Naughty New Year

by Alisa Easton

  “I still haven’t decided,” she said with a sigh.

  “Well, I have it on good authority that the special of the day is especially exquisite.”

  “Yes, well, I am sure it is but you’ve forgotten one important detail.”

  “What is that?”

  “I’m allergic to fish,” she said plainly. She couldn’t come up with a nicer way to soften the blow. He’d obviously gone to great lengths to choose the restaurant in a town where he was not particularly familiar and gotten to know the foods they offered. She felt bad raining on his parade.

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since always. My parents could have told you that if you had thought to ask them.”

  “Why would I need to ask them? I was married to you for two years.”

  “My point exactly.”

  She watched his cheeks turn a slightly redder shade as he contemplated his error.

  “It’s okay,” she said suddenly feeling guilty for being so harsh, “I’ll have the chicken.”

  “You don’t like chicken.”

  “Well, that you do remember.”

  “Yes, because I was always annoyed that you refused to make chicken for dinner. It’s one of my favorite foods. Everybody eats chicken. How could somebody go for days and never make chicken for dinner once?”

  “It’s not so hard when you can’t stand the taste of chicken.”

  “Geez, Michelle, I’m sorry. I thought for sure that you’d be okay with a seafood place. Hey, why don’t we just go somewhere else?”

  “No, it’s okay, really.”

  “I want this night to be perfect for us.”

  “Steve, really, you don’t have to try so hard. Buying me dinner at an expensive restaurant isn’t going to magically make up for everything you’ve put me through.”

  “No? Well, how about this?”

  He got out of his chair and got down on one knee. His actions caught the attention of others around them who were now watching with eager expressions. This was absurd, Michelle thought, everyone thought the ultimate romantic was going to propose marriage when they had no idea what a jerk he truly was. Much to her horror, he reached for a jewelry box in his pocket, opened he lid, and offered her a beautiful diamond ring at least double in size to the original engagement ring he’d given her.

  “What is this?” she said with a dry throat.

  “Michelle, I want you to now how serious I am about starting over so I am once again getting down on my knee and begging you to please have me. I can’t imagine living my life without you in it and I would do anything to keep you. So please, please stay married to me?”

  They were surrounded by a murmur of awws and whispers as she felt her cheeks burning.

  “Get off the ground,” she demanded.

  “Please do me the honor of continuing to be my wife.”

  “Steve, you’re embarrassing me. Get off your knees and sit down and let’s talk about this like civilized adults.”

  “Take the ring, Michelle. Please.”

  He took it out of the box and held it out for her so that she could see the way it glimmered in the soft candlelight of the restaurant. She reached out her hand and let him slip it on her left ring finger where she’d abandoned her original wedding jewelry before she’d boarded the plane for home.

  “Now, sit down,” she repeated.

  The people around them erupted in cheers and clapping and she wished that she could shrivel into the chair and disappear. Thankfully, Steve sat down and despite her disgust with his proposal, he grinned widely.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” she said.

  “I’m turning over a new leaf.”

  “Who was this ring originally meant for?” she asked him taking him off guard a little. She could tell by the way he shifted his eyes to his glass and cleared his throat before answering that he wasn’t telling the truth.

  “I bought it for you when I knew that I couldn’t give up on our marriage.”

  “You bought it for her.”

  “Michelle, come on, I’m really trying here.”

  “You bought this ring for her and embarrassed me in the middle of this stupid restaurant to give it to me. What happened, Steve? Really? Did you propose on Christmas and she turned you down so you decided to settle for second best?”

  Steve started to show signs of irritation.

  “You’re being unreasonable.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You told me that you’d give me a chance and all you’ve done is attack me since we left your house. What’s going on with you, huh? Is it that other guy you’re seeing?”

  “Oh, please. At least I can be honest about the fact that I slept with another man and I enjoyed it!”

  “So you did sleep with him. I knew it.”

  “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  Steve sighed and sat back in his chair. He pulled out his cell phone and looked at the display, frowned, and put the phone back in his pocket. They sat in silence until the waitress came to take their orders and once she disappeared, Michelle took a deep breath and decided to try to make peace with the situation.

  “I’m sorry, Steve,” she said slowly, “I know this must not be easy for you. It’s hard for me to simply forget and forgive everything that happened but you’re right, I told you that I would give you a chance and I’ve not been very fair.”

  “No, it’s okay. I deserve it after everything I put you through.”

  “Why did you do it?”

  Steve sighed and shrugged his shoulders slightly.

  “I never meant to hurt you. It just sort of happened.”

  “If you loved me then how could something like that just happen? That’s the part that I don’t get. And what’s to stop it from happening again?”

  “I know it isn’t easy to believe anything that I say right now but I promise you that this time it will be different. What happened with Sharon is never going to happen again, especially now that I realize what I almost lost.”

  Steve reached across the table to take Michelle’s hand in his. She looked at their hands entwined and waited for some fluttering in her stomach or racing of her heart but nothing happened at all. They continued to talk about their Christmas and events going on in their lives as they waited for the food to arrive but in the back of her mind, Michelle kept thinking about Evan.

