Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” I mutter low. “I mean… what do you say to that?”
She lifts a shoulder. “Brittany and I didn’t say anything. We knew not to get involved. But Mom would let him have it. It wasn’t a peaceful household.”
“I’m really sorry,” I say solemnly.
Willa laughs and it’s not the musical symphony that had me spellbound moments ago. It’s dry and flat. “You know, I always wondered if my dad was right. Did Mom have an affair and that’s where Brittany came from? I mean, I’d never tell Brittany those suspicions or even my mother because it doesn’t change that she’s my sister, but… I always wondered.” Her voice trails off as she runs her fingertip over the condensation on her glass. She seems to startle, eyes darting up and locking with mine. “Oh God… I’m so sorry to dump that on you. That sounds totally morose and truly, it is not something that weighs down on me, Brittany or my mom these days. I’ve never even told anyone that before and I’m not sure why I told you now. It was way more info than you asked for and I usually don’t share private stuff—”
Now I’m the one who pats her hand, a few quick taps to stop her word vomit. “Maybe you needed to say that suspicion out loud,” I suggest.
“Maybe. I guess I can empathize with my mother if she did turn to another man. I know that sounds like I’m validating infidelity, which is horrible, and I’m most definitely not.” Willa’s eyes go even bigger, and she shakes her head. “I’m absolutely not validating it. I mean, my ex-husband cheated on me—the whole nine yards with a mistress he put up in a fancy apartment and everything—and there’s never an excuse. If you’re unhappy in a marriage, you leave. You don’t cheat. And my mom eventually did leave and got remarried. Oh God…”
She covers her face with her hands and actually snort-laughs before peeking up over her fingertips at me. “I just let my mouth get all carried away. I am not the type to lay all that crap out on a stranger. I’m so sorry.”
I chuckle, tugging her hands down. “I was totally following your train of thought and agree with you on all of it. I’m guessing you find me a trustworthy dude to share that. Do you mind me asking… do you have a relationship with your dad?”
Willa nods, her lips tilting up slightly. “A tenuous one. He’s been sober now for four years. He’s tried to make amends, but he said a lot of horrible things when we were growing up that are hard to forget.”
“And your mom?”
“Not willing to forget or forgive. She and her new husband moved to Hawaii, about as far as you can get from a small town in upstate New York where I grew up and where Dad still lives.”
I consider pushing for more, because she opened the door. I tend to lean toward chivalrous behavior, but I’m so intrigued by this woman, I don’t think I can leave it alone. “So… you have a cheating asshole ex-husband.”
Willa smirks, circling a manicured finger around the top of her water glass. “Scott. Divorced a year. Still an asshole.”
“Let me guess what he does for a living,” I say, taking a shot in the dark but knowing it’s got a good chance at landing. “I expect he’s a doctor too. But one with a huge ego, so I’m guessing a surgeon of some sort.”
Willa laughs and claps her hands. “Very good. Orthopedic surgeon to be exact.”
“Did you two meet in medical school?”
“We did and got married our last year. After graduation, he got offered a prestigious residency in orthopedic surgery at Cornell, and I was offered a highly sought-after residency at UC Irvine in obstetrics.”
“But you said you practiced family medicine.” I remember her saying that when we first met, just like I remember exactly what she was wearing and what her perfume smelled like that day.
That’s definitely sadness I see in her eyes. Maybe a touch of bitterness.
“I gave up my residency. Followed Scott to New York City and took one in family medicine instead. We then ended up here in Pittsburgh after.”
“But you wanted to be an obstetrician. And you couldn’t get a residency in New York?”
“Yes and no. Obstetrics was my dream, but it was too late for me to get into a program in New York by the time we had to make our decisions. I gave that up so Scott could pursue his dreams.”
It’s all coming together now. She married a man, gave up her dreams for him and then he betrayed her by cheating.
Any sane man would say that’s way too much baggage to bother with, between her alcoholic father and cheating ex-husband, but it doesn’t seem that Willa’s spirit has been crushed by those bad turn of events.