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God, how did he even begin to unpack all of that? “I’m sorry it caused problems in your relationship.”
“I’m not.” Mariana straightened to her full height. “But I don’t want to talk about that.”
And yet Teddy was still in her life today.
“When did he come back?” He needed to know.
She looked down at her hands. “A couple years later. Emma was in and out of the hospital and I couldn’t work as much. I had to cut back my hours with the cleaners.”
She didn’t come right out and say it, but the affair must have made her less desirable as a cleaning woman too.
It was one thing to have an attractive woman come and clean your home. It was another to hire one known for getting involved with other people’s husbands.
Garrett didn’t think his aunt would have badmouthed her. That would have been an acknowledgment of the affair. But Verdant Fallswas a small town. People would have known, and Mariana’s life would have been that much more difficult. Especially financially.
Or at least it would have been until Teddy came back, riding to the rescue.
“Can I ask what the state of your relationship is now?”
Mariana worried on her lip, chewing on it too hard. “He still owns some properties. I sometimes see him there, while I clean, if they’re still vacant. I don’t like him coming here. Neither of us wants Stella to think he’s her dad.”
He couldn’t express how relieved he was to hear that.
“Good. That’s good,” he said before giving her a long, hard look. “Are you happy?”
Mariana frowned, at a loss for how to answer. “Is anybody?”
He leaned forward. “How do you feel about moving?”
The girls came down before she could answer. They were ready to celebrate, and Garrett hadn’t been about to let them down.
He’d had vague plans of sitting them down after cake and telling them the truth, but Emma started to feel bad during dinner. She’d gone to bed that night with a full-blown headache and woke with one as well.
The delay was killing him.
Garrett was close to bursting. He was both excited and terrified to tell Emma the truth. But when she didn’t improve by lunch, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had to break this news as gently as possible to soften the blow.
When she didn’t improve after lunch, he did the next best thing. He fetched Emma’s medication and put some food on her bedside table. Then he took everyone else out so she could rest.
A group of kids from Stella’s kindergarten class met at the park regularly on Saturdays. She played with them for all of ten minutes before demanding he push her on the swings. He happily did that for a solid half hour before asking Mariana to give them a little space at snack time. She was reluctant but did as he asked.
Garrett had a new plan. Tell Stella first, then they could tell Emma together once she wasfeeling better.
His aunt Phil would have to be last. She wouldn’t like that, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Where is Mommy going?” she asked as Mariana retreated to the edge of the park, pacing near the parking lot.
Garrett took a deep breath, examining the five-year-old. She was wearing a pink corduroy jumpsuit with a long-sleeved white shirt. Over these was a thick fleece jacket that had seen better days. A gray beanie with a white pompom on top completed the ensemble.
She was adorable and perfect. And he was about to upend her entire world.
“I asked Mariana to give us a little time alone. I wanted to talk with you.”
Stella was a brilliant little girl. “About Emma?”
He put his hands on the table. “Yeah. Kind of.”
Her little face grew unspeakably sad. “Is Auntie Em sick again?”