Meddling in Manhattan

by Kirsten Osbourne

  He shrugged. "We're eating late. It's after eight-thirty. I'm sure everyone is off doing other things by now."

  "Do you mind eating so late?" she asked, glancing at him over the top of her menu. Not that they had a choice. The store didn't close until six, and she didn't make it home until seven. If they wanted to eat out, they had to do it late.

  "Oh not at all. I enjoy eating any time I remember to."

  She read over the menu selections and closed her menu, waiting patiently for him to do the same. When he set his menu down, he reached across the table and took her hand. "Tell me about the book you're writing," she urged.

  He shrugged. "Oh, it's just a boring science fiction book. Dragons and princesses in a far-away land. Nothing to write home about." He chose his words carefully, not wanting to give away his identity. He had seen his books on the shelf in her room, so he knew she was a fan. Unsure of why he didn't want her to know yet, he assumed it was just because he enjoyed the illusion of having a wife who cared about him because she liked him. Not because of money. Of course, he knew he should have already told her, and he would soon. When he figured out how.

  "Really? Sounds fascinating! What will you call it?" She leaned forward in her chair as she asked, making sure he knew she was extremely interested.

  "I haven't decided yet."

  "Really?" she asked. "I'd heard that the next Roger Holiday book would be called Dancing With Dragons. Did I read wrong?"

  His eyes widened, and he frowned. "How'd you find out?"

  "Does it really matter? It was easy to put two and two together and add up to the fact that my husband is a lying pig."

  The waiter stopped at their table, looking back and forth between them as if he'd heard what Addie had said. "Can I get you some drinks?" he asked, looking like he was almost afraid to interrupt the conversation.

  "I'll have a Sprite, please," she said sweetly, not looking at Jake.

  "Coke."

  The waiter nodded. "I'll be right back with your drinks and to get your order." He hurried away, obviously not wanting to be any part of the conversation taking place.

  "Addie, you have to believe me. I never meant to hide it from you, but when women discover that I'm Roger Holiday, they all go insane and immediately profess undying love for me. I wanted you to get a chance to know me, Jake, and not be worried about how much money I make or what kind of books I write."

  She shook her head. "And did I pass your test? Am I good enough to be married to the great Roger Holiday?"

  He sighed. "Please don't be angry with me."

  "How could I not be angry with you? Every single book you've ever written is on my shelf at home. You knew I was a fan, and you never said anything. Our whole marriage is built on a lie!"

  "I never meant to lie to you!" He hadn't been thinking about how she'd feel about his deception. He'd only been worried about making certain her feelings were real.

  She shrugged. "A meaningful lie and a lie by omission result in the same thing. They're both lies."

  He shook his head. "I just wanted you to have a chance to get to know me, Jake. It's hard for everyone I meet to know I'm Roger Holiday, and expect me to act accordingly." He closed his eyes for a moment, worried this was something she wouldn't be able to forgive him for. It had never really occurred to him just how angry she'd get. "I'm really sorry I deceived you. Can you forgive me?"

  "I honestly don't know. You're my husband, the man I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with, and I've just found out you lied to me for the first two weeks of our marriage. It's a hard pill to swallow." She'd been raised to always forgive. God forgave all of her sins. And she probably could forgive. But could she trust again?

  "I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you. I swear." His eyes pled with her to understand.

  She sighed. "It's not about making it up to me. It's about whether or not I can trust you again." She eyed him skeptically. "Is there anything else you're not telling me?"

  "I can contribute a lot more than two thousand a month to our living expenses," he said with a half-grin, knowing that would be good news and not bad. "Um...I have a house in Montana that I'm not sure if I'll sell. My parents deeded it to me when I graduated from college."

  "Is that all?"

  "I don't get a discount at my friend's place in South Dakota. He expects me to pay full price." He racked his brain for anything else that he could have lied about, either by omission or on purpose. "I think that's all. If I can think of anything else you need to know, I'll tell you right away."

  She sighed. "Where do we go from here?"

  He shrugged. "You tell me. I need to finish my book I'm working on, but it'll be done soon. After that, I'll take a week off, and we'll have some extra time together. Does that work?"

  "I guess." She didn't know how to explain how hurt she felt about his deceit. Especially when the fan girl inside her was dancing with joy. She was married to her favorite writer. "I rearranged my schedule so I'll have Saturdays and Sundays off from now on. I'll get the laundry and everything done during the day on Saturdays. Can you spend Saturday evenings with me?"

  He nodded slowly. He wanted to spend time with her, so he would. He might have to get up in the middle of the night to write, but that would be nothing new for him. His schedules were never what anyone would call normal anyway. "I can make that happen." He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "Thank you for giving me another chance."

  She nodded briefly. She wasn't certain she was giving him another chance so much as doing what she promised to do in the contract. But she wouldn't break the contract. Before she could say that, their food arrived.

  She'd work at forgiving him, of course, but trusting? That would be a long time coming.

  Chapter Six

  Addie spent Saturday doing all the chores that had been put off during the week. Now that she realized they had more money to work with, she would set up laundry pickup and delivery for the following week, but it was just too late to mess with it. She spent the morning in a laundromat around the corner from the apartment, reading one of her husband's books. It was strange to realize that they were his as she read, but she was starting to like the idea.

