Chapter 10
It had been four years, three months, and six days since Charlie had spoken to his father over the phone. When he went to visit his brother and sister-in-law at Northwestern Memorial Hospital the day his youngest nephew was born two-and-a-half years ago, the schedules had gotten messed up, and he’d come face-to-face with his father.
Joseph Laughlin had nodded his head, turned, and walked out of the waiting room. Charlie’s mother patted his arm, but then hurried after her husband. The years since seeing his father hadn’t faded the ache in his chest that he felt every time he thought of his family.
Picking up the phone to tell his father he was married made him realize why he’d been yearning to settle down over the past couple of years. He’d thought it had been because he’d gotten to hold his nephew. But really, it was about wanting to feel like he belonged to someone.
And it wasn’t like what he’d done was that bad. He’d gone out on his own, and done some sleazy shit. It was the fact that he’d done it publically, and it reflected poorly on his family. The Laughlin family name was everything to Joe-the-third.
For a hundred years, the Laughlins had owned the most respected newspaper in the Midwest. And, under his father’s leadership, the family business had grown to include newspapers and local television stations all over the country. Joe had been able to grow in a business that most people were failing at.
Charlie’s hands shook as he entered his father’s direct office line. He would be a man and not send news of his wedding in an email to his whole family, which was the only way he’d communicated with his father for those four years, three months, and six days.
His father picked up on the third ring. “What do you want?”
He would take offense, but that was the only way his dad had ever answered the phone. Even when they were little kids. “I wanted to tell you that I got married.”
Joe appreciated communications being right to the point.
“Is she a porn star or a centerfold?”
That would have been a safe assumption when he was in his early twenties. Several of the girls on the The Single Guy had gone on to illustrious careers in adult entertainment. And with the benefit of years, Charlie had often wondered if he’d altered their lives in a bad way, but he tried to shake it off. Coming from a place of shame was not the right way to approach his father.
“Neither. She’s a dancer.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” Charlie could see his dad shaking his head and patting himself down for a cigarette—a habit he’d given up when his sons were still small—from a thousand miles away. “You married a stripper?”
“Not a stripper. A principal dancer with the Miami City Ballet.” His father was silent. “Laura Delgado.”
“When did this happen?”
“A few months ago.”
“And you’re just calling me now?” Joe was probably standing now, looking out the window of his office on the deep-brown colored Chicago River. “Your mother is going to kill me when I have to tell her.”
“You don’t have to tell her. I’ll call her myself.”
“It’s going to break her heart that she wasn’t at the wedding.”
“It wasn’t big. Just me and her.”
“How’d you convince her to do it?” Charlie winced. He had enough shit boiling in his head about why Laura shouldn’t want to be with him. He didn’t need his baggage with his dad making this any harder.
“I got her drunk.” He went with the truth, and exactly what his father would expect. “And, miraculously, she wants to keep me.” For now.
“I just wanted to tell you because there’s going to be a story in a magazine.”
“One of my magazines?”
“Nope. Ocean Drive.”
The phone clicked, and he was almost relieved. He wouldn’t have to talk to his father for at least three more years.
* * * *
Lola looked smug, and Carla’s shock was palpable. This wasn’t nearly as difficult as telling her parents had been, but telling Carla that she had already been married to Charlie when she was trying to set her up with him was awkward to say the least.
Alana and Maya, her oldest cousin and cousin-in-law were in the kitchen getting wine. She’d only met Maya at the wedding—and judging from the short period of time she’d spent with the free-spirited painter—her cousin-in-law was going to think this was funny.
Alana, she wasn’t as close to. Her oldest cousin had always been kind of intimidating. Smart, serious, worldly. Now that she was married to a guy she’d had a wild, New Year’s Eve one-night stand with, she seemed to be a lot more fun.
“You married Charlie?” Carla’s voice was more of a shriek.
“Mija, that’s what she said.” Grandma Lola with the helpful narrative.
“At my wedding?”
Laura still felt guilty about that. “I know it’s like one of those memes on the Internet that had everyone up in arms about another person’s wedding. It’s gauche to steal focus. I’m sorry.”
Carla stood up and moved to the couch next to her. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“It happened after you and Jonah made your exit. On the beach, I think. It was sort of wedding adjacent.”
