Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

She looked over at me and raised her brow.

“Why did you stay with him?” I asked softly.

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She seemed surprised at first. “I thought you’d forgotten

about that night.”

I wished I had.

After a long sigh, she said, “At first, it was that I didn’t want

to break up our home. I was a housewife with no education and

two girls barely in school. That’s why when you two started high

school, I went to beauty school,” she said with a sad smile. “I

waited until y’all went off to college to confront him.”

“What did he say?”

“He was shocked that I’d known all that time and never said

anything. He begged my forgiveness and swore it was only once.”

Mom set her cup on the table and folded her hands in her lap. “I

have no idea if that was the truth, but I chose to accept it as so.”

I couldn’t imagine living all those years coping silently with

the betrayal. “Why?”

“I loved him and I couldn’t make myself stop,” she said as if

it were as simple as that. “After I told him that I knew, he’s spent

all these years trying to make it up to me. I’m not saying the

affair was a blessing in disguise, but our relationship has been

wonderful ever since. I wonder if it’d been as good otherwise.”

“When I think about the women I’ve been involved with, I

don’t think I could’ve forgiven any of them for that.”

Mom tilted her head and looked at me intently. “I know you

loved the women you were serious with, but I’ve wondered if you

were ever truly in love.”

“I was content. It was nice to have someone to share things

with,” I admitted as I toyed with my cup. “I know love isn’t really

like it’s depicted in movies and books, but that’s what I want.”

Mom laughed. “Yes, they never show or tell you what happens

after the happy couple rides off into the sunset. But someone has

to do the laundry, take out the trash, and pay the bills.”

“I know it sounds pathetic, but at this stage in my life, even

those chores sound romantic,” I said with a smile. “If the one I

was doing the chores for made my heart skip a beat whenever she

walked into the room.”

“Does Hailey make your heart skip a beat?” Mom asked.

“From the second I saw her.”

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“What makes her so different from the others?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s just a connection, and as

silly as it sounds, I feel like we’re supposed to be together.”

“I’m curious to know what Kalen thinks about her,” Mom

said.I winced, knowing exactly what Kalen thought and would no

doubt tell Mom. “She doesn’t like her.”

Mom’s brows rose. “Really?”

“Hailey is divorced,” I said. “She had an affair with a

woman.”

Mom stared at me for a moment. “Well, that’s kind of hard to

comment on after what we just discussed your father.”

“She has deep regrets about it,” I said, debating whether or not

to say anything about the online issue. As open-minded as Mom

was, she’d probably side with Kalen if she knew about Hailey’s

deception. Frankly, I would’ve reacted the same way Kalen had if

she told me the same things about someone she was interested in.

A niggling doubt and fear settled over me then.

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Pitifully Ugly

Chapter 16

Sometimes it pays to lie…to Kalen.

I sat propped up against the headboard, trying to keep my

eyes open. I’d held my cell phone in my hand since I’d gone to

bed, awaiting Hailey’s text message. I glanced at the clock and

noted with disdain that it was a little before midnight. Hailey said

earlier that she had to work the next day, and I figured that she

must’ve been having a great time if she wasn’t home yet. I couldn’t

help but feel a bit anxious about that. Who was entertaining her?

I nearly cleared the bed by six inches when my phone vibrated.

Home safe and sound.

Have a good time?

They were a rowdy group. Alicia was as you described.

Shit! She was there. I chewed the inside of my cheek.

I put her in her place. Hailey wrote before I could respond.

Thank you for letting me know that you made it in. I’m coming

home tomorrow. We arrive at three.

Hailey’s reply was immediate. Is something wrong? I thought

you’d stay longer.

Dad and Mom are fine. Kalen is missing her hubby and is

ready to get back.

Then you should be in bed. Your flight is probably early .

You should be, too.

See you tomorrow then. Sweet dreams.

My dreams would be anything but sweet. Images of Alicia

coming on to Hailey like a freight truck were already flashing

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through my mind, then Alicia telling Hailey in lurid detail what

we’d done.

The next morning, Kalen and I were aboard a plane full

of a group of teens who seemed to have had energy drinks for

breakfast. For a church group, they were high on something, and I

wasn’t sure it was the Lord. Kalen listened to their conversations

as we sat on the tarmac, shaking her head. When she turned to

me, her eyes were wide. “If my kid behaves like any of these, I’m

not going to make it through the teen years. Why don’t you keep

him or her until they’re twenty-five?”

“I’m moving to Canada when your offshoot hits puberty. I

remember what you were like at that age, and these kids pale in

comparison.”

Kalen waved her hand in my face. “New topic, this one is

making me queasy. You’ve been texting a lot. Are you and Marci

still talking?”

Lie to her! My brain screamed. S top that bouncing leg .

“We’re not going to see each other again, remember?” I

crossed my legs as best as I could in my cramped seat.

“Then who is it?” Kalen raised a brow as I tried to meet her

stare.“I have friends.”

Kalen’s eyes narrowed. “Stop being evasive. Who were you

texting with? And who did you call while on the beach?”

Both of my legs started jumping then. Change the subject , my

brain ordered. Do something with those legs, for Pete’s sake! “You

said you were going to take a nap. Did you lie so you wouldn’t

have to clean the kitchen?”

Kalen leaned in closer. “Who?”

“Hailey.”

Kalen’s mouth twisted. “You’re playing with fire, little sister,

and you’re going to get burned.”

“You’ve made up your mind without ever meeting her. I don’t

think she’s the monster you believe she is.”

“Shannon.” Kalen caressed my arm. “I don’t mean to be such

a downer. I’m just trying to protect you. Think about the things

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Pitifully Ugly

you’ve told me. She cheated on her husband, and she conveniently

neglected to mention that it was her you were chatting with online

until you busted her.” Kalen tugged on my arm until I looked at

her. “You’ve really been coming out of your shell lately. I don’t

want to see you get hurt and start living like a hermit again.”

I nodded and looked out the window as our plane began

barreling down the tarmac. Hearing it all laid out like that did

cast Hailey in a disparaging light. But Kalen didn’t know Hailey

like I knew her, well, like I thought I knew her.