Page 76 of Every Time We Touch

Oh, fuck. Heather’s putting Clancy through it.

“It’s not nothing.” I come to Clancy’s defense.

“It’s okay, Jen,” Clancy says. “It’s a fair enough question, given the circumstances.”

“It’s what we’re all really wondering,” Heather says.

They’ve all been talking behind my back—but I would do the same if the tables were turned.

“It definitely was not nothing. If it were, it would have been so much easier. I did care about Eric,” Clancy says. “But it didn’t stop me from falling in love with Jen.” She takes a breath—still looking gorgeous and composed despite her having to stand up for herself, and us, to my sister. “And I don’t know how to explain it without sounding awful.” Clancy’s not afraid to meet Heather’s gaze. “I’m not someone who goes through life treating people as interchangeable.” Clancy’s on a roll and even though some of the things she says are difficult to hear, because this is my dad we’re talking about, a lot of it also kind of makes my heart sing—an ambiguous feeling if ever there was one.

“I might not have been with him for that long, but your father is a wonderful man,” Clancy continues. “But Jen is the person I’m in love with. Those two things can both be true without one canceling out the other.” She slants her head. “I know that’s not easy to hear. And the simple truth is that I don’t have a clean answer for any of this because there isn’t one. All I can tell you is that it wasn’t a choice I made lightly—or made at all, really. It made itself.”

I think I just fell in love with her even more, if that’s even possible.

Heather’s silent for a few seconds, then says, “Messy though it all is, that kind of makes sense.”

I let out a deep breath that seems to come all the way from my toes.

“I don’t even have follow-up questions after that,” Heather says. “Not that I came here to cross-examine you.” She smiles at Clancy—because of course she did. “Nor do I doubt your feelings for each other.”

“I get that—” Clancy’s interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Mine.

“Sorry.” I check who’s calling. “Oh, damn.” Instantly, my muscles tense up again. “It’s Dad.”

“You should so get that,” Heather says.

I jump out of my chair and answer the call.

“Hey, Jen, um, it’s me,” he says, as though I wouldn’t know.

“Hi, Dad.” I swallow the ‘how are you’ that’s about to automatically come out of my mouth. I feel like I don’t have the right to ask him that yet.

“I met up with a buddy of mine this week I hadn’t seen in a while and we got talking about Fluxx. His company acquires businesses like yours. If you’re still interested in selling, he’d like to talk to you.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“No pressure, of course. I just wanted to let you know.”

“Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate that.” My palms are so sweaty, my phone nearly slips out of my hand.

“I can set up something for next week, if you want. Just let me know.”

“Yeah. That would be great. I’ll be in touch.” My pulse trips over itself. I want to ask him how he’s doing, but I also don’t want to rush things—or ruin this opening he’s giving me. Maybe him reaching out about my business is the only thing he can offer me right now. It’s already so much more than I was expecting, or even deserve.

“You do that,” he says.

I try to read between the lines, try to gauge from his tone if he’s actually calling to say something else, but there isn’t nearly enough to go on—and it would probably mostly be wishful thinking on my part. “Thanks again, Dad.”

“Have a good day,” he says and, with that, abruptly hangs up.

My hand is shaking when I put my phone down.

“What did he say?” Heather’s gaze on me is probing. She wants our family to go back to normal, if we can ever really do that, as soon as possible as well.

I tell them about Dad’s friend who’s interested in buying Fluxx.

“We can’t know for sure,” Heather says. “But he might be extending an olive branch here.” She leans back in her chair. “Either way, him calling you is a big deal. I’ll stop by his house on my way home. See if I can get some more out of him.”