  She jumped and pulled her hand from Steve’s as she heard someone say her name behind her. She turned around to find Evan looking down at her in surprise.

  “Evan,” she said and then she let her eyes take in the uniform that he was wearing. She remembered him mentioning working as a waiter while he was finishing his degree but he’d never mentioned which restaurant so she didn’t expect to run into him here.

  “Michelle, I thought that was you.” His eyes went from her to Steve and then back again. She could tell that he was trying to get a read on the situation. Only moments ago she’d been sitting with her hand in Steve’s. She tried to cover the enormous diamond ring on her left hand with her right hand but she knew he’d already seen it. That probably told him everything he needed to know. She shouldn’t feel guilty. Steve was, after all, her husband. Things were exactly as they should be.

  “Evan, what are you doing here?” The question came out before she could stop herself even though the answer was rather obvious.

  “I work here. Part-time, at least anyway while I’m going to school.”

  “Oh yeah. Ummm… Evan, this is Steve, Steve this is Evan.” She made the introductions because it seemed awkward not to and although the two men shook hands, the tension in the air was palpable. They grunted an exchange as they sized each other up and she sighed. Just the scent of Evan as he leaned across the table to shake Steve’s hand made her weak in the knees.

  “Well, this answers my question about New Year’s Eve,” Evan said trying to force a smile, “It was nice to
see you, Michelle. I hope you have a good New Year.”

  He disappeared before she could answer. She got up as though she would follow him but then Steve’s voice reminded her why she couldn’t. She was here with Steve and she was wearing the ring that he gave her with the promise that their marriage would be better. There would be no New Year’s Eve with Evan. There would be no more Evan period. Before she left Chicago, she dreamed that Steve would come back in her life and tell her that he’d made a mistake and wanted her back. Now that she got what she wanted, why did she feel so sad?

  After dinner, Steve surprised her by taking her to see The Nutcracker, which she didn’t think she’d get to see this year since she hadn’t got around to buying tickets for her mom and her after spending all her free time with Evan. As she watched the characters dance across the stage she felt herself wondering if Evan would have been the type to enjoy such an event. Even though Steve brought her, she knew that he would rather be somewhere else. He only brought her here because he knew it was something that she loved and he wanted to impress her, not because he had any interest in it.

  By the time Steve pulled the car into the driveway at her parents’ house, she felt tired and emotionally drained. They walked to her front door and they stood there awkwardly looking at each other. She knew that she should invite him inside but all she really wanted to do was take a hot shower and go to bed. Alone. Steve shuffled his feet nervously as he stared at the ground with his hands in his pockets. She should say something, she thought, but she didn’t know what.

  “Thank you for everything,” she said at last, “I had a nice time.”

  “This is really strange,” he said still staring at the ground.

  “I know.”

  “I’m your husband. You should stay with me.”

  “Look, Steve, I’m really tired. I had a nice evening but I just want to go get some sleep. How about we talk tomorrow, okay? I don’t want this to get weird.”

  “Do I get a good night kiss?”

  “Steve…”

  “I checked out of the hotel this afternoon.”

  “What?”

  “I just thought that since we were getting back together that maybe I could stay with you until our flight home?”

  She sighed and felt her spirit drain. She inserted her key into the lock without saying a word. It wasn’t like she had a lot of choice. She could suggest that he go get a new room but she wasn’t that mean. She opened the door and motioned for him to enter the house and then followed. They pulled off coats and shoes and then he pulled her into his arms.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” he said pressing his lips into hers. She tolerated him for a moment before pulling away.

  “You’re moving too fast,” she said.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t stay here tonight.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Catherine interrupted, as she suddenly entered the room and embraced both Michelle and Steve each in turn, “This is your home too and you are always welcome to stay.”

  Michelle didn’t bother to protest. Catherine picked up her daughter’s left hand and gushed over the gorgeous diamond. Michelle wished that she felt half as happy about the ring as her mother did.

  “Well, I will leave you two crazy kids to your evening,” she said with a wink, “I was just on my way to bed.”

  Michelle kissed her mother goodnight and watched her disappear before turning back to Steve who watched her with a cautious expression on his face. She could tell that he was unsure how to proceed with the evening.

  “My bed isn’t quite big enough for two,” she said thinking of how Evan had pleasured her there on Christmas Day, “but you’re welcome to sleep there. I will take the couch.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’ll take the couch.”

  She nodded, grateful that he didn’t expect to actually share a bed with her again so soon. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep with him without thinking of how he slept with Sharon while they were still married. She wasn’t sure that she ever wanted his hands on her again. It was going to take a long time to get things back to ‘normal’ if that were even possible.

  Steve gathered her into his arms again and kissed her lightly against the lips. He lingered a moment, waiting for some sign that she wanted him to kiss her but even though she tried to enjoy the moment, she just couldn’t reciprocate. She pulled away from him and blamed it on being tired. She pulled out some extra blankets and pillows for him and then said goodnight, leaving him looking a little lost and bewildered standing in the living room.

