to fix that right now!"
"Hal," she whispered. Her lower lip trembled. Tears spilled down her cheeks at last. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry's a bunch of crap, coming from you!" he cried.
He saw Eli move as though to come down the stairs, but Sarah held him back. At least Hal wouldn't have to get into a fistfight, too. He turned his attention back to Laila.
"You used me," he said. His voice broke over the words, and he realized he was no longer just acting for her family's benefit. "Laila, you never cared about me at all. You just used me for your own needs."
"That's not true," she said.
"Isn't it?" Hal threw out his hands and looked up at the sky. "Isn't that what our entire relationship has been about? You using me to get what you need? What you want? Hasn't this whole thing just been a huge lie?"
"No." She shook her head.
"No?" Hal let his hands fall to his sides. He felt exhausted. "Then tell me, Laila, what has it been, if not a complete and utter deception?"
She only looked at him helplessly. "I don't know."
What had he thought she might say? "Tell me you care about me, Laila."
She shook her head and began to back away. Hal did not follow her. His legs would not move. Somewhere he found the strength to call after her.
"Tell me you care about me!" he cried. "Tell me that last night wasn't just another lie!"
"I can't," she whispered brokenly. "Hal, please don't ask me to."
"All right," he said. "I understand."
"Please don't leave this way," Laila said so quietly he almost didn't hear her.
"What other way would you have me leave?" Hal asked her.
He didn't really expect a reply, and he didn't get one. Turning, Hal walked away. There wasn't anything else to say.
Laila watched Hal walk away, knowing she should run after him. She could tell him the truth, if only she knew what it was. Suddenly, the painful straightness of his gait and the way he walked was too much for her to bear. Laila turned to flee back into the main lodge.
They were watching her, nearly all of them. Her mother and siblings. Bubbe and Zayde. The aunts, the uncles, the cousins. Even the nieces and nephews stood clustered about their parents' legs, watching her humiliation.
Laila lifted her chin, determined not to break down in front of them. As her foot hit the bottom step, the irony of the situation struck her. This was what she'd planned all along. Hal had provided her with the perfect break up, complete with witnesses. Just one more thing she had him to thank for.
"Honey," her mom said as she reached the top of the stairs. Irene opened her arms wide, gathering Laila in.
The tears Laila had thought she might hold off fell hot and burning from her eyes. Something about her mother could always do that to her. She didn't fight the sobs, part of her knowing this was why she'd hired Hal, and another part unable to stop them even if she'd wanted.
Her mother hushed her and pulled her away from curious eyes. Laila was glad to be pulled for once; happy to have someone else in charge for a change. She didn't want to think about anything. She wanted to be a child again, when Mommy's kisses could make even the worst pain disappear.
"Now, Laila, you sit down here and tell me everything," Irene ordered after she'd led Laila to the cozy front parlor.
Laila sank down into a chair close to the crackling fire. On either side of the fireplace, shelves crammed with books stretched from floor to ceiling. The room was small with a sliding pocket door to close it off from the front hallway. Laila caught a glimpse of the porch swing through the lace-curtained window. She turned her eyes away, not wanting to think of the kisses she and Hal had shared on that swing.
"Oh, Mom." Laila sighed. Her hands plucked at the zipper on her jacket. "Where should I start?"
A small knock at the door kept her mother from replying right away. The door slid open and Ruth, Sarah and Bubbe came through. Bubbe and Laila's mom shared another of their unfathomable looks, but Ruth just looked mad. She strode immediately to Laila's side and drew her sister into a fierce embrace.
"That bastard!" She said. "Frank and Eli are ready to hunt him down for you, Laila, if you want them to."
The thought of her brother and brother-in-law going after