Chapter 2
I peer at the thin gold band around the finger on my left hand, remembering the moment Lionel put it there. That day he unexpectedly asked me to marry him—in the middle of SDF airport.
Until death do us part.
Death.
He’s balancing on the tightrope in a city he wasn’t supposed to be in.
Why was he buying a building in downtown Los Angeles?
We don’t have that kind of money, and even if Lionel gets the promotion he’s owed, we still won’t have that kind of money.
Unless you’re a prominent West Coast entrepreneur—and a liar.
The reporter is still talking, and then they cut to an image of the hospital my husband is in, while I’m here, sitting on my couch trying to manage the chaos churning my insides.
“A moment ago, we saw Mrs. Johanna Kral leave in a black SUV,” the journalist announces. “But despite the number of press waiting outside the hospital, she didn’t stop to speak with us.”
Johanna Kral, who is she? Another wife? His mother? And why I didn ’ t know anything about her existence?
I don’t know what to think, but one thing is clear; I don’t know anything about the life of the man I call my husband.
Nothing.
I fist handfuls of my hair and tug. What am I suppose to do?
I refocus my attention on the television where they repeat the clip of a fancy black car with tinted windows exiting the hospital grounds. A man is driving and a blonde woman sits in the passenger seat. I can’t see much of her since one hand covers her mouth, and large sunglasses hide the rest of her face.
“Stella, it’s him, baby. The man in that hospital is your husband.”
I know it’s my mother’s voice saying those words, but they seem so foreign.
“You have to go,” she insists.
It takes me a while to process that information as my body continues to tremble, but those words fall on my shoulders like an avalanche.
“You need to find out what’s going on with your husband, Stella.”
On shaky legs, I get up to look through the cabinet drawers where the television sits. I’ve seen some business cards in here before.
“We’re going to clear this up right now. I’m going to call their office and they’re going to tell me where Lionel is. This has to be a mistake, Mom. A big one.”
When I turn the cabinet upside down, a framed photograph falls out, mocking me. Lionel and me at City Hall’s stone staircase, smiling, after the happiest day of my life. In one hand I’m holding a red rose bouquet that Lionel surprised me with, while he had his arm raised in a sign of victory.
All that seems like a distant memory.
I feel like someone else, someone strange, is telling me the story of my life, and I’m watching in horror from the sidelines.
Dammit , Lionel, who are you?
I cling to the small cardboard placard in the same way that I do to what little hope I have left.
I take a deep breath before I dial, the first attempt failing. I hit the green button and wait for someone to answer. It rings, and rings, and keeps on ringing.
“The door was open.”
I glance up and meet Valerie’s worried face, her red hair awry, tumbles around her pale complexion.
“You’ve already found out.”
Like my mother, it seems Valerie ran out of her house to come to mine at full speed. Ali is the most impulsive person I’ve ever met, but also the most loyal and optimistic. She pushes me to act because I tend to be an overthinker. All the kinds of craziness I’ve gotten myself into by letting her take the lead, my teenage years would have been boring otherwise.
My mother looks at Ali almost rolling her eyes. She’s never liked her, thinks she’s a bad influence. The truth is that without Valerie’s support, I don’t know where I’d be. She’s the only person who knows all my secrets. She’s also the one that encouraged me to take some classes at the local university. I actually followed her advice and am more than happy that I did.
“I’ve been trying to reach his office, but no one is answering the phone,” I explain.
“That’s what the internet is for.”
I’m far from being tech savvy. It was Valerie who convinced me to open up an Instagram account. The same one in which Lionel is addicted to. Each one of our milestones is proudly published there, from photos of our first date to our wedding, to even a few days ago when we went out to dinner and took a walk alongside the river.
Everything is properly documented on the web.
Another of my husband’s obsessions.
“Here’s the number,” she squeals proudly, showing me the flat screen of her phone. “Let’s call.”
I hug the thick robe over my body, using it as a shield, bracing myself for what’s to come.
