Domestic Secrets

by Rosalind Noonan

  She went to the bedroom window and looked down at the street. His old ruddy Volvo was nowhere in sight. He had never come home last night.

  She tugged her cellphone from the pocket of her robe. His last message had been about going for pizza with some of the Gleetime kids. Okay. Deep breath. No one had called, so he was probably fine. Maybe staying the night with a friend?

  Actually, Jared wasn’t super friendly with any of the Gleetime kids. She didn’t even know who in the group she would call to ask about Jared.

  But his star was rising, and kids were beginning to see the kind, loyal person he had become. She had seen him goofing around with some kids at rehearsal. Malika Little and Doug Harper and Riley What’s-his-name. And Allison Samwick.

  Was Jared spending the night with his dance partner? The girlfriend, no doubt.

  He is seventeen, she reminded herself. By the time she’d been that age she’d already done some things in a guy’s car that would curl a mother’s toes.

  Retreating downstairs, she poured a cup of coffee and paced. The kids in the TV sitcom resembled chipmunks, spry and cute, so unlike real kids who thwarted your plans and insisted on tearing their own jagged path. This was so unlike Jared. There’d been plenty of times when Rachel had to track down KJ, but Jared had always reported in and rarely stayed out with friends.

  Should she call the police? She could try Mike. No, no, no. She didn’t want to get her son in trouble with the law if there were some shenanigans going on. Best to stay put. Jared had school this morning, and she doubted that he would miss that.

  Ten minutes later, she was dressed in yoga pants and a hoodie and filling a thermal flask with coffee. Too restless to hang around, she was going to head over to Allison’s house to look for Jared’s car. Not to confront anyone or raise a fuss. Right now she just wanted to know that he had made a safe landing somewhere.

  When she didn’t find Jared’s car near Allison’s house, she looked up Doug Harper in the school directory and headed over to Jasmine Lane, a street that ran along the town’s small lake. Parking was limited on the narrow road, but the houses set down on the lakeside were sumptuous and airy. The Harpers’ home presented a Northwest cedar front, but Rachel could see that the side and back were dotted with yawning windows that would provide great water views. Timbergrove was such a beautiful place to live. Someday her sons would thank her for bringing them to this suburban paradise.

  With no sign of Jared’s car she drove around town, checking the park, the school parking lot, the twenty-four-hour diner. As the sky softened into a pewter mist, she pulled up and parked on Ariel’s block, planning to wake her friend as soon as it reached the decent hour of six a.m. to check on Remy and share her worries about Jared. She and Ariel had a deal that they could wake each other any time, but this hardly constituted an emergency.

  Her Hydro Flask was drained of coffee and she longed for more. She opened the screen on her phone and checked the weather app, which said sunrise was due any minute. On this breezy, gray day, the sun would have trouble breaking through.

  Just then there was a flurry of motion in front of Ariel’s house. Or was it just the shadow of a flickering tree?

  Squinting, she made out the figure of a person, a young man, striding away from the Alexander house. He tucked in his shirttail as he came up the driveway, moving with a distinctive clipped gait.

  Rachel’s jaw dropped. Jared. She’d found him.

  Once he hit the street, he broke into a jog and climbed into a car parked up ahead.

  The dark Volvo pulled away, its taillights glowing red in the dissipating gray mist.

  So he’d been there overnight, and Ariel hadn’t told Rachel? Because . . . because Ariel didn’t know.

  Holy cow! That was it. Jared was seeing Remy. Remy was the secret girlfriend.

  It made sense for them to keep it secret, because God only knew what Cooper Dover would do once he found out. The big bully. Already he was torturing Remy just for breaking up with him.

  With that problem solved, Rachel headed home. She would check in with Ariel later. Better yet, she could ask Jared about Remy.

  Jared and Remy. The idea of those kids together made her heart just about burst with joy. But as she pulled into the driveway, she saw a new hurdle ahead. How would she confront Jared without shutting him down? He’d been emphatic about maintaining his privacy with Remy. And now . . . now he was going to think that she’d been spying on him.

