His fooled cheat

Chapter 2

I am face down on my old bed and crying. I am angry and hurt. More angry that I am crying about something that happened so long ago. Thank God my mother isn’t at home to witness this.

Clearly this was a bad idea. I needed to leave. I just needed to go back home and forget these people and their happy lives they led.

Just then, there is a knock at the door. Seriously, who could be coming around in the early afternoon?

I quickly pat my face with some wet wipes and go to answer the door. Leaving the screen locked, I open the front door. For a minute, the blond hair and broad shoulders throw me. He has his back to me and my heart immediately leaps to my throat. I have no idea what to say, but when he turns around, I see its Jamie.

“Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to get some lunch?” He has his hands in his jeans pockets and actually looks hopeful.

I really don’t feel like venturing out again, so I decide against my better judgement to invite him in.

“You OK?”

I shrug off his concern, “Yeah, I was just having a nap.”

“Oh, sorry. I could leave?”

“No, no don’t.”

“So, you keen on some local dining and a beer?”

“Uh, I kind have had my fill of Cape Elizabeth’s bustling town today. Care for some homemade bacon burgers?”

He laughs quietly, “It’ll do.”

I think it’s the first time I have seen Jamie smile without it seeming forced or cynical.

“Great! I’ll make us some and you get us some beer?”

“Sure, meet you back here in about half hour?”

“Sure.” Somehow, making plans with Jamie felt natural.

“I have an idea.” Jamie quips between sipping his beer, “Let’s go to Archie’s and get totally pissed.”

This takes me by complete surprise and I nearly spit out my beer, “What?”

We’re sitting out on the back patio, on the ground, legs folded and staring out onto the lawn.

Jamie lifts his sunglasses off his face and onto his head, “Yeah, you heard me. I have not done that since college and God knows how long ago its been since you have probably made a mess of things!”

“OK, firstly, I never did much back here because I was in high school and secondly, I don’t want to run into any other friends from the past.”

“Trust me, we won’t. They’re all home with their kids. It’s a Friday night and people here generally don’t hang out in the local anymore.” He nudges me in the arm, “Come on!”

I gather he means we won’t run into David. Which is perfectly fine by me. Maybe I need to let my hair down. I decide to say yes.

“OK, I’ll go with you. We can walk. Pick me up at 8?”

“Sure. It’s a date.”

We both look at each other stunned, “Uh, you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, totally.”

“Great. See you later.”

I get the strangest feeling in my stomach and can’t help, but smile. It feels good speaking to someone other than my mother or Leah. Even if it is the reason I left town’s brother.

My mother is cooking us a pasta while asking about my day. I don’t mention speaking with Marie. In fact, I don’t mention seeing anyone. Well, that is until she notices the two beer bottles on the kitchen counter.

“You had a visitor?”

“Just a friend.”

“Holly, who is this friend?”

“Its Jamie.”

“Cleary? Blond? Hunky? Quiet Cleary?”

I laugh at the last bit, “Yes, that one.”

“Holly, are you and he, you know?”

“What?”

“Friends with benefits?”

I let out a laugh, “Mom!”

“Well?”

“Mom, no! We recently connected and he’s been a fun distraction.”

“OK, just asking. Don’t freak out. Its just, you haven’t dated anyone. I don’t want you to end up alone. I’m forty-six and I wish I had a friend with-“

“Mom, please! I can’t listen to you talk about friends with benefits.” I laugh at her confession and want to curl up at the same time whilst dying of complete discomfort at the topic.

“OK, I won’t put you off your dinner, but can I just say, that you have been smiling since I got home?”

“Must be the smell of that delicious pasta!”

The look on my mother’s face when she opens the door to Jamie is priceless. He is all boy next door in jeans and a plaid shirt.

“Mrs Forbes, hi.”

“Hi James.”

“Just Jamie is fine.”

“OK, Just Jamie. Where are you two off to?”

“Archie’s, for drinks.”

I quickly intercept my Mom’s interrogation of the poor guy.

“Mom, we’re just two friends hanging out.”

“Have you got keys? I’m turning in early.” Somehow she doesn’t seem too happy with me.

“Everything OK?”

“Bit cold for that vest, no?” She eyes my outfit; a white tank with ripped skinny jeans.

I wave my sweater at her, “Sweater for later.”

“See you later.” She says to me, “James.”

“Mrs Forbes.”

We get to Archie’s and it seems busier than what Jamie said it would be.

“Everyone’s home, huh?”

“I guess they heard you were back in town.”

“Funny!”

“Oh come on, its just tourists I bet.”

