by Joy Fielding
“It does. So how about you keep to your house and we’ll keep to ours.”
Maggie takes a deep breath. “How about you stop using your wife as a punching bag.”
The silence that follows is so intense, it all but shouts.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“You really want me to say it again?”
Nick takes a menacing step toward her. “No. I think you’ve said more than enough. I’d get the hell off my property, if I were you.”
“What are you going to do, Nick?” Maggie asks, holding her ground. “Hit me? Show me what a big man you are?”
“You’re crazy,” he says, as out of the corner of her eye Maggie sees an unfamiliar car pull into her driveway.
“Mom,” Erin says, exiting the driver’s seat. “Come see my new car!”
Maggie glances toward her daughter, then back to Nick. “Dani might be afraid of you,” she says, her voice rising, “but I’m not.” It takes a second for Maggie to realize this is true, that she doesn’t need a gun to feel safe, that she has finally emerged from the long shadow of her own fear. “And I’m warning you that if I see so much as one more bruise on your wife’s body,” she continues, “not only am I calling the cops, I’m calling everyone I’ve ever met and telling everyone I see that the revered Dr. Nick Wilson is a goddamn wife beater. I’ll stop total strangers on the street. I’ll picket your office. Hell, I’ll post the news on fucking Facebook!”
“Maggie?” Craig cuts across the lawn to the Wilsons’ front walk. “What’s going on here?”
“Your wife’s a goddamn lunatic,” Nick tells him. “No wonder you left.”
“Wait just a minute…”
“I’m warning you,” Nick says to Maggie. “Stay away from us.” He goes back inside his house, slamming the front door behind him.
Craig looks at Maggie. “Looks like you got your spark back.”
Chapter Fifty
“You want to tell us what that was all about?” Craig says after they return home.
“Can’t wait to hear this,” Erin says, as they walk into the kitchen and Maggie collapses into the nearest chair, shaking.
“Suppose you make your mother a cup of tea,” Craig suggests. “Unless you’d prefer something stronger,” he says to Maggie.
“No. Tea would be great.”
“Why was Dr. Wilson so mad?” Leo asks.
“I guess I said something he didn’t much like.”
“That’s a shock,” Erin says. “So unlike you.”
“Erin,” her father warns. “The tea…”
“Leo, honey,” Maggie tells her son, “why don’t you go upstairs and get ready for bed.”
“I want to hear.”
“There’s nothing to hear. Dr. Wilson and I just had a disagreement….”
“About what?”
“Nothing. Stupid stuff. I told him his generator is too loud,” she continues when the look on her son’s face tells her he isn’t satisfied with her answer. “It’s at the side of his house, and he’s supposed to have a cover around it so it doesn’t make so much noise, but he doesn’t. So, I told him I was going to complain to the city council if he didn’t do something about it.”
“And he got mad?”
“He got very mad.”
“He yelled at you.”
“Yes, he did.”
“That wasn’t nice.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Are you going to shoot him?”
“What?” Maggie.
“What?” Craig.
“What?” Erin.
“No!” Maggie sputters. “Of course not.”
“Where would you get an idea like that?” Erin asks her brother.
“Mom has a gun,” Leo says matter-of-factly.
Erin’s head snaps toward her mother. “You have a gun?”
“I had a gun,” Maggie explains quickly. “I turned it in to the police on Sunday.”
“Well, thank God for that,” Craig says.
“Are you kidding?” Erin says. “The timing kind of sucks. Considering that Dr. Wilson has a cabinet full of them.”
“He has a cabinet full of guns?”
“Guns, rifles, shotguns.”
“Oh my God. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew you’d freak and wouldn’t let me babysit there anymore. I didn’t know you were Annie fucking Oakley.”
“Erin, please. Your language!”
“You said ‘fucking Facebook’!”
“Who’s Annie Oakley?” Leo asks.
“I’ll tell you all about her while you’re getting into your pajamas,” Craig says, leading Leo from the room. “I’ll be back in two minutes. Looks like we have a lot to talk about.”
“Water will be boiled in a minute,” Erin says. “You want regular tea or herbal?”
“Regular. A drop of milk. No sugar.”
“So,” Erin says, putting a tea bag into an empty mug and retrieving a carton of milk from the fridge, “do we have to move again?”
Maggie sighs and shakes her head. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“Good. ’Cause I kind of like it here.”
“Me, too.”
Erin pours the boiling water into Maggie’s mug and watches as the tea bag turns the liquid a golden brown. Then she removes the bag and adds a drop of milk before placing the steaming mug on the table in front of Maggie. “Careful. It’s hot.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
“The argument wasn’t really about Dr. Wilson’s generator, was it?”
“No, it was not. How was your dinner?” Maggie asks before Erin can ask a follow-up.
“Great. We went to the Pelican Cafe. Then we went and picked up my new car.” She grins. “Dad tells me I have you to thank for that.”