  She clambered through the cold mist, grateful for the warm kitchen and the smell of coffee. The sound of water running upstairs told her Jared was showering. She rinsed her thermos and poured a fresh cup. Once he came downstairs, he wouldn’t have a lot of time to spare before he headed off to school. She had to hit him up today. Let him think what he wanted; she was not going to tiptoe around and play games now that she knew the truth.

  She sat in front of the cheerful buzz of a morning show, waiting to confront him.

  “Hey, Mom.” He came down the stairs at 7:05, his usual morning schedule, and put his backpack on the counter.

  “Good morning.” She rose from the sofa. “We need to talk.”

  “Really?” He frowned, moving around her to get to the fridge. “I’ve got to get to school.”

  “Just for a minute.” She put her empty mug on the counter, struggling to find a way to connect with him. “Look, I know you’re going to think I was spying on you, but I wasn’t. Bottom line, I was sitting in my car this morning, just beyond Ariel’s driveway, when you came out of her house.”

  His spine went stiff. “You were?”

  “Yup. So now I know. I know about your girlfriend.”

  “What the hell? Mom!” His cheeks burned red as he slammed the refrigerator shut and stomped away.

  “Just calm down. You’re the one who stayed out all night. I went looking for you when I saw that you hadn’t come home. I was worried, honey.”

  “I’m almost eighteen, Mom. Almost a legal adult. I can handle myself.”

  “I know, and I trust you. But I worry.”

  Avoiding eye contact, he opened the pantry door and grabbed a package of peanut butter crackers. “You need to get over that.”

  “Anyway, I didn’t expect to find you at the Alexander house, but I’m glad I did. Thrilled. It’s wonderful that you and Remy have found each other. Remy needs support. Especially now. Honey, I’m so glad that you’ve been there for her.”

  He let out a breath, shifting to lean against the counter. At last, his gaze flickered over toward her, allowing a moment of connection. In his eyes she saw so much: fear and grace and determination. It was a quick glimpse of the man he was becoming. “Okay. Okay so . . . now you know.” His mood shifted, more relaxed now as he slipped the crackers into a pocket of his backpack. Maybe he, too, was relieved to have the truth out.

  “Now I know.” She turned away to hide her gloating smile. She couldn’t help it. The thought of him dating Remy brought her delight. “Want a piece of toast?”

  “I don’t have time.”

  “Right. I don’t want to make you late, but I just wanted to put it out there. You know I don’t like secrets.”

  “Yeah.” His face was composed now; the storm had blown over. “About that. Could you not broadcast it to the world?”

  She snickered. “You mean the gals at the shop?”

  “I mean everyone. Not even Ariel. Keep it to yourself until I say so. If word gets out, it’ll ruin everything.”

  That seemed a bit dire, but teens had a penchant for hyperbole. “I won’t tell anyone,” Rachel promised. “Scout’s honor.”

  “Don’t forget. You’re always forgetting stuff,” he said, a little too tersely, before heading out the door.

  “Yeah,” she said to the closed door. “And thanks, Mom, for being so understanding.” She put her mug in the sink, feeling a little lighter despite Jared’s dour mood.

  Or maybe it was lack of sleep and a surge of caffeine. Planning for the day, she hoped to sq
ueeze in coffee with Ariel and maybe even a cup with Mike McCabe. Suddenly the prospect of empty-nesting didn’t seem quite so lonely.

  Chapter 17

  That morning Ariel awoke to a spate of concerned texts. Rachel was ultra-concerned over Remy, and Cassie had sent a few pompous gems like: Your family needs you home NOW and For once I wish you would think of others when you make your bad choices.

  Ariel agreed to go for coffee with Rachel after drop-off. Then she texted WTF? in response to Cassie’s barbs. What had inspired Cassie to rise up onto her soapbox, and so early in the morning? Ariel’s head throbbed from lack of caffeine and too much wine and too little sleep. She yawned, losing track of how many scoops of coffee she’d measured, and threw in two more. When given the choice, sex always won over sleep. And her boy toy had ducked out a few hours ago, giving her time for one REM cycle. She would survive.

  She filled the coffeemaker, cursing as she sloshed water onto the counter. She needed one of those new coffeemakers. A quick injection of caffeine.

