Chapter 16

“Ballsy of you to show up at my office.”

Julian took in the impressive sight of Peter. While Julian continued to age faster than everyone else around him, in the last few months Peter seemed to have shed several years. Besides his new slimmer body, Peter had shaved off his blond beard. Clean-shaven, sporting his Ivy League style, he was the quintessential vision of success.

“You made me wait three hours in your waiting room,” Julian said.

“I should have had you escorted out of the building.”

“I wouldn’t have left quietly and you know it. Doubt your patients would have appreciated the show.”

“Are you here so I don’t tell the cops you were the one who beat Tatiana Thompson?”

“I didn’t touch her,” Julian replied, his voice clipped.

“That’s not what you implied that night. Why did you lead me to believe she was Alana or Sofia or whoever the fuck you were seeing? Why the lies, man?”

“I wasn’t aware of Alana’s identity. Or that she had a twin. Or that she and Tatiana were the same twins I told you about years ago.”

“Did you come here and wait all this time to ask for my forgiveness, then?”

“I have nothing to apologize for.”

“Jesus Christ, not only are you a sick fuck, you’re also an arrogant fuck.”

Julian had a specific reason to seek out Peter: Grace and Peter’s actions worried him. If they continued to use their new sexual freedom as a distraction from the problems affecting their marriage, they would end up divorcing. Julian believed that Peter and Grace could still salvage their relationship and offer Seth and Eli everything he couldn’t.

“Grace was at my place. She told me you’ve opened up your marriage.”

“And what’s that to you?” Peter threw his pen across the desk. It landed on the floor. “Grace needs to learn how to keep her mouth shut.”

“Grace can say whatever she wants. She doesn’t need your permission.”

“We’re talking about my marriage. It’s pretty personal stuff.”

“Cheating on your wife is pretty personal stuff. You shared that with me.”

Julian didn’t plan to divulge to Grace her husband’s unfaithfulness, but Peter didn’t know that.

“This open marriage experiment will blow up in your face,” Julian continued. “You and Grace need to get into therapy.”

“Let me get this straight—you have no family of your own, you go to sex clubs, you’re into that whole BDSM scene that gives me the creeps and you’re telling me how I should handle my marriage?” Peter laughed. “You’re in no position to open your mouth, man.”

“I’m trying to protect Seth and Eli.”

“They’re not yours to protect.”

Julian ground his teeth together to the point that his jaw hurt. “Grace is unhappy. That’s what led her to want an open marriage. If you weren’t too busy taking advantage of your hall pass, you’d see that.”

“Has she told you she’s unhappy? Because she hasn’t said anything to me. And Seth and Eli have everything they need. They always come first. Even when Grace and I are sleeping with other people.”

Not the night Grace forgot to pick them up and I was too fucked up on benzos to take care of them, Julian thought. To be fair, that incident hadn’t been Peter’s fault, but he wasn’t about to criticize Grace or reveal how irresponsibly he himself had acted.

“Listen, I’m not here to pass judgment on your decision to have an open marriage,” Julian said. “I just know you two are doing it for the wrong reasons. You and Grace need to address the state of your relationship first. Do it for Seth and Eli. C’mon, Pete, how long have we been friends? Twenty, twenty-one years? Can’t we get past what happened that night and focus on the well-being of your wife and children?”

“You’ve got a problem with how I choose to live my life? I’ve got a problem with how you choose to live yours. What happened that night just drove it home for me.”

“My sexual life should have no weight on our friendship.”

“And what about Grace’s and mine?”

“If you didn’t have Seth and Eli we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Julian said.

“I won’t tell Grace what you’re into, and if she wishes to hang out with you and take the boys, I’ll allow it. I’m doing this for her though. I know how much she likes you.”

Julian tensed up at the word allow. “You’re so certain that if Grace found out she wouldn’t understand.”

“Go ahead then, tell her. Who’s stopping you?”

At that moment, Julian hated Peter. They both knew that if Grace found out about Julian’s connection with The Raven Room, she might not want him to spend time with Seth and Eli. Julian resented that Peter had the power to prevent him from seeing his own biological children.

Julian decided he would have more to gain if he kept his true emotions toward Peter to himself. “Do you remember our trip to Prague?” he asked.

“During the summer of our junior year? Yeah.”

“We ended up at that sketchy-looking motel with those two Italian girls we met at the nude beach.”

Peter’s expression softened. “You didn’t know who they were when we ran into them at the bar later that day.”

“To my defense they looked different with their clothes on.”

“I recognized them.”

“Then that guy stole your wallet and I chased him down for five blocks.”

“And you got beaten up so bad we thought you’d go blind in one eye.”

“But I got your wallet back.”

“Why did you do it? I didn’t care about the money.”

“I know. You paid for my plane ticket.”

Peter couldn’t hold back a smile.

“You had a picture of your family in your wallet,” Julian said. “It was the only one you had of you and your grandfather. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to take it away from you.”

Peter came to sit beside Julian. With his shoulders slumped, he stared at his own feet.

“I’ve always had your back, Pete. That’s what I’m trying to do right now.”

Someone knocked on the door and they both looked up. A nurse peeked in. “Sorry, Doctor Morin, you’re running an hour behind. The patients have started to complain.”

Peter’s new amenable demeanor vanished. “We’re done here. Walk Dr. Reeve out and bring in my next patient.”

Julian remained seated. “Listen to me, Pete.”

Peter returned behind his desk and started to type. He ignored Julian.

The nurse opened the door further and pointed toward the hallway. She gave him a nervous smile. “This way, Dr. Reeve.”

Julian had just stepped outside of the office when Peter spoke, “I’m sorry about what happened to Sofia.”

The sympathy in Peter’s voice lingered between them.

“I hope Tatiana is OK,” he added.

As Julian left, he realized that, regardless of his anger toward Peter, he missed the friendship they once had.