“It was a joint decision.” Maggie reaches over to touch her daughter’s hand. “What kind is it? I’m afraid that, in all the excitement, I didn’t get a very good look at it.” In fact, all she remembers as Craig hustled her back inside the house is a sleek black blur in her driveway.
“It’s a Toyota Corolla. Just a couple of years old, and only fifteen thousand miles on it. Dad said he got a great deal on it.”
“Well, congratulations, and drive carefully.”
“I will. How’s the tea?”
“Perfect.”
“It’s my specialty,” Erin says as Craig reenters the kitchen. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
“It’s her specialty,” Maggie says.
“Sure. A drop of milk. No sugar.”
Both Maggie and Erin smile.
“I told Leo he could watch cartoons for half an hour,” Craig says, sitting down across from Maggie. “So, what’s the story?”
Maggie fills her husband and daughter in on her conversation with Dani and her subsequent altercation with Nick.
“Dr. Wilson has been beating his wife?!” Erin exclaims.
“I know. It’s hard to believe.”
“It is,” Erin states. “But, at the same time, it kinda isn’t.”
“What do you mean?” Maggie asks. “Did you see something?”
“No, but…I don’t know. I mean, Dr. Wilson was always super nice to me and everything. But there was just something a little…I don’t know…off. Are you really going to tell everyone?”
Maggie shrugs. What mess has she gotten them into now?
“Erin, sweetheart,” Craig says, “why don’t you give your mother and me a few minutes.”
Erin groans her displeasure as she gets up from her chair and walks toward the hall. “You don’t think he’d do anything crazy, do you? I mean, he has all those guns and he was pretty pissed….”
“He won’t do anything,” Craig says. “Men li
ke him are essentially cowards. But, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll stay the night.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“That’s really not necessary,” Maggie says. “I can handle this.”
“I know you can,” he tells her. “I’d like to stay. It would make me feel better.”
Maggie says nothing, deciding to wait until Erin is out of the room.
“Thanks for the tea,” Craig tells his daughter.
“Thanks for the car,” Erin counters. She returns to the table to give first her father, then mother, a lingering hug. “Love you guys.”
“Love you, too,” Maggie and Craig say together.
“Do you really think that staying the night is a good idea?” Maggie asks as Erin’s footsteps retreat down the hall.
“Best idea I’ve had in months.”
What does that mean? Maggie thinks, but is too tired to ask.
There are several seconds of awkward silence.
“So, what’s happened to our quiet little cul-de-sac?” Craig asks. “The kids told me all about Aiden attacking Julia’s grandson on Saturday night, and now it turns out that the well-respected oncologist next door is a wife beater with an arsenal of guns. Anything else I should know about?”
“I think that’s probably enough information to absorb for one night,” Maggie says, deciding to spare him her suspicions regarding Sean Grant. “How are things in your neck of the woods?”
“Uneventful. A little boring.”
“She didn’t look boring,” Maggie remarks.
Craig smiles. “If you’re referring to Selena…”
“I was.”
“That was never anything serious. And nothing ever happened. I swear. Selena is a lovely woman, an excellent sales rep, and yes, since you asked, a little on the boring side. Especially compared to you.”
“You didn’t want me,” Maggie reminds him.
“I’ve never wanted anyone else.”
Maggie fights to make sense of her husband’s last remark. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t want a divorce.”
“What?”
“I don’t want a divorce,” he repeats. “I love you, Maggie. I’ve always loved you. I’ve never stopped loving you.”
“You left me.”
“I know. And it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Maggie lowers her head into her hands. “Maybe it wasn’t so stupid.”
“Now I’m the one who doesn’t understand.”
“I’d already left me,” she says. “Every day, another little piece of me disappeared, till all that was left was this frightened little shadow of who I used to be. A shadow afraid of her shadow.” She looks into her husband’s eyes. “You can’t leave someone who isn’t there.”
“What are you saying?”
“That your leaving was a wake-up call. You said I lost my spark. I did. But I lost way more than that. I lost me. In a way, your leaving forced me to find myself again.”
“So where does that leave me? Where does it leave us?”
“I love you, Craig,” she says, repeating his words. “I’ve always loved you. I’ve never stopped loving you.” She takes a deep breath. “But I’m too exhausted—physically, emotionally—to think straight right now.” She pushes back her chair and stands up. “I’m going to bed.” She walks to the door. “Can we talk about this in the morning?”
He smiles. “I’ll be here.”
Chapter Fifty-one
Dani hears the front door slam and holds her breath, bracing herself for her husband’s rage. She doesn’t know what Nick and Maggie said to each other, but she knows it wasn’t good. “Boys, go on upstairs,” she says to her sons, trying to usher them from the kitchen before Nick appears.
“I want to play with Neptune,” Tyler says.
“Not now, honey. Please, boys, go upstairs.” Her arms reach for their shoulders, trying to steer them away from the island counter. “Tyler, Ben. Go on now.”
