them, thankfully. “She likes Eric.”
“Yeah. You heard I knew. I know.”
“But she told you the truth. I’d have skipped the confessional part that really didn’t concern you.”
“Because she is still the best person I know.”
“She told me the night it happened.” Kayla added.
“And what did you do? Tell her to dump me?”
“Never,” she hissed, remembering how much he was hurting. Jim was lost. He just got dumped. They both understood that but Kayla figured it out a long time ago. “I would never do anything to hurt her. I adore her. She is the best person I know and I only want her to be happy. You and she were not a good match. But she didn’t yet know it. She tried to deny what she felt with Eric. It was too confusing for her.”
“Well, you’re far more experienced. How did you clarify that for her?”
“I told her to seek the truth. Not to tell you—”
“Shocking that you’d advise her to hide such an act while she’s engaged to—”
“Shut up. I’m trying to be nice to you. You need it. Let me finish. I told her to stay with you and try harder to be with you. Really be with you so she understood how she felt about you before she did anything she might regret. I told her to kiss you too and see how it felt.”
“Great. I obviously didn’t compare.”
“Don’t say that. She’s not like that at all. She would never compare you to Eric or vice versa. You know that about her.”
Chagrined, he ducked his head down. “Yeah.” He sighed in agreement despite the obvious blow to his ego. “I guess I do know that.”
“Anyway, I told her to listen to her heart. Then she would know what she really wanted. She was always going to tell you. She wanted to tell you the day it happened but I discouraged that. I really came down hard and told her not to do anything about Eric or you. I worried about her, not you. I love her, not you. I want her to have the very best life she can, more than I care about you and your future life. So I pressured her to decide whom she wanted, you or Eric? All that useless guilt was wasted over you or Eric. I told her to decide what she, Kathy Randall, wanted in life. So don’t be an ass. She just was figuring things out.”
“And then Eric got shot before she could tell him whom she chose?”
“Well… yeah. But it would have come to this anyway. She will tell him now. I saw her face just like you. You knew the moment I knew.”
Glumly, he nodded. “Yeah. It’s just been a long, long day.”
It really was. “I’m sorry. That this came down today. But how could she face Eric and not tell him the truth after he was shot? And she wouldn’t as long as you were still in her life. She had to respect you first. But you knew all that and you released her. Did you have misgivings or doubts? I guess it doesn’t matter. But I noticed. And though you don’t give a shit about what I think of you, today, you did something heroic too.”
He shifted as she spoke, from being hunched over and miserable to actually looking at her. Listening and considering her words, he said, “I feel everything but that.”
“What we all saw was awful. Shocking. Traumatic. A man got shot. In church, no less. And that crazy guy was killed by our family’s security team. But I keep thinking that kid had to know he would get shot with so much armed security around. Everyone could see that. It reminds me of those who commit suicide by goading the cops into shooting them. Tragic, yes, but almost like it has to be that way.”
“Yeah. I agree with that.”
He was so different. His tone of voice sounded so sad. Achingly sad. “I need to get back to Kathy. What will you do now?”
“Pray?”
“Now? I think you should go home and get some rest. It’s been an awful day. And you look like you need to take care of yourself.”
“And you need to take care of your sister and your family.”
His tone was almost bitter. Like he was angry she had that important task and he didn’t.
But maybe it was more? Was Jim jealous that he had no family to take care of? Or to take care of him?
“Jim? Really, can I drive