Her Mother's Daughter (20 page)

Bay went back to the garage first. She tore up the highway and squealed into the station, stopping on a dime. She got out of the car and slammed the door in time to see Dermot and Jason poke their heads out of the garage doors to see what the noise was about.

“Send Jason for coffee,” she hollered.

Dermot came towards her. “What's the matter?”

“Send Jason for coffee, unless you want the whole town to know who you are.”

Dermot looked confused but he did as he was told. “Scram for a while, Jason.”

“Uh, sure.” Jason laid his wrench on the top of the gas pump and walked towards his car. The minute he left Dermot said, “What's going on?”

“You tell me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Get in here.” She walked through the garage doors and into the back room. Memories of the last time she was there filled her head. Bay turned to face him. “When were you going to tell me?”

Dermot paled. “Tell you what?”

“That you've been screwing my sister!” Bay reached for the first thing she saw and threw it at him. He ducked and the stapler hit the wall behind him. She reached for something else, but he was too quick and grabbed her wrists. “Wait. Calm down.”

She pulled against him. “You can go to hell, Dermot. Let me go.”

He shook her. “
Calm down.
”

“Did you have fun making a fool out of me?”

“It wasn't like that. What did she say?”

“
She
hasn't told me anything. I had to overhear my nosy neighbour telling my coworker you were parked in a truck last night necking like teenagers on my own street. How do you think that makes me feel?”

“Terrible, I know. But that doesn't mean I've been with her.”

“Are you serious? I saw your faces the night you supposedly met. I didn't put two and two together then, but no one looks that guilty when they've only been kissing. Now let go of me.” She yanked her arms and escaped his grip, wiping her hair out of her eyes with her shirtsleeve. “Are you going to tell me the truth, Dermot, or placate me with more lies?”

He didn't say anything at first. “The truth. I didn't know she was your sister. And she didn't know who I was, either. We met when she stopped for gas.”

Bay folded her arms across her chest. “And with her usual speedy charm, she asked you to take her to bed, and naturally, since you're in love with me, you did.”

Dermot's face turned angry. She'd never seen him like that before. As he stepped closer to her, she took a step back. His voice was low. “Yes, Bay, I did. And the funny thing is, I told her about you before I did.”

“She knew?”

“I told her I was in love with someone who didn't love me back.”

“That's not true.”

He shouted in her face. “It is true! I've been hanging around you like a lovesick puppy for years now and all I get is an occasional pat on the head.”

“You're wrong. I've had a hard time. I'm trying to get better.”

He started to pace. “Guess what. You're not the only one. I lost someone too, only I don't know where she is. I don't have the luxury of taking flowers to her grave on Sunday afternoons. She could be in a ditch or at the bottom of the ocean. Or she might be living it up on a tropical island. You're not the only one who's had their heart broken, Bay.”

She looked away.

He stopped then and put his hands on the back of the chair in front of him. “And then this woman drops by and she makes it clear from the first moment she lays eyes on me that she thinks I'm special. She flirts with me, makes me feel like a man. And I haven't felt that for a long time. So yes, Bay, when she asked me to sleep with her that night, I did. And guess what?”

She didn't answer him.

“She came to me again, and it was heaven.”

“Stop.”

“No, you wanted to know the truth. And then you arrived at the garage that day and threw yourself at me. I couldn't believe it.”

“Was that heaven?”

“Yes. Yes, it was. I came over that night to be with you. I didn't want to think about what I'd done with Tansy. I hoped you'd never find out. And then she walked in the door. We both nearly died. It was too awful for words.”

“So why were you kissing her last night?”

“We were saying goodbye.”

“How touching, the two of you doing me this big favour, pretending it never happened, keeping me in the dark. No wonder you won't come for supper. And no wonder Tansy's crying in my kitchen. Only is she crying for me or is she crying for you? What do you think?”

“I don't know what to think anymore.”

“Well, why don't I ask her?” Bay started for the door. He came around from behind the chair and hurried to catch her. He held her arm and made her look at him. “Don't go off at her, Bay. The minute she found out who I was, she stayed away from me. It's not fair to get upset with her.”

“It isn't? You might think you know my sister, Dermot, but you don't. She's capable of lots of things, things people have to run around and undo, things that need to be kept quiet—so quiet that the silence is unbearable. So don't tell me how to deal with my sister, okay?”

He let her go. “What about us?”

“Us? You're kidding, right?”

She walked away.

Bay called Anne from the car and told her she wasn't feeling well and she was spending the day in bed. Anne told her it was no problem. When she hung up, Bay fought the urge to go to the cemetery and talk to her mother. It was nonsense anyway. Her mother never talked to her. It was her imagination.

She was alone. She was always alone.

