Page 65 of Tears of Gold
“Tabitha, this court case must be agony for him. I know waiting for the jury is eating Elijah up; imagine what it’s doing to Lewis and Philip.” I haven’t seen Philip, Lewis’ mild-mannered father, since the night he dropped a lasagne on the floor when he found out Lewis had knocked up the youngest Fairclough, but Eli had told me he’s been in court every day. “It’s got to take its toll.”
She wipes at her face. “So why is he pushing me away?”
“You feel you gave up everything for him?” I ask softly.
“No! Maybe. I don’t know. I feel like he offered me something but then couldn’t see it through.”
“Freedom?”
“Yes. How do you know?”
“Because it’s exactly what Eli offered me when we met.”
“But I thought you were the one who rescued him from our family?”
“He rescued me first, before he broke my heart.”
She presses her palms into her eye sockets and takes a deep shuddering breath. “So, you're saying don’t give up?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m saying don’t give up, but then also don’t just sit here and grieve for what could have been. It is what it is, and you need to be happy in your own life.”
“Easy for you to say.”
I laugh, although it’s not funny. “No, that is not easy for me to say at all.”
“Sorry, I’m being a bitch. I know you are going through a lot, too.”
She doesn’t even know about the baby yet, so what is she talking about? “What do you mean?”
“You know with the police and that awful guy.”
“Oh that. Yeah.”
She meets my gaze for a moment and opens her mouth as if she wants to say something, but I cut her off. “Listen, Tabs. I need to talk to you about something.”
“What? Have you heard from my mother? Does she want me to go back?”
“Haven’t you spoken to your mother?”
“No.”
“Not at all? She’s just lost her eldest son. I know she has her issues, but maybe you should put a call in.”
Tabitha shakes her head. “No. I’m not ready for her yet, especially after Lewis dumping me. She will just tell me I told you so and I will hate her even more.”
“Hate is a strong word.”
Tabs grunts before pulling herself together. “What did you want to talk about?”
I motion for the sofa squeezed into the small lounge. “Shall we go and sit down?”
Her eyes narrow. “Sure.”
We haven’t even reached the sofa, which is all of five paces away, when my phone rings. Eli.
“I’m with Tabs,” I singsong as I answer. I listen to what he has to say and then hang up. It wasn’t a call for chit chat.
“That was short.” She sits on the sofa still wiping at her eyes.
