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Ashlie woke up in her own bed when Terry dropped a bottle of shampoo in the shower. Opening her eyes, she was so glad to be home; the fear that she’d have to spend the night in jail had been petrifying and she’d cried. She was near collapse when the guard opened the door and told her she’d made bail.
“You’re awake,” he said ten minutes later, coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. “I had to keep checking that you were breathing, you slept so soundly.”
“I’m so glad to be home. Thank you for paying my bail. I’ll try to pay you back,” she said, watching him.
After slipping on underwear, he stood in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection while he combed his hair.
“Ashlie, you know I care about you.”
Uh-oh,she thought. “What now?” she asked, the only non-snarky thing she could think to say to him because he was gearing up for something painful.
Sitting down next to her, he pushed the hair out of her eyes. “I’m seeing someone else,” he said.
This was not news she wanted to hear coming on the tail of her arrest. She sat up, scooting away from him. “What do you mean? You’re married, Terry. Not only are you married, but a few months ago you insisted I give my baby daughter to her father with no strings attached.”
“I regret that. I talked to Adam last night and apologized. I know your behavior is my doing and I’m so sorry.”
“Terry, tough shit! You think I’m going to sit back and allow you to treat me this way after what I did for you? I don’t think so. I’ll go on television and tell everyone who will listen what the great Doctor Terry Marco made his wife do for him. Dr. Phil would love to hear our story!”
He got up to go to the closet but she wasn’t letting him get away with it, so she ran after him.
“You might as well think of another way to handle this, Terry, because you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
He came back out with a suit on a hanger. It was one she recognized, expensive, cut close to his body to give the illusion of a trimmer physique.
“I wasn’t suggesting that we get a divorce,” he said. “Out of respect for you, I wanted you to know I was seeing another woman. That’s all. You’re still my wife with the perks. It will even help your court case if it comes out. It’ll support the claim that you were under duress.”
At that moment, he was a smooth-talking creep and nothing more. No perks. “Who is it?” she asked.
“No one you know.”
“Another nurse?”
“Not this time.”
“I guess I don’t need to know.”
She watched him fix his tie and wondered how she could ever have picked him over Adam Spencer. Bending over to kiss her forehead, he smiled down at her. “Call Paul and ask him if we can start talking about having a family.”
“He already said to wait a year,” she replied. “When you go downstairs, ask Margaret to bring me coffee and a toasted bagel, please. They are going to earn their money today.”
He looked at her sidelong, wondering what she was going to pull next. “Be nice, Ashlie,” he said, more of a warning.
Standing at the window, she watched Terry pull his Mercedes sports car out of the garage. If he drove himself, chances were that meant he had a date. She reached for her phone and keyed in Paul Clark’s private cell phone number. Paul was one of Terry’s medical school buddies, but he was also her gynecologist, and more recently, her lover.
“Ashlie, is everything okay?” he asked. He’d seen the unfortunate newscast the night before.
“It is. I’m sorry about everything. I made bail and just have to wait for my trial now, but they are being lenient because it’s my first offense and it is a custody issue.” It was a lie, but it sounded good. “Paul, can you meet me for coffee?”
He looked at his watch. It was an office day, and his nurse practitioner was seeing patients with him that morning. She could manage alone for a while.
“I can,” he said. “Do you have a place in mind?”
“How about the coffee shop at the Marriot, out on the highway?”
“Ashlie…”
“Paul, please. Terry told me today he’s seeing another woman.”
