Chapter 33 - Dominic
It takes me half an hour to clean up the destruction in the front yard. I look at the pile of broken timber and sigh, throwing it all into my box of kindling. At least I can make use of the table, even if it is just to burn it.
Burning things to ash seems to be my specialty.
I cast my eye over the front yard and take a deep breath. It’s clean now, and Mara won’t have to see it like that. My cheeks burn as I think of her.
I’ve been acting like a child having a temper tantrum. It’s not like me. I let my emotions get the better of me when what I should be doing is talking to her.
I’m not sure if I still have a job, but all I know how to do is work, so I walk towards the workshop. I throw open the big garage door and let the sunlight fill the space. I look at the mountain of half-finished work and put my hands on my hips. I’ve got a lot to do.
I get to work, and pretty soon the cobwebs in my mind have cleared away. With every cut of my saw, every mark of my pencil, and every measurement of my tape, my head is a little bit clearer. Within two hours, I have the frame for a new nightstand built and assembled.
Taking a step back, I look at my work and sigh. This is what I should be doing, not drinking and smashing things. I should be working and building things up. I walk over to my mini-fridge and take out a bottle of water, emptying it in one gulp. As I finish it, I hear a car pulling up the drive. I lean against the wall and wait to see who rounds the bend.
When I see Margaret McCoy’s car, I start to frown.
Is she here to tell me I’m fired? Why isn’t Mara with her?
Margaret stops the car outside and gets out. She’s wearing a Jackie-O type suit with perfectly styled hair. Her oversized sunglasses cover most of her face and she smiles at me with her bright red lips. I try not to shiver. I take a few steps towards her and wait for her to speak.
“Dominic!” She calls out. I grunt. She takes a deep breath and paints a smile on her face. “I wanted to apologize,” she continues.
For what? For cheating on your husband with my father? For stealing his business?
“Okay,” I grunt.
“I’ve been an absolute ninny. Your work for the hotel has been exquisite. I hope my reaction hasn’t put you off. I’ve been thinking that maybe this is the perfect way to put all this silliness behind us.”
Silliness?
I grunt again and she smiles a bit wider. It seems to be a struggle for her to smile hard enough, but I just nod.
“So you still want the furniture?”
“Of course!” She says with that smile still plastered over her face. “You do such wonderful work. Don’t you think it’s great that our families are able to work together again?”
“Yeah,” I reply, not knowing what else to say. She looks at me for a few moments and I see the edges of her smile start to droop. She nods her head and claps her hands together.
“Well, that’s settled! I’ll be taking over from Mara when she leaves. If you could send me through a schedule of completion, that would be great.”
Alarm bells start to go off in my head. “Mara’s leaving? Where is she going?”
“Oh!” Margaret titters. “Of course! You didn’t know!” She laughs again and waves her hands. My heart starts thumping and I just want to tell her to spit it out already. She smiles again and tilts her head to the side. “Mara’s fiancé Vincent came back! They’re off to Silicon Valley in the morning. Isn’t that wonderful!”
I hardly hear what she says. Her voice sounds like it’s coming at me from under water and my vision starts to tunnel.
I knew it.
I know what I saw. I knew it was him. I’ve been such an idiot! To think that Mara would be with me. To think that she wouldn’t run back to the rich billionaire she’d been engaged to at the first opportunity.
Margaret McCoy says something but I don’t hear it. I turn back towards the workshop and vaguely hear her car start. I close the doors and slump down on a chair as I try to process what I’ve just learned.
She’s leaving.
She’s leaving tomorrow.
She’s leaving tomorrow with her fiancé!
How could I be so fucking stupid! I can’t believe I thought I meant something to her. The anger from yesterday starts welling up inside me and I try to push it down. My head is spinning. The clarity that I had just a few minutes ago is replaced with a tornado of thoughts.
She’s leaving.
I can hardly believe it. I finally lift my head and look around the room, trying to understand what’s going on. Did the past few weeks mean nothing? Why is her mother all of a sudden so nice to me? Why does she still want me to work for her?
Why did her fiancé come back?
The urge to destroy something bubbles up inside me but I shake my head. I’m not going to turn into that person. I’m not going to let myself get carried away like that again. I’m not going to drink my troubles away and I’m not going to destroy anything else.
The workshop feels stuffy. My vision blurs and nausea comes over me like a tidal wave. I throw open the door and rush outside, leaning against the wall as my stomach churns.
Bile and acid and alcohol come out out of my stomach as I retch against the workshop. I vomit over and over into the grass until my body calms down and I’m able to stand up. My mouth tastes vile and my eyes are watering, but all I can do is lean against the workshop and breathe in and out.
My head is a mess. Mara is leaving. I’m still working for the McCoys. I open my eyes and stare at the blue sky. I let the sunshine warm up my skin and I take a few deep breaths.
When I’m able to breathe normally again, my shoulders relax and one clear thought comes to me.
Something isn’t adding up.
There’s something about this whole thing that just doesn’t make sense. Something is wrong, but I can’t figure it out. It’s too rushed, too unexpected. Mara couldn’t have been lying to me this whole time, could she?
I shake my head.
Something isn’t right.