A/N: Hey! I hope you're all staying safe and well! Thank you so, so much for your amazing response to this story so far. Things are so crazy right now, and your kind reviews and messages mean so much to me. I hope you like this chapter; I know it felt cathartic to write it. Stay safe!
He has to hand it to his friends, they have etiquette.
When he and Weiss walk back into the house together, it's like nothing ever happened. No one's staring. No one seems uncomfortable. No one comments, I'm glad you two were able to work things out.
They're not even in the house waiting for them. They're out back, situated in Adirondack chairs around the fire pit, engaged in conversation, as if there were no doubt in any of their minds that everything would be fine.
He's not sure if it's because they're good at putting up facades, or if it's because they're adults.
Maybe it doesn't matter.
What he does know is that Savvy's approaching him with a glass of scotch—the good stuff—and handing it to him.
Then she picks up her own glass of champagne and looks fondly in her husband's direction. "Here's to 40."
"Cheers," Addison choruses.
"Welcome to my decade, Weiss," Nancy quips.
"Not yet," Weiss insists. "Not until next Tuesday."
"I still remember your thirtieth," Derek muses.
Weiss smiles widely. "At the place with the boat."
Derek swallows uncomfortably and involuntarily makes eye contact with Addison, who looks equally uncomfortable.
The two of them had been to the place with the boat many times over the years. It had become their place. So much so that he'd completely forgotten that the first time they ever went there, it wasn't just the two of them. They'd gone there the first time for Weiss' thirtieth birthday.
"That was a good birthday," Weiss says fondly. "We should go back there."
"How about we take it one birthday at a time?" Savvy suggests lightly, sensing Addison and Derek's discomfort.
Weiss shrugs. "I was just saying." He turns to Derek. "Maybe for your fortieth. You're next."
"Don't remind me," Derek mutters.
"I know," Weiss sighs, sipping at his scotch and swirling the amber liquid around in his glass. "We're officially old."
"No, you're officially old," Addison points out, and Weiss chuckles good-naturedly. "The rest of us are still in our thirties."
"Well, not Nancy," Derek points out with a laugh. He'd forgotten how easy it was to slip back into this light banter that was a hallmark of so many of his New York friendships. "But she's ancient."
"I'd watch it, little brother," Nancy warns. "I may be ancient by your standards, but you and I both know how grateful you were to have an older sister growing up."
"Yeah, someone to always hog the bathroom," Derek rolls his eyes.
"That was all of us," Nancy defends primly. "But I don't remember you complaining when I used to buy you alcohol when you were in high school. And I distinctly remember you coming to me before your first middle school party asking me to practice playing truth or dare with you."
"Wait, really?" Addison chuckles, looking to Nancy for confirmation. She knows most of Derek's stories, but this is one she hasn't heard.
"Really," Nancy nods. She takes a sip of champagne. "I obviously said no."
"It could have been worse," Savvy shrugs. "He could have wanted you to practice playing spin the bottle with him."
"Sav," Derek cringes. "And I thought Weiss was the inappropriate one in your marriage."
Savvy shrugs innocently and Weiss raises his eyebrow mischievously.
"Hey, Derek ..." Weiss smirks, "truth or dare?"
"What?"
"Truth or dare?"
Derek shakes his head in disapproval. "What are you forty or fourteen?"
"I'd be careful," Weiss warns. "I'm not the one who's dating a fourteen-year-old."
"We're not dating," Derek mutters under his breath.
"What's that?" Weiss asks with exaggerated politeness.
"Nothing," Derek mumbles irritably.
"Wait, Weiss, hold on a second," Nancy cuts in. And Derek can hear the mockery in her voice loud and clear. "Maybe Derek doesn't want to play truth or dare because it's outdated." She turns to her brother curiously. "Do fourteen-year-olds play different games nowadays?"
Derek glares at his sister. "Are you done?"
"Probably not," Nancy shrugs nonchalantly. "I was just going to say that —"
"Oh, for the love of ... truth, Weiss," Derek sputters, more to put an end to his sister's obnoxiousness than anything else. "I pick truth."
A wide, satisfied smile spreads across Weiss' face. "Truth, huh?" He licks his lips.
"Just remember I'm playing this game with my sister," Derek warns.
"Oh, now you're shy about these things," Nancy scoffs. "You and Addison have no control at family functions and have never been good about locking doors ... but now you're suddenly concerned?"
Had Addison mentally corrects. Have implies present tense ... something that's still ongoing.
"With that said," Nancy continues, turning to Weiss, her eyes pleading, "I really don't want to know more than I already do about that particular facet of my brother's life. So if we could keep the game a little tame, that would be appreciated."
"I'll see what I can do," Weiss shrugs before turning his attention back to Derek. "Derek, a few minutes ago, you indicated that you're not dating your intern. Does that mean you're single?"
"You heard that?" Derek asks in surprise.
"Clearly. Now, come on," Weiss prods, "answer the question. Are you single?"
"Yes," Derek nods, intentionally keeping his eyes focused on Weiss. "I'm single."
