Best Friends Forever (9 page)

A
re you sure you want to do this?” Lauren asked.

Celine nestled further into the sofa in the family room. “Not really, but I also want to hear what he has to say.”

“Okay, well, I need to get to work.”

“Thank you for everything.”

Lauren leaned down and hugged her. “You're welcome, and call me if you need to.”

Celine grabbed the TV remote, but then the doorbell rang.

“You want me to let him in?” Lauren said.

“Yeah, if you don't mind.”

“I sort of do, but…”

“Try to be cordial,” Celine said, chuckling. “Because I know you're not happy with him.”

“You can say that again, and I'm surprised he didn't try to use his key.”

“I changed the locks, remember? And I told him right after I did it.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Okay, well, I'll see you later.”

Lauren went down the hallway, and Celine heard the front door opening. She thought she heard Keith saying hello to Lauren, but she wasn't sure Lauren had responded. When the door shut, Keith made his way into the family room. He could barely look at Celine, and he seemed worried about something.

“Hey,” he said, taking a seat across from her and scanning the magazines on the rectangular leather ottoman. He still didn't make eye contact with her.

Celine showed no emotion. “Hi.”

“So how are things going?”

“This is my fifth week of treatments, and so far so good.”

“How many do you need?”

“Thirty. Remember, I told you that before you moved out.”

“Oh yeah, that's right,” he said, looking embarrassed and gazing toward the picture window.

Celine wasn't going to make things easy for him, so she stared at him in silence.

He looked at her again. “So, how's Kassie?”

This irritated Celine. “She's doing as well as can be expected for a child who hasn't heard from her own father in more than a week.”

“I know, and you have no idea how sorry I am about that. But I have a lot going on.”

“Nothing should be more important than your daughter.”

“You're right, but I've had a few problems I've had to deal with. Things I wasn't prepared for.”

Celine wondered what that meant, but she wasn't about to ask him. She would never let on that she cared one way or the other, so instead she said, “Well, I wasn't
prepared
to take care of our daughter all by myself, either. You claimed you were going to pay child support, but I haven't seen a dime in two months. And it's not like I can pay this mortgage all by myself. So what is it…you don't feel like you're responsible for Kassie any longer?”

“I do, but not living here is part of the reason I wanted to talk to you.”

“I'm not sure I understand.”

Keith nervously locked his hands together against his abdomen and couldn't seem to get his words out.

Celine was losing her patience. “Keith, why exactly are you here? What is it you want?”

“Okay, okay. The truth is, baby, I made a huge, huge mistake.”

“With what?”

“Us, and the way I up and moved out.”

Celine knew he had to be joking. “You must be kidding.”

“I'm dead serious.”

“Really? And what made you realize that?”

“Everything. I don't know what happened to me. I was unhappy, but I never should've started going out all the time, and I never should have left you the way I did.”

“Well, what's done is done.”

“I know, but I wanna come back home. I love you, and I need you.”

Celine was taken aback. These were the very words she'd been hoping to hear from the moment Keith had told her he was leaving. But now nine weeks had passed, and she'd survived a flood of tears, countless sleepless nights, and multiple anxiety attacks. So the idea of letting bygones be bygones and taking Keith back wasn't something she was desperate to do—not anymore. She simply couldn't pretend that he'd been faithful to her when he hadn't. It wasn't like they could go back to the way things were when everything about their marriage had changed.

“Just tell me one thing,” she said. “What's so different now versus two months ago?”

“I had a lot of time to think, and it's like I said…I made a huge mistake. Maybe I was going through a midlife crisis. I don't know. But what I do know is that I love you, and I want to come back home. We can get counseling or do whatever you want.”

“What about your woman?”

“That's over.”

Celine shook her head. “You treated me like an unwanted pet, and now you're saying you made a mistake? And on top of that, you've already stopped seeing this amazing woman who helped break up your marriage? Really, Keith?”

“I know it doesn't make sense, but yes. And I'm sorry. When you kept neglecting me, I got crazy in the head, and I allowed my thoughts and my ego to get the best of me. Then I became reckless and did things I'm ashamed of.”

“Well, I'm not sure what to tell you.”

