The Ex's Confession Read online

  By the time she got back to Faye’s house that evening, she was so tired she almost fell asleep at the wheel. This is ridiculous. I haven’t done any work today. The storage company did all the heavy lifting. Just the thought of Maurice made her even more exhausted. But by the time the doorbell rang at seven o’clock, she was dressed in a classy black dress and was ready.

  She changed her mind when she opened the door. Maurice, the latest man Faye was trying to get her to marry–at least until tomorrow–looked like an over-large basset hound. He was tall and thin, had long, thin eyes that drooped a little, and wore brown from head to foot. Rebecca repressed the urge to hand him a bone.

  She glanced at Faye as they headed out the door. “I won’t be too late,” Rebecca said, throwing her a dirty look.

  Faye just smiled. “Take your time. Have fun, Maurice!”

  Well, she wasn’t dumb enough to tell me that, Rebecca thought, looking at the man next to her. He walked very slowly and had yet to say more than, ‘hello’.

  They sat in the car for what seemed like an eternity before Maurice finally spoke. “Where would you like to go?”

  Remembering Faye’s somewhat sarcastic suggestion, Rebecca thought of Jaime and the Tobiases. “Do you like Mexican food?”

  “I suppose,” he said, and they were off to Jaime’s.

  As soon as the door opened, Rebecca was greeted with the familiar scent of peppers and tomatoes that she had fallen in love with the first time Elliot had taken her there. She hadn’t seen Jaime since she had left for college, but it still smelled and looked the same. Once they were seated, Jaime bounded over and pulled her out of her chair for one of his famous backbreaking hugs. “Rebecca! It’s been way too long! Where’s Elliot?”

  Rebecca staggered back to her chair, trying to regain the breath he had squeezed from her lungs. She shrugged.

  Jaime took a long, distasteful look at Maurice. They then proceeded to speak in Spanish to one another. “Who is this?”

  “Someone Faye’s making me go out with,” she replied.

  “What happened to Elliot?” Rebecca just shrugged again. “Meet me in the kitchen,” Jaime ordered, and hurried away.

  Maurice slowly lifted his eyes from the menu. “Does he always greet people like that?”

  Rebecca laughed, nervous that he might have understood their short conversation. “No, I’ve just known him for a long time.” She paused. “Do you speak Spanish?”

  Maurice blinked at her. “No.”

  At least he didn’t understand. And from the look of it, if he did, he didn’t care. Rebecca wondered what Faye had promised him to persuade him to come on this date in the first place. “Will you excuse me? I need to use the ladies’ room.” Without waiting for a reply, she stood up and almost ran to the kitchen.

  Jaime and all his family were waiting for her. Jaime watched as everyone exchanged hugs and then sent them all back to work. “What have you been doing since you left us all those years ago?”

  “College.”

  Jaime just stared at her.

  “All right,” she sighed. “I went to school in Michigan. I needed to get out of Chicago, and that was the only place out of state that accepted me.”

  “Did Elliot go with you?”

  “No.” She was not getting into this. She still had a date in the dining room.

  “Well, then where is he? Does he know you’re on a date with another man?” Jaime sounded suspicious.

  “I don’t know where he is, and no, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care that I’m out.” Rebecca rubbed her eyes, wishing she were home in bed. “Look, it was a long time ago. Maybe you can hear the whole story once the Cubs win the World Series–”

  “This year, they’re gonna do it!” Jaime interrupted.

  “And you’ll just have to wait until then to hear it,” she continued, ignoring his comment. They had watched many baseball games in his restaurant, and she knew better than to bait him. “All I’m going to say is that we broke up right after graduation, and I haven’t seen him since.” She turned to go.

  “He was here earlier today,” Jaime said casually, watching her.

  Rebecca froze. Was he back in the old neighborhood? Surely columnists had to live closer to work–at least. Closer than here. Why would he choose to come back to their old stomping grounds, of all places? “That’s nice,” she said, trying to sound as though she didn’t care. “Did he say anything?”

