Page 23 of Everything We Thought Was True
“Sorry, hon. There are some friends we’ve been trying to meet up with, and they’ll be in the city tonight, so Henry and I want to see them.” He wouldn’t look directly at her. He kept shifting his eyes around, smiling at the kids in the pool or at other people as they walked by.
“Oh, okay...” It wasn’t okay. “Who are these friends?”
“No one you know. They live on Long Island, and Henry and I met them once out on the boat when we had dinner on City Island.”
“Hmm,” she said, feeling her insides knot up. She wanted to open Frank’s head and peer inside.Are they really meeting these unnamed friends, or is it just going to be him and Henry?She had so many questions and fears but didn’t trust herself to voice them.
She no longer felt like the wife who’d believed her husband when he vowed to love and honor her so long as they bothshall live. Her heart ached as she realized they’d entered a new phase of their marriage. She’d become cautious and careful around Frank lately—resigned to his actions and not bold enough to question them. She felt nostalgic for a time, years earlier, when things had been more carefree.
Frank glanced toward the parking lot, and she looked in that direction. There was Henry, with his hand blocking the sun from his eyes, sandy-blond hair glowing, crisp linen pants hanging loosely on his lean frame. Frank beamed and waved at Henry, who waved back enthusiastically. She could sense an electric current running under the surface. It was palpable. Teresa felt like an interloper, a third wheel. She felt a catch in her throat and thought she might cry.
Frank turned back to her, brushed his lips lightly against her cheek, and met her eyes. “I'll be back by midnight. Don't wait up.” In that instant, she saw a flash of regret.
He went to the edge of the pool and called the kids over then tousled Anthony’s hair and gave Lena a kiss on the forehead. They were oblivious to where he was going, probably assuming he was heading back to work, which gave them more time to play. And then Frank was off, heading toward Henry, away from her. She watched his figure get smaller and smaller until he reached Henry in the parking lot. Then they disappeared into Henry’s car and drove off.
A growing fright was taking root in her mind, and she couldn't shake it. When she and Frank had become friends with Henry and Joanie a few years ago, they’d gotten together as two families, including wives and kids. But it had been ages since she’d seen Joanie or their kids. Lately, Frank and Henry spent their time alone together. She wondered if there was something between them.
Sharon jumped right back into their conversation from earlier. “Yes, Frank has been here a lot lately. So has Henry. I swear I see them here every weekend together. They’re such good pals. Always out ontheir boats when Frank’s not working. It’s like they’re glued to the hip. You must be jealous!”
Teresa recoiled as if someone had slapped her face. A shiver ran through her.Is she implying Henry and Frank are...?
Sharon studied her. “Teresa? Did I upset you?” she asked hesitantly. “I was just teasing.” Sharon reached out her hand and put it on Teresa’s arm. “Of course, I know you aren’t jealous of Frank’s friendship with Henry. I just meant they spend so much time together.”
Teresa was unnerved but tried to act normal. “Yes, I knew what you meant.” She hesitated. “It’s just that Frank spends a lot of time at the club and on the boat, and I miss him.”
Teresa stopped, afraid she might cry.No, no, no. Do not cry to Sharon.That wouldn’t be a good idea. It would get back to Jim, and then back to Frank, and she didn’t want to make waves.
“Oh, I know. These men and their hobbies and toys. They become a bit obsessed, right?” Sharon smiled at her, squeezed her shoulder, and then gently pulled away.
Teresa gave a little smile and nodded. Sharon nodded back as if the matter was closed.If she only knew how spot-on she really is.
Later that night, Teresa couldn’t sleep, so she grabbed the Stephen King book she was reading. After a few pages, she gave up, unable to concentrate as thoughts flashed through her mind. She remembered the look that had come over Frank’s face when she caught him staring at Tommy and then his reaction when he locked eyes with Henry in the parking lot.What has he been hiding? Could he be attracted to men? And why is he spending so much time with Henry? Could Frank be interested in Henry?Teresa gasped for breath and broke out in a sweat that made her forehead bead and her body feel clammy. She lay in bed, waiting for the sound of Frank’s carin the driveway.
A little after midnight, Frank turned up. Teresa heard him enter the apartment, tiptoe into the bathroom, and close the door behind him. Teresa listened to him washing his face and brushing his teeth, sounds as familiar to her as the ring of their telephone or the heat coursing through the old radiators of their apartment. And then he was shedding his pants and shirt and climbing in beside her in his underwear, the bedsprings squeaking slightly under his weight. Their little Yorkie, Libby, who’d been curled up sleeping against Teresa’s back, growled.
“Shh, you little shit.”
Teresa got a sense of satisfaction knowing that Libby had growled at Frank, almost like the dog was sticking up for her.Serves him right.
“How was the city?” Teresa asked, trying not to sound like she was pouncing.
“Good.”
“Where did you go?”
“We went to Greenwich Village. Had dinner and then went to a bar for a few hours to shoot the breeze.”
Teresa’s heart raced. “A bar? You never go to bars. You don’t even drink,” she reminded him, thinking of what he’d told her about Eva’s struggles with alcohol years before and how he’d sworn off the stuff, just as she had because of her father’s addiction.
“I didn’t have a drink—of course not. You know that’s not my thing. But they were going there tonight, so I went along.” He shrugged.
She didn’t know what histhingwas anymore. “So, it wasn't just you and Henry alone? Who are these other guys again? Do I know them? What are their names?”
“Wow, so many questions. What is this, the inquisition?” She heard a teasing tone in his voice and felt her demeanor soften. “Wemet up with Mark and Bennie. They're the ones I told you we met that time on City Island, ’member?”
Teresa recognized the names. She nodded slowly, processing Frank’s words and attitude. He seemed relaxed, devoid of any sense of wrongdoing. She wondered if she was overreacting.
Frank punched his pillow and flipped over, facing away from her in the bed. For some time now, they’d stopped sleeping facing each other. Despite being annoyed at him for going out, she felt herself wishing he would reach for her. It had been months since they’d made love. Making love used to be the way they could feel like themselves again—not some shadow of what they once were. Teresa missed it. She felt starved for physical contact. She missed being held, touched, desired.She leaned over and pressed herself against his back, wrapping her arms around him, touching his bare chest.
