Chapter -38
Samuel frowned recalling, “I guess it changed when we were twelve or thirteen. That’s when we transferred schools. The kids picked on me, calling me nerd, that sort of thing. I was an easy target for them. I thought it would be different at our new school…but it wasn’t. If anything they were more…aggressive. Anyway I got knocked down during one of their little surprise circles and they broke my glasses. I think someone actually stomped on them.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow. Where were the teachers? Didn’t every school have a no-tolerance policy in place for bullies?
“Anyway, Sarah stepped in. Told them to stop but they just turned on her next. She was always writing stories in her notebooks so she was an easy target too.”
“And what did you do?”
“I went to the nurse’s office to get my glasses taped back together.”
Lucas blinked, “I mean about your sister.”
“Nothing. Why?”
“Your sister stepped in to protect you from bullies and you just walked away? Left her outnumbered? You didn’t call for a teacher to break it up?”
Samuel shrugged. He had never been an intimidating person and useless in a fight. Finally he said, “I saw her later. She seemed fine…but after that she stopped talking to me.”
Lucas pinched his nose as if staffing off a headache. And Samuel wondered why his sister stopped talking to him? He glanced at Alan to see the same incredulous look on his face. Alan suffered serious bullying in the past due to his s****I orientation so he understood the seriousness of that sort of ridicule and scorn. He would never have stood back and allowed someone else to suffer as he had. No wonder Sarah never
attempted to contact her brother.
“What about your dad?” Lucas asked. “Were you two close with him?”
“No. He was always at the office. We barely saw him except at dinner. Mom insisted we eat together. But
things changed when we were fifteen. Mom had an appointment so dad had to watch us. He took us to work.
I loved it. It was like a candy store for me but Sarah pretty much stayed in the break room writing her stories.
”
Lucas nodded. It seemed Sarah had always been a writer.
“When it was time to go we went looking for dad. We found him in his office, with his secretary bent over his
desk.”
Lucas blinked, “Your father was having an affair?”
“Nothing like that. He explained it later. Anal doesn’t count as cheating.”
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“And you believed that?” Lucas asked.
“I was fifteen. What did I know about adult relationships?” Samuel shrugged. “But Sarah…she threw a fit, started screaming at him. She said he was the worst dad in the world and that she wished Uncle Tailor was her dad and a bunch of other things. Dad got so mad he slapped her. After that…Sarah never spoke to him again. She totally ignored him acting like he wasn’t even there.”
“And your mom? What did she say about it?”
Samuel shook his head, “She got sick shortly after that and passed away. I don’t know if Sarah even told her. After the funeral Sarah packed a bag and said she was going to live with her friend, Ruth something-or-other. She never came home again. I only saw her at school but she never even said hi..
Lucas sighed. He had no idea Sarah had suffered so much. She never mentioned it, never hinted at it.
“I tried to get her to come home once after graduation. I told her dad wanted to celebrate together as a family. He was even going to cook a special dinner. And he did…I mean he burnt the pasta but he tried. Sarah never showed up. She went off to college and never came home for holidays.”
And he actually wonders why?
Lucas couldn’t help but shake his head. No wonder Sarah had no problem walking out on him and leaving without a trace. She had plenty of practice with her brother and father.
“I didn’t see her again until dad made the deal with Missus Stanton,” Samuel said. “He tracked her down
somehow and told her she had to marry you…She threw another fit. She said she didn’t want anything to do
with his dirty deals and to leave her out of it. I guess your grandmother talked to her privately and convinced
her to go along with it but I don’t know the details.”
Lucas nodded. No one knew what was said during that interview except two people and neither was a person
he felt comfortable asking.
“Sarah wanted a fall wedding. Autumn is her favorite season but the deal wouldn’t be finalized until the
marriage was complete so dad insisted on a spring one. He said he’d pay for the venue but he didn’t have any
money left so she would have to make due on her own for the rest.”
“What?” Lucas suddenly sat up. “The contract my grandmother signed specifically stated she would give your
father five million advance payment for the wedding. Your father brought her receipts saying they went over
budget so she gave him an additional two million. The Tribeca isn’t cheap but it’s not seven million. What the
hell did he do with the money?”
Samuel looked suitably surprised. Evidently he had no idea about the agreement between Nathan Tomlinson
and Alice Stanton.
“How the hell did Sarah pay for the wedding?”
“Out of her own pocket, I assume. She never asked for my help at least. She made all the decorations herself.
She and mom used to do all sorts of craft projects with the stuff they bought at garage sales so she was used to it. I even took one of the centerpieces because it reminded me of the fun we used to have as
kids.”
Samuel stood walking to his bookshelf and picking up a glass mason jar filled with a string of lights and
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decorated on top with faux sunflowers with a burlap bow. Bringing it to the desk he turned it on to show how the lights made it look like the jar was filled with fireflies.
“Mom loved this sort of thing,” Samuel smiled. “Sarah’s dress was our mother’s, altered a bit, though I think she had a friend help her with that.”
Lucas stared at the lighted jar. He remembered the wedding, the décor of faux flowers and fall leaves. Apparently Sarah was determined to have her autumn wedding one way or another. At the time he had snorted at the cheap decorations in disgust taking it as confirmation the marriage was all just an act. He never knew Sarah had poured her heart and soul into it. And she wore her mother’s dress? He felt like such an i***t.
“So you went to the wedding?” Lucas asked after a moment.
“Yeah. Of course. Dad thought he would walk her down the aisle but Sarah told him to sit. She would walk herself. She didn’t need anything from him. He didn’t go to the reception at all. When the DJ called for the father-daughter dance I’m pretty sure she danced with Uncle Tailor.”
“Did you dance with her?”
“No. I can’t dance. I didn’t want to ruin her night by stepping on her toes. But you danced with her.”
One dance.
That was all he had allowed for propriety’s sake. Lucas could kick himself for missing such an opportunity. He abandoned his bride at her own wedding. God he was such an ass…but it turned out Sarah was used to dealing with such people.
