Gabriel winced. She hadn’t stayed with her father since before they were married.
“How would you get there?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you without a car. I’ll call a cab.”
“There aren’t any cabs in town. You’ll have to call one in Sunbury.”
Julia glared. “I know that, Gabriel. I used to live here, remember? You must really think I’m an idiot.”
She walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Gabriel heard the lock click into place.
He paused for a moment before knocking on the door. “Rachel, Aaron, and Richard are arriving soon. What will I tell them?”
“Tell them I’m an idiot. Obviously.”
“Julianne, just listen to me. Please.”
He heard water running from behind the door.
“Fine!” He shouted. “Avoid me. Our first fight and you lock yourself in the God damned bathroom.” He smacked his palm against the door.
Abruptly, the water shut off.
She raised her voice in order to be heard. “My first public lecture and you tell me it’s shit. And not because it is, but because I didn’t agree with you and your own God damned book!”
After a lengthy hot bath, Julia emerged. The bedroom was empty.
She dressed quickly before entering the hall. She padded over to the staircase, listening.
Satisfied that the house was empty, she walked to the study and closed the door. Then she sat behind her desk, turned on some soft jazz as background noise, and returned to her paper.
“Where’s Julia?” Rachel hugged her brother before rolling her small suitcase and that of her husband, Aaron, into the living room. Her tall and willowy form was clad in a pair of khaki pants and a V-necked white T-shirt. Her long blond hair hung straight and perfect, pushed back from her attractive face by large black sunglasses. She looked like she could have starred in a Gap ad.
Gabriel’s expression tightened.
“She’s working on her paper.”
“Did you tell her we arrived?” Rachel moved to the foot of the stairs. “Jules! Get your ass down here!”
“Rachel, please,” her father said reprovingly before greeting Gabriel with a hug.
Richard stood an inch or two shorter than his son and had light hair and gray eyes. He was quiet and serious, and his intelligence and kindness engendered respect in all who knew him.
When there was no movement upstairs, Rachel turned to her brother, gray eyes narrowed.
“Why is she hiding?”
Gabriel shook Aaron’s hand in greeting. “She isn’t. She probably didn’t hear you.
“Your rooms are ready and there are fresh towels in the guest bathroom. Dad, you’re welcome to stay in your old room.”
“I’ll be fine in the guest room.” Richard picked up his bag and began climbing the stairs.
“Are you and Julia fighting?” Rachel gave Gabriel a suspicious look.
He pressed his lips together. “You can say hello when you go upstairs. Then we’ll meet for drinks on the back porch. I’m barbecuing ribs for dinner.”
“Ribs? Fantastic.” Aaron clapped an appreciative hand to Gabriel’s back. “I was going to stop to pick up some Corona before we arrived, but Rachel wanted to come straight to the house. I’ll be back in a few.”
He picked up his car keys and was about to head to the door when his wife stopped him. She shook her head.
Gabriel watched the exchange between Rachel and Aaron and decided that was his opportunity to excuse himself.
“See you on the patio in a few minutes.” He walked toward the kitchen.
Rachel shook her head at her husband. “They’re fighting. I’ll go talk to Jules and you talk to Gabriel. Then you can pick up the Corona.”
“What could they be fighting about?” Aaron ran a hand through his dark curly hair.
“Who knows? Maybe Julia rearranged his collection of bow ties without asking him.”
“Hey.” Rachel opened the door to her father’s former study.
Julia greeted her best friend with a wide smile. “Rach! Hi.”
The two women embraced and Rachel settled herself in one of the comfortable chairs by the window.
“How’s it going?”
“Fine.”
“So what’s up with you and Gabriel?”
“Nothing.”
“You lie like a carpet.”
Julia turned away. “What makes you think something is up?”
“Gabriel is downstairs looking unhappy and you’re up here looking unhappy. There’s tension in the house. I don’t need to be a psychic to pick up on it.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Men are jerks.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Julia collapsed in the chair opposite her best friend, flinging her legs over the arm.
“I fight with Aaron, sometimes. He’ll get mad and take off for a couple of hours, but he always comes back.” Rachel looked at her friend carefully. “Do you want me to go and beat Gabriel up?”
“No. But you’re right. We’re fighting.”
“What happened?”
“I made the mistake of letting him read the lecture I’m working on. He told me it’s terrible.”
“He said that?” Rachel sat up in her chair, her voice raised.
“Not in so many words.”
“What’s wrong with him? I would have thrown something at his head.”
Julia grinned wryly. “I thought about it, but I didn’t want to have to clean up the blood.”
Rachel laughed.
“Why does he think your paper is terrible?”
“He thinks I’m wrong. He said he was trying to help.”
“Sounds like Gabriel is trying to control your paper like he tries to control everything else. I thought he was in therapy for that.”
Julia was quiet for a moment.
“I don’t want him to lie to me just to spare my feelings. If the paper needs work, I need to know that.”
“He should know how to help you without saying your paper is terrible.”
Julia exhaled in frustration. “Exactly. He says he wants to start a family with me. Then he turns around and acts like a condescending ass.”
Rachel lifted her hand and gestured for her friend to stop. “Wait a minute. He wants to have kids?”
Julia squirmed. “Yes.”
“Jules, that’s huge! I’m so happy for you. When are you going to start trying?”