Chapter 7
Veronica
“Are you trying to kill me with this?” Georgia put down the wine glass and swapped it out for a napkin. “It’s disgusting.”
“It’s non-alcoholic wine.” I’d waited all of two seconds for my best friend to realize that things were not as they seemed with the beverage of choice for our gossip session. The woman had a taste for booze – it came with the actress territory.
“Why in God’s name do you have non-alcoholic wine? Seriously, this is sacrilege. I’m considering a reevaluation of our friendship because of this.” She dabbed her lips and grimaced.
“Because Carter brought it over.”
Georgia perked up. “Oh, well, that changes everything.”
“Yeah, he couldn’t stomach it either,” I said. “It was kind of sweet in a weird way. He brought non-alcoholic because he was worried I didn’t drink and he’d offend me or something.”
“How considerate.” Georgia clasped her hands together in front of her chest. “What did dear Carter want? He didn’t look happy on his way out, I’ll tell you that.”
“He didn’t?”
“No. He was red in the face,” Georgia said. “And he looked sad? Or maybe humiliated? What did you do to that billionaire, Veronica? Spit it out.”
I hadn’t touched my glass of wine yet but I considered it now, if only to keep my hands busy and my mouth full – that way I wouldn’t have to answer G’s questions. But I knew my friend better than that. If I tried hiding behind a full mouth, she’d slap my cheeks and make me spit out the wine to get her answers. Georgia didn’t play.
“He asked me out,” I said, at last.
Georgia squealed. “You’re kidding! He asked you out? Oh, gosh, this is a start of a grand romance for you.” She rose from the sofa and swirled in a circle, waltzing around the coffee table in time to no music but her internal tune. “Think Wuthering Heights. Oh, Scarlett, he does give a damn.”
“That’s Gone with the Wind,” I said.
“Huh?”
“Scarlett O’Hara was in Gone with the Wind. Wuthering Heights was Emily Bronte’s book.”
“Whatever.” Georgia quit dancing and fluffed her hair with tapered, dainty fingers. “He’s going to be your billionaire boyfriend, and we’re all going to go on trips to Paris together.”
“No,” I said. “Firstly, I turned him down, and secondly, even if I had said ‘yes’ I’m not the kind of woman who expects that treatment. I’m not Jayne.”
Georgia swished back to her seat and flopped down. “Maybe I’m a little superficial. I just think Paris is romantic, okay?”
“I’ll go there when I can pay for it myself. I don’t need handouts or special treats. I’m not a charity case. Or a puppy dog for that matter.”
“You always blow everything I say out of proportion.” Georgia sighed.
“Says the Drama Queen herself.”
We fell into silence – a dissatisfied one from Georgia. I slipped my cell phone out of the front pocket of my jeans and checked the notifications. Nothing. I’d reached out to my sister on Facebook and asked her to call me at ASAP but she hadn’t bothered yet.
“Wait, why did you turn him down?” Georgia asked. “All the billions aside, he seems like an awesome guy.”
“Because it’s not right, G. He’s still married.”
“Technically, I guess, but they’re estranged. Jayne doesn’t care about him anymore and he wants a divorce. I’m just going on what you’ve told me,” Georgia said. “So that isn’t a valid reason in my book.”
“Are you serious? He’s my brother-in-law. It’s just weird. And never mind the fact that I just broke up with Jackson a week ago, that most of my stuff has been stolen by him, and that I’ve only just managed to cover the rent for this place.”
“Right, and remind me how you did that?”
“Hilarious,” I said. “And you know I wanted to turn down Carter’s money. I tried. He wouldn’t let me and neither would the art gallery.” I still had to go shopping for more art supplies. Usually, I’d look forward to that, but the circumstances with Carter were strange and spending that money felt like taking something from him.
“You’re making excuses.”
“And you’re pushing me in the wrong direction. You’re supposed to be the voice of reason in this,” I said, poking her on the arm. “I’ve got so many other worries. I mean, there’s the fact that I might not be able to stay here, that I haven’t heard from my sister in ages –” That I couldn’t get my brother-in-law out of my thoughts for a second.
None of this talk helped either. I had to forget the weird swirly feelings for Carter.
“Fine, so you don’t go out with Carter and what then? You just focus on all your art and your apartment and, yawn, boring. This guy is amazing, right? He’s handsome and kind, and considerate if the disgusting wine is anything to go by.” Georgia bobbed her head at her glass, still brimming with non-booze.
“Drop it, already.”
“You’re giving up the opportunity to have something real, Ron. Remember that next time he asks you out.”
“Next time? There’s not going to be a next time.”
Georgia pursed her lips in her ‘G knows it all’ expression. “If you say so.”
My phone buzzed in my palm and saved me from Georgia’s inquisition. I didn’t recognize the caller ID and my heart skipped a beat.
“I bet that’s him,” G whispered.
I swiped my thumb across the screen, then pressed the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Sister.” It was Jayne. Good heavens, it was the estranged sister I hadn’t heard from in months.
“Jayne,” I said and jerked off the sofa.
Georgia’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?” she mouthed.