  The stories that she loved had been created in the mind of the man she'd married. When she looked at him, she saw him differently. Maybe that was why he hadn't told her. Maybe he didn't want her to see him differently.

  When she got home, he was still tapping away at his keyboard, which was no surprise. She was starting to think the man wasn't happy unless his fingers were typing away at something. She put the laundry away, and then pulled out her laptop to order their groceries for the week. She cleaned the bathroom while waiting for the groceries, and when the groceries arrived, she put them away, made sandwiches for both of them, putting his beside him on the desk, and started dinner in the crock pot.

  She cleaned the entire apartment around him, and he only spoke to her when he got up to go to the bathroom. She was amazed that he could be so focused on something that nothing seemed able to penetrate the mental walls he built up around himself. She wasn't certain if his intense focus made him admirable or just plain annoying. Either way, he was hers for the long haul. She didn't believe in divorce.

  *****

  Addie enjoyed introducing Jake around at church on Sunday. Part of her wanted to scream that he was the famous science fiction writer, Roger Holiday, but most of her recognized that would make him uncomfortable. He was simply Jake, her husband.

  No one had known she was getting married, because she hadn't wanted to have a huge number of people at her wedding. With three sisters and three brothers, and their families, the wedding had been big enough already. Matchrimony had brought in the preacher who married them, so she even had to introduce him to her pastor and his wife, both of whom were very welcoming of him.

  They took a cab to her parents' house afterward. She told him she didn't mind taking the subway, but he shook his head. "No point working as hard as I do
to take the subway. We'll take a cab."

  Addie wondered if she'd ever be able to just casually spend more money than she needed to on something, just because she had it, but the answer was clear to her: she would. She really already had by setting up laundry services. She certainly was able to spend hours every Saturday morning working on their laundry, but why bother? She could throw a little money at it, and avoid the task, doing something she enjoyed for a change.

  When they arrived at her parents' house in Brooklyn, she wished she could make everything magically right between her and Jake, if only for a few hours. Her parents would notice something wasn't right between them. She didn't want to deceive them, but even worse was the idea that they would realize something was amiss. In this case, deception was the only real answer.

  She stopped on the sidewalk leading up to the house and looked at Jake. "My parents need to think everything is perfect between us. I really don't want them to worry."

  "I wish we could skip straight past making your parents think everything is perfect to everything being perfect again. I'll do my best, though."

  "Thanks." She said nothing in response to his wish as they walked up to the house. He'd chosen his path. She'd try, but it was hard to regain trust. If she could do it, she'd snap her fingers and make it happen, but she knew that would never work. Nothing she could think of would.

  Her father stepped outside as they reached the front door. "I was starting to wonder if you two were going to stand out here talking all day."

  Addie walked into her father's arms, hugging him tightly. She rested her head on his broad shoulder, wishing for a moment he could make everything better for her. She wanted to cry, but she kept a smile on her face as she pulled away. "So good to see you, Dad."

  Billy Myers eyed his youngest child. "You happy?"

  She nodded. "Jake's a good man." And she knew he was. She just...didn't trust him any longer. "I'm going to run in and say 'hi' to mom." She passed her father, unable to withstand his scrutiny for another minute as she hurried to the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

  Her mother spun around from the sink, where she was peeling potatoes. "Well, look who the cat dragged in!" Carolyn's eyes went up and down her youngest daughter. "I guess he didn't kill you after all."

  Addie had to laugh at that. "Did you really think he would?" Surely her mother had known she was just being silly about that.

  "Well, how was I supposed to know? I'd never met the man, and neither had you!"

  "Why don't I finish peeling the potatoes? I know that's hard on your back. You take a break." It was a smooth change of subject, but more than that? It was the truth. Her mother had injured her back long before Addie was born, and she'd grown up doing her best to keep her mother from doing anything that would make her hurt more than she had to.

  Carolyn gladly stepped away from the hated chore. "I'll set the table. How was that place in South Dakota? Was it nice?" She got down plates and glasses as she talked.

  "Oh, it was really amazing." While Addie peeled the potatoes, she described the resort and the way they'd kept it preserved. "It was really like stepping back in time. I'd love to go again sometime if I get the chance. I can't imagine anything that would make me feel like I was back in the time period more than that did."

  "Sounds like an interesting place to visit. Maybe I can talk your father into taking me there for our forty-fifth anniversary. I wouldn't mind trying the 'healing waters' for the arthritis in my knees. Or my back either for that matter."

  Knowing her mother had always been one to go for natural remedies over traditional medicine, Addie wasn't surprised at all. "I don't know if there will be any real healing benefits, but I know you'll enjoy it."

  Carolyn smiled. "I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Any time spent with your father is good time."

  From anyone else the words would have sounded false to Addie, but she knew her mother meant them. Her parents got on each others' nerves at times, but they always loved and stood by each other. "I don't have any idea what it costs. Jake paid for it."

  Carolyn eyed her daughter. "He should have paid for it. Are you two having money issues?"

