my friend asked for a favor, I’d be glad to do it.
“Talk to Elias about this.”
My eyes flew wide open, and I almost choked on the last bite of my sandwich. After washing it down with some water, I asked, “Are you insane? I think it’s a little too soon to have the kids conversation.”
“Really? Why let things go further? If you know he doesn’t want to have kids, find out now. You also need to get over that crazy thing in your head that people are going to think you’re a bad person for stumbling into a situation where you didn’t know what was going on. Talk to him about that too.”
“I already did.”
“Oh. Well, good for you. You’ve got this.”
That was Susie, my personal cheerleader.
I went to the coffee truck after our lunch and dove into a busy afternoon. Working was a relief. I had a lot to think about between getting the loan approved for the purchase of Misty Mountain Café and Susie’s thoughts on Elias.
Immediately after a rush of mid-afternoon customers coming in from the harbor, I looked up to see Fran, Joel’s wife. Fuck my life. I was the only one there because Amy had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. She was only gone for an hour, but it was just my bad luck for Joel’s wife to show up now.
The only good thing was no one was in line behind her. I managed something resembling a smile. “Hi. Can I help you?” I was relieved I’d said those words so many times that they just came out automatically without any thought necessary. I felt sick to my stomach, and I tried to take a shaky breath.
Fran was quiet for a moment, and then I noticed how tightly her hand was curled around the handle to her purse. I didn’t want her to be nervous because she had nothing to fear from me, but it gave me a sliver of hope that maybe she wasn’t here to give me hell.
“I came to apologize,” she finally said, her words stiff.
“You don’t need to apologize to me. I’m the one who should apologize to you. I didn’t know Joel was married. I was horrified when I found out, and I still am,” I said earnestly.
She nodded slowly and swallowed. “I know now that he was lying to me when he said you knew he was married. I’m the one who slashed your tire that night. I was just feeling a little crazy.”
“Um, it’s okay. I can imagine the situation felt awful.” I paused, contemplating whether to let her know I’d seen Joel at that fundraiser with another woman. I finally decided to just tell her. We might as well be there for each other in some fashion. “Look, this is weird, but I think you should know I saw him with another woman at a fundraiser recently. I don’t expect you to trust me, and I’m not telling you to be hurtful. I just think you deserve to know the truth.”
Her lips twisted in a bitter smile. “I know. Well, I don’t know specifically that you saw them, but I know he’s having another affair. I called him on everything when I found out from a mutual friend of ours that he lied to you about everything, including his name. He’s an asshole.”
My heart ached for this woman. I was over Joel, but the situation still burned because I didn’t know how to trust myself anymore. Or, anyone else for that matter. I could only imagine what it felt like for her, considering they were actually married and she had children with him.
“I am so sorry,” I said fervently. “That sucks. I can’t even imagine how you feel.”
Her shoulders rose and fell when she took in a deep breath and let it out in a gust. “I’m actually better than I was before the first time. You weren’t his first affair, but it was the first time I found out. I felt so inadequate. I was so angry at that point, and I targeted some of it at you. It’s all so messed up because we have kids. No matter what happens to my marriage, I have to deal with him because of them. When I found out this time, I was just like, okay, we’re done, and it was kind of a relief. I think I knew that at first, but I didn’t know how to get to that place. If that makes any sense.”
“It does.