“I’m not mad.”
“You should be.”
Wait a second. ‘You think’ it happened on the beach.” Alana and Maya had four bottles of wine in between the two of them and glasses for everyone.
Laura shouldn’t even be thinking about drinking any. She had just a few weeks of rehearsal left, and a very skimpy red costume to look magnificent in.
“I was a little drunk.”
Carla squinted her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drunk.”
“I was injured and on a tropical island.”
“And you fell in love at first sight.” Lola was wrong, of course. Lust maybe. And she liked Charlie, which was growing to be a problem. She found herself wanting to see him at least once a day.
“Love at first sight is not a thing.”
Her grandmother stood up. “Of course it is, look at this one.” She gesticulated at Alana with her full wineglass, almost spilling. “And Carlita.”
“It was not love at first sight. I thought he was an asshole.” Carla whispered in her ear. “I only considered him more than a weekend thing after my dad gave him a black eye.”
“And you were knocked up.” Maya smirked over the rim of her glass. “I believe in love at first sight.”
“You do?” It seemed surprising. Her cousin Javi’s woman seemed to be about as cynical as Laura. She thought that was why they’d hit it off.
“Of course I do.” Maya shrugged. “Why else do you think I acted like a lunatic about Javi for five years?”
“You were never a lunatic,” Alana said. “And it wasn’t love at first sight for me and Cole. It was more like lust-plus at first sight. And tequila shots. Lots of tequila shots.”
“I challenged Charlie into doing shots. I remember that.”
Alana laughed. “Well, then there’s your answer.”
Carla nodded sagely. “The women in our family should apparently never do tequila shots.”
“Weren’t you drinking beer the night you accidently got knocked up?” Maya was ready to read everyone for filth, apparently.
“She’s right.” Carla filled up her wineglass. “Whatever you do, don’t drink beer and then fuck Charlie seven times with expired condoms.”
“Noted.”
“Laura, you should just admit that you’re in love with him now.” Lola smiled. “It will save your brothers from having to give him a bloody nose.” Laura drew her finger across her throat in her grandmother’s direction. Instead of shutting her mouth, her grandmother mimicked her and said, “This. What is this?”
“Do you want your secret to get out?”
Lola had the temerity to try to look disdainful. “Secrets? I have no secrets.”
Laura wasn’t sure why she said it now. Maybe it was because she was among women that she trusted, that she felt like she fit in with. Maybe it was because the glaring spotlight on her love life was getting to be too much. But, when she opened her mouth, she said, “I caught Lola making out with my abuelo.” She looked down at the upholstery between her and Carla. “On this couch.”
“Tia Lola, getting it in.” Carla stood up and gave Lola a high five.
Seriously, did nothing shock these people?
“I told you I have no secrets.”
“But aren’t you worried that you’ll hurt him again?” He looked reasonably happy when he was here the other day, but during most of her childhood, he’d been quiet and reserved. A trait he’d passed down to Laura’s mother.
“Your abuelo is a big boy. We are just having fun.” Lola poured herself more wine. “Isn’t that why you were sneaking in when you caught us?”
Carla hit her upper arm so hard it stung. “You’re sleeping with Charlie?”
“He’s my husband.” She didn’t want to talk about how much she was growing to like her husband. Nor did she want to get into the fact that he was as addictive as an opioid, with the way he controlled her body and made her beg.
“But I thought you wanted to get an annulment?” Alana, always the lawyer. “You can’t do that if you’re actually fucking your husband. That was a question on the bar exam.”
“That’s what we were going to do at first. But then, that reporter showed up, and we decided we’d stay married. For now.”
Carla hit her again, this time on the thigh. Probably hard enough to leave a bruise. “You weren’t even going to tell anyone?”
“That was the plan. It was embarrassing.” Her cheeks heated even now. “But it was a dumb plan. We’re going to get a divorce.”
“But for now you’re dating your husband? And then you’re going to divorce him?” Maya raised her eyebrows and took a long pull of rosé. “That sounds like a solid plan.”
This time, Carla tapped her glass against Laura’s. “Just remember the thing I said about beer and old condoms.”
Lola smiled smugly from her armchair as Laura plotted undetectable ways of killing her.