TRUTH (15 page)

Jimmy was the first to see us when we walked into the room. Once he’d announced he was going into medicine, Richard had taken him under his wing. Apparently he and his wife were going to be regular guests in my aunt and uncle’s home from here on out. Jimmy smiled. “About time you showed up. I’m starved.”

This, of course, got the attention of both his wife and my aunt. Diane set down the bowl of salad she had in her hands and walked toward us without preamble. She pulled me in for a hug, squeezing with more force than necessary. “I’m so glad you came,” she whispered.

I hugged her back with one arm, refusing to let go of Brianna. “I couldn’t turn down your spaghetti and meatballs, could I?”

She stepped back, smacking my shoulder playfully. “If that’s all it takes to get you to come see me, I’ll serve spaghetti every week.”

I laughed.
 

Brianna had been standing stoically beside me until Diane turned her attention from me to her. Diane wasted no time stepping forward and hugging Brianna as well. Brianna remained stiff for a long moment and then returned my aunt’s hug with her free hand.
 

“It’s so good to see you again.”

“Thank you,” Brianna responded as my aunt stepped back.
 

Diane smiled. “I hope you’re all hungry,” she said as she turned her attention to the food once more.
 

Without further delay, we all took our seats around the table. Diane and Richard were at each end, with Brianna and me on one side, and Jimmy and Samantha on the other. I hadn’t missed Samantha’s intense scrutiny of Brianna, but she hadn’t said anything and Brianna hadn’t reacted to it, so I chose to ignore it. At least for the time being.
 

As I took the first bite of spaghetti, I was transported back to the many times I’d spent helping both my aunt and my mom in the kitchen. My parents had employed a cook who had come in during the week, but on the weekends Mom had insisted we could cook for ourselves, and she’d required that we all help. It was because of her I could cook as well as I did. Not that I was a stellar chef or anything, but I could hold my own, especially with a recipe in front of me.
 

I hadn’t realized my trip down memory lane had drawn the attention of my dinner companions until Brianna touched my arm. I looked over at her and could see the worry on her face. Taking her hand, I laced our fingers together and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She didn’t look convinced.

“Is everything all right, Stephan?” Samantha asked. It was the first time she’d spoken since we’d arrived.

“Yes. I’m fine.” Then to get the attention off me, I asked Jimmy how things were going at the hospital.
 

Throughout the rest of dinner, he regaled us with stories. Everyone appeared to be enthralled and thoroughly distracted by Jimmy’s tales—everyone but Brianna. Worry lines creased her forehead, even as she ate.
 

I leaned over and spoke softly in her ear. “I’m fine, sweetheart. I promise. Relax and enjoy your meal.” She nodded, and I could tell she was trying to obey. Lifting her hand, I placed a kiss on her knuckles before releasing my hold and going back to my food. I didn’t want her worrying about me. I really was fine.

Diane stood as everyone was finishing. “Brianna, would you like to help me bring in dessert?”

Brianna stared up at me, unsure.
 

I nodded, letting her know it was all right. She took a deep breath and pushed back her chair. I knew the effort it took for her to do something as simple as go into the kitchen and help my aunt with dessert, but she was doing it, and I was proud of her.

As soon as they were out of earshot, my uncle pounced. “Should I even ask why you were late today?”

I picked up my water and took a drink before addressing him. “If there’s something you wish to say, Richard, please say it. As we’ve already established, I’m an adult and so is Brianna. What we do, or don’t do, is none of your business.”

“Now, Stephan, I don’t think your uncle—”

“Stay out of this, Samantha. I have no interest in your mind games.”

“Stephan! I don’t appreciate you using that tone with my wife,” Jimmy said, all his usual lightheartedness gone.

 
“Jimmy, I appreciate you defending your wife, but if she is going to stick her nose into someone else’s business, then both of you are going to have to learn to deal with the consequences. I won’t be one of her psych studies.”

“And what about your consequences?” Samantha piped in.

Unfortunately, I was unable to respond. Diane and Brianna walked around the corner with dessert. Even with the tension in the room, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw what she was carrying. It seemed my aunt was pulling out all my favorites.
 

Brianna waited patiently behind her with a stack of plates and a handful of forks, while Diane laid the three-layer chocolate and strawberry swirl cake on the table and began to slice it. One by one, Brianna handed my aunt a plate, which she filled with a piece of cake.
 

“Thank you, dear,” she said to Brianna, taking the last two plates from her.
 

Brianna resumed her place beside me quickly. Soon we were all eating again. Unfortunately, the tension in the room hadn’t dissipated much.
 

“Dr. Cooper?” Brianna’s voice was barely above a whisper, but since they were the first words anyone at the table had heard her speak all day, everyone stopped and waited.

There was an unnatural pause before my uncle answered her. “Yes, Brianna?”

She pressed her lips together for five very long seconds before she spoke. “What made you . . . want to become a doctor?”

No one spoke for the longest time, but I reached out and took her hand in mine, smiling the entire time. I knew she was only following the instructions I’d given her, but she could have picked something simple like asking him his favorite color. It would have only required a one-word answer on his part, and once the response was given, her task would have been completed. By asking something more open ended, she also opened herself up to a more lengthy conversation.
 

