by Hannah Ford
I don’t need your reassurance, Nicole wanted to tell her—so save the phony sympathy. She decided there and then that she’d been right about Gia, and that she shouldn’t have doubted her first instincts, which had been to hire Rick instead.
Red came back into the room. “Sorry everyone, but that was work. We’re having a call with one of our big potential clients and I need to get back to the office pronto. Gia?” he said, beckoning her to follow him.
Nicole got up and ran over to him, hating that it felt like she was chasing after him. Gia was practically in-step with her and she had an urge to throw an elbow.
“Red,” Nicole said, “we need to talk about the guest list. We should have had those invites in the mail like yesterday.”
Red sighed and checked his phone. “Listen, I don’t have any time today. But let’s do it first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I really need to do it sooner.”
“Tomorrow morning isn’t soon enough? Have them do a rush order, spare no expense.”
“Promise you’ll do it tomorrow morning, no excuses?” she pleaded.
He took her by the shoulders. “I swear to God. Now, I have to go. Love you.” He gave her a quick kiss and then he and Gia were off. Nicole watched them go, and Gia’s round, firm ass swayed back and forth as she hurried after him like a pet terrier.
When Nicole returned to the living room, the mood was somber.
Her mother said nothing, just raised her eyebrows elaborately.
“What?” Nicole said, annoyed.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Well she seems like a nice girl,” Marcie cooed.
“That’s one way of putting it,” her mother muttered.
Nicole couldn’t even focus. She hated that her jealousy had reared its ugly head again so quickly. She’d told herself that she wasn’t going to let things like this bother her. After all, Red had shown no interest in hiring Gia—he’d made it perfectly clear that he was fine with hiring Rick, and Nicole had been the one to push the girl back into the mix.
And now she was resenting Red for it, which made no sense.
“I hired her,” Nicole said. “She’s a nice young girl with an impeccable resume.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s impeccable about her,” Nicole’s mother quipped.
Marcie stifled a laugh. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t help it. The girl has some serious assets. I’ll give her that.”
And now the two older women were cracking up, laughing so hard they were practically in tears.
Nicole sat on her couch in a state of shock at what her life had become.
***
The rest of the day, Nicole’s tension only grew.
Her mother and Marcie were long gone, and she was glad of that. Truth be told, they’d accomplished a lot in their time together. She’d picked a venue for both the ceremony and the reception (The Branford Mansion near the University of Connecticut), chosen what kind of flowers and tablecloths she wanted, and finally decided on a design for the invitations.
But by the time the wedding planner had left, Nicole was starting to second-guess her decision to hire Marcie. The woman was obnoxious, boisterous and overbearing. And she seemed to be a package deal with Nicole’s mother, which was perhaps the worst part of it all.
Nicole went and took a very long, hot bath and tried to soak away her tension.
She kept her cellphone on the edge of the bathtub and watched it with an eagle eye, hoping that Red might find just a moment or two of free time to call or text her and tell her he loved and missed her.
Nicole had begun thinking wistfully back to their time together in the cabin, when none of their worldly problems had interfered with their love. Now it seemed like the whole world was conspiring against them, keeping them further and further apart as their respective responsibilities increased.
Red was so busy with this new company and it was almost all he thought about or did, day and night. Of course she knew that was what it took to start a new business, but she at least hoped that he could spare a brief second to say he loved her.
And now this wedding was growing into something bigger than she’d really intended, but Nicole didn’t know how to stop it. She needed Red to really help her understand what people he truly wanted to have attend the wedding, and who he didn’t want or care either way about.
Stay calm, Nicole reminded herself, as she sat in the tub soaking until the skin on her hands and feet began to resemble prunes.
Stay calm. Tomorrow morning it will all get better. We’ll settle this ridiculous guest list once and for all and I can start to relax.
That night, Red came home so late from work that Nicole was already sleeping in the master bedroom. She’d fallen asleep with the TV on, watching bad reality shows about bitchy rich housewives. It had been the wrong choice of viewing material for the kind of mood she was in.
Red woke her up as he was settling into bed for the night.
“Hey,” she said, groggy from sleep. “What time is it?”
“Late,” he replied. “Go back to sleep, babe.” He slid under the covers and rubbed her back.
“I miss you. What were you doing so late?”
“Working on this pitch for Erikson Bikes. They could be a huge first client if we get it right.”
“Was Gia there?”
“She works at the company, honey. You’re not thinking straight—you’re half asleep.”
Nicole lifted her head and gave him an angry look. “I’m not half asleep. I know Gia works with you. But was she there until you left tonight?”
He sighed. “Yes.”
“Who else stayed?”
“I don’t know. Pretty much everyone.”
For some reason, Nicole was becoming convinced that it wasn’t just everyone staying late and working together, sharing little jokes and fleeting, flirtatious touches. It was just Red and Gia, and now he was lying because he knew she’d be angry with him if she knew.
“You could have at least called me, Red.”
