CHAPTER 41

“ I ’ ll let them know we ’ re home. ” Mitchell held the door to their complex open and followed Angela in.

“ Whatever. ” The last thing Angela wanted to focus on was them. She ignored him as he pulled out his phone. So far, this was the worst Thanksgiving in her life. Not in any of the group homes she and Deidra grew up in did she ever feel as lonely and uncomfortable as she had spending the afternoon with Mitchell ’ s parents.

Instead of cooking and talking and making eye contact with Deidra whenever her mother-in-law would say something snippy, she was forced to endure Nicolette ’ s condescending attitude, the bitter surprise of seeing the new nursery for the baby, and worst of all, Deidra ’ s absence.

Having no other living relatives, Angela and Deidra always spent the holidays together. But this year, Deidra forewent Mitchell ’ s family, choosing instead to accept Rob ’ s invitation to join him at the Enn. Angela loved that Deidra and Rob appeared to be getting closer, but she hated not having her sister around for support. And, she really hated knowing Nolan was so close, just there, out of reach. Out of sight, but not out of mind. On her mind, more often than she would ever admit.

She wanted to call him, just to say hi. To have someone talk to her as if she was the important one. But she wouldn ’ t. She couldn ’ t. It would hurt too much. In her innermost being, she knew it wouldn ’ t be fair. Not to Nolan, not even to Mitch.

In the rare moments when she was being truthful with herself, Angela had to admit Mitchell was trying. He wanted them to see a counselor. He and Nate trained and planned and worked on projects upstairs, in her line of vision. When he did go down to the other apartment, he told her why and how long he expected to be. He always invited her to accompany him. To the best of her knowledge, he didn ’ t call Keira or Nate without letting telling her beforehand. To the discerning eye, Mitchell seemed to be putting his marriage first.

But, Angela was not discerning. She was not helpful, agreeable, or cooperative. She was numb … and angry. It was wearing on Mitch, but she was too angry to care. Too numb. This thing between them had grown and spread and had begun to harden.

“ Are you sure you ’ re okay with Nate ’ s family sleeping upstairs? ” Mitchell put his phone away and allowed her to enter the elevator first.

“ Why do you always call our condo ‘ upstairs? ’” Angela rolled her eyes. She talked over her shoulder. “ Your other apartment isn ’ t a part of our house. We don ’ t have a house. We don ’ t live upstairs . ”

“ Angie, it ’ s been a long day. I don ’ t want to fight with you. ”

“ Asking a question is considered fighting? ”

“ Everything is a fight with you, ” he muttered.

“ Excuse me? ”

“ I don ’ t want to fight. All I ’ m asking is if there ’ s going to be a problem with Nate ’ s family sleeping upst — sleeping at our place? If you ’ re uncomfortable with it, I ’ ll get them a room. ”

“ I do remember saying I didn ’ t care. I don ’ t recall saying I had a sudden problem with it. I ’ m not sure why you ’ re questioning me as if I ’ ve given some indication it is now a problem although, I told you it was not a problem. ” Her words were sharp, having been pushed through her clenched teeth.

“ I didn ’ t say you had a problem with it. ” Outside their door, he jammed his key into the lock. “ You didn ’ t have fun today. I ’ m concerned it might be too much. Forgive me for being considerate. ”

“ Humph. ” She headed down the hall. “ If you wanted to be considerate, we wouldn ’ t have wasted the holiday on your mother. ”

He didn ’ t follow her; he went toward his bar instead. “ Every year, we spend Thanksgiving with my parents. Why would that change? ” There were few reasons. One, his mother wanted to have a joint celebration with Nate and Keira and their families, something Angela would have never allowed. Two, his wife and mother didn ’ t get along at the best of times. This was hardly the best of times. Three, he and Angela had enough problems without his mother ’ s interference. Four, his parents were going to Nate and Keira ’ s for the rest of the evening. Five … he could go on, but why bother?

“ Things change, people change, sometimes you have to change too. ” Angela closed the door.

She didn ’ t emerge again until the doorbell sounded. Nate, his mother, and brother arrived bearing dessert.

