20
DoomsDay
Oliver
Today is the day. Today my world blows apart.
When Hayden showed up at the clinic, it was all I could do to keep my cool and get her out of there. I wasn’t going to hash out our grievances where my boss could hear. Having it out on the sidewalk in front of the clinic wasn’t much better, and in fact, was exactly the type of negative attention my boss was afraid I’d bring to the clinic.
Of course, Hayden vacillated between saccharine sweet and menacing. One minute she was batting her eyelids and then next she was taunting and sneering. Why she thought I’d want to be with her after treating me like this is beyond me. What I realize is that her attack on me isn’t about wanting me back, it’s more about getting back at me for having left her.
Near the end of our conversation, she switched back from her threatening mode to her seductive one when she put her hand on my chest. I took her wrist, gripping it, feeling completely disgusted by it, but also not wanting to make a scene by flicking it off me.
Finally, she went on her way but not without making another threat about the tape. That is the second realization I have about her. She’s enjoying toying with me and making me squirm. I’m at the point where I wish she would release the tape if that’s what it’s going to take to be rid of her.
But no sooner had I gotten rid of Hayden than Charlotte showed up. She looked at me like I was betraying her. Somewhere inside me, I did feel guilty, but I wasn’t betraying her with another woman, I was simply betraying her for not telling her the truth about my situation.
Whereas Hayden was completely unreasonable, I had hoped Charlotte would be more reasonable and agree to take this conversation to a more private place. But instead, she insisted, demanded that we have it out in front of my workplace. I couldn’t do that.
It was surprising how Charlotte was able to bring up many of the same frustrations that I had with Hayden, like showing up out of the blue as if she was spying on me, and then demanding answers from me. I wasn’t going to go through that again, so I went back to work.
It might’ve been juvenile when the receptionist called me to let me know that Charlotte was there to tell her I was too busy to see her, but I wasn’t in the mood, and I didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize my job. It wasn’t like I didn’t have anything to do, because I was at work. I didn’t have any procedures today, but I did have consultations.
Forty minutes later, when the receptionist called me again, she let me know that Dr. Kramer was with Charlotte, and that’s when I knew I couldn’t let her sit out there by herself. Why hadn’t she just gone home or back to her office?
I did what any dutiful fiancé would do and met her in the waiting room. Dr. Kramer told me to take the rest of the day, which I actually could do today, again because I had no procedures, so I took her home to have the talk that she was dying to have.
Except now that we’re home, she’s leaving and doesn’t want to know about Hayden. I should feel relieved by that, but instead, there’s a sense of dread.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“I’ll just grab lunch and eat at my office,” she says.
“I thought you wanted to know who the woman was?”
“And as you pointed out, I don’t have any right to ask.” She takes another step toward the door.
I feel like I’m on a precipice and either side I fall from will be my doom. When Charlotte knows the truth, she’ll be disappointed in me. Maybe it’s better that she thinks I’m a womanizer than an idiot caught up in an extortion scheme by my ex.
At the same time, it feels wrong to keep it from her. She doesn’t deserve to feel like I’ve betrayed her. What she deserves is the truth. “She’s about to fucking destroy my life.”
Her brows knit together. “She’s the thing that you’ve been dreading?”
I want more scotch, but already I’m beginning to feel the warmth of the liquid, and decide perhaps it’s better not to get drunk. I go to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of water instead, then come out and sit on the couch. Charlotte hasn’t moved. She is still standing where she was when she’d turned to walk away.
“She’s very beautiful,” Charlotte says.
I look up at her, wondering what she’s getting at. “You think I’m a shallow man. After all this time we’ve spent together, you still have the same opinion of me as the day you met me.” It’s shocking how much that realization hurts me.
Charlotte comes toward me, sitting on a chair opposite me. “No, that’s not true. It was just an observation.”
“I tell you that woman is about to destroy my life, and your comment is how beautiful she is?” I shake my head because it’s clear to me I don’t understand women at all. “Why were you there anyway."
Her hackles rise slightly. “I thought it might be nice to have lunch. Clearly, I was wrong.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
Her eyebrow arches. “So I wouldn’t catch you in a compromising position?”