A wide grin spreads across Weiss' face. And if Derek had the nerve to look, he'd see that his friend isn't the only one smiling. Everyone sitting around the fire pit is somewhere between trying to conceal a smile (Addison) to downright beaming (Savvy).
"Interesting," Weiss says smugly. "Okay, Derek, it's your turn."
"Okay," Derek begins slowly. "Nancy, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Who's your favorite sibling?"
"Kathleen," Nancy responds automatically.
Derek narrows his eyes at his sister. "You could have pretended to think about it."
"Why? I didn't need to. It's obviously not Amelia. And you've become absent, so it's clearly not you. Lizzie's a good contender, but she's too competitive about everything. You'd think her sibling rivalry would have calmed down now that we're all grown adults. But Kathleen," Nancy grins, "is always there, without fail, without question. Even if it's just for a quick phone call to exchange gossip."
Derek nods mutely. Admittedly, Nancy's words sting. "So, I don't even crack your top two?"
"Don't act hurt," Nancy chides. "We're clearly not a priority for you. It's unreasonable for you to expect us not to be off-put by that."
"I'm not hurt, I'm just ... You could have pretended to think about it."
Nancy shrugs dismissively and turns her attention to her former sister-in-law. "Addie, truth or dare?"
"Dare."
Nancy raises an eyebrow, impressed.
"What?" Addison sniffs. "The game isn't fun if everyone always chooses truth."
That, of course, is the cool girl answer, not the honest one. And, yes, she recognizes the irony considering the game they're playing.
She chose dare because the truth is scary. Far scarier than any dare someone could task her with.
"Okay," Nancy licks her lips, "I dare you to ... uh ... uh …"
"To call your mother," Weiss fills in.
Addison looks at Weiss in surprise. "Bizzy?"
"Yes," Weiss nods, a wide smile spreading across his face. "And tell her about all the camping you did in Seattle."
Addison looks at Weiss in confusion. "I didn't go camping in Seattle."
"But the trailer," Weiss points out. "Wasn't that for camping?"
"No. That's where Derek lives." She turns to Derek. "Lives, present tense, right?"
Derek nods.
And Weiss closes his eyes and shakes his head, silently communicating his disapproval.
"Well, tell Bizzy about that," Wiess offers. "Tell her all about how you lived like a woods-woman while you were in Seattle. And how Derek still lives like a woodsman. Maybe even invite her to Seattle to go camping with Derek."
"I thought this was Addison's dare," Derek grumbles. "Why am I the one being punished?"
Addison quirks an eyebrow at Weiss. "Isn't Nancy supposed to come up with the dare?"
"Yeah, but she was clearly struggling. And, besides, it's my birthday."
Addison cringes slightly. She has to hand it to Weiss, it's a good dare. Normal conversations with her mother tend to be unpleasant (though she'd hardly call most conversations she has with Bizzy normal). What Weiss wants her to tell Bizzy is downright excruciating.
But she's never been one to shy away from a dare. So she takes out her phone and calls Bizzy.
"Put it on speaker," Weiss urges.
Addison reluctantly complies and they all wait while the phone rings.
With each passing unanswered ring a sense of hope builds in Addison. Maybe Bizzy won't answer.
Of course, she's not that lucky.
"Addison?" Bizzy answers, the surprise in her voice evident.
"Bizzy," Addison responds formally. "How are you?"
"About to head out for an event, so if you're calling to make small talk, you'll need to call back another time."
"I'm not. I'm just ..." Addison cringes. There's no way to sugarcoat what comes next. "I just thought you should know that when I was living in Seattle ... before the divorce ... Derek and I ... we were, um, kind of living in a, uh, … we were living in a trailer."
"Excuse me?"
"I was living in a—"
"No, I heard you. No need to repeat yourself, Addison." And she can hear Bizzy audibly shudder. "Why are you telling me this?" her mother asks slowly. "Is it to make yourself feel better about living in Los Angeles, which is unseemly, if you must know."
"No, that's not it," Addison insists, exchanging a knowing look with Savvy. "I just thought you should know."
"If that's what you want to believe, Dear … well, I suppose that's your issue to work through." Bizzy sighs heavily. "It seems like you're reaching out to me for advice, Addison, which quite frankly, you're a little old for, but still ..." she pauses thoughtfully, "if anyone asks, Derek was going through a mid-life crisis, and you indulged it to try and save your marriage. That's how you should talk about that phase you went through in Seattle. Not the way you just described it to me."
"A phase?" Addison asks in surprise. "You think my time in Seattle was a phase?"
"Isn't that what it was?"
"I guess," Addison concedes, more to avoid an argument than anything else.
In reality nothing could be further from the truth. Or more hurtful. The terrible twos are a phase. Her time in Seattle wasn't. It was her life.
"No one's asking," Addison refutes with as much dignity as she can muster.
"Excuse me?"
"You just told me how I should respond if someone asks about my time in Seattle and my marriage to Derek. No one's asking about that."
