The Maid's Diary(52)

“Well, he knows that I believe a baby would be healthy for our marriage, and that becoming a family unit would make me happy. And he knows that if I am happy, my parents are happy, and my dad is the one who offered Jon the promotion, so . . .” Daisy’s voice fades. She clears her throat. “So maybe he just went along with it.”

Quietly, Vanessa says, “I didn’t know your marriage was in trouble.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“What went wrong?”

Daisy feels a darkness beginning to descend. The wind blows a little harder, and a cloud crosses the sun. “I . . . I think I’ve had a bit too much wine. I feel a bit odd, to be honest. Sort of woozy.”

“I’ll get you some water.”

Vanessa hurries back into her house and returns with a jug of ice water and clean glasses. She pours Daisy a glass.

Daisy swallows half her water, but it doesn’t seem to clear her head. A movement in the upstairs window next door catches her eye. She turns and notices that a woman in a wheelchair is watching them from a corner. Vanessa is sitting with her back to the woman, so she probably can’t see her. Daisy feels strange, like things are closing in even tighter. She glances up into the sky. The clouds are thickening. That ragged murder of crows is still circling like little black buzzards.

“Daisy?”

“What?”

“You were telling me you thought a baby would fix your marriage.”

Daisy rubs her brow, trying to focus. The cold wind blows even harder, whipping up the edge of the tablecloth, but she feels hot, sweaty. “I—Jon screwed up in Colorado. He did something stupid. I . . . I had to clean up after him both times.”

“What do you mean?”

“I—it’s nothing. The women—they accused him of stuff. Took it all out of proportion. They were seeking attention. I helped clean it up without his knowledge.”

Vanessa’s gaze turns intense. It makes Daisy feel scared. She’s crossed a line. She shouldn’t have said this.

“Are you able to share what happened?” Vanessa asks quietly.

“It’s like you said. Those A-type male personalities. He just made a mistake. Boys do what boys do—it’s so hard growing up male these days.”

“What kind of mistake?”

Daisy swallows, struggling to pull clarity back into her brain, but she feels as though she’s sliding deeper into some kind of trap of her own making, and she can’t back out now that she’s baited her friend’s curiosity. She attempts a dismissive wave of her hand and says, “Oh, the first incident was forever ago—he was basically a teenager. The other was in Colorado, and it was definitely a manufactured accusation and not Jon’s fault. These two women—for whatever their reasons—they tried to destroy his life.”

“What exactly did they accuse him of?”

Daisy is fully cornered. In desperation she glances at the Glass House. She will have to go through the house to get to her car. She must find a way to politely excuse herself. How did she even get started down this road? But part of Daisy knows the answer. She craves an ally, a real friend. She’s lonely. It’s human nature to share, unburden. But it was a mistake. Her brain is acting strange. She feels so tired. So confused . . . She needs to get home. She needs a nap.

“Daisy?”

She shakes herself, clears her throat. “They accused him of sexual assault.”

Vanessa stares at her, shocked.

“Of course he didn’t do it, Vanessa. It was all lies. All attention seeking. When you’re famous, the higher you go, the harder people try to tear you down. It’s human nature. They lied about the pregnancies, too. Totally lied.”

Vanessa’s face changes. Daisy is terrified now. She’s crossed a Rubicon, and this friend of hers is about to become an ex-friend.

“You have to understand, Vanessa, Jon was under a lot of pressure in the lead-up to the Olympics. He was young. He got very drunk at a party, had a one-night stand with a girl who was infatuated with him and also very drunk, and she threw herself at him. And the other guys egged him on and kind of got involved, too.”

Vanessa’s jaw drops.

Daisy cannot stop now. She has to normalize this. She must make Vanessa understand. She needs Vanessa to understand, to approve of her, to support her.

“The girl took it out of all proportion. She cried rape—gang rape—and then she started saying she was pregnant with Jon’s baby, but thank God no one would back her up. She went to the cops, and they felt obliged to open an investigation, but even the police couldn’t get any corroborating witnesses or find any evidence, because there was none, and so of course there were no charges.”

“So he claimed the sex was consensual?”

“It was.”

“And with the other guys as well?”

“Whatever happened, they were drunk teens having a bit of fun, including her. Jon screwed up by trying to deny the intercourse at first, because he was embarrassed. I mean, she was so not his type. She was this overweight, unattractive thing with bad skin and a bad reputation, and he was blind drunk. Plus he was going out with me. And then when she said she was pregnant with his baby, that’s when he confessed it was consensual, and that there were other guys involved. It could have been one of theirs.”