by Amy Gamet
The boat neared the end of the lake and Thompson’s Neck, the narrowing just before Cross Creek emptied into Moon Lake. Lisa imagined she could see herself and her sister in their canoe, laughing wildly as they paddled, not knowing the dangers that lay ahead.
She remembered pulling Melanie through the water, her own arm dragging her sister’s exhausted body behind her like she’d seen in the movies. She remembered the fear, the dread and the eerie certainty that her beloved sister would die, that it was her fault, that nothing would ever be the same again.
She remembered the prayer she’d said over and over again as she swam.
God, if you save her, I’ll never do anything to hurt her again.
Yet here she was on Greg’s boat, a fact she knew upset Melanie. Lisa started to cry. No matter what she did, she would always hurt those she loved most. She was the thorns and Melanie the rose.
"Prepare to come about," Greg hollered into the wind. A mechanical squeal behind her and the boat began to turn.
Lisa leaned forward and rested her head against the railing.
They were going back, and her spirits dipped.
At least I got to go for a ride.
The boat zigzagged up the lake, seeming to get back to the marina in record time. She stood up as he lowered the mainsail, and admired his sun-kissed skin.
He docked the boat and she walked to him. "Thank you."
"I think you needed that."
She searched his face for any hidden meaning, any judgment or rebuke, and found only sincerity. "I did. I’ll see you back at the house."
* * *
Greg spent the rest of his day sistering new joists to the old ones and replacing rotted wood. He checked his watch. Lisa hadn’t returned from the marina, but Melanie should be here any minute.
He and Melanie had remained friends when she married Rafael. Not only did he understand why she’d moved on with her life, he was secretly glad she did.
Greg wasn’t the same as he’d been when they were dating, and he wouldn’t have wanted to spend his life pretending he was. Afghanistan had changed him at the very core of who he was as a person, and he instinctively knew Melanie would forever be wishing he was the same guy who left her for basic training.
That was a weight he had no desire to carry.
So they were friends, good friends, and Greg had even gotten to know Rafael a bit. If Greg was jealous, he was jealous of the normal life they led and the relationship they shared, not that Melanie was married to someone else.
I will never have that kind of relationship again.
Greg fired the nail gun, the sound punctuating his thoughts with memories, the staccato rhythm so much like gunfire he’d spent the last several hours transfixed. There were no words, only pictures. No emotion, only a pragmatic retelling of some horrible truth.
In a way, it felt good to be back there in his thoughts, as if this was the only time the past could come out and breathe without him attempting to smother it back down. So he fired his tool, locking board after board into place, his mind halfway around the world instead of in Mrs. Addario’s bathroom.
"Hey there, handsome."
He looked up into Melanie’s eyes. She looked good, her face already tan, her skin glowing. She never looked that happy when they were a couple.
"Hey, yourself."
"Are you ready to go?"
"Sure. Let me just put this away." He unplugged the nail gun and put it back in its case, his muscles still humming from its operation. "Where do you want to go?"
"I was thinking Vertigo. They have a new cafe."
"Scoping out the competition?"
"Absolutely. I keep telling Rafael we should sell food at Crescent Moon. Think of all the people who come into the tasting room at the winery. You know some of them have to be hungry."
Greg unlocked the car door with the remote, the lights of his little rented car blinking as the childish horn honked. Mee-beep.
"Uh…" she said.
"My truck’s in the shop."
"Didn’t you just get it?"
"The body shop. Your sister plowed her rental car into my bumper."
"Eww." She made a face. "And they gave this to you so you could take several of your clown friends to the circus?"
He smiled. "Very funny."
She giggled.
"Go ahead, have a good laugh at my expense. But it was all they had left after they gave the Mustang convertible to your sister."
Melanie laughed out loud.
"Get it all out," he said. "Don’t hold back, now."
She laughed louder.
He hit the unlock button on the remote again, smiling.
Mee-beep.
She was laughing so hard now, no sound was coming out. She bent at the waist.
It was good to see her like this, and he hit it one more time.
Mee-beep.
A car was driving toward them.
A red convertible.
Lisa pulled in behind his car and got out, looking from one to the other. "What did I miss?"
Melanie waved her hand. "You had to be here." She walked to Greg’s rental car and got in.
"She was making fun of my car."
Lisa shrugged. "Okay."
"I’ll be back in the morning," he said.
She crossed her arms. "Okay."
"See you later," he said.
He climbed in beside Melanie.
"So what, now you’re explaining yourself to her?" Melanie asked.
"No."
"Then what was that? ‘I’ll be back in the morning’?"
He turned and stared at her. "I was letting her know when I’d return. What’s the problem, Mel?"
"Nothing."
They drove in silence for fifteen minutes. He pulled into the parking lot of Vertigo, a large white mansion overlooking the lake, and turned off the car, turning to the woman he once knew better than anyone. "What’s wrong?"
"You’re locked up in that house with her. I don’t like it."
There was a ton of emotion in her voice, and Greg knew he should tread carefully. "Nobody’s locked up."
