he took me to the hospital and insisted on waiting with me. He was still there when your father”—she paused at that as if unsure before continuing in a firmer tone—“when your father showed up with your Aunt Dilwen and Uncle Douglas.”
“It was the shock of my life,” Mr. McNamara admitted much easier than he did telling his son that his mother had almost been raped. “I’d convinced myself that he was dead. No one had heard from him in over a decade. Not even his parents.”
“I admit I was a little captivated by him,” Mrs. McNamara said shyly. “After what Sean saved me from enduring, it was easy to think of him as a hero from a storybook. He was so dashing and brave. I thought I’d found my prince.” No one said anything while Evelyn attempted to reign in her emotions enough to continue. “These fantasies were the reason why I didn’t listen to Thomas when he warned me away from Sean. I-I assumed he was jealous.”
“Of who?” Jamie casually inquired. “You or him?”
Collectively, every heart within hearing distance, including mine, stopped.
“Jameson, not another word,” his uncle warned in a low voice.
The demand went through one of Jamie’s ears and out the other. “I said the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth or else I’m walking,” he shot back angrily. “Now tell your fucking son that you were fucking his father!”
At this juncture, I was sure even the jaws of the mice hiding in the walls dropped.
This was getting out of hand fast, and instinct told me it was about to get even uglier. Jamie always had a hard time controlling his emotions, which meant someone needed to intervene before the entire goddamn train derailed.
My gaze connected with Bee over Tyra’s head and a silent war ensued that ended with her exhaling and pushing inside the office. She headed straight for Jamie and started tugging on his tatted arm. If the occupants of the room were surprised by her timing and presence, none of them felt the need to express it. They were all too grateful she’d been there to intervene. “Maybe you should come with me,” Bee gently suggested.
“Yes, I think that’s a good idea,” his uncle readily agreed.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jamie denied while crossing his arms and ignoring Bee. “You were saying,” he added as if he hadn’t just outed his uncle while dropping an atomic bomb on his cousin.
“Maybe we should call his mother,” his aunt suggested.
“Call my mother?” Jamie mocked. “What am I, five?”
“Right now, you’re acting like it,” Bee snapped.
Jamie glared down at her, but he should have known better than to think Bee would back down. “Fine, fuck it. I won’t say another word.” Each of us, including the mice, released a sigh of relief. “But no more bullshit,” he warned his uncle. Relaxing against the wall with his girl by his side, he turned his head to broodily stare out the windows. If the situation weren’t so serious, I would have laughed.
After a beat, Mr. McNamara was the one to break the tense silence. “If it’s all right with you, Ever, the rest of your friends should come in rather than we pretend they aren’t listening behind the door.”
Startled, Tyra, Lou, and I made eye contact. A moment later, we were rushing inside the office without needing to be welcomed twice.
The first thing I noticed was my eerily silent best friend calmly sitting in one of the leather sofa chairs positioned in front of the massive oak desk. Ever’s forearms were resting on the wide arms of the chair, and his feet were planted, legs spread wide as he remained facing forward. All I could see was the back of his head, but I knew his mask was in place. No one else could perfect a blank expression quite like Ever could when he was feeling too many emotions at once and holding them all back. Four sat on the edge of the matching chair next to him, and I could tell she was eager to offer him comfort.
Evelyn McNamara currently stood behind the desk where her husband was seated, and when the door shut firmly behind us, she huffed. “This is highly inappropriate,” she scolded despite the tears glistening in her gold eyes. I wasn’t sure if the reprimand was directed at her husband or us.
“They’ve already heard too much,” he retorted with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Ever,” he said, sounding somber when he