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Me needing to be somewhere else.
Me needing to be somewhere different.
Somewhere fresh. Clean. Untarnished.
As I dressed my son, I hit connect and I prepared myself for whatever she was about to say.
“A-Aoife,” Louise sobbed. “F-Finn just tried to assault me.”
I narrowed my eyes at the wet wipes, but I stayed silent.
“Aoife?” she shrieked. “Can you hear me?”
“What do you want me to do about it, Louise? If he assaulted you, then you should go to the cops.”
A shocked breath sounded down the line. “What?!”
“If he assaulted you, then you should go to the cops.”
“I-I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“What’s not to understand? You need to report him if he hurt you.”
“But you—”
“No buts,” I said calmly when I was the opposite of calm. “However, if you’re lying, and I know you are, then I wouldn’t go to the police. They don’t appreciate having their time wasted.”
“How could you say that, Aoife? Why would I lie?”
“To save face? To make sure that I didn’t fire you even though you came onto my husband? I can think of several more reasons but I’m pretty sure you’ll sue for wrongful termination whatever I say.
“But I’ll tell you this, Louise, you have two choices. You either go to the cops and report the assault or you’re fired.”
“You can’t do that!” she snarled.
“I think you’ll find I can. There are several occasions where you’ve underperformed recently, and I’m well within my rights to fire you for them.”
“What like?”
“Failing to file a claim for an injury is a health code violation, and it could cause trouble with OSHA,” I said flatly.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this!”
“No? You must really think I’m a fool then.” I pursed my lips. “Of course, just show me that you filed a report with the cops and you’re more than welcome at the bakery in the morning.”
She cut the call.
I leaned over to press a kiss to Jake’s belly and said, “Let’s see what that snake does, baby, hmm?”
He chatted away at me, totally unaware of what had just gone down, totally unaffected because I’d kept my voice pleasant and calm at all times.
I had faith in my husband when it came to other women.
I trusted him in this when my self-esteem, before him, had always been shitty.
That trust and faith had to get us through the next weeks and months ahead.
He’d made a mistake. He’d protected the wrong people. But I knew he’d never do that again.
