19. Wake-up Call
Wake-up Call
BETTY
Iwoke to my alarm. It was still dark out, but we had to make it to the airport. I stopped the beeping and rolled towards Mary. She slept like a rock—balled up and half on her stomach. I felt guilty waking her but wanted to give us time to grab a coffee and make it out.
“Hey,” I whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. “We gotta get up. It’s time.”
“Hmm…” she murmured. “What?”
“You need to go to the airport. I’m going to make some coffee. Just give me a second—”
To my sheer horror, a knock sounded.
Please be Hank being considerate! I prayed he’d somehow remembered I planned to take Mary to the airport from the night before. Instead, a voice rang out in playfully demanding Norwegian.
“Bets, get up! Surprise!”
My eyes grew wide as I rolled towards the door. Hurrying, I began to pull on a robe.
“Uh… one sec!” I called.
“Who is that?” Mary whispered.
“My cousin,” I answered.
“Why?”
I shrugged, unsure of what to say. “I’ll send her off.”
Cici was a morning person and altogether too chipper, but I figured she’d leave if I just appeared drowsy.
“Betty, c’mon. I came to do the first half to the clinic. I figured we could have breakfast—”
I opened the door a crack, sheltering poor Mary. Continuing now in my mother tongue, I said, “Uh… maybe later. I gotta run an errand.”
“An errand? Why?”
“None of your business. Why don’t you go downstairs and—”
“Do you have a boy in there?”
My face went white. “Maybe.”
“Oh shit. Shit! I will… wait downstairs,” Cici winced, then whispered. “Where is Hank?”
I rolled my eyes. “He isn’t here, Cici! God!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Cici said, padding away looking mortified.
Slamming the door behind her, I turned back to Mary who was now hurriedly dressing.
“I will deal with it,” I promised, not remembering to switch back to English. “I’m sorry, I should do this in English and—”
“It’s fine. I understood.” Mary’s voice was clipped.
“Baby, please, I… I know this looks like a mess—”
I couldn’t understand why Cici’s annoying questions led to this response. She looked so angry and her voice was so sharp.
“So, the guy you came with last night… Hank… he’s your usual hookup?”
“He is my ex,” I answered. “He’s also my friend and my coach. He came as backup trying to get me to talk to you. We haven’t been—”
“What so he could join us at some point?”
It took me a moment to comprehend her implication. I set my jaw, upset.
“No. He is just a friend who cares about me. Is that not allowed?” Heat rose up my face, both from anger and worry.
“Whatever.” She pulled on her trousers and zipped them with finality. “This was clearly a dumb idea. I’m going to call… an Uber or something.”
“Mary, there aren’t any Ubers out here. We’re in Buttfuck Norway.”
“Well, I will walk then!”
“Stop, please stop,” I pleaded. “Why are you being like this?”
She shook her head and set her jaw. “Girls like you are always a disaster and I should have known.”
“Girls like me?” Tears welled.
“Betty, everything with you is a lie of omission. I groveled for you! I don’t do that! I can’t save you. I won’t.”
Save me? What was that about? I felt the tears running down my cheeks. Rejection ran through my veins, and I collapsed in tears while trying to pull on a pair of overpriced pink full seat breeches. She didn’t respond. I felt Mary’s eyes on me but couldn’t dare meet her gaze.
“I will drive you,” I sniffled, trying to pull myself together. “But I deserve more respect than that.”
Mary did a double take, seemingly surprised by my callout.
“I never lied about anything! I didn’t deliberately hide that I’ve dated men. I didn’t lie when I said Hank was a friend. I don’t need you to fucking save me. Cici didn’t know you were here and didn’t mean to make it weird. We can just… get to the airport and then you never have to see me again!”
“Well, that would be the case if I didn’t have to ever come back here!”
I burst into a sob. “Fuck you!”
Mary stepped forward, as if trying to comfort me on impulse, but I pushed her back.
“No! Don’t touch me!” I shouted. “God forbid you should ever see my body—the one from what was it… a renaissance painting—again! As angry as you might be right now over whatever it is you think I’m lying about, I am ten times more hurt over your lack of authenticity.”
“Authenticity?”
“You told me sweet nothings—again! It’s not fair for you to fly off the handle at me.”
A pained expression crossed Mary’s face. “Betty, I meant what I said. But that’s why it hurts—”
“What hurts? The fact that you like me? Because you have your own unresolved shit that I can’t cope with right now.”
I pulled on an old sailing crewneck and stepped into the hallway. Slamming the door behind me, I raced downstairs. Tears running, I found Cici pacing in the kitchen. To my relief, she’d already made a large French press.
“I… I didn’t realize. I’m so… sorry,” Cici said, voice hushed. “I don’t even know what to think—”
“Don’t. It’s over. She’s coming down and we’re going to white knuckle through this.”
Her eyes grew wide. “She?”
“She’s a woman. Her name is Mary and I adore her. Well, I did, but now she thinks I’m a flake who plans on fucking Hank again thanks to you!” I dried my eyes with a kitchen towel.
“Well, I’m sorry, but how the hell was I supposed to know you had brought someone home and they were a woman.?”
“Boundaries, Cici! Plus, you never asked! Now, can we just… not talk about this right now?”
“Betty, I’m not angry with you for sleeping with a girl,” Cici clarified.
“You’re just mortified?”
“Because of my behavior and how it’s affecting you and this woman, yes. Bets, I am sorry. I am so mortified. Is this like a new thing?”
I threw my hands up. “We will talk when I get back. Right now, her entire band is headed to the airport, and she has a flight to catch. I promised I would drive her.”
“Wait a second… what band? Are they in UniVox?”
“She’s the singer for the Zamboneys,” I sighed.
Her jaw dropped. Somehow, that news was more exciting than my bisexuality in the moment. I didn’t understand UniVox at all, clearly.
“This is precisely why I said nothing!”
“Bets, it will be fine. Take her to the airport. We will talk after.”