Bay started the car and drove back to the house. As she pulled in the driveway, Flo was walking up the sidewalk. Bay got out of the car and ignored her.

“Morning, Bay. Fine day.”

Bay turned around and walked over to her. “How can you talk about me behind my back one minute and then give me a big grin five minutes later like butter wouldn't melt?”

Flo's mouth dropped open. “What are you on about?”

“Telling everyone who'll listen that my sister is a tramp. Where do you get off talking about my family like that?”

Flo looked shocked. “I didn't mean no harm. I was only stickin' up for ya.”

“Well, do me a big favour and keep your nose out of my business from now on.”

She turned around and marched down the driveway and into the house. There was no one in the kitchen.

“Tansy?”

“I'm in here. What are you doing home?”

Bay walked into the living room. Tansy was on the couch reading a
Vogue
magazine.

“Where's Ashley?”

“She's in the shower. Is something wrong?”

Bay threw herself into the armchair by the picture window. She crossed her arms and then her legs and stared at her sister. “You could say that.”

Tansy closed the magazine and tossed it onto the coffee table. “Okay. Are you going to tell me what?”

“You know what it's about.”

“I do?”

Bay nodded.

“I'm afraid I don't. Enlighten me.”

“Dermot.”

Tansy went white. She sat very still and kept her eyes on Bay. “Who told you?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does. Because I know for a fact it wouldn't have been him.”

“My wonderful neighbour Flo couldn't keep her mouth shut this morning at the post office.”

Tansy closed her eyes.

“Were you going to tell me?”

She opened them again. “No, I wasn't, because it's over.”

“You sat in that kitchen and told me I needed to behave like a lady and keep my hands off him. I thought you were looking out for me. But all the while you were making sure you had him to yourself. What kind of a woman does that?”

“I know that's how it looks—”

Bay stood up. “That's how it is! I know you, Tansy. I know what you're capable of.”

Tansy stood up too. “And what's that?”

“Creating a huge mess and making the rest of us clean it up.”

Tansy said nothing.

“So here it is again. Dermot and I are finished. Any chance we might have had has been wiped out by you.”

Tansy raised her voice. “Why weren't you with him in the first place?”

“I had other things to worry about, like raising a headstrong daughter alone and dealing with the loss of everyone I loved, including you.”

Tansy turned away and walked towards the window. “It hasn't been easy for me either.”

“You drive a Porsche. How difficult was it?”

Tansy turned around. “I have a car. You have a daughter. Who's the lucky one?”

Bay didn't say anything, so Tansy continued. “I met a guy who looked as lonely as I felt and we got together, that's all. It wasn't a big conspiracy against you. It happened. I'm sorry you got hurt.”

“You're always sorry.”

“What do you want from me, Bay? What else can I say?”

“That you're getting the hell out of my life and never coming back. I thought I wanted you to come home, but I've been miserable since you arrived and I can't take it anymore…”

“Mom?”

They looked up and saw Ashley standing on the stairs, wearing a bathrobe and a towel wrapped around her hair.

“What's going on?”

The sisters looked at each other. Bay spoke first. “Nothing. It's nothing to worry about.”

Ashley came down the last of the stairs. “Nothing to worry about? You just told Tansy to get the hell out of your life. Were you going to consult me about it? Or don't I matter?”

“Of course you matter.”

“It doesn't sound like it. Why do you hate her so much?”

“I don't hate her.”

“That's not how it sounds from here.” Ashley looked at Tansy. “And do you want to go?”

“I can't stay if your mother doesn't want me here. It's her house.”

“It's my house too!” Ashley shouted. “How come no one listens to me and what I want?”

“I do, honey.”

“Mom, that's a lie. I don't want Tansy to go. Are you listening now? I don't want her to go.”

“This is between Tansy and—”

Ashley's voice became too high. “No! She can't go. I need her!”

Tansy walked over and put her hands on Ashley's shoulders. “Why do you need me?”

Ashley's face crumbled. “I'm pregnant.”

Tansy immediately took her in her arms as Ashley sobbed against her.

Bay's hand covered her mouth. “No. Oh, no.”

She ran out of the room.

CHAPTER TEN

Tansy finally sent Ashley upstairs to get some clothes on. She told her to wait in her room, because her mother would be up to speak to her in a minute. Then she went into the kitchen and looked out the back door. Bay was on the swing, just as Tansy suspected.

She took a deep breath and walked outside. Bay was looking out over the water and didn't notice her approach. It wasn't until she sat down that Bay turned and saw her.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Tansy reached over and took Bay's hand. Bay let her.

“We'll figure this out together. I won't leave you; you won't be alone with this, Bay. You have to let me help you. You have to let me help her. She's the only thing that matters.”

Bay nodded.

“The issues you and I have mean nothing in the wake of this. We need to put them on the back burner and present a united front, okay?”