Want to Know a Secret?

by Freida McFadden

“But I didn’t leave without your permission! You said I could!” I snort. “I most certainly did not!” “Yes! Owen’s mom said you told her it was okay!”

“That’s not true.” “It is! She came to the fence and told me you said it was okay for me to come over!”

“I’m afraid you can’t go in there.” Her eyes meet mine. “As I said, he’s busy.”

Hes cheating

Unfortunately, my mother developed early Alzheimer’s several years ago. Right now she’s a resident at Shady Oaks nursing home, and having a meaningful conversation would be out of the question.

She barely knows who I am anymore. But every night, the staff of her nursing home plays one of my videos for her. That’s why I always end my episodes by saying, “Good night, Mom.” I want to make sure my mother still remembers who I am.

Well thats fucking depressing

Too bad you don’t know the secret to making your husband happy. Unlike Courtney Burns.

Duhhhh

But how would Brianna know about Courtney? That’s the distant past. It’s over. Nobody knows. Just Elliot and me. Well, and one other person.

The truth is, Elliot and I want another child. He would have liked three or even four, but the fact that I haven’t managed to get pregnant with even a second is a source of tension.

Prob a good thing

He’s a high-powered attorney, but sometimes it feels like he can’t find his right hand without me.

Men

fathers simply don’t go to the PTA meetings. In the two years I’ve been going, I’ve only seen one father there, and he was a bit creepy. One of those men whose eyes were always focused just a little bit below your face,

Is he the creep texting you

circular formation. Circular.

Bitch

“I’m sorry, April, but I’m not going to let Julie push me around the way she pushes you around.”

Good!

I can’t even imagine what she was like as a lawyer. I bet she was terrifying.

Agreed

I use two tablespoons of milk powder, which makes the cookies extra chewy. Oh, and a sprinkling of sea salt on top.

I know the secret of why Mark Tanner let you talk him into that other boy joining the team. And if you tell anyone about these messages, everyone in town will know it too.

What

I kissed Mark Tanner.

Juicyyyy

I started to complain to Mark about how little I saw Elliot anymore. How little attention he paid to me. How infrequently we had sex lately.

Understandable

I came to my senses and pushed him away. Of course I did! I couldn’t go through with something like that. I couldn’t do it to my husband or Mark’s wife. It was just wrong.

“I’m surprised you don’t have half a dozen kids.” “Actually,” she says quietly, “I can’t have kids.”

“I’m not Owen’s birth mother. His biological mother…died several years ago. He doesn’t even remember her. I adopted him after Sean and I got married.”

I keep getting this feeling about people—that they look familiar to me. It scares me a bit, considering my mother has early-onset Alzheimer’s. Am I losing my mind? Is this why I can’t remember anyone?

But as it turns out, Maria is not somebody to mess with either. I would never want this woman to be mad at me.

Life is too short to read boring books.

AMEN

Shh. Your husband is in the middle of a secret phone call.

Cheeeater

It doesn’t mean he’s cheating on me. Although it wouldn’t be the first time.

the secret is using vanilla bean rather than vanilla extract for the pastry cream.

I dont care

Why does Maria have a flip phone in her purse when she has a perfectly good iPhone?

I should be grateful to him for working so hard to support his family. I need to be more accepting of his long hours.

You are an idiot

If this were a movie, I’d say for sure somebody pushed her.”

“April is my daughter,” she says. “And she is pure evil.”

When I first met Maria, she seemed so sweet and uncomplicated. Now I don’t know what to think anymore. I can’t stop thinking about what she did to that babysitter in her store. And now she seems to have a problem with me

And there’s something about this house that makes me nervous too. Something I can’t entirely put my finger on.

“Doris Kirkland,” she says. I stop, my mouth hanging open. “Oh. I didn’t know you knew her.”

I think back to the other day, when Mrs. Kirkland’s niece came by. How she was talking about the life alert necklace. She was scared about breaking a hip, you know? I couldn’t believe she didn’t have it on. If this were a movie, I’d say for sure somebody pushed her.

There’s a surprise buried in your backyard. I inhale sharply. What does that mean? A surprise in my backyard

“Bobby.” I look at my son’s tear-streaked face. “Did you push Leo off the slide?” “No!” He wipes snot from his little nose with the back of his hand. “I didn’t! It was Owen. I swear!”

“Maria set me up. She created this false account, then she ‘discovered’ it. And now it looks like I’ve been stealing money! But you have to know, I would never do something like that.”

“Maria is evil!” I spit out. “She…she’s been tormenting me for months by sending me threatening text messages.”

The truth is, I’m not sad. I’m pissed off. Even though Julie denied it, I know Maria is behind this. And I am going to confront her.

get a flash of panic in my chest. “No, it’s okay. I’ll sign it.”

So stupid good god

“No. You don’t understand.” He rubs his palms against his eyeballs. “She’s pregnant, and…”

Duhhhhhh

But as I pull into our driveway, I get the surprise of my life. It’s Brianna. On my street. And she just came out of Maria’s house.

“Are you completely oblivious?” She snorts. “Why do you think Elliot stays at work so late every night? To work? Nobody works that hard, honey.”

No, the Brianna situation isn’t resolved. But that’s okay. I’ve solidified my marriage, and that’s the most important thing.

gHhhhhhhhahahxjkdkakanxncbsheuuweiei

“I’m afraid I gotta tell you that your receptionist, Brianna Anderson…was found dead last night.” Brianna is…dead?

“One more question,” he says. Elliot raises his eyebrows. “Yes?” “Who was Courtney Burns?”

“She, uh…” Elliot squirms. “She used to be my receptionist. About five or six years ago.” “And what happened to her?” “She, um…” I can almost hear him swallow. “She killed herself. It was very…unfortunate.”

“I didn’t want her dead,” he says in a low voice. Well, I did.

I mean ya

What has always bothered me about this living room. There are no photos of Owen’s mother.

I slip off my flats and walk across the living room in my bare feet.

Dumbass