Secrets Told

by Allie Everhart

  "Kate." Henry holds my arm, stopping my frantic scrubbing. "This doesn't mean anything. It's just a work function. In whatever job Gavin has, he'll have work functions from time to time and he won't always be able to bring you."

  "I know. It's just he didn't give me any notice and I already had tonight planned. It was going to be a surprise."

  "Maybe if he knew what you were planning, he would've been able to get out of it."

  "He said he can't. It's mandatory."

  "So then blame his boss, not Gavin. You don't want to argue about this. It's not worth it. You're young and I know right now everything seems important, but when you get older you realize things like this aren't worth fighting about. It harms your relationship and makes you grow apart."

  "That's the thing. I feel like we're already growing apart. This is the second night Gavin's had to work late and when he got home last night, he was too tired to even talk."

  "Two nights apart isn't going to harm what you two have together unless you let it. If this is really bothering you, you need to talk to him before things get out of hand. Small things tend to become larger when you let them fester."

  "I know. It's just that I'm trying to be supportive and I don't feel like I'm supporting him if I complain about him working late."

  "You're not complaining. You're just stating how you feel. You have a right to feel however you want about this, but you have to let Gavin know. You can't leave him guessing."

  I nod, but I still don't know if I want to bring this up to Gavin. If it really is just two late nights then it's not worth talking about.

  "How about you and I go out tonight?" He smiles. "We'll go to dinner. Maybe catch a show. I've been told I'm a very entertaining date."

  I smile back. "You're asking me on a date?"

  "Well, not my typical kind of date. More of a night out so we're not both sitting at home on a Friday night."

  "Aren't you driving back to your place tonight?"

  "Wasn't planning on it. I thought I'd keep staying at Celeste's house. Drive her crazy a few more days."

  "It'll be longer than that. Did you tell her you're working here next week too?"

  "We haven't spoken much since I moved in. That house is so big, I rarely even see her. And she goes out a lot. She hasn't been home much."

  "Do you know where she goes?"

  "No. Why do you ask?"

  "I just want to make sure she's not going to a bar or finding someplace private to drink."

  "In the few times I've seen her at the house, she seemed sober. I don't think she's drinking again. So what do you say? Should we hit the town? Live it up tonight?"

  "I'm up for it. Would you care if I invited my mom? I don't know if she'll agree to it but I at least want to invite her."

  "The more the merrier. I'm going to go finish up the trim in the dining room."

  "Okay. Thanks for the talk."

  He nods as he walks off. "Anytime. Oh, and tonight's on me."

  I roll my eyes. "No, it's not. After all the work you've done, I'm paying for dinner."

  "I can't allow a lady to pay for dinner. That's something I taught Gavin. He better never have made you pay."

  "He hasn't."

  "Good. Now go call your mother. Tell her tonight isn't optional. It's Friday night. She needs to get out of that apartment."

  I assume she'll say no because she lives an hour way but when I ask, she agrees to it so we decide to meet halfway. Now I'm kind of excited about tonight. It'll be fun to hang out with my mom and Henry.

  The three of us go to a restaurant Henry picked. It's an upscale restaurant so it surprised me that Henry picked it. He's more of a sports bar type of guy, but he said he wanted to go someplace nice since he's taking out two beautiful women. His words, not mine. He's such a ladies' man, always giving out compliments. It explains why he always seems to have a girlfriend.

  "That was wonderful," my mom says as she places her napkin on the table. We just finished dessert. "Thank you for dinner, Henry."

  "It was my pleasure." He slips some cash in the holder that contains the check. "It isn't every night I get to take two beautiful women to dinner."

  My mom smiles. "That's so kind of you to say."

  I hope she doesn't think he's flirting with her. He tells every woman she's beautiful. I'm not saying my mom's not beautiful. I'm just saying he's not flirting with her. He's just being nice.

