For a moment I heard nothing except the rain.<\/p>\n
Andrew stood beside me with one hand resting against the countertop. Kayla remained near the coffee cabinet, still wrapped in that white towel, but whatever confidence had brought her downstairs was fading. She looked suddenly younger, almost like the girl who used to hide behind me when our parents argued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat were you waiting for her to tell me?\u201d I asked Andrew.<\/p>\n
Kayla answered first.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said we needed to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m upset.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya, can I please get dressed before we turn this into some interrogation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou chose to come downstairs like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her cheeks flushed.<\/p>\n
Andrew said quietly, \u201cGo change. Then come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
For once, she obeyed without arguing.<\/p>\n
We listened to her footsteps climb the stairs. The moment her bedroom door closed, I turned on Andrew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened. \u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what you just said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you were giving her a chance to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew looked toward the staircase.<\/p>\n
I grabbed his wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she came here intending to test me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence made so little sense that I actually laughed.<\/p>\n
Not because it was funny.<\/p>\n
Because my brain rejected it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTest you how?\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer immediately.<\/p>\n
I released his wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted to see if I would sleep with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kitchen seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
I stared at him, waiting for my mind to rearrange the words into something less grotesque.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t understand it at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think my sister moved into our house to see whether you\u2019d cheat on me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that was at least part of why she came.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way she\u2019s been behaving. Things she\u2019s said. And something Ryan told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cRyan?\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to him Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFriday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis Friday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two days ago.<\/p>\n
My husband had spoken privately with my sister\u2019s supposedly heartbroken ex-boyfriend two days ago and told me nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Kayla mentioned O\u2019Malley\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Malley\u2019s was a pub across town where Andrew and I had met Ryan and Kayla for drinks months earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said something Thursday night about how she knew I\u2019d turned down a woman there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the conversation vaguely. We had been eating takeout in the living room. Kayla had joked that Andrew was unusually well behaved for a married man who occasionally traveled for work.<\/p>\n
I had rolled my eyes.<\/p>\n
Andrew hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first,\u201d he continued, \u201cI thought you told her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what bothered me. Only Ryan knew because he was standing beside me when it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you called him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Andrew could answer, Kayla returned.<\/p>\n
She had changed into gray sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt. Her hair was still wet, leaving dark patches across her shoulders.<\/p>\n
She sat at the kitchen table without looking at either of us.<\/p>\n
I stayed standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew says you\u2019ve been testing him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes closed.<\/p>\n
Only for a second.<\/p>\n
But it was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh my God,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t supposed to become this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it supposed to become?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnow what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he was really different.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cDifferent from whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew exhaled through his nose.<\/p>\n
I felt anger rising but underneath it was something worse\u2014a sense of recognition. I had heard that word spoken that way all my life.<\/p>\n
Men.<\/p>\n
Not individuals.<\/p>\n
Not husbands.<\/p>\n
Not fathers.<\/p>\n
A category.<\/p>\n
A warning.<\/p>\n
Our mother had used it constantly after Dad left.<\/p>\n
Men lie when telling the truth becomes inconvenient.<\/p>\n
Men want loyalty they don\u2019t intend to return.<\/p>\n
Men only behave when someone is watching.<\/p>\n
Trust was something women regretted giving away.<\/p>\n
Those sayings had formed the background noise of our childhood. I had rejected them as I grew older, or believed I had. Kayla apparently had not.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tried to seduce my husband,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Her head snapped up.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would you call walking around nearly naked after he asked you to stop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never touched him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to see what he would do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly were you expecting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he\u2019s loyal, nothing happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if he isn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
I heard my own voice become quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if he isn\u2019t, you get to tell me you proved something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have protected you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words were so absurd they stunned me.<\/p>\n
\u201cProtected me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya, you don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand perfectly. You manufactured a situation in my home to see whether my husband would betray me, and somehow you\u2019ve decided that was an act of love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew laughed once, without humor.<\/p>\n
Kayla shot him a look.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is between me and my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cYou made me part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She folded her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never forced you to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is exactly the point.\u201d<\/p>\n
The air between them sharpened.<\/p>\n
I stepped closer to Kayla.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Ryan know?\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew I had doubts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Andrew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
She pushed wet hair away from her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cRyan and I were already having problems. I kept thinking about you two and how perfect everything always looked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost interrupted, but something in her voice made me wait.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been married seven years,\u201d she continued. \u201cHe listens to you. He comes home. He doesn\u2019t flirt in front of you. He remembers anniversaries. Everybody acts like you found some exception.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew isn\u2019t an exception to a species.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s easy for you to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got the good one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bitterness in her voice startled me.<\/p>\n
Andrew moved slightly beside me.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cAnd you decided that meant you were entitled to test him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to know whether what you have is real.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if it isn\u2019t, then maybe I\u2019m not crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
Nothing else came.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrazy about what?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me then, and suddenly I saw tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout not trusting anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of my anger faltered.<\/p>\n
Not disappeared.<\/p>\n
Faltered.<\/p>\n
Kayla had been ten when Dad left. I was fourteen. Old enough to remember more of the shouting, more of Mom\u2019s locked bedroom door, more of the day she told us our father had chosen another woman over his family.<\/p>\n
Kayla remembered pieces.<\/p>\n
Mom supplied the rest.<\/p>\n
For years, the story never changed. Dad cheated. Dad lied. Dad left. Dad eventually stopped calling because he cared more about his new life than his daughters.<\/p>\n
That story shaped us differently.<\/p>\n
I became determined never to depend entirely on anyone.<\/p>\n
Kayla became determined never to be fooled.<\/p>\n
She mistook suspicion for protection.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have talked to me,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would have defended him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he\u2019s my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Dad was Mom\u2019s husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words hit harder than they should have.<\/p>\n
Andrew\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
I looked at Kayla.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not compare him to Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying Mom trusted Dad too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla froze.<\/p>\n
The reaction was immediate.<\/p>\n
Too immediate.<\/p>\n
I felt the room tighten again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Mom have to do with this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKayla.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou looked terrified when I said her name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Andrew glanced at me.<\/p>\n
My pulse began pounding in my ears.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid our mother know you were doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla stood abruptly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need some air.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blocked the path between her and the back door.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya, move.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face flushed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mom know?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked past me at Andrew.<\/p>\n
That was when I knew the answer before she spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t know exactly what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t a no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just said people reveal themselves when they think there won\u2019t be consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
Our mother\u2019s voice entered the kitchen without her being there.<\/p>\n
I had heard that sentence before.<\/p>\n
Not recently.<\/p>\n
But often enough.<\/p>\n
Andrew said softly, \u201cMaya.\u201d<\/p>\n
I barely heard him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kayla looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat maybe you should know what kind of man you married before you move across the country with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything inside me stopped.<\/p>\n
Andrew and I had not told Kayla about Seattle until the week before she moved in.<\/p>\n
We had told Mom six months earlier.<\/p>\n
For a moment I heard nothing except the rain. Andrew stood beside me with one hand resting against the countertop. Kayla remained near the coffee cabinet, still wrapped in that … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-sory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":515,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastestdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}