Read Online When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald - Free Book Online Page B

she had inherited from her grandmother—what was the stone? Tourmaline? Aquamarine? She noticed a birthmark next to his left eye and wanted to kiss it.
    â€œThank you,” he said.
    When he turned away from her, she felt herself exhale, not realizing that she had been holding her breath.
    â€œWhere are they?” Phillip said.
    Hearing the panic in his voice, she ran toward the playground, scanning the monkey bars and jungle gyms.
    â€œOllie!” she screamed. Frightened children looked up at her. She could feel her heart beating wildly and her stomach drop as though she were descending in the elevator in a skyscraper. Several kids scattered, running into the protective embraces of their multicultural nannies. She saw Phillip sprint in the direction of the stone bathroom fixtures on the other side of the playground, along the edge of the parking lot. Just as he reached the building, she saw the two kids run out, holding hands, with their fingers interlaced.
    Even from a distance, Marina could tell that the children had swapped clothing. Charlotte wore the gender-nonspecific tunic that she had purchased for Oliver in a store specializing in beachwear, while Oliver was dressed in Charlotte’s floral sundress and her pink patent-leather sandals, his hair unbraided and bunched into two ponytails. By the time Marina reached the children, Charlotte was crying, frightened by Phillip’s anger. He was on his knees holding her while she whimpered.
    Marina looked down at her son, who watched the father and daughter with an uncertain expression.
    â€œOllie . . .”
    â€œWe wanted to play opposites,” he told his mother quietly. “It’s opposite day.”
    â€œIt’s okay, honey,” she said, running her hand up and down his neck.
    â€œIt’s not okay,” Phillip said. “You don’t just run off without telling anyone.”
    In Phillip’s eyes she imagined that she could see the flicker of blame.
    â€œHe’s right, Ollie,” Marina said. “You both scared us.”
    Charlotte kept her head buried in her father’s shoulder. “It was Ollie’s idea,” she heard her say in between sobs.
    Oliver grabbed on to his mother’s leg, blinking back tears himself. “It’s opposite day!” he said again.
    Marina remembered the things that they had left on the park bench. “Hey,” she said to Phillip, “Do you want me to take them into the bathroom and change them, and I’ll meet you at your car?”
    Phillip stood up, carrying Charlotte in his arms.
    â€œCan we just do the exchange later? She’ll kill me if I’m not there in the next few minutes.”
    Charlotte popped her head up. “Who’s going to kill you, Daddy?”
    â€œNo one,” he said. He ran off in the direction of the car. Marina took her son’s hand, and together they walked back to the bench in rare silence.
    Â 
    â€œAre you sure he was blaming you? Did he actually say it was your fault?”
    Marina perched on the kitchen island in Trudie’s restored Craftsman and watched her friend assemble a complicated pasta dish. Oliver played a game on Marina’s iPhone while lying on the living room couch; Trudie’s two girls were already asleep in their bedroom.
    â€œNo,” Marina said. “He didn’t say it was my fault. He didn’t say it was anyone’s fault. But it was the way he looked at . . .” Marina didn’t say Oliver’s name, but she pointed in the direction of the living room.
    Trudie nodded. “Well, anytime kids take off their clothes . . .” She didn’t finish her sentence.
    Marina chewed on an olive and spit the pit in an ashtray with the words THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING written on it.
    â€œPlease, Trudie. They’re six years old. What are they going to see?” She grabbed another olive. “And I think we all know that Ollie is not interested in