  My mom doesn't like being alone so she's already considering dating again. I think it's too soon, but if she wants to date, she won't listen to me. But she's not dating Henry. He's too old for her and he has no interest in a committed relationship. He had that when he was married. Now he's playing the field. I swear he has a different girlfriend every week.

  "What should we do now?" Henry asks after the waiter takes the money. "Dancing? Karaoke bar?"

  My mom laughs. "I think I'm done for the night."

  "Me too," I say. "It's been a long week." I reach behind me for my sweater which is hung over the back of the chair. I brought it in case the restaurant was cold. As I turn back, I do a double take when I see my dad. He's four tables down, talking to someone, but I can't see who. I scoot my chair back and look again. "No way," I mutter.

  "What is it, Kate?" I hear my mom say.

  "You dropped your sweater." I feel Henry nudging my hand and look up and see him holding my sweater out to me.

  "Thanks." I quickly turn back to the table. "We should get going. It's late."

  I stand up, trying to block my dad from my mom's view. Even though they've been divorced forever, it's still hard to see your ex with someone else. And it's even worse when that someone else is the mother of my boyfriend!

  I'm tempted to look again just to make sure my eyes weren't fooling me, but I'm positive it was her. My dad is having dinner with Celeste! On a Friday night, which everyone knows is date night.

  Why is my dad having dinner with Gavin's mom on a Friday night? Are they dating? They can't be. Those two are nothing alike. My dad can't stand rich socialites. He makes a living off them, but he isn't friends with them.

  "What the..." I hear Henry mutter as he stands up from the table. He saw them too and is just as shocked as I am.

  Glancing at him, I give him a look not to say anything to my mom.

  "Shall we go?" Henry offers my mom his arm and she smiles. She thinks he's flirting again when he's really just trying to steer her out of the restaurant a different way to avoid walking past my dad.

  "Kate, are you coming?" My mom turns to me as she says it, then freezes when her eyes land on what I'm guessing is my dad and Celeste. She drops her arm from Henry's and turns around. "Your dad's here," she says, her eyes still on his table.

  "Is he?" I look back and see him laughing at something Celeste said. The woman is never funny. Why is he laughing? "He must be out with a client."

  "That's Gavin's mother," she says. "I saw her being interviewed on the news after her husband died."

  I look back again. "Oh, yeah. I guess it is her. I didn't recognize her at first."

  "We should really get going," Henry says to my mom. "It's getting late."

  "I have to at least go say hello." My mom takes off toward my dad's table. I sigh and follow her over there, with Henry right behind me.

  "Craig." My mom stands next to his table and smiles at him.

  "Angie." My dad rears back, a look of shock on his face. He moves his chair back and stands up. "What are you doing here?"

  "It's good to see you too," she kids, laughing a little.

  "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I'm just surprised to see you."

  "Didn't Kate tell you I was coming to town?"

  "She did. I'm just surprised to see you here at this restaurant. It's a bit of a drive from your apartment."

  She cocks her head. "You know where I'm staying?"

  I never told him but he probably used his investigation skills to find out. Even after they divorced, he was very protective of her and went
so far as to do background checks on the guys she dated. He never told her that but I found the folders one time when I was at his house. When I asked him about it, he said he did it for my safety, to make sure those guys were safe for me to be around. But I know he also did it for my mom. He was worried about her and obviously still is if he tracked down where she lives.

  He doesn't answer her question but instead says, "This is Celeste." He motions to her. "She's Gavin's mother."

  "Nice to meet you." My mom shakes Celeste's bony hand.

  "And you as well." Celeste has a smirk on her face. She's loving the fact that my mom saw her having dinner with my dad. I don't know why she cares. My mom isn't trying to get my dad back, but she's definitely uncomfortable seeing him with another woman.

  "Would you like to join us?" my dad says, stumbling on his chair as he steps back. "I could ask the waiter to move us to a larger table."

  "We just ate." My mom glances at Celeste. "And I'm sure you two want to be alone."

  My dad's eyes flick from Celeste back to my mom. "Oh, um, no. Celeste and I are having a meeting. A business meeting."

