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We reluctantly climbed out of bed and slipped back into our clothes. I was still tying my hair up into a bun on top of my bed as I wandered out into the kitchen with my face stretched in a yawn.
But I stopped cold when I saw him standing there.
My eyes scanned the room, taking stock of the situation. Claire was sitting at the kitchen table, smiling and sipping coffee like nothing had happened. Like her husband hadn’t just abandoned her at the hospital (again!) and then stayed out all night with no explanation of where he was. I knew Chris hadn’t bothered coming home the night before because I got up in the early hours of the morning to get a glass of water and to check on Claire. She was sleeping alone, and his car wasn’t in the driveway.
“Good morning,” Chris said sheepishly. “I made everyone breakfast. But I should get going. I’ve gotta go to work. Enjoy.”
He rested a skillet of eggs and bacon on a potholder on the counter, then went over and kissed Claire on the forehead. I cringed and looked away.
Keith came in behind me and cleared his throat, maybe trying to distract me and keep me from going off.
“I should get going, too,” he said.
“I didn’t know you stayed here last night,” Claire stated, staring us both down.
“He slept on the floor,” I blurted defensively.
“Yeah, we stayed up late talking about the marina,” he explained. “We had too many beers. I couldn’t drive.”
“Oh, good. Better to be safe than sorry,” she shrugged. “Otherwise…you ruin lives.” She nodded towards her wheelchair, case and point. “Or try to anyway. I don’t think my life is ruined at all, really.”
“That’s my girl,” Chris smiled before waving and turning to leave.
I looked away to roll my eyes, then went to the fridge to pull out the coffee creamer. Keith went out behind him, shooting me a knowing look on his way out. He knew what I was about to do. I had to tell Claire the truth.
I couldn’t dump it all on her right away, but I couldn’t hold it in for too much longer, either. I tried to stay calm as I made a cup of coffee, avoiding the breakfast that Chris made. I didn’t want to touch anything he cooked out of spite, no matter how hungry I was.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked, taking the seat across from her at the table.
“I did. Pain meds. They do wonders for sleep,” she smirked.
I nodded and blew across my steaming coffee mug before taking a small sip. “Chris didn’t come home last night?”
I said it as a question, even though I already knew the answer. I was treading lightly while I still could.
She looked out the window with a strange calmness to her. “Yeah. We talked. He felt so guilty about everything yesterday. He couldn’t face me. I wish he’d man up and stop running from his mistakes like that. But you know…baby steps, I guess. None of this has been easy for any of us.”
“I’d argue that it's been a hell of a lot easier for him than it has been for you. You can’t run away from any of it. He should be sitting in it with you.”
I felt bad as I said it, not because I thought it was too harsh. It was the brutal truth, and she needed to hear it. I felt a tinge of guilt because I was telling her she needed to find what I had found in Keith. She deserved someone who sat in the darkness with her, the way he had done for me the night before. While I was wrapped up with him in so much comfort and security, she slept alone…and she was the one who needed those things the most. It hurt to think about the ironic contrast of it all.
“He feels terrible,” she said softly, as if that made it any better.
“I need to tell you something,” I forced myself to say, even if my voice was shaking.
She put down her coffee and stared back at me in rapt attention. “Okay. I’m listening.”
“You told me to tell you if I ever found out Chris was cheating on you. If he was doing more than just flirting.”
She deflated a little and shifted in her chair, then sucked in a deep breath. “I did tell you that.”
“Do you still feel that way? Would you still want to know?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“Okay, good. Here goes.” I inhaled, exhaled. “I saw Chris kissing another woman outside the hotel across from the grocer’s yesterday. They went inside together.”
Once the words were out there, I couldn’t put them back in. As much as I hated to see my friend hurt, it felt good to say something about Chris that was tangible proof of what a jerk he was—something more than just a feeling of me not liking him or never believing anyone was good enough for her.
