The Last Mrs. Parrish(108)
Daphne looked at her. “Tell me something, honestly: did you ever consider me a friend?”
Amber took Daphne’s hand in hers. “Of course I was your friend. I loved you, Daph. It was just too tempting. I had nothing, and you had everything. Please forgive me. I know what I did was wrong, and I’m sorry. Our children are related. It’s like we are sisters now. You’re a good person. Please, help me.”
“So if I help you, then what? You’ll leave him, and we can go back to being friends again?”
“Yes. Friends again. For Julie and Charlene.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Amber realized her mistake.
“Yeah. For Charlene. Who never existed.” Daphne stood up. “Enjoy your bed, Amber. You’ll be spending lots of time in it. Jackson’s a man of strong appetites.”
Amber scowled at Daphne. “You want to know the truth? I was never your friend. You had all the money, all the power, and you gave me your crumbs. You didn’t even appreciate what you had. All that money he spent on you and your bratty kids. It was obscene. All the while, I was working in his office like a dog.” Her eyes were cold. “I did what I had to do. It was so boring, listening to all your depressing stories. She’s dead! I wanted to scream. No one cares about Julie. She’s been rotting in the ground for twenty years. Let it go.”
Daphne grabbed her wrist and held it tight. “Don’t you ever speak my sister’s name again—do you hear me? You deserve everything you’re getting.” She let go of her. “Take a look around. Try and commit to memory what it was like living the good life, because it’s over now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve come from Jackson’s office. The FBI just took him out of his office in handcuffs. Seems they got access to his offshore accounts. Pity. He never paid taxes on that money. I’m pretty sure when all is said and done, you’ll be lucky if the two of you can afford to live in your old apartment. That is, if they don’t give him jail time, but knowing Jackson, he’ll figure a way out of that. He’ll have to deplete all his resources, of course. Maybe you can help him start a new business.”
“You’re lying.” Her voice was shrill.
Daphne shook her head. “You know that male assistant you made sure he hired so there’d be no funny business at the office? Douglas? Well, he’s an old friend of mine. See, his sister does have CF. Julie’s Smile has been a tremendous help to his family. He’s been spying on Jackson, and he finally got the account numbers he needed to go to the feds. Take a good look around. You may not have all this for long.” She started to walk away, then stopped and turned back. “But at least you still have Jackson.”
Daphne walked out of the house for the last time. As the driver pulled away, she watched as the house receded from sight. How different it looked to her now from when she’d first seen it. Settling back against the seat, she took in, for the last time, the magnificence of each house they passed, and wondered what secrets each of them held. She grew lighter with each passing mile, and when they drove out of the pristine borders of Bishops Harbor, she left the pain and shame she’d lived with while she was still its prisoner behind her. A new life awaited—one where no one terrorized her in the middle of the night or made her pretend to be something she was not. A life where her children would grow up secure and loved, free to be whomever and whatever they desired to be.
She looked up at the sky and imagined her beloved Julie watching from above. She pulled out a pen and the small notepad she kept in her purse and began to write.
My darling Julie,
I often wonder if I’d have made different choices if you were still here. A sister can keep you from making those big mistakes. You wouldn’t have allowed my need to save everyone blur my vision. If only I could have saved you, maybe I would have tried harder to save myself.
How I miss confiding in you, in having that one person that I always knew was in my corner no matter what, sharing my life. And how foolish I was to think that I could ever find that same solace from anyone else.
I suppose I have been looking for you everywhere since I lost you. But I know now, I didn’t lose you. You’re still here. In the twinkle in Bella’s eyes and the kindness in Tallulah’s heart. You live on in them and in me, and I’ll hold tight to the precious memories of the time we had together until, one day, we are reunited. I feel you watching over me: you are the warmth of the sun as I romp with your nieces on the beach, the cool breeze that caresses my cheek in the evenings, the feeling of peace that now resides in the place of turmoil. And despite my desperate wish to have you back, I must believe that you, too, are finally at peace, forever free from the disease that bound you.
Remember when we saw our first Shakespeare play? You were just fourteen and I was sixteen, and we both thought Helena was a fool for wanting a man who didn’t want her. It occurs to me that I’ve become Helena in reverse.
And so, my dear Julie, a chapter has closed and a new one begun.
I love you
Daphne put the notebook in her purse and leaned back. Smiling and looking up, she whispered the Bard’s famous words from that play she and Julie had seen so long ago:
“The king’s a beggar, now the play is done:
All is well ended . . .”
Acknowledgments