several moments, neither of us spoke. The only thing to be heard was our loud, frustrated breathing and the cat’s concerned meows.
“So you do work with this woman,” I said.
Andrew nodded.
“How much does she want?”
“She came up with the crazy figure of five million dollars.”
“Are you serious?”
“She wanted me to leave you, I wouldn’t, and I told her it was best she find another job,” Andrew explained hurriedly. “That’s when she claimed sexual harassment.”
I shook my head, disgusted. “So we’re going to lose everything.”
“She hasn’t sued—yet. She’s threatening to.”
“If you don’t leave me,” I said. A statement, not a question.
“I…I guess.” Andrew threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know what’s going on in her warped mind.”
I turned away from Andrew, rethinking my earlier position on how I’d feel if he got hit by a bus. A million thoughts going through my mind, I wandered toward the window that faced the backyard.
I looked out at our deck. Two years ago, we’d added a gazebo and a hot tub, but we hardly used either. We had everything we needed for romantic nights and weekends right here, and yet our romance had fallen by the wayside.
“Maybe you should,” I began slowly. I turned. “Maybe you should go to her.”
“No!” Andrew protested. “I don’t want her!”
“If it will stop her from suing you…” I said the words, but I didn’t really mean them.
Andrew rushed toward me. I didn’t move. Not even as he placed both hands on my shoulders.
“I don’t want her,” he repeated. “Yeah, I screwed up. I learned my lesson the hardest way possible, but I’m going to make this right.”
I said nothing. I felt only numb.
“I think I know how to make her go away. Make the problem go away. I got some good advice from my lawyers.”
I said nothing.
“Say something, Sophie. Please.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want your forgiveness. I know it won’t be today. Maybe not tomorrow. But I want to know that at some point in the future, we’ll be back to normal.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible.”
Andrew nodded grimly as he lowered his hands from my shoulders.
“I hope she was worth it,” I said softly.
My eyes blurring with tears, I pushed past Andrew to the kitchen. I opened a cupboard, pulled out the first mug I saw, which happened to be one we’d had specially made with our photo on it. Before I could place the mug on the counter, Andrew was there, taking it from my hands.
“I’ve never wanted anything more than I want your forgiveness,” he said. “I know you’re angry. And you have every right to be. But these past few days without you have been the worst days of my life. I still love you. And I don’t want to lose you. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back. If that means we’re not together for a few months, so be it, but I need to know I’ve got a reason to hope. Hell, if you want to have an affair to even the score, do it if that’s what you need to do. Do it and then come back to me and let’s move on.”
“So now you want to pimp me out to someone else?” I asked, aghast at the suggestion.
“No! Of course not. But I hurt you. Maybe in a situation like this you need to hurt me back.”
“You need to go now.”
“I don’t want to leave. Not like this.”
“Now.”
Andrew stared at me, but my hard expression gave him no cause for hope. Sighing in frustration, he turned. He made the short walk to the hall table where he’d deposited his keys, scooped them up, then walked past me to the front door.
The moment the front door clicked shut, I hurled the mug against the fridge, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
5
I was on my second glass of wine when I called Marnie.
“Hello?” she said sweetly.
“It’s only me, Sophie, not TRULYACUTIE.”
“Hey, Soph.”
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Nothing special.”
“Good. Then we should go out. Somewhere hot and happening. Maybe even CityWalk at Universal Studios, where all the tourists go hoping to get laid.”
“You all right?”
“But you’ll have to pick me up, okay? Cuz I’m already drinking and a little fucked-up.”
“Sophie—”
“Whenever you’re ready.” I hung up.
Forty minutes later, Marnie was at my door. “Hey, girl!” I trilled, and pulled her into a hug. “Ready to party?”
Breaking the hug, she took a step backward and eyed me with concern. “What the heck is going on?”
“You mean besides the news that Andrew’s slut is suing him for five million dollars?”
Marnie stepped into the house and closed the door behind her. “Oh, my God.”
“No, it’s fine.” I waved off her concern. “I’ve got it all figured out. Andrew can go live with her so she doesn’t sue him for everything, and I can fuck someone else—with my husband’s blessing, even.”
“Okay, you’re making no sense.”
“Time’s a-wasting.” I wiggled my hips. “Let’s go par-tay!”
Marnie took me by the hand and led me to the kitchen, where she deposited me on a chair at the table.
“What are you doing?” I protested.
“First of all, it’s five-thirty, way too early to go partying. Secondly, you’re drunk. And third, you need to back the fuck up and explain what you just said. Andrew is being sued?”
My false bravado crumbled, and I burst into tears. Of course, the wine I’d consumed helped my tears flow a little easier.
I
