In This Life Read Free

authority. “You need to come home.”
    “She should have thought about that before she screwed around and fucked up our home. I’m here because of her. I’m not coming back. Tell her I’ll pray for her, and maybe, if I’m not as angry as I am now, I’ll visit her when I get there. And if I were you, I wouldn’t give in to her guilt trips. Have some respect for yourself.” I shook uncontrollably, reminded of the betrayal by the one I loved the most. She was my hero, the kind of woman I wanted to become. We did everything together, shared every moment of our lives until two months ago. I never imagined that she had another life. Secrets ruin lives. And lies are born simply to protect them.
    “She has her boy toy to take care of her now. Goodbye, Dad. I’ll see you in two weeks.”
    I slammed my phone shut and flung it far out into the darkness, into the ocean. Let it drown beneath the waves. A symbol of an old life gone forever. Do you know what else needs to be shredded by the force of that water? This heartache.
    With my face in my hands, I leaned back until I was lying flat on the sand, ocean water lapping around my ears, my shoulders, my body. I tried to convince myself that I was filled with hatred for her, when in fact, I was hit with a longing that made me cry out. I closed my eyes, remembering the day I saw her at a restaurant on Broadway when she was supposed to be away on business. I approached her excitedly from behind, certain that this was her new editor, surely the one who called at all hours of the day with wonderful ideas about her latest article. I watched in horror as he took her hand and kissed it, and she smiled back at him, her lips parted and inviting. I clung to the chair in front of me, gasping for breath, trying to keep myself from fainting. And yet, I couldn’t train my eyes off them. I’d never seen her look so happy, so young and carefree. He slid himself into the booth to sit next to her, his paws all over her like a dog in heat. I stepped forward directly into her field of vision and waited for the look of recognition on her face. Suddenly she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him out of the way.
     
    “Annie!” she screamed as she frantically ran out of the restaurant to chase after me. “Please, Annie! Let me explain!”
    I stormed down the street, ignoring her pleas as she raced behind me. Her empty words meant nothing to me. When she caught up and tried to grab my shoulder, I smacked her arm so hard that her watch fell off. “Leave me alone, Mother. There’s nothing to talk about.”
    “Anna, please. I haven’t been happy for so long. Please. Let’s go somewhere and talk. I want to be able to explain what happened.”
    I glared at her while holding my hands up to stop her from coming any closer. “Whatever your reasons are, save them. You lied to me and Dad. How could you? Michael is only thirteen!”
    “Please!” she cried. “This has nothing to do with the love I have for you and your brother.”
    “I said I don’t want to talk about this right now. I’m giving you one week to tell Dad about this, and if you don’t, I will.”
    She told him that very night, begged for our forgiveness, packed her bags and never looked back.
     
    I left her with those words. I left the country with that anger.
    A sudden movement caused the water to slosh around my face. I looked straight up at a pair of legs that were connected to a shirtless body. The clouds parted and the moon broke free. But the baseball cap on his head shielded his face away from its light.
    I saw his lips move, but couldn’t hear a word. My ears were submerged in the water. It was too dark to make out his face, but a shooting star skated across the sky and allowed me a glimpse of his dark brown eyes.
    He knelt down next to me and scooped my head out of the water. “Hello?” he said. “Are you okay?” His voice was low and deep.
    I sat up on my knees, embarrassed and overwhelmed, my hair dripping wet