"That's not surprising," Bizzy sniffs. "Because the truth is, nobody expected your marriage to last. And the fact that he moved on so quickly afterwards ... well, that shows exactly what you were to him — a speedbump on his way to finding someone who's more at his level."
"Excuse me?"
"Don't get me wrong Addison, the intern's a downgrade. And the fact that Derek's dating an intern speaks volumes about the fragile state of his ego. But, still, at the end of the day, you were a speedbump, Addison."
Bizzy may be saying more, but Addison can't hear her. Everything went numb after Bizzy called her a speedbump on Derek's way to finding someone else.
Her time in Seattle was a phase. No one expected her marriage to last. She was a speedbump in Derek's life.
"I guess I was the last one to see these things," Addison mutters. What else can she really say after all that?
"Enough with the self-pity, Addison. You were raised better than that."
"Yes, of course," Addison responds mechanically. Heaven forbid she actually acknowledge her feelings. "You mentioned you were running late."
"I am."
"Well, I'll let you go then. Have a nice night, Bizzy."
"Thank you. I will. And Addison ..."
"Yes?"
"Just remember ... not everyone's cut out for marriage."
Addison swallows thickly. Just when she thought her mother couldn't cut her any lower.
"Thanks for the tip, Bizzy. I'll keep it in mind."
"It's not a tip, Dear. It's the truth. Now, I know you want to continue to chat, but, really, Addison, I need to go."
"Yes, of course." And Addison can't help rolling her eyes at that. There are few things she'd rather do less than continue this conversation with her mother. "Goodbye, Bizzy."
"Goodbye, Addison."
Addison hangs up and stares down at the phone in her hand. At Weiss' request Bizzy had been on speaker the entire time; and after everything her mother just said—and everything her friends had just witnessed her mother say—Addison isn't sure she can look her friends in the eyes.
"It looks like Bizzy just won truth or dare," Weiss mutters, doing his best to break the tension.
Addison can't disagree with him there. And if Bizzy won, she most certainly lost.
She got more truth than she'd bargained for on what was supposed to be a dare.
"We, um, should probably start getting ready for dinner," Savvy inserts quickly, sensing that they all need to remove themselves from the situation ... both physically and emotionally.
Nancy, whose tact rivals Savvy's, immediately nods in agreement. "Come on, John, we don't want to miss our reservation."
Addison watches as everyone makes their way inside, but she can't bring herself to join them. Not yet.
"Addie?" Savvy looks at her friend in concern.
"You go ahead," Addison insists. "I just need a minute. I'll be right behind you."
Savvy nods in understanding. She ushers everyone into the house, giving Addison the space that she very clearly needs.
"That was brutal," Weiss mutters once he's certain the door has been closed behind them and they're safely out of Addison's earshot.
"No," Derek disagrees. "That was Bizzy."
His friends know Addison and her family, but not like he does. He knows her ... everything about her.
Which means he knows that at this very moment she's sitting outside internalizing every last insult Bizzy threw her way. And that's not fair.
"That's not fair."
He blinks in surprise, realizing he'd just vocalized his thoughts out loud.
He glances at his friends, who are all looking at him in confusion.
"I just mean she shouldn't be out there alone," he says quietly.
Savvy nods in agreement and subtly cocks her head toward the back door, nonverbally insinuating that he should be the one to join her.
Derek is prepared to debate this — to insist that maybe he's not the best person to go out there. But he knows he is.
It has to be him and he knows it.
"We'll meet you at the restaurant," he tells his friends before heading out the door. "We'll probably only be a few minutes late."
In all honesty, he kind of doubts that. He knows Addison, and he knows that if he can get her talking, it might take a while. But he also knows that Addison would be appalled at the idea of showing up anything more than fashionably late for Weiss' birthday dinner – and he's not about to sign her up for that.
"We'll see you soon," Derek reiterates.
"Take your time," Savvy says gently.
He nods mutely and makes his way out the door, but not before hearing Weiss quip, "You've got to hand it to Bizzy, she was spot on about Derek's mid-life crisis."
Part of him wants to fight back. To insist that he's not having a mid-life crisis. But he resists. Right now, his bruised ego is nothing compared to the character assassination his ex-wife just experienced.
And for the first time in longer than he can remember, she takes priority
She's in exactly the same position she was in when he left her — sitting in an Adirondack chair, staring blankly at her phone.
"Addison?"
She looks up in surprise. And for a moment, they just stare at each other.
"Can I sit down?" Derek asks after a moment.
Addison shrugs and Derek settles into the chair next to hers.
"You don't have to sit here with me, Derek. I'm fine, really."
He knows for a fact that that's not true.
"Addison," he says quietly.
"Derek, we don't have to talk about it. You should go. You don't want to be late for Weiss' birthday dinner."
"We can be a little late," Derek reassures.
"We?" Addison raises an eyebrow.
"We," Derek nods.
Addison shrugs half-heartedly. "Okay. But just a little late. Because we have a dinner reservation and it would be rude to –"
"I know," Derek agrees. "That's why we'll just be a little late."
In the end, they're more than a little late to Weiss' birthday dinner. They never actually make it there.
But that's getting ahead of things.