Chapter 10 #2
Robert wasn’t home; he had left a note saying he was out golfing.
She knew she would have to face him when he came back.
Should she do it tonight? When was the best time to tell someone that all the time and dreams you invested in them were all for naught.
She couldn’t bare the thought of doing that to him, but she knew she had to.
Not doing it would only be delaying the inevitable.
She saw the message light flashing on her telephone but chose to ignore it, choosing instead to take that long bath she’d been longing for.
Lying in her bath, she contemplated everything this break-up would incur. She would definitely have to move out. Krysta had always told her she was free to stay in her spare room if she ever wanted; almost like she had a premonition. Krysta had always been insightful.
Angela rehearsed her words a million times in her head; how she would tell Robert.
There would be no mention of Michael. There was no need for it.
Of course Robert would ask her if there was anyone else, and she could tell him there wasn’t.
As she lathered herself with soap, she wondered if she could really say that with a straight face. Michael was definitely someone else.
As it was getting late and Robert hadn’t returned yet, Angela grew concerned. What could be keeping him? She was anxious to talk to him; the sooner the better. She decided to check her messages. Maybe he had left her a message explaining his delay.
“Hi, Angela, this is Christine Thompson...” the first message started. Angela had completely forgotten about the interview. She had a few other things on her mind. She stood still, quite anxious.
“I don’t know if this is the right time to.... I was going to wait till Tuesday...”
the message went on.
“C’mon. C’mon. Tell me.” Angela grew impatient.
“I was just too excited... I wanted to tell you got the job - if you want it, that is.”
“Of course I want it!” Angela jumped up and down like a school girl.
“Call me on Tuesday. We’ll talk details. Bye.”
Angela was on a high when she listened to the second message, but her smile quickly faded.
“Hi, Angela, it’s Krysta. Could you call me as soon as you get in. It’s important.” Angela’s mind instantly shot into third gear. What was wrong? Was something wrong with Madison? Was she ok? She could not bear the thought.
Frantic, she dialed immediately.
“Hello.” Krysta answered.
“Hi. It’s me.”
“Hi, Angela. How was the weekend?”
“Good. Is Madison ok?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Great.” Angela breathed a sigh of relief. “Why did you call?”
“Oh, Angela, I don’t know if we should talk about this over the phone.”
“About what?”
“Can you come over?”
“No. I just got out of the bath. My hair is wet. Can’t we just talk now?”
“Is Robert there?”
“No. He’s not in yet.”
“Um... just come over.”
Krysta could drive her crazy with her antics. As Angela drove a little faster than usual, she could not stop wondering what on earth she could have to say that was so damned important. It better well be, she thought as she turned into her driveway.
“Madison’s in bed already,” Krysta told her as she handed her a cup of tea.
They sat on the sofa.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, Angela,” Krysta went on. “Remember when we went to that club with Adam?”
Angela wasn’t quite following.
“Remember that club you and Robert hated? ”
“Yes. Yes. What about it?”
“Well, Adam called me yesterday and told me...” she hesitated. “He told me he saw Robert with a woman at Le Cachet Restaurant, downtown.”
Angela was not completely stunned but she still didn’t want to believe it. “Is he sure it was him?”
“Positive. He said he walked up to him and Robert didn’t pretend to be anyone else.”
“Well, maybe, she was a colleague from work,” Angela protested.
“Well, Adam said he saw Robert nuzzling the woman’s neck before he walked up to him.”
“Nuzzling?”
“Exact word he used.”
“Kissing her neck... I think that’s what he meant,” Angela said as she looked down and sat her cup of tea on the table. It’s not like she hadn’t done worse herself.
“I’m sorry, Angela.”
“The truth is… we were over before this.”
Krysta was shocked. “Does this have anything to do with that gorgeous guy, Michael?” She jumped off her seat and sat beside Angela. “Oh please tell me it does.”
“Well, yes and no—”
“Tell me more.”
“Well, I’m not with Michael either—”
“You should be. He is so hot.”
“Well, he has made me realize that I don’t love Robert.” Angela wanted to tell her all about the close call they had had; the way he had touched her, perfect in every way. But this wasn’t the time. She was full of emotions; guilt, betrayal, fear, sadness. She was a mess.
She left a message home for Robert, telling him she was spending the night at Krysta’s – maybe he would know she knew.
First thing Angela did upon her return was to call Christine Thompson, and tell her she’d love the job. It was all settled. She would start the following Monday. She couldn’t wait. What would she do all week in the meantime?
