by Josie Brown
“Wow, that’s great. Very exciting!” Why didn’t Harry say something? I guess we’ve both had other things on our minds. “You’re quite a dynamo, Bev. Between working full-time and taking on a renovation—”
She laughs. “With Cal taking on more work, you won’t see my shingle out that often in the new year, Lyssa. I’ll be having too much fun tearing apart our kitchen.” She kisses her husband on the nose. “Cal convinced me to take it easy, when we were down in Cabo. It was like a second honeymoon—even with the kids there. It was Cal’s idea that we bring Jake along to keep them company. He read that in an article somewhere.” She puts her arm through her husband’s. “Where did you see that, Cal? Wasn’t it in Redbook?”
I stare at Cal. If that’s the case, then Jake couldn’t have been doing the break-ins. . . .
So, Harry was telling the truth. It wasn’t Jake after all.
But why didn’t Harry just tell me Jake was with the Bullworths?
Because I didn’t give him time to.
Where is Harry, anyway?
Almost as if reading my mind, Cal puts his arm around me. “Speaking of Jake, I just saw Harry in the kitchen admiring your orchids.”
47
“The difficulty with marriage is that we fall in love with
a personality, but must live with a character.”
—Peter De Vries
4:10 p.m.
It’s in full bloom,” Harry says, staring at the candy cane amaryllis. He has his back to me, but he knows I’m here, watching him.
“I knew you’d come, friend.” In order to resist the urge to go to him, to hug his back, I stare at what’s left of Olivia’s cake.
“Lyssa, I wish I could be your friend, but I don’t think you’ll feel that way about me. Not after what I’m about to tell you.” When he turns around, I realize by the look on his face that what he has to say is breaking his heart. “DeeDee does have a lover—”
I take a deep breath. “Yes, I know. It’s Ted.”
Harry stares at me. “You do? But . . . how?”
“DeeDee is wearing a necklace I saw in a Tiffany box sitting on Ted’s desk—a surprise Christmas gift I thought was meant for me.” The tears start running down my face. “So, how did you find out about Ted?”
He searches my eyes. “DeeDee’s computer. Pete’s community database provided us with the raw data of telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and DMV tags, and the SATCOM provided us with a way to track DeeDee. But we still had no clue as to whom she was communicating with, until she moved back into the house. Then we were able to check her e-mails.”
“But once you moved out, you weren’t allowed to go back in—oh! The SATCOM system let you know whenever she left the vicinity, am I right?”
He nods. “She had the locks changed, but I used Jake’s new key. Before Cal went out of town, he linked the system to Pete’s computer and gave us a crash course on how to use it, so that we could keep up surveillance, in case we caught a break.”
Suddenly it hits me. “The break-ins! You were the ones who called in the pot house! And it was you who wore the Seals hat when you broke into my house.”
Harry nods. “Guilty as charged. We had a lot of hits and misses before DeeDee got the house back. At that point, we were down to just one or two possible men, one being Ted. I presumed he was a long shot, except that Olivia had mentioned to Temple that her father would be working late—again.” He picks up my hand when he sees my frown, and gives it a kiss. “Since I knew you’d be out with the kids for the tree lighting, we went in. And that’s how I learned that the messages were coming from Ted’s e-mail address or cell number.”
“Harry, what you did could have landed you in jail! Then you would never have gotten custody of Jake and Temple.” I’m tearing up at just the thought of this.
“We were monitoring the police too, so we had a heads-up there.”
“Still, that doesn’t make it right.”
He rolls his eyes. “You can spank me later.”
I laugh through my tears. “Won’t you be surprised if I take you up on that.”
“Tammy would, but you’re not the type.” His smile is wicked. “But, hey, it paid off one way: Tammy got caught with Gerard.”
“I just heard about it from Brooke.” I shake my head in wonder. “Congratulations! You actually scooped the biggest gossip in the Heights.”