“Let’s just do this.”

As Jamie opens the door to usher me in, he places a hand on the small of my back, which sends little shivers all the way up to my neck. I quickly turn to look at him and he is as unaffected as could be.

“You good?”

“Yeah, totally.” I lie.

“Let’s get that booth against the wall, come one.”

I let him lead me to the table, which is against a wall that’s covered in local news clippings that have aged with time. There is a bunch of beer mugs in the centre. Ginny is standing next to the table.

“Hey!” she beams as she spots us.

I freak out thinking this is going to be a Ginny-invasion, but quickly relax when I see she has on an apron.

As if reading my mind, she quickly explains, “I work here while trying to find a job in the field I actually studied for.”

“Oh. Tough out there, huh?” I try so very hard to be polite to Ginny, but its so hard when she was completely awe-struck by Marie when the news broke. Yes, she was only a fourteen year old at the time, but it still felt like betrayal.

“Anyway, what can I get you two?” she asks, collecting the beer mugs.

“Uh, beer is good, local.”

“Same for me, Ginny.” I had forgotten that Jamie was with me for a second.

He motions for me to sit. I have no idea why I suddenly feel nervous. He smiles at me as if he has a secret.

“What?” I ask suspiciously.

“Let’s play a game.” He then motions to Ginny at the bar behind me to bring two of something or the other.

When she arrives, she has our beers and two shots of clear liquid.

“Tequila?” I ask wearily.

I never drink anything, but beer or whisky. I suddenly feel a thrill pass through me and giggle.

“Why, Jamie Cleary, are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Perhaps, but not for anything sinister!”

“So, what is your reasoning behind this?” I motion to our shots.

“If you tell me why you’re back, the real reason, I’ll drink both. If I think you’re lying, you’ll drink both.”

“That’s too easy. Let’s make it interesting.” I try to stop myself, but my mouth won’t shut up, “If you don’t like my answer, I’ll even stay for that reunion.”

“That’s in three weeks. You willing to stick around that long?”

“I just might be!”

“OK, talk.” He says and takes a swig of his beer.

“I came back to spend some time with my Mom. She insisted I come here just once since its been almost over a decade.”

“OK, not happy! Drink!”

“Not fair. I just told you the truth.”

“Yeah, but I think deep down there is another reason and you aren’t telling me or anyone else.”

“If you are implying its because of he who shall not be named, then no. Its not for anything to do with him. I haven’t even laid eyes on him since I’ve been back.”

“Well, then-“

“Look, I don’t want to talk about him. He’s the past and I am not remotely interested and all anyone wants to talk about, is him.”

“OK, let’s both drink, but, huge but – you need to go to that reunion. You didn’t grow up in Portland – you’re Holly Forbes from Cape Elizabeth.”

“I’ll think about it. Come on, let’s do this!”

I raise my shot glass in a salute and down its contents. Before long, we’re trading stories for shots and between us, there are about twelve shot glasses. I swear I hear my liver begging for freedom from its alcoholic torture and ask Ginny to bring me some bottled water.

“You wanna get out of here?” Jamie is laughing.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because I think this is the most inebriated you have ever been without even telling me so.””

I lift my hands in defense, “You got me. Now, let’s get out of here. I think its going to be a long walk home!”

“You know its only just after nine p.m. right?”

“No!”

“Totally!”

“Well, I am going home, with or without you.”

He starts singing the U2 song with or without you and gets up to slide in next to me. I can’t help, but giggle as he slurs the lyrics quietly. He puts a finger against my lips to quiet me. Instead of hearing the warning bells, I just sit there.

“You’re pretty, Holly, like really pretty. Do you mind?”

“What?”

“This.” He follows it up with a kiss against my lips. I try not to respond, but find my lips betraying me. Oh God, he places his hands on either side of my face and kisses me harder. Quickly realising we are still in the bar, I pull away. He looks just as confused as I do. Somehow, I manage to push him out of the booth and rush by Ginny who has my water. She calls after me, but I refuse to stop and walk straight out the door only to walk straight into him. Taller than I remember and bulkier, David stands in front of me, a look of confusion on his face. I am followed by Jamie, who is still calling after me.

“Excuse me.” I manage to mutter as I walk by David. He doesn’t say a thing and I don’t have time to wonder why or feel completely deflated by his reaction, or lack thereof.

I start walking in the direction of where home is and don’t stop. Jamie has stopped calling after me and I don’t want to turn around.

