The Ex's Confession Read online

  Impulsively, Cassie threw her arms around her sister. “You’re a lifesaver,” she said, relief evident in her tone. “But you’ll wait at least until after dinner, won’t you? We’re having guests.”

  Grimacing, Rebecca picked up the duster and furniture polish. Michael and Cassie entertained quite a lot. No wonder she had been so grateful. “Who are you feeding this time?”

  “No one in particular. Just Nicole and Haley, and some guy they’re bringing with them. They say he’s hot.”

  Hot guys always flocked to Nicole and Haley. “No problem. But I’m going to Jen and Scott’s at seven, so I won’t be home for dinner. Will you need any help cooking?”

  Cassie laughed as she walked toward her bedroom. “Of course not. We’re having that delivered.”

  “Of course.” Shaking her head, she got to work.

  It took Rebecca the rest of the day to get the apartment back to its normal pristine condition, and by the time she raced to her bedroom to clean up and change, it was almost time to go.

  Her cell phone was buzzing hotly on the nightstand, though, so she grabbed it and checked her voicemail as she peeled off her dirty clothes. The first was from Jen.

  “Hey, Rebecca, I have good news. Sarah wants to meet with you tomorrow at eleven for an interview. The only thing is that she’s at the downtown branch all day, so you’ll have to meet her at the Harold Washington library. I hope that won’t be a problem. See you tonight!”

  This was welcome news. It would be a pain to go all the way downtown, but with any luck she would be employed and on her own by the end of the month.

  The second message was not quite as welcome. Faye’s voice filled her ears. “I hope you’re not screening your calls, Rebecca. I am very sorry you were upset the other day. But I have lovely news. Your father and Elisa found somewhere to live! Call me when you get this.”

  Rebecca had mixed feelings about William’s news. She was glad that he had found somewhere to live, but she doubted that he had the ability to check his habit of self-indulgence. She called Faye back as she waited for the water in the shower to warm up.

  Faye answered on the first ring. “Rebecca, I’m so glad to hear back from you. How are you enjoying your time with Cassie?”

  “It’s great. Listen, I only have a few minutes. What did William and Elisa find?”

  With a huff, Faye said, “Well, they found a lovely home in Naperville that should suit them. It’s fully furnished, and they can move in immediately.”

  “That’s great.” Rebecca sighed in relief. Naperville would be far enough away from downtown to keep William safe from the shops along the Magnificent Mile that beckoned to him with too much regularity.

  “Well, yes, that part is good,” Faye went on slowly. “But while they were out looking they ran into Adrianna Sawyer.”

  Rebecca turned off the water. Adrianna Sawyer was a woman several years older than she who had befriended Elisa. She was looking for a wealthy husband. Rebecca had hoped that their recent financial troubles would have kept Adrianna away. “I hope she just went away after lunch,” she said, knowing that wouldn’t happen.

  “Not exactly. Elisa seems to think she’ll be lonely with all her friends so far away, so she invited Adrianna to stay with them for a while.” Rebecca gasped. “Don’t worry, darling. I’m keeping an eye on things at the bank as we agreed with the financial planner, and she can’t do anything that I won’t see immediately.”

  With a sense of foreboding, Rebecca agreed that there was nothing else they could do. Adrianna hadn’t done anything obvious. But the thought of her living in the same house as her father made the hairs on her arms stand up. The way she flirted with him was just unnatural. She was almost young enough to be his daughter. What could she possibly want with a financially strapped geezer?

  “Oh, and Aaron Sharpe is back in town. He asked after you.”

  Rebecca groaned. She had never actually met Aaron Sharpe, but she had heard all about him since she was thirteen and he was fifteen. Faye had been trying to set them up for years, but for some reason it had never worked out, much to Rebecca’s relief. Faye said Rebecca was avoiding him, and Aaron knew it and did it back to her. “That’s nice, Faye, but that would be a blind date, since I’ve never met him, and I already told you I am not going on any more of those. Look, I have to run. I have dinner plans in half an hour and I’m already late. I’ll call you later.”

