Chapter Twenty-Nine

Then

I was still working for the same boring insurance company, but I was nearly finished with my bachelor’s degree and I seriously thought about continuing my education and earning my master’s degree.

Heck, I might even become a lifelong student like Audrey. Maybe we could even move closer to each other or share a home. We’d be single women and go to college . . . and then own a couple dozen cats. Okay, maybe that didn’t sound so appealing.

We were meeting for lunch and I could tell something was wrong the second Audrey approached. It was Saturday so I didn’t have to work. I had no other plans for the day and had plenty of time to be with my best friend. Audrey was never a person to be late for a meeting, business or pleasure.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, standing as she approached.

“Go ahead and sit down. I’m sorry I’m late. Let’s order food and then we’ll talk.” Her voice sounded a bit too ominous for me. I didn’t feel like sitting, but I did as she asked.

“Are you really going to make me wait?” I asked.

“Yes, because I’m processing things in my mind. Let me finish so I don’t say something foolish.”

She didn’t need to say anything else. I understood the need to process. The waiter appeared and we ordered. I was trying to enjoy the beautiful summer day, though I couldn’t help but worry. Rain was predominant in Oregon, so when the sun was out, I needed to enjoy it. I wasn’t normally moody in the summer.

Audrey and I didn’t say much as we waited for our food. She was clearly thinking, and I was running through every possible scenario I could think of with my own vivid imagination. Finally, she sat back, obviously ready to talk to me.

“I’m your best friend and I don’t want you to jump to conclusions. I’m just going to tell you what I saw and we can figure the rest out. Knowledge is power. Remember that,” she began.

“If you don’t tell me what in the world you’re talking about I’m liable to go crazy.”

“I was on my way here and I saw Mason. I was about to call out his name when he turned and looked at a door. A woman walked out — a bimbo blonde woman,” she said, instantly being the best friend and putting a label on the girl. My gut clenched.

“What happened?” I was a little breathless.

“She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. I’m not talking the normal friend hug, or the haven’t seen you in a while hug, or the courtesy hug. She flippin’ threw both arms around his neck and pressed her body against his,” Audrey said, furious as she spoke the words.

“What did he do?” I asked. For some reason I wasn’t even upset. I should be horrified, or maybe feel vindicated that I was right about something being wrong. It was only a couple of years before that I’d found him in the art studio with Bella too closely pressed to him, and I’d come off the handle. Things had changed between us after that night though. They had really changed. That was the night I’d stopped trusting him. Though maybe I didn’t want to admit that — not even to myself. That was the night I’d changed.

“The only thing that saved his life was he didn’t look too comfortable with the hug,” Audrey said. “But the two of them began walking. She tried to put her arm through his, and he made a pretty smooth move and pulled out his phone to show her something on it. She laughed the most annoying laugh I’ve ever heard. They continued walking. I followed them. The streets were crowded and I stayed a little way back. He didn’t see me.”

“Well that isn’t so bad then.” I hoped this was the end of the story. Audrey wouldn’t be as upset if it was. I knew that. She knew that I knew that. I waited.

“They went to an exclusive apartment complex downtown. One with a doorman, one of the high-end buildings. They walked inside together. I waited . . . and waited. I finally gave up after a half hour. I didn’t want to keep you any longer, so I came straight here.”

Was I numb? Was I emotionless? Was I even me anymore? I should have reacted. That didn’t condemn my husband, but it didn’t look good and I felt . . . nothing.

“I wonder if he’s having an affair,” I said and lifted a fry and took a bite. Audrey looked at me as if she was worried I was about to lose my mind. Maybe I’d already lost it.

“We can go back over there and sit, but they probably came out long ago,” Audrey said.

I thought about it. “Or I could call him.” I lifted my phone and looked up his number. It was at that moment I realized I didn’t have a cute pet name for him. He was listed in my phone as Mason, not My Sweet Husband, or My Love, or Sweetie. I tried to remember if I’d ever called him a pet name. I didn’t think I had. How odd.

The phone rang four times then went to voicemail. I looked at Audrey, still feeling quite numb. She waited for me to say something.

“Well?” she practically yelled, making the people at the table next to us turn and give questioning glances.

“He didn’t answer. I can’t tell if he purposely sent me to voicemail. If he did then he’s not too busy to send me to voicemail. That’s a plus. But if he feels he can’t answer a call from his wife because of who he’s with, then that’s a problem.” I was still numb.

I picked up my sandwich and took a bite. I tasted nothing. Nothing at all. It truly was odd. I wasn’t sure what to do next. Should I confront him or just add this to the list of things we didn’t talk about?

Audrey and I finished lunch. I didn’t try to call Mason again. An hour passed before my phone rang. It was him. I looked at it sort of confused about what to do.

“Answer the phone,” Audrey said, looking as if she wanted to rip the device from my hand and answer it herself. It almost made me smile. Almost, but not quite.

I hit the green button and answered.

“Sorry, Miranda, I was in a meeting,” he said as a greeting. His voice was breathless and I wondered why. Still, there was no anger.

“Oh, I just wanted to see if you wanted to join Audrey and me for lunch,” I said, feeling brilliant for thinking that fast on my feet when I couldn’t seem to think much at all at the moment.

He laughed and I looked at Audrey questioningly. “You girls giggle and gossip the entire time. I think I’ll pass,” he told me.

We normally did that. We used to do that. We’d done that until my best friend saw my husband entering an apartment building with a sexy woman on his arm. It wasn’t fun to gossip when the gossip was about yourself.

“Why are you out of breath?” I asked. “You said you were at a meeting not the gym.” I picked up another fry that had grown quite cold. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t tasting anything anyway.

“I’m at an apartment building downtown and I decided to use the stairs instead of the elevator. I realized I’m not getting enough exercise,” he told me.

I was shocked he was admitting where he was, where he really was. I felt the first hard thump of my heart. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as we’d thought. Maybe there really was an explanation . . . or maybe he’d seen Audrey trailing him and was much faster than I was at coming up with an excuse in the blink of an eye.

“Oh. You had a meeting at an apartment building?” Why would an artist have business at a place like that?

“They have a great little community here: restaurants, coffee shops, and meeting spaces.”

“Oh, where is it? Now I’m curious.” I truly was. I wanted to see if he was telling me the truth.

He told me and then said he had to run. We ended the call, and I looked at Audrey.

“Look this place up.”

She pulled out her iPad and it didn’t take long for us to figure out Mason was telling the truth. If you exited out the back of the building there was almost a mini town behind the complex.

I felt the smallest stirring of relief, but not nearly as much as I should feel at knowing my husband wasn’t cheating on me. I was more scared about how much I didn’t care. Was our marriage over in my mind? Had I already let him go? I didn’t think so. I should have talked to Audrey about this, but once again, I didn’t.

It wasn’t until much later when I was home alone that I realized all of those restaurants and coffee shops and meeting places Mason was telling me he was at were located on the bottom floor.

Why had he needed to use the stairs?