“I only wish I’d been there to see Margot’s face when she played that video.” Then his smile fades. “Lyssa, I just want you to know that I debated for the longest time whether to even tell you. I figured I’d take a lot of satisfaction from letting the wife of DeeDee’s lover know what he’s been up to. But that’s because I never figured it would be you. As your friend, I wanted to tell you. But as the man who loves you with all his heart, I knew just how devastated you’d be.” His eyes are dry and hollow. “Besides, I knew when you confronted Ted and when he realized he’d be losing you, he’d beg you to take him back. Lyssa, I know you well enough to believe you would have. And if that’s the case, I wouldn’t have lost you to Ted at all, because I never had you to begin with.”
He’s wrong.
My kiss tells him that, as does the way I stroke the back of his head, and how I wrap his hand in mine.
Ted and DeeDee. He had to have the one woman who was his biggest challenge. Anyone else would have been too easy.
I was too easy. What did Brooke say? Oh, yeah: scratch my belly and I’ll follow you anywhere. . . .
“Seriously, Harry, if you wanted Ted’s e-mail address, all you had to do was ask me what it was. I’d have given it to you.”
“I know. But it was more than likely he had one or more you didn’t even know about. Turns out that was the case. And, quite frankly, with you out caroling, I thought that, if he was her lover, I might luck out and catch them in the act.”
The idea that Ted and DeeDee might have been screwing just a few doors away—or, even worse, in my house—makes me angry. I have to see them, now, together, with my own eyes.
I walk out of the kitchen into the living room, where I last saw Ted—what, maybe twenty minutes ago? But he’s not there.
Neither is DeeDee.
Nor are they in the front yard. I push my way back into the house, ignoring the laughs and chatter around me, the shouts that invite me over, because Ted isn’t there. I know I look like a madwoman as I run down into the playroom. Forget spin the bottle. The kids—Tanner, Jake, Laurel, Duke, Sabrina, and Natassia—are playing strip poker. Duke is the only one fully dressed. But of course: he is the statistician in the group, so he’s playing the odds. Smart boy.
“Everybody, get dressed! Upstairs with your parents, NOW!” The girls screech and grab for their clothes. Everyone scatters like leaves in a windstorm.
I race up the stairway with Harry on my heels. Thank God Ted and DeeDee aren’t in Olivia’s room. There, she and her friends have divided her stuffed animals among them.
Tanner’s room is empty, as is Mickey’s. I find my younger son and a couple of his buddies playing video games in my bedroom. He looks guilty when I walk in: he didn’t get my permission beforehand to be in there and use my television. Considering the activity in the playroom, I consider this the lesser of two evils. I wave to him that it’s okay, and close the door quickly. I don’t want him to see that I have been crying.
There will be plenty of time for that later.
There is only one other place they can be.
It’s been raining a fine mist all day. That has kept all our guests inside. It’s also made it convenient for Ted and DeeDee to break away. The shed’s door is closed, but not locked. They don’t hear it creak as I open it.
They are too busy kissing, too busy making love. Missionary style, of course.
Harry comes up behind me. He, too, can’t help but stare. Learning the truth about DeeDee at this point is a hollow victory. There is no triumph in revealing their deceit. Simply more sadness.
Ted doesn’t even h
ave the courtesy to take his socks off. I’m sure, if there had been a television in the shed, it would be turned to the Lakers game.
Poor DeeDee.
Then again, I really don’t need to feel sorry for her, because she’s proudly wearing the gift I thought he’d bought for me.
Ted keeps humping, but DeeDee looks up. At first she is surprised to see us, but I can tell she’s also relieved. Finally, the charade is over.
Ted catches DeeDee’s gaze and follows it. But even before his eyes light on me, he realizes what has just happened. He scrambles off of her and reaches for his pants on the floor, but I’m already gone, running toward the house.
Harry runs after me.
