be there wif Unca Beau. Go on. Daddy needs to hear it.”
I stand on shaky legs and move to Christopher’s casket, stepping beside Beau. He doesn’t acknowledge me when he lays one hand on the casket and leans over.
“I love you, brother. This isn’t goodbye. This is only see you later.”
I wipe away a tear before I say my final goodbye. “Chris,” I whisper, “I love you and I promise to take care of our girl. You watch from up there, I’ll take care of her down here.” And just like Zoey did, I kiss the casket. I grip Beau’s hand and we make our way back to the chairs.
“This sucks,” Beau mutters.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Max replies.
“Chris would hate this. He’d want us to be celebrating.”
“He’d probably rather we be cracking jokes than crying,” Amelia says, giggling.
“Screw it. Amelia’s right. He wouldn’t want all of us to be stiff.”
“Like he has room to talk,” Max murmurs. “He’s the stiff one.”
It’s enough to get us all out of our sadness, for a few moments, anyway. We laugh quietly and the family begins to move around outside of the tent, talking to the rest of the attendees.
I’m speaking with one of Peter’s brothers, Brent, when a familiar voice I haven’t heard in over ten years pierces my ears. I try my hardest to focus on whatever Brent is telling me, but I’m practically desperate to hear what Lizzy is saying to Beau right now.
The fact that she showed up here at all surprises me.
After Beau and I caught her and Tyson together, the friendship that she and I once shared went up in smoke. Two days later I showed up at her door. She let me in acting as if nothing had happened. When I asked her why she cheated on Beau, she shrugged and said she knew it was wrong, but she also couldn’t resist Tyson.
Turns out, what she couldn’t resist wasn’t Tyson, the person.
It was the potential that Tyson had with making baseball his career. It was the idea of being with him as he played college ball and hopefully one day the major leagues. Visions of being one of those couples that found each other in high school and stayed together against all odds because of the pull and friction that being in the spotlight can bring to a couple.
She was latching on to him thinking she’d just landed the golden ticket, so to speak. But he had other plans. The two dated until he got an offer to play for a team in Arizona, though I suspect neither did so exclusively. While she expected he’d ask her to join him, he had his eyes set on other things. The glitz and glam of stardom and wealth that drew Lizzy into his world was the same thing that he broke up with her for. He didn’t want to be saddled to one woman when he would have several throwing themselves at his feet, according to Amelia who’s good friends with Tyson’s sister.
When he left Lizzy, she didn’t let him go quietly. She made sure to make everyone aware of the reason why she was with him, and that it wasn’t because she loved him. It was disgusting and sad but not at all surprising. Not after the way she threw Beau aside without a care.
I watch as she places a well-manicured hand on Beau’s arm and press my lips together to stop myself from smiling when he looks down at the connection only to take a step back. It wouldn’t surprise me if she always assumed Beau would wait for her. Pine away for years until she was ready to come back. I have no idea how the two of us were as good of friends as we were all those years.
Maybe I’m wrong about her. I haven’t spoken a word to her since the day I confronted her about cheating on Beau. Not a peep when I announced I was pregnant or when I announced Zoey’s arrival. Nothing about my mother’s cancer or when she passed away. Nada. No words of condolence or sympathy.
But now she’s here and my guess is it’s not for any reason other than to get her hooks into Beau.
Not on my watch, though.
I may not have the right to even have an opinion about who Beau dates, but Lizzy? That’s a road he should never go back down. I won’t allow it. Her betrayal sent him packing and ruined his ability to