“Eat the damn banana,” Marilyn scoffs.
I shake my head, and peel the stupid ugly banana.
The movie starts, and Kayla passes bowls and drinks around. She plops a huge bowl of popcorn down on the coffee table.
Right off the bat, Julianne Moore’s character tells her husband she wants a divorce, that she’s had sex with another man. My imagination runs wild. Could Peter be having an affair? Is he in love with someone else? It just doesn’t make sense – it’s so unlike him. There must be some explanation.
“You guys think Peter is having an affair?” I blurt.
The whole room turns to me, slack-jawed. Kayla pauses the movie.
“He is not,” Kayla says. “It’s Peter we’re talking about here. It’s always just been you, Maeve.”
“Kayla is right,” Momma says. “Peter is a good boy. I’m sure he has a good reason for doing what he did.”
“Well… he is a man,” Corrie pipes in. “Men cheat.”
Gabbie shakes her head. She would know – she lived through it. “Not all men,” she says to Corrie. “You’re such a cynic.”
“He seems like such a nice guy,” Mandy chimes in, her words soft. “I mean… I don’t really know him that well…” she trails off.
Marilyn steals the remote from Kayla. “He’s not cheating on you,” Marilyn scoffs, and resumes the movie. “Enough of this shit.”
We all watch Ryan Gosling stride in the club, dressed to the nines in a flashy red suit. I forget all about Peter for a second or two.
“God, he’s so hot in that suit,” Corrie says.
Kayla laughs. “Yep, he could definitely have his way with me.”
Mandy smirks. “He could have his way with any one of us.”
I think about Peter in a suit. God, he looked good in a suit. He wore such cool buttoned shirts, and the classiest ties, and he had a knack for tying it all together flawlessly. And the shoes… I sigh. Why am I thinking about him like he’s dead? Probably because that’s what it feels like. I feel like a widow. I was abandoned so suddenly, I was completely blindsided. It feels like he perished in a car wreck. I steal my phone back from Gabbie. No texts. Nothing.
Why is he doing this to me?
I eat my banana, the texture feels like paste in my mouth. I watch the movie absentmindedly. Emma Stone’s big blue eyes mesmerize me, and Ryan Gosling just makes me ache. I don’t really know why… and then it hits me.
“Is it just me, or does Peter look a lot like Ryan Gosling. I never noticed that before.”
Kayla smiles tightly. “There is a bit of a resemblance, I guess, but I think Ryan is taller.”
“But the eyes, yeah,” Gabbie pipes in. “Similar eyes.”
“And that cocky smile,” Corrie adds.
I press a sofa cushion to my face. Ugh… “I can’t watch this.”
Kayla squeezes between Gabbie and I. “Hey…” She wraps a comforting arm around my shoulder. “Why don’t we go to my room? I’ll give you something to help you sleep… it’s all natural,” she explains. “You’ve had a long day.”
I don’t fight her. I want this horrible day to end. I take her hand, and she leads me to her bedroom.
I love it in here – it’s full of colors and patterns. Large paper lanterns hang from the ceiling, washing the space in a soft glow. The huge leather upholstered headboard centers the room, and there are about a hundred pillows on her bed.
She throws one at my face. “Pillow fight,” she cheers.
I laugh, and throw one right back at her. We throw them all until they’re all on the floor. The bed is bare, save for my stupid wedding dress. Kayla lifts it carefully. “I’ll put this in my closet for now.”
I nod and sit on the bed. “Sure.”
