As You Wish (The Summerhouse 3)

“My guess is that he was genuinely sorry,” Olivia said. “I doubt if he meant to harm you.”

“He didn’t,” Elise said. “He was just stupid, that’s all. He was kissing my hand and saying he was sorry. And he was telling me that from now on he’d be a better husband and we’d start over fresh. We’d forget about the past and go on from there.”

“Did you believe him?” Olivia asked.

“All I could think about was his cute little daughter. He was going to abandon her? I didn’t think so—and I didn’t want that. My throat was raw from the tube that had been stuck down it, but I managed to say, ‘I want a divorce.’”

“What did he say to that?” Kathy asked.

“He started pleading. I knew he was afraid that a divorce would make my dad fire him. But Kent could see that I wasn’t going to back down. That’s when my parents and his arrived.” Elise looked at Kathy. “A therapist was with them and she was talking about my suicide attempt as though it were a given. She was telling them how to ‘handle’ me to make sure I didn’t do it again and talking of a place where I’d be ‘protected.’ I could hardly speak but I kept saying no and trying to get Kent to tell them the truth.”

“But he saw his opportunity and took it,” Olivia said.

“He did. I think he was afraid that I’d press charges against him. Putting pills in somebody’s drink is a crime.”

“What did your parents say?” Kathy asked.

“My mother—as always—was disgusted with me. I don’t think I’ve ever pleased her in my entire life. But my father...” Again, Elise’s jaw clamped down. “My father was giving Kent looks as though to say, ‘I knew this was going to happen.’”

“Do you think he knew Kent had put the pills in your drink?” Olivia asked.

“No. I think my father thought I’d found out about Carmen and had tried to kill myself. He wanted me put under constant care so I couldn’t try to do it again. He and Kent signed papers and I...” Elise shrugged.

“You were put in a psychiatric ward,” Olivia said.

“And no one there believed me when I said I hadn’t tried to kill myself. One of the doctors said I was so angry that he was afraid that if I were released I might harm Carmen and her child.”

“That’s horrible!” Kathy said. “You were made into the villain. And meanwhile, Kent was at home like nothing had happened.”

“Then you met Jeanne,” Olivia said.

“She wasn’t my doctor so she couldn’t release me without the permission of my father and my husband. The, you know, sane people.”

“So you escaped in the trunk of her car.”

“I did. She let me out after we crossed the state line, and I sat in the front seat. We took turns driving.”

“What did you talk about?” Olivia asked.

Elise smiled. “Jeanne said, ‘Just so you know, I think your whole family is a bunch of douche wads and I’d like to see them locked up. But let’s talk about happy things.’ So we did. Food, gardens, and places we’d been. The next day she dropped me off at the diner in Summer Hill. She said, ‘I’m going to see that you will be given a chance to fix all of this.’”

“With lawyers,” Kathy said. “I know some.”

“I guess so, but I got the idea that she meant something else.”

Olivia smiled. “I’m on Jeanne’s side. I want to hear about happy things. I want to know about your shirtless hero.”

“Who may or may not have been spending time with me to cover for Carmen and—”

Olivia put up her hand. “Tell us the story, then let Kathy and me be the judge. How did you meet Alejandro?”

“Through Tara,” Elise said. “At least she’s the one who made me actually see him.” She shook her head. “It’s hard to imagine now but I was so involved with my husband that I paid no attention to the gorgeous, half-naked man sauntering through the garden two days a week. But then, Tara showed up and—”

“Wait!” Kathy said. “When and where was this?”

“Long Island, the summer before I found out about Carmen and their child. Back in the days when I still believed that Kent and I could possibly be a happy couple.”

“I want to know how you and Kent acted when you were together,” Olivia said. “And especially what you were like.”