  Alone in her room at last, she collapsed with her back against the closed door and slid to the floor. She honestly didn’t know how she felt about the evening. Before Christmas, she had hated Steve and vowed never to speak to him again even while she secretly hoped that he would turn up and declare his undying devotion, promising her that everything that had happened had all been part of some horrible bad dream that was finally ending. Even still, she never actually expected that he would leave Sharon and come back to her. Could she really go back to Steve as though nothing had ever happened?

  Almost on cue, her phone vibrated at her side. She pulled it out eager to see Evan’s name on the display. Just the thought of hearing his voice again filled her body with longing so when she saw her friend Amy’s name, she sighed in despair. Why did she expect Evan to call her after running into him at the restaurant? He had noted the diamond ring on her finger and the way she sat with her hands entwined with Steve’s. He wouldn’t likely waste his time talking to her if he didn’t expect to ever see her again. Her heart ached. She wished that they could have at least had a proper goodbye. It didn’t feel right just ending things even after only the few days that they’d spent together.

  Michelle turned off her phone without answering, peeled off her clothes, and crawled under the blankets. She closed her eyes hoping that sleep would overtake her quickly but soon realized that she wouldn’t be sleeping much that night. She tossed and turned, restless, confused, and not sure what to do with her life.

  Disgusted with her inability to sleep, she decided to get up and check her parents’ medicine to see if she could find anything that might help her get some much needed rest. Much to her relief, she found a bottle of Tylenol PM, dumped a couple of pills into her hand, and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water to wash them down. On the way, she remembered to tiptoe past the living room where Steve would probably be fast asleep by now. She was surprised to hear his voice talking to someone very softly. She paused behind the wall, not really meaning to eavesdrop, but curious who he could be talking to this late at night. It was difficult to make out the words but she thought she overheard him say something about a business arrangement. She exhaled slowly. It was only work, she told herself, even though something still didn’t feel quite right about that. Who did business in the middle of the night? Could he be dealing with a company on the other side of the world where it was currently day time? As far as she was aware, Steve didn’t have any foreign clients, not that things couldn’t have changed since they’d separated. Her thoughts spiraled in a million directions.

  “I love you too,” she heard him whisper into the phone, “but lets talk about this when I get back.”

  She sucked in her breath again. That was definitely not a business call. She felt her blood turn cold while her face heated in anger. How dare he talk to Sharon while he slept on her parents’ couch? That man had a lot of nerve. Now she was certain that she wouldn’t manage to sleep tonight. She strained to make out the rest of his conversation, which turned out to be rather brief. Once he said goodbye, she contemplated confronting him right then and there but she knew that she needed to calm down and regain her composure first. She decided against the glass of water and tiptoed back to her bedroom and shut the door.

  If she thought she was unable to rest before, now she really couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned while her thoughts ran a million miles an hour. But even though she knew that she should be angry a
nd hurt, she couldn’t help but to feel a bit of relief as well. It was possible that she’d misunderstood but even if she hadn’t, didn’t that give her an excuse not to give him a second chance? She wrestled with her feelings as she stared at the ceiling in her darkened room. She wasn’t sure she was ready to face a new version her that didn’t include Steve.

  Michelle wasn’t sure at what point in the night she finally gave in and fell asleep but she woke up the next morning to the sensation of someone kissing her forehead and her cheeks. She opened one groggy eye and nearly jumped when she found Steve leaning over her.

  “Hey, sleepy head,” he said with a smile on his face. He seemed to think that her surprise had been a good thing.

  She pulled herself into a sitting position and pushed the stray hairs from her face.

  “What time is it?”

  “Almost eight.”

  “It’s still early.”

  “I have a few things that I need to take care of today so I won’t be able to hang around like I’d originally planned. I just wanted to say goodbye before I disappeared.”

  “Where are you going?”

  He leaned forward to kiss her again and his phone interrupted them. He stopped and looked at the display but turned off the ringer rather than answer the call.

  “Who was that?”

  “No one important.”

  She thought of the call last night but in her groggy state she couldn’t remember if it had actually happened or she only dreamed it. She opened her mouth to say something but he interrupted her train of thought.

  “I’ll be back this evening. I was hoping that we could go out, maybe I could take you to a restaurant you’ll actually enjoy this time,” he said with a silly smile that she had always found hard to resist when they were dating.

  “I… um…”

  “Think about it. I’ll let you pick the place this time. I’ll call you later when I’m on my way back.”

  “Wait, where are you going?”

  “I just have a few things that I need to sort out.”

  “But …”

  He kissed her forehead quickly and before she could finish the sentence, he’d left the room and she sat in the bed feeling dazed and confused. She got up to use the bathroom, brush her teeth, and try to put her life back together again. She settled down to breakfast with her phone still hopeful that there would be some message from Evan wanting to see her again but there was none. Now she wished that she’d asked Steve about his late night phone call right then and there because the more time that passed, the more absurd it felt.