Read The Wife Online

Authors: S.P. Cervantes

Tags: #Romance

The Wife (8 page)

BOOK: The Wife
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Mike decided to come back home for a week over the summer to New Jersey with me after our first full year living on our own in the city. After we graduated from NYU, we took a year to travel and figure out what direction we wanted to take in our life. I loved that through that year in the real world, Mike seemed to have decided that the one direction he was sure he wanted to take was with me, and spent every day making me feel a part of his dreams. In a few weeks, he was about to start a job with a major commercial construction company in the city, and I would be starting a graduate program at Tisch School of the Arts in photography while working as an intern for an interior design company in the city. Our lives were about to get exponentially busier, and it was nice to have the next few weeks to be together to enjoy the summer and reminisce about the free and exciting places our year off had taken us.

Mike leaned down and kissed the side of my neck as he played with the tie at the back of my bathing suit. “How can you still drive me so crazy?”

“Um, because I’m amazing.” I leaned back and kissed his hot, smooth lips. He drives me just as crazy.

“Such a smart ass.” He nipped at my bottom lip.

“You love it.”

He laughed sadly as he flipped me around so that I sat in his lap; our tanned, hot skin pressed against each other in an intimate way but the look on his face snuffed out the excitement that had begun to build inside me.

“I love you, Alexa.” He pressed his lips to mine with desperation in a way that seemed to reach my soul. When he pulled away before I could get my fill, I began to get even more worried why he was acting this way. Was he sick? Was he breaking up with me?

“I love you too, Mike.” I wiped a drop of sweat that began to fall from his brow. “What’s going on?” My voice cracked with fear. This was not looking good.

Just then, my favorite song, “One” by U2, plays and I smiled. Before I could turn to see where the music was coming from, I noticed the beach around us is filling with hundreds of pink and purple balloons, my favorite colors. Tears instantly gushed over my lids as I realize what was happening. Last year, on one of the nights when Mike and I first began working on the project that brought us together, I had told him about my dream proposal. It seemed he had remembered every detail: I noticed the balloons being carried by my friends and family. I turned to Mike, who reached behind his back and pulled out a little blue box.

“I’ve known since the first day we met that I wanted to be with you forever. Make it official and be my wife.”

I kissed his smiling lips and laughed through my tears as the crowd around us erupted. “I love you. Yes! I’ll marry you!”

I kissed Mike again, and for a moment, let myself wonder whether it was too soon to agree to marry someone else. I knew a piece of my heart still belonged to Jamie, but he’d been gone for so long and made no attempt to come back to me, much less apologize for killing our dream.

As our friends cheered loudly, I looked into Mike’s eyes and promised that my heart belonged to only him.

That was a promise I intended to keep for the rest of my life.

M
y morning was a rollercoaster of emotions, and I’m increasingly nervous about my meeting with Frank and Tommy from the C.J. Fox Company this afternoon because nothing has gone quite as planned, and anything that has to do with Jamie reeks with the possibility of things going badly.

When I left the gym today, I thought the worst thing that could happen was my epic treadmill fail and having to come face to face with Jamie after it happened. Oh, no—that wasn’t good enough. I came home to find out Mike really had cheated on me and my marriage was in worse shape than ever.

I decided to take a quick shower after Mike’s confession so I would be ready for my meeting later, wishing the water would wash away the feelings of disgust that were building towards Mike. When he was still sitting on my bed, waiting to talk to me about everything, I told him I was running late and ran out the door. I had to get out of the house and clear my head after everything Mike just told me, and I didn’t want to hear any more excuses. They only made me more upset. I still had so many questions that I was too flustered to ask when he finally admitted the truth to me, but wanted to make sure I was thinking with my head and not my heart before confronting him with them. For so long he has made me feel like I was paranoid and being unfair about questioning his fidelity when he was working late nights. It had been one of our main focuses in therapy sessions and his biggest problem with our marriage. He said I was driving him away with my accusations and jealousy.

I decide to go on a drive instead of stay home and face More of Mike’s excuses, trying to make sense of the last seven hours, listening to “Say Anything” on repeat just to twist the knife in the wounds a little.