“I’m sorry. I just got so caught up at work, babe.” He moved close to her and kissed her neck.
The warmth of his body and his affection soothed her a little bit. “You can still call me and just say you love me,” she whispered.
“I will, from now on. You know how much I need you and love you, though. Right?”
She nodded, snuggling close to him.
And then she was asleep before she even realized it.
When Nicole awoke again, Red was already out of bed and in the shower. She was feeling tense, but not as upset as she’d been yesterday. Instead, she was looking forward to finally nailing down this guest list so that she could email it to Marcie, who would in turn forward it along to the vendor. From there, it would be printed and mailed out.
Nicole got up and threw on some sweats, went downstairs and started breakfast. Chef Roland was on vacation and she was kind of glad. She enjoyed cooking for Red, and he really enjoyed eating what she prepared. This morning she made his favorite—chocolate chip pancakes and sausage links. It was a thank you to him for finally making time to work on this list for the invitations, which Nicole knew he hated. He didn’t want to think about the stuff with his mother and brother and God only knew what else. She understood that.
By the time he came downstairs in his blue suit and red tie, she had his plate ready for him.
“Nicole, you didn’t have to do that,” he said, but she could tell he was very pleased just the same.
“Come on, sit down and eat up,” she said. “I’m going to grab my laptop.”
“You don’t need your laptop,” he said, cutting up his pancake and starting to eat.
“Why?”
“Because, I already—“ he looked down at his pants and patted his pocket.
Nicole heard the familiar buzzing sound of his cell phone and then he was answering. “Yeah?”
She clenched her fists involuntarily as she listened to
his side of the conversation.
“I kind of have something I need to do right now,” he said. “Can’t they handle it without me?”
She heard the far away mumblings of a female voice. Red shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Right. But we could just re-shoot…yeah. Yeah. Fine. Tell them I’ll be there but I’m not happy about it.”
He got off the phone and looked at her.
“Don’t say it,” she warned him. “You promised me we’d do this.”
“That was Gia. There’s been an issue with the video shoot they’re doing this morning. They had to fire the director and they need me there to figure out what’s next.”
Nicole put a hand to her forehead. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. What video shoot?”
He stood up. “We’re shooting a video for the Erikson Bikes pitch. I’m losing money every second that goes by. I need to get down there and try and salvage this thing.”
“Not before we talk about the guest list.”
He stopped and put his hands on his hips and his expression was strained. “Come on, Nicole. Give me a break, here.”
“You said you’d do it. You’ve been putting it off every time I ask and now you’re putting it off again. We need to get these invitations out.”
“Listen, I printed out all of my contacts and addresses yesterday and brought it home with me. It’s got everyone in there. When I get home tonight, you and I can go through every single one of them…”
“You didn’t print anything out.”
“I did. I brought it with me last night and it’s right upstairs. But now something unexpected came up and I just don’t have time to go through it all. I’m sorry.”
Nicole’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m getting so sick of being put third behind your work and…everyone else.”
“Everyone else? Who else do I put ahead of you?”
“Gia,” she said, hating herself for sounding like a fifteen-year-old spoiled brat.
“Gia?” he said, stunned. “You hired her, Nicole!”
“Because I got confused. I didn’t realize she was going to become your new wife. She sees you more than I do!” She slapped the table in frustration.
“I don’t have time for this,” he said. “I love you—“
“Just go, don’t lie to me again about how we’ll do it later.”
He looked at her, his face flushed, his eyes dark with barely repressed anger. “I love you, Nicole. And we’ll deal with this tonight when I get home.”
She just shook her head and didn’t even look at him. She wanted to scream. In all honesty, she wanted to pummel his chest and have a fit like a little kid. Only it wasn’t cute or funny or silly. She was truly enraged.
Red left and the door slammed shut. When she heard his car engine start, she yelled. “Go fuck your little whore!” as loud as she could, knowing there was no way he could hear her.
It felt both good and awful at the same time to say those words. Not that she honestly believed he was having sex with Gia. It was just the feeling it gave her when he left home because Gia was calling him, the knowledge that they were spending days together while Nicole was left home.
She felt powerless. Every decision she made, although intended to make things better, only seemed to make the situation worse.
Nicole went upstairs to the master bedroom and surveyed the room. On the desk she saw a thick stack of paper and walked over to look at it more closely. It was the contact list Red had mentioned, along with phone numbers and addresses.
It was simply enormous. It would surely take them hours and hours to go through all of these people and decide who could come and who could not.
She flipped through and felt a simple, pure rage at his refusal to make even the slightest attempt to assist her with the guest list.
“Fifty people?” she muttered. “Fifty people?”
There was simply no way they could cull this list down to fit a wedding size of fifty people. Not unless Red’s intention was to insult almost every friend, contact, and family member in existence, by only inviting a handful of the hundreds of people he knew.
Nicole’s blood was boiling. She called his cell phone and it went directly to voicemail. Rather than leave a message, she hung up.
What to do with this list? She asked herself.
