24. Greece Lightning #3
Genie stepped out from behind the curtains dressed in black. She introduced herself and with the biggest smile said, “Welcome, Woodlands families, to our version of Grease!”
The curtain went up to applause as the music started and the singing began.
Hazel’s hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. She wore a pink satin bomber jacket, a poodle skirt, and saddle shoes, and she was grinning from ear to ear.
Whenever Hazel was front and center, Ronnie squeezed my hand.
When it was over, the cast came out and bowed to thunderous applause.
From stage left, Connor appeared with a bouquet of flowers and presented them to Genie. Her dimpled smile lit up the humid theater. She had chosen her first summer love well.
We found Hazel outside standing in a group with the other pink ladies, having their picture taken.
When Hazel saw us, she ran to her father and jumped into his arms. It made my heart swell.
My family. I loved them. Things weren’t perfect, but if Ronnie and I put in the work together, we could make it better.
But the kiss I shared with Teddy last night had broken, no smashed, one of my rules: If any of my flirtations crossed a line where I felt uncomfortable sharing the encounter with Ronnie, I’d immediately stop. But we were separated, so was I technically guilty of anything?
“You were the star of the show,” Ronnie told Hazel. He handed her the gift bag. “I bought you a present.”
She tore the bag open and was excited to see the bracelet. I helped her put it on and she ran off to show her friends. Ronnie handed the other bag to Zelda, who jumped on him and gave him a big hug.
“I have to go to the parking field to say goodbye to the parents,” I said. “Why don’t you go to my room? You can shower and take a nap.”
“Good idea. This day’s been exhausting. How do you do it every day?” Ronnie asked.
“Practice.”
“I hate coming home to an empty apartment. No one at the door to greet me. I really thought I’d walk out of here with you today.”
“The fact that our expectations haven’t aligned for quite a while was one of the reasons we decided to give each other some space. But if we can work out our issues, you will be taking me to Greece, and I’m not talking about the play.”
When I returned to my room, Ronnie was propped up in my bed looking refreshed, but frustrated, as he tried to get service on his BlackBerry.
“How do you sleep in this bed? It’s so uncomfortable, and it sags in the middle.”
“I’m so beat at the end of the day, I basically pass out.”
“After you shower, let’s go into town for dinner. I saw a place that looked like it could pass for fine dining.”
“I know the restaurant you’re talking about.” I didn’t mention we’d had reservations there the night he stood me up. “But I can’t leave.”
“What do you mean?” Ronnie asked. “I get that you can’t take the trip with me, but I can’t take you out for two hours?” He stood reaching for the doorknob.
“Where are you going?”
“To tell Jack that I’m taking my wife out for dinner.”
“You do that, and I’ll call your managing partner the next time you miss a family meal because of work obligations.”
Ronnie had that look of astonishment on his face that appeared when he didn’t get his way.
“Today is about you spending time with Zelda and Hazel. I made special arrangements for you to have a dinner date with them at the Pizza Joint in town, but they must be back for the evening Flagpole.”
His eyes unfocused, which meant he was figuring out his next move. He looked at his phone and then at me.
“I thought you’d leave with me, and the truth is, I have a bunch of deadlines I have to meet. My team is waiting on word from me and, well . . .”
I knew where this was going. “Well, what?”
“I think that it makes sense for me to leave right now. This way I can drive home before it gets late and get some work done tonight.”
I wasn’t surprised. Honestly, I was relieved.
He didn’t belong in my camp world. He didn’t fit in with my friends.
Thank goodness I hadn’t mentioned the dinner plans to Zelda or Hazel.
When I thought about the stink he’d made over his kids abandoning him for the summer and the makeup sex we were supposedly going to have, I was smacked in the face by his hypocrisy.
I shrugged. “That makes sense.”
“You’re okay with me leaving?” He sounded surprised.
I was sure he expected me to have a hissy fit and try to make him feel guilty. But I was having mixed feelings about having sex with him. It was better that he decided to leave. “I’ll walk you to the car.”
“No need. I know you’re busy.” He pecked me on the cheek and picked up his overnight bag.
When the door closed, I realized he hadn’t told me what he wanted to speak about the night he stood me up and I had forgotten to ask. I plopped on the bed and exhaled a huge sigh of relief.
Abby knocked on my door. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
“Your husband left?”
“Yeah.”
Before I could explain why, Abby said, “Too bad he couldn’t take Barry with him.”