When I knocked on the door, I noticed it was slightly ajar. I could see him sitting on the couch in the living room at the end of the hall. I walked into the foyer slowly, trying to gauge his mood.
“Gavin,” he said when I reached the living room.
“Lance.”
He was wearing suit pants and a dress shirt, sans tie, the top two buttons open. There were dark circles under his eyes. He looked wrecked. Holding up his glass, he said, “Drink?”
“No, thanks.”
“So, you gonna tell me where the fuck my wife and son are?”
“Can I sit down and talk to you first, man to man?”
He gestured toward a chair opposite the couch.
I sat down and was silent for a moment before saying, “Kiki took Milo to Anne’s for a few days. He doesn’t know anything, just that Penny’s taking a trip. She’s going to stay at my apartment in Denver.”
His eyebrows shot up and his hand curled into a fist on his knee.
“Not with me,” I said in a hurry. “I’m staying at my dad’s... with my girlfriend.” That last part wasn’t entirely true.
“So this mystery girlfriend—”
“Briel.”
I knew he wasn’t interested in hearing about Briel so we sat in silence until he spoke again. “What does Penny need to go to Denver for?”
“She’s going to get away for a few days to think. I can’t say more than that. You guys should probably talk.”
He tilted his cup back, swallowed the rest of the brown liquid, walked over to the counter, and poured more whiskey. When he sat back down, he said, “Some time, huh? To think?”
“She loves you, Lance.”
“Does she?”
“You know she does. And she’s always been loyal to you.”
He smiled as if he thought what I said was so horribly funny. “You call your ‘friendship’ evidence of Penny being loyal to me?”
I blinked.
“She and I are friends. We’ve always been friends.”
“Friends that fall asleep on each other. I saw you two—”
“You mean the night my dad died?”
He shrugged.
I never got a single word of sympathy from Lance over my father’s death. His damn ego had gotten in the way.
“Yeah, we fell asleep on the couch together. We were exhausted.”
“I don’t want to hear anymore, Gavin. Get out of my house.”
I stood up and then sat back down. “No. I came here to say one thing. It’s not me, no matter what you think. It’s not me. But if that’s the way you feel, if you think Penny will be happier... that your marriage will be better, I’ll get out of her life. You’ll never see me again.”
He tensed up but didn’t argue.