"You know what I mean." Melanie’s eyes went wide. "Has she tried something?"
Greg didn’t like the implication that anything between him and Lisa had to be some ploy of hers. "I don’t think you and I should talk about this."
Melanie cursed under her breath. "She has. Was it on that boat ride today?"
"Whatever is between me and Lisa is between me and Lisa, not you and not her whole family."
"I can’t believe you’d go to her."
"Who says I have? I’m just saying I’m not going to discuss my relationship with Lisa with you."
"What the hell are you thinking?" Melanie shook her head. "She doesn’t care about anyone but herself. She uses men and throws them away, and she’s going to hurt you, Greg. You know you’re not up for that right now."
Greg could feel his temper flaring and he worked to bank it down. "Don’t talk that way about her in front of me."
"Are you kidding? It’s like calling the grass green, and you’re not going to allow it?" Melanie shook her head. "She’s got you wrapped around her finger. I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming."
Greg clenched his teeth and started the engine.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Taking you back."
"What, now you’re mad at me? You know, Greg. You know everything I know about her. You know what she did to my family."
He pulled onto the road. "It seems to me, there are two sides to every story."
"There’s only one side of this story worth listening to."
"See, that’s where you’re wrong. Now I’m done talking about this. I mean it."
"She duped you. Pulled the wool over your eyes."
"How are things at the winery?"
"Are you sleeping with her?"
Greg’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. "How’s Rafael doing?"
"You’re
not going to shut me out."
"I heard Annie got sentenced to five years probation and community service."
"Stop it."
"I thought she was going to do time, honestly. Especially because of the fire."
Melanie turned away from him and stared out her window. They drove the rest of the way back to the house in silence.
He pulled into the driveway. Lisa sat on the top step with a drink, and Greg felt the tension coming off of Melanie when her eyes locked with her sister’s. After a minute, Melanie said, "I don’t want this to come between us."
"It won’t, unless you let it."
She opened her door and got out, and Greg couldn’t help but think he’d made some kind of final decision. He wasn’t even sure what it was.
Lisa shifted her gaze to his and he felt their connection despite the distance between them.
Melanie opened her door again and leaned inside. "You should know, my mother’s not doing well. I was going to tell you at dinner."
Concern grabbed at him. "Is she going okay?"
"No." She shook her head. "She’s dying."
His face fell. Mrs. Addario was young. Vibrant. To think she was nearing the end of her life was terribly sad.
He reached out to touch Melanie but she pulled away. "Oh, Mel, I’m so sorry."
She closed the car door and Greg was flooded with guilt. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door, calling after her.
"Melanie, wait."
"You know, I’m surprised Lisa didn’t tell you." Melanie was frowning like she was trying hard not to cry. "Since you two are so close, and all."
She climbed in her own car, and this time Greg didn’t try to stop her.
His eyes went back to the porch, but Lisa was gone.
Chapter 5
It was a cool and breezy as Lisa made her way down the street to the Moon Lake Bar & Grill. She took a deep breath, the Grill now just barely in sight, its lights bright in the evening dusk.
Greg left after he brought Melanie back to the house. Lisa had been hoping he would come in and talk to her, tell her what had transpired with Melanie. She’d heard enough of the conversation to know they had an argument.
Probably about me.
The three of them together made some sort of Bermuda triangle, and she didn’t want to accidentally cross through the dangerous waters in the middle. So she told herself if they’d had an argument, it was none of her business.
Besides, she had a more pressing situation at hand. She was on her way to see Brandy, their first meeting since their big falling out in New York City.
She told herself there was nothing to be nervous about, but it didn’t keep her from clenching her fists as she walked, memories of the fight she and Brandy had the last time they saw each other fresh in her mind.
"You can't do that, Lisa!"
Lisa waved her hand. "Oh, right. Like you've never done it."
"Hooked up with a complete stranger? No, I haven't."
"Oh, please. You've slept with just as many guys as I have."
Brandy put a hand on her hip. "And how many is that?"
"What is this about? I thought you came to visit me to have a good time, now you're trying to make me feel bad."
Brandy stared at her.
Lisa's mouth dropped open. "I don’t believe this."
"I love you, Lisa, but you're out of control."
"This is ridiculous."
"You've hooked up with two different guys in the ten days I've been here. Is that your normal?"
"How would you like it if I scrutinized your love life?"
"Go for it. I've been dating the same guy for five months."
"And before that?"
"A different guy for six."
"I don't know, Brandy. It sounds like you have commitment issues. I think you're out of control." Lisa picked up a glass from the coffee table and walked to put it in the sink. There on the table was Brandy's packed bag.
She couldn’t believe her best friend would abandon her. "You're leaving?"
"I can't stay here and watch you destroy yourself."
"I think you're being a little melodramatic, don't you?"
"No, I don't." She took a few steps toward Lisa. "You have a problem."
"Oh, please."
"You're running yourself into the ground! I saw how much you drank last night. Did you? I can see how your self-respect is running on empty. Don't you get it? You can't keep doing this to yourself."
