years apart. I stood up and smoothed out my top.
“I’m fine,” I said, as cool as I could muster. “I’ll go and explain, now that I’ve had a moment to process what I want to say. Then they’ll know, and it will be real.” It’s true. Without my parents knowing the truth, it was still just inside my head. But now, going public to the two people who meant most to me in this world and had jointly walked me down the aisle... now it was more real than ever. I was actually getting a divorce. I would be a divorcee.
Harvey wanted to say something but was holding himself back, I could tell. I didn’t press it because I had to focus on what I’d tell them downstairs. So I turned around, left him in my room, and made my way to my parents.