So does Ted, grasping at the sides of his slacks to hold them up. But it is too late. When Ted reaches me, I throw off his arm and keep walking quickly toward our back door. He takes my hand again, but I fight him off.
When he tries it a third time, it’s Harry who grabs his arm and turns him around. Ted takes the first swing, but misses. Harry’s fist, however, slams into Ted’s jaw. He staggers back, then falls like a house of cards.
DeeDee, who has just come out, runs to Ted. As she cradles his head, she cries soft tears. I’ve never seen her so tender. I’ve never seen her so human.
Harry is shaken as well. I don’t know why, but this makes me feel nauseated. I double over and retch until I have nothing left in me. Harry holds my head until I stop.
When I stand up, he steadies me in his arms. “Lyssa, I realize this is all happening too fast, but I want to know: are you going to ask Ted for a divorce?”
Before I can even think about my answer, I retch again.
And then it hits me: Oh, my God, I’m pregnant.
New Year’s Day
One Year Later
48
“Love does not begin and end the way we
seem to think it does.”
—James A. Baldwin
Mother was right about one thing: Nothing is perfect.
For many of us in Paradise Heights, the past year is proof of that.
For Tammy, that means having the child she’s always wanted, but raising it on her own. Gerard will, of course, ante up for child support, but he has chosen Margot’s form of forgiveness, whatever that is. No doubt it will be sadistic, but I guess he figures that the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.
The same isn’t true of the Paradise Heights Women’s League board. With a president-elect candidate embroiled in, and I quote, “actions that may be construed as . . . indecent, lascivious, lecherous, salacious, obscene, wanton, or libidinous,” with the president’s husband, a void was created, only to be filled in the most surprising manner. Summer pushed for a full-member vote, as opposed to a board vote alone, on all league positions. Needless to say, both Margot and Tammy were ousted, along with Isabelle. However, Brooke and Colleen were asked to stay on, in order to ease the transition with the new blood, which includes Summer and Mallory. In fact, Brooke and Summer were co-presidents last year. Ironically, they made a cohesive team. Go figure.
The Shrivers are also going through a contentious divorce. Pete has some remorse, but he’s holding firm against Masha’s pleas for forgiveness—which started the moment she realized that Pete’s bank account went with him, and that there was nothing she could do about that. Pete can thank the battery of attorneys who safeguard his estate for having the forethought to insist that she sign an airtight prenup prior to his wedding.
As for me, this truly will be a new year: new baby, plus a new husband and a new best friend, Harry.
I realized that life is too short to be unhappy in a marriage that isn’t working. I guess DeeDee was right about that.
Too bad she wasn’t right about Ted. Now that he can have her out in the open, he’s convinced himself that she isn’t what he wants after all. Besides, he enjoys being single again.
Will he ever find a relationship that satisfies him? For his sake, I hope so, but I doubt it. Everyone deserves to be loved. But you have to give it to get it in return.
Our children are sad about our divorce, but are proving to be resilient. They know both of us love them with all our hearts. And, ironically, they now see more of Ted than they did when he lived with us.
I’ve named my newborn son Jonathan, after my father. He wasn’t planned, but he is loved all the same. He won’t have the same relationship with his biological father that his older siblings do, but he’ll have the love of two fathers. Harry and Ted are both good men.
Olivia’s birthday party ended an hour ago. There was a smaller crowd this year, but that was to be expected. Those who are uncomfortable with the circumstances that precipitated the blending of our families—of our lives—sent their regrets.
Fine with us. We have none ourselves.
Besides, it’s always good to know who your friends are. They are the people who don’t pass judgment on how you choose to live your life.
As Jonathan sleeps in my arms, I move through our house here on Bougainvillea Boulevard, counting my blessings as I count heads for dinner. Olivia and Temple are upstairs, where they’re teaching all the stuffed animals their addition and subtraction in a makeshift school. In the great room, the boys—Tanner, Mickey, and Jake—are sprawled over the sectional couch, watching the Rose Bowl game.
