Fools Rush in(99)

If I could just erase the past five minutes, there would be no doubt that this afternoon had been the best of my life. Being with Sam, loving Sam and knowing he loved me, feeling that sweet, absolute bliss…It was overwhelming, a warm wave of happiness that I could not turn away.

But neither could I turn away the image of Trish’s face. I winced, my toes curling in discomfort. I hadn’t even realized she was back on the Cape, and I’d bet that Sam hadn’t, either.

I found my hurricane lanterns in the cellar and lit them, feeling very Little House on the Prairie in the warm, flickering light. Going to the dark refrigerator, I grabbed a Corona—not what Laura Ingalls would have done, but hey. A little alcohol was called for. Drinking in my bathrobe, alone. Not the most auspicious start to a new relationship.

I wondered where Trish had gone, if Sam had found her.

I didn’t have to wonder for long. The phone rang before I’d taken two sips of beer.

“What’s going on, Millie?” It was my mom, using a voice I hadn’t heard since adolescence, a voice full of fury, eager to punish. I could hear someone sobbing in the background, and I didn’t have to guess who it was.

“Um, what did Trish tell you?” I asked.

“That she found you and Sam together, Millie! In bed! How could you?”

“Well, okay, Mom, I seem to remember that Trish left Sam, quite some time ago.”

“That is beside the point. Oh, here’s Sam now. Sam, what is going on?”

Sam took the receiver from my mother. “Millie? I’m hanging up now. I’ll call you later.”

“Bye,” I said gratefully.

Anger at Trish quickly replaced my momentary pity. It hadn’t taken her long to go crying back to Mommy. And my mother! Trish had cheated on Sam, had left him—and Danny!—to go shack up with that jerk from New Jersey. She’d been gone for more than a year, but Mom instantly took her side.

The sickening thought occurred to me that Danny might be with my parents. My heart, so mobile of late, sank to my knees.

The phone rang again. “Hello, princess!” Curtis sang. “Want to come to P-town and sit out the rest of the storm? We’re having an impromptu little party, just cocktails and some little treats, maybe some dancing later—”

“Curtis, you will not believe what’s happening down here.”

“New York minute, honey. I’ve got guests. Go.”

“Sam got hurt and came to the clinic and he kissed me and it turns out that he’s in love with me, too, and then Trish found us in bed.”

“Mitchell! Leave that and come here! Millie shagged the cop!”

Thank God for my friends. My family might be in turmoil, but my friends were on my side. I called Katie next, giving her the quick version, wanting to leave the line clear in case Sam called.

I got dressed, then gently remade the bed. Obviously, things had just gotten very complicated, but I had faith in Sam. He’d calm everyone down. Everything would be okay. I sat at the edge of the bed—on the side where Sam had lain—and smiled, touching the pillow. It had been perfect. The way we were together, the way he made me feel so beautiful, so safe—it was perfect. Everything would be fine.

Later that evening, my dad pulled into my driveway. He lumbered into the house holding his raincoat over his head with one hand, a flashlight in the other.

“Hi, punkin,” he said, hanging up his coat.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“So.” He sat down at the kitchen table and mopped his face off with a napkin. “What’s going on with Sam?”

“Do you want a drink or anything, Daddy?”

“No, thanks, hon. Just the story.”

I sat down, too. “To tell you the truth, Dad, it’s kind of between Sam and me.”

“Your sister was crying her eyes out, practically hysterical. Said that you’ve always hated her and now you’ve slept with her husband.”

“Youch!”

“So? Any of it true?”

I scowled at my father. “I just told you, it’s private, Dad. I’m not really comfortable talking about it with my father.”

My father grimaced. “So that’s a yes?”

“Look, Dad.” I stopped, then sighed. “Not to be rude or anything, but Sam is not married to Trish anymore. She took care of that when she left him for another man last year. I’m not sure why I’m the bad guy here. It’s not like I crept into the marital bed or anything.”

“Spare me the details, baby. But tell me this. Are you going after Sam to hurt your sister?”

“No! Daddy! Come on. You should know better. And Trish is going to have to accept that everything is not always about her.”

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry, punkin. You’re not like that. And your sister does like to make a scene. But still, Millie. There are a lot of guys out there. Why pick Sam?”

I reached for my father’s hand. “I didn’t really pick him, Daddy. I wasn’t even going to tell him how I felt. But he’s the best guy in the world. You know that.”

My dad gave a little laugh and squeezed my hand. “I guess there’s some truth in that. Okay, baby. Back to the war.”

“Is Sam still over there?”

“No, he took Trish back to their house. Danny was pretty shaken up by his mother carrying on.”