the second armchair, facing her. âTell me about your divorce, Lily,â he said. âHow long were you unhappy with Burke before you finally decided to cut your losses and run?â
Lily lowered her head. âToo long,â she whispered.
âHe cheated, didnât he? Ran around with other women?â
She swallowed hard, nodded. Looked her father straight in the eye. âMom claims you were ârunning around with other womenâ when she left you. Is that true, DaâHal?â
Halâs smile was rueful. âIt wouldnât throw the earth off its axis, Lily,â he said gently, âif you called me âDadâ again.â He shifted in his chair, took a pipe from the holder on the table beside him, and at Lilyâs fierce expression, put it back. âTo answer your question, I was faithful to your mother, at least in the literal sense of the word.â
âWhat does that mean?â
âThat we were too different from each other, Lucyand me,â Hal said slowly. âShe liked bright lights and big cities, and I liked being a country veterinarian. She wanted to drive a fancy car, and I refused, even though we could have afforded one, because I didnât like the statement it would have made among people who struggle just to keep food on the table. When it got down to the brass tacks, Lily, the only thing your mother and I had in common was you.â
Oh, right, Lily wanted to say, but she bit the words back.
Hal chuckled, but he sounded so tired. It was time he took his medicine and went to bed. Lily started to get up, fetch the bag full of pill bottles the doctor had sent home with them.
âSit down, Lily,â her dad said firmly.
Lily dropped back into her chair.
âI still want to know about Burke. Not the public version. Scion of a great New England family, and all that tripe. What was he really like?â
âShallow,â Lily said, after some thought. âFunny. Smart. Self-assured.â
âAnd very popular with other women?â Hal put the question gently, but at the same time there was no doubt that he expected an answer and wouldnât let her off the hook until she replied honestly. Clearly, he wasnât going to be thrown off the trail.
âVery,â Lily agreed. âThere were a lot of little signs, looking back on itâthe usual hang-ups on the phone, odd charges on his credit card statements, condoms in his suitcase when we never used them, things like that. I pretended not to noticeâI guess I couldnât face thetruth about us. But it was almost as though Burke wanted me to know he was running around. Iâd call his room when he was out of town on a flight, and a woman would answer. Heâd say the whole crew was in his room, that they were celebrating somebodyâs birthday, or anniversary, or retirementâ¦.â She stopped, blushed, shook her head at her own naiveté. âUntil he crashed his plane, I thought he was trying to maneuver me into making the first move, so he wouldnât have to be the first Kenyon in history to file for divorce. But when I finally did see a lawyer, heââ
âKilled himself,â Hal supplied gently.
âYes.â
âYouâre sure of that? Maybe it was an accident.â
âI wish I could believe it was,â Lily said, very softly. âThere wasnât a note or anything, but he called me a couple of hours before he went up that last time. He was upset, begging for another chance, making all sorts of crazy promises.â She stopped, swallowed hard. âHe saidâhe said it wouldnât be right to break up Tessâs homeâthat we should have another childââ
âAnd?â
âI said I didnât love him anymore. That it was no use trying, since weâd had counseling after his last affair.â Lily bit down so hard on her lower lip that she felt a sting of pain, and half expected to
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