CHAPTER 9
The next day, in the morning just after her run, Veronica made her call to Calvin. Her heart was pounding and her stomach was in knots. There was still a huge part of her that wanted to turn back and have absolutely nothing to do with this. Still, by the time she pressed the call button, it was too late to turn back.
“Hey!” Calvin answered. “What’s going on? You never call this early.”
“Oh nothing,” Veronica answered, trying to muster some enthusiasm into her tone. “I just wanted to call to let you know that I want to set a time for us to have a date.”
The phone went silent for a moment, and Veronica wondered if Calvin was even still on the line.
“Hello?” she spoke into the phone, wondering if he had somehow cut out.
“Oh hey!” Calvin said, his voice clearly illustrating his shock. “Sorry, I just honestly didn’t expect you to say yes.”
“Well I want to go,” Veronica said. “So when are we doing it?”
“Um, let me check!” Calvin said, and Veronica waited for him to respond. “Actually, tomorrow looks good! I was going to take you to that Italian place you like. Is that good for you?”
“Yeah that sounds wonderful,” Veronica said. That particular restaurant was her absolute favorite, and she hadn’t been in quite a long time. All in all, it was a very thoughtful gesture for him to put forth.
“Great!” Calvin said with a laugh. “I get off at five, what time would be good for you?”
“Why don’t we call it six?” Veronica suggested. She knew that Frank normally got home about five thirty, and he would be able to take over care of the girls for the night. “I know that seems a little early, but I told Davenport I would be back in by midnight.”
“Alright Cinderella,” Calvin teased her. “Six it is! God, I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this. I’m so excited to see you!”
“I’m excited to see you too,” Veronica said, hoping that she sounded at least a little genuine.
“Okay well I have to be getting to work,” Calvin said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I can’t wait! I love you!”
“See you,” Veronica said. “I love you too.”
Veronica hung up the phone just as Frank walked into the kitchen. Veronica had already gotten him a glass of water, which he immediately drank.
“Thank you,” Frank said.
Veronica nodded, but remained quiet.
“Was that Calvin?” Frank asked quietly, and Veronica knew that he already knew the answer to that.
“I called and set up our date,” she explained quietly. “It’s tomorrow at six, and I told him I had to be back by midnight.”
Frank looked a little surprised.
“I thought you would want to take the whole night,” he said.
“That is probably the very last thing I want,” Veronica scoffed.
“Hey,” Frank moved closer to her and placed his hands on her waist, looking into her eyes. “Don’t be down about this.”
“I can’t help it,” Veronica sighed. She thought for a moment, and she was grateful that Calvin granted her the time to process her thoughts.
“I haven’t even seen him in weeks,” she said softly. “I just… I just don’t know how to be around him anymore. Especially not with all this. With you and me.”
“Don’t worry about all that,” Calvin said softly. “You just be you. You’re smart. You’re going to know what to do in whatever situation you find yourself in. I believe in you.”
Veronica nodded, and she found that his words served to comfort her quite a bit.
“Are you sure you want me to go through with this?” she whispered, and he smiled down at her.
“Like I said,” Frank gave a half smile. “I think you need to see him. And I think it will help you to figure out what you really want to get out of this situation.”
Veronica nodded. She moved closer to Frank and rested her head against his broad chest. She inhaled the scent of his musk after his workout and shivered as the scent filled her lungs.
“I just want you to remember one thing,” Frank said, pulling back slightly. Veronica looked up at him, waiting for him to tell her what was on his mind.
“I want you to remember that I want you,” he said. “In your mind while you’re processing all these things, I don’t want you to ever doubt that I think you’re the woman for me, and that I want you more than anything. Don’t ever get that twisted. I want you to be mine. You just have to decide if I’m the one for you.”
Veronica swallowed at yet another raw confession from this man.
“But if that man for you is Calvin,” Frank went on more softly. “I will respect your decision in that regard, and we can both move on with our lives accordingly.”
Veronica took in his words, and looked up at him.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re so understanding.”
Frank smiled down at her.
“All I want is for you to have a good chance to be happy,” Frank almost whispered. “And I do want it to be with me, no doubt. But I think Calvin is a good man, too. And I know he has a good future to offer you as well. If he was some kind of shady low-life, I wouldn’t be encouraging you to entertaining him as an option.”
Veronica smiled, as she couldn’t quite manage a laugh. Frank noticed her quietness, and he lifted her face up to look at him.
“Everything’s going to work out, alright?” Frank assured her. “I’m going to go get ready for work. You coming up?”
“No,” Veronica shook her head. “I’m going to stay down here for a second. I just want to clear my head a little bit.”
“Okay,” Frank smiled. “I’ll see you in just a little bit.”
Veronica smiled as he moved out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She let out a soft rush of air, and she buried her face in her hands. She felt like her life was beginning to spin out of control.
She wondered how things would have been if she had never taken the job from Frank. Would she and Calvin have broken up eventually just from their differences? Would they have stayed together, eventually gotten married and had children and a family of their own? All those ideas seemed to be pure fantasy now that she had been disloyal to him.
Veronica wondered if she would tell him about her and Frank on their date. It seemed almost too cruel to do something like that to him. She knew he was terribly excited to see her, and this revelation would absolutely crush him.
And if she didn’t tell him, she knew the guilt would be eating at her the whole night, and she would just end up having a completely miserable time altogether. She would only be sparing him from the truth temporarily, anyway, and there was little point in dragging it out.
She wondered how he would react if she did tell him. Would he be angry? Hurt? Betrayed? Embarrassed? Doubtless he would feel all these emotions, but which one would he display. It was a question she would not know the answer to until she revealed her horrible secret.
And the bigger issue in all this was whether she wanted to try and recover her relationship with Calvin, or if she wanted to pursue a new relationship with Frank? In some ways, the choice of Frank seemed easy. She had already nearly seamlessly adjusted herself into his life. She was attracted to him both physically and mentally, not to mention the deeper connection that they shared.
But then, there were outside issues to consider. Frank was a man of wealth and status, and the duties of a wife were certainly much different than the duties of a nanny. She would likely be expected to attend events and to mingle with an entirely different class of people than she was accustomed to. In her mind, she just could not picture herself ever fitting in to that kind of picture.
Veronica was also afraid of being a disappointment to Frank. They had only interacted in this environment. What if he came to find one day that she was not all he had made her out to be, and came to regret his decision entirely?
All these thoughts rushed through her head, and Veronica rubbed at her temples. She got up from the table and headed upstairs to her room. She desperately hoped that a shower would help her to be able to sort out her thoughts on these issues.