Chapter 7
Becca
The car ride home is unusually quiet.
I get lost in my thoughts because I can tell that he is lost in his. Of all the people to see him hugging when I came out of the bathroom, it had to be her.
I try telling myself it’s no big deal. But his trance-like state makes it hard to believe. Autumn Harper.
I don’t have any hard feelings towards her, per se, but I don’t believe he’s ever told me the full truth about their past. When we were all in high school, you never saw him without her and vice versa.
Something about the thought of the two of them and the mystery behind it always gets me comparing myself to her.
She’s always been tall, almost as tall as him. Probably five-foot-eight to his six-foot-one. I hunker beneath them both at a whopping five-foot-three. I used to think mine and Jimmy’s height difference was cute, but standing next to the two of them, I just felt small and out of place.
Her long, perfectly colored hair bordered between light brown and dark blonde. When she was in the sun, like she was at the restaurant, it looked perfectly golden. It sparkled compared to my washed-out nutty brown.
I didn’t dislike her in high school either, although I tried.
She was the kind of pretty that you wanted to hate, but she was so damn nice to everyone, you just couldn’t.
She looked like a ‘mean girl,’ but that was the furthest thing from the truth.
She exuded confidence in a way that you knew she knew how beautiful she was, yet she didn’t act like it.
That’s why everyone loved her, and I’m pretty sure that included my husband.
I stare out the window, trying to figure out why she makes me feel so crazy, but I know it’s not actually her. I look over at him and wish he’d break this silence, but he continues to drive, lost in a daydream I probably don’t want to know about.
Also, we rarely eat from this little hole-in-the-wall place. Why did he choose to go there today of all days? Was this ‘accidental run-in’ really an accident at all? My mind just can’t rest.
Although I love him with all my heart, and he really is a great husband, I think of the other times I have felt like this.
His work in the hotel business, while successful, has led to not one, but a few rumors.
Every time I have confronted him about it, it’s ended the same. ‘Nothing ever actually happened.'
He admitted to ‘maybe’ flirting a little sometimes, but insisted it was just good customer service.
He swore he never crossed the line and never would.
In my gut, I believe him; he would be stupid to do something like that, but it doesn’t help the feelings I get when I hear about him talking to someone else.
I’ve gotten pretty good at pushing all of those feelings aside, but they came rushing right back when I saw her arms wrapped around him.
Once we make it home and sit down to eat, I start the conversation because I can’t take the quiet wondering.
“Well, that was a sight for sore eyes.” I try to mask my irritation with a joke.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, just seeing Autumn. I didn’t expect to see her back here after so long.”
“Oh yeah.” He says, “Me either. It was nice, though. She seems good.”
“So, you guys really haven’t talked all these years?” I can’t help myself, but he shakes his head.
“Nope. Not really sure why, just finally grew apart, I guess.”
“Yeah,” I say as I scrutinize his facial expression.
Nothing suspicious, so maybe I am putting too much into this. And not that I would’ve had anything against their friendship, but in all these years, he never talked about her. So, if they did talk and he never told me about it, that would be weird, right?
With that thought, I change the subject. “So, anyway, I know you said you didn’t really care the other day, but I want to buy reunion tickets before I forget.”
“That’s fine. I’ll go.”
“Are you sure? I’m fine going by myself if you really don’t want to.”
“I’ll go. Izzy is making Dom go, too. So, I’ll hang out with him, and you two can have fun.”
Why would I want to have fun with Izzy? I don’t even really like her. I only talk to her because she’s his friend’s girlfriend.
“Alright then. Sounds like a date,” I say and smile.
My smile hides my fear that Dom isn’t the actual reason he changed his mind.