  As the coffee was brewing she went upstairs to wake the little ones.

  Maisy opened her eyes, smiling through her tousled downy hair. “I love the morning in my cushy bed,” she said sweetly.

  “Me, too,” Ariel agreed. If only she could have stayed there.

  Twenty minutes later, Ariel was leaning against the kitchen counter, nursing her headache with coffee and aspirin, when Remy came down the stairs. Ariel lifted her gaze from the guest host on the Today show, a vibrant, sexy young actress whose winning personality was pissing her off. She scrutinized her daughter, realizing they hadn’t really been alone since the incident with Cooper.

  “How’re you feeling this morning? Any bruises or bumps from last night?”

  Remy shook her head as she filled her Hydro Flask with cold water and shoved it into the side pocket of her backpack. “All good, and I straightened things out with Cooper.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Cradling her mug for warmth, Ariel recalled that lump of man she’d spied in Remy’s bed last night. “So you two are back together again?”

  “What?” Remy scraped her hair back from her shoulder and hitched up her backpack. “No.”

  “Then, who . . .” Ariel wanted to ask, but that would violate the unspoken deal. She didn’t keep score on her girls, and in turn, they didn’t pass judgment on her relationships. The deal had worked well with Remy, not so much with Cassie, who was a walking cop, judge, and jury.

  Ariel took a different tack. “I thought I saw Cooper here last night.”

  “That was just a friend.”

  A friend? Ariel massaged the tender spot beside her right eye. Throw me a bone. A tiny hint. Maybe Cooper had been the boy in her bed, and Remy just wasn’t ready to admit they were a couple again.

  “He came over to keep me company because I was freaked out about the smashed vase.” Remy glanced cautiously toward the studio. “That scared me, Mom. I didn’t see him do it, but I know it was him.”

  Ariel tightened her grip on the mug as the bottom dropped out beneath her feet. “You do?” How could Remy know? Ariel had covered her tracks; she’d insisted on caution with him.

  “Just connect the dots. He knows where we keep the key, he loves drama, and he gave you that vase, right? Stosh was always vindictive.”

  “Stosh? Oh, honey, no. I’m done with him.”

  “Are you sure?” Remy cocked her head. “It seems like the sort of thing he would do.”

  “No, no, it wasn’t him. He’s past tense.” Ariel pressed a hand to her right temple as she squinted through the ache between her eyes. It was hard to track this morning. “It was an accident. It happened earlier in the day during a voice lesson. One of my students knocked it over.”

  “And you just left it like that?”

  “I didn’t have time to clean it up. I had to get to rehearsal.” Ariel took a sip of coffee, but already it was tepid and kind of muddy. “So what’s the deal with prom now? Are you going with this new guy, or is it back to Cooper?”

  “I’m still going with my girls, Sophia and Siri. It’s more fun to go in a group, anyway.”

  Also more expensive, Ariel thought, though she kept that jibe to herself. Still, the old days were better, when guys paid for girls and played the role of protector. Things made more sense back then. Prom had become a moneymaking machine with expensive invites, flowers, gowns and tuxes, limousines and buses with stripper poles. Thinking fondly of her senior prom, in which she’d worn a corsage made from flowers in her boyfriend’s garden, Ariel felt a shiver of nostalgia. Crap. She was getting old.

  Trevor came bounding down the stairs. He propped some sort of Lego invention up on the kitchen table, explaining that it was his geography project.

  “The three-dimensional city map,” Remy said. “I remember doing that.” They talked about it while Trevor poured himself a bowl of cereal and Maisy handed Ariel an apple to slice for her.

  “When are you going to learn to do this yourself?” Ariel asked her youngest.

  “I’m afraid of cutting myself,” Maisy responded, shifting from foot to foot in a little dance. “I don’t like pain.”

  “It’s not that hard. Here. I’ll do half, and you can do the rest. Just move the knife away from you.” Ariel was tossing slices into a plastic bowl when her cell phone began to jingle. She wiped her hands on a towel and snatched up the phone.

  “Cassie, what’s up?” she answered. Might as well get this over with.

  “I’ve only got a few minutes before my exam. It’s finals week, but I’ve been worried sick. Remy told me that Stosh is back.”

