CHAPTER 17JaimeI had no idea how much clutter I’ve accumulated over the last three years I’ve lived in this apartment. I found clothes crammed into my closet I had bought and never even worn. Granted, it was always something I found on super sale, but still… I have a lot of crap.
Each night this week, I’ve tackled something to make room for Cage to move in when he gets back. Only two more nights, and he’ll be here.
We’ll be living together as man and wife.
Just thinking that still sends a thrill up my spine. I’m currently pulling any item of clothing I have not worn in the last six months out of my dresser and tossing it on my bed. I’ll evaluate how much I want to keep the item and go from there. My goal is to have at least fifty percent of the space available to Cage when he moves in. I’d already done the same to my closet just last night.
This week has been weird in that it’s been a week of lies in the form of hiding the truth. My coworkers wanted to know how Vegas was. I told them it was great, crazy, the food was plentiful, and I had a very bad hangover, but I didn’t say I was married.
I also haven’t told my parents yet because it’s something I feel needs to be done in person. I also don’t want to do it with Cage at my side as I don’t know how they’ll react, and I don’t want it to be awkward for him. I don’t want their anger projected at or attached to him.
It would be good if I could have done it this week, but work has been hectic. There’s just not enough time to drive out to their place to have what is going to be a long and involved talk.
Rather, my aim is to head out there on Sunday for family dinner while Cage moves his stuff in and lay the bomb on the entire family.
I’m not scared about it, though. I’m excited to have Cage become a part of my family—because I know once the shock wears off, they are going to love him. I also can’t wait until we go to tell his parents, which is a trip I’ll make with Cage.
Or at least, that’s our current game plan.
Cage was due back Friday—tomorrow night—but he’s been delayed a day. He was short on details though, and I’m not sure what to make of it.
This week while he was at his car auction, communication has been weird. Or maybe inconsistent is the better term.
Don’t get me wrong. I heard from him every single day. Like toward the beginning of the week when he left for Georgia, he called me a couple of times a day, and the texts were plentiful. It made me miss him so much, and I wonder if this frequent traveling will be an integral part of his job.
Of course, I wonder if he’ll even keep this job for the long haul since he’s not overly fond of it. I know my dad could get him on at the plant if he wanted to go into manufacturing.
I got one last call from him Wednesday morning. He said the auction was going full tilt, and he would probably have his phone turned off most of the time. He assured me I could still text whenever I wanted, and he would reply as soon as he could.
That worked well the remainder of the week, and we exchanged a few chatty texts and one dirty one.
But today, I’m feeling a little off-kilter about his trip. Friday was his set date to return, but I got a text this morning that merely said he was going to be delayed by a day and he’d explain everything when he got in on Saturday evening.
And immediately, I had a moment of distrust. It was exactly how I felt when my ex, Terry, started getting squirrely with me. Not able to commit to times to see me, and sometimes having to back out of things at the last minute. Now that I think about it, the phone calls became almost nonexistent as he just wouldn’t answer and I’d be forced to leave a voicemail, then he’d text me when he got a chance.
Was Cage cheating on me?
Was he actually with another woman this week?
No.
No way. This isn’t like what Terry did. He actually ghosted me for days at a time, which led me to my suspicions. While Cage may not have been able to talk on the phone at times, he’s been in contact with me every single day, mostly by text the last few days. His words are teasing and light. He jokes with me, always telling me he misses me and can’t wait to get back. I never had any of those reassurances from Terry.