Swallowed (Devoured #2) (4 page)

As she walked down the sidewalk, Julianna turned her
nose up at the boys who tried to get her attention. She didn’t need them. She
had the affection of a real man, a man with ambition and responsibilities, a
man who wanted her above everything else.

And since seeing Kirk again had been one of her main
motivations for returning to campus, it was a big relief to find out he still
had feelings for her. After all, he’d gotten under her skin as an undergrad so she
was ecstatic to find out that he was finally ready to get under her skirt.

That much she knew for sure. However, it was unwise
to let things go that far in his office. Their fun would be over if they got
caught. Fortunately, she had a way around that which she couldn’t wait to
surprise him with.

The smell of barbeques wafted by on the crisp autumn
air and her mouth watered. She was meeting her mom for lunch for the first time
in months so she was delighted to have some good news. For once her mom’s
timing couldn’t have been better. 

Julianna’s phone buzzed in her pocket. “Sluts
Anonymous.”

“Ha ha,” Heather said. “Very funny.”

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to see how things were going back on
our old stomping ground.”

“Same as ever,” Julianna said. “But there are more
popped collars than I remember and the old bookshop is gone.”

“Hideous.”

“I know,” Julianna said, dodging a drunken undergrad
as he felt his way up the sidewalk. “People have no respect for history these
days.”

“Speaking of history, Sam told me you were going to
look up that professor you tried to screw.”

“There are so many inaccuracies in that sentence; I
don’t even know where to start.” Julianna spoke with her hands as she crossed the
street.

“You know what I mean.”

“No, seriously. I did not come here to look him up,
and I never tried to sleep with him. There is no try.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No.”

“Whatever. What are you not telling me?” Heather
asked.

“You’re not totally wrong.” Julianna couldn’t help
herself. “It’s kind of a thing.”

“Details, please.”

“I mean, he looked me up and expressed his
interest.”

“Oh?”

Julianna navigated the crowded sidewalk, trying to
figure out who was in earshot. “With… nonverbal cues.”

“Don’t you know who you’re talking to? Please don’t
be delicate for my sake.”

“Oh right.” Julianna always thought of Heather as a
journalist, but more specifically, she wrote a sex advice column for a trendy magazine
in New York. Julianna was convinced that her tutelage was the reason Heather had
the skills and talent to handle the subject matter. “The point is he wants me
more than ever.”

“Did he ever get married?”

“Yeah, but I think he might leave her.”

“For you?”

“I mean, he didn’t say that in so many words, but
that’s kind of the feeling I got.”

“Whoa.”

“I know.” Julianna pushed her oversized sunglasses
against her face. “Pretty intense.”

“Remind me to keep my husband away from you if I
ever decide to get one.”

“It’s not like that. I mean, he’s been thinking
about me since I graduated. He’s been, like, really sprung this whole time I
think.”

“So was he totally shitting it when he saw you again?”

“Bricks.”

“And you like him?” Heather asked. “Like enough to
let him consider leaving his wife?”

“That’s his business. Just like what happens between
us is our business.”

“Well, keep me posted, will you? This could make for
a pretty juicy column.”

Julianna laughed. “Get your own material, skank.”

“I know, right? I mean, just when I think I’ve been
really cutting edge, you always put me to shame.”

“Nothing shameful about your last column. Who knew
anal beads could make you laugh till you cried?”

“I’m glad you got a kick out of it,” Heather said. “I
can’t say it was my favorite research topic.”

“Never cared for them myself. Right. Gotta go.”

“A bit early for a private tutoring session, isn’t
it?”

Julianna laughed. “I wish. I’m meeting my mom for
lunch.”

“Geos?”

“You know it.”

Heather moaned. “Tell her I said hi.”

“Will do.”

“And figure out when you and Sam are going to come
visit.”

“I doubt she’d leave Kinky Kev unattended, but I’ll
mention it.”

“Sounds good.”

Julianna hung up the phone and pushed the restaurant
door open. Geo’s was sort of an upscale Olive Garden and by far the nicest
restaurant on campus. It was a carb lover’s dream, but Mrs. Foster usually
filled up on wine and took her food to go.

Julianna saw her mom looking conspicuously bored in
the corner as soon as she walked in. She pointed her out to the hostess and showed
herself to the table.

“Hi Mom.”

“Hi Ju.” Anita stood up and gave her daughter a kiss
on the cheek.

“Hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Not at all,” she said. “Anyway, I just got this phone.”
She held it up. “It’s like a total portable office.”

Julianna pushed her sunglasses up on her head. “Fancy.”

“I call it my
command center
. Honestly, if it
exercised for me it would cover all my bases.”

“Cool.”

“So I don’t have much time because I’m meeting a
client in Sandburg at 2:30, so talk fast.”

“What do you want to know?”

“How long you’ve been wearing my sunglasses for a
start.”

“I admired them last time I saw you and you gave
them to me. Remember?”

“I am too generous.”

The waiter appeared at the table.

“The usual?” Anita asked her daughter.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Two gnocchis,” she said with an affected Italian
accent. “And do you have any New Zealand Whites?”

“Just South Africa.”

Anita thought for a second. “We’ll just try two
glasses first then and see how it goes.”

The waiter nodded and disappeared.

“Hmmm. What else?” Anita pursed her red stained lips.
“How’s graduate school going?”

“Good, Mom. Fine.” Julianna unfolded her napkin in
her lap. “I should be teaching by next year.”

“Fantastic,” her mother said, turning her wine glass
over. “Have I told you how ridiculously proud of you I am?”

“Yes.”

“But recently?”

Julianna shrugged.

“Well, I am,” she said. “I hope you know that. I
can’t believe how immature some of my friend’s children are. And you’re so
self-sufficient; I don’t have to worry about you at all.”

“Thanks.”

Anita put her phone on the table where she could see
it. “Tell me something else interesting going on with you. Not school related
because you know I’m too thick to talk academics with you and your father.”

“Well, I’m sort of seeing someone.”

Anita’s eyes lit up. “Seriously?”

“You mean am I really seeing someone or is it
serious?”

“Both.”

Julianna smiled. “Yes and yes.” She knew it was a
premature exaggeration, but her mother was the reigning queen of hyperbole, and
she was too excited not to mention it.

“Go on.”

“Well we’ve only spent a little time together, but I
have a good feeling about it.”

“How exciting for you!” Anita waited for the server to
fill her glass. Once she tasted the wine she nodded without saying anything and
gestured for him to fill up their glasses. Then she raised hers in the air.
“Well cheers to the lucky guy. I hope he knows what a catch you are.”

“He will.” She smiled. “We’re only just getting to
know each other.”

“So tell me about him.”

Julianna shrugged. “He’s a psychology geek like me,
conservative, and very handsome.”

Anita nodded. “When can I meet him?”

“It’s way too soon for that, Mom, but when the time
comes, I’ll let you know.”

Anita leaned back in her chair. “My little Jujube is
all grown up.”

Julianna rolled her eyes.

“If you can swing it, I’d like to be a grandmother
before the botox stops agreeing with me.”

“I thought you said you stopped doing that stuff?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. People won’t believe I’m your
mother if I don’t stay gorgeous.”

Julianna shook her head.

“Anyway, it sounds like this guy might be a good
fit.”

Julianna smiled. She hoped her mom was right. Of
course, there was only way to know for sure. She would have to try him on for
size.

Kirk climbed the stairs carefully so he wouldn’t
spill the soup as he made his way towards the bedroom. When he pushed the door
open the curtains were drawn, blocking out the dim evening light.

He put the tray on his side of the bed and opened
the curtains ever so slightly.

“Madeline, honey, I brought you something to eat.”

Madeline rolled over to face him.

Kirk dove for the tray to make sure the carrot and
coriander soup didn’t end up on the floor.

Madeline sat up and forced a smile. “Thanks.”

He brought the tray over and put it in her lap.

“I got the sourdough bread you like from the campus
bakery,” he said, pulling the rolling chair from the desk over to her side of
the bed. “Just made fresh before I stopped in.”

She looked at him out of the corner of her brown
eyes as she stirred the hot soup.

He watched her tear into the bread and willed her to
eat every crumb. “I got some great news the other day.”

Madeline’s eyebrows raised up just enough to
indicate that she’d heard him.

“My department- we got the funding for the study I
wanted to do.” He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands in front
of him. “It’s going to be a big deal.” He twisted the wedding ring on his
finger. “Depending on the results, I could be published in some of the most
reputable scientific journals in the country.”

Madeline dipped a hunk of bread in the soup and put
it in her mouth. “That’s great.”

He smiled at her, grateful for anything that wasn’t
a grunt. “Your mom called me again today.”