The streets are quiet and I suddenly realise it isn’t that wise to be walking alone. Then again, its Cape Elizabeth. It takes me fifteen minutes to reach the house. I am in such a flat spin, I don’t even realise I passed the house and only because the neighbours have a fence, I notice it’s not Mom’s house.

Managing to not wake her up is a relief. Damn these Cleary’s to hell! I know I didn’t fight the kiss, but I think it was more the tequila that liked Jamie’s kiss. I try to picture David’s face, but I just can’t. Its like he didn’t exist in that moment, but I still felt something. Guilt?

I take some Advil before bed, knowing it will knock me out and help me avoid a hangover in the morning. Sleep comes easily after a few more minutes of overthinking.

“Good morning Holly.” My Mom sounds pissed. She is sitting on my bed, while my eyes are still closed.

“Mom.” I mutter. My mouth tastes bitter and like sandpaper.

“Really? Lost your manners and your reputation on the same night?” I wake up immediately.

My heart starts beating faster and I suddenly feel how dry my throat is when I try to protest to the allegations.

“What are you talking about?”

“Lucy Rafferty, the local gossip, I might add, was at the organic market this morning, telling a few other girls you went to school with about your tongue wrestling match with Jamie Cleary. I won’t even say what else I heard.”

“Mother!” I say angrily, pounding my fist on the bed, “You should know not to listen to gossip and secondly, I am not a little girl anymore.”

She seems taken aback at my outburst, but I carry on, “I came back because you begged me to. Now if you do not mind, this grown woman is going to have a shower and get ready to leave for home.”

“I don’t care what they say about you, but I do care what you do when this is your chance at happiness.”

“What are you on about?”

“David!”

“Mom, please. David is happily married to Marie and they have a lovely little girl I hear, Hope. I don’t care what David does with his life.”

“That’s just it, you stubborn mule! He isn’t married anymore. Not for the last two years.”

It hits me like a punch to the gut, “What?”

“He got divorced two years back. Well, they’d been living apart for longer than that. David found out that Hope wasn’t his thanks to Ginny’s ex-boyfriend it seems. To cut a long story short, David dragged Marie to get a DNA test and turns out, he is definitely not that poor little girl’s father.”

I don’t know if I can process any more information and slowly make my way over to the window to open it. As if the fresh air gives me courage to listen to more, I finally look directly into my Mom’s eyes, “But I saw Marie, just yesterday morning and she spoke about David.”

“Oh, that girl is still as malicious today as she was back then.”

“I don’t understand, he admitted to cheating with her. He made it quite clear they had been together and made me look like a heartbroken fool when I asked him to stay with me.” The tears spill down my cheeks and its like I am being gutted, the way the wounds just open and the pain sears through me.

“Oh baby, come here!” My mom is gathering me in her arms immediately and I can barely breathe between sobs.

For years I hurt each time I paid David a thought. I realise that I shouldn’t have come back. I should have just kept on believing the lie everyone had.

“How long have you known this?”

“Only a few months now. I met with Ginny when she asked me to help her edit her Thesis. She might want to speak with you. I know she’s tried, but you’ll need to actually let her talk. There is a lot she has to say.”

“Ginny Cleary is a gossip, Mom and I don’t have time to waste on my past anymore. For ten years, I have been leading a paltry existence because of these people. Also, David has moved on, so have I. We’re adults who have their own lives now.”

“Just give her a chance.”

Knowing my mother, I look at her questioningly, “What have you done?”

“I called her this morning and she’ll be here in a bit. Why don’t you freshen up?”

At this point, my world is spinning and I am spitting mad. All I can think of is packing.

My Mom has left the room and left me to my thoughts. I make the rash decision to pack. There is no way I can sit through this. I don’t need another Cleary messing things up. Just then, my mind crosses to Jamie. He had obviously known about David as well. Why he didn’t say anything is beyond me. I did tell him I didn’t want to hear about David, but he kissed me and that changed things. Why was I thinking like this? Why was I angry? Did I want David to still show interest in me?

I walk into the living room with my bag, “Mom?”

She isn’t anywhere to be seen. Then, I hear her out on the patio. “Mom?”

I see her talking to someone and as I round the corner, I see Ginny. She gets up immediately and smiles nervously.

“Holly, hi.”

“What are you doing here?” I manage to not sound like a completely bitter person.

“I know you don’t want to see any of us, you make it clear enough. Well, you do seem to bend the rules for Jamie.”

“Oh God, I’m gone. Mom, thank you, its been lovely.” I refuse to listen to this, especially if it borders on high school tactics.

“OK, that was uncalled for. Sorry.” She apologises.

