Penelope was beginning to feel rather foolish. She had been following Michael at a safe distance for hours now, and although he definitely wasn’t at work, as he had earlier claimed to be, he wasn’t doing anything too suspicious either.
After filling up his Jeep Cherokee with gas, he’d driven to a local restaurant for lunch. At first, she wondered if he was meeting up with someone, but after watching him through the restaurant window from across the street for nearly an hour, she decided that he was doing just what it appeared: eating lunch. He finished his shake, paid his bill, and then drove to a barbershop. Unless he was gay, she didn’t think he was cheating on her in a barbershop. She chewed on her nails for nearly an hour waiting for him to come out. She nearly fell asleep waiting, but perked up just in time to see him walk out, sporting a new haircut and shave.
Michael was so handsome, and she felt so guilty for following him that she was half tempted to just pull up next to him and end this whole charade. Most likely, he just wanted some time to himself…just like I do occasionally, she scolded herself.
But instead of turning around and driving back home to get the kids off the bus, Penelope decided to finish what she had started. Michael’s next two stops were the post office and dry cleaners. “This is getting boring…” she complained. After he exited the dry cleaners with two clean suits in hand, she was about to give up. But somehow she had a gut feeling that she hadn’t seen all there was to see yet.
Michael’s next destination was a gas station, and since there were limited areas where she could hide her vehicle, Penelope drove on up to the Filmont Inn and parked her car in the back where she still had a good view of the nearby gas station. Michael went into the store and returned with two paper sacks. “Wow, Penelope! You managed to catch your husband running errands today on his day off. Whoopee!” she exclaimed sarcastically and slumped down in her seat. Boy, did she feel pretty stupid—not to mention pathetic, paranoid, and psychotic!
Michael turned right out of the gas station and right in the direction of where she was parked at the Filmont Inn. Originally, she had planned to pull out after him as he passed, but at this point it was almost eight o’clock, and he was probably heading home from work. She needed to go home. The kids were probably starving to death and rotting their brains with that damned Xbox, she thought, shaking her head.
But just when she was starting to feel better, her whole world came crashing down. Michael was turning into the hotel where she was parked! Had he seen her?
Apparently he hadn’t, and his reason for coming to the Filmont Inn had nothing to do with her, since he parked his Jeep and headed inside, carrying his two suits and his two paper bags.
Penelope imagined herself jumping out of the vehicle and confronting him right then and there in the parking lot. She wanted to smack him across the face and then throw her engagement ring on the ground. But in reality, she stayed in the car. She was too shocked to move yet, and her stomach was twisting and turning as she realized that there was no way Michael was up to anything good. It’s Lexi, she thought. That careless bitch is back in town, and she’s lured him here to try and win him back. But then she remembered the email from earlier, the one about a business meeting at the Filmont Inn with a woman named Violet. Was the name Violet merely a pseudonym for Lexi? Or perhaps he really is seeing a woman named Violet. Penelope’s thoughts were racing and her body shook with a mixture of adrenaline and fear.
She should have felt like crying right now, but suddenly she felt like doing no such thing. Reaching for her Blackberry, she decided to call her mother. Her friends and family were still in Mellville, and right now she needed someone to talk to.
Penelope’s mother, Jeanie, picked up on the third ring. Without giving her a chance to say hello, Penelope opened her mouth and let the whole story spill out. At the very least, her mother’s voice could help her abstain from crying right now. But Jeanie did better than that. She told Penelope exactly what she should do.