by Brandy Blake
“I’m sorry breakfast is only half done, and I can’t finish it. You can eat what I made, I’ll pick up something on the way to see Johnson.”
“Good luck.” She kissed him. “I know you’ll convince him to stay with you!”
He smiled. “I hope you are right!”
“I have faith in you, sweetie.” Amanda smiled up at him. “I think I’ll sleep a bit longer and get up later.”
“Alright, I’ll be back as soon as I can. Maybe, I’ll even be back before you get up!” He kissed her one last time and rushed out.
**
Amanda woke up later and stretched. It was so quiet in the house without Mike. She trudged out to the kitchen and pulled out the pancake batter she found in the refrigerator. She made her food and pulled up her computer.
She wrote an email to Janice and checked to see if Hope for Paws had responded. She was elated to find an email from them. They wanted to use her idea. They’d be starting the idea in June of this year. They hoped that she would help them out, and they even offered to pay her for her services.
“Awesome!” she congratulated herself.
She was bored, she didn’t know what to do, so she decided to hop in the Jacuzzi tub and take a bubble bath. She hoped Mike would come home soon, or at least send her a message to let her know anything.
The hours passed slowly and she puttered around his house. It was too cold to go outside for long. It wasn’t like Arizona where she’d go outside and sit in the sun with a good book and enjoy the heat.
Amanda missed Bow Tie and her friends. She realized just how much she missed them, now that Mike was gone. She wondered if she should have added the extra time to her trip.
She wanted to send him a message to see how he was doing but she didn’t want to interrupt his work either. Instead, she found some of his books, and picked one up.
She cuddled up on the bed, and covered up with the blankets, and immersed herself into the book. It was some sort of Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel, it was called, “Double Exposure” by Piers Anthony.
She normally didn’t really like these types of books, but soon she found herself intrigued by the story and didn’t want to put the book down. Wow, I never thought I would love a fantasy novel, she thought.
Her stomach began to growl, and she looked at the time, it was already 6 at night, and still no word from Mike. The time had flown by as she had been reading the book. She got up and found something to cook, she would make them both supper; she hoped he’d be home soon.
She looked at her phone to make sure it was working. She turned it off and then back on, it seemed to be working just fine. But, there was nothing from Mike. She began to worry and wondered if he was okay. He’d left at 8 in the morning, shouldn’t he be home by now?
Amanda cooked and fretted about Mike. By the time supper was done, she still had heard nothing from him. She put his food on the stove, to try and keep it warm, just in case he showed up at any moment.
She brought a blanket out to the couch and sat and read the book more. Thankfully, it helped her to keep her mind off Mike. She was getting angry at his lack of consideration! Why hadn’t he updated her?
She called Janice, her best friend, and the one who had more common sense. Amanda admitted that she might be overreacting. But, it was hard to not worry about him.
“Hey, Janice. Mike left at 8 this morning, and I haven’t heard from him all day. Do you think I should call the hospitals?” she rushed out as soon as she heard Janice pick up.
“Well, hello to you too. Now tell me what you just said but talk a little bit slower,” Janice said.
“Sorry, I’m just worried right now. Mike got a call from his work today, he owns his own company. One of his clients was going to pull their business, because of some campaign Mike’s company did for them that they didn’t like.
“He left to go and talk to the owner of this company. I haven’t heard from him at all today, and he’s not home yet. I am worried that he might have gotten into an accident or something. Should I call the hospitals to see if any accident victims came in?” Amanda asked.
“Okay, for one thing, they won’t share any names with you, you aren’t married to him. So, if there was an accident, it might not even be him. What time is it now, and how long has he been gone?”
“Almost 13 hours now,” Amanda said.
“How far does he live from where the client’s company is? Do you know this? Maybe it’s a long drive. It sounds like he was rushed this morning, and you didn’t have time to find out how long it might be until he got home. I think you might be overreacting.”
“I know I’m overreacting, I’m more pissed off than worried at times. But, then I get worried and scared that he might be hurt or lying dead on the side of the road or something.”
“Have you called him?” Janice asked.
“No, I didn’t want to interrupt if he was with the client,” Amanda admitted.
“Just make a quick call and make sure he’s okay. It will stop you from worrying.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Thanks, Janice.” She hung up and dialed Mike’s number.
He picked up the phone, he sounded like he was out of breath. “Hi.”
“Well, at least I know you aren’t dead on the side of the road now,” she said.
He laughed. “No, I’m just busy right now.”
“Sorry to bother you.” She hung up, she was pissed. He had laughed at her fear. He hadn’t sounded like he had thought of her all day long.
“Fine, if you are too busy to talk to me, maybe I’ll just leave,” she said out loud.
She packed her bags. She got the clothes out of the dryer that she’d washed earlier and looked up the next flight out of London.
Amanda stopped. “I’m overreacting; stop for a minute and think this out, girl.”
She sat hard on the bed, tears of anger floated down her face. They poured out of her tear ducts. Why was she so angry at him? A little bit ago she had feared he’d been dead, but now she wanted him dead. She hated this type of mood swing. Sometimes… being a sensitive female sucked, like right now, she thought.
