The Friends We Keep (Mischief Bay)

by Susan Mallery

  “I’m scared,” she admitted, as they pulled up to the valet. A young man opened her door and she stepped out. Mostly because staying in the car didn’t seem like a reasonable option.

  Jairus, all sexy in a dark gray suit, complete with a tonal shirt and deep blue tie, walked around the car to stand next to her.

  “Let’s work this through,” he said lightly. “We have tickets, we each have a date, although mine is much better-looking than yours. Did I mention you look totally hot in that dress?”

  “You did and I appreciate it.”

  The dress was the most expensive article of clothing she owned. The Alexander McQueen pleated leaf crepe design had a squared-off sweetheart neckline that was cut low enough to be supersexy without showing too much. The dress itself was fitted to her hips, then flared out before ending well above her knee.

  She’d nearly decided to wear something else. After all, this was a dress she’d bought for an event while she’d still been married to Eric. The need for something new had passed quickly. Her life hardly lent itself to fancy events, so why spend the money when she could recycle?

  Jairus smiled at her. “We’re going to have a good time. We’ll watch the movie and then later we’ll talk about it. Hell, we can spend a couple of hours trashing Eric. I’m game. Or we can go back to my place where I’ll try desperately to seduce you. Desperate being the operative word.”

  Despite the nerves, his words made her relax. She smiled at him. “There’s something wrong with you.”

  “I’ve been told that before. I wonder if it’s true.”

  She stared into his dark eyes. He was very sweet. Not just with her but with Tyler. He was funny and kind and dependable. He got her. Talk about an unexpected bonus, she thought.

  He held out his hand. “Ready to beard the lion in his den?” He frowned. “Is it lion or dragon? Do either of them have beards? Who thinks this stuff up?”

  She laced her fingers with his and turned to the entrance to the theater. A few photographers stood waiting. There were small crowds of fans, there for the movie stars. Nicole wondered how many people were already inside and if she would see Eric at all. Not that she wanted to. It was just being at a movie premiere was so surreal, she wanted to be prepared.

  “I’m ready,” she said firmly, hoping that by saying it, the words would be true.

  “Then I am, too.”

  They joined the short line of people being let into the theater. The photographers glanced at them, then away. They weren’t anyone, she thought humorously.

  The lobby walls were covered with huge posters from the movie Disaster Road. There were sofas and comfortable chairs set up in seating areas. Servers circulated with trays of appetizers and glasses of champagne. A hundred or so people stood talking.

  Nicole wondered how many were with the production and how many were guests.

  “Did you read anything about the movie?” Jairus asked.

  “No. I thought about it, but then figured we were going to see it. Did you?”

  “No. I wanted to be surprised.”

  “Let’s hope it’s a good one.”

  She laughed. “I alternate fear and apprehension.”

  “That it will be good?”

  The question surprised her. “I expect it’s going to be great. I don’t mind if Eric does well. I don’t wish him ill.”

  “A lot of ex-wives wouldn’t be so generous.”

  She thought about the article his ex had written and the horrible things she’d said about him. “I’m not vindictive. I have flaws, but that’s not one of them.”

  A voice over the loudspeakers directed everyone to their seats. She and Jairus went upstairs and sat in the balcony. The theater quickly filled up and Nicole spotted the stars, the director and Eric down in front. The executive producer appeared onstage and introduced himself and the main players, then promised to answer questions after the showing. Then the lights dimmed and the movie began.

  Nicole hadn’t known what to expect. Knowing Eric as she did, she wondered if she would hear his voice in the dialogue or see parts of him in the story. She’d been curious whether parts of their life would be woven into the action. What she hadn’t expected was to find the hero’s wife to be a caricature of herself.

  The wife was blonde, shrewish and obsessed with her body. A former dancer, all she worried about was exercise and what she ate. She was a nag and so over-the-top annoying that she became the comic relief in a fast-moving action plot.

  Nicole felt herself flushing. Heat burned on her face as she saw just enough of herself to know there was no mistaking what Eric had done. He’d taken the very worst parts of her and had blown them out of proportion to add humor to the story.

  No wonder he hadn’t wanted her to read the screenplay. She’d been his muse, but in the worst way possible.

  Three-quarters of the way through the movie, the bad guys kidnapped the wife and the audience actually cheered. When the hero kissed the new love interest, Nicole heard sighs. And at the end of the movie, the wife was cast aside as the action star took up with his new lady love.

  She didn’t know what to say or do. Of course that wasn’t her. She wasn’t obsessed with her body. Yes, she cared about being healthy, but part of that was because she owned an exercise studio. It wasn’t wrong to want to be fit.

  She told herself that Eric’s view of her was like a fun-house mirror—the truth was distorted. Yet a part of her wondered if that was how he really saw her. How much was poetic license and how much was his version of the truth?

  The lights came on. She forced herself to relax, to smile, to turn to Jairus and say, “What did you think?”

  “It was better than I thought it would be,” he admitted. “I didn’t like the hero as much as I could have, but it was good.”

  That was it?

  “The wife was based on me,” she said quietly.

