“Fuck,” Kane muttered under his breath.
I glanced quickly at Kane before I looked down the aisle. I laughed. “Jake Rigby,” I said as I walked toward the man. “Or is it Reverend Rigby these days,” I said with a smile. “Hilde and Mark mentioned you were the head pastor at their church.”
Jake and I had been friends in high school. In fact, Jake was friends with just about anyone looking for a friend. When I found out he’d finished seminary and settled back down in Hazleton, I wasn’t the least surprised to hear it was as a pastor in the local Methodist church.
“Yes. Hilde and Mark have such lovely children. You must be a very proud aunt.”
I nodded as I glanced at Kane just over my shoulder. He was hanging back, shuffling his feet and looking around nervously. I scoffed for a moment, confused why he would act so odd around a man who could possibly mean him no harm. Jake didn’t inspire enemies, and Kane and he had been friends in high school too, largely because Jake hadn’t cared any more than I had how many times Kane had been expelled.
But when I turned back and took another step toward Jake, my eyes caught on a woman rounding the endcap with a package of light bulbs in her hands, and I figured it out.
“Honey, are these the ones you’re looking for?” The married girlfriend from the restaurant asked Jake, and he turned to answer her.
I spun to face Kane who was still nervously shuffling about, and when he glanced at me, he looked away quickly, and his eyelids fluttered and closed. Forcing myself to turn back to Jake was painful. Looking at his wife was this incredible combination of pain, humiliation, and complete jealousy.
“Helene… Helene.” Jake fumbled with his wife’s arm for a moment as he spoke to me. “I want you to meet my wife. This is Lisa,” he said proudly as he pulled the woman up beside him. Jake’s grin was so wide it broke my heart.
I closed the space between us, and when Lisa looked at me, the broad smile that had been on her mouth moments before fell. She cleared her throat. She glanced past me to see Kane, and then her face turned red and pinched in anger before she could stow it. She turned, taking a step away from her husband for a moment, and when she rounded, she clutched her hand to her stomach, shaking her head. She looked furious, but then she looked past me at Kane again, and her eyes pooled with tears. Maybe it was heartbroken.
“It’s good to see you, Jake.” I had to force the words from my mouth.
He pulled me into a hug, oblivious to his wife’s behavior behind him. “Ah, you as well, Helene. I’d heard you were back in town, teaching at the college as you work through your dissertation. Quite the accomplishment, Helene. I can’t say I’m surprised, though. I always knew you were headed somewhere.” His eyes glanced over my shoulder, and his brow flinched. It was confusion again. But Jake pursed his lips, smiling awkwardly. “How are you Kane? You remember my wife Lisa, right? I introduced you two at the Fourth of July parade.”
Kane stepped up beside me, clearing his throat. “Yeah… Yeah. Hi Lisa,” he said tightly.
Lisa plastered her smile back on her mouth. “Hi,” she said curtly. And then she turned her attention to me, her lips tightening into a straight line. “You are again? I’m afraid I didn’t catch the name.”
I held my hand out, forcing it to stay rigid and not tremble. “Helene. I graduated with Jake … and Kane.”
“Lisa.” She instantly turned her attention to her husband. “We should…” She cocked her thumb over her shoulder. “…get going.”
“Oh… Yeah. Sure, dear.” Jake returned his attention to me. “It was so good to see you, Helene. I’m really glad you’re back in town.” He held his hand out to Kane. “Kane, very good to see you, too.”
“You, too.” But Kane’s eyes glanced away.
Jake smiled awkwardly at Kane again, clearly thrown off by his nervous behavior. But then he took Lisa’s hand, and they headed back the way they came. Lisa glanced over her shoulder, tucking her hair behind her ear as she did to hide the move from her husband. I stood staring after them, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened. I was angry. I also didn’t think I had any right to be. But I’ll be damned if I wasn’t furious.
Kane said nothing as he stood beside me frozen in place.
“I’d like to go home,” I finally said quietly, and I walked away.