  Rebecca rushed through her second shower of the day and threw on the first clean clothes she found. It was Jen and Scott, after all. She called out a hurried farewell to Cassie, who was arranging flowers in the foyer as she flung open the door.

  She ran right into Nicole, who looked down at her in distaste. “Rebecca!” she cried, almost as if she was surprised to see her there. “I haven’t seen you in ages! Where are you going in such a rush? Don’t you want to stay and catch up?”

  Rebecca tried not to roll her eyes. “I have dinner plans, which I’m already late for,” she said, trying to extricate herself from Nicole’s surprisingly strong grasp. “I’ll be sure to stop by later this week, okay?”

  “Dinner plans?” Nicole seemed astounded that Rebecca would have something to do. “Well, that’s nice. Before you go, you must meet someone. We met him in the garage yesterday! He’s just moved in.” Nicole finally let go of Rebecca and gestured behind her. “This is Elliot.”

  Rebecca froze. So much for avoidance. She took a step back, almost stumbling into the wall. Recovering, she turned to the door and tried to remember how to breathe properly.

  He was framed in the doorway, his hands holding onto the frame. He was taller, Rebecca noticed distractedly. And broader. When did that happen? Well, it has been seven years, she reminded herself. People change in seven years.

  His expression was what caught her. That was exactly the same mocking look she had seen on his face countless times. She had never seen it directed at her before, though. She didn’t like it. It made her uncomfortable, like he knew something about her that he shouldn’t.

  “Rebecca,” he said. “Good to see you again.”

  Nicole pouted. She hated to be the last person to know things. “I didn’t know you already knew each other,” she said, looking up through her fake eyelashes at Elliot. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Without taking his eyes from Rebecca, Elliot said, “We knew each other a long time ago, and I haven’t seen Rebecca in years.” Then he turned his gaze to Nicole. “Is that everyone? I thought you had a brother around here somewhere.” The mocking expression was even more intense as he said this. Why did he want to meet Michael so eagerly? Rebecca wondered. What was he trying to do?

  As if on cue, Michael rounded the corner and shook Elliot’s hand before walking over to Cassie and kissing her. Elliot’s eyes flashed from Rebecca, to Michael, to Cassie, and back to Rebecca again. His eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed. He opened his mouth but evidently thought better of it and closed it again.

  Deciding to make her escape, Rebecca hugged her sister and whispered, “Don’t have too much fun without me.” Cassie giggled as Rebecca nudged past Elliot, who was still lurking in the doorway, and almost ran down the hall.

  ***

  Dinner with Jen and Scott was wonderful and depressing at the same time. Wonderful because it was great to be out of the tension currently residing in Cassie’s apartment building. Depressing because as she watched her two friends interact, she couldn’t help but think that such marital bliss would never find her. Jen had married Scott just two months before, and she knew they were still in a state of newlywed bliss. But they had been friends for so long that their reactions to each other seemed normal, and not gooey or sappy.

  “How’s your new job been going, Scott?” Rebecca asked. He had been given a job as an investment banker at the same company that handled her father’s accounts.

  “Very well,” he said, leaning back and throwing an arm over Jen’s shoulder. “I like the banking industry a lot.” He laughe
d at Rebecca’s grimace. “Not all of us can be bookworms like you two.”

  Jen poked him in the side. “Don’t pay attention to him. He’s just jealous that he can’t keep up with us when we start talking about books.”

  Scott just laughed. “You wish that were true. I’ll have you know that I’ve read more than you think I have.”

  “Sure, but comic books don’t really count.”

  Scott just smiled. “I’ll take that as my cue to wash the dishes.”

  Before he could stand up, though, Rebecca stopped him. “Could you have any access to my father’s accounts?” she asked slowly.

