Everything in her deflated, as though the sound of his voice were a pin, bursting her utopian bubble.
“Yes, Pippa left her phone at play rehearsal.”
“She’s in a play?”
“She is, the lead.” She said it in an accusatory way, as if Pippa’s past apathy toward the theater had been his fault. Which wasn’t really true. She reminded herself of her lawyer’s advice and changed her tone.
“She’s very excited about it. But she needs her electric guitar. Can you send it?”
“Maybe I should buy her a new one. She was vying for that Stratocaster, remember, Mandy?”
His two usual tells for guilty behavior revealed themselves in one sentence. Extravagant spending in exchange for forgiveness and calling her Mandy instead of Amanda. He was always going on about the importance of a strong name. Amanda Cole is a strong name, he would say, not Mandy Cole. He had made such a big deal when naming the girls. “My daughters need bold-faced names that will stand out in the press,” he’d insisted.
Amanda remembered the first time she had seen his theory in action:
PIPPA AND SADIE COLE SHINE
IN VERSACE ON THE RED CARPET
Now their good names had been dragged through the mud along with his. Her calm intentions left her, and she answered him with rage in her voice. “Just send her guitar, Carson!”
“When is the play?”
“Thanksgiving weekend, but she needs it to practice.”
“I was asking so that I could put it on my calendar.”
Amanda grabbed the steering wheel to steady herself. Put it on his calendar? She wanted to punch something. He responded to her silence.
“Of course I am coming if my child is in a play. How would it look if I didn’t?”
She couldn’t be sure if he was baiting her or not, but regardless, she took it.
“How would it look? You are suddenly concerned with how things look? How do you think it looked when you humiliated me in public?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about, Mandy.”
Again with the “Mandy”—she became enraged. “You degraded me every chance you had, Carson. I can’t believe how long I put up with it.” The elation she felt from being with Dean had quickly turned to regret—regret for living in limbo for years and years with no regard for her own happiness. She could blame it all on Carson, but she knew that she was also responsible. It was her own life.
“Oh well, I can believe it. You put up with it until I became part of the industry reckoning, and then you conveniently jumped on the bandwagon. What a surprise.”
Amanda took another deep breath and got her shit together. “Carson. I’m mortified that it took other women calling you out for me to leave you, but the important thing is, I did. The girls can at least be proud of one of their parents.”
She knew it was a low blow. A kick to the Achilles, she thought, but she didn’t care. A thousand insults wouldn’t tip those scales in her favor. He had been demeaning her with words and chipping away at her soul for years. He was silent, and she felt satisfied.
“Send the guitar to my father’s address. I will ask Pippa if she wants you to come to her show, and I will let your assistant know the details if she does.”
He started to answer her, but she hung up. She was shaking from the call. She could not imagine dealing with him in person, but she knew she would have to find a way. Her guess was that as angry as Pippa was, she would want him there. He was her dad. Amanda vowed not to sway her decision and was already regretting having lost her cool. She promised to herself she’d never let him rile her again. Instead, she’d do and say only that which would advance her cause.
CHAPTER 31
Alison & Jack and Alison & Jackie
Nothing brings out the charm of a small town quite like a country fair. The trees seemed to be competing against each other for Best in Show as much as the overall-clad creations that lined Main Street for the annual scarecrow contest. And the creativity on display was astonishing. Alison’s favorite scarecrows were the ones dressed as the band KISS, complete with signature painted pumpkin heads. Main Street was closed to traffic and covered in hay for horse-drawn buggy rides. A petting zoo and a prettiest pig competition were set up at one