One Wish in a Million (Wish 6)

10 - Apology

His day with Victoria wasn't so bad. He felt like he was in a tug of war between her and Tom. Maybe this was what a kid felt like when his parents were going through a divorce. He could tell she wanted to ask about his brother, but he wouldn't answer. By the end of the day, he felt resentful toward Tom for putting him in an awkward situation and decided to let him find out Victoria was his neighbor when he arrived.

During lunch, he texted a picture of himself without all his hair to Katie. She replied immediately. "Gorgeous." When he smiled, Victoria's eyes narrowed.

She waited until they were in the car again. "So are you seeing someone?"

"Nope." Not anymore was the accurate answer.

"I thought you were texting a girlfriend."

"Nope, just a friend." Your ex-lover's wife, to be exact.

He had spent some time when he returned from his parent's researching cars. After a successful shopping trip, he asked Victoria to drop him at the Toyota dealership. He planned to purchase a hybrid vehicle. He had a new suit which had been measured for alterations and dress pants and shirts. "I'll find my own way home. Do you mind if I grab my purchases out of your car later?"

She waved and drove off, probably glad to be rid of him. He hated living off his trust fund but had no choice. He needed a car and had no current income to even get a loan. He felt less intimidated being out with Victoria. Perhaps because they went to an exclusive shop and not the mall. He was determined to buy the rest of his clothing online. He officially hated shopping.

After a bit of haggling, he signed for his new car. He could take delivery the following day and using the app he had downloaded onto his phone, he arranged an Uber to bring him home.

It didn't surprise him when Tom Skyped him just after five o'clock. His brother smiled.

"You look great! I told Katie you really had a face under there."

"Ha, ha. You aren't funny." You won't be laughing when you find out my surprise.

"So how is it?"

"It's great! Mom killed the fatted calf and I might have a lead on a job."

"Did you see Trey?"

He shook his head. "No, I told Mom I still expect him to reach out to me. I learned something you might be interested in."

"Tori's married!"

"You know if you don't want me to talk to her about you, then I'm not going to tell you about her."

"Have you really seen her?"

"I saw everyone. What I wanted to tell you is that you should google Sloane."

"Why?"

"Just a hunch, but I could be wrong."

"Fine. Luce, talk to Jon. I need to look at something on the laptop."

"Hi Jon." She smiled. "I love the hair."

"Thanks, Katie."

"And your face. It looks vaguely familiar."

"We don't look that much alike." He could tell by the way Victoria stared at him she thought they looked alike too.

Tom appeared again. "Seriously! Mom always said she worked on computers. I never gave it much thought. She has a great reputation. Looks like she's worked with former Cyber Command personnel. She was smart to start her own business, although her client list doesn't surprise me."

Jon let him talk. It was obvious what Sloane was doing had left a big impression. "Do you want me to tell her what you do?"

"Nah. I can when I see her. She was always such a brain. I'm excited about talking to her."

"You remember whose sister she is?" Tom nodded. There was a knock on Jon's door. "Someone's here. I'll talk to you later." He clicked off before Tom could respond. He was prepared to open the door and see Victoria. He was not prepared to see his brother.

He pulled the door open and stepped aside so Trey could come in. He looked behind him and felt relieved to see he had come on his own without the bitch.

Both brothers stood silently sizing each other up. Trey looked good. He was shorter than Jon, about the same height as Tom. He looked fit for his age. His auburn hair was cut in an expensive haircut based on its style. His hazel eyes were soft and not hard like the last time they had been in the same room.

"I'm sorry. I should have believed you." His voice was soft.

"Ten years and you're finally admitting that you were wrong."

He shrugged. "Mom said you were happy. She even told me about your girlfriend. Is she here?" He looked around.

He shook his head. "She stayed behind. We had um run our course."

"Sorry."

"I hear you're still married."

He nodded but didn't look thrilled about it. "Jessica is very busy."

Jon nodded. He really didn't want to know the details about his screwed up marriage to the bitch. "Just so you know, I'm never going to like her."

"I don't expect you to." He sighed a heavy sigh. "I assume you and Tommy are still tight."

He nodded. "Yeah. If you want to apologize to Tom, I have his number."

"Mom said he might come to visit. I'll wait until I see him. I didn't mean for you both to run away."

"I guess it was something we had to do. I'm back to stay and hopefully we can get along enough for Mom's sake."

"I'd like that."

"Control your wife and we'll be fine."

He nodded, but didn't reply. Instead, he looked around. "Nice place. I never came to visit when Ted lived here."

"I met his wife and the others."

He nodded again, looking sad. "Well, I've got to go. I'm glad you're home. Um Jon, do me a favor and don't tell anyone about this. Jessica is adamant about her version of the events and didn't want me to apologize."

Jon agreed, perhaps because he saw defeat in his brother's expression. Maybe his life hadn't been so easy the past ten years. Trey reached out his hand and Jon shook it. As soon as he left, he called Tom.

"You'll never believe who was at my door!"

"Trey?"

"Okay, so you guessed. He apologized and plans to do the same when he sees you."

"It's about time!"

"He asked that I not tell anyone. Apparently the bitch still has him by the balls, because he didn't want her to find out."

"Did you agree?"

"Yeah. I felt sorry for him. There must be a reason he has stayed with her, but he didn't seem happy about it."

"It's hard to regret the events because they brought me to where I am with Katie."

"My run wasn't as successful, but I helped a lot of kids."

"See how mature we are now."

They both laughed. There was another knock on his door. Guessing who it was, he quickly hung up.