Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
G erry watched me from his car when I left the office at five. I stumbled, my heart stuttering, and veered sharply to the right.
Mouth dry, I scanned the parking lot. Lori was at her red Honda CR-V, the headlights flashing as she beeped it open.
I ran over, staying close to the east side of the building and out of Gerry’s sight. “Lori,” I panted.
She halted with her driver’s side door about to be closed. “Kelsey?”
“Sorry.” I bent over with my hands on my knees. “Do you think you could drop me off about a mile west?”
“Sure.” She waved me into the car.
I scrambled in and closed the door. “Thank you.”
Gerry’s car roared by behind us, then turned fast onto the road.
Big-eyed, Lori stared at me, twisted around, low in the seat. She cleared her throat. “Yeah…”
I sat up and buckled my seatbelt, blowing out a long breath. “Men are pigs sometimes. Aren’t they?”
She huffed. “Definitely.” Her car engine revved to life. “Is Gerry being a bastard?”
I nodded, rubbing my forehead and squeezing my eyes closed.
“Damn. You two seemed so…calm.” Bracelets jangled on her wrist. “Where can I take you?”
An attractive blonde in her late thirties, Lori was a little hard to read sometimes. She could be kind and friendly one day, like checking on me in the bathroom, and then be tense and short-tempered the next because the copy machine was low on toner. Instinctively, I didn’t want to show her where I was hiding from Gerry.
Lori insisted on driving me all the way home. Still, I hopped out a block away from Maria’s, not wanting to create even more gossip about the flashy house. I knew Lori would spread my breakup around the office, and I’d made a huge spectacle of myself that morning. That’s only the beginning.
I paced in my room, then was afraid I’d bother someone in the house and went to Maria’s apartment. She typically worked until at least seven at the gift store and pharmacy she managed for her parents. I cleaned her kitchen and vacuumed the floors. If I stopped moving, my eyes started to burn.
Finally, I forced myself to cook something—the chicken thighs and frozen ravioli I’d unearthed from her jammed freezer. I dumped a bag of frost-burned vegetable medley in a pan to steam.
Maria came through the door with Phoebe, both of them laughing. “Oh hey,” Maria called to me. “Smells good in here.”
“Hey.” I forced a smile. “Food’s about ready. There’s a bunch.”
“Nice,” Phoebe said, chucking her purse on the couch. “Can I have some? I smell broccoli, and I need something green. Feeds my brain for trivia night.”
“Sure—if Maria doesn’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t. Want to come?” Maria asked me, her eyebrows raised.
I shook my head. “Long day at work. I’m bushed.”
“Wine?” Phoebe opened a cupboard and glanced over the bottles inside.
“Open the Merlot.” Maria breezed into the kitchen. “I’ll make a quick salad.” She grinned at me—then her face fell as she stared at me.
“I’ll get out of your way.” I slid by Phoebe and sat down on a barstool.
Maria put on music, and we dished up dinner.
“Nice cooking,” Phoebe said. “My take-out containers will be jealous I cheated on them.”
“Sounds like the subject for your next painting,” Maria said.
“Expired egg roll—my soul cracked when I had to take out the trash. Oh, bam—look at the time. Trivia starts in ten minutes.”
I pushed the food around on my plate while they jumped up to dump their plates in the kitchen sink. Phoebe dashed into the bathroom.
“Hey,” Maria said. “You going to be alright tonight?”
“Yeah.” I glanced up at her. “Gerry… I’ll tell you later. Do you have an old jacket I can borrow?”
“Anything in the coat closet. There’s a bazillion in there.”
“Thanks.”
She gave me a quick hug. “Of course. Grab hats, too. For a disguise?”
I nodded.
She frowned. Phoebe hustled in and they were both out the front door in the next minute. I cleaned the kitchen, then went back to my room.
I sat down with my laptop and started the process of blocking Gerry from all of my social media accounts—I’d already done my phone. I wanted to curl up on the floor. How had nearly eight years together turned into this?
There was a new message from Brad I’d put off reading, like a guilty treat I’d saved. I bit my lip and opened it.
Brad
Country music on the tractor, as usual. Not much else out here. Still using a radio. Guess I’m lazy with tech gadgets. What do you do for fun these days?
Sorry about your separation. Hang in there, you’ll get through this. You guys are done, right? I’ve been single for a spell. Almost two years. Took it hard and got messy. We were back and forth for a while but we’re done now. Kind of a relief she’s moved on with somebody.
I’m a patient man. Do you remember when I first started sitting at your lunch table in junior year? It took two weeks for you to look at me. Would have helped if I’d spoken to you. Still think about you more’n anyone.