Elaine had cut her off, grabbing her hand across the cold metal table. “Gabby, I know you’ll never be able to forgive me, but I need to tell you that I’m sorry . . . and that while it was wrong, my intentions were good. I did it all for you.”
Gabby had scoffed, yanking her hand back and crossing her arms over her chest defensively. “Are you serious, Mom? I worked so hard to get into Tulane—” She felt tears growing behind her eyes and sniffed, looking up toward the fluorescent light above their heads. She refused to cry over this anymore. “I worked so hard. And now all I can do is try to get by.”
Elaine started to weep. “I just . . . I just wanted you to have a better life. I felt like a failure as a mother because I couldn’t give you everything you deserved.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “What I did was wrong—believe me, I know it was wrong—but I saw an opportunity for a better life and I took it. And then things got out of control and I couldn’t undo it. Even if you can’t forgive me, I hope you can someday understand.”
Now, Gabby actually could understand, and she sympathized with her mother. While Gabby hadn’t committed a crime, wasn’t her situation similar? She, like Elaine, had seen an opportunity for a better life and she’d taken it. And now she, like Elaine, was going to have to deal with the consequences.
As the rain continued to beat down on her car, Gabby closed her eyes and considered her options. She could break up with Tony and get her mom out of jail. And honestly, she had missed Elaine desperately. Her friends were wonderful, but there was nothing that could substitute for the counsel of your own mother . . . trying to plan a wedding without her was proof of that. She didn’t want to continue going through life’s big moments without her mom.
On the other hand, Gabby could wait and watch as Tony’s father told him the truth. Elaine would serve her sentence like any other criminal, and Gabby would have to pray Congressman Ford didn’t know his son as well as he claimed . . . that even after knowing everything, Tony would still love her and want to be with her.
But was that the right decision? Could she trade her mother’s life for a chance at her own happiness?
A tapping noise on the window made Gabby jump. A prison guard stood outside, peering in her window. She rolled it down, the rain splattering into her car.
“Ma’am, you’ve been sitting here for a while,” he said, looking into her car suspiciously. “Do you need any help?”
“No,” Gabby said, a resolution forming in her mind. “I was just leaving.”
“All right, have a good day, then.” He walked back toward the prison.
Gabby started the engine and looked down at her phone. She typed a message to Tony: Meet me at King’s Cafe at 1?
He immediately wrote back, OK!
Gabby drove away from the prison, trying not to look back. If she thought much more about this, she was sure she would crumble.
? ? ?
GABBY HAD PICKED a busy café, thinking Tony wouldn’t make a scene if there were other people around. As they sipped on Mello Joy coffee, she finally got the courage to do what she should have done months ago. “I have to talk to you about something,” she said, shifting uncomfortably in the metal chair.
Tony looked up from his steaming yellow mug, his long lashes framing his beautiful dark brown eyes. Gabby wanted, so badly, to reach out and kiss him one last time. “Sure,” he said. “What’s up?”
She took a deep breath, trying not to tremble. “I can’t marry you.”
Tony paused, looking at her quizzically, and then laughed. “That’s not funny, babe.” He grabbed her hand, interlacing her fingers in his own. “So, I was thinking about a road trip for our honeymoon. Have you ever driven Route Sixty-Six?”
“No—Tony,” Gabby said, her voice quiet and direct. She pulled her hand away, her stomach churning. Tony’s brows furrowed, confusion flitting across his face as Gabby rushed to get the rest of the words out. “I can’t marry you. It has absolutely nothing to do with you, but I’m going through something personal right now and I have to deal with it on my own.”
Tony’s face blanched and he leaned back in the seat. “Gabby, stop that. Whatever it is, we’re a team now. I’ll help you get through it.”
Gabby looked around the coffee shop at all the people laughing and talking around them. For her, time had slowed to a crawl; it felt like her world was ending. Tony stared at her in concern, like he was trying to figure out how to help. He wasn’t getting this, so she needed to make it clear to him. She couldn’t look at him as she pulled off her engagement ring. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish things were different.” She placed the ring on the table and stood to leave, her stomach and chest aching with pain.
“Wait . . . where are you going?” He grabbed the ring and scrambled out of his seat, following her out of the coffee shop. “I’m so confused. Are you actually breaking up with me?”
Outside, the rain had stopped and the sun was out, illuminating the puddles in the parking lot. The world looked like it was glittering, a cruel contrast to the hollow feeling inside of her. Gabby turned to face Tony, finally looking him in the eyes. His gaze was desperate and wild—disoriented, even—and his mouth hung slack.
“You’re a good guy,” she said softly. “You’ll find someone better than me.”
“Gabby . . .” He reached for her, trying to wrap her into a hug, but she disentangled herself from his embrace. An angry red bloomed across his cheeks, and he stepped back, hurt.
She walked briskly to her car, his footsteps splashing on the wet ground behind her. As she opened her door, he grabbed her arm and spun her around. The look in his eyes was pleading and heart-wrenching. “You have to talk to me,” he said, starting to tear up. “You can’t just . . . end it. Not like this. What did I do?”
It’s what I did, she wanted to say. But as painful as this was for him, his dad had made himself clear: keeping silent about her lies was part of the deal of getting her mom out.
“It’s over, Tony. I never want to see you again,” she said, lying to him one last time before slamming the door in his face.
32
madison
MADISON STARED AT herself in the bathroom mirror, her surprisingly mature reflection looking back at her. Her skin was dewy and bronzed. Her eyes, outlined in black kohl, were wide and luminous, and her lips were painted a light pink.
Claire stood behind her, creating soft waves in her dark hair with a curling iron.
“I still can’t believe you’re doing this,” Claire said, clamping down on her hair with the hot tool. “Marriage isn’t something you should take so lightly.”
Madison stared at the scowl on her cousin’s face. “Just because you’re having problems doesn’t mean it’s going to be hard for everyone else.”
Claire laughed. “Oh, sweet child, you’re so naive. Bless your heart. If two people who love each other can have problems, a fake marriage is in for a world of trouble.”