Eliza Starts a Rumor(40)



“Olivia believes her husband may be having an affair with the woman who posted anonymously on your forum. We need to know her name in order to investigate further.”

Eliza swayed back and forth a bit with her feet placed firmly in the doorway. What have I started? Yes, I need backup. She flicked the outdoor light on and off continuously, an age-old SOS between her and Amanda, but only Alison and Olivia took notice of her strange behavior. She gave up and called out her name, never moving from behind the door.

“Mandy!” she yelled loudly. It obviously surprised them both and Eliza apologized. “Sorry, I was just calling my neighbor over.”

Amanda waved, and Eliza waved her over quite intensely, elevating the bizarreness. Amanda approached with an innocent, “Hey, what’s up?”

“This is . . .” Eliza had already forgotten their names. They both stepped up, happy to shake hands with someone on the street side of the screen.

“Alison Le.”

“Olivia York.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Amanda, Eliza’s neighbor and oldest friend.” She reached out to shake their hands, adding, “You can call me Mandy, most everyone around here does.”

Everyone but Eliza smiled awkwardly. She had collected her thoughts and was eager to dispense with them and move on.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you. The anonymous post feature doesn’t share names or emails.” She looked at Mandy and filled her in.

“These ladies want to know the name of that anonymous poster who’s having the affair.”

“Oh, hoping for some scarlet letter action?” Mandy asked with a bite in her tone. She was no fan of women who sleep with other women’s husbands, but no fan of publicly shaming them either. Two sides to every story, she always thought. It took her a second to remember that this woman was actually created, or at the very least embellished, by Eliza. It was Olivia who set things straight.

“Not at all. I believe it might be my husband who’s cheating.” She moved Lily’s blanket down so they could see her face. “This is my daughter. If it is my husband, then he was cheating on me while I was pregnant, while I was giving birth, and while I’ve been nursing his baby.” The strength in her words and her voice surprised even her. “Do you have children?” she asked. They both nodded yes.

“Then I am you. Do you understand?” She said it again, slowly and nearly begging, “I am you.”

It hit home, especially for Amanda. She stepped up.

“Can you excuse us for a minute?” she asked, while making her way around them and into the house. She smiled a forced smile at them and closed the door. They wondered if it would ever open again.

Olivia whispered, “I’ve been more welcoming to Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

“It is strange, but don’t worry, you did great. Don’t say much else. You clearly have the neighbor’s sympathy, but it can easily turn.”

Inside the house a heated debate was going on. Amanda and Eliza were at odds, with Eliza feeling like she had too much to lose by telling these two strangers the truth. In the end, the hurt of having been recently scorned fueled a passion in Amanda’s argument that Eliza couldn’t compete with.

“You have to put this poor girl out of her misery,” Mandy implored. “Not everyone has a husband as wonderful as Luke. You have no idea of the pain she’s in.”

Eliza opened the door and asked them in. They sat in the living room where she carefully chose her words, coming up with some version of the truth.

“The anonymous post was fictitious. Someone made it up to drum up controversy on the bulletin board.”

They both looked at her confused. She simplified it, “It’s fake news! You have nothing to worry about. I’m sorry if this caused you harm, really I am.” That part she was sincere about.

Alison was about to question her further, but Olivia let out a cry of relief that pierced all of their hearts. Their eyes teared up as hers overflowed. Eliza doled out tissues, and they even laughed a bit. Olivia never knew such relief existed, just as she had never known such anxiety had existed. She was thrilled to put the whole thing behind her.

As they walked home, Olivia stopped a block from her house to thank Alison and say goodbye. Part of her hoped to never see Alison again. If she didn’t, she could go back to her beautiful glass house and ostensibly pretend this entire episode had never happened. But she wasn’t that type of girl. She appreciated the way Alison had stuck her neck out for her; she wasn’t about to chop it off and keep walking.

“Circle Time at the library on Friday?” she asked.

Alison was relieved; she realized they were at a crossroads, both literally and figuratively, and that their friendship was based on a rather awful and embarrassing experience.

“That would be great. Eleven o’clock, right?”

“Yes.”

“Lunch afterward?”

“Perfect.” Alison had gotten very close to some of her clients, and when their cases were closed, she often never heard from them again. It wasn’t so much that they weren’t in each other’s daily lives anymore, but that the clients preferred to put the whole thing behind them, without staring into the face of its biggest reminder. She sensed that Olivia might feel similarly.

“It’s over now, Olivia. We never have to discuss it again.”

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