Delia bounced, tugging on my pants. “Mommy! Aunt Aimee came to see me!”
“Um, hi, Finlay,” she said, tucking away her phone and extending her hand. “I’m—”
“I know who you are.” I’d seen Aimee before. I’d watched from a distance while Vero had confronted her at a makeup counter in the mall. Aimee and Theresa had been sorority sisters, inseparable since college. Photos of them, arm in arm, were framed in Theresa’s office and on the walls of her house.
She withdrew her hand when I didn’t take it. “You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here. It’s just…” She glanced down at Delia and lowered her voice. “I haven’t seen the kids since … you know.” Delia’s head tipped up, her blue eyes curious.
“Sweetie,” I said to Delia, “why don’t you use the bathroom before we go?”
Aimee gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here when you get back.” She bit her lip as Delia skipped off down the hall, her eyes pleading with me as if suddenly she wasn’t sure. “I’m sorry, Finlay. I know I should have asked if it was okay to come, but I haven’t seen the kids in a month. Not since Theresa was arrested.”
“Theresa and Steven aren’t engaged anymore. She isn’t their—”
“I know who Theresa is,” Aimee said, her voice sharpening. “I was the one she called from a restaurant bathroom, crying and covered in soup. I was the one who brought her a towel and washed French onion out of her hair.”
“I’d just found out she’d been sleeping with my husband!”
“And it was my SUV she borrowed when her car was in the shop because you decided to retaliate by stuffing Play-Doh up her tailpipe!” She drew a steadying breath, lowering her raised voice. “Don’t make her out to be the only bad guy in that story. When it involves lying and cheating, there are always two.”
“Regardless of my feelings toward Theresa, her relationship with Steven is over. She has zero reasons to talk with my children, even through the phone. Neither do you.”
Aimee’s eyes shimmered, her voice unsteady when she spoke. “I don’t know if Steven told you, but I used to see them every weekend. I used to take them to the park. Delia and I would give each other manicures and make cookies. And I just…” A tear fell, and she scraped it from her cheek. “I just miss them. My husband and I … we don’t have kids of our own. He never really wanted them, and Delia’s so great. We had a lot of fun together.” She sniffled. “I know this all probably sounds silly to you.”
I hated that it didn’t.
“Look,” she added quickly as I opened my mouth to ask her to leave, “I know you and Theresa don’t get along, and I don’t blame you. What happened between her and Steven must have hurt, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you hate me because of it. I mean, I get it; she’s my best friend. But no matter how badly she screwed up, she always will be. We share everything. Or at least we did, until this whole mess with Feliks.” Aimee shuddered. “Steven’s still pissed at me. He hasn’t returned my calls since I saw him at the jail that night. He blames me for not telling him that Feliks and Theresa were involved, but Theresa didn’t tell me everything … at least, not about that.” She flushed with guilt as her eyes lifted to mine. “What he’s doing—cutting me off from Delia and Zach because he’s mad at her—it’s not fair. I had to see them one last time. It didn’t feel right, disappearing from their lives. All I wanted to do was say goodbye.” She released a long, shaky breath and wiped her eyes. “Is Zach here?” she asked, peeking around me.
“He’s with his babysitter today.” I registered her quiet flinch. I was still struggling to process this new version of her. Not Theresa’s sorority sister Aimee, the woman my husband’s lover had confided in while he’d been cheating on me, but my children’s Aunt Aimee. The woman who had babysat them on Sundays and polished Delia’s nails. The woman who showed up at Career Day, even though Theresa couldn’t be bothered to care.
A sad smile bloomed on Aimee’s face as Delia emerged from the bathroom.
“Come on, Delia.” I scooped her backpack from the floor. “It’s time to go. Say goodbye to Aunt Aimee.”
Aimee gave me a small nod, letting me know she understood. She took Delia’s hand, watching me askance as we walked to the parking lot with Delia between us. Aimee’s eyes squeezed shut when we got to the van, a tear slipping free as she hugged Delia tight. She gave my daughter one last kiss on the cheek, her pain palpable as Delia climbed into her car seat.