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Faith smiled through the stab of guilt in her chest. She had just lied to Michael for the second time in as many days. She hated that.
***
Ellie was walking back to her sister’s place from a coffee shop. She looked preoccupied, her cherubic face furrowed with lines as she contemplated the stresses of her life. She didn’t notice Faith calling her until the agent stepped in front of her.
She shrieked, jumping backwards. She stared at Faith in shock, one hand on her chest. “Faith?”
“Hi, Ellie,” Faith replied. “Can we talk?”
Ellie blinked and recoiled slightly. “Faith, what are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to you,” she said. “Can I? You can pick the place.”
Ellie recoiled even further and said, "And if I say no?"
Faith met her eyes and said nothing. Ellie pales slightly and sighed. “Fine. My sister won’t be home for a couple of hours. We’ll talk at the house.” She looked around. “Where’s your dog?”
“Turk’s at home,” Faith said. “It’s just you and me.”
Ellie cast her a wary glance, which Faith returned with a warm smile. Ellie returned a brief smile of her own, then led Faith down the street. Faith didn't tell Ellie that she already knew exactly where Ellie was staying.
As soon as they were inside the house, Ellie crossed her arms and said,“Do I get to know why this couldn’t wait until I came home? You’ll have to forgive me, Faith, but it seems a little suspicious that we don’t talk for months and then you follow me to Oklahoma City. I know you don’t like me, but we could have had an adult conversation about that instead of—” she gestured around, “—whatever this is.”
“This is an adult conversation,” Faith said calmly. “You’re going to tell me what’s really going on between you and Michael.”
Ellie laughed, a single, snorting scoff. She rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in exasperation. “Of course,” she said. “That makes sense.”
She looked at Faith contemptuously and put a hand on her hips. “So what?” she asked, “Are you upset because Michael fell in love with me? You want him back, and he’s not looking, is that it.”
This time, Faith rolled her eyes. “No, Ellie, I’m not jealous. I’m concerned.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Ellie said. “Michael tells me that he loves me and doesn’t want to be with you anymore. If he’s telling you something different, then you’ll have to take that up with him. I know I will.”
“I’m not trying to sleep with Michael,” Faith insisted. “I’m trying to figure out what your game is with him.”
“Mygame?”Ellie said incredulously. “Faith, you are utterly delusional. You’re insane! Oh my God! There’s no game, Faith. I’m in love with Michael. He’s the man I want to spend my life with. You had him, you lost him, now he’s with me. Deal with it!”
"For the last time," Faith said, "I'm not jealous. I'm concerned. You say you love him, but you stiffen every time he touches you. You say you want to spend the rest of your life with him, but it takes you almost a year after meeting Michael to finalize your divorce, during which time you're in regular contact with your ex-husband."
“Oh, for God’s sake, Faith!” Ellie said. “I swear to God, you hear hoofbeats and think a thief holding a boombox playing the theme to an old Western show as a distraction while his buddies rob a bank. Faith, I was married to Franklin for ten years, all right? Ten years. It’s not so easy to just walk away from that. I wasn’tcringingwhen Michael touched me, but he’s the second man to have ever touched me, and after being certain that I would spend forever with Frank, it was an adjustment for me, a lot more than it was for Michael.
“And yet, I’ve made that adjustment. I’ve divorced Frank and moved in with Michael. I’m wearing Michael’s goddamned ring!”
She held up the gold circlet with a sizable diamond on her left hand’s ring finger. “I moved on, Faith!” she finished. “Time for you to do the same!”
But Faith wasn’t listening anymore. Something Ellie had said had fired every alarm in her head.
“You said his name was Franklin?”
Ellie blinked, “What?”
“Your ex-husband,” Faith repeated sternly, “What did you say his name was?”
Ellie blinked and took a step backwards. “Franklin. Franklin West.”
The world spun around Faith. She took a step backward and sat slowly, coming to rest on her backside on the concrete.
Ellie mouthed Faith’s name, but Faith didn’t hear her. She didn’t hear anything over the pounding in her chest.