“Baby, please,” he said, standing up, walking over, and sitting next to her. “I'll do anything you say. If it takes me the rest of my life, I'll make things right. I'll be the kind of husband you deserve from now on.”

Celine heard him, but she still couldn't understand where this sudden change of heart was coming from. It didn't make sense, not when he'd been cruel and totally unsympathetic about her feelings and illness. She also thought about his words to her. “
I'm tired of you trying to play the victim…People get sick all the time…They also don't hold pity parties the way you seem to be doing.
”

Keith took Celine's hand. “Baby, I'm begging you. If you give me another chance, you won't be disappointed. We'll have an even better marriage than we had before. We'll have a great life together.”

Celine pulled her hand away from him. “This is all too much for me right now, and I'd really like you to leave.”

“What do I need to do? Just tell me.”

“I really want you to go, Keith.”

“Okay, I hear you. But please think about everything I've said. I need you to forgive me so we can fix this.”

Celine pursed her lips, and Keith finally took the hint and got up.

“I'll check in with you later,” he said.

Celine sat on the sofa dumbfounded. To say she was flabbergasted was an understatement.

K
assie moseyed into the family room and plopped down in a chair. Normally she hugged Celine as soon as she saw her, but not today.

“Hi, honey,” Celine said. “How was camp?”

Kassie shrugged her shoulders.

Celine wondered what was bothering her. “Honey, what's wrong? Did something happen?”

“No,” she said, looking at the commercial on television.

“Then why do you look like something's wrong? Why do you seem sad?”

Kassie shrugged her shoulders again.

“Look, sweetheart. Whatever it is, you need to tell me.”

Kassie looked at her. “Why won't Daddy call me back? Why won't he come see me?”

“Honey, he's probably pretty busy with work.”

“But I miss him.”

“I know, but it won't always be this way. This is hard for all of us, and it's going to take some getting used to.”

“I won't ever get used to Daddy living somewhere else. I want him to come back home and never leave again.”

Celine thought about Keith's visit earlier this afternoon, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Kassie about it. Not when it would only give her false hopes.

“I'm sorry this is happening, but for now this is the way things have to be.”

“But Mom, I don't want them to be this way. I want us to be a family again. A real family.”

Celine wasn't sure what else to say, but it broke her heart to see how down her daughter was. Kassie's therapist had given her another update on Kassie's progress last week, and she'd seemed to be dealing with her parents' separation much better. So maybe she was just having a bad day. Maybe she'd thought about it much more than usual, and the reality of it all was consuming her.

“Why don't you come sit next to me?” Celine said.

“I don't want to!” she shouted.

“Kassie! Since when do you use that kind of tone with me? I know you're upset, but I won't tolerate that.”

“I want Daddy to come home.”

“I realize that, but it's not going to happen. At least not now, anyway.”

“Then when, Mom?”

“I don't know.”

“Is it that you won't let him?”

“No, your dad left on his own and you know that.”

“But if you asked him to come back, I'll bet he would. He just needs to know it's okay.”

“Your dad and I are dealing with some grown-up problems that aren't easy. I know it's hard on you, but I can't do anything to change it right now.”

“But you
can
change it. You just have to call him. Tell him you're sorry about whatever you did.”

Celine bit her tongue. She had to stop herself from rattling off the truth about Keith. Especially since her daughter had somehow decided to blame her.

“Why is it you think I did something?”

“Because Daddy left. He left us because he wasn't happy, and you both said it wasn't my fault.”

“Yes, but this wasn't just about something I did. Sometimes people grow apart. It's unfortunate, sweetheart, but it happens.”

“But one time I heard you and Daddy arguing, and he said you cared more about your business than you did about him. He said you never spent time with him.”

Celine so wanted to sing like Jennifer Hudson. If she could, she'd tell Kassie how her dad was having an affair with another woman and how he hadn't given Celine one dime of child support since he'd left. But she'd decided weeks ago that no matter how bad things got—no matter how irresponsible Keith continued to be—she would never badmouth him to his daughter. She would keep her mouth shut and allow Kassie to find out the truth on her own terms, even if it wasn't until years from now.

“There's a lot you don't understand, and I think it's best that we talk about something else.”

