The Truest Thing - Hart's Boardwalk

“It is, Em.” She sounded defeated. “I let a rotten guy do awful things to me for a long time.” Her breath hitched. “Anyway, I gotta get ready for my day of avoiding the sheriff. You okay?”

“I’m fine—”

“Okay, good. Bye.”

My heart raced. This was the closest I think anyone might have gotten to Ivy opening up about her dead fiancé. Shit. “Call Balance.”

Ahmad, the young receptionist, answered.

“Hey, it’s Emery. I am so sorry, but I can’t make it this morning. I’m sorry for the last-minute call, but something just came up. Are the other volunteers on their way?”

“They’re already here. It’s good. The kids will miss you, though.”

Guilt suffused me. I’d never missed a group. But my friend needed me. “I’m so sorry.”

“Not at all. I hope everything’s okay.”

I hoped so too.

* * *

Deciding to grab some bagels to take to Ivy’s, I stopped in at Lanson’s on my way to her place. I was in the bread aisle, deciding over which type of bagel Ivy might like. I opted for a few kinds and as I was just about to move on to fillings, I heard my name.

I stopped in the middle of the aisle and stared to my left. Whoever it was, was in the aisle next to mine.

“He should be shot for touching that girl.”

“She’s not a girl, Ellen. She’s a grown woman. And she had to know Jack’s reputation before she jumped into bed with him.”

Nausea rolled over me. It was starting.

The gossip.

“Do you think she did it to trap him?”

“Absolutely.” A new voice joined in. One I recognized.

“Oh, Dana, I didn’t see you there. You heard, then?” I was pretty sure that voice belonged to Ellen Luther.

The third voice, the one I didn’t recognize, said, “It’s unbelievable. It’s always the quiet ones.”

My cheeks were on fire.

“She’s always been a manipulative, pretentious little bitch,” Dana said acidly. “No one else could see it. But I did. And she’s had her eye on Jack for ages.”

The audacity of it. Dana Kellerman. Cheater. Mistress. Manipulator. Gossiping about me?

“So, you think she’s trying to trap him?” the unknown voice repeated.

“Absolutely. But I know Jack. He won’t fall for it. They’ll raise that child separately.”

We would. And people would think it was because he didn’t want me. Not the other way around. Small, narrow little minds.

“I don’t know. I think you might have it the wrong way around. Word is that Emery Saunders comes from a lot of money. He’s a Devlin. Maybe he deliberately used her naivety against her and got her pregnant to get his hands on her money,” Ellen said.

I grimaced, aghast.

Why did it never occur to people that maybe two people slept together because they had feelings for one another?

Why was there always a dark, hidden agenda?

Why did everyone always assume the worst of everyone else?

“Jack wouldn’t land himself with a prissy virgin for money. He likes sex too much,” Dana gloated. “Emery Saunders can’t give a man like Jack what he needs.”

“Well, you would know,” Ellen retorted slyly.

Dana huffed. “I’m just saying. She’d bore him to tears.”

Done listening to them, I strode up the aisle and around the corner as they continued to shred Jack and me to pieces.

Ellen Luther, Dana Kellerman, and Sadie Thomas stood huddled in the magazine aisle. Ellen noticed me first and blanched with shame. Sadie prattled on about “the poor kid born from this scandalous mess” and Ellen nudged her to shut her up.

“What?” Sadie looked at her and then finally caught sight of me.

Dana sneered, enjoying that I’d overheard.

Dana, the cheater.

Sadie Thomas, who slept around. A lot. Not that I judged. But I judged her judging me when she was used to people talking about her and knew it wasn’t nice or fun.

And Ellen Luther, whom I’d always thought better of.

But people liked their gossip.

I stared at every single one of them with a disdainful disappointment I’d learned from my grandmother until even Dana squirmed.

Without a word, I turned on my heel, dumped my basket at the door, and left Lanson’s.

By the time I got to Ivy’s, I was worried I needed her support as much as she needed mine.

“Em?” Ivy opened the door, looking a lot brighter than I’d expected considering her mournful tone on the phone. “Are you okay?”

“That’s what I came to ask you.”

Ivy scrutinized me for a second and stepped aside to gesture me into her home. “What happened?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her. To let it all burst out. But I was afraid if I did, I would cry, and those awful women didn’t deserve my tears. Instead, I focused on the original purpose of my visit. “I’m worried about you.”

“Em—”

“What did you mean? About Jeff not deserving you … about a rotten man, doing awful things?”

She exhaled shakily. “Shit.”