  "You're discussing business on a Friday night?" Henry mutters.

  He's right. Business meetings don't happen on a Friday night at a fancy restaurant. And the two of them are dressed like they're on a date. My dad has on black pants, a button-up shirt, and a tie. And Celeste has on a black dress with a plunging neckline, accented with diamond earrings and a diamond necklace.

  Celeste turns to Henry. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be driving home by now?"

  "I'm not going home, at least not my home."

  She huffs. "You're not staying with ME. You said a week. One week. That's it."

  "Did I?" He rubs his beard. "If so, I was mistaken. When you get old, you tend to get confused. Anyway, I'll be staying with you until the restaurant opens. Kate needs my help and I couldn't turn her down."

  My mom watches the scene, confused as to what's going on. I haven't told her much about Celeste, including how much she hates Henry. I don't really talk to her about Gavin's family, mainly because I'm worried I'll slip and tell her about Niles.

  As Henry and Celeste continue to bicker about their living arrangements, I glance at my dad, who's still standing next to my mom. He's staring at her, and I almost drop my sweater again when I see the look on his face. That unmistakable look of longing that says you want the person back. I've seen him have that look over the years when he came to pick me up for our visits and saw my mom. But back then, I didn't know what it meant. I didn't understand love and what it can do to a person and how sometimes you love someone so much that you can't hide how you're feeling.

  Now that I'm older, I know that look. I know what it means. My dad still loves my mom. How is that possible? He hasn't seen her in years, and he knows she's not interested. She's never once tried to get back together with him since the divorce. And yet here he is, with that look that says he loves her.

  But if he loves her, what is he doing here with Celeste?

  Chapter Twelve

  Gavin

  I'm starting to think this night is never going to end. First cocktails and then dinner, which took three hours, not including the time it took to get everyone to the restaurant in rush-hour traffic. Then the team-building games took forever and now we're arriving at the bar for more drinks. I want to sneak out and go home but Jett is going to make a speech later so we're all expected to be here.

  "Having fun?" Lacey asks as she slips her arm around mine and comes around to face me. She's been flirting with me all night. Lacey doesn't seem to care that I have a live-in girlfriend, as evidenced by the fact that she has her face lifted to mine as if she's waiting for a kiss. She'll be waiting a long time because it's not going to happen. I don't cheat. Never have. Never will. I love Kate and there's no other girl in the world for me.

  "I need to call my girlfriend," I say to Lacey, stepping around her as I get out my phone. I've called Kate twice tonight but she hasn't picked up. She's mad at me and doesn't want to talk, but I need to hear her voice. It's Friday night and I miss her. We haven't been apart on a Friday night for months. The last time was when she went to visit her mom in Florida. We talked on the phone for hours because we missed each other so much.

  But now she's ignoring my calls. She won't talk to me, which concerns me. She can't get this way every time I have to go to a work function. And she can't shut me out when she's mad at me. We've talked about this and agreed we wouldn't do that and yet here she is shutting me out.

  I call her and hear the phone ringing over and over. I wait for the message so I can leave another voicemail but then she picks up.

  "Hey, Gavin."

  "Hey." I move to the side of the bar where it's quieter. "I've been calling you all night. Why didn't you pick up?"

  "Because I was out having dinner with my mom and Henry. My mom gets really annoyed when I answer the phone during dinner."

  That's not the only reason she didn't pick up, but I'm not going to call her on it. I don't want to fight.

  "It's good you went out. Did you have a good time?"

  "I had a great time. Your grandpa's hilarious. And he has so many stories. My mom loved him. She'd probably date him if he was interested."

  "Are you serious?"

  "I'm pretty sure she thought he was flirting with her. She was blushing and smiling and...I don't know. Maybe I was reading it wrong."

  "Okay, that's weird. I don't want them dating."

  "I don't either."

  "You need to tell her my grandfather is always like that. He flirts with all women. He can't help himself. It doesn't mean he's interested."