"Just take your stuff and get out of here."
"Fine. You know where to find me if you ever want to talk."
Lisa took a shaking breath in. That conversation had made her see what she was doing. It had made her realize she wanted to change, and she had made some progress. Would Brandy realize that?
Be her friend again?
She crossed the street to the Grill. Judging from the parking lot, there were lots of people here tonight, and she hoped she wouldn’t know too many of them. She walked in, and her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Not a lot was different. Some new TVs across the top of the bar, but other than that it was the same old place. Her eyes swept the room, and her attention snagged on Brandy’s red hair at the end of the bar.
Lisa waved tentatively.
Brandy jumped out of her seat and came running, arms outstretched, and every fear Lisa felt the first rays of hope shine upon her. She smiled, lifting her arms, and started to tear up as Brandy squeezed her tightly.
"You don’t call, you don’t write…" said Brandy.
"I’m here now."
"I’m so happy!"
They walked back to the end of the bar and sat down. "I was so afraid you were still going to be mad at me."
Brandy shook her head. "I was never mad, just worried."
Lisa shook her head and began to cry. "Well thanks. I needed to hear it."
Brandy laughed. "Your mascara is making a break for it."
"I don’t care. How the heck are you?"
"I’m good. Tending bar here a few nights a week. I started taking classes at the community college, working toward my nursing degree."
"That’s awesome!"
"What about you?"
Lisa shrugged. "Still doing graphic design."
"What about your art?"
"I entered a contest to design a sculpture for Central Park last year."
"That’s cool."
"Along with eighteen thousand other people."
"Literally?"
"Yep."
The bartender made his way down to the women, his eyes widening when he looked at Lisa. "Can I get you ladies something to drink?"
His reaction made Lisa remember her makeup. "Red wine, please." She turned to Brandy. "I’ll be right back." She headed for the ladies’ room, a happy swing in her step. Her worry over Brandy’s reaction had her tied up in knots, and now that pressure was relieved.
She blew her nose and laughed at her reflection. Brandy wasn’t kidding about the mascara. Lisa washed the streaks off her face and headed back to the bar.
A dark-haired man with a wide smile and tan skin was talking to Brandy, gesturing wildly, and Lisa could hear Brandy laughing.
When she was close enough to hear the man, he said, "…two lines. You’ve never seen two grown-up people go so crazy in your whole life. I’m shouting, ‘Two lines! We got two lines!" and Melanie’s crying like a baby. I’ve never been so happy in my whole life."
Lisa’s mouth opened as the pieces slowly clicked into place.
This was Melanie’s husband.
This was Melanie’s husband, and they were going to have a baby.
Lisa stopped walking two or three paces from Brandy.
The man turned and smiled. "Hi."
This was her brother-in-law, a man she didn’t even know. Lisa hesitated, then reached out her hand. "You must be Rafael. I’m Lisa. Melanie’s sister."
He smiled, teeth flashing, and threw his arms around her in a big hug. "Such a pleasure t
o meet you! I was just passing by and I had to come in and share some good news."
Lisa swallowed. "I couldn’t help but hear. Congratulations."
"Isn’t it wonderful? I’m on top of the world." He touched her arm. "But I think maybe you should have heard it from your sister, no?"
"Oh, she wouldn’t tell me, anyway." Lisa closed her eyes. "I mean, uh…"
"It’s okay, I understand." He picked up a bouquet of flowers from the bar. "It was nice to meet you Lisa, but I have to get going."
Lisa grinned. "Tulips are her favorite."
Rafael winked at her and reached down to hug Brandy. "Goodnight, ladies. Try not to get in too much trouble this evening."
Lisa watched him walk away.
Melanie was married to a man who loved her, and they were going to have a family. Lisa’s face crumpled with emotion and she looked at Brandy’s knowing eyes. "I’ll be back in a few minutes."
"I’ll be right here, cupcake. Take your time."
* * *
Greg ran the float across the freshly laid tiles, pushing the grout into the spaces between them, the rhythmic sound of the tool scraping against the porcelain lulling him into a kind of trance.
When he'd gotten here today, there was a pair of Lisa's panties on the bathroom floor, white and lacy. He'd stood unmoving for a while, just staring at the wisp of fabric as his mind imagined the way it would hug and slide between her most intimate places.
In the end, he'd kicked them out of the bathroom with his boot, not feeling right about holding something so personal in his hands. That pair of panties was the most he'd seen of Lisa in two days, almost as if she was avoiding him, which surprised him after their boat ride. Maybe he’d read more into that peace and quiet than she intended.
He’d thought they might actually be friends.
So he spent his time laying the subfloor and the backer board and began working on the tile. Now he was nearly finished, which only left a few odd jobs to be completed before he was done with the Addario house all together. Something he should be happy about, but wasn't.
The sound of the front door slamming travelled up from downstairs and he sat back on his heels. Footsteps climbed the stairs and he turned to see Lisa in the doorway.
"Hi," she said.
"I'll be out of here in half an hour," he said.