Kassie folded her arms and frowned. “I don't wanna talk about anything else. I just want Daddy to come home.”

“You know what? Since you can't seem to get your attitude together and talk to me like I'm your mother, I want you to go upstairs to your room. And stay there until you learn how to show some respect.”

Kassie got to her feet and stomped through the family room. Celine had a mind to punish her right then and there, taking away all TV and tablet privileges. But because of the situation, Celine decided to give her the benefit of the doubt—for now.

But as soon as Celine heard Kassie's bedroom door slam shut, the doorbell rang, and Kassie quickly rushed back downstairs.

“I hope that's Daddy,” she said, hurrying to the front entrance.

Celine half worried that it might actually be him, but she hoped he wouldn't have the audacity to show up unannounced.

Celine felt too tired to get up, so she didn't. “Make sure you ask who it is before opening the door.”

“Auntie Lauren,” Celine heard Kassie say, bursting into tears.

“Honey, why are you crying?”

Kassie wept loudly.

“Sweetheart, what's the matter?” Lauren asked.

Celine hated this.

She heard Kassie sniffling and the two of them strolling toward the family room.

“I miss my daddy,” Kassie said.

When Lauren and Kassie finally walked in, Lauren had one arm wrapped around Kassie and was holding a white-and-blue paper bag in the other hand. She set the bag down, though, on the arm of the sofa and gave Kassie a full hug.

“Honey, I know this is tough, but you've got to hang in there.”

“But Mom won't call Daddy to ask him to come back.”

Lauren gazed over at Celine, clearly at a loss for words, and Kassie cried harder.

“I'm so sorry,” Lauren said, wiping Kassie's face and picking up the bag she'd set down. “But hey, maybe this frozen custard will make things a little better.”

Kassie sniffled a few times. “What kind is it?”

“Your favorite. Vanilla.”

Kassie wiped her face with her hands and took the custard into the kitchen.

Celine wasn't in the habit of letting Kassie have sweets before dinner, but she guessed she would make an exception today. Anything to settle Kassie's nerves.

“So how are you feeling?” Lauren said, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from Celine.

“Still pretty tired.”

“Maybe you should go get in bed. Resting on the couch is one thing, but it's not the same.”

“I know. Maybe in a little while.”

When Celine heard Kassie's bedroom door closing again, she sighed. “Girl, you just don't know. You couldn't have come at a better time.”

“I can tell. And why was Kassie so upset?”

“I don't know. She came home like this.”

“I really hate to see her suffering so much.”

“I do, too, but before you got here, she was being downright disrespectful.”

“Kassie was?”

“Yeah, and you know that's totally unlike her,” Celine said.

“Of course it is. But then again, she's never experienced so much pain before.”

“She wants her dad to move back home, and somehow she thinks it's my fault that he left.”

“She said that?”

“Pretty much.”

“What did you tell her?”

“Not a lot, and eventually I sent her to her room.”

“Well, what happened when Keith came over? What did he want?”

“Ironically, he wants what Kassie wants.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, can you believe that?”

Lauren rested her arm across the back of the sofa. “This from the same man that walked out on you, knowing you had cancer? It's bad enough that he's out there having an affair, but leaving you to fend for yourself while you were sick? That was the worst. Not to mention, he's not doing a thing to help take care of Kassie. It just doesn't get much lower than that.”

“I know.”

“So what did you tell him?”

“I asked him to leave. I just wanted him to go.”

“I don't blame you. He should've thought about that two months ago. I know it's not my place to comment, but I'm really pissed off at Keith for doing this to you. He could have shown you a lot more compassion than he did. He acted as though he couldn't have cared less about you.”

Celine knew Lauren was right, and while she couldn't imagine taking Keith back for those very reasons, she also thought about Kassie. If the separation was causing her this much trauma, what would a divorce do? Celine remembered all too well how badly her parents' divorce had affected her many years ago, and she didn't want that for Kassie. Plus, as much as she didn't want to admit it, she still loved Keith. But she also wasn't sure she could ever trust him again. He'd made it clear that he wanted them to reconcile, but she wondered if his betrayal was too much to live with. She worried that their marriage couldn't be saved…that it was over for good.