Page 53 of Beautiful Life
Once Preston and I were married, he made no bones about how he felt about my family, which is probably one of the only things we ever agreed on. He made certain she and my sister knew they weren’t wanted in our house, just one more unpleasantry I had to deal with.
“Always knew,” she strangely starts.
“What are you doing here?” Tony asks, not caring what she’s referring to.
“Always knew you were no better,” she elaborates.
“How did you get in here?” Tony keeps on.
She ignores him. “Always thought your shit didn’t stink. Always acting high and mighty, with all your fancy-ass friends and going to college, gettin’ yourself a hospital job. Then you landed a rich husband, livin’ in a big ‘ole fancy house. But you’re no better, just like I always knew.”
My heart is beating through my chest listening to her spew her words—words I’m used to hearing from my mother. I glue myself to Tony’s back, but I feel him move, bend at the waist to dump our food on the coffee table between us and my mother. Dropping the groceries to the floor, I feel his hand come to my lower hip and thigh holding me back at the same time holding me tight to him.
“I’ll ask you one more time, and you’d better start talking to me instead of Leigh. How in the fuck did you get in here?”
“You’re new.” She looks Tony up and down, ignoring his question again.
“I don’t care that you’re Leigh’s mother. I’m calling the police in two seconds if you don’t tell me how you got into this apartment.”
“I’m her mother,” she states the obvious. Then she smiles saccharine sweet, going on. “Her loving mama who hasn’t seen her in years and wanted to surprise her with a homecoming visit and the nice maintenance man let me in.”
I feel Tony’s body tense and I’m instantly nervous for the maintenance man.
“How did you know where she lives?” Tony bites, barely controlling his rage.
All of a sudden, my mother starts feeling cooperative. “Well, even though I don’t know who you are, or the fact that my daughter is now divorced.” She slices her stare to me. “I went to your home. The home you shared with who I thought was your husband, but now I know isn’t your husband anymore. He was the one to tell me my daughter is now divorced and I could find you here,” she flips her hands around my tiny studio apartment. “Is this all you can afford after being married to that rich man?”
I ignore her last comment because I have to grab the back of Tony’s jacket and hold on to stay standing. I thought I felt rage emanating from his body before, but nothing compared to now. I pull myself to him, still holding my tote, three bags of groceries, and my dress now squished between us.
“Tony,” I whisper.
“He knows where you live,” Tony bites, looking to the side and down to me.
“Tony—” I keep on, my voice strangled.
“He’s watching you. He knows where you live, even though you just moved in and there’s a restraining order,” he continues, stating the scary facts that are obvious to me with his face set in stone and rage billowing.
“Tony?” my mother asks, as she lowers her feet from my cool coffee table Gabby refinished for me. She leans forward as if she’s taking a good look at the man I did the deed with last night. Putting her elbows to her knees, she continues to spew her venom. “As in, Carpino?”
“Mom,” I start.
“You’re with a fucking Carpino?” she says in a malicious voice.
That’s it. I immediately start to pull around Tony, letting go of him to spew right back at her. “Don’t you dare!”
But Tony grabs me at my waist before I can make it around him and pulls my back to his front. He takes a step back as my mother starts in with her normal hate. “Always the Carpinos. So fucking perfect. I never stood a chance up against The Gabrielle Carpino with her perfect parents and family. ‘Gabby this, Gabby that,’ for fucking ever! And you left your husband for him?”
I throw everything in my arms to the floor, doing my best to get out of Tony’s hold so I can rip my mother’s hair out. I forget about her breaking into my apartment and the scary fact Preston must be keeping tabs on me. I can’t think of one thing besides her spewing her hate and venom about Tony, my friend, and their family who have shown me nothing but compassion and love, not to mention, I hate the fact Tony has to share the air she breathes.
But a second arm locks around me as Tony holds me in a vice. Before I can think of what to scream and yell at her, Tony starts in. “Why are you here?”
She looks at Tony and then back to me. I see her swallow and purse her lips together. “Tina’s in trouble.”
My body slumps in Tony’s arms.
Tina. Of course.
My stupid, stupid sister.