  Scott shrugged. “I might,” he said. “I’d have to take a look at the names on the accounts. If you’re on them I can get your permission to look things over without too much trouble. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I was thinking about William. I saw the papers, there’s no way he could have decimated his accounts that quickly. I just don’t understand it. Faye keeps an eye on him, but she’s not an accountant and wouldn’t know what to look for. Would you mind checking it out for me? I would feel better knowing that someone I trust is keeping tabs on things.”

  “No problem.” Scott winked at her. “I’ve always had this secret wish to be a private detective.” He laughed as he left the room, taking the dishes with him.

  On the way back later that evening, Rebecca’s car finally stuttered to its death and refused to go any further. She knew there was no point in fixing it. The mechanic in Ann Arbor had been keeping track of its unexpectedly long life and kept emailing her, asking about the car’s imminent demise. He would be pleased to hear that it had lived a full life, she thought. It was just too bad it couldn’t have made it back the two miles left to the apartment.

  When she walked in the door forty-five minutes later, tired and cold, she just hoped that everyone would be gone so she could escape to her room. But when she opened the door, she saw the entire group sitting in the family room. It looked like they had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

  Cassie was snuggled next to Michael on the love seat. Haley was on the phone on the floor. Her shoes were off and her legs were lifted onto the couch next to Elliot. Nicole was sitting as close to Elliot as she could without actually sitting on his lap. No one turned when she entered the room but Elliot. He shot her a smug look and moved the arm that had been on the back of the couch around Nicole’s shoulders.

  “Hey,” Cassie said without moving her head. “You’ve been gone a long time.”

  Rebecca dropped her keys on the table. “Yeah, well, my car finally died and I had to walk the last few miles.”

  That caught Michael’s attention. “Why didn’t you call?” he demanded. “Someone would have picked you up.”

  Rebecca smiled weakly. “Well, I didn’t realize how far away I was,” she admitted, “and by the time I did I was almost back. It’s all right, Michael,” she assured him. “I’ll have the car towed tomorrow after my interview.”

  Cassie jumped up. “An interview?” she squealed. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I didn’t find out until just before I left for Jen’s. And don’t get excited, Cassie. I don’t have a job. It’s just an interview.”

  Cassie threw her arms around her sister anyway. “But wait a minute,” she said, “if your car’s not working, how are you going to get there?”

  Rebecca paused. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. How was she going to get downtown tomorrow? “I guess I’ll take the El,” she said slowly. “I have to be at the library downtown by eleven.”

  “We can take you,” Haley said, flipping her phone closed. “We were all planning on going to the Sears Tower for old times’ sake. It wouldn’t be out of the way.”

  Rebecca smiled gratefully at her. She liked Haley, who seemed to lack Nicole’s gift for grating on her nerves. She had heard sporadically throughout her college years from Haley, who was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Ben, a minor league baseball player. Ben had been invited to spring training with the Cubs in Arizona that year but hadn’t been chosen. He was back in Iowa, hoping one of the regular players got hurt so he could finally get his big break.

  “That’s very kind of you,” Rebecca said finally, “but–”

  “We could drop you off and then you could join us later for lunch. What?” she finished when Nicole shot her a dirty look.

  “Come on, Rebecca. It would be fun. And we could get caught up on things.” Haley nodded to the phone. “I would like a chance to talk to you.”

  Rebecca glanced at Cassie, who shrugged. “Thanks,” she said. “If you’re sure I wouldn’t be a bother, that would be a big help.” She leaned over Cassie, who was sitting next to Michael again. “I’m off to the washers,” she said quietly in her ear. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She left the room to collect the laundry, knowing no one would care that she wasn’t sticking around.

  Rebecca threw five loads in the washers, taking up all of them. Who would care? It’s almost midnight on a weeknight. Who but me would be doing their washing at this hour? She settled in with her book to wait out the washing machines.

  When she stood up to move the wet clothes to the dryers, she didn’t hear the door to the laundry room open. She jumped when she heard someone clear his throat behind her.

  “I’m sorry I startled you,” said a familiar voice.

  Rebecca dropped her load onto the floor. Was Elliot purposefully trying to give her a heart attack? “That’s all right,” she mumbled, bending over to pick up the clothes.

