When Willa answered the door, he said “I need to speak to Pete.”
Willa’s eyes widened. “Of course.”
“I look that bad?” he asked with a sad smile.
She pulled him into a hug. “Yes,” she whispered. “You look like shit.”
He chuckled. “Don’t go far. Pete’s probably going to need you,” he said as he walked into the room and closed the door.
Pete walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. He started at finding Lex standing there.
Lex smiled. “Sorry Bro. I’m sure you were expecting Will.”
Pete laughed. “Good thing I didn’t walk out here naked.”
“Yeah, like I’ve never seen you naked before.”
“But if I’m walking around naked with Willa around, it’s a different look.”
“Totally a visual I didn’t need, Bro,” Lex said laughing.
“Let me get some pants on, then we can talk?” Pete looked questioningly at Lex. At Lex’s nod, he said, “OK, give me a sec.”
Once he was dressed, Pete came out and sat on the bed, across from Lex, who had taken up residence in the chair opposite.
“What’s up?” Pete asked.
“At the funeral, Caroline gave me a letter from Dad.”
Pete’s eyes got wide.
“With everything that happened that day, I forgot about it. But there is a letter for you also. I’m sorry I didn’t get it to you sooner.”
“Bro, don’t worry about that.” He took in Lex’s appearance. “Are you OK?”
Lex didn’t answer for a moment. “Yeah. Just …” he paused, “… most of the letter was fine. It’s just one thing is bothering me. I’ll let you read yours without me hovering, but I’m just curious if you have the same feeling.”
Pete nodded. “OK. But stay. OK?”
Lex didn’t move. Pete took the letter and began to read. He couldn’t have read more than a couple of lines when he glanced up and met Lex’s gaze. In that moment something passed between the two of them. Pete returned to his letter. When he was done, he looked up again.
“Was he dying?” Pete asked.
“That’s what I want to know.”
40
Dinner was a tense affair. The private room, set back in the restaurant, while cheery and light, seemed to cast a pall of irony over their assembly. Lu watched as Lex took in the uncomfortable atmosphere of the family gathering. She saw him decide that he needed to step in and try to make everyone comfortable. He turned his attention to the room at large. Before long, he’d turned the tide with his teasing, lighthearted banter. The effort cost him, she knew, but he’d brought it on himself. She found it interesting that he so clearly stepped right back into that role. She’d long ago decided that you couldn’t escape the childhood role that you were destined to don the moment you returned to the fold. Thankfully—because by the time dessert appeared, everyone seemed to be relaxed. Eager to be done with the hellish torture, Lu almost choked on her wine when he suggested that everyone come to the villa for coffee.
Lu shot him a look of death. He’d been so caught up in working the room that she supposed he hardly noticed the tension radiating from her or he was so used to it by now that he couldn’t tell her relaxed pose from her tension-filled rigidity.
“I apologize,” he whispered.
She guessed he did notice as she shook him off. “It’s OK,” she muttered.
But it wasn’t. As they all settled in the family room, sprawled on the couches that the night before had held just the four of them, the embers of tension began to ignite. Lu waited with Nina while she showered but brought her out so that she could bid everyone goodnight. Lex scooped her up and carried her off to bed, leaving Lu to find a seat in the viper’s pit. Her parents were curled up together on the love seat. Next to them, Pete sat on the recliner, with Willa perched on the arm, never far from his side, which made Lu smile despite her desire for this night to be over. Jo, who had been sitting with Lex, looked at Lu, inviting her silently to sit with her. Lu declined by walking over and sitting in the other recliner, slightly away from the group, a party of one. The moment she sat down, Amber struck, a viper who’d been waiting for her prey.
“Louisa May, have you been able to find some gainful employment in London?” Dr. A. asked.
Lu tried desperately to hold the roll of her eyes. She supposed her mother had been put off for the twenty hours she’d been in Spain and the question had surely been burning a hole in her pocket. “I’m continuing to consult via Skype, but, yes, I’ve actually been offered a job that I’m contemplating.”