“You left me a message of Facebook? What’s up?” Jayne asked. Laughter burst through the other end of the line. Music danced along with it. Where was she?
“Could you go somewhere quiet? I need to have a serious chat with you about a couple things.”
“Ugh, you know how I feel about serious chats.”
“Jayne, please?”
“Fine.” I waited a couple minutes for it to quiet down. “There, happy?” Jayne asked. “Now, what do you want to talk about? You’re cutting into my leisure time.”
I held back on asking when she had any other time but ‘leisure time.’ Jayne had a quick temper and held grudges for years. “Your husband came over here a few days ago.”
“My husband?”
“Yes, Carter. Remember him?”
“Right, ha, I almost forgot. I guess you could call him my husband,” Jayne said.
“W-what? What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing, nothing.” She giggled. Had she been drinking? “What did Carter want?”
“He dropped off a box of your stuff. He said that he’s been looking for you and that – look, I don’t know how to break this to you, but he wants a divorce.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jayne sniffed. “Okay. Is that all?”
She didn’t even care? “Jayne, what’s going on with you? I’m telling you your relationship is in trouble and you don’t care. You’ve changed.”
“Listen, I’ll believe this when I see it,” Jayne said. “Carter’s not going to do anything rash, trust me when I say that. I know him better than you realize.”
“Lover, what are you doing?” a man asked on the other end of the line.
“Just a second,” Jayne said, and then fabric scraped across the phone.
My cheeks went hot. My lowlife sister had cheated on Carter and was in the process of doing so now.
“What’s happening?” Georgia whispered.
“She’s with some guy,” I said.
Georgia’s expression darkened.
“Hello? Veronica?” Jayne was back again. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk about? I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”
“Yeah, I heard.”
“Cut the judgement, girl. Carter’s probably fucking rows of women. He’s a billionaire,” Jayne said. “Anyway, what else do you want? Hello?”
I’d blanked out for a second there. Jayne had turned toxic. She’d always been borderline on that, but this was just incredible. She didn’t care about Carter at all. She didn’t care about anyone but herself.
“Things are difficult back here, Jayne. You left without any real warning. I’ve been struggling to pay rent.”
“Oh? What happened with that, uh, ha, that boyfriend of yours?”
“We broke up,” I said. “And that’s beside the point. I need to know if you’re going to come back and if not, I need to find another roommate. Understand?”
“Sure.” Jayne giggled again, and a wet sucking noise traveled down the line. Ew, was that guy with her now? Kissing her neck? “Look, I’m never coming back. Let’s just get that out there.”
I clenched my fists. “You left your locket behind.”
“Huh?”
“Your locket. Our sister locket. The one I gave you with the pictures of us in it. You left it in New York,” I said.
“Oh, yeah, right. Mail it to me,” Jayne said. “I gotta go, sis. Love you long time.” And then she hung up – before I even got a chance to ask for her address.
I tossed my phone onto the sofa and almost hit Georgia. “Easy,” she said. “Easy. What happened?”
“She’s a selfish cow; that’s what happened. She doesn’t give a fuck about me or Carter or anyone else but herself. And she’s there with some guy,” I said. “He was all over her while we were talking.”
“Ew. She’s a loser,” Georgia said. “I’m sorry, I know she’s your sister and everything but she’s a total loser. She’s living off Carter, and she doesn’t care about you.”
Georgia was right, of course. Jayne’s narcissism had reached new heights – maybe it had something to do with finally having cash to spend on herself and as she liked. It made me sick to my damn stomach.
Carter had to know she’d cheated on him, or rather, that she was with someone else now. She was in whatever country spending his money and nights in a bed he’d paid for with another man. Nothing about this was fair.
“What are you going to do?” Georgia asked. “You can’t let her get away with this.”
“This is unfair. Somehow, my sister’s marriage has become my responsibility. I don’t have to do anything.”
“Yeah, but we both know you’re not going to let this go. I mean, she’s cheating on him, Ron. That’s fucked up.”
“I’ll think about it. I’ll – I don’t know, I’ll leave Carter a message and tell him about it.”
“Leave him a message about his cheating wife?” Georgia asked. “That’s cold.”
“What else am I supposed to do?” I asked. “Every time I go near him, my brain just freezes up. It’s either that or nothing. Maybe it should be nothing. I mean, he’s already going to divorce her, right? He doesn’t need any further prodding.”
Georgia pursed her lips for the second time. “I’ve never known you to do the wrong thing.”
A crash sounded from the bedroom, and we both jumped. “What the hell?” I hurried through to my room and frowned at the spilled items on the floor, all of which had come from Jayne’s big box of crap. I’d placed it on my dressing table that morning – perhaps it’d been a little close to the edge?
“Spooky,” Georgia said, in the doorway behind me. “Did you open that window?”
“Yes, I did,” I said and walked to it. I shut it tight and locked it, then turned to my friend. A glint from the carpet caught my eye. And there it was, my sister’s locket. I clenched my fists. “Why can’t life be simple, G?”
“Because then God would get super bored?” Georgia laughed. “I don’t know, honey. All you can do is follow your path and try to do the right thing. I think you know what that is.”