Page 107 of The Best of Friends

“Did he say why?”

“Does it matter?”

Rebecca thought it might. There had to be a reason Blaine would leave his wife of thirty-five years to be with someone who was practically interchangeable.

“She’s a tedious little woman who never has anything to say for herself,” Elizabeth went on. “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”

She leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. “I’ll lose everything. The house belongs to your father. I tried to get on the deed, but he wouldn’t have it. Without this house, who am I? My friends will all abandon me. My social standing is linked to Blaine. Without him…”

Without him, Elizabeth was another abandoned middle-aged woman. A former secretary who had gotten pregnant with her boss’s baby, Rebecca thought. There would be money. She knew her father would be more than generous. But actual cash only bought so much. There were rules in Beverly Hills, and one of the most unbreakable was the partner with the power kept the friends. In this case, that was Blaine. Elizabeth would only be a threat to her married friends. Worse, she would be a reminder that it could also happen to them.

“I’ll have nothing,” Elizabeth said, tears leaking out of her eyes.

While part of Rebecca felt badly for her, what she most noticed was that her mother never mentioned missing Blaine or being sorry she’d lost the man. She had a feeling that if he’d simply moved out and left Elizabeth without letting anyone know, her mother would have been perfectly happy.

“And with David acting the way he is…” Elizabeth murmured.

“What about David?”

Elizabeth opened her eyes and straightened. There were lines on her face Rebecca had never seen before. A droop to her mouth. Her hair had lost its shine, and her chin seemed to sag a little.

“He is in love with Jayne. He stood right in this room and told me.”

That was nearly as shocking as hearing her father had moved out. “He can’t be. He can’t love Jayne.”

If he did, she wouldn’t have anyone. She would be completely alone.

“That’s what I said. I don’t know how it happened, I just know that bitch is to blame. For all of this. She’s given him ideas.” Elizabeth began to cry again. “I won’t have anyone. I’ll be all alone.”

The exact echo of her own words made Rebecca want to jump out of her skin.

“He can’t see what he’s doing,” her mother continued. “He’ll ruin everything.” She stretched out her hands to Rebecca. “You’re all I have left. It’s just the two of us.” Her fingers shook with her sobs. “Promise me you’ll never leave me.”

Rebecca stalked into David’s office the following morning. She was bleary-eyed with exhaustion and out for blood. Her mother hadn’t let her sleep more than an hour at a time. Elizabeth kept coming into the guest room, where Rebecca hadn’t wanted to stay at all, but her mother had insisted, going on about how everything was ruined.

Her brother barely looked up when she entered. “You’re not my favorite person right now,” he told her.

“You think I give a damn? Thanks to you, our family is disintegrating. Do you know Dad moved out?”

That got David’s attention. He turned from his computer screen to look at her. “What?”

“Last night. After your performance, by the way. He announced he was leaving her. They’re getting a divorce.”

She collapsed into one of the chairs in front of his desk and removed her sunglasses. “I haven’t slept, and I feel like crap. Mom’s a total mess. Crying and drinking. I thought she was going to start pulling out her hair. I’ve never seen her like this. It’s scaring me. You have to do something.”

“What can I do? It’s their decision.”

“Do you want them to split up? Do you want to be from a broken home?”

“I’m nearly thirty-three. I can handle my parents getting a divorce.”

“I can’t. This is all your fault. You’re making trouble, and it’s spilling over into everything.”

“I had nothing to do with it, and you know it.”

Possibly, she thought, wishing she’d stopped for a latte. “David, this is serious. Dad says he’s leaving Mom for Marjorie Danes.”

David barely looked surprised. “I can see why he would.”