Page 78 of Two Couples

“And I love you.” I wrapped my arms around him, pressing my body against his. He didn’t shift his position or respond in any way. “You’re the center of my world,” I whispered.

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s not! I love you so much it hurts.”

“You don’t act like it. You keep refusing to answer my legitimate questions.”

“Marriage shouldn’t be an interrogation.”

“It isn’t. You made it that way by constantly refusing to talk to me. By hiding that guy’s existence and then lying about it, you raised all kinds of questions. Red-flag questions. Now, it would be great if you’d turn out the light. It’s clear you aren’t going to give me an answer, so I have a long drive tomorrow and I’d like to get some sleep.”

“Please,” I whispered. “Please don’t do this.”

He laughed dryly. “I can see through your lie. Don’t you even realize that?”

“What lie?”

“I know one thing for sure—that guy, whoever he is, did not tell you about this house. Samantha found it. Or did you forget that?”

I didn’t speak for a few seconds. “That’s not true.” I felt ill throwing Sam under the bus, but it was her or my marriage. “She said that to make herself seem important, to make sure she was the one who would handle the sale.”

He didn’t respond. After I turned out the light, I stayed close to him, feeling the warmth of his body, listening to him breathe. I thought the closeness of my body, and pain over the reality of leaving me, even if it was only for six days, would make it impossible for him to relax into sleep. But I was wrong. Within minutes, his breathing was softer and I could tell by the lack of tension in his muscles that he was deeply asleep.

Still, I held him, as if that would keep him with me. I couldn’t let him go. I knew I was dodging his questions, but I was absolutely telling the truth—it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to move away. I needed to feel his skin, I needed to listen to him breathe.

I would be lost without him. I wanted my husband. I loved him and it hurt in a way I’d never felt in my life, hearing him say so easily that he wanted to leave, to rethink our marriage.

After a while, his body shifted. I slid my arm out from under him and moved to my side of the bed. I lay on my back, my eyes wide open. I couldn’t think. My chest was tight, as if the pain were physical. I couldn’t let him leave. But I couldn’t find the words to set things right.

I slipped out of bed, pulling the covers up so he wouldn’t feel the cool air and wake. I went to the dresser and took his phone off the charger. I opened the top drawer and took out his keys. Then, I got my own keys out of my purse.

Stepping into the hallway, I paused, listening for the TV, for voices. The house was silent. I went into one of the two bedrooms that wasn’t being used. I closed the door softly and turned on the light. I paused, looking around the room. There was a bed with two nightstands. An antique dresser and a hall tree with a bench stood on opposite sides of the room. There was no balcony in this bedroom. The furniture had been here when we bought the house.

I went to the bench in the hall tree and lifted the seat. Inside were some paperback books, two beach towels, and a canvas carryall. I powered down Keith’s phone. I put it and the two sets of keys in the carryall, folded it over, and shoved it back into the bench. I grabbed the robe and tossed it back in so it covered the carryall.

When I returned to our room and slipped in beside Keith, my heart was racing, but I felt calm knowing I wouldn’t wake to an empty bed.

FIFTY-SEVEN

SAMANTHA

I reached for Jordan’s wrist and tugged gently, urging her to sit back down. “Shh. Do you want everyone to hear this?”

She shook her head, perching on the edge of the chair as if she were in the starting blocks for a race. Her skin was so drained of color, she looked like an actual ghost—white and almost translucent in the dark. Tears ran silently down her cheeks, shimmering in the light of the half- moon that had emerged from the clouds.

“The crazy thing is that after this house was built, after I met Todd, I didn’t even want the house. It’s too big. It’s too modern. It doesn’t suit me at all. And…” She settled back more firmly into the chair and I let go of her wrist. The pool water lapped against the sides as the breeze grew stronger.

I shivered. “And…?”

“I wanted Todd to take me as far away from here as we could possibly get. As far away from my mother as I could go. But he wanted this house. He loved this house. He talked as if it had been designed and built for him—the only place he could settle and be happy.”

Jordan leaned toward me, her voice soft, but broken. “She wouldn’t let me leave.”

I laughed. “What do you mean, she wouldn’t let you?”

“She trapped me. She pinned me down.”

“How did she do that? You’re an adult woman. It’s not like she has a chronic illness that requires your care.”