Madeline kept her eyes on the soup. “Why?”

“She said you weren’t taking her calls.”

“I’m not.”

“Well I can’t have your mom calling me at work every
day because she’s worried about you.”

Silence.

“I was teaching a class today when she called.”

Madeline ripped off another hunk of bread.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you call her?”

Madeline shrugged. “Maybe tomorrow. If I’m up for
it.”

“She’s worried about you.” Kirk leaned his forearms
on the bed next to where her knees were under the covers. “Everybody’s worried
about you.”

Madeline barely managed a shrug.

“Look.” Kirk swallowed. “You have to pick yourself
up. You have to start living again. You’re wasting your youth.”

Madeline looked at him with a blank face.

“You have to stop acting like you’re the only woman
on the planet who’s ever had a miscarriage.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

“Excuse me?”

“When you had a grip on your life, I had no right to
tell you what to do,” he said, “but you’ve completely lost touch. You don’t
even take care of yourself anymore.”

Madeline leaned back against her pillow and crossed
her arms like she was considering a hunger strike. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know you feel like you’ve lost a child, but I
feel like I’ve gained one!” Kirk stood up and began pacing the room.

“Sit down. You’re making me nervous.”

“
I’m
making
you
nervous!” Kirk said.
“Can you even hear yourself?”

“Please sit down.”

“Nervous is wondering if your wife is depressed
every day. Nervous is wondering if she’s going to hurt herself or walk into
traffic because she’s catatonic.”

Madeline whimpered again. “Please, Kirk.”

Kirk kept waving his hands in the air. “Nervous is
worrying about whether your wife is feeding herself properly during the day,
wondering when the last time was that she took a shower!”

“You’re scaring me.”

“Good! I hope you’re scared! I hope your heart is
fucking pounding.”

“Watch your mouth!” Madeline’s eyes were wide as she
pushed herself back against the headboard.

“Really?! Is my swearing upsetting you?” Kirk asked
from the end of the bed. “How much swearing do you think it would take for you
to get as upset with me as I am with you? Days of nothing but four letter words
on end?! Maybe weeks?!”

Madeline banged her fists down at her side. “Please
stop yelling!”

“I don’t think I can.” He raised his hands in the
air. “I’m too excited to see you express some emotion for a change. As far as
I’m concerned, anger’s a big fucking improvement. At least I know you can still
feel something!”

Madeline’s frowning lower lip quivered. “I can’t do
this.”

Kirk stood still for a moment and the volume of his
voice dropped down again. “Well that makes two of us.” He sat down at the end
of his side of the bed. “I’m so glad we finally agree on something.”

Her face was still shocked.

“Cause this isn’t a marriage, Madeline. This isn’t
what I signed up for.” He pulled at the hair on the back of his head. “I
babysit kids all day at work. The last thing I want to do when I get home is
babysit some more.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

Her face was full of pain and it tore his heart.

“I want you to go talk to someone,” he said. “A
professional.”

She stared at him.

“I’ll even go with you if you want, but you have to
do something or we aren’t going to get through this.” He put his hand on the
covers over her foot.

She scooted it away.

Kirk’s shoulders collapsed. “I need you to listen to
me carefully, Madeline.”

She crossed her arms.

“This is your husband speaking.” Kirk paused to choose
his words. “You are going to talk to a professional about what you’re going
through, and you are going to stop dragging everyone into your despairing sink
hole. You’re going to start holding yourself accountable for your own mental
health.”

She pushed some blond hair out of her face.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Is that some kind of ultimatum?”

“Does it need to be for you to take it seriously?”

Madeline pursed her lips.

“Because I’m out of ideas,” he said. “It’s obvious
that, whatever you’re going through, I can’t help you.” He stood up and leaned
against the end of the bed. “No one can help you if you won’t help yourself.”

“Can I think about it?”

For fucks sake,
Kirk thought. He clenched his jaw before he spoke. “Please. This isn’t just
about helping you anymore.” He walked to the door. “It’s about saving us.”

Madeline nodded slowly.

“I love you, Madeline.” His hand was on the door.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You know that.”

She nodded again and relaxed against the pillow.

Kirk closed the door gently behind him and took a
deep breath. He went downstairs and threw a frozen dinner in the microwave.

A few minutes later he thought he heard the timer go
off, but it wasn’t the timer. It was a text message from an unknown number
inviting him to meet the sender the next day. In music room 5b.