A Woman Ignored by T.B. Markinson

Author:T.B. Markinson [Markinson, T.B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: T.B. Markinson
Published: 2015-02-23T03:00:00+00:00

* * *

That night we had dinner plans with Maddie, Doug, and Rose. I wasn’t in the mood for company.

“Maybe you should go without me.” I tucked my hands into my jeans and stared intently at the floor, searching for an escape route. “I won’t be good company tonight.”

“Oh, honey. You’re never good company.” Sarah lifted my chin with her hand. “I don’t think you should be alone tonight. You brood all day long when I’m at work.” She winked at me.

“Brood—is that what you call research?” I attempted a weak smile, but I couldn’t muster the energy.

“Come on. I need your help breaking the news to Maddie.”

Her face said that was her final word. I had to go, or we’d be heading for a conversation later. And not a friendly chat—one of those talks Sarah said was supposed to be helpful but was actually anything but. I already knew I had shortcomings. Did we need to have a conversation to point them out? I preferred leaving things unsaid; Sarah didn’t. Ever since I almost lost her, I realized that maybe her method was better. Didn’t mean I liked it, though. Not. One. Bit.

My therapist agreed with Sarah. She encouraged open dialogue with my wife. Dialogue. It made it sound like we were diplomats trying to solve the Middle East Crisis. Not that our problems were that severe, thank God.

“Shall we order some bottles of wine?” Rose asked, after perusing the menu of the new Italian place the girls had read about in the local paper.

Their mission to try every restaurant in northern Colorado was starting to wear on me. Personally, I could eat at the same place every night of the week and be perfectly content. Once I found something I liked, I stuck with it. But those two loved change. Mixing things up scared me.

When Sarah’s best friend, Haley, moved to California two years ago, Sarah and Maddie became almost inseparable. Maddie was still reeling from Peter, and Sarah had lost her best friend. Usually, their need to hang out all the time didn’t bother me. But it did tonight. Why couldn’t we stay at home so I could mope and eat a gallon of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream?

“Yes,” responded Sarah. “I’m thinking red. Mom, you choose. You’re so good at pairing wine with food.”

While Rose ordered the wine, Maddie eyed me. “How’s your mom, Lizzie?”

I shrugged. “She seems okay, given the circumstances. At least they don’t have her hooked up to a bunch of machines—not sure I can take that. They’ve increased her Coumadin dosage, and they’re monitoring the blood clot.”

Rose and Maddie gave me sympathetic smiles, and Sarah rubbed my back. Then she turned to Maddie. The look in her eye said, It’s time to tell her.

“We saw Peter,” she said.

Maddie did her best not to react, but she did. I was pretty sure Doug noticed, although he tried to remain unperturbed. What an awkward situation. Really.

“How is the busy worker bee?” Maddie asked in a breezy tone.

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