I walk over to her and get close, close enough to make sure if she pisses me off, I can take care of her without too much effort. “What. Do. You. Want?” I drive each word home with small jabs into her fake tits. “Hmm, they even feel rock hard. Surely that isn’t the look you paid for?”
“Shut up!” She squawks. Yes, squawks. The sound that comes out of her mouth sounds like the noise you hear when you’re standing on the beach and millions of sea gulls attack. This bitch is insane.
“Mandy, I’m tired and don’t want any shit right now. Can you please just get this shit moving?”
“Tell me, does Greg tell you everything? Is it complete happiness in paradise? I know how to please a man like him, and I can promise you he isn’t happy. He likes it a certain way, and I doubt you have that kind of . . . spunk.”
“Spunk? Do you know what the hell spunk is? Trust me, honey, when it comes to Greg, I get plenty of spunk out of it.”
She looks at me confused for a few seconds, clearly confused by my comment. I had a friend in high school that had just moved to America from London and every time my mom would call her spunky, she would die. She said that to her, spunk has always meant sperm. We liked to call people spunky when they were pissing us off, because to us, being called sperm was hilarious. I don’t care how old you are, that shit never gets old.
“What? Never mind. Answer me. Do you two have any secrets? I know you do, which is a shame because he never kept anything from me.” My stomach drops, because even though I know she is bat shit crazy, we do have secrets. Or at least he has secrets from me. Two days ago I would have laughed in her face and maybe popped one of her tits but today, no today I already have that seed of doubt planted so deep all she did was water it and watch it grow.
“Really? Are you this demented that you need to start making up lies?” The smug smile that curls her fake features chills me to the bones.
“Went to see him today. When he saw me last night, he begged me to come to the office and talk with him. I knew it would only be a matter of time before he was sick of you, so I waited. I waited and I was right. But, I was shocked to learn just why he was done with you.”
“Mandy, you are fucking nuts. I’m gone. Not going to stand here and listen to you lie about MY man. You hear that, and get it through your fucking head; he is not yours and he never will be.” I move to walk around her but she sidesteps me, blocking my path to the door.
“Who is Simon, Melissa?” Her question stops me cold. How in the hell would she know about Simon.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mandy. Is this a new man you plan on getting your hooks in?” Thank God, my voice comes out strong, despite how I feel on the inside. On the inside I am slowly dying. There is no way in hell she would know about Simon if it didn’t come from Greg.
“Oh you stupid, stupid girl. Let me fill you in on what I know. Was your sister married? Hmm? Maybe married to Simon? Well, what you don’t know and what your darling Greg is keeping from you, is that Simon was also married to his sister.” It takes everything I have, every single ounce of control, not to react to her words. She doesn’t wait before landing the final blow. “You know what he told me today? He told me he was sick of looking at you because every time he did all he could think about was how you are connected to the man who killed his sister. He couldn’t stand to be around you any longer because you remind him of everything he hates.” She spits the last word out and even though I’m sure all of the color has drained from my face, I stand my ground and offer her nothing.
“You will have to do better than that if you plan to scare me off, Mandy. Have a good night.” I walk around her and down the hall. I don’t even see the bar around me, or the patrons enjoying their meals and laughing at all the happiness in their world. The happiness in mine has just been stripped from my body. I feel completely gutted.
How does she know about Simon? She knows about Fia. And Grace? If I even could believe her, that means Greg has been keeping something huge from me. Grace was married to Simon? He knew this, the whole time I have been opening up to him about Cohen, my sister, her death . . . he knew who Simon was, and he knew who Cohen was.
Oh my God, he could have stopped him! As soon as the thought hits my brain, I almost fall over at the enormity of the situation. Greg’s sister died over a decade ago and he knew Simon did it. He told me he disappeared after it happened, but if he would have stuck around and made sure Simon paid, then MY sister would still be here. My heart is pounding so quickly and my breathing is coming too fast. I have to get out of here.
I make it back to the table, but the girls must have had their eyes on me because they are up in a second and by my side.
“Meli? What’s wrong?” Izzy, or maybe it was Dee, asks. I just shake my head and reach for my purse.