And then she was asleep before she even realized it.
When Nicole awoke again, Red was already out of bed and in the shower. She was feeling tense, but not as upset as she’d been yesterday. Instead, she was looking forward to finally nailing down this guest list so that she could email it to Marcie, who would in turn forward it along to the vendor. From there, it would be printed and mailed out.
Nicole got up and threw on some sweats, went downstairs and started breakfast. Chef Roland was on vacation and she was kind of glad. She enjoyed cooking for Red, and he really enjoyed eating what she prepared. This morning she made his favorite—chocolate chip pancakes and sausage links. It was a thank you to him for finally making time to work on this list for the invitations, which Nicole knew he hated. He didn’t want to think about the stuff with his mother and brother and God only knew what else. She understood that.
By the time he came downstairs in his blue suit and red tie, she had his plate ready for him.
“Nicole, you didn’t have to do that,” he said, but she could tell he was very pleased just the same.
“Come on, sit down and eat up,” she said. “I’m going to grab my laptop.”
“You don’t need your laptop,” he said, cutting up his pancake and starting to eat.
“Why?”
“Because, I already—“ he looked down at his pants and patted his pocket.
Nicole heard the familiar buzzing sound of his cell phone and then he was answering. “Yeah?”
She clenched her fists involuntarily as she listened to his side of the conversation.
“I kind of have something I need to do right now,” he said. “Can’t they handle it without me?”
She heard the far away mumblings of a female voice. Red shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Right. But we could just re-shoot…yeah. Yeah. Fine. Tell them I’ll be there but I’m not happy about it.”
He got off the phone and looked at her.
“Don’t say it,” she warned him. “You promised me we’d do this.”
“That was Gia. There’s been an issue with the video shoot they’re doing this morning. They had to fire the director and they need me there to figure out what’s next.”
Nicole put a hand to her forehead. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. What video shoot?”
He stood up. “We’re shooting a video for the Erikson Bikes pitch. I’m losing money every second that goes by. I need to get down there and try and salvage this thing.”
“Not before we talk about the guest list.”
He stopped and put his hands on his hips and his expression was strained. “Come on, Nicole. Give me a break, here.”
“You said you’d do it. You’ve been putting it off every time I ask and now you’re putting it off again. We need to get these invitations out.”
“Listen, I printed out all of my contacts and addresses yesterday and brought it home with me. It’s got everyone in there. When I get home tonight, you and I can go through every single one of them…”
“You didn’t print anything out.”
“I did. I brought it with me last night and it’s right upstairs. But now something unexpected came up and I just don’t have time to go through it all. I’m sorry.”
Nicole’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m getting so sick of being put third behind your work and…everyone else.”
“Everyone else? Who else do I put ahead of you?”
“Gia,” she said, hating herself for sounding like a fifteen-year-old spoiled brat.
“Gia?” he said, stunned. “You hired her, Nicole!”
“Because I got confused. I didn’t realize she was going to become your new wife. She sees you more than I do!” She slapped the table in frustration.
“I don’t have time for this,” he said. “I love you—“
“Just go, don’t lie to me again about how we’ll do it later.”
He looked at her, his face flushed, his eyes dark with barely repressed anger. “I love you, Nicole. And we’ll deal with this tonight when I get home.”
She just shook her head and didn’t even look at him. She wanted to scream. In all honesty, she wanted to pummel his chest and have a fit like a little kid. Only it wasn’t cute or funny or silly. She was truly enraged.
Red left and the door slammed shut. When she heard his car engine start, she yelled. “Go fuck your little whore!” as loud as she could, knowing there was no way he could hear her.
It felt both good and awful at the same time to say those words. Not that she honestly believed he was having sex with Gia. It was just the feeling it gave her when he left home because Gia was calling him, the knowledge that they were spending days together while Nicole was left home.
She felt powerless. Every decision she made, although intended to make things better, only seemed to make the situation worse.