She tried to make a list of why she should stay, and why she should go.
On the stay side, she had listed, because I want to spend some time with Mike. I love him. I don’t know when I’ll see him again. He makes me feel wonderful, and he’s an amazing lover.
On the go side, she had listed, he’s inconsiderate, and he was gone all day long. I have to leave anyway, and maybe it will make my heart hurt less if I leave now. She knew the last comment on this side of the list was bullshit. She’d feel like she was dying when she couldn’t see him.
However, he had hurt her when he had laughed at her concern. It had made the anger spike inside of her heart. She wanted to hurt him, as much as he had hurt her. She knew this was quite immature thinking on her part. But she was really pissed as hell right now. She considered.
She couldn’t even concentrate on the book as she tried to read more of it. She decided to try a bubble bath to calm down. Amanda really didn’t want to spend the extra money on a quick flight out, it was quite expensive.
Plus, she knew running away wasn’t the answer. She needed to face her problems head on, she just wasn’t sure if she could not freak out on him, whenever he finally showed up.
It had gotten even later, she had hoped that he would call her back when she’d hung up. But, he hadn’t dialed her back, and this only added to her anger. Her rational thought was to just relax and take some deep breaths. But it was getting harder to be rational at present.
The hot water of the tub helped out somewhat and the bubbles made her a little happier. She remembered the time she and Mike had the bubble fight, and she felt the tears as they streamed down her face.
“Why did you have to be such an inconsiderate asshole today?” she asked no one. She wished he would at least call her back.
Why had he been breathing hard? she thought, and the worst
possible scenario came into her mind. She pictured Mike making love to another woman. It had been the only time she had heard him breathing hard before. She cried, could he have rushed off to see another woman?
She guessed it might be possible. Perhaps he was a liar, and he’d had another woman he’d been seeing. She could have called him, upset that she hadn’t seen him in a while.
After all, he’d been spending a lot of time with her. It would make sense that another woman would be up in arms right now and tell him he had to come and see her. He’d have to rush off to ensure that he still had her, when Amanda left in a little over a week.
Was she overreacting? It was possible. But, once again the rational side of her brain was on a break. All she could think of was the worst possible scenarios were happening right now. He hadn’t called her all day, because he’d been convincing the other woman that he loved her.
She cried hard and looked up the flights once more. She could go and stay in a hotel even if it was too expensive for her to fly out today. Amanda liked that idea, she would go and stay at the hotel by the airport for the next seven days. It would ensure that Mike most likely wouldn’t find her.
He’d probably be happy, he could make sure his regular girl was being taken care of. She called a taxi and walked out his door. She didn’t bother leaving him a note.
It would serve him right to worry about her, like she had worried about him all day long. She hoped he even cried when he found her gone, but, she was sure he wouldn’t.
She turned one last time to look at his house and sighed. “It is for the best,” she said as she climbed into the cab and slammed the door.
“Good bye, Mike,” she whispered under her breath as the cab drove away.
Chapter12
Mike walked in the door and noticed how quiet it was in his house. He called out for Amanda. “Amanda, where are you?” he yelled as he looked around. He moved through each room and couldn’t find her.
He finally noticed that her suitcase was gone. “What the hell?” he asked out loud. “What’s going on?”
He dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. Perhaps something happened at home, and she had to fly back quickly. Her dad was having some sort of procedure in the next couple of weeks.
He hadn’t asked what it was, but perhaps he had a heart attack or something, and she flew back to be with him. Surely, she would have left him a note, or something, though. Unless, she was too upset and had hurried out the door to get home.
Mike paced as he waited for her to answer her phone. There was no answer. If she was on a flight though, she wouldn’t be able to answer. Would the call have even gone through? He was sure, he just knew that he had to know if she was okay.
He hadn’t meant to be gone all day long, however, the client had been extremely upset. It had taken him a while to smooth things over, he had to work on a new campaign and prepare him something that was much better, and that would keep the client with his company.
The man had been very difficult, not liking the first several ideas that Mike had come up with, and he had worked late into the night. He’d gotten home a bit after 11 at night. He had expected her to be up waiting for him or sleeping.
She had called him earlier in the night, just to make sure he was okay. Maybe he should have called her back? But, he had been busy trying to save his business, she should understand that.
**
Amanda looked at the phone as it rang, it was Mike. She didn’t want to talk to him, he’d hurt her today, and she had moved to a hotel. She was sure he hadn’t been working all day long. She looked at the time he had finally called, it was almost 11 at night. That meant he might have finally got back to his house.
“Fuck off,” she said as she threw the phone onto the bed. She wanted nothing to do with him. Her heart ached with the pressure of the fresh wounds of heartbreak. She hoped it wouldn’t last too long.
She called Janice and told her that she was in a hotel by the airport.
“Why, what happened?” Janice asked.