“ Here ’ s the girl I want to see. ” Latoya was robust and vocal. She held out both arms, hugging Angela as if she were her daughter.

“ Hi. Welcome. I ’ m so glad you came. ” Angela returned the embrace with genuine affection.

“ Trust me, if you couldn ’ t fit us in, I wouldn ’ t be here. ” She released Angela and looked around. “ Now, this is nice, a real home. Where can we get comfortable? ”

“ Hey, Nate. ”

“ Hey, girl. You remember my brother, Rubin? ”

“ Hi, ” Rubin said, “ Thanks for —”

“ Yeah, yeah, yeah. ” Latoya talked over him. “ You ’ re here. She sees you. Now, leave us alone. ”

Angela grinned. It had been a while since she ’ d done that. “ Let me show you to your rooms. ”

“ Good. Then we can have some wine, eat some pie, and talk about real stuff. Let me tell you, I have had all the phoniness I can handle. ”

Nate sighed. Mitchell frowned. Angela ’ s night took a turn for the better.

.     .     .

“ Latoya, I ’ m telling you, I want to throw something. ”

“ This is wrong. ” The older woman shook her head. “ Even after everything you already told me, I wouldn ’ t have believed it if I wasn ’ t sitting right here. ”

“ What kind of marriage is this? ”

“ It ’ s not. Whatever it is, it ’ s not a marriage. ”

The baffling turn of events came a little over an hour into the visit. Latoya and Angela were on the balcony, enjoying the view and each other. Angela brought Nate ’ s mother up to speed. Mitchell, Nate, and Rubin were enjoying the Saints and the Packers when Mitchell got a call from his mother.

Nicolette didn ’ t want to disturb Angela so she requested Mitchell come downstairs for a moment. Mitchell was loud and firm when he reminded his mother she saw him once today, she was disrupting the game, and he would only come down for a minute or two. After which he, flanked by Nate and Rubin, made a beeline for the party downstairs.

“ Has he always been a momma ’ s boy? ” Latoya held her wine glass up for a refill of Solomon ’ s Island.

Angela obliged, filling her own as well. The Pointes owned an extensive collection of expensive wines, but Angela was partial to the locally manufactured sweet stuff. “ He ’ s not a momma ’ s boy. He ’ s an opportunist. His mother supplied him with an excuse. He ’ s down there because that ’ s where he wants to be. ”

Latoya downed her drink and stood up. “ I ’ m an opportunist. I ’ m going to take this opportunity to find out what ’ s going on. And who ’ s behind it. ”

“ Who ’ s behind it? ”

“ Your witch-in-law, your jackass, or his ‘ ho. ” She talked as she led the way from the balcony through the living room. “ She acts like a nice girl but she gets what she wants. ”

“ I ’ m not arguing. ”

“ You need to decide what you want. If you want your man, then she needs to go. ” As they neared the door, Latoya focused her conversation inward. “ I ’ ll tell you this, she better not try to settle for Nate. Because that ain ’ t happening. ” Snapping back to the present, she said, “ Do you want to come down? That would teach them all a lesson. ”

“ No. I don ’ t go anywhere near that place. ”

“ You should. We ’ ll talk about that later. I ’ ll be right back. If you go to sleep, I ’ ll wake you. ”

“ I won ’ t be asleep. I ’ ll keep the door unlocked. ”

.     .     .

And then she was alone. On the day of thanks, she was wretched and lonely. Not a soul in the world cared. She let the tears come. There was nobody around to see, no one to be concerned for her sadness. She wiped her wet cheek with the back of her hand and began collecting dishes and cups. She filled the dishwasher, wiped down the counters, and turned off the kitchen light. Her phone rang. Deidra.

God. Intuition. Whatever. It didn ’ t matter what prompted Deidra to call. Angela needed her sister ’ s comforting voice more than she needed air. “ Hey, Deed. Thank you for …” It wasn ’ t Deidra. It was, but she hadn ’ t called Angela. The phone dialed her automatically. Deidra wasn ’ t aware of it.

Angela let the disappointment win. She sobbed, the phone still in her ear, too distraught to disconnect.

She heard them.