“They were the only two people on earth back then.”
“Then Adam was screwing a donkey. Trust me.”
I shook my head. How do you tell your best friend that in a real marriage you know what’s going on with your partner at all times? Her last marriage wasn’t like mine with Rory. They had real issues. They weren’t even right for each other. Rory and I were destined to be together, and despite our current situation, we were deeply connected. I knew what was going on with him. Yes, many men since the beginning of time have craved sex. But plenty of men simply crave power.
Rory craved power.
6
I TAKE HIM LUNCH
If you know what a man wants, you can make him love you. That was my reasoning, anyway. If Rory craved power, I’d give it to him.
Erica and I finished up at the salon and then pushed our carts through Target and Marshall’s together. I spent more money than I should have, and so did Erica. It’s not my fault that the two stores had such cute things on sale. We would typically grab lunch, but Erica had a date with her husband. She invited me to join them, but in my current state of sex and food deprivation, that’s the last thing I wanted to do. When you’re down and out, and your marriage is struggling, you sure as heck don’t want to go sit at a table with two flirting lovebirds desperately trying to keep their clothes on throughout the meal. Besides, I didn’t eat these days, so what was I going to do?
I drove along Main Street toward South Willard, driving carefully over the gray slush. It must have been a few degrees over freezing, as the snow on the trees was slowly turning to water and dripping to the ground. Passing by the University of Vermont, I saw Rory’s favorite taco truck with a line starting to form at thewindow. Perhaps my gift of power today would be to deliver lunch to my hardworking husband. I tried to call him, but the call went to voicemail. He ate later than the more regular noon hour, so I wasn’t worried that he’d already eaten. It’s the thought that counts, anyway. On the chance my timing was off for Rory, I could always give the tacos to the young and beautiful Kim. Maybe I’d slip a dose of rat poison in there. Just kidding. Sort of. Maybe a laxative? Nothing lethal. Geez, settle yourself down over there. Even I have boundaries. I’m not a killer, for goodness’ sake. Not yet.
I found a parking spot nearby, pulled on my coat, and left the warmth of the car. The icy winds from Lake Champlain cut through the air, and I tightened my scarf as I raced across the street to take a place in line at the taco truck.
As a vegetarian, I prefer never to buy meat, but I was about to make an exception. This was part of the power I’d give Rory today. In an effort to please him, I’d reluctantly compromise my beliefs. Through chattering teeth, I ordered onelingua, onechorizo, and onecarnetaco. I didn’t want to know what went into making those things, and I tried not to think about the animals that had been sacrificed for my husband’s brief lunchtime joy.
Driving into the heart of downtown, I slowed to enjoy the Christmas decorations. Lights covered the trees on either side of Church Street. The lampposts were dressed in red and white to look like candy canes. People wearing heavy jackets and ski hats dashed in and out of stores, many probably looking for last-minute gifts. I finally parked and went to find my husband.
I held onto the railing as I carefully climbed the stone steps of City Hall. As I made my way toward Rory’s upstairs office, I stopped to visit with several people, wishing them happy holidays and asking about their families. I worried the tacos would be cold by the time I reached Rory, but it was better to deliver cold tacos than for me to come off as being anything less than darling Margot to his coworkers.
Nadine, the one I liked to hide with at parties, sat at her desk. A picture of the president hung behind her on the wall. She looked up from her computer screen. “Hey, girl. What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d bring the—” I almost called him the Dream Killer but caught myself. “I brought my sweet babycakes lunch. Is he here?”
Nadine grinned. “Yep, he’s in the office.”
I started toward the door, thinking of cold tacos. “I’m sure he’s on the phone, but I’m going in anyway.”
“You can do whatever you want. We all know you’re the boss.” After we shared a smile, she returned her eyes to the screen.
I knocked and pushed open the door. Rory stood over a patch of fake turf in the middle of the office with a putter in his hand. As he spoke through a headset to someone on the other end, he tapped a golf ball toward a hole. I’d given him that toy and was glad to see him using it. Though I couldn’t care less whether he’d scored his shot or gotten his point or dropped the ball or whatever it was called.
“There’s no way they will give you a permit,” Rory said into the phone. “Yes, I’m fully aware that I’m the mayor, but there’s nothing I can do about it, Wesley. I live by the same laws we all do.”
Adding to my loving gestures for the morning, I pulled the tacos out of the white bag, unwrapped them from the foil, and arranged them neatly next to his keyboard. I’d even remembered to ask for a to-go cup of his favorite green hot sauce. I sat in one of the chairs by his desk and waited for him to finish the call. As I always did while sitting in that chair, I enjoyed the framed photographs on the wall. Other than one of his parents, they were all pictures of Jasper and me.
My favorite was the one of Jasper standing to applause after winning one of his first recitals when he was only three. Three, I say! I couldn’t help but beam with pride. There was one of me onstage in a production ofThe Sound of Musicfrom when I was in my early twenties, a time that felt no closer than the Ice Age. There were a few shots of the three of us in different countries on our family trips. Skiing in Chamonix, exploring Rory’s roots in Glasgow, and chasing the northern lights while in Finland.
I wondered if he ever looked at these pictures. If he felt like I did when I strolled down memory lane. When I saw these pictures, I craved making more memories just like these. Did he even see the pictures anymore, or were they solely there to enhance his image as a family man? Had someone on his team suggested hanging the pictures? Hopefully, they were displayed for both reasons. We’d had such fun together traveling back then. That’s when Jasper and I’d been able to pull Rory away from work and get him to cut loose.
Rory ended his call and set the putter against the wall. “What are you doing here?” Then he added, almost like he had to, “What a nice surprise.”
Was it, Rory? Was it a nice surprise? I pointed at his desk and said in a chirpy tone, “I brought you tacos.”
He hadn’t noticed them yet. “Oh, wow. Thanks.”
“You don’t seem too excited.”
He touched his belly. “I have a business lunch in like five minutes, and I’m already feeling fat.”
“Just eat one. I didn’t know you had a lunch. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I appreciate the gesture.”
