Page 96 of Bonds of Shame, Bonds of Lust

I dialed.

"Hey, sweetheart. How are you?" He picked up on the first ring.

"Fine, Dad. I need to talk to you."

"Go ahead, Lacey. I'm here."

"No, Dad. In person. It's important."

I heard him hear it.

"This is about Carol," he said, defensive now. "You know she's not as young as she looks, don't you?"

"It's not about Carol."

"Wait. How old do you think she is?"

"Dad."

"She's fifty-two," he said. "Old enough to be your mother. Technically."

"I like Carol." I did, which had surprised me. "This is about you and me."

The line went quiet. When he came back, his voice had changed. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"No trouble, Dad. I just have things I need to say to your face."

Dead air, long enough that I checked the screen to see whether the call had dropped.

"All right," he said, slow.

"I'll drive up in a couple of weeks. If that works for you."

"Of course it works." A beat. "You can't give me a hint?"

"Not on the phone."

"Okay, sweetheart," he said. "Come up when you can."

"I'll text you before, Dad. Say hi to Carol for me. Love you."

I didn't feel proud for having the courage to finally do this. I felt dread and anger and guilt. No, this is something I have to do.

I checked my email. One from my lawyer's office had come in at 7:40 with the subject line RE: RESPONSE FROM OPPOSING COUNSEL. Brad wanted another thirty days. Thirty days is roughly two thousand dollars of a man reading me the same paragraph in a different order, and Brad knows it, which is the entire strategy. He wanted alimony and he was draining me to get it.

42 - THE PEACE GARDEN

Lacey

He called at a little after one, the dead middle of my shift, the floor gone quiet. It was the third extra night I'd picked up that month.

"Beautiful girl. Are you working?"

"I'm working."

"Come outside. Just for a little while. I'm down the street and I missed you and I can't stand it."

"I have twenty minutes," I said. "Maybe thirty."