What's Done In the Dark(50)

“Hey, come on in,” I said, sitting up in bed. “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not. You still bummed about that call?”

I nodded. “You know, I never thought Steven was a cheater.”

“Didn’t Kevin come to the funeral?”

“Yeah.”

“And he confirmed that Steven was with him.”

I nodded again.

“You don’t think Kevin would come lying to you at the funeral, do you?”

“No,” I replied. I had thought this whole thing through. “I believe Steven met up with Kevin. I mean, I saw the paperwork in that box of stuff they brought. But apparently, when he was done with Kevin, he met someone else. I just want to know who and why and how he could do this to me.”

Charlene crossed her arms over her chest, looking like she was the older, wiser sister. “Do you think he actually had someone come to the hotel? As far as you knew, he was coming back home, right? So maybe it was a one-night stand.”

“As if that makes it any better.”

My sister sat down in the chair across from my bed. “It does. A one-night stand just happens. It doesn’t mean he loved you any less.”

I rolled my eyes. My sister could go somewhere with that mess. In my book, cheating was cheating.

“Look, I agree with Felise that you need to let this go—even though for some reason I’m not vibing with her right now.”

“Is that what the eye roll you gave her was about?”

“Just something about her demeanor. It reeked of desperation. But I probably just have an attitude because she hasn’t been around. I mean, what kind of friend bails on you in your time of need?”

“She was close to Steven, too. She’s grieving in her own way.”

“Whatever.” Charlene flicked my comment off, and I knew to drop it because I wouldn’t be changing her mind.

“So, you really think I should just let it go?” I asked.

She nodded. “I mean, what good is getting all the details going to do? Steven is gone. Why wallow in hurt over what he’s done—especially when you don’t know for sure if he even did anything? That clerk could be mistaken. She didn’t actually see them go in the room together. If her man cheated on her, she’s probably paranoid and thinks all men are dogs.”

I considered what she was saying. No, that clerk had seemed adamant. “I don’t know,” I finally said. “I just want to know who it is. I want to look her in the eye. I want to ask her about his last minutes. What did he do? What did he say? Did he talk about how much he hated me?”

“Steven didn’t hate you,” Charlene said, slipping onto the edge of my bed. “But it’s understandable how you’re feeling.”

We sat in silence, both lost in our own thoughts. Mine kept spinning over and over again about who could have crept up to his room that night.

Charlene said, “Has that Sabrina girl found out anything else?”

“Let me call her,” I replied. “Hand me my phone.”

She reached on my nightstand and handed the phone to me before heading toward the door.

“I’m going to go take the boys over to Rodney’s house this morning. He wants them to stay with him a couple of weeks. I told him I’d talk to you about it. But I think it’s a good idea. I’m leaving in a few days, and Mama is no good right now. A few weeks will give you time to get your head together.”

Rodney had a son Stevie’s age, so they spent a lot of time together, and his wife made no secret of how much she adored the twins, so I had no doubt my children would be well taken care of.

“That is a good idea,” I said.

“Good, he said he’s going to enroll Stevie in the camp he’s teaching this summer.”

“Camp!” I said. “I forgot all about Tahiry’s camp.” My daughter was scheduled to go to cheer camp next week, and I hadn’t done a single thing to prepare her.

“Don’t worry, your girl is good for something. Felise is taking her shopping today. Tahiry called her because she was worried that you wouldn’t want her to go.”

“No, she needs to go. But I haven’t gotten her anything that she’s supposed to have.”

“Look, you know Felise’ll get her whatever she needs. I’ll take the boys out of your hair. You call Sabrina or do whatever you need to get some closure.”

“Thank you so much. My purse is on the dresser. My Visa card is in my wallet. Can you go by the mall first and pick up Stevie some shorts? He’s growing so fast and I’d been meaning to buy him some new clothes. Then you can take the boys to that new Marble Slab ice cream store before you head over to Rodney’s.”