No answer was forthcoming. She supposed she would just have to wait for his return late that night and hope he would deign to give her a paltry few minutes of his precious time for her silly wedding planning.
Nicole slammed the thick book of contacts back on the desk and started to leave the room. Just then, she heard the loud ring from the downstairs phone, the one that was connected to the security gate.
She ran downstairs and answered, breathless.
“Ma’am, this is Derek, out front with security.” He explained that Danielle was at the front gate and requesting to be let in.
Surprised that Danielle hadn’t bothered to call her in advance, Nicole told him to of course let her through.
Then she went out front to wait for her friend.
A couple of minutes later, a yellow cab pulled up out front and Danielle got out, sobbing—her face a mask of tears. Nicole instantly had the horrible sensation that Kane Wright was dead.
“Oh my God, Danielle, what happened?”
Danielle could barely speak through her sobs. Nicole literally couldn’t understand her. “Come and sit down,” Nicole said, trying to calm her. “Tell me what happened.”
The cabbie got out. “Hey, she said you’d pay me?”
Nicole looked up. “Oh. Yes, sure. How much?”
“Eighty-seven fifty,” he told her. Nicole quickly went and got her credit card and paid the driver, who promptly left.
Danielle was still sobbing on the front steps
Nicole was growing concerned and frustrated with her friend’s inability to speak a coherent sentence. “Danielle, you need to tell me what’s going on.” She sat down and took her by the shoulders. “Can you do that?”
Danielle nodded, still wailing. She started to speak but it was gibberish mostly, garbled by her wracking sobs.
Nicole went and got her a glass of water and then came back. “Here, drink this,” she said, rubbing the girl’s back. Danielle was without shoes, wearing only a light summer dress. Her hair was disheveled. She had no purse, nothing with her, no phone.
Maybe she’s been assaulted or raped. If it was Kane, Nicole thought, then he was going to pay big time for this.
Finally, Danielle’s tears began dissipating enough for her to speak and be understood. “I had to get away from him,” she cried.
“Of course you did, sweetie. Did he hurt you?”
Danielle began to shake. “I decided to make him an omelet this morning. Broccoli and cheese,” Danielle said. “I got up early and got everything ready so that when he came to the kitchen he’d have fresh orange juice, coffee, and eggs just the way he likes it.”
Nicole listened attentively, waiting for when the first punch would be thrown. She looked at Danielle’s face, searching for bruises, but she didn’t see any. “And then what happened?”
“He took one…b…b….bite,” Danielle said, turning to Nicole and bursting into a fresh round of tears. “And then…”
Oh, no, here comes the punch, Nicole thought, bracing herself for it.
“And then he said he needed to show me a thing or two about making an omelet.” Danielle started to cry. Snot bubbled from her nose.
Nicole just stared at her. There has to be more, she told herself. Be patient because there has to be more than this. “It’s okay,” she soothed, rubbing Danielle’s shaking back again.
“Kane got up and started making a brand new omelet,” she said. “He told me to come over and watch so I could learn the proper way to do it. And he was talking about this famous French chef who’d taught him and it was so rude and insulting.” Danielle was crying again now, not as out of control as before, but the tears were
streaming down her cheeks. “He was so…so…condescending…and mean. He’s a big bully. I told him so. And he told me that I’m just naïve and ignorant of the wider world or something. And then I yelled at him and he yelled back at me and…and…I left. I had to get out of there.”
She fell into Nicole’s arms and sobbed for a while longer.
Nicole found herself feeling angry with Danielle for how immature and silly and overdramatic she was being. Then Nicole reminded herself how many times Danielle had been there for her during moments like these. So Nicole tried to be patient, even though she was annoyed and her fuse was decidedly short from everything that had gone on in the last twenty-four hours.
Finally, Danielle wiped her eyes and tried to laugh. “I needed that,” she said, laughing.
“I know how it is,” Nicole told her. “Being married to a very powerful, confident man can be incredibly difficult.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I’ve been there,” Nicole said. “It will get better, I promise.”
“Really? You think so?”
“Yeah, I do.” She forced a smile. Sure, things got better. Then they seemed to get worse again—best not to mention that part.
“Enough about me,” Danielle said. “I need to focus on something else, something fun. Tell me about your wedding. What’s going on with it?”
Nicole felt her stomach clench like a fist. “Nothing much is happening.”
“What? But you told me how busy you were going to be planning everything. If I were you and I had a chance to have a big, fancy wedding with all of those famous people, I’d take it. But Kane would never show me off to the world the way Red does you, because Kane is ashamed of me.” Danielle’s expression was positively bitter. “You got the good one, it turns out.”
“Don’t say that,” Nicole said. “I’m sure Kane loves you more than anything.”
Danielle shrugged and screwed up her face. “Tell me something about the wedding. I need to live vicariously through you.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“Oh, come on, Nic. Did you at least decide on a date?”
“Seriously, Danielle. I don’t really want to get into it right now.” Her tone was harsher than she intended.