Heath’s protective stance seemed to provoke Eddie even more as he continued to lambast her until Heath stepped forward, narrowing the distance between them. Eddie shoved him again, and to his credit, Heath didn’t retaliate. He didn’t defend himself, although Julia could see how much restraint it demanded on his part.
Eventually, Eddie said everything he intended, mixed in with swear words she had never heard from him while they were married. The shock of his attack left her badly shaken.
The silence, once Eddie slammed out of the condo, vibrated through her like a sonic boom.
“Well,” she said, exhaling slowly. “That was…unexpected.” Finding the best way to describe his interruption escaped her. Now that he was gone, she felt the sudden need to sit down. Heath joined her.
Every time Julia thought the situation between Heath’s family and her own couldn’t get worse, it invariably did. Eddie shoving Heath and yelling at her had been a nightmare. She would be forever grateful that Heath had kept a level head. It would have been easy to see the fight escalate to an all-out brawl.
“Did Hillary actually ask you to escort her down the aisle? You, instead of her father…” This was beyond anything she would have expected from her daughter. A shock. Then again, that must have been her daughter’s game plan. Her goal was to use Heath to get to her father. Her heart ached at the extremes Hillary was willing to go to to punish Eddie. It deeply saddened her.
Heath reached for her hand and captured it between his own. “While we were at dinner the wedding came up. When Hillary talked about the ceremony and me taking the place of her father, I thought she was kidding. I brushed it off as an ill-advised joke. I don’t believe that’s what she wants. This is a ploy to get back at her father, and a foolish one at that.”
Julia squeezed his hand, regretting that Hillary had put Heath in such an uncomfortable position. She wished her daughter hadn’t used Heath to manipulate her father. The situation between Eddie and the girls was worse than ever because she had.
“Your daughters are a reflection of you, Julia,” he continued. “The interactions we’ve had have given me an appreciation of the two of them. They both are fun, and thoughtful, and smart, and so much like their mother that it was easy to share my heart with them. That said I know you would never pit your daughters against Eddie.
“Hillary and Marie know how deeply I love you; they both said what they wanted most for you was to be happy. I promised I would do everything in my power to make sure you were.”
“You do make me happy, Heath, more than you’ll ever know.”
He hugged her close and she relaxed against him.
“I need to talk to my daughter.” If Hillary had been looking to get a reaction out of her father, then her plan had worked in spades.
“Talking this out with her is a good idea,” Heath agreed.
* * *
—
The opportunity came the following afternoon. Julia sent Hillary a text to tell her she was back in Seattle and then added that she wanted to see her.
Hillary arrived still in her work clothes. She hugged Julia and asked about her time at the beach. While Julia brewed tea, they exchanged small talk. Bringing the tea into the living area, she set the tray down on the table and sat across from Hillary.
“How are the wedding plans coming along?” she asked, as she poured them each a steaming cup of tea.
Hillary stared down at the tea and then slowly raised her eyes to her mother. “What’s up?” she asked.
“Why does anything have to be up?”
“Tea. You only serve tea when we’re about to have a serious discussion.”
Julia leaned back against the sofa and smiled to herself, surprised she hadn’t recognized this in herself. It was her tell.
“Yes, well, this is an important matter. I heard you asked Heath to be part of the wedding party in a role that traditionally belongs to your father. Heath assumed you were joking.”
“I sort of was, but why not, Mom?” Hillary asked. “The two of you are together now. Since I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve come to admire Heath. If Dad doesn’t want a relationship with me, then I’m not going to spend the rest of my life pining after him.”
“Oh honey, you’re going about this all wrong. Your father is badly hurt that you don’t want him with you. I’d only been back to Seattle two seconds when he thundered in here with the assumption I knew about this. Heath was here also, and as you might imagine, there was a huge blowup between them. If Heath hadn’t kept his cool, it could easily have turned into a brawl.”