“Fine. I will leave, but Marilyn? Once you’ve calmed down, we’re going to talk about this, and you’ll see I haven’t lied about anything. All I’ve ever done is given you everything I have. Obviously, that isn’t good enough for you up on your mighty throne.” He walked out the gate and didn’t even slam it shut.
I was left in my backyard seething in anger. So much for relaxing.
I went back in the pool to cool off my body and my temper. After a few laps, my heart rate started to come back down. I hung on to the edge and did the breathing exercises Alice had taught me to do.
Damn him!Damn him for not being who I thought he was when I met him.
* * *
It had beena few days since the yelling match in my backyard. I’d had a lot of time to think since then, and there was only one thing it all boiled down to. Why would he lie to me about that? What would make him lead me to believe he had no children? Did he really think I would never find out? That’s what didn’t make any sense at all.
The last few days were stressful. I hadn’t realized just how much Chris did when he was helping me. I wasn’t an invalid and could take care of myself, but it seemed I just got one chore finished, and another one was beckoning for my attention. Between that and replaying that awful fight over and over in my head, I wasn’t doing much relaxing.
I had to return to the office the next day, and I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Chris daily again. There had to be some way I could swap him out with one of the other PAs. I really did wonder if Cheryl would be my best option as I knew she had the hots for him. The only thing that stopped me from thinking about it seriously was the thought that I might be wrong and end up making a fool out of myself when she refused.
Suddenly, I heard some giggling outside, so I went upstairs and looked out my bedroom window into Chris’s backyard. A sharp pain seared into my chest when I saw the source. It was Chris and his daughter playing catch. They looked so incredibly happy together, and suddenly I was jealous. I was jealous that they were having so much fun while I was stuck up here feeling sorry for myself.
I’d never thought that I would have children. It wasn’t something I ever thought about. When all my friends were playing with dolls, I played with my dinky cars. When I got older, and my friends were taking ballet, jazz, tap, and gymnastics, I was playing baseball, soccer, and bowling, and I was on the chess team and debate team. When my friends were putting on make-up and talking about boys, I was an army cadet out in the woods doing survival training. I was such a tomboy. When my friends were screaming because there was a spider or insect nearby, I was learning to shoot targets. By college, most of my friends were male. I also never wanted to get married. All my friends talked about getting married like it was the only thing they ever dreamed about. Instead, I dreamed about righting wrongs.
The next day I decided to leave my hair down again and wear the sexiest dress that I owned. Not only did I want to make Chris desire me and feel like he was missing out, but I wanted the partners to sit up and take notice that I was the best choice for them to make their next partner.
I put on my best smile and walked into Mr. Farthington’s office with my head held high.
“Mr. Farthington, good morning. How was it around here last week?” I asked.
“Quiet. It just wasn’t the same without you here, I have to say. You really liven up a place. I’m impressed with how you were able to get all your work done without one hiccup. I’m assuming you're ready for court today?”
I nodded. “I certainly am. I had meetings this morning to review everything with my two witnesses, and we are good to go.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Fantastic job, Marilyn. I hope you were able to get some relaxing done on your office hiatus?”
“Yes, sir. It was a productive week on all fronts,” I assured him. He didn’t know the half of it.
When I returned to my office, I sat at my desk for several minutes. What was he talking about? There wasn’t really that much that went on work-wise last week other than getting things in place for my court appearance today. Then it dawned on me. Chris. He must have taken care of everything else. How did he do it all? He was at my place all weekend and every evening as well as many lunches. And how did he do all of that with a child in tow?
And where was he anyway? It was almost 11:00 a.m., and I hadn’t seen him at all. Maybe he’s running some sort of errand. I picked up my phone and dialed Laura’s number. “Would you please let Chris know that court is at 2:00 p.m.?”
“I’m sorry, Marilyn, but Chris is not in the office today. I don’t have any idea when he’ll be back. He called in early this morning to say he would be off for a couple of hours. I’m not sure of the reason, but he did call back a few minutes ago to say he didn’t think he’d be back for the day,” Laura told me.
I was stunned when I got off the phone. My blood pounded through my veins like thunder. What was I going to do now? I had so much to do before court, and I was counting on him to do at least half of what needed to be done. How could I possibly do it all by myself?
My next thought was that I hoped everything was alright. He’d said he needed to deal with something. What could that have been? He was in the backyard with his daughter last night, and he looked happy. He didn’t look like he was ‘dealing’ with something. I desperately needed to know what was going on.
I called his cell.
Fifteen times.
No answer each time.
I finally left a message.
No, make that two messages.
I also texted him a bunch of times.
Where is he?
SIXTEEN