  “She did?” Ariel turned to nod at Remy, who was ruffling Trevor’s hair on her way out the door. “Well, he’s not. Look, one of my students broke the vase in the studio by accident.”

  “Really.” Cassie did not sound convinced. “How did that happen?”

  “It’s a long story, but everything’s fine. Remy saw the mess and jumped to conclusions. I don’t know why she would call you. It’s not like you can do anything about it.”

  “She was scared.”

  “You know, if I got scared every time I found a mess in this house, I’d be a walking heart attack.”

  “Wow. Thanks for understanding.”

  “Cassie girl, you need to learn how to discern the difference between legitimate fear and teen drama.” Ariel was getting a little sick of Cassie blowing things out of proportion, especially when it came to criticizing Ariel’s parenting skills.

  “Oh come on, Mom! Remy was freaked out last night and you were nowhere to be found.”

  “I was working on the show. Volunteer work. And you know what? I don’t need to answer to you, missy.”

  “Mom. Mom. Mom,” Trevor called. He stood at the door, his arms wrapped around the colorful Lego sculpture. “Come on. I need extra time to drop this off in Mr. Goebel’s class.”

  “I gotta take the kids to school,” Ariel told Cassie, glad for the excuse.

  “Can’t they take the bus?” That was Cassie, always second-guessing her.

  “Trevor is carrying in a project. It’s very delicate.” Besides, Ariel was planning to meet Rachel along her jogging route to the coffee shop, but Cassie didn’t need to know that. “Call me later if you need me.”

  She knew Cassie wouldn’t call, and that was fine with her. Nobody liked a critic.

  That large dose of early-morning caffeine was kicking Rachel’s run up a few notches. She was on her second lap past the elementary school when Ariel’s BMW slowed at the curb.

  “Hey, girl!” Ariel called through the open window. “Climb aboard! I’m going your way.”

  Rachel slid into the seat and closed the door.

  Ariel punched the gas pedal in that annoying manner of a reckless driver. “Did I see you sprinting past the field there?”

  “Yeah, girl.” Rachel was actually sorry to end the run. The skies were clear and the sun had already warded off the morning chill. It was going to be a
green grass, fresh air day, and Rachel would have to spend most of it inside at the salon. “I was really kicking it this morning.”

  “Looks like it.” Ariel fished in the console, coming up with a pair of sunglasses. Despite her chipper tone, Ariel was a little off her game. Her frosted-rose lipstick made her skin seem yellow, and her eyes were bloodshot.

  “You look a little tired,” Rachel said. “Did Craig keep you up late?” Last night Rachel had been a little annoyed that Ariel had made Craig a conquest after Rachel had mentioned a casual interest in him. Not that it mattered now. She’d already gotten over it. Way over it.

  “Craig kept me up, all right, but no fun was had. Apparently, my gaydar has been malfunctioning. Craig wants a career in show business. Other than that, he’s not interested in anything you or I can give him.”

  “I suspected as much. Whenever Craig’s around, there’s a certain awkwardness in the air. I thought it was me, being so rusty with dating and all. I’m glad he’s gay.” Rachel folded her arms, feeling vindicated. “Wow. If you couldn’t turn him, the guy must be devout.”

  “I’m flattered, but honestly, I wasn’t that interested. Craig is a little too by-the-book for me.” Ariel pressed a finger to one temple as she slowed to turn into the parking lot. “My head is pounding.”

  “You need some aspirin.”

  “More aspirin. More caffeine.” Ariel sighed. “It was a wasted night, and now I’m ruined for the day. I’m going to need a nap.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I didn’t sleep, either,” Rachel said reassuringly. “I was so worried about Remy.” Not so much anymore. With Jared by her side, Remy no longer seemed so vulnerable and alone. “How’s she doing?”

  “She’s fine. You know Remy; she bounces back quickly. She’s already on to another guy.”

  The image of her son leaving the Alexander house brought Rachel a flicker of pride as she followed her friend into the coffee shop. She was bursting to celebrate the news, but she sensed that Ariel wasn’t in on it yet, and Rachel would not break a promise to her son. “Do you know who he is?”