  “What? No way. Nicole, you’re nothing like her.”

  He was wrong. Maybe he hadn’t seen it, but she had. What she didn’t know was what Eric had been thinking. Had she ever meant anything to him? Had she been little more than a means to an end? She’d always thought they’d married because they were in love. Now she wasn’t sure. Maybe getting her to support him while he wrote his screenplay had been his plan all along.

  Jairus stood and drew her to her feet, then escorted her out of the theater as the Q and A session began. When they were in the lobby, Jairus guided her to a corner and touched her cheek.

  “It wasn’t you,” he said flatly.

  “It was. She was so horrible. Maybe that’s how he saw me. Maybe it’s what he needed to do to leave the marriage. I’ve never understood him and now I’m more confused than ever.” She thought about all she’d been through, all the blame she’d assumed. She pressed a hand to her stomach. “I’m not feeling very well. Could you please take me home?”

  For a second she thought he was going to refuse, but instead he nodded. “Of course. Let’s go get the car.”

  * * *

  There were times, Hayley told herself, when wounds could only be healed by a burger, fries and a milk shake. And this was definitely one of those days.

  She slid into the booth at Gary’s Café. Nicole sat at her side while Gabby settled in across from them. Their impromptu lunch had come about through a series of quick text messages. The casual “Hi, how’s it going” had spiraled to “I need some girlfriend time.” So here they were.

  Hayley realized she hadn’t been out with her friends since her surgery. They’d been really good about coming to visit her, but there hadn’t been a lot of her getting out. Now she looked around and admitted she’d missed the world a lot.

  “How is everyone?” she asked.

  “Good,” Gabby said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

&nbs
p; Nicole shrugged. “Same old, same old.”

  Hayley looked at them more closely. She saw tension in Gabby’s posture and something that looked a lot like hurt in Nicole’s eyes.

  “Okay,” she said, putting down her menu. “What’s really going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

  The other two women exchanged a look. Hayley leaned forward.

  “I’m not dying or breakable. I’m doing fine. Don’t keep things from me. What is it?”

  Nicole groaned. “I went to Eric’s premiere a couple of nights ago.”

  “What?” Hayley wanted to slap herself. “I thought it was next week. I’m sorry. I would have called and asked about it.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t. I needed time to process what I saw.”

  “How was the movie?” Gabby asked.

  “I honestly don’t know. The audience seemed to like it. Of course they were all friends and family, so what were they going to say?” She bit her lower lip. “No, that’s not fair. The reviews have been good. Trust me, I’ve read them all.”

  Hayley knew there was a problem, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

  “You don’t care that Eric’s successful, do you?” Gabby asked, sounding doubtful.

  “No. Not really. I just...” Nicole sighed. “I don’t know him. I did, only I didn’t realize it. I can’t figure out how we got together, let alone married. And that movie.”

  Their waitress appeared. “Afternoon, ladies. Our milk shake of the day is peanut butter cookie, which is as good as it sounds. The guacamole burger is our deal of the day.”

  Hayley felt her stomach grumble in anticipation. She hadn’t been very hungry lately, but now she felt as if she could eat two burgers and all the fries.

  “I need a minute,” Gabby said.

  “I’ll be back in a few,” the waitress promised with a smile and left.

  Gabby stared at her menu. “I’m going to have something decadent and I honestly don’t care about the calories. I accept the wrongness of that.”

  “It’s not wrong,” Hayley told her.

  “I hope you’re right.” Gabby looked back at Nicole. “What about the movie?”

  “It was...” She glanced away, then back at them. “I’m the villain. Not the real one. He’s trying to blow up the city. But the wife is based on me and she’s awful. Whiny and self-absorbed. I recognized a few things and it was really hard. I’m so embarrassed.”

  Hayley turned toward her friend. “You’re none of those things so I don’t know how you could be in the movie.”

  “I just am. Trust me. Now I get why Eric didn’t want me reading the screenplay. I think he took out all the frustrations he had in our marriage in that character. There’s a rawness to their relationship that rings true. At the end, she gets kidnapped and is totally humiliated by the bad guys. Everyone cheered.”

  “You’re an awesome person,” Gabby told her. “We love you. You’re a great mom, your classes are popular. It’s not you.”

  Nicole didn’t look convinced. “It’s more than I’m afraid people will guess it’s me and think that’s what I’m really like. It’s that... Eric’s view of me is so different than my view of myself. It’s scary, in a way. Plus, I thought...” She sighed. “I know we’re divorced, but I didn’t think we were enemies.”

  “Maybe he got carried away,” Hayley said. “Listening to the voices in his head. We all tell stories. Like me with Morgan. Saying my parents loved her more. Lately I’ve been wondering if that’s true. She said something a while ago. About me being chosen. All this time I’ve thought she was the special one because she was theirs. What if it wasn’t that way at all? What if all this time, she’s been jealous of me?”

  “Why wouldn’t she be?” Gabby asked. “You’re the one everyone likes.”

  Hayley thought about the last few months and how Morgan had acted. “My sister is kind of a bitch.”

  Nicole laughed. “You’re just now getting that?”