  He was quickly beside her. “Let me help you.” He stuffed the things into the dryer and turned to face her. She ignored him and turned on the dryers, leaving the washing machines empty for him. “They’re all yours,” she said, noting his laundry bag.

  “Thanks.” He was quiet as he focused, too hard, on sorting through his bag. Rebecca smiled to herself when she noticed a pair of red socks mixed in with his whites. When he was done, he came and sat down beside her, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.

  Rebecca watched him write out of the corner of her eye. Was this tomorrow’s column? Or, maybe the next day’s column. She tried to concentrate on her book but the steady scratching of his pen kept distracting her.

  Elliot flipped over a piece of paper and said, very casually, “I didn’t know you did laundry.”

  Rebecca closed her book. There was no point in reading, anyway. She had been staring at the same sentence since he sat down. “It’s not my favorite thing to do,” she admitted, “but I told Cassie and Mick I’d help out around the apartment.”

  “Mm.” There was a long pause. “How are your father and Elisa?”

  Elliot had never cared about William and Elisa before. “Fine, I suppose. They’ve recently moved; from what I hear, they’re doing well.”

  The scratching finally stopped, and Elliot placed his notepad facedown on the seat next to him. He stared at the floor for a moment and then glanced up at her, his face accusing. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Rebecca,” he said.

  Rebecca blinked. “What game am I playing?”

  “The game with Michael and your sister.”

  Rebecca continued to look at him blankly. What was he talking about?

  “I saw you the other day,” he went on. “When you were making out with Michael in the hall. That’s a really terrible way to treat your sister.”

  Rebecca thought back to the column she had read that morning. “We weren’t making out–”

  Elliot went on as though he hadn’t heard her. “I don’t know what’s between the two of you, but if you’re going to have a relationship with your brother-in-law you should at least have the decency to do it where no one can see you.”

  Rebecca’s mouth fell open. “Mick is like a little brother to me,” she said finally. At his disbelieving look she said, “What you saw was a simple hug from someone who understood that I had had a rotten day. I have never wanted more than that with Michael, and he is very ha
ppily married to my sister.” She turned away abruptly. “And I would appreciate it if you would keep your conjectures to yourself and out of the newspaper. Cassie doesn’t read it, but I’m sure Mick does. He would be terribly embarrassed if he thought you had the wrong idea.”

  Elliot rose to his feet and held his hands up. “I didn’t mean–”

  “Yes, you did,” Rebecca said, trying to keep her voice steady. She had imagined reunion scenes with Elliot before, but it had never gone like this. “You meant that you thought I was sleeping with Michael behind Cassie’s back. I would never… “

  A few minutes later, she heard the door to the laundry room close quietly. Elliot was gone, his crumpled-up paper in the trash.

  An hour later, Rebecca finished Cassie’s laundry. She turned to leave, but the closed lids on the washing machines made her stop. She thought about Elliot and his reaction to what he had seen. She supposed he would be justified in thinking what he did, but still… She sighed and went to work.

  When his last load was finished she started to fold his shirts. A blue and yellow t-shirt grabbed her attention; the word ‘Michigan’ was splashed across it in bold collegiate letters. Why would he have it? she wondered. Northwestern and Michigan were rivals, of sorts. She thought about what she had given up and buried her face in his shirt. It was a long time before she trudged up the stairs, leaving Elliot’s laundry in front of his door before she escaped into Cassie’s.

  The next day she opened up the Tribune to page three. I can’t help myself, she thought to herself in dismay. It’s becoming an addiction. She read Elliot’s latest column.

  The Curse of the Snap Judgment

  by Elliot Winters

  Snap judgments are funny things. Everyone makes them; we don’t really think about it. You see a blonde in the mall and assume there’s nothing upstairs. You go into a store, take one look at the clerk, and assume he doesn’t speak English. The guy your sister is dating is an engineer, and you assume that his social skills are so bad you wonder how he got a date in the first place.