In my mind, I want to believe what Mike said. I want to believe he’s ready to try to make our marriage work and is truly sorry. The thing is, I’m having difficulty getting my heart to agree with my mind. My heart keeps asking me whether what Mike said is enough. Is his heart in it?

I want it to be.

I have to remind myself that I can’t be selfish and think only of myself. Our two boys deserve parents who will fight for our family. They need their dad in their lives, and I should be fighting for that as much as I’ve been fighting for Mike to fall in love with me again.

If he’s really willing to give our family his everything, then don’t I have to do it for my kids?

Just then, my phone rings and my sad song stops booming through my car. Lee’s name comes up on the screen and I sigh. I’m going to have to hide the sadness and confusion I’m feeling right now. I can’t tell her everything that happened with Mike today. Not yet.

“Hey, Mama! I can’t wait for tonight. Should I pick you up or meet you there?” I try to cut her off and focus the conversation on our get-together later before she can ask about Mike. She always starts conversations with me asking where Mike is, trying to point out the obvious—he’s never with me.

“Who cares about that? I’ve been trying to call you all afternoon. How come you ran out of there this morning? The hottie Irish guy was following you out after class. He must’ve asked Ashlee your name because he was calling out your name like he was freaking Braveheart. His accent made me wet all over.”

“You’re disgusting, Lee. And Braveheart was Scottish…” I can’t help but laugh at her crudeness. “Mike left me a message and I had to get home to meet him there,” I lie.

“What did Senor Absentiso have to say for himself?” Her annoyance is palpable when I mention Mike.

“Absentiso isn’t even a word.” I am annoyed at her constant ridicule of Mike. A man she used to love. A man who she’s known almost as long as she’s known me.

“It sure is; it means absent in Spanish,” she answers confidently, as usual.

“Whatever. No, it doesn’t. My God, didn’t you grow up learning Spanish? How is it you have a doctorate in engineering again?” I say teasingly. She always can make me laugh again just when I think she’s going to make me scream with frustration. “Listen, I’m about to go into my meeting. You can talk all the shit you want about Mike at dinner. Meet me at Javier’s at seven, okay?”

“Fine, snappy pants. Go kick some ass in that meeting and I’ll see you at seven!”

I take a few moments in the car to review my notes before I go into the trailer sitting on the land where the restaurant is going to be built. I look up from my sketches and take in the beauty of the landscape around me. This acre lot is set atop a beautiful, grass-covered hillside. At one side, I’m overlooking a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean, with the evening sky reflecting the calm water below. When I get out of the car and look behind me, I see the adorable beach community below, and imagine the beauty of the view at night from the restaurant once it’s built, with all of the lights below leading to the majestic Saddleback Mountains.

When I make my way to the large, gray trailer, I’m glad I decided on flats instead of heels as my feet slip and turn on the unsteady gravel. Just as I finish my treacherous walk and take a step up the stairwell of the trailer, the door swings open.

“Let me help you with that.” Frank takes my portfolio from my hands and holds out his other hand to help me up the rickety steps.

“Thank you.” I take his hand and smile at his kindness.

“Sorry, we’re still getting things worked out here. We just got the trailer yesterday. I promise to at least have a walkway cleared out for you next time.” His thoughtfulness always puts me at ease.

I walk through the doorway and am instantly surprised by the vastly different appearance on the inside of the trailer from the dull, sterile gray metal of the outside. A large wooden table was in front of me, with laptops and drinks set out before leather chairs. The walls were painted a light sea-foam green that induced a sense of calm and peace. The room was decorated with beautiful hydrangeas, my favorite flower, and the walls were all adorned with black-and-white pictures of a city—New York City, in fact—making me feel more at home and welcome. All of the details of the room feel as if they were plucked from my mind. The small kitchen area was all stainless-steel; the sitting area was spacious. As beautiful as this room is, it makes my stomach instantly fill with butterflies because it makes me think of only one thing—Jamie. Of course, I knew by taking this job I would have to talk to Jamie. I wasn’t sure whether Jamie knew the company he’s hired to construct his restaurants belonged to my husband, or that I’m the interior designer they’re thinking of hiring, and I’m not sure how he’ll react when he does. My guess is that he and Mike have talked about all this and that Jamie probably wants to talk with me too. I’m prepared for that. Just not now.

BOOK: The Wife
8.86Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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