  "I know. I'll explain that to her tomorrow when I see her."

  "You two are going out tomorrow?"

  "Just shopping in the afternoon. What are you doing?"

  It used to be we just assumed we'd spend our weekends together but now that's starting to change. We're doing things separately, which I guess is okay as long as it doesn't happen all the time.

  "I was hoping to spend time with you, but I know you want to see your mom. Maybe we can go out to dinner when you get back."

  "My mom and I might have dinner after we shop."

  "Then I guess we'll go out on Sunday."

  "I'm working, remember?"

  "Yeah, that's right."

  This isn't good. We shouldn't be spending so much time apart. I've barely seen her all week and now it sounds like I won't see her much this weekend either.

  "Something happened when I was out tonight," Kate says.

  "What happened?"

  "When we were leaving the restaurant, we ran into my dad." She pauses. "And your mom."

  "They were both at the same restaurant? I'm surprised your dad would go to a place my mom goes to. It had to have been fancy if she was there."

  "It was. Your grandpa insisted on taking us to a nice place."

  "So was your dad there on a date or something?"

  "Yeah." She pauses. "With your mom."

  I laugh. "Yeah, that's funny. Who was he really with? Did you know her?"

  "I'm serious. He was on a date with your mom."

  "If they were together, it wasn't a date. My mom hasn't dated since my dad died, and if she decided she was ready to date, it definitely wouldn't be with your dad. No offense, but he's not exactly her type. He needs a few more zeros in his bank account to be her type."

  "I thought the same thing but they were both dressed up like they were on a date. And that restaurant is the type of place you'd go on a date. Plus, it's Friday night. Why else would they be out together on a Friday night?"

  "Did you go up and talk to them?"

  "Yes, and my dad said it was a business meeting but none of us believed him. And then the strangest thing happened."

  "Stranger than our parents dating each other?"

  "My dad was looking at my mom like he still loves her. And I'm not just making that up because I'm trying to get them tog
ether. I gave up on that dream a long time ago. The look he was giving her was real. Like he wants her back."

  "And yet he was on a date with my mom."

  "This is why I'm so confused. Maybe he figures my mom would never take him back so he's trying to move on."

  "None of this makes sense. Your dad and my mom couldn't possibly be dating. There's no way. It had to be a business meeting."

  "On a Friday night? And why would your mom hire my dad? He catches cheating spouses. Your mom doesn't have a cheating spouse."

  "He could do other investigative work."

  "Yeah, but so could some other private investigator. One who specializes in whatever she needs help with."

  "I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what's going on. I'll call her this weekend and see what I can find out. Or maybe I'll go over there since you'll be out with your mom."

  "Gavin!" Lacey yells, waving her hand at me. "We need you over here!"

  It looks like Lacey and her friends are doing some kind of drinking game. I've had enough to drink tonight. I'm not having any more, but if I don't go over there, Lacey will keep bothering me until I agree to it.

  "I have to go," I say to Kate.

  "Any idea when you'll be home?"

  "I'd like to say soon but we just got here so I'm guessing it'll be at least another hour, probably more than that."

  "I'm going to sleep, so I guess I'll see you in the morning."

  "Kate, I'm sorry about this. I'm sorry we couldn't be together tonight and I'm sorry this is going on so late."

  "It's work. I understand." She says that, but I hear the hint of anger in her tone and know she's not okay with it. "Have fun."

  "This isn't fun. I'd rather be home with you."

  "I know."

  "I love you, Kate."

  "I love you too. Goodnight."

  She hangs up just as Lacey runs over to me. "Didn't you hear me?" she asks, grabbing my arm. "We need you for our drinking game."

  "I'm not drinking. I've had enough for tonight."

  "Then you can be the referee." She pulls on my arm. "C'mon. It's a fun game, and it'll be even more fun with you there." She reaches up and kisses my cheek. I'm sure her pink lipstick left a mark behind so I rub my face, trying to get it off. That's just what I need. To go home to Kate with lipstick all over my face.