Sleeping in Eden by Nicole Baart

Author:Nicole Baart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Howard Books

15

LUCAS

“You don’t like her here, do you?”

The question was so fraught with potential disaster that at first Lucas tried to ignore it. He busied himself by putting his toothbrush and toothpaste away, then gave the bathroom counter a quick swipe with the hand towel. The way Jenna hovered in the open bathroom door made him feel oddly exposed, like he was back in college and had to share personal space with relative strangers. They didn’t use the bathroom together anymore, Jenna smoothing on makeup with a foundation brush while he shaved over the sink. Now they slipped into the intimate space in shifts, almost secretively, as if they had much to hide. Lucas hadn’t closed the door to brush his teeth, but for a moment he wished he had.

“I’m glad she’s okay,” Lucas finally managed, and it was a close approximation to the truth.

He had expected Angela to leave as quickly as she had come, but one week after seemingly materializing out of thin air, she was still claiming his couch as her own. Even after the debacle of their attempt at a happy family dinner, Angela seemed content to dwell amid the thick and stifling hush that had settled over the Hudson house. Coming home from work in the evenings, Lucas had the feeling of wading into a shallow body of still and stagnant water. It was calm, but it was heavy and depressing just below the surface. He set his jaw, tried not to breathe too deeply, and leaned against the bathroom counter since Jenna was blocking the door.

“What is it about her that you can’t stand?” Jenna said softly.

“Nothing,” Lucas said. “I can stand her. I stand her just fine.” Actually, he was surprised that Jenna could stand their houseguest. After all, Angela had more or less committed treason by bringing up Audrey, even if inadvertently. And though Jenna didn’t know what Angela had done in a manipulative moment at the age of eighteen, couldn’t she feel the tension between her houseguest and her husband? The unspoken guilt that filled their interactions with shared shame?

“Well, I think it’s obvious you have something against her.”

“I don’t have anything against Angela,” Lucas said, but he suspected that what Jenna really wanted was a confession. “It’s just hard, having her around. I mean, we don’t have an extra bedroom, she’s practically a stranger . . .”

“She’s practically a family member.”

“That was years ago. We thought she was dead, remember?”

“Well, it’s pretty obvious she’s alive.”

“I just don’t understand what she’s doing here.”

Jenna turned her head to look down the hallway, and although Lucas couldn’t see her face he knew the expression it held.

“At least we didn’t have to go to a funeral,” Lucas said, assuming that his wife was as grateful as he was that Angela decided to have Jim’s body cremated and forgo a traditional ceremony.

“That’s heartless.”

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I think she skipped an important part in the healing process.” Jenna sighed.

“That’s what she’s doing here? Healing?”

“She’s saying good-bye.

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