Page 52 of Hello Darling
“I know. I’m sorry we suck at staying in touch.”
“Why are we so bad at this?”
“I don’t know. But we’ll get better. Okay?”
I nod.
“Well, if you can find a moment in between orgasms, try to ask Evan Hunter for a signed headshot for Grandma Betty, will you? Although she might be so thrilled she’d actually drop dead from the excitement.”
“Okay.”
“And Stel…I mean it. It won’t kill you to really enjoy this, you know. You deserve it. You deserve him.”
I nod, just to stop her from saying any more ridiculous things. Once we finally sign off, I manage to find a sad old unused piece of Kleenex in my glove compartment. It disintegrates between my fingers when I blow my nose, and I can’t help but look around, expecting to see Evan outside my car, shaking his head and going: “Yeah. I’m out. Nice knowin’ you.”
Instead, I get a text from him asking if I can sneak out from work for half an hour or so this afternoon. I manage to take three deep breaths, and let him know that I will do what I can. Part of me is actually hoping he wants to tell me in person that he’s fallen madly in love with his co-star, to put me out of this misery. Most of me knows that she’ll never be an issue, it will always be me.
The nightmare continues when I get back to the gym. Billy sees my bright red-rimmed eyes, tells me he needs to talk to me, and pulls me back to the office. I’m usually the one pulling him into this office, getting all Big Sister up in his face. This time, I just slide into the armchair and wait for him to ask me about Evan.
He stares at me for a bit, before speaking.
“What?”
“You started making plans for Thanksgiving yet?”
“Yeah. Sort of. I already got the turkey. Why? Are you bringing someone?”
“Naw. But let’s talk head count. Martin’s bringing his girlfriend.”
“Are we actually referring to her as his girlfriend already?”
He rolls his eyes. “Well, Martin refers to her as his girlfriend, so yeah. All the grandparents are traveling, right?”
“Yeah. Cruises.”
“Keaton and I aren’t bringing anyone. How about you? You planning to bring anyone to dinner?”
“No. Whit and Brett are having their own party, and Mona’s going to be with her boyfriend’s family in Butte.”
He lowers his voice, even though no one would be able to hear us in here. “What about Evan?”
“What about him?”
“He’s gonna have four days off from shooting and it’s not enough time for him to go home.”
I shake my head. “He’s not going to want to come to Thanksgiving dinner.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t, but I’m not inviting him.”
“Then I will.”
“No you won’t.”
“Then you invite him.”
“Billy…”
