Beth once again looked down at her hands and became very focused on her nails. She could feel Jodi’s gaze upon her, waiting for her to respond but she felt completely at a loss for what to say.
Wearejust friends, that’s it, Beth reassured herself. She felt her mind wandering through movies she knew – stories where men and women were friends, where no rules were broken, where things were able to stay platonic.
Gone with the Wind,she thought immediately. No, maybe not a good example. The chemistry between Rhett and Scarlett was there from the outset. And when they finally recognised it themselves… explosive.
That more recent one,Silver Linings Playbook?They were friends, sort of. Beth tried to recall the relationship between Pat and Tiffany, played by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in the movie, and realised that the only thing that stood out was the way they came together at the end. Yes, they were friends, but they too had fallen in love.
OK, she thought quickly,You’ve Got Mail?That’s a good one. They can’t even stand each other.Until the end,she reminded herself, where Joe makes a distinct effort to woo Kathleen, to first win her friendship – and then her love.Say Anything…?Nope.Reality Bites?Not so much. The Wedding Planner?Not a chance.
She bit her lip, frustrated that she couldn’t find one onscreen example of a man and woman who were able to remain friends when mutual attraction was clearly evident.
‘Earth to Beth…’ Jodi snapped her fingers and brought her back to reality. ‘Do you realise how well I know you?’
Beth was puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I knowexactlywhat you are doing right now. You are calling upon your vast encyclopaedia of movie knowledge to find an example of a man and woman who clearly have the hots for each other, are able to stay friends and keep sex and love out of it by the time the credits roll. Aren’t you?’
A little unsettled by just how well her friend did indeed know her, Beth rolled her eyes and picked up the remote control, as if signalling an end to the conversation. ‘I amnot. I was just thinking and—’
Jodi snatched the remote control away and stuck it on the side table next to the couch, far out of Beth’s reach. ‘You are. Iknowyou are. Because I’ve known you for five years and I get how your mind operates and what makes you tick. Look at what you do at work. You set up these amazing Hollywood-style showcases for every new goddamn shoe design that arrives in the department. Furthermore, you feed all these irresistible movie fictions to the women who buy those Cinderella slippers from you – the places they’ll go and the things they will do. But let me tell you one thing, Beth. Life is not a movie. Now, I know you appreciate happy endings and tear-jerkers and the way the music swells just as Jack and Rose kiss on the front of theTitanic. But you know what also happens in that story? TheTitanicsinks. And that is going to beyourstory if you keep playing with fire. Because I can tell you happy endings do not occur when there are three people involved in a relationship story. Someone gets hurt. Always.’
Beth looked at her friend and knew that Jodi was speaking from her own experience. And it was a place where she definitely got hurt. She was that third person; had ended up being the odd one out in her marriage. Briefly Beth wondered if Jodi’s ex-husband, Frank, ever tried to use the reasoning that he and ‘the bimbo’ were just friends. And she wondered how long it took for him to realise that he was not capable of living that lie.
She rubbed her temples and gave a small groan. ‘Jodi, you know me. I’m not that kind of person. And I would never do anything disloyal to Danny.’
Wasflirting, even harmlessly, with Ryan being disloyal, though? Beth didn’t think so, not when she’d already made her feelings and intentions crystal clear to him from the outset. Or at least that’s what she’d been telling herself.
Jodi was nodding in agreement. ‘I know that you love him. But with that being said, I have to ask whereisDanny? I know, I know, you said he had to work late tonight. But whereishe? In your heart and your head?’ she persisted. ‘And what’s going on there? Because if you even make a tiny bit of room in either of those places for anyone else, then something in your relationship isn’t right.’
Beth swallowed hard. She guessed it was time to confide in Jodi about her concerns of late. If only to get her take on it.
And she found that once she started telling her everything – the way Danny had become possessive over her handling his phone, fishing out whatever had been in his trouser pocket, how he lately seemed so reluctant about spending quality time together – she couldn’t stop. Thankfully her friend listened (for once) without interruption, and it was only when Beth finished that she offered her opinion.
‘Well…’ she sighed heavily. ‘I know I can be cynical when it comes to these things, but I’m not liking the way this sounds. I have to say I never felt Danny, of all people, was the unfaithful type. Even though it seems like I distrust all men, I actually don’t. And I’ve always had a soft spot for your guy.’
Beth nodded, grimacing. ‘I really didn’t want to consider the notion either. But I’d be stupid if I didn’t start to wonder ifsomethingis going on – and it doesn’t feel good.’
Jodi looked at her curiously. ‘Haven’t you tried talking about it with him? Let him know how you’ve been feeling.’
Beth swallowed hard, hating the prospect of confessing any of her worries to Danny, especially when he was under so much pressure elsewhere. ‘I can’t say this to him,’ she said quietly. ‘I justcan’t.’
‘Why not?’ Jodi asked. ‘Why can’t you say anything if you truly think something is wrong? I didn’t take you for a doormat, Beth.’
Beth shook her head in disagreement. ‘No, I’m not a doormat. I just don’twantto. Not when he’s got so much on his plate lately. And not only that but I suppose I feel like… like it’s admitting defeat somehow. That something is less than perfect with us. And that’s not how I want our relationship to be. It’s not how we have been in the past. Danny and I never argue. I mean, not really. And things have always been so good and—’
‘Oh, Beth,’ Jodi interrupted. She threw back the remainder of wine that was in her glass as she continued to shake her head out of obvious bewilderment. ‘Why do you think you can live your life like a heroine in some movie? How can you operate under the notion that you must have a perfect relationship? All those movies are fairy tales, sweetie. Danny is not your leading man, he’s real-life flesh and blood.’
‘I’m not operating that way, I’m just—’
‘Oh yes, you are. Newsflash, honey – relationships aren’t perfect.No one’srelationship is perfect. And like I said, life is not a movie. Look, I don’t mean to be a killjoy here, but someone needs to say this to you. Relationships are messy and dramatic and sometimes sad and then, happy too… but they are all of those things. And if they aren’t? Then someone isn’t holding up their end of the bargain. And with you and Danny, I am willing to bet it might be both of you at the moment. He very well might be under a lot of pressure and maybe he’s hiding something too.Somethingmight be going on with him. But if you aren’t talking and have imposed a “let’s not talk about the bad stuff” rule, then it’s your fault, too.’
Beth stared at her friend and considered her words. Admittedly, they stung. But were they true? When it came to Danny and their relationship, was she unable to talk about – or confront – problems? Recognise them, even? And worse, was she then in fact partly to blame for whatever was going on with him?
‘I suggest that you take a long hard look at yourself and the way you’ve been dealing with things, Beth. Really think about what I just said, because I don’t want you to get hurt and I don’t want Danny to get hurt, and even though I don’t really know Ryan, I don’t want him to get hurt either. And remember what I said, in a party of three, there is always an odd man out.’
Having said her piece, Jodi sat back in her seat. The two women were both silent for a moment, until eventually she spoke again. ‘Speaking of which, I saw Frank and the floozie while I was picking up a pizza at Sal’s last night. I stopped at the corner bodega for a pack of twenty right after that.’
While Jodi knew how Beth felt about her smoking, she also understood what her friend was dealing with if she had spied her ex with his new love in public. Even though the marriage had been over for almost two years, it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to realise that Jodi still had a soft spot in her heart for Frank. Beth reached out to take her friend’s hand, as she continued to recount her tale.
