by Cher Etan
“Hello Christine,” a familiar voice said. The breath she’d been holding completely disappeared.
“R-Ru,” was all she could say before she completely ran out of breath.
“Yes it's me. I’m in town and I wondered if we could meet,” Rudy said.
“You want to meet? Why?” Christine asked in a whisper, her breathing returning to normal very slowly.
“I think it's time that we talked; don’t you?”
Christine just stood there with her mouth open, unable to think coherently in any way.
“Tell you what; I have a suite booked at the Ritz Carlton – why don’t you come over here? We can have lunch.”
“Is your wife with you?” Christine asked finally.
There was a small silence on the line.
“No. she’s not,” Rudy said at last. “Please. Christine.”
“Did you know I got married?” Christine asked.
“I read it in the paper this morning. I figured since you’ve moved on this would be a good time to make peace.”
“Make peace?” Christine asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
Christine hung up the phone. She was in complete shock here. She put on her robe and went to the kitchen making herself a hot cup of chocolate with shaking hands and sparing a moment to wonder at her grandmother’s whereabouts. She could hear the sound of movement in the house which meant the day maid was around at least, maybe Craddock too. There was no sign of breakfast though; understandable considering that no one had slept at home the night before. She fished out some baked goods from the bread basket and tried to eat it but she was too upset. Her heart was beating frantically and her face was hot. She was all trembly and her hyper-acidity was burning her up from the inside. She couldn’t believe him. How could he do this? Just call her out of the blue to ‘make peace’…who did that? Seriously who brought up that kid; clearly they’d missed a few lessons in how to treat other human beings! Before she knew what she was doing she grabbed her phone and redialed the number. Rudy picked up on the first ring which is lucky for him because she was not in the mood to be kept waiting.
“I don’t believe you, you know,” she growled down the line.
“I’m sorry,” Rudy said, the first time he’s ever said that to her that she could recall and it rendered her speechless for a minute.
“Fine then. What time?” she asked.
“Whenever you’re available,” he said and she ground her teeth in frustration.
“Fine. Now then. I’ll meet you at the Ritz Carlton in an hour.”
“Okay,” he agreed.
*****
Christine was extremely flustered and she couldn't seem to get herself together. Her purse was MIA and she couldn't find those comfy wedges that give her two more inches of height yet are comfortable to wear. Her good jeans were filthy and the ones that she could find have one leg shorter than the other. She didn't want to wear a skirt or a dress; she wanted jeans! She used up almost the entire hour putting herself together so she had to rush out to get to her appointment in time. Rudy was waiting for her as she entered the restaurant. He didn't look much different. He still had the curly hair cut in a box with a line through the side. He’s still well built, still tall as she can see when he stands up to greet her. He’s kept himself in good shape; and he looks well and prosperous. Christine was disappointed; she’d been hoping he’d grown old before his time, had a receding hairline and a paunch.
“Hello Christine. It's good to see you,” he said with a smile.
Christine steadied her breathing and put a smile on her face. “Hello Rudy. I wish I could say the same.”
Rudy just ignored that last part and gestured for her to sit. He sat after her, lifting his hand for the waiter to come over.
“So, congratulations on your wedding,” he said to her.
“Thank you,” Christine replied, fiddling with her purse strap. It just occurred to her that she had a shift starting at 3pm and she did not know how she would be expected to work in this condition. She could feel the nausea building; she would throw up on him pretty soon if she didn’t get to a bathroom.
“Excuse me,” she said standing up abruptly and heading for where she thought the ladies should be. Luckily, she literally run into a waiter who pointed out the way. She threw up her entire guts and then cleaned herself up before going back out there to talk to her ex-fiancé.
“So. You have something to say to me? Say it.” She said.
Rudy leaned forward to cover her hand with his. “I don’t know what I can even say,” he said.
It was the hand with her wedding ring he covered and now he was caressing the back of that hand with one finger. “I don’t know how I can make it up to you,” he said, his voice hypnotic.
Christine stared at his hand, waiting for her heart to begin to accelerate the way that it always did when his hands were on her before. She waited for her stomach to drop and the dizziness to come. None of that happened. In fact, her body did not react at all. This was surprising to her and it took her a moment to assimilate. Rudy took her silence for permission to get even more handsy with her.
“Lets go upstairs,” he whispered to her. “Let me show you how much I’ve missed you.”
“What?” Christine managed to get out at last, she pulled her hand out of his grip. “Have you lost your mind?”
Rudy shrugged leaning back in his seat with a wry smile. “It was worth a shot.”
“You’re a sick, sick man,” she growled getting up from her seat. “Lose my number would you?” she said and then walked away. She couldn’t believe she kept letting this guy get under her skin. She couldn’t believe she had ever loved that piece of shit; let alone contemplated marrying him. Suddenly, Christine was feeling a whole lot more optimistic about the future. What had happened hadn’t been her fault; Rudy was the douche. For the first time since her aborted wedding day, she felt happy again. She had finally dropped the Rudy baggage from her life.
