It’s been a long time since I’ve had to talk about it.
“Who was it with? Can I watch it? Is that weird?” Delilah’s giggling, like she’s amused. She thinks it’s funny.
The truth is, it was the biggest mistake of my life.
That tape ruined lives.
That tape cost me everything.
Including Mirabelle.
My grip on Delilah’s warm body loosens, and I lie flat on my pillow, staring up at the spinning, whirring ceiling fan above us.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” My voice is monotone and my body is tense, bracing itself for Delilah to pry and prod and ask a million questions so she can psychoanalyze me, which I know she’s been dying to do since the day we met.
My breath is jagged and labored.
And then I feel her hand, warm on my chest, and my breathing slows.
“No problem,” she says, her voice sweet. She moves closer, pressing her cheek against my chest where my heart is still thundering.
Glancing down, I watch as she closes her eyes, her body going limp in my arms.
And then I hold her close.
I hold her closer than I’ve held anyone in a very long time.
And I sleep hard.
Harder than I’ve slept in years.
And when I wake Sunday morning, she’s still there, lying beside me, her dark hair a splayed mess on my pillow, her soft breathing filling my ear.
A foreign warmth spreads through me, the kind of warmth I haven’t felt in a long time.
Chapter 21
Delilah
“Call me when you land.” I follow Daphne out to her Uber ride in Rue’s driveway. It’s a blue Volkswagen Jetta. New. Clean. The driver looks to be mid-twenties. Slightly nerdy. He smiles a boyish smile and gives a little wave.
“I’ll text you,” my sister says, lugging her bag into the popped trunk.
“Call. Text. Whatever.” I stand, my heart aching a little bit at the thought of her leaving.
We had fun this week. Miami. Movies. Manicures. Man-talk.
All of that when she wasn’t with Weston.
“I’m thinking I might come back,” Daphne says, turning to me, “when I’m done with the mural.”
“Weston?”
She smirks. “And you and Rue . . .”
“Mm, hm.” I tease, but it’s so nice to see her happy again. She’s lit from within, from the top of her wispy blonde hair to the tips of her pink polished toes. There’s a light in her eyes that wasn’t there a week ago.
Daphne comes in for a hug, squeezing me so tight I can’t breathe.
“Be good this summer,” she says. “Embrace the messy and complicated.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“I want some really good stories next time I see you.” She lets me go and steps inside the Jetta, and I watch from the end of Rue’s driveway as my sister heads to the airport.
As I walk up the sidewalk to the front door, my phone rings in my pocket.
“Hey, Aunt Rue,” I answer. “How’s condo shopping?”
“Sweetie, we got an offer on the house,” she says. “I accepted it. We have to be out by the end of July.”
“That’s great,” I say.
“Full asking price too.”
“Awesome.”
“Anyway, just wanted to let you know, no more showings for the rest of the summer,” she says. “And when I get home Wednesday, I’m taking you out for a nice steak dinner. You’ve been such a great help these last few weeks. Cleaning. Organizing. Dealing with Taylor and the showings.”
I laugh. “Thanks, Aunt Rue.”
“I’ll still pay you through August,” she adds.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, no. I will.” She clears her throat. “Anyway, I can’t wait for you to see the new place.”
“Oh, you found one?”
“No.” She exhales. “But I will. And you’ll love it. I told my agent I won’t buy a place that doesn’t have my great niece’s stamp of approval. Someday when I’m long gone . . .”
“Don’t talk like that.” I take a seat on the edge of Rue’s front steps, reaching for an orange day lily and running my fingertips along its satin petals.
“Sweetie, death is a fact of life. Let me finish.”
“Okay.”
“Someday when I’m long gone, I’m passing my condo along to you, Demi, Derek, and Daphne.” There’s a wistfulness in her voice that breaks my heart. I can’t imagine a life without Great Aunt Rue in it, and I don’t want to think about it. “My hope is that you’ll keep it in the family and use it as a shared vacation home. And I’m getting a three-bedroom unit so you can all bring your families.”
My eyes mist, and the bright afternoon sun makes them burn. Closing them tight, I thank her.
“That means a lot, Aunt Rue.” I sniffle. “Thank you so much.”
“I love you kids,” she says. “You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to kids of my own. Your father was my first nephew and the only one who ever kept in touch when they all flew the coop.”
“Dad’s really big into keeping the family together,” I say.
“Which is more than any of his siblings can say.” Aunt Rue clears her throat. “Anyway, I love you, sweetie. I appreciate you spending your summer down here, letting me run you ragged. I’m sure you’d rather be back home with your friends and family.”