I flip him the middle finger as I cut a turn on the lawn, ripping up all the pretty flowers and grass as I pull out. The bastard can choke on my fumes for all I care. Lord knows, I had to choke on my nerves every time I disappointed him as a kid.
Shit. I may need a drink instead of a potpie.
4
Izzy
“The doc is here,” Viv announces as she comes around the corner, and my eyes go round. I thought he was leaving town today. I quickly grab his glass of water with two lemon wedges and make my way over to his table, wondering if this has anything to do with me ignoring his text last night.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving town.” I place his water down.
“Not leaving until tonight. I missed seeing you last night and couldn’t stand the thought of going without you for a week.”
It looks like my plan worked.
“Any chance you can go tell your boss you want to take your break now?” His eyes roam over me as his tongue runs across his lip like he’s hungry for a taste.
I’m about to tell him “maybe” right as a female’s voice shouts from across the restaurant, startling both of us. Alex turns his head, looking concerned.
“There he is! I knew it was his car.”
Three women are walking right in our direction. All of them are staring at Alex. They must know each other. I wonder whether they’re nurses from the hospital or a patient of his.
I step back as they approach, waiting for them to greet each other. One of them practically shoves me out of the way as she pushes forward to get to him. Talk about rude.
“What are you doing here, darling? I thought you had a full day of paperwork to catch up on?” She leans forward and gives Alex a kiss—on the lips—soft and slow. It’s like a slow-motion horror film playing out in front of me. I’m frozen like a shocked victim, watching the nightmare unfold in front of me.
“I stopped in for lunch.” Alex casts her a smile, but there’s a bit of discomfort in his voice. It’s nowhere near the panic that’s pounding hard in my chest. “What are you doing here? I thought you were at the club playing tennis.”
She looks toward the other two women who I’d forgotten were even standing there. They all are dressed to the nines. Designer clothes, long nails, high heels. Jewels dripping off their necks and wrists, fingers and ears. Diamonds upon diamonds. And all the blurred rainbows reflecting off the lights are making me dizzy. I look toward Alex, waiting for him to introduce me to his old college friend or to his coworker or to an old girlfriend, but the seconds pass. And pass. And pass. And this gut feeling of dread builds and builds and builds.
“We decided to come to the city and shop instead. I wanted to get something for our trip and needed to pick up the cookies your mom loves so much. By the way, can you text me the scotch your dad likes so I can get him a bottle? I don’t want to show upempty-handed tonight. They’re going to be so excited when we tell them we’re trying for a baby.”
Trying for a baby?
The world spins off its axis and I clutch the chair for balance, nearly toppling it over from my weight. The commotion gains everyone’s attention and I feel myself melting under their spotlight.
“Careful! You almost knocked the water on my husband’s lap.”
Husband.The word stifles the air inside my lungs, making me feel like I’m about to hyperventilate. The huge diamond on her finger sparkles brighter, glaring at me in all its beauty. He’s married. Alex is married. To her. And they’re going to have a baby.
“Do you ladies want to stay for lunch?” She looks toward the other two whose heads bob slowly. Everything feels like it’s in slow motion, except for my heart. It’s pounding so rapidly I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack.
“Can you move us to a bigger table and bring a bottle of your best champagne? We need to celebrate our future family expansion.”
Is she talking to me? More words are coming out of her moving lips, but I don’t know what she’s saying. All I see is the truth before my eyes. I can’t breathe. I turn, willing my feet to hold me up until I get somewhere private. I walk right past my station and through the kitchen doors. My heart is crumbling in my chest. The tears threatening to break free. He’s married. The man I thought was going to be my husband one day is already married.
“Izz! Izz! Look at me.” Viv steps in front of me, pulling me into her arms, and my entire body slumps against her. “That fucking bastard. I’m so sorry. God, he’s such an asshole. I knew he was up to no good. I want to kill him.”
The sobs start to rock my body. I believed everything he said to me. Every single word he told me. All the times he told me I was his special girl, that I was the one who made him believe in soul mates, I believed him. All the plans for our future together. All the talk of what we’d name our kids. All of them were lies. Every word.
“Come with me.” She leads me back into the breakroom and walks over to our shared locker. I feel like I’m stuck in some alternate universe where everything is happening around me, but nothing is quite registering. “Here’s your purse.” She hands it to me, along with my car keys. “You go home, and I’ll cover your tables. I’ll tell Harrold you came down with food poisoning and were throwing up in the bathroom. And as soon as I get off my shift, I’m coming over, okay?”
I think I nod, but I’m not really sure. All I know is that it hurts. The man I thought I was going to marry is already married. I’d picked out my dress. And the flowers. I even saved pictures of wedding cakes to show him. I’d planned the whole thing out in my mind. The wedding… our life together… kids.He’s married.The fact keeps wrapping itself around my heart and throat, trying to choke the life out of me.
Viv takes me around the waist and leads me out the back door, walking me all the way to my car. She goes to the trouble of opening it and helps me inside, buckling my seat belt as she leans down. “Do you want me to call an uber? I can call an uber if you don’t think you can drive.”
I don’t want to break down into tears in front of some random stranger. The review he’ll leave me will be that I’m some crazy basket case who sobbed like a baby the entire way home.