*****
Rudy watched her storm out of the restaurant. He was feeling faintly regretful that she hadn’t been game for some horizontal mamba. Christine might not have been very experienced in the sack when they were together but she had been down to try anything. A very amenable bed partner…teachable. And he had a whole lot of stuff to teach. Being with Nat was great and he knew she was the right woman for him, but being with just one chick was boring; variety was the spice of life after all. He fished out his phone and dialed a number.
“Hello. Yeah, well, the plan didn’t quite work out. She didn’t bite,” he said.
“Never you mind. I had a plan B in place just in case. Thank you for your help. The money will be transferred to your Caymans account before the end of the day,” Claire Lestrange said.
“Okay. Thank you. Nice doing business with you.”
“Goodbye Mr. Sinclair. Enjoy your visit to Boston,” Claire said and then hung up. She called another number immediately after.
“Did you get what you need?” she asked.
“I have some great pictures Mrs. Lestrange.”
“Wonderful, send them off right away, to all the tabloids.”
“Already emailing as we speak.”
*****
Christine stopped off at Kentucky Fried Chicken and ordered half the menu. She was suddenly ravenous and she had to be at work in less than two hours. It would surely take her that long to get through all the food on her table so she got down to it with no further preamble.
She felt like singing as she got to work, like she was a thousand pounds lighter even as she was getting bigger physically. She was very optimistic about the future.
*****
“Ma chérie, how are you feeling today?” his mother asked as she came to kiss him on both cheeks.
“I’m doing great Maman, and you?” Max replied with a grin. He was almost buoyant with happiness; even his mother’s visit couldn’t get him down.
Claire gave a shrug. “I am alright.
I feel sad that you’re here in a hospital bed, hurting and in pain. It hurts my heart,” she said with a dramatic hand over said organ.
Max smiled. “I’m sorry I’ve hurt you mother. But I should be better soon and back home. I feel perfectly fine actually.”
“Oh?” Claire asked in concern.
“Yes. I am great.”
“Alright then if you are feeling great then how about telling me what is the meaning of this?” she said proffering her iPad forward; it was open on a newspaper article about his marriage. He took it and read it looking up at her finally.
“Yes well, Christine and I were married yesterday, we saw no need to wait. In fact, it was something that you said which made me see that the sooner the better.”
“What did I say?” Claire asked genuinely surprised.
“You said that I need a clear line of succession in case something happens to me.”
“But…” Claire said her mouth moving like a fish before she found something she could say. “You said nothing would happen to you.”
“I did. And I have no intention of checking out now. But I do still have a responsibility and I thought the sooner I fulfill it the better.”
“And you are sure that is the right choice? That she is the right choice?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Claire was holding her iPad out again. “So you are fine with your new bride having breakfast with her ex-fiancé the morning after your wedding?” she asked brow furrowed as if she was really puzzled.
Max frowned at her and took her iPad, looking at the article it was opened at.
NEWLY WED CHRISTINE LESTRANGE HAS BREAKFAST DATE WITH MYSTERY MAN
Trouble in paradise already?!? Billionaire Formula One businessman Max Lestrange’s new wife was seen this morning at the Ritz Carlton holding hands with a new dude. The guy and Christine appeared to be really cozy and yes people, we know, pictures or it didn’t happen right? We happened to get our hands on a few pictures taken on site which clearly show the two holding hands! Whoopsi! Trouble in paradise already?
CLICK HERE FOR PICS
Max found that he was clicking on the link before he had really thought about it. It was a punch in the gut to see that it was indeed Christine sitting there, holding hands with Rudy Sinclair! He stared at the picture as the blood drained from his face.
“Max? Are you okay?” his mother’s voice came from afar and he tried to take calming breaths and get rid of her before he completely freaked out.
“I’m fine. Would you excuse me mother?” he asked.
“Yes of course,” she said picking up her iPad. Max imagined that he saw a slightly smug smile on her face but he couldn’t be sure about that.
He lay back on his pillows. “Right. so…” he murmured to no one in particular. He didn’t know how he should feel right now. He wanted to talk to Christine right now, possibly yell at her for meeting with Rudy of all people the day after their wedding. Was she sleeping with him? She couldn’t be…they had an agreement even if it wasn’t a love match; they had shaken on it; no one else but each other. She wouldn’t go back on that…would she. Max tried to push it away but she remembered another time that Christine had said she was over Rudy, that she wouldn’t see him again; and then had fallen right into bed with him again. But she hadn’t been married then…hadn’t been pregnant with some other guy’s baby. She wouldn’t…would she?
“What am I doing believing some stupid tabloid mag?” Max said aloud.
“I don’t know, what are you doing?” Martha asked strolling into the room and unloading a flask of coffee, some muffins, honey and a fairly large mug.
“Martha,” Max says relieved to see her.
“Max,” Martha replies.
“Have you moved to the office yet?” Martha asked.
“I don’t start till Monday. Meanwhile, I’m trying to find someone suitable to take over for me.”
