“I guess we’re both high maintenance divas - only I’m more attractive, of course,” Dot said as she stretched her arms out on the open pull-out sofa. “I’m certainly worth the trouble. But… I don’t know about you,” she added, lying on the bed.
“Get off the bed please,” Michael told his mother, half serious, half laughing. “She is worth the trouble too,” he added.
“Um...interesting...you think?” Dot said, mischievous as ever. “What were you guys doing last night?” she asked, sitting up, a smile on her face. She was enjoying this.
Michael and Angela stood speechless.
“I heard screaming last night and I looked out and saw you go in her cabin,” she said, looking at Michael. She wasn’t accusatory at all, she was teasing, inquiring, thirsty for some exciting information. “You came out and then... you ran back in, and you were there for a while.”
“Mum, were you eavesdropping?”
“Never you mind what I was doing,” she laughed. “Spill the beans, out with it,” she urged.
Angela was still speechless. She had always been incompletely unable to lie and was useless under pressure.
Michael was extremely annoyed; if there was something to talk about, a son would definitely not want to talk about it with his crazy mother. “Not that it’s any of your business Mum, but I was just helping her. She got stung or bit. We’re not sure.”
“Oh I see... you came to her rescue.”
They were without words.
“I bet you did a lot more than rescue her,” she said, laughing as she walked away. “But like you said, it’s none of my business… so I’m off to bed.” She had the uncanny ability to leave them alone in the most orchestrated awkward scenarios.
They stood there, staring at each other. They both looked at the pull-out bed. They looked at each other again.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ll be off too,” he told her as he practically sprinted for the door, barely putting on his sandals. “You can turn off the lights. See you tomorrow,” he said as he ran out the door.
Angela surprisingly fell asleep quite quickly, exhausted by the lack of sleep from the night before. Fading into her last thoughts, she drifted off to sleep:Just a boat ride tomorrow morning… and I survived it. No bugs... good.
As Michael helped her put her bag into the back of the car, he gave her a final smile; a longing look. He gave her a quick hug; she wanted it to be longer. She looked at him walk away, his navy blue cotton t-shirt hugging his body nicely. She figured she deserved an award for resisting him for two whole days. Although, she had almost not resisted him but all in all; they hadn’t done anything she regretted. She realized that she could not go on resisting him, and that she would have to walk away, far away.
She peeked into the snack bag he had made her for the road: a soda, a sandwich, an apple, some chips and two chocolates. He knew her. This was exactly the sort of thing that made her crazy for him; these small kind acts mixed with his utter sex appeal made her want to do unthinkable things with him.
She contemplated her plan as she drove home. Maybe she could meet up with Dot at the library. Surely, she could get someone to drive her; she wasn’t mobility challenged at all really.
She would go to the estate one last time and say a proper goodbye to Michael. It’s the least she could do; having shared all these wonderful intimate moments with him. Anything less wouldn’t do. She would thank him for everything he has done for her.
She would tell Robert that it’s over between them. He wasn’t right for her. She finally realized that. After having lived real love, she realized what she had with Robert was not love; she wasn’t sure what it was. She would end up alone, but she figured that’s what she needed. She needed to spend some time with herself.
When Angela got back home, she wasn’t ready for what was waiting for her. As she came in, she dropped her bag by the door and patted her cat Trixie who was delighted to see her. She went to fetch herself a drink from the fridge.
Robert wasn’t home; he had left a note saying he was out golfing. She knew she would have to face him when he came back. Should she do it tonight? When was the best time to tell someone that all the time and dreams you invested in them were all for naught. She couldn’t bare the thought of doing that to him, but she knew she had to. Not doing it would only be delaying the inevitable. She saw the message light flashing onher telephone but chose to ignore it, choosing instead to take that long bath she’d been longing for.
Lying in her bath, she contemplated everything this break-up would incur. She would definitely have to move out. Krysta had always told her she was free to stay in her spare room if she ever wanted; almost like she had a premonition. Krysta had always been insightful.
Angela rehearsed her words a million times in her head; how she would tell Robert. There would be no mention of Michael. There was no need for it. Of course Robert would ask her if there was anyone else, and she could tell him there wasn’t. As she lathered herself with soap, she wondered if she could really say that with a straight face. Michael was definitely someone else.
As it was getting late and Robert hadn’t returned yet, Angela grew concerned. What could be keeping him? She was anxious to talk to him; the sooner the better. She decided to check her messages. Maybe he had left her a message explaining his delay.
“Hi, Angela, this is Christine Thompson...” the first message started. Angela had completely forgotten about the interview. She had a few other things on her mind. She stood still, quite anxious.
“I don’t know if this is the right time to.... I was going to wait till Tuesday...”
the message went on.
“C’mon. C’mon. Tell me.” Angela grew impatient.
“I was just too excited... I wanted to tell you got the job - if you want it, that is.”
