Page 66 of His Loving Wife

“Andrew always has a reason,” I cut her off. “But he doesn’t care to fill me in on it.”

“Please, don’t let this ruin your trip. I feel terrible.”

If she only knew about Noah’s scare and Willow’s antics, and Aster’s visit before that. The dinner where Andrew asked us to relive one of the worst moments of our lives. This vacation is slowly disintegrating, and it doesn’t feel like there’s anything I can do about it.

“Tell me, what are you guys doing today?” Her voice is forced and happy, trying her best to cheer me up from miles away.

My eyes fill with tears as I look up at the television. The news program is back on and the presenter is going on and on about the family that was murdered, calling it the Rogers Family Massacre. She quickly switches to talking about the most recent mass shooting. My stomach clenches, thinking of the petty stuff I allow to cloud my day; life could be so, so much worse.

“I’m cooking Noah’s fish for dinner. The kids have talked about going fishing.”

“Do that, okay? Enjoy your time together. We’ll talk more when you get back.”

I hang up the phone, my mind drifting as another infomercial fills the screen.

Chapter 33

Now

I pick up the fish from the market and rush back to the house. It doesn’t feel like I can get there fast enough. I still can’t figure out why he lied to me. It’s beyond lying. Did he think I wouldn’t find out? Or was he not even concerned about the embarrassment I might feel to learn from someone other than him that he was unemployed? Besides, what has he been doing the past month? He’s left and returned to the house at normal hours, and he often claims to be busy working. He’s gone out of his way to deceive me.

When I arrive, everyone is still at the pool. I march to the sliding glass door and pull it wide.

“Andrew! We need to talk. Now.”

I couldn’t alter the shrill tone of my voice if I tried.

He hurries inside, drops of water dripping on the tile floor where he stands. “Is everything okay?”

“Shut the door.”

He obeys, pulling the blinds so no one can look inside. “Kate, you’re scaring me. Is everything okay?” Then, as though the answer is simple, he purses his lips. “Did you see Paul again?”

“No.” In this moment, the accusation seems ridiculous. Paul could quite possibly be a figment of my own paranoid imagination, but the situation with Andrew is something I can’t ignore. “Dana called. She told me José said you’re not working for the company anymore.”

I hold eye contact, but his expression is blank. Finally, he says, “He doesn’t know the specifics.”

“Then please. Tell me.”

“I left the company last month.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“The last thing I wanted to do was upset you before our vacation.”

“What about the weeks between then and now? You left each morning, returned at night like you normally would. What were you doing during that time, other than actively hiding the fact you’d quit your job?”

“I just kept myself busy. It’s not like I lost everything overnight. I still had some loose ends that needed tying up. Sometimes I’d meet up with some of the guys from Second Chances to talk about it.”

“Your friends online know about this? But you didn’t tell me?”

“Don’t talk about it with that condescending voice.”

“I’m sorry, Andrew, but I feel blindsided. What were you thinking? What could have possibly possessed you to quit your job?”

“I was just sick of it. The year’s been difficult enough. We were just starting to get back to a place where things were better. I needed to eliminate anything that was weighing me down, and at the top of that list was my boss’ crap.”

“You’ve never liked your boss but if you wanted to leave the company, it’s something we should have talked about together. We could have set up a plan, one that definitely wouldn’t have included a two-week vacation. Why do this now?”

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