“I’m looking for Lionel Kral, one of your sales representatives.” Valerie frowns “Are you sure? His name is Lionel Kral, Kral with a K.” More tortuous silence. “I understand… yes… thank you, ma’am. Sorry.”
She ends the call and closes her eyes.
“Please tell me, Val…” I beg.
“Stella.” Valerie takes my hand, and looking straight into my eyes, she finally says, “They don’t know anyone by the name Lionel Kral. Babe, I’m so sorry.”
My lungs compress, and I gasp for air. My chest feels so heavy, it constricts my airways.
“No. That’s not true, it can’t be true. Lionel works there, I’ve called the number on the card before.”
I hand the card to her. Valerie looks at it for a moment, then snorts. “This isn’t the same number I called, Stella. Anyone can do this with the help of a computer and a good printer. This may be part of the deception.”
Deception? Deception for what?
I have no money. Why would a rich guy go to all this trouble? An easy lay?
Lionel and I had already had sex when he proposed. He didn’t need to marry me to get me into bed. Ours is or was a normal relationship.
Someone pinch me, please, I need to wake up from this bad dream.
“Jesus, take control of this situation,” says my mother, and Valerie rolls her eyes.
“Right now Jesus needs to do more than take the wheel, ma’am.” Valerie turns to me. “How come you aren’t packing? You need to go to Los Angeles, and find out what’s going on.”
No, no, I don ’ t want to think about it right now. I can ’ t.
“Open the window, please, Mom.” My eyes burn with tears. The dam is breaking, and I’m about to drown.
She runs to do what I’ve asked, but not before shooting Valerie a pleading look.
“What kind of evil game is this?” I cry, without speaking to anyone in particular.
My mother takes my hand, stroking my knuckles gently with her thumb. “We are going to pray that God gives us guidance because we are in the dark.”
A breath of air finally fills my body.
I want an answer. I need an answer.
More than I need my next breath.
“You know what you have to do.” Valerie tugs on my other hand. “Maybe Lionel had a reason, but he’s the only one who knows the truth.”
What if…
God, I can’t even think about that. Lionel is young, too young to say goodbye.
“You need to go, tot,” Mom says.
“Do you know where Los Angeles is?” They both look at me like I’m the one who doesn’t know the answer. “In California, that’s about two days away, and my truck won’t make it.”
My beloved truck that once belonged to my father. I loved it, like I’d loved him, but it wouldn’t make it halfway across the country.
“Then fly,” Valerie chides me. She taps on her phone screen. “We’re going to buy you a ticket, and I’ll take you to the airport.”
I look at my mother, begging for help, but instead of the you’re-crazy-and-you’re-the-worst-influence-on-my-daughter look, I find her nodding. She agrees with Valerie. This is bad… Is the apocalypse upon us that my mother is actually agreeing with Valerie? This sure feels like the end of the world to me.
“Valerie is right, you have to go, Stella,” my mother says, her voice breaking yet her hand on mine is steadfastly comforting.
“I can’t, Mom,” I confess, and it’s true. Fear paralyzes me. Not because of the journey itself, but because of what it could bring.
Not only facing the unknown but facing a reality for which I’m not ready.
I’m not ready for it.
And yet, my heart demands that I go.
Despite the lies, I want to see my husband.
“There’s a flight departing at noon, you have to stop over in Charlotte, but this afternoon you’ll be landing at LAX. I’ve made reservations for you in a small hotel near the hospital. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s within walking distance of the hospital.”
“How did you afford that?” Neither Mom nor I have money to spare.
“Don’t worry about it,” my mother replies.
As Valerie drives toward the airport, I stare, thinking about this mess, trying to prepare myself for what’s to come. My head is spinning. I’ve never gotten sick while riding in a car, but today is different, and nausea churns in my stomach.
Ignorance is bliss, but in this case the truth shall set me free.
I’m going to Los Angeles, and I’m getting the answers I deserve.
Lionel Kral will recover, and when he does, I’m going to kill him for all the lies he told me.