Lisa listened in the dark. Thomas’ breathing was shallow and quick, not deep and long. He was just pretending to be asleep.
She’d tried everything: explaining, sympathizing, rationalizing…nothing worked. He’d still said less than 8 words to her all night and four of them had been, “Please pass the ranch.”
What did he want her to say? That she’d never speak to Dawn again?
Lisa tried putting herself in Thomas’ shoes but just couldn’t wrap her mind around the situation.
A year ago Dawn had been so close to hiring Thomas as her graphic supervisor and then *poof* everything seemed to change overnight. Thomas began acting overly critical of the whole fashion design world and even made snarky comments about what he called the “gross materialism of anyone who would pay more than $5 for a piece of dead cow.” Then Dawn’s board of directors enacted a mysterious hiring freeze that placed Thomas in limbo for the next 11 months.
It’s like they were intentionally torturing each other.
Lisa’s stomach filled with the uneasy feeling that she often felt when something wasn’t right. It was the same feeling she’d felt as a teen before her parents announced their decision to separate.
She tried to stay awake and think but her fatigue had other plans for the evening. Within minutes she was asleep.
When Lisa woke up Thomas was already in the kitchen. She could hear him singing Grace silly songs. The smell of pancakes wafted into the bedroom.
She pulled her old robe tight around her waist and peeked in to the happy morning scene.
Grace laughed loudly from her highchair as her dad effortlessly flipped a pancake high into the air and caught it in the hot pan.
Lisa couldn’t help but smile. Thomas spotted her and returned her grin.
“Good morning sunshine.”
“Oh, you’re speaking to me?”
Lisa slid over to Thomas cautiously.
Without a word, he turned to her and put both arms around her waist. He studied her face silently and kissed her.
“I was wrong to take my anger out on you. You did nothing.”
The apology rested on Lisa’s ears unevenly. His tone was pointed. Once again Lisa was clear who the unspoken party in the room was. The wrong unspoken party. Dawn.
Against her own judgment Lisa heard herself say, “You know, I’ve had it with this. It’s ridiculous. I’m so…confused. Should Dawn have sent the letter? No. But I don’t even understand why you’ve been pursuing that job in the first place. You two can barely even stand each other anymore.”
Thomas’ face was blank.
Lisa continued, “Thomas. Am I missing something? Help me. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
Thomas finally pursed his lips and turned back to his pancakes.
“You’re making this more complicated than it is. For most wives the decision to chose their husbands over their girlfriends is pretty simple.”
Lisa felt physically cut by his words but for the first time in her life didn’t doubt herself. She knew she wasn’t crazy. Her instincts weren’t wrong. There was something going on and today when she met up with Dawn and the girls, she’d find out what.
