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“Good at what?” she asked, looking over.
Before I could answer her, Delia grabbed Corinne’s hand and yanked her the other way, saying, “Let’s go find that little boy you have a crush on. What’s his name again?”
I looked around in confusion, but then I saw what she had seen first. Jeremy, in his own car, looking at us with a hard stare.
“Benny,” Corinne said happily, but looked back at me, “Daddy, are you coming?”
Jeremy emerged from his car, walking with purpose toward us. He turned to look at me and Corinne, Corinne holding the bouquet, ridiculous now, and he spread his arms, calling out, “Congrats, Rin-Rin!”
“Jeremy!” Corinne called out and ran toward him to hug him around the middle. I felt a lead brick in my stomach seeing him hug my daughter. I knew that he wasn’t here to congratulate Corinne.
“Jeremy,” I warned, my voice low, dangerous. That feeling of needing to fight for my life was building inside me, and I didn’t want to make a scene. Not here. I couldn’t ruin Corinne’s moment.
“See, I knew something was up,” Jeremy said angrily, holding my daughter hostage. Fire burned through me, the fear that this might go haywire any second. “You’re supposed to be my best friend.”
“I am your friend,” I told him, standing my ground, “but I’ll put you down if I need to.”
“I’m sure that’ll show her what a stable choice you are. Go ahead, Robert, punch me in the face to prove that she should choose you. Ruin your daughter’s night.”
He put his hands behind his back and leaned forward, showing me his chin, and Corinne stepped away from him quickly, running to Delia and clinging to her.
I stared at Jeremy’s chin. I’d already bruised that chin once. When I didn’t move, he continued, “That’s what I thought.”
“How did you even get here? Are you following us?”
He sucked his teeth in reply, and that was all the answer I needed. “Why? You broke up with her.”
“Because you told me to! If I had known it was so that you could get in her pants…I should have known, but I thought better of you. Now I know the truth. I came to see Corinne’s recital, saw it in the local paper. I thought we could make up. I haven’t seen you around the clinic since that heroic night of yours at the bar. I thought maybe you were in a bad state… that you regretted it all and needed some time… space to get your grasp of reality back.But now I see what you’re occupied with. You got the girl, so you’re done with me. Well played.” Jeremy’s face was reddening, his eyes deader by the second.
“No, it wasn’t like that. I promise. You know how much you mean to me. I wasn’t trying to betray you,” I protested, my voice sounding tinny even to my own ears.
“You’re pathetic, man.”
I could feel my grip on the situation loosening. My head started to get fuzzy, and I stuck my palms to my temples, willing myself to go through the grounding exercises I knew.
Name five things I can see. Number one, Jeremy…Through gritted teeth, I said, “Let’s not name call. We can talk like adults.”
“No, you always have been. You knew she wouldn’tchoosesomeone like you, so you had to steal her. And you’re right.”
As he talked, my vision blurred, and the distinct outlines and colors that made Jeremy darkened. I started to sweat, a cold sweat that felt like the onset of nausea.
Jeremy continued, his voice sounding deep and distant, “Delia might convince herself she wants to be with you for a few years. She’ll need you. But that can only last so long. She likes men that are a little more…put together.”
“Tell that to our baby,” I told him, setting my jaw.
Jeremy barked out a laugh.
“Yourbaby? That baby isyours?” He turned to Delia with a condescending smile. “I thought so much better of you, Dee. Running right into the arms of your ex’s best friend wasn’t enough. You had to get pregnant by him, too? Seriously? He’s almost as old as your dad, for God’s sake. On top of everything else, he's a veteran. You, of all people, know how they are. He’ll never be able to support you, not really, not the way I can.”
“What?” Corinne’s voice cut through Jeremy’s tone. My neck whirled to face her, and I could see tears wobbling in her eyes.
She looked up at Delia with a face of betrayal. “You’re pregnant? With…?” She looked back at me, and I took a step toward her, but she shook her head and ran across the parking lot, her tutu bobbing behind her.
“I’ll get her,” Delia told me with fire in her eyes. She looked at Jeremy and spat out, “Why would you come here? Why can’t you let go?”
Jeremy moved forward, advancing toward her, and I stepped out in front of her. “I think you should step back, Jer,” I said, smiling at some parents passing us in the parking lot.
“So she banged one out with you while she was missing me. It happens. But I think you need to get through a couple of weeks without a nightmare before Delia will consider a serious relationship with you. I doubt she’s interested in unlocking your handcuffs in the mornings.”