Page 10 of Marriage & Mockery

Lucy ate the rest of her yogurt in silence and grabbed her backpack. The drive to school was quiet. She kept her eyes on her phone the whole way but never once unlocked it. When I pulled up to the curb, she hesitated with her hand on the door.

“If you talk to her before I do, tell Mom I’m sorry.”

6

LAINA

Morning came sooner than I wanted. After a restless night spent tossing and turning, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. So I didn’t for a while. I just lay there and stared up at the ceiling, hoping the heaviness in my chest might ease if I didn’t move.

I finally gave up about half an hour later and got up, pulled a sweater over my pajamas, shoved my feet into my shoes, and walked to the lobby with my purse flung over my shoulder.

A young man was behind the counter, and he looked up with a polite smile. “Good morning. Everything okay with your room, ma'am?”

“Yes, thank you. But I need to extend my stay.”

“Which room are you in?”

“Four.”

He tapped at the keyboard. “How many additional nights?”

“Through Friday for now, please.”

“No problem. Your bungalow is available, so we won’t need to move you.” He ran my card again. “Can I have your key? I need to reprogram it for the extra days.”

“Sure.” I slid it across the counter toward him.

He tapped the card against the reader before handing it back to me. “You’re all set.”

“Thank you.”

A coffee and tea station was set up on a long table across from the counter. I poured myself a cup and added oat milk and raw sugar before taking a sip. The smell hit me harder than it should have.

Every morning for the past few years, I’d ground the beans for Bennett’s espresso while the house was still quiet. The routine had been automatic, and I felt the absence of more than I expected under the circumstances.

Not wanting to cry in front of anyone, I carried the cup back along the path to the bungalow. As soon as I stepped inside, my phone started ringing.

Bennett’s name flashed across the screen.

I stared at it through two rings. Then three. My thumb hovered over the green button, but part of me wanted to let him go to voicemail like I had all night long.

Instead, I answered, “What?”

There was a short silence on the other end, as if he hadn’t actually expected me to pick up. “Laina. Thank fuck you finally answered. I’ve been⁠—”

“Don’t.”

He went quiet on the other end of the line, and the tension between us was thick, even with so many miles between us.

I set the coffee on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. My hand clutched the blanket. “I need you to answer something, and I need you not to talk over me.”

“Okay.”

“The rule about not watching the show at home.” I tried my hardest to keep the pain from bleeding into my voice. “Was it because you didn’t want me to see what you were doing?”

“Laina, it wasn’t⁠—”

“Stop.” I pressed my fingers against my forehead. “I’m not asking for a full explanation. I just need to know if you deliberately kept me from watching so I wouldn’t notice how much I inspired Sally.”