“Have you seen Christine?”
Martha stopped fussing with Max’s tea and stared at him.
“I thought she spent the night here,” she said.
“She did,” Max said staring into the middle distance. “And then she went and had breakfast with Rudy Sinclair.”
“What?!?” Martha exclaimed.
Max turned to look at her. “You didn’t know?”
Martha frowned. “Who told you that?”
“Pass me my phone,” he said and she did so. He clicked onto the URL that the story had been on and handed it to her already opened on the picture. Martha’s mouth opened and she looked shocked.
“So you didn’t know,” Max said watching her.
“Have you spoken to her?” she asked.
“No. I just saw this.”
Martha passed the phone back to him, face impassive. “I suggest you talk to her first before going off any deep ends.”
“I wasn’t planning to go off the deep end,” he protested. “I’m just…surprised.”
“I think that you should suspend thinking and concluding until you’ve talked with Christine.”
“Fine. I’ll do that.”
“Good.”
“Pass me my phone.”
Martha passes him the phone without a word, pours him some coffee and leaves him alone. Max dials Christine’s number waiting for her to pick up without a clear idea of what he’s going to say when she does pick up.
“Hey,” she answers just as Max was about to hang up.
“Hi,” he replies and finds that he can’t breathe properly.
“What’s up? Are you okay?” she asked sounding concerned. There is no shadow in her words like maybe she’s cheating on their one day old marriage…
“I’m…” Max wants to say ‘fine’ but couldn't quite get the word out, “confused,” he says instead.
“Oh? What’s up?” Christine sounds very light and happy underneath the concern. Is it because she’s seeing her first love behind his back?
“I’m looking at this picture of you,” he tries to let her know without mentioning his name.
“Aww how sweet, what picture is that?” she asks sounding completely oblivious to even the possibility of wrong doing.
“A picture of you…at the Ritz Carlton. And you’re not alone,” he says.
There is a short silence.
“Oh,” she says at last.
“Oh? Is that all you have to say?”
“This isn’t a conversation to have over the phone.”
Max’s heart drops to his feet. “Just tell me what you were doing there with him. Have you been seeing him this whole time?”
“No!” she exclaims and the surprise in her voice that he would think that seems honest enough.
“Then what then?” he asks. He’s almost yelling in his upset.
“He called me this morning wanting to talk. To make peace. I thought it was bloody time so I agreed.”
“So that was a smoking the peace pipe type meeting?”
“Yes and no.”
“What do you mean yes and no!” His efforts to keep from yelling were quickly falling by the wayside.
“I mean I went there with the intention of…you know, laying that ghost to rest but it turned out he had other intentions so I left.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“Okay then…will I see you later?”
“I’m at work right now and I’ll be leaving here late. I thought I’d get some sleep and come see you tomorrow.”
The silence was heavy with unsaid things for a moment.
“Okay then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah okay, so…er have a good day.”
“You too.”
*****
Max was a bit more settled after that phone call but he was also rather perturbed at the level of his upset. He wanted to leave his bed and maybe go and kill Rudy Sinclair. He also wanted to strangle Christine for going to meet with him.
“Your grand daughter will be the death of me,” he complained to Ma
rtha when she came back into the room.
“Will she now?” Martha said not sounding very concerned.
“Yes. We haven’t been married one day and I already want to lock her in the basement,” he bit out.
“Oh? I didn’t know we had a basement,” Martha said packing up the snacks that Max had neglected to eat. “Was the food not to your liking, would you like something else?”
Max just gave her a side long glance. “What? Nothing to say about my potential caveman tactics?”
“How you and Chris conduct your marriage is none o’ mine. I learned long ago not to get in the middle of people’s marital woes.”
Max raised his eyebrows. “Even when they ask you to?” he asked.
“Especially when they ask.”
Max laughed.
“I’m going to leave you to rest now. Any special requests for your dinner?”
“Something with fish in it; maybe French fries? Some salad.”
“Okay then. I’ll leave you to rest. Try to get some won’t you?”
“Yes mom,” Max said with real affection. Martha just smiled as she left.
*****
“I need you to leave,” Cordelia told Kevin when she got home that day.
“Leave? Girl watchu mean?”
“I mean to the left baby boy, everything you own in a box to the left,” Cordelia pointed. There was actually a suitcase in the corner that seemed to be packed. Kevin had been home all day and hadn’t noticed it.
“I hoped you’d take your things and be gone by now but clearly you need to hear the words,” she said.
“Where is this coming from baby?” Kevin coaxed standing up and coming toward Cordelia.
“Look you got your fifty grand; could you go blow it somewhere else. I meant what I said to my daughter about turning over a new leaf and clearly you ain’t the man to do that with.”
“Why not? Why not me? What’s wrong with me?”
Cordelia put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Let me count the ways…” she said and proceeded to break down to him the various ways he’d let her down including going behind her back and telling the lawyer to proceed with Max’s extortion when she’d specifically nixed that idea.