Harry is in there too. As I perch on the arm of my husband’s chair, he pulls me and the baby down onto his lap so that he can cuddle us both.
“The turkey should be ready to come out of the oven in another half hour,” he whispers in my ear before he kisses it.
“You made sure it’s set to Bake, right?”
He laughs, then kisses me again. And again.
I love the adoration in his eyes.
It’s interesting how much of life doesn’t go according to plan.
But I’m in awe that, despite this, things have a way of working out for the best.
READING GROUP GUIDE
Secret Lives of
Husbands and Wives
JOSIE BROWN
INTRODUCTION
Lyssa Harper has it all: a comfortable home in the exclusive neighborhood of Paradise Heights, a handsome and successful husband, and beautiful kids. But bubbling beneath the exterior of her enviable life, and the lives of her close friends, is a web of gossip, cheating, lies, and scandal. When the neighborhood’s most attractive power couple breaks up, Lyssa finds herself drawn to the newly single Harry Wilder. As the bond between Harry and Lyssa grows, rumors begin to spread, and the long-repressed tensions in the quiet enclave of Paradise Heights boil to the surface. Friends become enemies, charity events and middle-school basketball games become battlefields, and the secret lives of husbands and wives are finally exposed.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. The town of Paradise Heights is portrayed as an upscale enclave for mostly upper-income families. What did you think of the author’s portrayal of the people in this town? Do you admire or condemn them? Envy them for all of their material wealth, or pity them for the emotional balance they lack? Or both?
2. Why do you think Lyssa is so drawn to Harry Wilder at the beginning of the novel? Does she really just feel sorry for him, or is she projecting her own childhood experience with divorce on his circumstance? How are both Lyssa’s and Harry’s experiences with divorce different, and how are they similar?
3. Lyssa spends most of her time socializing with the women who make up the executive board of the Paradise Heights Women’s League. They are depicted mostly as villains in the novel—especially their ringleader, Margot. In fact, the league board is called “the Coven” by those less-popular mommies they’ve nicknamed “the Undesirables,” and all of them have been given nicknames of fairy-tale witches. What, if anything, is attractive about the power wielded by the members of this cruel clique? From where do you think they derive their power?
4. Do you think that all the members of Paradise Heights Women’s League are equally guilty of
bad social behavior? Does a follower like, say, Colleen, who silently allows Margot to behave atrociously, deserve just as much blame as the queen bee herself?
5. At times, the character of Lyssa seems both needy and eager-to-please. Her friend Brooke likens her to a puppy, saying, “If someone scratched your belly, you’d never leave their lap” (page 262). How do you think Lyssa changes over the course of the novel? What role does her relationship with Harry play in that transformation?
6. Many of the adults in the novel seem less well-behaved than their children, and Lyssa spends a lot of time worrying about the example that she and the rest of the adults in her social circle are setting for their children. They get into fights at basketball games, and shamelessly throw themselves at the husbands of their friends. How did you feel about the way the adults in this novel conducted themselves? Have you personally witnessed similar behaviors in a social setting? Did you think less of Lyssa for surrounding herself with people who acted the way they did? Would you consider Lyssa a good parent?
7. What did you think of the way Ted withheld intimacy from Lyssa and then used it as a means of marking his territory when he became jealous of Lyssa’s relationship with Harry? Did you find it odd that Lyssa admittedly enjoyed being used by Ted as a way of his proving his dominance over Harry?
8. At one point, Lyssa’s mother questions her daughter’s need to have married “The One.” And DeeDee very pointedly remarks that, “no marriage is perfect.” Almost every relationship in the novel is unstable. What do you think is the author’s opinion of marriage? Would it surprise you to learn that she has been happily married to the same man for more than twenty years, and that like her, he is a journalist who covers relationship trends?
9. Is it significant that DeeDee is the only one who admits—and acts on the fact—that her marriage made her unhappy?