The New Husband(52)

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

His voice sounded closer, and then from nowhere she felt a breeze near her face. She didn’t flinch because she couldn’t see anything, but guessed the breeze had been Simon waving his hand in front of her, testing the blindfold. He took hold of her hand.

Where is Connor? Nina wondered. And what the heck is Simon up to?

“Trust me,” Simon said, his voice a bit flat and affectless, his earlier enthusiasm now undetectable.

Why? What is going on?

Nina battled back her nerves to allow him to lead her across the lawn, then up the front stairs, into the foyer, and then partway down the hall. She heard a door open, the door to the basement, and her heart revved slightly. Why down there?

“What are you doing?” she asked nervously, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he led her down, step by step, into the musty basement.

“Simon, you’re freaking me out a bit,” Nina said. She listened for other sounds, wondering again where Connor might be. Hearing nothing helpful, Nina focused on Simon’s even breathing, using it as a guide, but took no comfort from his proximity. Something felt off to her.

“Last step,” Simon said, lifting her hand as he helped guide her to the ground floor. “Follow me.”

Nina fought the urge to rip the blindfold off and advanced with trepidation, taking short steps, unsure what obstacles could be in her way or what awaited her. Maybe he and Connor had finally gotten their robot working.

As he pulled her to a gentle stop, Simon turned Nina around like she was about to play the pi?ata game. Then he came up from behind, leaning his body against hers as he fiddled with the loose knot he had tied. Putting his mouth to her ear, he whispered, “Are you ready?”

Ready for what?

Simon removed the blindfold with a flourish, allowing light to flood her eyes. As soon as her vision focused, Nina saw Connor standing there with a wrench in his hand. Next to him was a brand-new Bowflex home gym and elliptical trainer. A large area had been cleared of boxes to make room for the equipment.

“Now you don’t have to worry about getting to the gym on workdays or not being here to help with the lawn,” Simon said with a proud look on his face. “You can get all you need for your workouts right at home.”

“It’s awesome, Mom,” Connor said, demonstrating the bench press for Nina’s benefit.

“He was great at helping me put it together,” said Simon. “I went to get the aerator at Home Depot, but Walmart was next door, and, well, I had a thought. They couldn’t deliver until Monday, but luckily both boxes fit in my truck.”

“What do you think, Mom?” Connor asked. He had a proud smile, wide as a canyon.

What did she think?

The equipment had to cost thousands of dollars. Glen never would have been so thoughtful, let alone as generous. She kissed Simon tenderly on the cheek.

“I love it,” Nina said, knowing how hard Connor had worked setting it up, how much thought and money Simon had put into the gift. She hoped her voice didn’t betray how she honestly felt—trapped.





CHAPTER 28


Monday couldn’t come fast enough. All I could think about was my father and his promise to chat online at noon. Ben skipped lunch to be with me in the library, but it was his idea, not mine. We both shared the same concern: that it wouldn’t be my dad on the other end of the app; that it was someone pretending to be him, someone who knew about Tracy Nuts and maybe got lucky guessing his goodnight ritual, because, to Ben’s point, parents say stuff like that. Together, Ben and I came up with five questions only my father would know the answers to—five questions that would prove he was alive, he had reached out to me, and he trusted me, and me alone, with his secret.

“Are you ready?” Ben asked.

I checked the time: almost noon. I’d thought about this moment every second of the day. And it felt like every second mattered, too, because judging by the way Mom gushed at dinner about the new fitness equipment Simon bought her, it won’t be long before I completely lose her to him. Whatever. When she finds out Dad’s alive, when he comes home, then Simon will have to be gone, and this will be something for me to talk to my therapist about.

“Ready,” I said to Ben, as I looked over the questions I’d written and rewritten at least a dozen times, searching for the right ones that would leave no doubt.

“What if it’s him?” Ben asked. “Are you going to tell anybody?”

By “anybody” I knew he was talking about my mom.

“Not if he doesn’t want me to,” I said.

“Are you sure?”

“What if he vanishes again? There’s got to be a reason he doesn’t want my mom and Connor to know.”

“Yeah, like the police,” Ben said.

“I’m not going to break his trust again,” I said. “I told you, I feel guilty enough about that.”

Ben did not look convinced that keeping this secret was a good idea. Then again, it’s easy to judge other people’s choices. He didn’t lose his dad for almost two years. He wasn’t living with Simon. My throat dried up as hot tears flooded my eyes.

Ben touched my shoulder gently. “It’s okay,” he said. “Give it some time. He won’t forget to call.”