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He had no idea where she was going with this, but there was no reason to rush her either. In a way, he wanted things to slow down now. He wanted to consider all options. He glanced back over at the kitchen table where Thomas and Ryan had just eaten and laughed and thought that they were secure.
Cori
Cori
“What is?”
“I saw Suza
“At Bookends?”
She shook her head. “No. It was a Starbucks in Ramsey.”
“Did she have a boy or girl?”
A sad smile toyed with Cori
He didn’t know what to make of that or how to follow it up, so he simply said, “Oh.”
Cori
“Suza
“Yes.”
“When you saw her at Starbucks?”
“Yes. Except it was only three months after I last saw her. And she still looked eight months pregnant.”
Adam nodded, finally seeing where she was going. “Which is, of course, impossible.”
“Of course.”
“She was faking.”
“Yes. See, I had to go to Ramsey to check out this new textbook. It was lunchtime again. Suza
“At least.”
“So I was up at the counter ordering a latte and I heard that voice and there she was, sitting in the corner, telling a rapt group of patrons about her prenatal vitamin regimen.”
“I don’t get it.”
Cori
“You do?”
“Sure. I got it right away. Suza
“You and Suza
“Yes.”
“And?”
“She said that she really lives in Nyack, New York.”
That was about thirty minutes from both Bookends and that Starbucks, Adam figured.
“She told me a story about having a stillborn. I don’t think it’s true, but it could be. But in many ways, Suza
Adam shook his head. He remembered the wording on the Fake-A-Pregnancy website: “Nothing throws you in the spotlight like being pregnant!”
“So she faked being pregnant in order to maintain the high?”
“Yes. She’d slap on the fake belly. She’d go to the coffee shop. Instant attention.”
“But there was only so long that she could get away with that,” he said. “You can’t be eight months pregnant for more than, well, a month or two.”
“Right. So she moved lunch spots. Who knows how long she’d been at it—or if she’s still doing it. She said her husband didn’t care about her. He came home and went right to the TV or stayed at the bar with the guys. Again, I don’t know if that’s a lie. It doesn’t matter. Oh, and Suza
“Wow,” Adam said. “That’s pretty sick.”
“But you don’t get it?”
“I get it. She should see a shrink.”
“I don’t know. It seems pretty harmless.”
“Strapping on a fake belly to gain attention?”
Cori
“And some get it by lying about being pregnant,” Adam said.
Silence.
“So I assume your friend Suza
She turned away.
“Cori
“That’s all I’m willing to say right now.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
“Wait, are you telling me you crave attention like this Suza
“I need to think about it.”
“Think about what?”
“It’s late. I’m tired.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Stop.”
“What?”
Cori
“What are you talking about?”
“We’re in a minefield,” she said. “Like someone just dropped us right in the middle of it, and if we move too fast in any direction, we’re going to step on an explosive and blow this whole thing up.”
She looked at him. He looked at her.
“I didn’t drop us in the minefield,” he said through gritted teeth. “You did.”
“I’m going up to bed. We can talk about this in the morning.”
Adam blocked her path. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“What are you going to do, Adam? Beat it out of me?”
“You owe me an explanation.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“Don’t understand what?”
She looked up into his eyes. “How did you find out, Adam?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“You have no idea how much it matters,” she said in a soft voice. “Who told you to look at the charge on the Visa bill?”
“A stranger,” he said.
She took a step back. “Who?”
“I don’t know. Some guy. I’d never seen him before. He came up to me at the American Legion and told me what you’d done.”
She shook her head as though trying to clear it. “I don’t understand. What guy?”
“I just told you. A stranger.”
“We need to think about this,” she said.
“No, you need to tell me what’s going on.”
“Not tonight.” She put her hands on his shoulders. He backed away as though her touch scalded him. “It isn’t what you think, Adam. There’s more to this.”
“Mom?”
Adam spun toward the voice. Ryan stood at the top of the steps.
“Can one of you help me with my math?” he asked.
Cori
Chapter 10
What could he do?
Cori
At midnight, Cori