Sisters and Husbands (14 page)

S
urprise!”

Beverly froze in her tracks at the entrance to Evelyn’s living room and gasped. Thirty women—from blondes to brunettes and
light-complexioned to dark—were smiling at her. A surprise bridal shower! And it looked like everyone was there—family, friends,
co-workers.

She looked at the pink and white balloons and the lavish buffet spread of shrimp and Swedish meatballs and all sorts of vegetable
and fruit salads. How in the world had Evelyn managed to pull this off, even with a caterer’s help? Beverly had thought that
there would be no big bridal shower, maybe just a small affair with her sisters and a couple of friends.

“Gotcha good, didn’t we?” Charmaine said, laughing gleefully.

Beverly nodded as her mother came up and hugged her. “You sure did,” Beverly said.

“You look shocked,” Mama said, touching Beverly’s cheek.

Beverly laughed and hugged her mother. “That’s ’cause I am, Ma.”

Evelyn, Charmaine, and Valerie hugged and kissed her on the cheek; then the other women approached and offered their congratulations.
As Beverly mingled with cousins and friends, she soon realized that beneath all the joviality something was seriously out
of whack with Evelyn.

After everyone had settled down from the initial excitement of her arrival, Evelyn was still fussy and jumpy, rushing around
picking up used plates and silverware, sometimes before the user could even set them down. In the hour since the party started,
Evelyn hadn’t stopped moving for more than a few seconds. That was so unlike her cool eldest sister.

Beverly listened as she and Valerie stood near the window in the living room and Valerie chatted, but her eyes followed Evelyn
as she dashed into the kitchen with her hands full of dishes. In less than a minute, Evelyn hurried back out and headed for
the buffet table in the dining room, where Beverly noticed her shuffling things around needlessly. Then Evelyn slipped into
the living room and picked up used glasses.

“What’s wrong?” Valerie asked. “You have this really weird look on your face.”

Beverly glanced back toward her friend. “Sorry, it’s nothing.”

“You sure?” Valerie asked, her voice filled with doubt.

Beverly nodded. She had her suspicions that whatever was bothering Evelyn had to do with Kevin and she would have loved to
discuss it with her best friend. But Valerie had a sizable mouth on her, and Beverly figured it was probably best to keep
her thoughts to herself for now.

“Is something bothering Evelyn?” Valerie asked.

Beverly blinked. For a second she thought her friend was going clairvoyant on her. Then Beverly realized that Evelyn’s behavior
likely looked a lot odder than she realized and that others may have noticed it too. “I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

“She doesn’t seem like herself,” Valerie said. “She’s a lot more jittery or something. Evelyn’s usually so composed.”

Beverly tried to appear unconcerned. “She didn’t have much time to plan the shower. She’s busy.”

Valerie nodded. “Maybe that’s it. I should offer to help out.”

At that moment, Beverly heard the front door shut and she looked to see a bald-headed man walk quickly past the living room
entrance.

“Was that Kevin?” Valerie asked.

Valerie had taken the words right out of Beverly’s mouth. “I think so,” Beverly said.

“When did he shave his head?”

“Recently, from what Evelyn tells me.”

“Damn, he looks good. I love a man with a shaved head.”

Beverly smiled. “Actually, you love any kind of man with any kind of head,” she said teasingly. “Don’t forget, he’s taken.”

Valerie rolled her eyes at Beverly in mock disgust. “Like I don’t know that. Not to mention that I’m spoken for too. A girl
can still look and admire, can’t she? No harm in that.”

“I was kidding,” Beverly said. With a man like Otis she’d probably look and admire other men too, Beverly thought, although
she decided to keep that thought to herself. Valerie already knew how she felt about Otis, so there was no point bringing
it up.

Evelyn stood stock-still as Kevin skipped up the stairs two at a time. So he had decided to show up
now
? When he finally called her back yesterday afternoon, he agreed to come by after work and help her move the table. But then
he didn’t show up. Not last night, not this morning. Finally, Evelyn walked across the street and got her neighbor to help.

Now he had the nerve to stroll in at two o’clock in the afternoon, an hour after the shower had started, and act like things
were normal. Evelyn placed the dirty glasses she had just picked up on a side table and followed him up the stairs, where
she found him standing in the middle of the floor in their bedroom. He had his hands in the pockets of his faded blue jeans
and he looked totally uncomfortable in these surroundings.

She stood in the doorway and silently folded her arms across the chest of her tailored navy pantsuit. Sometimes there was
no need to say anything. Sometimes a simple disgusted expression could do.

“Sorry I got here so late,” he said. “Something came up yesterday after we talked.”

“You couldn’t have called to say you wouldn’t be able to make it?”

“Didn’t think to.”

He spoke without a single ounce of regret. It was infuriating. But sadly his behavior didn’t surprise Evelyn. Not anymore.
Nothing he did surprised her now. Her eyes flashed with annoyance. “So why bother to show up here today?”

“I thought I’d stop by to see if you need help with anything else.”

She threw her hands up in the air. “The goddamn party is almost over now. And is that the only reason you came? We’re probably
on the brink of dissolving a twenty-five-year marriage, yet you have no need to talk to me about anything?”

She paused and he stared at the floor in silence. So he still had no words for her? She shook her head with despair. Nothing
seemed rational when it came to Kevin anymore. She hardly knew what to say to him. “Honestly, Kevin. No, I don’t need any
help. You may as well go back wherever you came from.”

He ran his hand across his scalp. “I need to pack a few more things while I’m here. You go on and entertain your guests.”

So cold and distant. Evelyn couldn’t believe how much he had changed. This was the man who had lain beside her and kept her
warm almost every night for decades. Now whenever he was around, it felt like an arctic chill was blowing through. She turned
to leave.

