In the Red by Dina Santorelli

Author:Dina Santorelli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dina Santorelli
Published: 2019-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 29

Roxanne turned up the volume on Saturday Night Live with her remote control and took a sip of her hot cocoa—another thrilling night of fun, she thought, for the middle-aged mother of one. Smitty was wrapped around her feet, and she gave the cat a quick scratch behind the ears.

“Who needs a man when I’ve got you, Smit,” she said. Her cell phone vibrated. It was Muriel.

“Hey, lady,” she said. “How was the ball?”

There was noise on the other end, and Roxanne realized that Muriel was crying.

“Shit, what’s the matter?” she asked. “I’ll be right there.”

“No, that’s okay,” Muriel said. “I’m already here.”

“You’re what?” Roxanne jumped off the couch, causing the cat to run for cover and slam his furry little head into the coffee table. She dashed toward the apartment door and found Muriel standing on her porch in a lovely black dress, black streams of makeup falling from her eyes.

“Oh my God, you look … beautiful,” Roxanne said, which made Muriel cry even more. She ushered her inside, sat her on the couch, took off her shoes, and handed her a tissue from a box on the coffee table. “What happened? Why are you here and not at the Guggenheim?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Muriel said, wiping her eyes.

“Okay. How did you get here?”

“I took a cab.”

“Why didn’t you call me? I would have come to get you.”

“I didn’t want you to wake Gordy.”

“Oh, please. Gordy has been woken up so many times, he can put on his shoes and coat and strap on his seat belt while he’s half-asleep.” Roxanne looked at Muriel’s dress. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. That dress is gorgeous.”

“I know,” Muriel said and started crying again.

Roxanne sat beside her. “What’s the matter? What did that prick do?”

Muriel drew in a deep breath. “He just … left me there.”

“What do you mean left you there?”

“I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, he was gone. At first I thought that maybe he was in the bathroom too, but I didn’t want to wait near the bathrooms, for a variety of reasons, so I went back to the bar, and I stood there, but then the presentation was about to begin, so I found a seat in the back, and that’s when Stowe, that ass, saw me again—”

“Stowe was there?” Roxanne asked.

“—and,” Muriel nodded, “then everyone filed upstairs, and they were having such a good time, and I was all alone. He just left. I don’t know where. I stood there waiting for more than an hour. Like an idiot.” She blew her nose. “I knew this would happen.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Rock, no, really. I shouldn’t have been there. I should have been home. With the kids. With Ellie. She needs me.”

“Why the fuck shouldn’t you be there? You’re a beautiful, wonderful person who, for the last few months, has been blissfully happy for the first time in her life, and I’ve known you forever.”

“In the red,” Gordy whispered, peeking out from his bedroom door.

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