“Iknowhow to do it,” I snapped. “I’ve driven your car a hundred times.”
“Well then hit the brake and try again.”
I hit the brake, accelerated, and punched the button. The cruise control snapped into place, and, just as quickly as it had set, went loose again. I glared at Holden to show him my annoyance.
“You must have hit the brake,” Holden said.
I don’t know what it was about that exact moment that made me completely lose control. But the real issues in a couple’s relationship are rarely the ones they fight about. It’s the insignificant arguments masking the problems, piling on top of each other, gathering like raindrops that, combined together, finally cause the dam to burst. I zoomed toward the exit, flipped around on the overpass, and, before he even knew what was happening, was back at my house, slamming the door behind me. Holden rolled the window down. “Annabelle, what in the hell is the matter with you?”
I spun around and hissed back at him, “I didn’t hit the damn brake.”
That was pretty much the last thing I had said to Holden. Until now. “Well I’m glad to hear that work is going well,” I said.
Ben turned around about that time, his hands full of six drinks. “Hey, babe,” he said, furrowing his brow in concentration, trying to juggle all those plastic cups, completely unaware that he was about to come face-to-face with my ex-fiancé for the first time.
“Holden,” I said, “this is Ben.”
Ben gestured toward the cups. “I would shake your hand but—”
Before he could finish the sentence, Holden took a swing right at Ben’s face. As Ben lost his balance, all six of those drinks went straight up in the air, raining down on the patrons of the crowded bar. I heard the general unhappy rumble as I felt my eyes widening and my hand come to my mouth. I glanced over my shoulder, surveying the damage, and saw Lovey laughing like she was reconnecting with old friends. I wanted to be horrified and indignant, but, when I saw Lovey laughing, that incredible, joyous laugh that takes over her entire body, I started too.
Ben shrugged his shoulders—he wasn’t the kind of person to get ruffled easily—and said, “Dude?”
“You could at least have the decency to fall down,” Holden shouted, drawing every eye in the place toward him.
I wanted to walk the twenty feet to the edge of the sparkling pool, dive in, and stay underwater until everyone had gone home for the night and had enough to drink that they had forgotten about this scene.
“I’m sorry?” Ben asked. “Did I do something to you? Do I know you?”
“You stole my wife, you prick.”
Holden was quieter now, but still seething with anger like I’d never seen him.Thatwas what I had been looking for when we were together. A little emotion. I wanted someone to get worked up over me—at least as much as he got worked up over the prime rate.
“I think you must be confused,” Ben said. “I’m married to Annabelle.”
Holden looked at me incredulously. “Yeah. I’m aware of that,” he said. “And I’msupposedto be married to Annabelle.” I’m sure Holden was wondering how our relationship could have meant solittle to me that my husband didn’t even recognize his name. Truth be told, I was wondering the same thing.
I glanced at Lovey out of the corner of my eye, now recounting the story to Mom, Lauren, Sally, Martha and Louise. They all started laughing, and, though I didn’t want to, I joined them. I saw Holden walk to my grandmother and kiss her on the cheek. “Sorry, Lovey,” I barely heard him mumble under his breath.
“It’s all right, darling,” she replied. “She’s worth fighting for.”
“It is not all right,” my mother said through gritted teeth. I knew she would be mortified over the public humiliation. At least we were out of town, where the effect on her latest polls would be minimal.
“Boys will be boys,” Lovey said.
“I’m so sorry,” I said to Ben as Holden walked away. I put my hand up tenderly to his red cheek.
The bartender handed Ben a cup of ice, and he held it to his swollen eye. I was holding my breath, waiting for Ben to say something, knowing he must be angry. But then I started laughing all over again. “This would never have happened,” Ben said, smiling as best he could with his frozen cheek, “if you had let me get a boat.”
I rolled my eyes and felt myself exhale. He wasn’t mad. Lovey walked over and said, “Well, Ben, I guess you and Dan have more in common than we could have imagined.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
“You are both willing to fight for the woman you love.” She winked at him.
He smiled and said, “I was trying to keep it together so I didn’t embarrass you. But if I’d known that’s how you felt about it, I would have given him a fight that he’d never forget.”
I leaned into Ben’s side and said, “There’s nothing to fight about. You’ve already won.”
