BooksBarbecue
Back The Second Home Save as PDF
Chapters (47)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraphs
  5. Prologue
  6. Part One
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. Part Two
  25. EIGHTEEN
  26. NINETEEN
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. TWENTY-NINE
  37. THIRTY
  38. THIRTY-ONE
  39. THIRTY-TWO
  40. THIRTY-THREE
  41. THIRTY-FOUR
  42. THIRTY-FIVE
  43. THIRTY-SIX
  44. THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. Acknowledgments
  46. About the Author
  47. Newsletter Sign-up

Michael stood, put on his coat, and looked at the revolving door near the exit. He was overcome by a hot, explosive rage. He understood now why Anthony wanted to discuss this matter in a public place. He knew that Michael would want to hurt him. And he did: just like that he reached forward to strike Anthony, forgetting that Anthony was quick as a wrestler. He grabbed his wrist, twisted it so hard Michael could have sworn it broke, and let go. Michael yanked his aching arm back. Anthony stared at him, a stare that dared Michael to try again, a stare that was oddly calculated. Michael couldn’t lead with his right hand, so he used his left, and landed a sloppy hook on the side of Anthony’s nose. It couldn’t have hurt him. The family at the next table gasped.

Anthony stood and addressed them. “Will you please ask the bartender to call security?”

His face was right next to Michael’s ear. He whispered, “I’m going to press charges if you don’t get the hell out of here. Get lost, Michael. Go away. Disappear. Nobody cares about you. Not me. Certainly not Ann. Just take the money and run, and don’t you dare try to make contact with either of us. As far as you’re concerned, you never saw me. I’ve never stepped foot in this tired industrial town. That other paper you signed? It’s a silence agreement. Break it, and you’ll be in debt for the rest of your life, I’ll make sure of it.”

Michael saw the security guard in the distance. He spit on Anthony and made a run for it. He burst through the revolving doors and stumbled onto the sidewalk. He picked himself up and ran away from the hotel, away from Lake Michigan, away from the Gordon family home. Breathless, a few blocks south on Broadway, he caught his reflection in the giant plate-glass windows of the Grain Exchange and saw what everyone else saw: just some horny, troubled kid living with two beautiful girls his own age, a lovesick “stray” who would take advantage of any situation. He was an opportunist. He could feel that check in his back pocket—proof.

He couldn’t believe Ann would turn on him.

One thing was certain: he could never go back to the Gordons’ house. That part of his life was over, ripped away from him. He walked to the Greyhound station with nothing but his backpack. He used the pay phone at the station to leave a message on the Gordons’ voice-message machine. “Look, I’m sorry about what I did to Ann,” he said. He couldn’t bear to say he’d gotten her pregnant, couldn’t bear to lie.

He hung up and looked at the bus schedule. He had so much money now, he could go anywhere. Anywhere at all.

SIXTEEN

Ann