I went downstairs to the kitchen, where I kept the menus for the surrounding restaurants and was hard-pressed to find one among the four and five-star establishments that catered to her juvenile palette, especially at dinner time. I did it with a bit of luck and persuasion once one of the hosts recognized my name and did me a solid with the chef. Have to remember to send a hefty tip for the inconvenience.
When the doorbell rang not long after and she was still not yet downstairs, I called out to her and went to answer the door. “Rene, what’re you doing here?”
GARRICK
“I asked you what you were doing here.”
“So you really are here. Aren’t you going to invite me in?” I stepped back to let her in. I wasn’t ready to face her yet; I had been waiting for my anger to cool down before I did something we’d both regret, but since she’d invited herself, why not get it over and done with?
“Sure, come on in. So, what brings you here? And how did you know I was back?”
“Was it supposed to be a secret? Wasn’t I supposed to have known that you’re back?” She looked around as if expecting someone else to be here, and I ignored her question.
Under normal circumstances, I would owe her an explanation, a big one, and would’ve gone out of my way to ease the blow. After all, we’d been together for a couple of years, and she would’ve deserved that much, at least. As someone who prides myself on being fair, I couldn’t find it in me to be that way now, not with her. In fact, I was feeling very ungentlemanlike right now.
“So, you went on vacation without me even though I begged you not to go. You should never have done that, Garrick; it makes us look bad; what would people think?”
“About what exactly?”
‘What do you mean about what? I’m a part of your family now, and you two going off together, leaving me behind, doesn’t look good.”
Oh, I guess she thinks her secret is still safe; she’s putting it on people and not her own actions.
“Why would I give a fuck about what people think about me and what I do?” She seemed to relax at my answer as if I were right that she thought her secret was safe.
That Madeline was so cowed by her, she’d never tell me what she’d said to her. Her behavior gave me a bad feeling in my gut. The feeling that maybe Madeline hadn’t told me all of what had been said and done to her. Why else would Rene be so confident that she’d keep her secret?
Just thinking about the possibility pissed me off, and I barely kept the look of anger off my face. “Did you say something to Madeline?” I wanted to know what else this viper had done behind my back, but I didn’t want to involve Madeline any more than I had to. I didn’t want her taking the blame for something else she didn’t do. If anyone is to be blamed here, it’s going to be me.
So I played it off like I didn’t know anything, and when her shoulders relaxed, and she looked more comfortable, I knew that she’d bought it. “Like what? What could I have said after you told me no? It still bothers me that you did that, but at least you’re back now. I think we should do something to make up for it, don’t you think?” She walked over and tried running her fingers down my chest.
I stepped back out of the way with repulsion and didn’t even try to hide it.
“I asked you what you said to Madeline, and no more of your bullshit.”
“Madeline, Madeline, Madeline, is she all you care about? If you must know, I did have a few words with her, which I think is only fair as the woman in your life. I think she’s spoilt and ungrateful, but it’s not my place to say anything about it to her or anyone else.”
She looked at me to see if I’d bought it, her lips still in a sulky pout because I rebuffed her. “If you didn’t tell her how spoilt and ungrateful she is, then what exactly did you two talk about?” I guess the even tone of my voice, without inflection, gave her the false sense that I was still completely in the dark.
“What is this? Can’t I talk to her now, either? Is she somehow off-limits to the woman you’ve been sleeping with for the past three years? Fine, we talked about the coming changes in our relationship. She’s never shown me the proper respect as your fiancée. How do you expect her to respect me when we get married if you don’t put your foot down now and put her in her place?”