  “Only that he was glad to be back in town, and that he was ready to find himself a wife.”

  So Jaime had known all along that she and Elliot were history. She glared at him. “What are you trying to do? Don’t go trying to play matchmaker on me, Jaime. All that happened a long time ago, and I’m not the same person I was then. I already have one matchmaker in the family; you stay out of it.” She turned and stomped back to her comatose date.

  The only noteworthy thing about Maurice was that he didn’t ask any uncomfortable questions, even when his dinner came out suspiciously in the shape of a dog bone. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything, and they parted quietly at Faye’s.

  When she closed the door behind her, she heard Faye’s voice a second before she saw her. “How did it go?”

  Rebecca just shook her head.

  “Oh, it couldn’t have been that bad,” Faye said.

  “What did you do to him to make him come?”

  “I didn’t do anything but talk to his mother.”

  Rebecca tried to control the urge to throw something. “Faye, please. I love you like you were my own mother, but even you should know better. If you want to set someone up, talk to Elisa.”

  “You should know better than that, Rebecca. Elisa will never marry. She’s too focused on herself. You’re the one that’s going to end up a sad, bitter old maid. She’s already bitter. She just doesn’t care.”

  Rebecca started up the stairs. “And I suppose you know how to find a husband?”

  Faye flushed. She had fallen for a man shortly after the Vietnam war, but he had dumped her when a richer girl had caught his eye–and his empty wallet. “I know more than you think, young lady, and I am going to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to you.” She paused. “You had better get some sleep. Oscar will be here for you tomorrow at three.”

  It was then that Rebecca lost it. She hadn’t been really angry in a long time, but today, after going through the house, having a blind date stuffed down her throat, and finding out that Elliot Winters was living practically in her back yard, she had had enough.

  “That’s it,” she said though gritted teeth. “I am leaving in the morning to supervise the auction, and then I’m moving in with Cassie and Michael. You know where to find me when you can remember to stay out of my business.” She stopped and then added, “And I am not going on any more blind dates.” She turned on her heel and fled up the stairs.

  The next day she watched as the auctioneer sold everything she had grown up with: beds, cars, dishes, and more, including her mother’s antique piano. She had debated whether to keep that piano or not, but knew that she didn’t have anywhere to put it. She just hoped that whoever purchased it would love it, too.

  By the time she dragged her things up to Cassie’s, she was exhausted. She knocked on the door and leaned her head on the doorframe. When Michael answered, she almost collapsed on him.

  “Rebecca! I’m so glad you’re here!” he exclaimed, squeezing her tight. She hugged him back. It was good to be with people who cared.

  “Where’s my sister?” she asked, looking around his shoulder into the foyer of the apartment.

  “Downstairs with Nicole and Haley,” he said, and started pulling her suitcases inside. “Is this everything?”

  “No, my computer is still down in the car,” she said.

  “Here, you start unpacking and I’ll grab it for you.”

  Rebecca smiled at him, grateful for his kindness. “Thanks, Michael. You’re a lifesaver.”

  He hugged her again and kiss
ed the top of her head before he ran down the stairs. Rebecca thought she heard a door slam shut, down the hall. But when she looked, the hallway was empty.

  Monday morning, Michael left the morning’s paper on the kitchen table before he left for work. When Rebecca woke up and found it, she turned to page three out of habit and started reading before she knew what she was doing.

  …And if you, like me, have things in your past you would rather forget, now is the time. In my own experience, holding on to past mistakes can only hurt you in the long run. When I moved back here, I was dead sure that nothing was left to curse me. But I was wrong.

  After I wrote last Friday’s column, I was pretty sure there was no way on God’s green Earth that my ex could actually have married my next-door neighbor. Imagine my surprise when I opened up my door Saturday night to see her making out in the doorway next to mine.

  After he disappeared, I slammed the door shut and tried not to pound my fist though the door. Only the thought that I’d have to replace the door stopped me. How could this happen? How could my past, live next door? I should move out. But if I move, then she will have won again.

