All the Lies - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,26
up to us. Emma introduces her as her younger sister Brooke and she gives me a cute smile.
“Want me to simply say that? I thought you were just going to play along.”
“I get tired of playing along. I didn't want to be like Mom. I don’t want to be covering for my husband in front of my grown children years from now. To not do that, I figured I might as well come out here and tell everyone the whole ugly truth.”
“Well, I'm really proud of how brave you are,” Brooke says after a pause. “Wasn't she brave?”
“I've never seen anyone be braver,” I agree.
Brooke and I exchange looks and then look back at Emma who suddenly seems as lost as ever.
In movies, the camera never follows you to what happens after the main character makes a big speech on stage. There are all these moments of levity and exhilaration, but right after that they are quickly followed by deep valleys of despair.
That’s exactly what Emma is going through now. I wish I knew her better to put my arm around her and for it to not be weird.
I'm glad that Brooke does it for me.
We stand together for a few minutes until Emma sees her dad who waves her over. She glances over at Brooke and begs her to come, but Brooke just shrugs her shoulders and tells her to go talk to him.
“What do you think your dad is going to say?” I ask.
“I have no idea. Probably nothing good,” Brooke responds.
“He would want her to marry him anyway?”
“No. I meant he won’t say anything good about Alex. I don't think he really wanted her to marry Alex in the first place. Alex has a certain reputation, in case you didn’t know.”
“I’ve heard a thing or two. I thought that he got over it and maybe found the one who would keep him from straying, but I guess not.”
“I don't think there is one,” Brooke says, shaking her head. “I think that certain people either cheat or they don't cheat. It has nothing to do with the person they’re with. If Alex were someone with integrity, then he wouldn’t cheat on anyone, regardless of what he thought about her. He would break up with her first if he were interested in someone else.”
I look at her and her words take me back a little bit. She looks young, a little bit younger than Emma, but she is clearly wise beyond her years.
Brooke’s also beautiful. Some guys would probably not be able to look past her weight, but it looks to me like it's nothing but an asset to her.
Brooke carries it well. Standing next to me, her shoulders are spread wide and her bosom is elevated. There's a confidence to her that's quite disarming and attractive.
I can't help but wonder what she's like on a date.
“I'm sorry that he hurt your sister,” I say after a long pause. “She deserves a lot better and I told her that.”
“There's no need to apologize. You are not the one that hurt her,” Brooke says nonchalantly.
“Yeah, I guess not,” I say.
16
Emma
I want Brooke to come with me, but she refuses.
I know that it's probably best that I talk to Dad by myself, but I'm still afraid.
Even after all these years, I still feel like I'm his little girl and I don't want to disappoint him.
It's too late for that though.
As soon as my dad sees me, he turns on his heel and walks toward the bar. I catch up with him anyway.
“Okay,” he says, waving to me with a glass of oak colored liquid in his right hand.
I'm not much of a drinker, but I decide that I need a little bit more liquid courage coursing through my veins to get through this conversation.
My father is in his early 60s and is only now getting a little bit of salt in his hair.
He likes to work out and stay in shape. His skin has a nice tan to it, appropriate for someone who spends a lot of time on the tennis court.
He tried to encourage all three of his daughters to take up tennis, but only Lindsey answered the call. Still, that didn’t stop him from sending us to tennis camp and getting us private tutors.
For the longest time, he seemed to believe that if only Brooke and I had the right instructor then we would fall in love with the sport that he loves. That hasn't happened.
On the weekends, Dad