chapter 49
Heather ran into the studio.
“I just got a call from your wife.”
Jonny was stunned. “What?”
“She is in a rage.” Heather leaned on the counter to catch her breath.
“What did she say?”
“She said you didn’t really care about me. I told her she was the one who was wrong, if you didn’t care about me then why would you be sleeping with me?”
He turned white. “What did you say?” he croaked.
“I told her we’re sleeping together.”
Suddenly Jonny realized that expecting discretion from a nineteen-year-old was expecting too much.
Heather continued, “I don’t know why you are so freaked out. We’re a couple Jonny, it’s time she knew.”
“You should not have spoken to her.” His voice was angry and firm. “Where was she?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
He was panicked and angry. He walked around the console to Heather and grabbed her by the arms. “Don’t play games Heather, this is my life. Where was she?”
“Ow, you’re hurting me.” She wriggled free from his grasp. “How should I know where she was? It sounded like she was on a cell phone. She could be anywhere.”
Jonny released his grasp. “I have to go home.” He looked at the clock. He was still on the air for another two hours. He figured he could voice track the rest of his show and skip out. He’d tell Ted he had an emergency. Not untrue.
“Why are you going home? It’s good she knows, I feel better it’s out in the open. Now we can be together.”
“Heather, you don’t get it. I don’t want to lose my wife!”
His words hit Heather like stones. She finally realized she was nothing more than a fling to him. She started to cry.
“Look, I can’t deal with your tears right now. We’ll talk later. Now you have to leave so I can voice track and get the hell out of here.”
Jonny’s angry voice scared her. She sullenly left the studio.
Jonny quickly looked over the playlist and began recording breaks. An hour later he was done, speeding out of the studio to Ted Reed’s office.
Ted was on the phone. Jonny interrupted him with two quick raps on the door. “I have an emergency, I voice tracked the rest of my shift. I have to leave.”
Ted looked at the frantic man in front of him. “Is everything okay? Is it Jill?”
“Yeah, I can’t get into it. I gotta go.”
“Drive safe,” Ted said, but Jonny was already gone.
He sped home, screeching into his complex. Outside his apartment door was a pile of stuff. His stuff. Clothes, CDs and other personal effects lay strew on the front walk.
Obviously Jill was home.
He put his key in the lock. It didn’t turn. He tried again. She must have changed the locks. Jonny dialed Jill on his cell phone.
“Hello,” she tearfully answered.
“Jill, it’s Jonny, please don’t hang up.”
He heard her breathing heavily.
“Please let me in. I want to talk to you.”
“I have no use for you. Find someplace else to sleep.” Her voice was terse.
“Jill.”
Click.
She hung up on him.
He called her back again, but she didn’t answer. The third time he tried his call went straight to voicemail.
Jonny didn’t really blame her. He betrayed her in the worst possible way. Shamefully, he gathered up his belongings, taking several trips to load them in his car. On the last trip, he woefully placed his hand on the doorknob, hoping it would open, hoping it wasn’t too late. In his heart he realized it probably was.
He drove back to the station lost in thought. Jill was the love of his life, but something in him was never satisfied. Now that he was losing her he realized he wanted her more than ever. He was so angry with himself for giving into the temptations of Heather. With Jill, his life had structure and meaning. Jill was the type Dana was looking so hard to find and he threw her away.
He rushed through the station to find Dana. Thankfully she was in her office.
“Dana.”
“Hi Jonny, what’s up?” she asked cheerily.
“Jill threw me out.”
“What! Why?”
Jonny entered her office and closed the door. “I blew it.”
“Oh, Jonny,” Dana peered shamefully at him. “It was true wasn’t it? You and Heather?”
He nodded slowly.
Dana looked at her friend differently. “Why? Why would you do something like that?” It was more an admonition than a question.
“I...I don’t know,” he lied, not wanting to admit his own twisted dissatisfaction with his wife’s body, not wanting to reveal his inane shallowness.
Dana was incredibly disappointed in him. “How is Jill?”
“She’s a mess.”
“So now what?”
“Well, I sorta need a place to stay...”
Dana started shaking her head, “Oh no Jonny, don’t you drag me into this. Jill’s my friend, too.”
“Yeah, but I was your friend first.”
“Don’t play that game with me. You’re the one wearing the black hat here.”
“I know that...please, Dana, I have no other place to go.”
“What about Heather?” Her tone cut through him. “Why not stay with her?”
“I’m not involved with her like that.”
Dana raised her eyebrows.
“I mean...it’s not what you think, it didn’t mean anything.”
“That makes what you did even more stupid.” Dana crossed her arms, so upset that her friend was the epitome of everything she feared in a man. “Why would you hurt your wife and betray her with someone you don’t even care about?”
“I have no answer for you,” his voice trailed. He took a deep breath, “Dana, I’m begging you...can I please stay at your place? I won’t get in the way, I swear. I’ll cook for you, clean, whatever you need. Please. I’m calling in a huge favor here, please.”
Dana eyed him with disdain. “I have no idea why I’m doing this...fine, you can stay.”
“Oh, thank you,” he said, throwing his arms around her.
She shook him off. “Don’t thank me. I feel guilty enough as it is.”
“Okay, I get it. So I guess I’ll just hang out here with you till your shift is over, then we can go home?”
“My home. To my home. This is not permanent and I really think you should look into other arrangements.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
“Don’t mention it...really, don’t mention it.”