“Good girl,” he says. He smiles and kisses me hard.
After a forced rest, I go downstairs to play with Zoë.
“Hi, baby girl. Would you like a walk on the beach?” I ask her. Immediately, she starts hopping.
I take my cell phone and headphones and call Danny, who answers on the second ring.
“Hey, baby, is everything all right?”
I refuse to cry even though I’m broken inside.
“Yeah, sure. Don’t worry. Could you give me Andrew’s number, please? I can’t find his card.”
“He’s here with me if you want to talk to him, but yes, of course, I’ll send it to you.” I hear a click. “You’re on speakerphone, and I’ve sent you his number.”
“Hello, Preciosa, how are you?” Andrew asks. I smile at hearing the nickname.
“Hi, Andrew. Listen, I need a favor.”
“Tell me everything.”
“Do you know a reliable psychologist and maybe later also a reliable lawyer and judge?”
“I think so. What happened? Is everything okay?”
“No, things aren’t okay.”
“Hailey, what happened?” Danny interrupted. “I left two hours ago, and now you call to ask about these things. Did he hurt you?”
“Danny, no. I don’t want to talk about it. it’s for information only. Don’t worry, I’m fine, we’re fine. I’m out with Zoë on the beach, and I wanted to inform myself.”
“Don’t bullshit! I know you too, well! What happened? Did he put his hands on you? Bastard. I’ll kill him! I’m coming to get you, baby. I won’t leave you there.”
Andrew says, “Danny, don’t bullshit. You’d just put her in danger. Stop! We must try to understand exactly what to do. We must look for a strategy to free her from him and do as little damage as possible.”
“I hate it when you’re right!”
“Guys I’m fine, enough!” I say. “Danny, I’m fine. I swear, nothing happened, but I’d like to understand if I can get a divorce.”
“Are you sure it’s just that? Please don’t tell me lies.”
And here’s the number one lie: “Yes, everything is fine. Nothing happened.”
Andrew says, “Okay, then. See you Saturday night for dinner? Unfortunately, work will keep me busy during the week. How about we do a barbecue? Can I bring anything? Maybe a shovel?”
“Of course, whenever you want. The barbecue seems like a great idea. We can do it directly on the beach, like making a kind of bonfire and sitting on the veranda to eat. And a shovel might not be a bad idea,” I joke.
I say goodbye and set down the phone just in time, as I see Jeremy coming toward me.
“Why are you out? Are you okay?” he asks me.
“Yes. Saturday night we’re having a barbecue on the beach. Danny and Andrew will be coming to dinner.”
“Great!” He wraps his arms around my waist, and we set out. “I saw that you bought some things for the baby. You already know which room to transform for him.”
“Or her,” I say, smiling, remembering Danny’s words. “I think the room next to ours or the guest room opposite ours. I’m not sure yet.”
“Okay, it’s your choice. How are you?”
