The Friends We Keep

That was it?

“The wife was based on me,” she said quietly.

“What? No way. Nicole, you’re nothing like her.”

He was wrong. Maybe he hadn’t seen it, but she had. What she didn’t know was what Eric had been thinking. Had she ever meant anything to him? Had she been little more than a means to an end? She’d always thought they’d married because they were in love. Now she wasn’t sure. Maybe getting her to support him while he wrote his screenplay had been his plan all along.

Jairus stood and drew her to her feet, then escorted her out of the theater as the Q and A session began. When they were in the lobby, Jairus guided her to a corner and touched her cheek.

“It wasn’t you,” he said flatly.

“It was. She was so horrible. Maybe that’s how he saw me. Maybe it’s what he needed to do to leave the marriage. I’ve never understood him and now I’m more confused than ever.” She thought about all she’d been through, all the blame she’d assumed. She pressed a hand to her stomach. “I’m not feeling very well. Could you please take me home?”

For a second she thought he was going to refuse, but instead he nodded. “Of course. Let’s go get the car.”

*

There were times, Hayley told herself, when wounds could only be healed by a burger, fries and a milk shake. And this was definitely one of those days.

She slid into the booth at Gary’s Café. Nicole sat at her side while Gabby settled in across from them. Their impromptu lunch had come about through a series of quick text messages. The casual “Hi, how’s it going” had spiraled to “I need some girlfriend time.” So here they were.

Hayley realized she hadn’t been out with her friends since her surgery. They’d been really good about coming to visit her, but there hadn’t been a lot of her getting out. Now she looked around and admitted she’d missed the world a lot.

“How is everyone?” she asked.

“Good,” Gabby said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

Nicole shrugged. “Same old, same old.”

Hayley looked at them more closely. She saw tension in Gabby’s posture and something that looked a lot like hurt in Nicole’s eyes.

“Okay,” she said, putting down her menu. “What’s really going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

The other two women exchanged a look. Hayley leaned forward.

“I’m not dying or breakable. I’m doing fine. Don’t keep things from me. What is it?”

Nicole groaned. “I went to Eric’s premiere a couple of nights ago.”

“What?” Hayley wanted to slap herself. “I thought it was next week. I’m sorry. I would have called and asked about it.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I needed time to process what I saw.”

“How was the movie?” Gabby asked.

“I honestly don’t know. The audience seemed to like it. Of course they were all friends and family, so what were they going to say?” She bit her lower lip. “No, that’s not fair. The reviews have been good. Trust me, I’ve read them all.”

Hayley knew there was a problem, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

“You don’t care that Eric’s successful, do you?” Gabby asked, sounding doubtful.

“No. Not really. I just...” Nicole sighed. “I don’t know him. I did, only I didn’t realize it. I can’t figure out how we got together, let alone married. And that movie.”

Their waitress appeared. “Afternoon, ladies. Our milk shake of the day is peanut butter cookie, which is as good as it sounds. The guacamole burger is our deal of the day.”

Hayley felt her stomach grumble in anticipation. She hadn’t been very hungry lately, but now she felt as if she could eat two burgers and all the fries.

“I need a minute,” Gabby said.

“I’ll be back in a few,” the waitress promised with a smile and left.

Gabby stared at her menu. “I’m going to have something decadent and I honestly don’t care about the calories. I accept the wrongness of that.”

“It’s not wrong,” Hayley told her.

“I hope you’re right.” Gabby looked back at Nicole. “What about the movie?”

“It was...” She glanced away, then back at them. “I’m the villain. Not the real one. He’s trying to blow up the city. But the wife is based on me and she’s awful. Whiny and self-absorbed. I recognized a few things and it was really hard. I’m so embarrassed.”

Hayley turned toward her friend. “You’re none of those things so I don’t know how you could be in the movie.”

“I just am. Trust me. Now I get why Eric didn’t want me reading the screenplay. I think he took out all the frustrations he had in our marriage in that character. There’s a rawness to their relationship that rings true. At the end, she gets kidnapped and is totally humiliated by the bad guys. Everyone cheered.”