“I called him, and he answered it, he was breathing hard. I’m sure he was off having sex with another woman. He laughed at me when I said I had worried that he was on the roadside, dead. So, I hung up on him, he never called me… not until just now, at 11 at night. Fuck him! If I could I’d come back right now! But it is just too expensive to get a flight that quickly,” Amanda said.
“I’m sorry sweetie. Are you sure he was having sex? I mean there are other reasons people breathe heavily. Maybe, he was joking around with you. I don’t know. But, really, did he give you any reason to believe that he was sleeping with another woman?” Janice asked.
“No, not really. But he didn’t call me all day long, he didn’t let me know he was okay. He didn’t even see how I was doing. It was very inconsiderate of him,” Amanda said.
“Honey, you could be right. I mean, he didn’t call you all day long. For a guy who convinced you to stay for extra time and pleaded with you that he wanted to spend all this extra time with you.
“Yeah, I can understand getting called away for work. But, he should have taken the time to call you at least once,” Janice agreed. “I hate to think he was doing it, but really it makes sense. If you are with another woman, you don’t call another one.”
“Yeah, I know, and it explains why he didn’t call me back when I hung up. I didn’t want to admit it either. But, honestly, I don’t think there is any other explanation.”
“I could send you the money to buy the ticket to leave now. How much is it? Or I’ll just buy one, and you can pick it up at the counter. You can’t sit around by yourself for the next ten days and wallow in this misery. It would be best to come home and be with friends and family.”
“I will pay you back, I promise.”
“No need honey, I love you. I don’t want you to be hurting so much. I’ll call you back with the details. How close are you to the airport? Just so I don’t make it impossible for you to reach it in time for the flight,” Janice asked.
“No more than thirty minutes away,” Amanda said.
“Alright, I’ll call you right back.” Janice hung up the phone.
Amanda cried as she waited for Janice to call back. I thought he loved me. Her world crashed around her as her mind continued to play games with her heart.
Amanda picked up her phone when she saw Janice’s name on the display. “Hey Janice.”
“Okay, your flight is on United Airlines, and you leave from Terminal B at 1:45 am. You can pick the ticket up when you check in.”
“Thanks Janice, I will pay you back I promise. I got a new contract with Hope for Paws. They liked a project I did for the class.” She burst into tears as she remembered the seminar with Mike.
“Oh honey, just get to the airport. I’ll pick you up when you get here, and we will talk,” Janice said.
“Okay. I took one of his books. I’ll have to send it back to him later,” Amanda said.
“Don’t worry about these things now, okay. I’ll see you in a while. Try and get some sleep on the way home.”
“I’ll try,” Amanda replied.
**
“Oh, honey, you look horrible.” Janice wrapped her arms around Amanda when she picked her up at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, when her plan came in.
“Gee, thanks.” Amanda chuckled lightly, though she felt no laughter in her heart.
She had taken the Piers Anthony book from Mike’s house. She held it on the plane, like it was a cherished item. Something that held a piece of Mike in it. But, it hadn’t made her feel any better. Instead it had made her wonder if he had enjoyed the time with the woman, he had left her at home, to go and see.
No matter the betrayal, she still felt the love in her heart for him, and that angered her. She was mad at herself. She wanted to stop feeling anything for Mike. However, she couldn’t stop thinking about him, and wondering why he’d done what he had done.
“Come on, I’ll buy you some
of that coffee that you love at the shop near your house,” Janice said.
“Okay.”
They were seated in a corner booth. Amanda had her hands wrapped around the cool coffee drink. She couldn’t have done this in London, it would have been far too cold. But, here in Arizona, it was the perfect drink. The sun was up high in the sky, and it beat down on the desert, the air was warmed to a skin-tingling 80 degrees early in the morning.
She felt a bit revitalized by the warm weather, it helped her feel just a bit better. The woman that sat across from her had made her smile more than once already.
“I missed you so much, Janice. I swear, I wish you could have been there with me.” Amanda smiled at her.
“I would have loved to come along with you. But, this damn merger, I’ve been busy. Too busy, John has been complaining about me not spending any time with him lately. Even though he works in the same office and knows how darn busy I’ve been.” Janice sighed loudly.
“Is everything okay between you two?”
“Yeah, he’s just not been as busy at work, and hasn’t gotten a new case yet. The next one that comes in should be his. Once that happens, he’ll forget about spending time with me!” Janice laughed lightly.
“Good, I’d hate to know everyone else’s life has turned to shit, like mine.” Amanda felt the tears well up as they threatened to spill from her eyes.
“Your life isn’t shit. Look at this new thing with Hope for Paws. That was something that you would have never picked up, if you hadn’t done that project in the seminar. How much are they going to pay you?” Janice asked.
“We still have to go over the details. I’m supposed to go to their corporate office this next week. I really hadn’t planned on getting paid for it, so I have no clue how much, to even try and get in the negotiation,” Amanda admitted.
“This depends on several things. Will you have time to work on other projects, or do they want you full-time? If so, you will need to make up for the money you would lose from the other clients you’ll have to drop, or that you can’t pick up? Make sure to make it worth the time. But, if you are able to still maintain your other business, just make it a nice amount that gives you a bonus.”