“Evelyn.”

She paused and turned back to face him.

“I know you want to talk, and we will in due time, but I’m not ready yet. Sorry it’s taking so long.”

She nodded. That was the most considerate thing he’d said to her in months. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
“When do you think you’ll be ready?”

“Soon.”

“Soon, soon. You keep saying that. Do you realize that it’s been two weeks since you left, and we’ve barely spoken to each
other?”

“There’s a lot to think about. I want to be sure I have things worked out.”

“Kevin.” She dreaded even asking if there was another woman. He had already said there wasn’t, but it was hard to imagine
what else could have brought such a drastic and sudden change in him. “Are you seeing someone else? I want the truth.”

He shook his head firmly. “No, absolutely not. It’s nothing like that.”

“Would you tell me if you were?”

He hesitated for a second. “Yes. Yes, I would.”

Something about the detached way he’d said it made Evelyn believe him. She realized that if he was seeing someone else, he
would have no reservations about admitting it to her, simply because he cared so little about her feelings at this point.
Still, Evelyn had a hard time accepting that his attitude was anything more than temporary. He was going through a phase,
and she still hoped that he would snap out of it eventually if she was patient enough.

“Rebecca is really upset about all of this,” she said. “I wish you hadn’t told them.”

“After you and I talked, I decided that it was best to be up front. I don’t like hiding things from them. She’ll be fine.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I worry that it’s going to affect her studies. Thank God she’s coming home in a couple of weeks
for Bev’s wedding. I can talk to her in person then. We both can.”

He nodded silently.

“It would be helpful to us all if you would give an indication of where you’re going with this, Kevin.”

“And I will.”

“I know,” she said drily. “
Soon.
”

He smiled thinly. “What else can I say?”

“Nothing. If nothing is in your heart, then there’s nothing you should say.” Evelyn realized that the distant and uncaring
expression on his face hurt her but not nearly as much as it had when she last saw him. She might be getting used to this.
And that scared her more anything.

She turned on her heels and walked away.

E
velyn descended the stairs slowly, and Beverly noticed that she looked even more morose than she had before she had gone up.
Beverly excused herself from Valerie and went to her sister. “Is everything all right?” Beverly asked softly, even though
she knew things couldn’t possibly be all right. You didn’t walk around looking like you’d just seen death when things were
going well.

Evelyn tightened her lips and stared at the floor as Charmaine approached them. “Everything is fine.”

“Don’t lie to us,” Charmaine said bluntly.

“You know better than to try that with us,” Beverly said. “We can see right through it.”

“It’s just…” Evelyn paused. She knew she needed to tell them the whole story, despite the fact that it was hard to admit it,
even to herself. But she didn’t have much choice at this point. Kevin was about to walk down the stairs with a bag in his
hand, and the truth would be fairly obvious. She could lie and say he was going on a trip, but she was tired of being deceptive.

She beckoned her sisters into the family room, which was on a lower level next to the kitchen and far away from the crowd.
She might as well get this done, and the quickest way was to come right out with the ugly reality. She faced them and squared
her shoulders. “Kevin has left me.”

Beverly and Charmaine both gasped.

“Oh, my God,” Charmaine said.

Beverly covered her mouth with her hand. “Are you serious?” Beverly had figured that something was drastically wrong in the
DuMont household but had never suspected this. Not with Evelyn and Kevin.

Evelyn nodded. “He left about two weeks ago. The day after your fitting, Bev.”

“Good grief,” Charmaine said.

“So when we met for lunch last weekend he had already left?” Beverly asked.

Evelyn nodded again.

“And you never said anything,” Charmaine said. “Not one damn word. We sat and talked all that time and you said not one word.”

“Sorry, but I was too embarrassed. And I didn’t want to burden anyone with my problems. I was so sure he would come back soon
and I wouldn’t have to. Well, he hasn’t. And the truth is, I don’t have the faintest idea what he’s going to do. He doesn’t
tell me much of anything anymore.”

“Oh, Evelyn,” Beverly said. “This is crazy.”

“I know,” Evelyn said.

“Where is he staying?” Charmaine asked.

“A rental in College Park.”

“But why?” Beverly asked. “Why did he leave?”

“I wish I could tell you, but I don’t really understand it myself. Like I said last week, it’s some kind of emotional thing
he’s going through. A midlife crisis or something. We haven’t talked about it much at all yet. He won’t talk to me.”

Beverly could hardly catch her breath. She knew this must be extremely hard on Evelyn. Still, she was aware that even the
best of couples quarreled, sometimes badly. In the end, they patched things up. Kevin and Evelyn probably needed a break from
each other, and what couple wouldn’t after more than two decades of marriage? “He just needs some time to himself, Evelyn.
He’s at that age where he’s worried about getting older and he’s doubting himself. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually.”

Charmaine nodded. “I kind of saw this coming, but that’s what I’m thinking it is too. A bad midlife crisis. I’m hoping he
comes to his senses soon.”

Beverly stared at Charmaine. “You saw this coming? How?”

Charmaine shrugged. “The distance between them. I figured something was up. Look, I’ve been married four times. I’ve seen
it all.”

“Well, it’s news to me,” Beverly said. “I had no idea. How are you dealing with it, Evelyn?”

Evelyn swallowed hard. “I’m not in the best shape, I won’t lie. But I’m hanging in there. What else can I do? The ball is
completely in his court. I have to sit here and wait to see what he decides to do.”

Charmaine shook her head with doubt. “I got plenty of ideas about what else you can do. You might not want to do them but—”

“Charm,” Beverly interrupted. “She’s been married too long to just walk off at the first sign of real trouble the way you
would.”

“I’m just saying. I agree she should give him some time, but if he doesn’t come around soon…” Charmaine brushed her hands
together.