AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As I turn the shower off, I remember something else, a vague memory of Isabelle leaving the room and I wonder if she went to call Luis. I can only imagine what she might have said if she did.She knows. And by the way, she’s certifiably crazy, she’s insane, you don’t know what she did to me. You need to come and muzzle your wife, Luis.
I didn’t go straight home after, I know that much. I went from bar to bar to bar, or maybe just the one bar. And I walked a long way. I remember that.
I enter the kitchen with a heavy heart. I am so not ready for what is about to happen and I’m already feeling the sting of tears behind my eyes.
“Well, hello you!” Luis says, laughing, and the first thing that pops into my head is not,Hey, how strange, why isn’t he upset?It’s,How could you not notice how happy he is lately?
Oh, but I did notice. I just thought it was because of me.
He stands there, one hand on the kitchen sink, the other on his waist, checking me out, trying not to laugh. Why is he amused? “That was quite a bender, babe! And what exactly did you two get up to last night?”
So he reallydoesn’tknow. She didn’t call him after all. He didn’t go running to save her from crazy old me.
I pull out a chair, sit down, rub both hands down my face. “Sorry I came home so late, I hope you weren’t too worried.”
He grabs the pot of coffee and pours a mug full. He hands it to me. “There you go. You don’t look so good, if you don’t mind me saying.”
I try to smile, take a sip of the hot drink.
“You could have called you know? Didn’t you get my texts?”
Texts?I try to remember the last time I looked at my cell but I can’t. “Sorry. I didn’t check my phone.”
He raises a hand. “All good. Once I spoke to June I stopped worrying.”
Oh god. That’s right. June called me at one point. I only picked up because it was her. I was in a bar, she said Luis was wondering where I was and he’d called her. I asked her to say we were together, make up some story, tell him I’m in the bathroom.
“Sounds like you two were having a fine time. She promised to put you in a cab later. I went to bed after that. You got home okay, right? Obviously?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I didn’t tell the kids, just so you know.”
I sit up. “Tell them what?”
“That their mother was out on the town, partying till all hours. I don’t want to give them any ideas.” Luis returns to the sink and that’s when I notice the tools on the kitchen bench.
“You’re fixing the tap?”
“Yep, I got inspired this morning.” He organizes his tools and, without turning around, he says, “Was anyone else there?”
“What do you mean?” A drip of coffee rolls down my chin and I reach for the kitchen roll.
“Just that you were out so late, I thought maybe the whole team went out to celebrate after your big talk. You, Mila and the guys. How did it go?”
I close my eyes. My big talk indeed. I drop my forehead in my hands. “It was okay,” I say, cringing at the memory. Should I tell him now, about Ryan? That would be the smart thing to do, tell him before he finds out. Before Ryan blackmails me or uploads his photo to the internet. Maybe he’s emailed it to that nice journalist from theNew York Timeswho’s writing an article about me:Andwhat does Dr. Sanchez, Winner of the Forrester prize for the Pentti-Stone conjecture like to do in her spare time? See page 12 for photos.
I can’t believe I can’t even win a prize without screwing it up. I cross my arms on the table and drop my forehead on them with a groan.
“What happened?” he asks. For a moment I think he’s asking about Isabelle. I look up at him from under heavy eyelids. He’s facing me now, leaning back against the sink. He refills his mug with coffee. He’s asking about the talk. Of course. I can’t tell him. I just can’t. He’ll want to know how the heck a photo of me naked almost ended up in my PowerPoint presentation. More to the point, he’ll want to know how it came to be in existence.
“It was okay.”
“You sure? You don’t sound so sure.”
“It could have been worse.”
“So it was just you and June last night, then?”
