The moment she saw me, she wrapped me in a hug.
“Nina, sit down. I mean it,” she whispered. “Let me hold Onica. Go eat something that isn’t a Goldfish cracker.”
I couldn’t help smiling.
“You sure?”
“Give me that baby.”
She had Onica in her arms before I finished asking.
For the first time all day, I managed to eat an actual deviled egg while standing in peace.
Around two, I finally slipped upstairs, pulled out the only swimsuit that still fit, and stood staring at myself in the mirror.
I reminded myself I’d grown two children.
That was enough.
Head held high, I walked back outside toward the pool.
The moment I stepped onto the patio…
everything changed.
Everyone who could swim was already in the pool.
Steve stood in the shallow end beside Carl, holding a beer he hadn’t even started. Alice relaxed on a lounger with Onica asleep against her chest.
I walked a little closer.
Then Carl burst into loud laughter.
Steve laughed too—until he caught sight of my face. His smile vanished, and he suddenly looked like he wanted to disappear.
I stopped where I was.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
Carl wiped tears from his eyes.
“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help it! Alice was just swimming, and, I mean, come on. She clearly looks more attractive in a swimsuit than you do.”
The entire patio fell silent.
Someone’s fork clinked against a plate.
Alice’s expression hardened instantly.
The words hurt, but I said nothing.
Instead, one thought settled quietly in my mind.
I’d had enough.
“I couldn’t help it!”
I turned around, walked back inside, climbed the stairs, and quietly closed the bedroom door.
I sat on the edge of the bed with both hands covering my mouth.
A gentle knock followed almost immediately.
Alice stepped inside and shut the door behind her.
“Nina,” she said softly. “I have to tell you something, and I’ve been sick over it for weeks.”
“Alice, please, I really can’t right now.”
“You can,” she replied. “You need to.”
I looked up.
She sat beside me and unlocked her phone.
“Carl has been texting me for weeks,” she said. “Photos. Asking me to meet him for coffee. Telling me his marriage is ‘basically over.’ I never once answered, but I saved every single message. I told Steve just now.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“What?”
“That’s why I’ve been coming around more and checking in. I wanted to tell you the right way, not in front of everyone. But I didn’t want to be the woman who blew up your life.”
She handed me the phone.
I kept scrolling.
Every strange moment from the past few months suddenly snapped into place.
The expensive cologne before family lunches.
