get something that she forgot at home,” he said.
“She should have asked me. I’m pretty sure I’ve brought my whole bathroom with me,” I said. My entire carry-on was filled with makeup, medicines (just in case someone has an allergic reaction, diarrhea, or gets the flu— you never know), my hair products and special shampoo/conditioner for curly hair, and a few other things.
“You and Greg are ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, except I’m sitting here waiting for Greg. He’s at the shop too getting some aloe, but he’s taking a while.” For a split second, I had the familiar suspicions creep up on me again, but I quickly squashed them.
“Well, I’m gonna finish up here. We’ll call you when we’re done.”
“Sure, bye.” I went to the window and saw that the sun was setting. The sliding door on the other side of the room opened to a spacious balcony, and I sat outside wishing Greg would hurry so we could watch the sunset together. It was a majestic sight as the sky painted itself in rich hues of pink and orange, then blues and purples as the sun dipped over the horizon. There was music down below from the pool. It stopped, and the silence was broken by some playful shouts by the pool, but also by a loud conversation happening right below my room. The speakers were out of sight, but my heart hammered in my chest as I recognized the familiar female and male voices.
“I have tried,” she said desperately. “I don’t think I can take it anymore. You look like you have forgotten all about me, about us, and it’s just impossible for me to see you two act as if you’re so happy. You weren’t happy with her all those times you came to me, were you? What’s changed now?”
“I told you all of this before Chicago,” the man said, much more quietly than the woman. I had to almost throw myself over the balcony to hear him, but I still could not see them. “I enjoyed our time together, but it had to stop. It’s not fair to Audrey. Or your husband. So, yes, I have forgotten about us because I have to, and you have to as well.”
“You know what’s not fair? This isn’t fair. I have to put up with this whole charade— the four of us having a grand time— me watching you giggle and play in the sand with your wife while I can’t even stand to be in the same room with him. That’s not fair. I can’t take it anymore.” She was getting rather loud now.
“Please, be quiet,” he said.
“Whatever,” she said, much more quiet than before, “let’s just go to dinner and keep on pretending you never fucked me.” Angry heels drifted away, and I sat there on the balcony letting the silence overwhelm me. Shock is a mild word for what I was experiencing at the moment. It was like I was kicked in the stomach and then kicked again.
What do I do? I thought frantically. He will be here any minute and I either confront him or pretend I heard nothing. I’ve always been a mild-mannered person, non-confrontational. I don’t like to rock the boat, but I was having a very uncharacteristic emotion of absolute rage. This vacation was ruined, my marriage was ruined. What I wanted to do was dump the entire contents of Greg’s belongings over the balcony and then lock him out of the room. I was still sitting there on the balcony, though, letting all of these thoughts wash over me, when the door opened.
“I got the aloe,” Greg said. I stayed there, contemplating sitting through an entire dinner as if I hadn’t heard a thing. Walking inside, I saw he had applied it and was buttoning his shirt back up. He didn’t look as if he’d just been yelled at by his mistress, whom he was about to go have dinner with alongside his wife.
We went across the hall and knocked on Natalie and Harvey’s door and the four of us went downstairs together. I noticed that Natalie wasn’t hiding her feelings as well as Greg was.
“Natalie, are you OK?” I asked, putting my arm around her shoulder as we got out of the elevator. I
“She should have asked me. I’m pretty sure I’ve brought my whole bathroom with me,” I said. My entire carry-on was filled with makeup, medicines (just in case someone has an allergic reaction, diarrhea, or gets the flu— you never know), my hair products and special shampoo/conditioner for curly hair, and a few other things.
“You and Greg are ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, except I’m sitting here waiting for Greg. He’s at the shop too getting some aloe, but he’s taking a while.” For a split second, I had the familiar suspicions creep up on me again, but I quickly squashed them.
“Well, I’m gonna finish up here. We’ll call you when we’re done.”
“Sure, bye.” I went to the window and saw that the sun was setting. The sliding door on the other side of the room opened to a spacious balcony, and I sat outside wishing Greg would hurry so we could watch the sunset together. It was a majestic sight as the sky painted itself in rich hues of pink and orange, then blues and purples as the sun dipped over the horizon. There was music down below from the pool. It stopped, and the silence was broken by some playful shouts by the pool, but also by a loud conversation happening right below my room. The speakers were out of sight, but my heart hammered in my chest as I recognized the familiar female and male voices.
“I have tried,” she said desperately. “I don’t think I can take it anymore. You look like you have forgotten all about me, about us, and it’s just impossible for me to see you two act as if you’re so happy. You weren’t happy with her all those times you came to me, were you? What’s changed now?”
“I told you all of this before Chicago,” the man said, much more quietly than the woman. I had to almost throw myself over the balcony to hear him, but I still could not see them. “I enjoyed our time together, but it had to stop. It’s not fair to Audrey. Or your husband. So, yes, I have forgotten about us because I have to, and you have to as well.”
“You know what’s not fair? This isn’t fair. I have to put up with this whole charade— the four of us having a grand time— me watching you giggle and play in the sand with your wife while I can’t even stand to be in the same room with him. That’s not fair. I can’t take it anymore.” She was getting rather loud now.
“Please, be quiet,” he said.
“Whatever,” she said, much more quiet than before, “let’s just go to dinner and keep on pretending you never fucked me.” Angry heels drifted away, and I sat there on the balcony letting the silence overwhelm me. Shock is a mild word for what I was experiencing at the moment. It was like I was kicked in the stomach and then kicked again.
What do I do? I thought frantically. He will be here any minute and I either confront him or pretend I heard nothing. I’ve always been a mild-mannered person, non-confrontational. I don’t like to rock the boat, but I was having a very uncharacteristic emotion of absolute rage. This vacation was ruined, my marriage was ruined. What I wanted to do was dump the entire contents of Greg’s belongings over the balcony and then lock him out of the room. I was still sitting there on the balcony, though, letting all of these thoughts wash over me, when the door opened.
“I got the aloe,” Greg said. I stayed there, contemplating sitting through an entire dinner as if I hadn’t heard a thing. Walking inside, I saw he had applied it and was buttoning his shirt back up. He didn’t look as if he’d just been yelled at by his mistress, whom he was about to go have dinner with alongside his wife.
We went across the hall and knocked on Natalie and Harvey’s door and the four of us went downstairs together. I noticed that Natalie wasn’t hiding her feelings as well as Greg was.
“Natalie, are you OK?” I asked, putting my arm around her shoulder as we got out of the elevator. I
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