  “Seriously,” Gabby added. “We all have T-shirts for the ‘I hate Morgan’ club. You want one?”

  “Maybe.” Hayley shook her head. “No. I take that back. I don’t hate her. I think she’s difficult and selfish and she takes advantage of people. All my life I saw her getting attention. I believed our parents loved her more because she always got her way. But lately I’ve been thinking. Maybe it’s different than that. Maybe they acted the way they did out of self-defense.”

  “To keep her from burning down the house?” Gabby asked.

  “Something like that.”

  “I always thought it was so interesting,” Nicole said. “How you two are different. I know you’re adopted, but it’s more than that. Talk about different personalities. You’re kind and gentle. A real giving spirit. Morgan sucks all the air out of a room. Everything has to be about her.”

  Hayley nodded. “She certainly screamed louder than me. Than anyone, really. So they listened because they had to. Morgan swears I was the favorite. I wonder if I simply looked at the situation from my perspective for so long that I forgot there was a bigger picture. Maybe it’s like that with Eric. You’re caught up in your point of view.”

  “What would be a different one?” Nicole asked.

  Their server returned. Hayley opened her menu, then surrendered to the inevitable. “A cookies and cream milk shake,” she said. “And the guacamole burger.”

  “Wow,” Gabby breathed. “I am so impressed. I’ll have a vanilla milk shake and the bacon burger.”

  “Chocolate mint for me,” Nicole told their waitress. “The guacamole burger with sweet potato fries.”

  “Wild woman,” Gabby teased.

  “You know it.”

  Hayley waited until their server left before continuing. “Eric abandoned his wife and child. I can accept your marriage ending. It happens. But he has no excuse for what he did to Tyler. I think deep down he knows he was a jerk, but most people can’t live with that, so they tell themselves another story. Whatever you saw on the screen isn’t you, Nicole. It’s what he tells himself to justify what he did. We all have our own personal truth, but I don’t think it has much relationship with reality.”

  They both looked startled.

  “Wow,” Nicole said slowly. “That sounds really wise. I never thought of Eric having to make things right with himself. But he does, doesn’t he?”

  “He’s the one who quit his job without discussing it with you,” Gabby reminded her. “He’s the one who withdrew from the marriage. You tried to make things work and he wanted out. Now he basically ignores his son. Everyone gets part of the blame in the failure of a marriage. You did things wrong, I’m sure. But most of it falls on him. He has to reconcile that. Maybe the character in the movie is part of that.”

  Nicole relaxed a little. “I hadn’t thought of it that way. I just felt so humiliated. Like everyone was pointing and staring.”

  “What did Jairus say?” Gabby asked.

  “He didn’t think it was me.”

  “Then no one else will. People are amazingly self-centered and dense.”

  Nicole looked at her. “Speaking about anyone in particular?”

  “Candace.”

  It took Hayley a second to place the name. “Andrew’s ex?”

  “That’s the one. While we’re on the subject of parents who deserve to be bitch-slapped, Candace has decided she doesn’t want to see Makayla anymore.” Gabby brought them up to date on what was happening with her family.

  Hayley thought about all she’d been through to have a baby. She genuinely couldn’t understand people who were blessed with a child and then ignored them. It made no sense. She would have given anything to have that relationship. She’d nearly died because of it.

  “Makayla must be crushed,” she said.

  “She is.
” Gabby sighed. “I don’t know what to say to her. I know I can’t make it better, but boy, do I want to try. I hate feeling so useless.”

  Their waitress arrived with the milk shakes. Hayley let the cool, thick, sweet treat melt on her tongue. She felt the beginnings of a sugar rush as her world righted itself.

  “There’s no bad in this,” she whispered.

  “You know it, sister.” Gabby grinned.

  Nicole laughed.

  “It’s kind of funny,” Hayley said. “You and Makayla seem so much closer than you used to be. I never would have guessed things would work out that way.”

  “Me, either. Andrew and I still carefully avoid the topic of what to do when the baby’s born.” Gabby sipped at her milk shake. “Okay, this is going to sound completely crazy, but I’ve actually thought he might be right. About me staying home with her kid.”

  Hayley felt her eyes widen. Nicole’s mouth dropped open.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.” Gabby looked down at the table, then back at them. “I’m not loving my job. It’s so boring and I’m working way more hours than they’re paying me for. For the first week, I figured it was because I was rusty, but now I think they’re shoving things at me to see how much they can get out of me. I know it’s a nonprofit, but I’m only supposed to be working twenty hours a week. I’m working more like forty.”

  Hayley winced. “When? You have three kids, a house, a husband.”

  “Tell me about it. I stay up late, get up early. It’s hard. Especially when I think about how little I’m getting paid. I don’t know. Then I think about all the women who are struggling just to put food on the table and I feel guilty for complaining.”

  “You get to complain,” Nicole told her. “We all do. Someone else’s circumstances have nothing to do with you.”

  “That sounds completely rational,” Gabby agreed. “If only I could believe it.”

  Hayley got that. Guilt was powerful. It was like fear—it sucked up all the air until a person couldn’t breathe.