“Holly, Ginny, why don’t you two sit down. I’ll make some tea.” My mom tries play referee.

“Holly, I need for you to just listen. You can yell at me after, hell, you can ignore me forever, but you need to hear this.”

When her eyes start filling up with tears, I realise this has affected her more than I thought.

“Go on.” I say quietly.

“Holly, I lied.”

“About?” Her sniveling is annoying and I just want her to spit it out!

“I told Mom and Dad I saw David in a bed with Marie at that party and that he was drunk. It was her birthday, you remember?” I nod at her that I remember, “David took you home before your curfew, but I really wanted to stay. So, I got David to agree to pick me up after he took you home. Anyway, he came back, but before that, Marie had asked me to make sure David gets a drink of the punch she made especially for the Hockey guys.”

Ginny wipes her nose with some tissue in between, “So, I poured him a cup. He didn’t want to drink, but Marie came over and went on about how uptight he always was and how you were weighing him down. So he drank it and next thing I knew, David was kind of out of it. Marie offered to take him upstairs to rest and then when it got really late, I went to look for him. That’s when I saw David in her bed, with her.”

“So how does this prove David isn’t Hope’s father? He was drugged, perhaps, but it still doesn’t make sense.” I interrupt, bit wanting relive it all.

“Cane Ashby.”

“Cane Ashby? What does he have to do with it?”

“Cane and I dated a little while ago when I was at college. He got really chatty when he used to drink. Anyway, he mentioned that Marie had had an affair with one of her Dad’s partners and that David was basically the perfect guy to take the fall. This guys was apparently well into his thirties and had a family. Also, it would have been too big of a scandal for her family.”

She stops to drink the tea my Mom had quietly placed down between us. My hands are trembling and I start going through all the facts. David was drugged and trapped. He was also made to believe he had slept with her.

“How long were they married?”

“About five years. It was based on a lie and we all knew David didn’t love her. He did try, for Hope, but it just wasn’t what he wanted. Mom and Dad had to make sure he stayed out of prison.”

“I can’t process all this. Not now. Ginny, I know you mean well or perhaps you need to clear your conscience, but I can’t go through this all over again.”

Ginny reaches over and grabs my hand, “Holly, please. He is miserable. He lost you, had to marry that girl and then after falling for a little girl that was never his and then having her snatched out under him, he finds out you’re home and when he plucks up the courage to talk to you, you can’t even look him in the eye.”

“Ginny, cut me some slack! You have no idea what I went through.” I don’t even mention my run-in with Marie.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and Jamie, but maybe you should hear David out.”

“Its too late, Ginny. Years too late. You don’t need to feel guilty about your part in the events that happened that night. Maybe that’s an apology you owe David, but I am out of here.”

I get up, making sure she knows the conversation is over. She gets up without a word and after she passes me, she pauses at the sliding doors, “Holly, I hope you find it in your heart to talk to him. He’s been to Portland so often to see you, you know, but he was afraid of how you would react. I guess I can’t blame him for not trying.”

The words cut like a knife and I don’t turn around. I just stand there, facing the lawn. The thought of David coming to see me, breaks my heart just enough to push me over the edge once more. I sit down quietly and let the tears fall. Before I know it, my Mom is behind me, her arms enveloping me into a hug.

“Its OK, baby. Let it all out!”

“Oh Mom, why now? Why do I have to deal with this now?”

“Because its your second chance.” She says it with so much hope in her voice, a part of me tries to believe her.

I make the decision to leave that afternoon. I don’t hear from anymore of the Cleary’s and it’s a relief. Perhaps I needed a reminder of why I shouldn’t have come home, but I know that a part of me wants to talk to David. I feel badly for what he went through, but still feel that he is an i***t for getting himself into that situation. Ginny and her quest to impress Marie, had gotten her brother into one hell of a mess. I didn’t even spare Jamie Cleary a thought. Right now, his motives were questionable.

I also needed some space from my well-meaning, but interfering mother. I now had all these vacation days and nothing to do with them. Perhaps I could go back early. I would need to do something to keep my mind pre-occupied and my focus off David Cleary.

He did look amazing. I pictured his tall frame, toned arms. He still wore his hair the same and his warm brown eyes still seemed as kind.

“Stop it!” I urge myself. I am driving home at a leisurely speed and can’t wait to get to my apartment in the Arts District. Also, I would have it to myself for a while. Leah should have left for San Francisco already. In fact, I had a feeling she might just stay longer than expected.

I sighed deeply, preparing myself for the unknown. The only way forward now, was to take it a day at a time and try to keep positive.