  No one wants the past to haunt them. The goat is dead. The curse can be broken. Things can change. And what am I, a mouse or a man? A mouse would run and hide. I am no mouse. So, my dear ex-fiancée, let the games begin!

  Chapter Three

  The paper slid from Rebecca’s now nerveless fingers. What did this mean? Was Elliot actually living next door? Was he drinking his juice and eating his bagel this very minute not thirty feet from her? Maybe it was some sort of cruel joke.

  She stood up abruptly, her hand going to her mouth. Her mind raced back to when she had arrived Saturday night. She had knocked on the door; Mick had answered; he’d taken her luggage in–they would have been out of view; and they’d hugged. Had he kissed her on the head? Maybe the whole ‘making out’ reference was some way to spice up an otherwise dull story. That had to be it.

  But if Elliot had seen all that, then he must be living in the same building, if not actually the next-door down. She had to leave. But where could she go? The house was sold; that wasn’t an option. And from the way she parted from Faye, that was no longer a choice, either. Besides, William and Elisa were staying there until they found somewhere else. No, she was stuck here until she found a job and then an apartment.

  Thinking of jobs reminded her that she hadn’t heard from Jen since her return to Illinois. She had met Jen while attending the University of Michigan and had roomed together until Jen had married Scott Tennant a few months ago. Jen had told her about a position recently opened up in the Mayfair Public Library where she worked, and had told her to submit her resume. Maybe she wouldn’t be stuck in this crazy situation for long.

  Checking the clock, she called Jen’s cell phone. She answered on the second ring. “Rebecca?”

  “Hey, Jen. How are things with the newlyweds?”

  Rebecca could hear her sigh over the phone. “Absolutely wonderful.” Jen laughed. “Would you listen to me? Next thing I know I’ll be setting up all my single friends so they can understand why I act so spacey whenever I talk about marriage.”

  Rebecca grimaced. “No thanks. I’ve been on enough blind dates for several lifetimes.”

  “Oh, not Faye again.” Jen was all sympathy. She had heard about the two years between high school and college when Rebecca had been at home fending off unwanted men, while trying to get the courage to leave for college with no financial assistance. William had not been pleased with the idea of college; he thought education was overrated and, like Faye, that Rebecca should simply stay home and become a socialite. He hadn’t been as forward as Faye had been in pushing the marriage issue, though.

  “Yes, but I think I’ve stopped it this time. We had a major argument Friday after the latest guy turned out to be horrid. I told her I’m not putting up with it anymore, and left. I’m at Cassie’s now.”

  There was a long pause. Rebecca could almost hear her friend thinking. “And how’s Michael with that?”

  “Absolutely fine. You know we have a very healthy respect for each other.”

  “Respect, yes, but isn’t it a little awkward to live under the same roof as the guy who proposed to you and then to your little sister when you turned him down?”

  Rebecca laughed. “Not at all. It never would have worked for us, you know that. Mick has always been more of a little brother to me.”

  “Not always. I still think that if you had met him before Elliot–”

  “Nothing would be any different,” Rebecca finished for her. “Look, I was actually calling because I desperately need a job. I just found out that Cassie’s next-door neighbor is none other than Elliot Winters.”

  Rebecca heard a loud thud followed by a rude word she rarely heard Jen use. “You’re kidding.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I just dropped the phone. I nearly passed out. Are you serious?”

  Rebecca leaned her head on the cool refrigerator. “Yes.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Jen’s voice changed, all business. “I already gave your resume to Sarah; I’ll see if I can nudge it to the top. Why don’t you meet Scott and me for dinner tonight? I’ll cook.”

  Smiling for the first time in a week, Rebecca agreed. “That sounds great. I’ll see you around seven.” After she hung up, she put the phone down and stretched. Maybe things wouldn’t be all that bad. Maybe she could successfully avoid Elliot until she moved out. What had he said? ‘Let the games begin’.