“My father was a doctor. I used to go into the office with him on Saturdays when I was younger. Then in my teenage years, I volunteered at the hospital.” He paused, glancing over at me before returning to Brianna. “I admired my father a great deal. He knew every one of his patients by name. He knew their families.” There was a long silence before he added, “I wanted to be just like him.”

We could have heard a pin drop in the room after that. There wasn’t even the sound of forks scraping against plates. Richard’s father had died last year, and it was clear that talking about him had brought his grief back to the surface.
 

“Ted was a good man and a great doctor,” Diane said, breaking through the silence.

“Yes,” Richard said, clearing his throat. “Yes, he was.”

I decided I needed to fill Brianna in on what was going on. I didn’t want her to be confused. “Richard’s father, Ted, died a little over a year ago. They were close.”

She looked up at me, eyes wide. Brianna closed her eyes momentarily, before turning to face my uncle. I knew she was trying to keep herself from crying. “I’m so sorry.”

He cleared his throat again and picked up his napkin to wipe his mouth. It was a purely reactionary gesture. “No need to be sorry, Brianna. You didn’t know. Besides, talking about our loved ones who’ve passed on is a way for us to honor their memory. They are only truly gone if we choose to forget them.”

The way my uncle glanced over to me as he spoke was not lost on me. I knew exactly what he was implying, but he was wrong. Just because I didn’t like to talk about my parents didn’t mean I’d forgotten them. Far from it. They were a part of me. A part of me that I didn’t share easily. A part of me that I wanted to share with only one person.

Brianna

I was nervous when Stephan’s aunt asked for my help in the kitchen, but I didn’t know how to get out of it. It turned out not to be as scary as I thought it would be. She was really nice. I even felt comfortable enough to ask her my question.
 

At first, I thought I’d asked something wrong because she stopped what she was doing and turned to look at me. Then she smiled and continued to place slices of strawberries on top of the chocolate cake. “Stephan didn’t come to live with us until he was almost fifteen, you know.”

She paused, glancing up at me again.
 

When I nodded, she continued. “His mother and I were only a year apart, so we were close. But like most families, we didn’t see each other all the time. They were busy with their lives, and we were busy with ours.”

She finished decorating the cake and then began removing plates and utensils from the drawers and cabinets.
 

“He was a good kid. Happy. A little spoiled, but most kids who grew up with what he did would be. My sister tried very hard to make sure he appreciated what he had, though.”

Diane handed the stack of plates to me, along with enough forks for everyone. She turned around and reached for the cake and the cake server but halted her movement mid-reach.

I was just about to ask if something was wrong when she spoke.
 

“He was devastated after they died. For the first three months, he barely spoke to anyone. Even after he did start talking again, you could just tell. He wasn’t the same.” She looked at me and smiled. “He’s happy with you. Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. Even when he doesn’t have a smile on his face, I can see it in the relaxed set of his shoulders, the way he leans into you when you’re close.”
 

She paused.
 

“Thank you.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say. Throughout dinner, I’d been trying to think of a question I could ask her. Asking about something that I had no interest in seemed fake somehow, so I’d asked her something I’d truly been curious about. Stephan. I was curious what he’d been like growing up.

Somehow the conversation had turned back to me, and that made me uncomfortable. Diane seemed to sense my anxiety and refocused her attention on the cake. “Are you ready?” she asked, picking up the delicious-looking dessert.

“Yes.”

When we walked back into the dining room, I could tell something was wrong. Stephan was sitting way too straight, and he had his hand clenched into a fist. It was in his lap, so I doubt anyone else at the table noticed, but I did. I thought about going to him but stopped myself when I saw him smile up at his aunt. Whatever it was couldn’t have been that bad, or he wouldn’t have been smiling. I took a deep breath, stayed where I was, and helped Diane serve the slices of cake.

As everyone ate their dessert, I knew time was running out for me to ask Dr. Cooper my question. I knew what I wanted to ask. It was just a matter of opening my mouth and asking him.

His answer wasn’t what I was expecting. Dr. Cooper struck me as a driven man, but I had no idea he chose his profession because of his father. In fact, his answer surprised me. His explanation made it sound like family was important to him, yet he’d believed that woman, a stranger, over his own flesh and blood. If he truly felt this way, I didn’t understand how he could treat Stephan so badly.

The conversation stalled after that. Everyone finished eating their cake, and the men, including Stephan, gathered the dirty dishes and took them into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Diane and Samantha. I was okay with Diane. Samantha I wasn’t sure about, so I tried to make myself seem small without disobeying Stephan’s rule of not looking down.
 

It didn’t work.
 

“I like your dress, Brianna. Is it new?” Samantha asked.

I knew I had to answer. Be polite.
 

“Yes.”

“Where did you get it?” Her voice was pleasant enough, but I was suddenly nervous.
 

“Stephan. He gave it to me.” My voice was shaking slightly. I couldn’t help it. Something about the way she’d asked the question made me think she was fishing for information, not just asking about my dress. She didn’t seem to like Stephan very much.

“Did Stephan give you that necklace?”