Kathern guided Gussie over to the sofa and pushed her gently down onto the cushions. She walked into the kitchen, poured a fresh glass of warm water, and carried it back.
She pressed the warm glass into Gussie's hands. Gussie's fingers were still trembling violently. She looked up at Kathern, her eyes red and swollen with grief.
Kathern took a deep breath. She sat down on the coffee table directly across from Gussie. She reached out and wrapped her hands around Gussie's cold fingers.
"I need you to listen to me," Kathern said, forcing her tone to sound light and casual. "I didn't marry a stranger. Bronson and I met six months ago at that big craft fair in Brooklyn."
Gussie blinked. The sheer terror in her eyes faded slightly, replaced by heavy confusion. "What?"
"He bought one of my necklaces," Kathern lied smoothly, keeping her eyes locked on Gussie's. "We started talking. We exchanged numbers."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Gussie asked, her voice raspy.
"Because he's incredibly shy," Kathern invented, leaning forward. "He's an introvert. We wanted to keep it quiet until we were sure. Getting married today wasn't a sudden panic move to escape Glenwood. We planned this."
Kathern pulled her phone out of her pocket. She quickly opened a dummy messaging app she used for testing shop notifications and pulled up a fake, generic text thread she had quickly typed out before leaving her new apartment. She held the screen up, showing blocks of text without a profile picture.
"See? We spent most of our time talking online. We only met in person a few times, so we didn't take any photos together yet," Kathern said.
Gussie stared at the small screen. The glare from the overhead light made the text hard to see, but she searched Kathern's face for any sign of deception. Kathern kept her expression completely open and relaxed.
Gussie let out a long, shaky exhale. Her shoulders finally dropped from her ears.
She set the water glass down on the table. Her face shifted from panicked sister to a stern, protective mother figure.
"What does he do?" Gussie demanded. "How does he support himself?"
"He works at the Vaughan Group," Kathern answered, keeping her answer vague, just as Bronson had been on the form. "He makes a stable income."
Gussie nodded slowly. The name of the massive corporation seemed to ease her anxiety.
"And the apartment?" Gussie pressed, her brow furrowing again. "Whose name is on the deed?"
Kathern's stomach did a nervous flip, but she kept her face blank. "It's his apartment. He bought it before we met. It's just his name."
Gussie leaned forward and grabbed Kathern's wrist hard.
"You have to protect yourself," Gussie said, her voice dripping with the bitter experience of her own failed marriage. "You cannot rely on a man's goodwill. You need your name on that deed."
Kathern felt a sharp headache building behind her eyes. The idea of asking that cold, arrogant man for half his property was laughable, but she needed Gussie to calm down.
"I know," Kathern lied, nodding her head. "I'll talk to him about adding my name when the time is right."
Gussie stared at her for a long moment, then finally let go of her wrist. She stood up and walked into the bedroom where Cody was now quiet.
A minute later, Gussie walked back out. She held a crumpled white envelope in her hand. She shoved it aggressively into the side pocket of Kathern's backpack.
"There's three hundred dollars in there," Gussie said, her eyes watering again. "I saved it from the grocery money. Buy yourself some nice clothes for your new husband."
The heat rushed straight to Kathern's eyes. She reached into the pocket, pulled the envelope out, and shoved it forcefully back into Gussie's apron pocket.
"I have my own money from the shop," Kathern said firmly. "Keep it. Buy Cody his formula. And if Glenwood ever touches you again, you call me immediately."
Gussie let out a choked sob and threw her arms around Kathern's neck. They hugged tightly. Kathern squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the tears.
Kathern pulled away. She grabbed the handle of her heavy suitcase and walked out the front door.
The heavy wooden door clicked shut behind her. Kathern stood in the hallway and let out a massive, exhausting breath. Her chest felt hollowed out.
She dragged the suitcase down the stairs. She lifted the heavy luggage and used two bungee cords to strap it securely to the back seat of her scooter.
Kathern looked up at the window of Gussie's apartment one last time. She pulled her helmet on, started the engine, and drove away toward her empty new life.
