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Jenny and Lauren nodded, but Audrey raised a quizzical yet accusatory eyebrow. “Was this the one and only time he cheated?” she questioned, skepticism dripping off every word.
“Yes. Well, technically, since we committed.”
“But there was the other girl when you were first dating, right?” Did I need her to remind me there wasanothertechnicality on his record?
“I can’t fault him for that though, can I?” I met each of their eyes in turn. “Since we weren’t ‘exclusive’?” I asked, using air quotes. Silence followed as they exchanged glances. “I was exclusive. And I thought he was too. But as he reminded me, ‘We never discussed exclusivity,’” I mocked, using a low voice. I took a deep breath and another sip of wine. “So, can I really count that?”
They all exploded one after the other, their answers blurring into one another.
“Um, yes,” said Jenny.
“Yes!” shouted Lauren.
“Fuck yes, you can!” Audrey yelled.
I winced from the sheer volume of their rebuttals. “Okay, okay. I get it.”
An uncomfortable silence ensued as they waited for me to admit the ugly truth. “Then twice, I guess.”
“Twice that you know of,” Audrey sneered.
I nodded, feeling ashamed and stupid. I twisted my glass around in a circle on the table. “Twice. That I know of,” I agreed.
“Slimy, fucking asshole!” she said.
“And you know my motto. ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’” Jenny’s words were slurred as she raised her glass in another salute.
Lauren teased her, “Jenny, that’severybody’smotto.”
“It gets worse,” I told them.
They looked at me, waiting, it seemed, with bated breath.
“Well, are you gonna tell us? Or are you gonna make us guess?” Audrey asked, her dark eyes narrowing.
I took a deep breath, preparing to rip off my invisible bandage. “He knocked somebody up.” My words came out so fast I wasn’t even sure they had heard me.
Three pairs of blinking eyes.
Then another explosion of noise as their mouths began moving in unison.
“What the fuck?”
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!”
“That piece of shit!”
I grimaced, folding in on myself. At least I wasn’t the target of their venomous wrath—and part of me hoped wherever Tim was now, he was experiencing a pain akin to someone viscously stabbing a voodoo doll.
“Yep.” I slapped my hands on my thighs, stood up, and started pacing. “That’s about the reaction I had. At first, I got angry. Then I got sad. Then I just got angry all over again. So, I packed my stuff and left. I stayed with Nev for a few weeks to figure out what to do. But I just needed to get away from everything. The job. Him. The memories. And,voila.” I lifted my hand. “Here I am.”
“Oh, babe. I’m so sorry,” Aud said, reaching out for my hand. “I’m so sorry.” She looked at the others, who nodded in agreement.
I sat down, surrounded by my closest friends in the world.
“At least you had Nev to go to, though. She’s been a good friend,” Audrey said.
“Yeah. She’s my best friend up there.”