Robert had left her another note on the kitchen counter asking for her famous spaghetti.
The gall of him, she thought. Obviously he hadn’t made the connection between running into Krysta’s friend and her absence last night.
He didn’t know she knew; otherwise he certainly wouldn’t be asking for spaghetti.
There would be no spaghetti tonight. Or maybe there would; she reached into the cupboard and grabbed a can of ready-made spaghetti, which she kept for Madison who went absolutely crazy for it.
She took a shower before lunch, and could not erase the picture of Michael from her head. As she cleaned her wet naked body, her mind took her back to the way Michael had touched her; his warm tender touch.
What is wrong with me?
She couldn’t avoid the inevitable. She would have to go and say goodbye sometime this week, before she went to work the following Monday. She would have to call him to see if he and Dot would be available to talk. She had to get this over with now.
Wrapped in her plush bathrobe, she sat on her bed and made the dreaded call on the private number Michael had given her.
“Hello. Michael Bowman,” he answered in his usual low voice.
“Hi, Michael. This is Angela.”
“Oh... Hi, Angela. How was your drive home?”
Angela had absolutely no time for small talk. She wanted to get right to the point. “Good...listen Michael, are you around today?”
“I’m in this afternoon. Why?”
“Can I come over?”
Angela was met with silence on the other end of the line.
“Don’t do this to me Angela.”
“No, I just need to—”
“To tempt me and walk away. I’m staying away next Monday.”
“Well, that’s just it. I won’t be there next Monday. I got the job!”
“That’s fantastic,” Michael said with a mix of happiness and sadness. “You’ll be great.”
“I won’t be there on Monday, though,” she said sadly
“Well, it’s probably better off, Angela.”
Another moment of silence.
“I made it clear I can’t stay away from you... and with you marrying Robert...”
She wanted to tell him about Robert. She didn’t.
“Is Dot home? I want to explain.”
“She’s out with Paul. I can explain for you.”
“But shouldn’t I do it in person?”
“I’ll get her to call you,” Michael told her.
“Wow. You really don’t want to see me, do you?”
“I want to see you… every inch of you. There lies the problem.”
Angela stifled a cry.
“Bye, Michael,” she whispered.
“Bye, Angela.”
It didn’t seem enough; to end what they had shared with a quick goodbye over the telephone.
It certainly didn’t seem enough. She lay on the bed crying, her pillow darkened by the stains of her tears, whimpering like a small child; she was an absolute mess.
Not even Robert had ever made her cry this way.
She was heart-broken. She would not be eating lunch that day, or dinner for that matter.
Michael wondered if he had been too harsh with Angela. He justified to himself that he had to be. There was no other way. He didn’t want to be responsible for making a mess of her life; although she had made a mess of his. He was no longer himself; possessed by this constant need for her.
He was going a little more insane every day; which was another reason why he had to cut off all contact. He knew he could not stay away from her, and he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He figured they were playing with fire and eventually everyone was going to get hurt.
He didn’t really know Robert, and he certainly did not have the right to make the moves on his fiancé; no matter how tempting she might be. He reassured himself he had done the right thing. The hardest part was yet to come; forgetting her.
Angela sat in her bathrobe, watching mindless game shows and cuddling with Trixie, hoping it would improve her mood but her sadness could not be helped.
She channel-surfed; trying to focus on anything; anything that would keep her mind off Michael.
Through the noise of the television, she didn’t hear Robert come in.
“What’cha doing?”
She jumped up.
“Nothing.” She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t look at him.
“Are you making dinner?”
“Did you not see the can on the counter? That’s your dinner.”
Robert rolled his eyes and took a seat. “What’s with you?”
“Maybe I should ask ‘what’s with you?’, or more specifically ‘who’s with you?’”
“What?”
“Krysta told me.”
“Told you what?”
“Her friend saw you at Le Cachet nuzzling some woman.”
“Oh...” Robert looked down, silent. “Well...we just had a small flirtation, Angela. It’s really nothing.”
The tears started to flow again.
“Stop lying to me. Just tell me the truth, Robert.”
“It was nothing—“
“Were the flowers for her?”
He didn’t answer.
“Were they? Answer me.” She lunged at him and grabbed his shoulders, in a nearly psychotic state. He had angered her for the last time. He had done this to her for the last time.
“Yes. Yes. They were. I can end it, Angela.”
“Just like that?” Angela backed off.
“She’s just a fling, Angela.”