  Well, it would be hard to play a game by yourself, she thought. She no longer cared what Elliot Winters did.

  On the way back to her room, she picked up the paper and ran it through the shredder. Games, indeed.

  After showering, Rebecca heard Cassie muttering to herself in the family room. She padded down the hall to investigate.

  “Hey, Cassie. What are you up to?”

  She was sitting on the floor, the head of a vacuum in her hands and her hair sticking up in little tufts. It looked like she had been in a fight with the vacuum, and the vacuum had won, hands down. “Trying to tidy up.”

  “Tidy up?” Rebecca’s eyebrows cocked. “You’ve never cleaned anything in your life.”

  Cassie slumped against the couch. “I know.”

  “So why start now?” Actually, Rebecca thought it would be a good idea for Cassie to learn to do regular-people things. William had pampered her all her single life, and now it looked like the trend was continuing in marriage with Michael.

  “Michael thinks we should learn to economize.”

  Economize. She’d heard that word twice in one week, and it wasn’t a word used lightly by people in her family. She waited for Cassie to continue.

  “Michael is worried that what happened to Dad will happen to us, too. He wants to be sure we don’t take anything for granted.”

  Rebecca looked around. The apartment was very nice–almost three thousand square feet–and was decorated in the latest styles. This was economizing?

  Her thoughts must have been apparent, for Cassie rushed on. “Oh, he doesn’t want to give up the apartment and live somewhere else. Mr. Tanner… you know, Michael’s father?”

  Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know Mr. Tanner.”

  “Well, he says we have an appearance to keep up. Michael just wants us to try to live without any help.”

  Rebecca’s eyebrows lifted even higher. “Do you mean you’ve been getting extra money from your father-in-law?”

  “No, no, nothing like that,” Cassie cried, a little bothered by that idea. “I just mean without any help… you know, cleaning people, laundry people, that sort of thing.”

  “Oh.” Rebecca looked around at the mess strewn across the room. “How’s that going? Are you taking care of everything yourself?”

  Cassie huffed. “Well, it’s only been a few days. I’ll get better at it as I go along.”

  Rebecca picked up a long piece o
f red string. One end appeared to be attached to a pillow; the other was would around the wheels of the vacuum. She would have to phrase this carefully. “Would you like some help? I would feel better pulling my weight around here to say thanks for having me.”

  A look of relief flashed across Cassie’s face, followed closely by regret. “No, I couldn’t let you do that. We’re glad you’re here. We couldn’t have you work.”

  “Why not? There’s a huge difference between me helping out with a little housework here and there and being a live-in maid.” Rebecca sat on the floor next to her sister and started unraveling the string. “It really would make me feel better.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely, and I could show you the basics as I go.” The pillow would never be the same, but at least the vacuum would still run. “I didn’t know you owned a vacuum.”

  “It’s new.”

  Rebecca nodded. Of course. She glanced again at the vacuum. It was one she’d seen advertised on television as the best of its kind. Trust Cassie and Michael to economize by buying an ultra-expensive vacuum. “Do you own cleaning supplies? Like for clothes, and for the bathrooms?”

  Cassie led her to a small room off the kitchen. “This is my new supply closet,” she said proudly. Stacked on the shelves was every cleaning solution known to man. Evidently Cassie had decided that if she didn’t know what she needed, she better have one of everything on hand in case it came in handy.

  “I’ll take care of the apartment today, and I’ll start the laundry tonight. Will that be all right?”

  Cassie nodded, but then she hesitated. “Well, you can put off the laundry until later in the week if you want. The new washer and dryer won’t get here for a few more days, and you’d have to use the ones in the basement.”

  “How many clothes need to be cleaned?”

  Rebecca followed Cassie’s pointing finger to a large pile of multi-colored cloth in the corner of the room. She had thought that was a chair covered with a strangely colored sheet. It reached almost to her waist. “I’ll get started on it tonight.”