When You Least Expect It (22 page)
Read When You Least Expect It Online
Authors: Sandra Leiper
Just then the girls came up to her waving their CD’s, and all talking at once. Glenda noticed the look on her mom’s face.
“What’s up, Mom, you look upset?”
“Nothing, just sitting here thinking. What CD did you get?”
Glenda went on and on about the country CD she had bought the look on her mother’s face, forgotten.
~~~
Ray paced the floor, ready to jump out of his skin each time he heard a car. He could not think of any way to get out of this mess. He’d have to come clean. He’d definitely decided to wait until Carrie confronted him about this. He wasn’t going to bring up the intrusion into his account until then. Let her come to him. She was the one who had wanted to know so badly. Ray decided to call Diego. Although he didn’t know about Amanda, it was about time he came clean with his best friend too.
Ray listened to the answering machine pick up on the other end. This was just not his day! He hung up not knowing what to say at this point on the machine.
Should he pack? Should he leave and avoid a confrontation? Ray wished he could call Amanda. It would really help to talk to her, to hear her voice. He looked for a calling card in his wallet. There was one!
He punched in the numbers. Only six minutes! That wasn’t enough time. He ran his fingers through his hair in desperation, as he continued to pace up and down the living room. He was fully dressed, expecting the worse possible scene when Carrie came home.
Ray heard the car pull up. He peeked out the window, and sure enough, his luck had run out. It was Carrie and the girls. Would she confront him in front of the girls? Ray ran to the couch and turned on the television, blindly watching.
“Hey Daddy, I got a new CD.” Glenda ran up and showed her dad.
“That looks good; you’ll have to let me borrow it.” Ray grabbed her and gave her a tight squeeze, almost too tight.
Glenda looked at her dad, searching out his eyes for a problem. “Everything okay, Dad?”
“Everything’s great, why wouldn’t it be?” Ray was fighting hard not to lose it.
Carrie was observing all this from the doorway. Ray looked nervous, not himself. He knew she broke in to his account, he knew she had read the letter. He was sweating bullets now, waiting for the big moment when she would confront him. She decided not to give him the satisfaction. She went over to him, bag in hand and handed it to him.
“I bought you something.” She kissed him on the cheek, something she rarely did.
Ray drew back in surprise, as if she’d bit him instead of kissed him.
“What?” Carrie feigned innocence, although inside she was laughing. It may be more fun to torture him like this than to confront him right away. He was as pale as a ghost. Carrie smiled to herself.
“Don’t you like surprises anymore, Ray?”
He snapped out of it. “I love them. What’s the occasion?” He looked at Carrie suspiciously. What was this he wondered? He looked into his bag. It was his favorite chocolates from the candy store at the mall. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d brought him home anything he didn’t ask for. He looked up at her. “Thanks, Carrie,” was all he could think of to say.
“Just the many little ways I like to show you I love you. Enjoy them. Girls, let’s go make your dad some lunch.”
The girls had been standing there in amazement. They knew something was going on. This wasn’t the usual way their mother acted towards their father, actually, it was the exact opposite.
“Anything special you’d like, Ray?” Carrie asked sweetly.
“Um, no, whatever you make is fine. I’m really not even that hungry.” Ray hoped his face didn’t give away his amazement. He couldn’t figure out what was going on. Carrie was never this nice to him. Maybe he’d been wrong…maybe she didn’t read his mail.
Carrie went into the kitchen with smug satisfaction. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep this up, but the look on Ray’s face was priceless. Almost worth the pain, he was putting her through. Almost.
“Mom, what should we make?” Nikki was freaking out. The electricity in the air was frightening. She searched for any sense of normalcy she could find.
“Oh, just open a can of tomato soup”. Carrie went upstairs. She was tired of putting on the game face. She wanted to go on to Plan B. She just had to figure out what that was.
~~~
Amanda lay on her bed with an ice pack. She had the worst migraine known to man. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She felt so alone in the world. Ray was unreachable, her sister was being a total witch, and this was not something she wished to discuss with her daughter. She wished she could call Ray, but it was a weekend, so there was no way to talk to him until Monday. What was he going through right now? It must be horrible for him.
She sat up, head throbbing. She had to get out of the house. This was driving her crazy. She threw some clothes on, and left the kids a note. She was off to Las Cruces to visit her friend, Kara. No notice, but even if she wasn’t home, she would clear her head a bit. She got in her car and headed for the highway. This was going to be great! She cranked up the music and headed towards New Mexico. It was only a forty-five minute drive, so it was no big deal.
As she listened to Garth Brooks singing about unanswered prayers, she went over her relationship with Ray. Where did it go wrong? She of course, knew the answers. He was married. They were twenty-five hundred miles apart. They truly didn’t know each other. She had to argue with herself on that one. Although they hadn’t met, she felt she knew him. They’d spent hours pouring out their hearts to each other. She knew what he wanted out of life, out of a marriage, she knew what he felt was missing in his life. She knew how much he loved his daughters, and how important they were to him. She knew about his childhood, his college years, and his early marriage. She knew where his heart lay.