“You heard your mother,” Nick says from the doorway, his voice calm, his face void of expression. “Get moving.”
Tyler glances warily from his father to his mother. “You come, too,” he tells her.
“It’s okay, possum,” Dani assures her son. “You go get yourselves ready for bed and I’ll be up real soon to tuck y’all in.”
“Race you,” Ben says, pushing past his brother into the hall.
Dani hears her sons’ footsteps on the stairs, followed by Ben’s cry of “I win!” and Tyler’s “No fair. You cheated!”
“So,” Nick says. “You going to tell me what that was all about?”
Dani shrugs. “Just what Maggie said. You know, she heard we were thinkin’ of movin’.”
“Thinking,” Nick corrects. “Moving.”
Dani nods.
“Say it.”
“Nick…”
“Say it!”
Dani feels her throat go dry. “Thinking. Moving.”
“There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“No.”
“Just takes a little effort. Right?”
“Right.”
“So, I’m going to ask you again, and this time you’re going to make a real effort to tell me the truth. What was that all about?”
“I already told you. She heard we were movin’…moving.”
“Nothing else?”
“No, nothin’…nothing.”
“You didn’t tell her that I hit you?”
“What? No!”
“Then where did she get that idea, I wonder?”
“She saw my bruises and she was concerned….”
“You told her I was responsible?”
“No! I told her that my bruises had nothin’ to do with you.”
“So…you did talk about your bruises,” he says with a smile, as if she’s fallen into some sort of trap.
“No. She talked about them. She was concerned ’cause she’s seen them other times as well….”
“What other times?”
Dani hesitates. “At the barbecue.”
“You said other times. Plural.”
“Well…when she came to my office…”
“When did she come to your office?”
“It was a bit ago. She needed a crown. I told you.”
“No. You didn’t.”
“Well, then, I guess it slipped my mind. It wasn’t that important.”
“Our neighbor accuses me of beating my wife and you don’t think it’s important?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“What did you say?”
“I don’t know. You’re gettin’ me all confused.”
“People don’t get confused if they’re telling the truth.”
“I am tellin’ the truth.”
“Tell me exactly what you said to her when she accused me of beating you.”
“I told her she was crazy, that you had nothin’ to do with my bruises, that I was just plain old clumsy, and that you were good and kind and gentle. But she just kept at me.”
“Really? How so?” He takes a step forward.
Dani takes a step back. “She said that she knew what was goin’ on, that she knew you were beatin’ me, that I wasn’t responsible for your bad behavior, that you were never gonna change….”
“What else?” He takes another step forward.
Dani backs up until she feels the island at her back. “She said I should call the police, file a complaint…”
“You going to do that, Dani? You going to call the police? You going to file a complaint?”
“No, of course not. I would never…”
“Go ahead,” he says, grabbing the landline from the counter and waving the receiver in front of
her face. “Call the police, Dani. Call them now.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I said call them!” He swings the receiver at her head.
Dani feels a flash of intense pain as the receiver connects with the side of her head, and she stumbles, her knees buckling, one hand grabbing at the island to stop her fall, the other shooting behind her, slapping against the glass of the fishbowls. She brings her hand to her face, swipes at the blood seeping from the gash on her cheek.
“You dumb bitch!” he yells. “Now look what you made me fucking do!”
“I’m sorry, Nick. I won’t do it again. I promise. Please don’t hit me again.” She struggles to stand up straight.
Which is when his fist comes crashing against her jaw. The blow sends Dani sprawling across the island.
“Mom!” Tyler cries, running into the room and rushing to his mother’s side. “Stop!” he yells at his father. “What are you doing? Stop!”
“It’s okay, possum,” Dani says. “Go back to your room. It’s okay.”
“Stop hitting Mommy!” Tyler screams at his father. “Get away from her!”
“Go back upstairs, Goldilocks,” Nick orders, as Ben enters the kitchen. “Both of you.”
“Look at the fish!” Ben shouts.
Instinctively, all eyes turn toward the fishbowls, the glass of one having been pushed up against the glass of the other during the fracas. The two fish are now fully engorged and flailing against the glass at each other.
“Neptune!” Tyler cries, flinging himself toward the bowl.
“Leave the goddamn fish alone!” Nick shouts, grabbing his son by the collar of his pajama top to stop him as Tyler kicks at his father’s legs.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” Dani tells her son. “I’ll move the bowls.”
“I said, leave the goddamn fish alone!” Gripping his son’s collar in one hand, Nick moves to the island and sends the fishbowl flying to the floor with the back of the other. Glass shards shoot in all directions as water gushes from the bowl and the fish flops between jagged pieces of glass along the tile floor.
“Neptune!” Tyler breaks free of his father and scoops his fish into the palms of his hands as Ben stands there, wide-eyed. “Help me. He needs water.”
“I’ll get it,” Dani says.