him doing it with a professional volleyball player on top of our dining room table. I got the house and everything in it, but I made sure he got the table.
Now Grace and I rarely referred to my former husband as anything other than Shoe Boy or for any reason other than comic. We definitely never insinuated that I was somehow responsible for his infidelities.
“That’s totally unfair, Grace. You know that Chuck and I have been nothing more than friends since I came back to town. Unlike some people, I took my marriage vows seriously.”
“Come on, Sam. I’m not saying Roger was justified to whore around. I’m just saying he might have been bothered when you and Chuck started spending time together again. Roger thought leaving New York was going to change things, but you were still putting in the same kind of hours and running thirty miles a week. Then you started making time for Chuck. Say what you want about only being friends, but to Roger it was more than that, even if you weren’t technically cheating. He had to have seen the chemistry; everyone does. You drop that hard-ass force field of yours with me and with Chuck, but you never dropped it with Roger. And if he was bothered by it, the next guy will be too. So, unless you want to be alone for good, you need to decide where Chuck Forbes fits into your life. You’re not in high school anymore, honey.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“You pissed?” she asked.
“No, just surprised.”
“I know. I get sucked in by you two also, but I worry about you, is all. This isn’t college, when you could sleep with Chuck on breaks and then run back to Cambridge. Make sure you know what you’re doing.” She smiled. “Don’t get me wrong. I have noticed how good he looks in that uniform of his.”
I returned the smile and said, “At least I’m not writing Mrs. Charles Landon Forbes, Jr.” in my notebook anymore.”
We quickly changed the subject, but the conversation nagged at me throughout the rest of the meal. Roger used to accuse me of being ambivalent about our relationship; now Grace was suggesting the same thing about my feelings for Chuck. The way I’d always seen it, my job was hard enough; the personal stuff should take care of itself.
Three.
Work returned to a normal pace the next day.
I had left several messages on Andrea Martin’s machine the day before but hadn’t heard back from her. This morning, she picked up.
“Ms. Martin, my name is Samantha Kincaid. I’m a deputy district attorney for Multnomah County. How are you?”
“Could be better, under the circumstances and all.”
“I left a few messages for you yesterday,” I said.
“Yeah, I didn’t get ‘em till late. I wait tables at the Hot-cake House at night. I was planning on trying to call you back later.”
“My understanding is that the police have talked to you about what happened over the weekend. Is that right?”
“Yeah. One of ‘em, Mike somebody, called me in the middle of the night Saturday. Told me Kendra was in the hospital. I’d just gotten off work, but I would’ve come down anyway. I guess Kendra didn’t want me there, though.”
“Where is Kendra now?”
“I think she’s in her room. I’m just heading out for my day job at Safeway.”
“Did you know where Kendra was on Saturday night when this happened?”
“No. She runs away so much I’ve stopped calling the cops on her. She just gets mad at me when they pick her up. I’m to the point I just want her to come home every night. I figure I got a better chance if I give her her freedom. The other way sure wasn’t working.”
“So she came home on Sunday afternoon then?”
“Yeah. She didn’t want to. I don’t know what’s so bad around here that she’d rather be out on the street. But the hospital wouldn’t let her go unless she came here or agreed to foster care. At least she picked here.”
“She’s been through a lot. She might want your help right now.”
She laughed. “Miss…
Now Grace and I rarely referred to my former husband as anything other than Shoe Boy or for any reason other than comic. We definitely never insinuated that I was somehow responsible for his infidelities.
“That’s totally unfair, Grace. You know that Chuck and I have been nothing more than friends since I came back to town. Unlike some people, I took my marriage vows seriously.”
“Come on, Sam. I’m not saying Roger was justified to whore around. I’m just saying he might have been bothered when you and Chuck started spending time together again. Roger thought leaving New York was going to change things, but you were still putting in the same kind of hours and running thirty miles a week. Then you started making time for Chuck. Say what you want about only being friends, but to Roger it was more than that, even if you weren’t technically cheating. He had to have seen the chemistry; everyone does. You drop that hard-ass force field of yours with me and with Chuck, but you never dropped it with Roger. And if he was bothered by it, the next guy will be too. So, unless you want to be alone for good, you need to decide where Chuck Forbes fits into your life. You’re not in high school anymore, honey.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“You pissed?” she asked.
“No, just surprised.”
“I know. I get sucked in by you two also, but I worry about you, is all. This isn’t college, when you could sleep with Chuck on breaks and then run back to Cambridge. Make sure you know what you’re doing.” She smiled. “Don’t get me wrong. I have noticed how good he looks in that uniform of his.”
I returned the smile and said, “At least I’m not writing Mrs. Charles Landon Forbes, Jr.” in my notebook anymore.”
We quickly changed the subject, but the conversation nagged at me throughout the rest of the meal. Roger used to accuse me of being ambivalent about our relationship; now Grace was suggesting the same thing about my feelings for Chuck. The way I’d always seen it, my job was hard enough; the personal stuff should take care of itself.
Three.
Work returned to a normal pace the next day.
I had left several messages on Andrea Martin’s machine the day before but hadn’t heard back from her. This morning, she picked up.
“Ms. Martin, my name is Samantha Kincaid. I’m a deputy district attorney for Multnomah County. How are you?”
“Could be better, under the circumstances and all.”
“I left a few messages for you yesterday,” I said.
“Yeah, I didn’t get ‘em till late. I wait tables at the Hot-cake House at night. I was planning on trying to call you back later.”
“My understanding is that the police have talked to you about what happened over the weekend. Is that right?”
“Yeah. One of ‘em, Mike somebody, called me in the middle of the night Saturday. Told me Kendra was in the hospital. I’d just gotten off work, but I would’ve come down anyway. I guess Kendra didn’t want me there, though.”
“Where is Kendra now?”
“I think she’s in her room. I’m just heading out for my day job at Safeway.”
“Did you know where Kendra was on Saturday night when this happened?”
“No. She runs away so much I’ve stopped calling the cops on her. She just gets mad at me when they pick her up. I’m to the point I just want her to come home every night. I figure I got a better chance if I give her her freedom. The other way sure wasn’t working.”
“So she came home on Sunday afternoon then?”
“Yeah. She didn’t want to. I don’t know what’s so bad around here that she’d rather be out on the street. But the hospital wouldn’t let her go unless she came here or agreed to foster care. At least she picked here.”
“She’s been through a lot. She might want your help right now.”
She laughed. “Miss…
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