Page 26 of Another Last Call
Annie fell silent, her lips pursed. “You don’t know your dad.”
“I know I don’tknowhim, but I know about him.”
“And what do you think you know about him?”
I folded my arms, not quite able to bring myself to look at her. “He was some charming tourist who made my mom think he was relatable and nice, then when he got what he wanted out of her, he left.”
“That’s… somewhat accurate.”
“Well, it’s as accurate as I’ll ever get, seeing as no one ever tells me more,” I said.
“There isn’t anything more to tell you,” Annie said. “Hewasa charming tourist. Hedidseem relatable and nice. And yes, he's the reason your mom always harped on the 'don't fuck tourists' thing. Because that man was garbage, Mags."
"Right. And I just found out that Caleb is more like that than he'd ever let on."
"Do you really think that?"
"How could I not? He spent his whole life pretending to be just like the rest of us when he…" I sighed. "How am I supposed to get past that?"
"Have you considered, perhaps, talking to him? Finding out a bit more about why he acted like he did?"
I felt my face turning red. "I don't know if I can even look at him again. Just thinking about what he said and how… howcluelesshe was. And thinking it wasn't good enough for me. That hurt, Annie. And what if he does what my dad did? Mom always said he made her all these beautiful promises and then fucked up everything for her."
"I couldn’t tell you what promises that man made to your mom, but I can promise you he wasn’t just some out-of-touch rich kid who thought growing up without heated floors was the epitome of hardship.”
“And you think that’s all Caleb is?”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you, Mags. I understand why you’d still be upset, even if he’s just some ignorant rich bitch.”
“That’s still a good enough reason to not want to see him again, right? That he's… that he was just like my dad this whole time?”
“I mean, you’d have to be the judge. You’re the one who took a ride on the beef bus with him.”
“Ride on the…Annie!”
She cackled and slapped my arm. “You promise me he didn’t hurt you? Make you do something you weren’t wanting?”
“Hearing you call it ‘riding the beef bus’ was the most painful part of all of this, I promise.”
“Didn’t like that one? What about a long clam jamming marathon?”
“Annie!”
“Riding the bony express? Exploring the hidden valley? A good old session of souring the kraut?”
I gagged. “Remind me not to order a Reuben today.”
She threw her head back as she laughed. “It’ll be okay, Mags. Things will work out.”
As much as my conversation with Annie made me both laugh and also want to lose the grilled cheese sandwich I’d made myself after storming away from Caleb’s cabin, I was still upset about the whole thing.
I shouldn’t have slept with him.
I couldn’t blame myself for that. It wasn’t like I knew he was a giant fraud. Although I guess I could blame myself for not suspecting it in the first place.
He was a tourist, after all. One who convinced me he was just like me and my friends growing up, even though he was a spoiled rotten summer kid.
He honestly thought that house was hideous. As he talked about all the things he wanted to do and replace and change, I couldn’t help thinking he was just like every other person who owned property around the lake.