She saw her exit coming up and became a bit wary of surprising Kara in this way. Kara led a very busy life with her daughters and new husband. She had always been a type 'A' personality, a little bit co-dependent, and always trying to please everyone. Her house was always spotless, and she went out of her way to make sure her daughters had the kind of life that she didn’t have growing up. She was an amazing woman, and she had always admired her and strived to be like her.
She slowed down looking for the numbers on the houses. She hesitantly pulled in front and parked on the street. She summoned up her courage and went to ring the doorbell.
“Oh my gosh! Mandy! What are you doing here?” Kara wrapped her friend in a big embrace. She enveloped her. Kara was a tall, leggy, blonde-haired woman, with big blue eyes and an even bigger smile. She was a total contrast to Amanda.
Amanda allowed herself to linger in this comforting hug and before she realized it, she started to cry.
“Mandy, what is it? Is it the kids?” Kara held her friend, afraid now of whatever it was that was making her friend cry. They’d been through a lot together, and she was ready to lend a hand in whatever way Amanda might need her now. “Get in this house and talk to me.”
She sniffed and sat on the couch. She had no idea where to begin. She was almost embarrassed to tell her friend everything that was going on, starting with meeting someone on the Internet. She sighed and resigned herself to it; after all, that was why she’d driven all this way.
“You better pour us some coffee; this is going to be quite a story.”
They went into the kitchen, and while Kara made a fresh pot, Amanda started filling her in. Kara said very little, but she could tell she was more than a little shocked.
“Mandy, this is so unlike you. You’re usually the more reserved one. This is something I would do!” They both laughed at this, because it was so true. Kara was definitely the more daring of the two. To Kara, all was fair in love and war. She’d been in her share of “love triangles”.
“So, do you think you love this guy, Mandy?”
Amanda sighed. She wrestled with this question all the time. Was this love? “Kara, do you think you could fall in love with someone you’ve never met?”
“I think it could be possible. You hear about people meeting on the Internet all the time. You’re getting to know this person from the inside out, with no physical crap to get in the way. I think it’s worth pursuing, if you think he truly is Mr. Wonderful. Okay, he has a few issues. He has a wife. But he doesn’t love her, and has been planning to leave her. So, what do you have to lose? You aren’t the one who broke them up, you just happen to be around when they do.” Kara laughed, “Believe me; I’ve been involved in a few of those, so I know what I’m talking about!”
Amanda laughed with her friend. “Now that’s the understatement of the year! Do you think I should go meet him, I mean, after he leaves his wife?”
Kara thought about this for a minute. It sounded too risky, and she didn’t want to encourage her friend to go out to Maine, then end up dead, murdered by an Internet psycho. “Give it some time. You’ll know when the time is right.”
The two friends caught up on everything, laughing the afternoon away. It was like old times, as they reminisced over a couple of beers. Amanda was having such a good time, and was happy she’d come. She glanced at her watch, and reluctantly, knew she had to start the trek back home. She hugged Kara and thanked her for everything.
“You don’t have to thank me, Mandy. I’m always here for you; you know that. I’m your best friend. When you go see this Mr. Wonderful, I want the full scoop. Send me his picture, I want to see him!”
They hugged one last time, and Amanda got into her car and once again, headed for the highway. This time, she was in a better frame of mind. She silently thanked God for putting Kara into her life in the sixth grade. She didn’t know what she’d do without her.
The drive home was uneventful. Amanda kept her mind on the music, singing along to the words of her favorite songs. She felt better after venting to Kara, and for once not having someone judge her. She would just have to let things fall where they may. Only time would tell where things would go from here, she was just going to have to wait it out.
~~~
Carrie was in her closet rummaging through Ray’s clothes. She had an incredible desire to strike a match and set it ablaze. She resisted, only because she didn’t want to put herself or the girls in danger. She went to her dresser drawer and pulled out her sewing scissors. Should she rip them to shreds? She put the scissors back in the drawer. She threw herself on the bed, frustrated beyond belief.
Carrie wished she knew what Mandy40’s last name was. She’d love to have a conversation with her. She wondered if she changed the tone of the letter, she’d write back to her. After all, weren’t women supposed to stick together on these kinds of issues? If they weren’t having an Internet affair, then she would sympathize with her. Right?
Before Carrie dared to confront Ray about this, she would try writing to Mandy40 again. She wasn’t ready to end this marriage, especially not if it was Ray’s idea. The marriage would end when she decided, and if she had anything to say about it, it had a ways to go. She wasn’t going to finish raising these girls on her own. Ray wouldn’t get off that easily.
~~~
Ray had decided he needed some space. He wanted to speak to Amanda and was tired of waiting for the “right time”. The hell with it, he was making it the right time.
“Girls, I have to go run an errand. Tell your mom I’ll be back in a little while.” Ray picked up his car keys and headed out the door, before they could ask him any questions.
In the sanctity of his car, Ray started to unwind a bit. He put on some loud music, and headed out in search of a convenience store where he could buy a calling card and find a phone. He couldn’t wait to talk to Amanda and wondered if he’d even tell her about the latest events in his home. Knowing her as he thought he did, it was going to upset her.
