When We Fall by Emily Liebert Page A

salad. “Charlie’s great. He’s really been going out of his way to help me out. And Charlotte’s certainly been the most welcoming of any of the moms at Logan’s school. It’s just that there’s this weird vibe whenever they’re in the same room together.”
    â€œWhat do you mean by ‘weird vibe’?” Allison’s mother narrowed her light gray eyes in contemplation and pierced a hunk of cucumber with her fork.
    â€œI can’t put my finger on it. I haven’t really spent much time with both of them, but the little time I have spent . . . I don’t know. It’s like there’s a tension in the air. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s like he barely acknowledges her existence. And I think she’s insecure about it.”
    â€œYou can’t blame her for that.” She lifted the cucumber to her mouth and Allison watched her nibble at it like a gerbil. Her mother was possibly the most refined person she knew.There was no shoveling food, like the gentleman at the next table who was inhaling the Italian Combo in the manner of a starved puppy dog, lapping up the oil and vinegar trickling down his chin after every ambitious bite.
    Far from it. Caroline Taylor, born Caroline Harper in Kennebunkport, Maine, to a reverend and a schoolteacher, never left the house without makeup, though you’d never know she was wearing any. Her hair was always neatly styled, nary a gray strand in sight. And her outfits were unfailingly age appropriate and typically designer. She never spent money unnecessarily, but she did appreciate the finer things. Good food, luxurious fabrics, and a home appointed with antiques that together were worth more than Allison’s house itself. She’d always been of the mind-set that shopping sprees were ridiculous, insisting that a smaller closet full of items that might be more expensive but would stand the test of time was far more valuable than a large closet packed with junk. She also subscribed to the theory that you should never shop for a specific event, unless it was your wedding. If you saw something you liked and it fit you well, you should purchase it without regret. Then, when an engagement did come along, you wouldn’t have to buy something at the eleventh hour that wasn’t right.
    â€œYeah, I suppose. Maybe it’s hard for me to understand because Jack and I were never like that. Sometimes I think about where we’d be today. Ya know?” Allison smiled politely at the lady lunching on the other side of them, who was, quite clearly, eavesdropping on their conversation—unfortunately for her, it was odds-on the least salacious dialogue within earshot.
    â€œOf course. Though I hardly think you’d be like Charlotte and Charlie. You and Jack had something very special, Ali. Like your father and me. Most people don’t have that. Or if they do, they eventually find a way to destroy it.”
    â€œYou know what’s funny? I feel like all of my friends’ parents were married when I was growing up here, and now it seems like every mom in Logan’s class is either divorced or already on husband number two. Or three.”
    â€œIt’s ridiculous. People split up these days like they’re throwing out the trash.” Her mother shook her head. “Marriages take work. They’re not always easy street.”
    â€œI’ve never once seen you and Dad have a real fight.”
    â€œHa!” She laughed. “Then you must not have been paying attention. We’ve fought plenty, believe me. Oh, how we’ve fought. But remember, love and hate are closer than love and indifference. Not that I could ever hate your father, but you get my point. If someone doesn’t stir up passion inside you—both the good kind and the bad—then it’s not a true relationship. At least in my opinion.”
    â€œI guess that’s what it is with Charlotte and