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Allie hated lying to her sister-in-law, but if she told her the whole story then Mimi would be forced to tell Zeke and then Allie would have betrayed Claire’s trust. Or worse, Mimi would keep the truth from Zeke and the lie might cause their marriage to crumble. Was she doing the right thing? Or was she just making everything worse? Maybe it was best to get everything out in the open. Allie decided to test the waters.
“Claire told me you and Zeke are going to counseling.”
Mimi looked taken aback. “She said that? I had no idea—that is, I didn’t know Claire was aware.”
“She found out accidentally by listening to a voice-mail from your counselor.” Before Mimi could ask, Allie said, “And no, I’m pretty sure Cameron doesn’t know anything.”
Mimi smiled but her eyes looked blank. “It’s more like couples communication. No big deal. It’s been great for our marriage.”
Allie nodded. She desperately wanted to believe Mimi, but the sour feeling in her gut told her Claire was right. Mimi and Zeke were having major marital problems. They would have to be told about Claire’s extracurricular activities, of course, but delaying the bad news for two days would give Allie a chance to gauge just how serious those problems were. Despite feeling guilty, Allie was convinced more than ever that she was doing the right thing.
*~*~*
Allie punched her pillow, for what, she didn’t know, but it felt good doing it. She turned to her side and glanced at the bedside clock. It was nearly one a.m. and she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.
Heard a rumor that your wife left you.
At least, that’s what Neighborhood Guy aka Mr. Nosy Pants had said. It had felt like such an invasion of Tom’s privacy, hearing it the way she had. But Tom hadn’t appeared the least bit ruffled having his personal failings put out there for everyone to see. He had handled it all with the grace of a man who was…a man. Like he didn’t have anything to be ashamed of or owe anyone any explanations.
Still. Allie had wanted to knock Mr. Nosy Pants down a peg or two.
Did Lauren really leave Tom? Did Tom still love her? According to Mimi, Henry had been a large part of Tom’s motivation in returning home, but could there be more to it? Did he hope to win Lauren back?
Then there was Jordan’s mother, Cougar Extraordinaire. Now, lying alone in her bed, Allie could admit she’d been jealous. Not of Jordan’s mother. She didn’t think she was Tom’s type. But the incident had her wondering about Tom’s love life. He’d been divorced a year now.
He’d asked her why she wasn’t with someone, but Allie hadn’t asked him the same question in return. Why wasn’t he with someone?
Or maybe he was. Despite what Claire thought, there was a very real chance that he’d been out on a date tonight. But then, there was that kiss they’d shared. He couldn’t have kissed her like that if he had a girlfriend. Could he?
Allie punched her pillow again. Men. Of course, he could have kissed her like that and still been in a relationship with someone else.
Confusion and insecurity and…something else roiled through her. Of course she didn’t hate him. But she didn’t want to like him. And she certainly didn’t want to want him. Not again. But she did. On both counts. There was no use denying it any longer. But did she have the guts to do anything about it? Probably not.
Compared to Tom, she was a fraud. Running around town masquerading as this hot shot journalist, when the truth was all she had to show for her career was a near empty bank account and one good article under her belt. That, and the slim promise of a maybe job that in all probability depended on Phoebe Van Quack and her mysterious Madame Gloria.
Then there was the matter of her personal life.
What a joke that was.
She told Tom she’d sowed her wild oats. Sure, she’d gotten to do a lot of traveling, (which, if he’d let her explain the other night was what she had meant by the expression). She’d surfed in Australia, backpacked throughout Europe and even gone on safari in Africa. But her love life had been nothing more than a couple of semi-serious relationships, neither of which had been more inspiring than an I really like him a lot. And the sex? She didn’t have much to compare it to, but even she knew it hadn’t been much more than a mediocre episode of Sex and the City or worse, it’s more modern day counterpart, Girls.
Maybe that was the problem. She’d watched too much T.V. Her expectations were too high. Or maybe nothing ever compared to the way Tom had made her feel at eighteen.
Maybe all these years she’d been waiting for Tom Donalan to just do her so she could get on with the rest of her life. Allie rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.
Big Girls Don’t Cry.
Wait. Where had that thought come from?
Frankie Valle began wailing in her ear in his falsetto voice.
Strange. Her room was adjacent to Claire’s. Had her niece turned on the radio? The music suddenly got louder.
BIG. GIRLS. DON’T. CRY…
Allie sighed. Maybe Claire had been messing with the alarm on her clock radio and accidentally hit an oldies station. But you’d think she’d have hit the off button by now.
After tonight’s teenage drama, she couldn’t believe how inconsiderate Claire was being. How was anyone supposed to sleep with all that racket going on?
