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"Gina, he’s recovering fro for her to take a seat at the table with them "You can’t expect him to be all chipper so quickly Mo the seat next to Bell and Romero across from Valerie and Alex Bell poured her so for the crea to Bell

She’d driven out to see her dad several times this week but hadn’t been there yesterday Today was only her dad’s second day home Her brother, Art, took their ina stayed and watched over their dad Pat was on her way as well It’d been this way the whole time Her mother hadn’t been left to deal with this alone even one day, but Regina still worried Her h-blood-pressure issues, and stress only added to it

"She’s hanging in there," Bell said, nodding as she sipped her coffee "You know her She’s like you, a real trooper during a crisis"

Regina refrained fro her ownto take time off if they needed her to come and stay with her parents for a few days Bell assured her they had it all under control Then Bell changed the subject to soht to all week

"Did, uh" She cleared her throat and glanced at Alex and Valerie "Did Brandon tell you about him and Sofie?"

Him and Sofie God, she hated how that sounded She stirred her coffee, preparing herself to not sound defensive or jealous, though she was suddenly feeling both again

"What about hi Alex’s eyes "Ihappened between theo over ith you, your brothers, and Eric since she was already with Eric, but I didn’t ask for details"

"But he did tell you then?" Bell asked, sounding a little relieved, then gave Alex an I-told-you-so look

Regina studied Alex’s strange expression for a lanced back at her sister "He’d told ht about how Brandon said Sofia hadn’t even been a girlfriend Yet she’d left such an irew up around and later they’d had an experience But it wasn’t until the baptism that I realized it was Sofie" She turned back to Alex "He had no idea either that I knew her or that he’d be running into all of you guys again" She shrugged "Like Romero said that day, ‘Small world, huh?’"

Valerie touched Alex’s arina’s response Then Bell spoke again a bit cautiously "Did he ina eyed Bell, feeling a little uncohts of Brandon and Sofia had lingered most of the week, but her father’s health had taken front and center in her mind

"It’s been years, Gina," Alex said suddenly "I’uy now And like I told Bell, as set involved with someone unless you knew exactly what you’re in for I wasn’t even gonna say anything, but it just didn’t feel right to not at least ina peered at hilanced at Bell as if it ht be better if she told her instead of hiot along?" Bell asked again, her tone a bit too cautionary Regina was torn between being nervous or annoyed by that

"Yeah," she nodded "He said so like that"

The Morenos had always been sweethearts, as far as Regina was concerned She didn’t want to tell them that she knew the main reason they’d been upset with Brandon was because they wrongfully blamed him alone for the indiscretion he and Sofia had had while she was already seeing Eric Fro If they chose to be delusional about their sister’s innocence, that was one thing She wouldn’t even go there unless she was forced to But if they thought they were going to point fingers now and she’d sit there and alloithout defending Brandon, they had another think coht rowing up it seemed Brandon’s character wasn’t always the most honorable," Valerie explained, her tone as cautious as Bell’s, and now Regina decided it was annoying

"It’s not even about the way he e were kids" Alex shrugged "None of us were perfect, and people grow out of stuff like that It’s what happened later when he got back froht he’d gone on the straight and narrow and then" He paused, and before he went on to say what Regina kneas coly

"He told ina informed hih she was already with Eric" She shrugged to shoas nonissue for her "He thought they’d made a connection, especially since she allowed it" She ot that part in but wouldn’t harp on it "He rong, and she admitted they’d made a mistake"