  "Not in the way you mean. We have plenty." Addie swore to herself she wouldn't say another word. She didn't want her mother to know how her husband had deceived her.

  "Oh. I thought he was a writer," Carolyn said with surprise.

  Was her mother where she got the notion that writers were all struggling and none of them could support themselves? "He is. He's a famous science fiction writer. He's my favorite writer actually." Addie tried to sound like it was every day a girl married her favorite writer.

  "I had no idea! I won't worry so much about him murdering you then."

  "Do you think famous people can't be murderers? I'm not sure why you think that way, Mom. Look at Phil Spector. He killed his wife. He was famous."

  Carolyn frowned at Addie. "Are you trying to make me worry more?"

  "No, I'm not. I just don't think you should believe someone is good just because they're famous. Not everyone famous is good, just like not everyone who's not famous is bad." Her mother's ideas about life amazed Addie at times.

  "But there's less of a chance he'll kill you. Isn't there?"

  "He's not going to kill me. Don't worry about that so much." Addie shook her head at her mother as she put the potatoes on the stove. "What else can I do?"

  "Get the pot roast out of the oven and whip up some gravy." Carolyn walked to the table and sat down. "I need to sit for a few minutes." Her back issues made it so she couldn't be in any position for long.

  Addie grabbed some oven mitts, removed the roast, and started the process of making gravy. "Has Dad talked any more about doing consulting work for the city?"

  "He's decided against it. He likes not having to wake up to the alarm clock for a change, and he decided he doesn't want to give that up."

  "I can understand that." Addie hated mornings herself, but they were a necessary evil.

  "Heather's having a baby." Heather was Addie's second oldest sister. "They're really hoping for a girl this time."

  Addie smiled. "After four boys, I would expect so. Why else would they be having a fifth?"

  "Your sister loves being a stay at home mom, just like I was. Do you think there's any chance you'll stay home once children start coming?" Carolyn didn't think women should work once the babies started coming. She thought it was fine and dandy to have a career, but not if you had children. Everything should be given up at that point.

  Addie shook her head. "No chance at all. I have a store to run. I love what I do. There's no need for me to stay home." How many times did she have to explain it to her mother? She was choosing a career. Yes, she'd have a family when she was ready, but that didn't mean she had to stay home with the children.

  "Will Jake take care of the baby while you're at work?"

  "I think we'll probably just hire a nanny, but we're not even planning on thinking about it yet. Not for at least a year." Addie knew her mother wanted more grandkids, but she had fifteen and two more on the way. She could wait. "Gravy's done. Do you want the potatoes mashed?"

  "Yeah, go ahead and mash them, please."

  As soon as she was finished, Addie put a big bowl of mashed potatoes on the table. She added the gravy, meat, and carrots. She filled glasses for everyone before calling the two men to eat. "I hope you're hungry. Mom cooked enough to feed an army."

  Billy and Jake seemed to be engrossed in conversation. "We're coming!" Billy looked at Jake. "My wife is going to make me eat this as leftovers for a week if you don't eat a lot and rave about it. Then she'll send some home with you. I don't care if you throw it away, just don't make me eat it forever."

  "Yes, sir." Jake winked at Addie. "I'm going to rescue your father from the leftovers," he whispered.

  Addie shook her head. "Mom's going to figure it out, and then you'll be on her poop list too!"

  Jakes eyes twinkled as he asked, "Poop list? Real
ly?"

  She shrugged. "You know what I mean. I don't use those words, and I especially don't use them in my mama's house."

  He chuckled, putting a hand to the small of her back. She wanted to push it away, because she was still annoyed with him, but she didn't want her parents to know there was anything wrong between them.

  When they were all seated, her father said a prayer for them. When Jake's hand found hers under the table, she didn't push him away. Instead she held tightly to his hand for the prayer.

  "How're things going at the store, Addie?" Billy asked as he served himself a huge portion of the mashed potatoes.

  "Oh, really well. Bailey did fine while I was gone. No mistakes that I can find, and she didn't have to call me even once." She took a bite of her roast. "Mom, this roast is great." She had always loved her mother's cooking, and this meal was no exception.

  "Thanks! It's your dad's favorite!"

  Billy looked at Jake with pleading eyes. Jake took the hint. "This is wonderful, Mrs. Myers. I wish Addie had more time to cook this way." Truly, he was more than satisfied with the food Addie cooked for him. She provided much better than frozen pizza, which was about all he ever fed himself.

  Carolyn gave Addie a look. "I was just telling her she should plan on staying home once you start having children."

  Jake wiped his mouth with a napkin. With as angry as Addie still was, he wasn't sure they'd ever be able to have children, because she may never let him touch her again. "I think if and when children arrive, we'll probably get a full time nanny. I can't take time off work to care for a baby, and I know Addie cares more about her store than that."

  Carolyn frowned. "You're not even planning to raise your own child? I raised you better than that, Addie!"

  Obviously her mother thought shaming her in front of her new husband would make her change her mind. "Yes, you did. But you also raised me to be strong and think for myself. I know what I want, and I want to keep running my store. It makes me happy."