Page 5 of The Missus
‘Tight squeeze in here,’ the woman chuckled.
Alanna suddenly realised right then who she was. Someone she’d only heard before. Pollyanna.
Alanna kept walking. She sort of wanted to warn Keira that Pollyanna was coming. But she didn’t because firstly, she didn’t have her phone number. Secondly, as far as Alanna knew, Keira might have had a change of heart and invited her. Unlikely, but who was Alanna to say.
Alanna went downstairs and sat at the coffee shop down the street from her building for twenty minutes, drinking the most soothing drink the place sold, a chai latte. It didn’t improve her mood in the slightest. Eventually, she finished the drink and had no choice but to go home to Benjamin.
But when she stepped out of the elevator on her floor, thankfully, it wasn’t all that easy. There was a wonderful distraction standing outside Keira’s open door. ‘But I only want a chance,’ Pollyanna was saying into the crack of Keira’s partly open door. They were pleading words but said like a demand.
Alanna decided to stay by the elevator for a moment, not sure if she wanted to get too close to the drama. She hadn’t been noticed yet.
‘Look,Pollyanna, it’s just not… I’m not looking to get into anything. And I was honest with you about that,’ Keira said, very gradually closing the door.
It was a good boundary setting, and Alanna admired it. Pollyanna didn’t. ‘You slept with me, though.’
‘Yes, I did,’ Keira said, sounding dog-tired. ‘But…’
‘I just feel like you’re not giving me a proper chance,’ Pollyanna moaned. The door was inches from being closed now. But then it stopped. Pollyanna had placed her foot in the gap.
Alanna realised that while before all this had seemed slightly comical, she wasn’t so amused anymore. Pollyanna’s behaviour set off something in Alanna. She walked toward the train wreck, unsure what she intended to do when she got there. But a mad plan popped into Alanna’s head at the moment it was needed.
‘Keira, who’s this?’ she demanded, approaching the scene.
Keira looked at her through the crack of the door, a bit confused. As well she might be. ‘Oh, umm…’
‘Oh god, please don’t tell me you’ve done it again!’ Alanna broke in angrily.
Keira’s mouth dropped open. ‘Huh?’
Pollyanna looked at Alanna. ‘Done what again?’
Alanna shook her head at Pollyanna. ‘She did, didn’t she? I can’t believe it.’ She turned to Keira. ‘After you promised last time? Do our vows mean nothing to you? I can’t leave the house for one conference without youcheatingon me?’
Keira gaped. Pollyanna gaped. Alanna shot Keira one last angry look. ‘I’m coming in. We need to talk.’ She pushed past a surprised but amenable Keira and turned to Pollyanna. ‘You need to leave.’ She slammed the door on her horrified face.
She turned to Keira in the flat and put a finger to her lips. Keira did as she was bid, and they listened. The distinct sound of heels travelling away at a clip could be heard through the door. Pollyanna was doing one.
As soon as they heard the doors of the elevator shut, Alanna turned to Keira with her normal, not fake-angry voice. ‘I hope that was OK. You just looked like you needed help.’
Keira’s face broke into a smile. ‘She’s gone. I thought I was gonna have to call someone. What even made you think to…’
Alanna shrugged. ‘Look, some people hear it when you put down a line, and some just walk right over it. She seemed…’
Keira shook her head, exhausted. ‘I thought it was dealt with, and then she banged on my door this evening and all of a sudden, I was in a bloody hostage situation. I mean, I’m usually a big one for honesty in this position, but itreallydidn’t seem to be working.’
Alanna felt a dash of guilt. ‘Yes, sorry, I kind of ran roughshod over you. You’re right. Honesty is best. I hope I didn’t tamper with your… methods.’
‘You did, and I’m grateful,’ Keira declared. ‘Because you got results. Thank you so much.’
‘Personal question, but why not stay over at their place? That way, no one ever knows where you live, and you can leave when you like.’
‘Fair question. I concluded that if I was going to avoid being murdered by a stranger, it was less likely if I didn’t go to anybody else’s place.’
‘That makes total sense. What about them, though? What if your sexual partner felt the same? If they wanted to go totheirplace becauseyoumight be dangerous?’
‘If they feel that way, they can opt-out, just as I would. But that rarely happens. And sinceIknow I have no plans to chain anyone to a radiator, I don’t feel guilty about it going my way.’
Alanna mulled that over. ‘I can see the logic in that. Right, I’d better…’
