“Trevor hadn’t provided that.”
“Trevor was quiet and inoffensive. He needed his alone time, lots of it. After the professor, who was a total sociopath with insane mood swings, I was attracted to peace and quiet. But then it became... I’m not proud to say this but I grew bored with Trevor and meeting Chet intensified that. He was stimulating, gregarious, we laughed all the time, always had something to talk about. When I was with Trevor, there was a lot of silence. At first I was content but then I realized I was never joyful. After a while I felt burdened — having to carry the ball socially.”
“If you didn’t talk, no one did.”
She reached out, as if to touch my hand. Drew back. The downward eyes of a child caught in the act.
“With Chet,” she said, “I was the audience, could just sit back and be entertained. I loved that. Loved him for quite some time. Then — enough, okay? You don’t need to know about all our relationship garbage.”
I said, “Did you see Chet and Trevor simultaneously?”
She stiffened. “Wow. Someone’s being brutally direct. Was I a two-timing slut?”
“Not my question.”
“I know, I know, you’re being logical. Yes, there was overlap. And during that overlap, something happened.”
She touched her mug. “Do I need to spell it out?”
“Pregnancy.”
“Which I didn’t realize for a while. I’d never been regular and I didn’t gain a lot of weight until my sixth month. By that time, doing something about it seemed... I just couldn’t. I was terrified to tell Chet, he said no problem, let’s get married.”
“Chelsea was Trevor’s but Chet never knew. Did Trevor?”
Her cheeks flushed. The rest of her face followed, rosiness spreading beneath her neckline. “I was with Chet by then. To you it probably sounds cold-blooded but I didn’t want to hurt him.”
Answering one question, no sense pushing. “How did you learn Chelsea was Trevor’s?”
“I always suspected it,” she said. “The timing. The blood typing proved it. Chelsea’s AB blood, the same as me. Trevor’s A, so he could be a contributor. I knew Trevor’s type because we gave blood together. Some benefit in Berkeley for Africa or somewhere that I pushed him into.”
Smile. “Once upon a time, I was quite the idealist. When they typed me, I got treated like a big star, AB’s rare. When the needle went into Trevor’s arm, he nearly passed out.”
“Chet’s type is...”
“O-positive. And no, he never had a clue. Medical details weren’t his thing. When the kids were sick, he always managed to disappear. That was his approach to life in general. Anything that didn’t fascinate him personally, he ignored.”
Her fingernails rapped her mug. “Like Chelsea. The moment it became clear she was different, he abandoned her emotionally. Brett, on the other hand, was his guy. Conventional, concrete, athletic. He was never mean to Chelsea, she was just a big zero to him. He’d talk a good case to outsiders, but there was nothing real emanating from him to her and she knew it.”
“Did she talk about that?”
“Chelsea doesn’t talk about anything but it affected her, a mother can tell. That’s why I got so angry when Chet made that call to you. All of a sudden he’s the concerned parent? Pu-leeze. Have you figured it out, now? His ulterior motive?”
“He suspected something inappropriate going on between Chelsea and Trevor, wanted to point me in that direction so I’d snoop around.”
She nodded. “It made me mad but it also scared me.”
“His learning the truth.”
“At exactly the wrong time, Doctor. Eventually, we were going to get divorced — mutual decision. So far, the discussion had been civilized. But there are money issues, as I told you most of it’s mine. I didn’t want him using that against me.”
“When did you start talking divorce?”
“A while back. A year, at least. We’d bring it up, agree, get busy and forget about it. Our talks were always friendly, splitting up was one of the few things Chet and I could cooperate on.”
She burst into tears. No tissues in sight. I tore a paper towel from a roll on the counter and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she said. “Sorry for being mawkish but I just remembered something. The things you think you’ve forgotten.”
She sniffed, dabbed the corners of her eyes. “Don’t know if you noticed but one of the many obnoxious things Chet used to do was call me his bride.”
I nodded.
“I couldn’t stand it. But one day, when we were talking about the divorce, he got a look on his face. Troubled. What actually looked like a deep emotion, which for Chet was rare. He reached across the table and took my hand like he used to. Massaging my knuckles gently. I used to love that. When he wanted to, he could un-wind me. Then he said, ‘Guess you won’t be my bride anymore.’ And his voice choked up.”
More tears. “If he’d been like that all along...”
Footsteps cut her off. Brett bounced into the kitchen, miming jump shots.
Felice wiped away tear-tracks. Not necessary. The boy’s eyes were on the fridge.
“Hungry, Bretty?”
Quiver in her voice. No evidence Brett noticed. He said, “Chelsea had Ben and Jerry’s. I want some.”
“Go for it, honey.”
“Get it myself?”
“That would be nice, darling.”
The boy grunted, flung the freezer door open, located a pint container and a soup spoon, and left.
“My sensitive soul,” said Felice Corvin. “Maybe it’s good to be like that. Maybe his life will be easier.”
“How’s he doing with his dad gone?”
“Lately he seems to be moping but for the most part, he’s okay.”
“Chelsea never reacted.”
“Now you understand.”
“When did she learn Trevor was her father?”
“Do we really need to get into that?”
“We do.”
“It’s a new thing for her, Doctor. I told her the day after you and the lieutenant came to inform us about Chet. I acted quickly because she’s not a... typical girl. Yes, she’s been going to Trevor’s, but for art, a tutor-student thing. I didn’t want to lose control of the situation, have her undergo some sort of breakdown.”
“You’re sure she didn’t already know?”
“I wasn’t sure, so before I had a sit-down with Chelsea, I asked Trevor and he swore to me he’d never said a thing. That was the deal we had. Pacing was up to me.”
“Your eventual goal was formalizing their relationship.”
“After the divorce,” she said. “Not in the sense of adoption or anything legal, just so Chelsea could feel... a part of something. Being with Trevor has been terrific for her. They do art together, he tells her she’s talented.”
“How long has she been going over to his house?”
“Since last fall. And not often. And yes, at night, because we’ve needed to keep it under wraps. For another child, I’d worry about disrupting her school. But school’s never been Chelsea’s thing.”
“Trevor’s been living here for years. Why just recently?”
“My decision after I knew Chet and I would be breaking up. Chelsea’s always been into drawing. I showed some of her work to Trevor and he brightened up like I’ve never seen. So I went to Chelsea and told her Mr. Bitt wanted to see more. She’d go over when Chet was out of town and we could be sure Brett wouldn’t notice. He’s a heavy sleeper, that helped. Trevor’s just the opposite, total insomniac, so he was up late quite a bit.”