The Almost Wives Club: Kate (10 page)

The next day was Tuesday. And Tuesday happened to be one of Ted’s usual nights to work late. She stayed busy until late afternoon. Then she went around the apartment and packed a few things into a box which she took with her when she headed back to the parking garage and got behind the wheel of Lissa’s beater one more time.

As she exited the garage she pulled on her big, dark glasses. Then she drove to Ted’s office building, found parking across the street and settled in to wait.

Ted was a creature of habit. He saw his parents for dinner on Sundays, he ate lunch at a small selection of restaurants every day, he played squash Mondays and Wednesdays after work and he’d often told her he was working late on Tuesday nights.

She had the address of where she suspected he was headed, but she’d decided to follow him anyway. Maybe there was more than one woman, maybe she just needed him to experience what it was like to be spied on by someone you trusted.

She could see his office from the street and the lights were on. That didn’t necessarily mean Ted was there. Recalling the takeout cups on the PIs seat, she’d stopped at a drive through on her way here. In the box on the seat beside her were binoculars and a camera. Also a novel in case he seriously was working late.

She waited about forty minutes. In that time, she wondered where Nick was. Had he flown straight back to Seattle? She imagined so. Was it raining there?

She pulled out her phone then realized it was her throwaway one. Her smart phone with all the cool features, like the ability to check the weather a thousand miles away, was in Miami somewhere.

Or maybe Ted’s company had reclaimed it.

Finally, a light clicked off in Ted’s office. She waited and a few minutes later he pulled out of the parking garage.

She pulled out into traffic and followed. He’d never notice Lissa’s car but even so she stayed a couple of car lengths back.

She knew where his club was and he didn’t make the correct turn.

They motored out of the business district and she followed as Ted drove into a working class suburb where her beater started to fit in better than his luxury sedan.

When he pulled into the driveway of a small bungalow with a tidy garden, she didn’t know what to do. If she stopped he might notice her. She had no choice but to keep going. She pulled in between a truck and a van, grabbed her camera, turned it on and then made a U-Turn. She drove slowly, prickles of nervous energy dancing on her skin.

If Ted was visiting a client or, even worse, someone they both knew, and caught her following him, how stupid would she feel? On the other hand, who could he possibly know in this neighborhood? And she was fairly certain that the company wouldn’t send a blood-born Carnarvon to visit a client in this zip code.

By the time she’d got back to the bungalow, Ted was out of the car and treading in his careful way up the side path to the front door. She pulled in on the other side of the road and cranked open the window. By the time he was at the door, she had the window down and the camera zoomed and aimed.

But he didn’t knock.

He pulled out a key and let himself in.

What on earth?

She snapped a photo for something to do.

She double checked the address. It was the one the PI had given her.

Then she waited. She had no idea what to do next. She wished she could call Nick and ask him for some advice. She had a feeling she sucked as a private investigator. She ought to get out and sneak up to the windows and peer in, but for that she’d have to wait until it was dark and she knew she’d never peer in someone else’s windows after dark.

Maybe she should cross the street and knock on the door. See what happened.

While she was debating whether this was a sensible plan or not, a second car pulled into the driveway of the small house.

It was a small runabout. Clean, reliable and a few years old.

The car parked beside Ted’s vehicle in the open garage.

The engine gave a single clunk as it turned off. The driver’s side door opened and a woman emerged.

“Oh, my,” she whispered as first a long leg appeared followed by the rest of the woman. She was a tall, statuesque stunner with red, red hair in a mass of improbable curls. Even from this distance Kate could see that she wore heavy makeup and the reddest of red lipstick. Her tight white dress showed off showgirl breasts, lush hips and long legs. This was a woman Ted would never take home to mother.

The woman scooped a black dance bag from the back seat and walked the path to the front door as though it were a catwalk. Like Ted, she let herself in with her key.

Even with the evidence Kate had trouble taking in the apparently domestic scene before her.

She waited fifteen minutes and then got out of Lissa’s car and crossed the street. She pressed the doorbell and waited.

What would she do if no one answered? Would she bang on the door? Ring the bell again? What if they were having sex, cross-dressing or shooting up drugs or whatever supposedly respectable people living a double life did?

But while she stood there wondering, she heard the click of heels on flooring and then the door opened and the opulent redhead stood at the door.

Her eyebrows rose slightly when she saw Kate standing there.

“Hi,” Kate said.

“Hi.”

There was a tiny pause as Kate realized she had no idea what to say. Finally, the green eyes sparkled with amusement. “Can I help you with something?” She had the smoky voice of a club singer. She was older than Kate probably by a decade, with a few wrinkles already showing at the edge of her eyes.

“Marlene?”

The humor faded and wariness took its place. “Who’s asking?”

Kate felt the final kick of betrayal. Of course it was Marlene. It had always been Marlene. “Is Ted here?” Before the woman could deny him or slam the door in her face she said, “I’m Kate.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t want to make trouble, I only want to talk to him.”

For a second the two women stared at each other. Kate felt she was being sized up as much as she was doing the same. Finally, Marlene said, “I thought you’d be different.”

“I used to be.”

Then Marlene turned her head, her hair swinging and letting out a cloud of heavy scent. “Ted? Somebody at the door to see you.”

“What are you talking about?” That was Ted’s officious tone. “No one knows I’m—” He stepped forward onto the hardwood of the hall and stalled. But of course the floors were hardwood. Ted was allergic to dust mites. All his living spaces had to have hardwood.

When he caught sight of her, he first looked stunned, then she saw a moment when utter fear showed through. “Kate! What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?” He ran forward and glanced behind her as though checking to see if anyone were with her. He was wearing an apron and the smells of dinner cooking followed him into the hallway.

Instead of yelling at him, she reassured the scared little boy she’d glimpsed for a second. “I’m alone,” she assured him. “I followed you from your office.”

He looked angry and guilty and scared all at the same time. Not a good look on him. “Why?”

It was ridiculous having a conversation like this at the open front door. “Do you think I could come in?”

She spoke to Ted but it was Marlene who answered. “Sure.”

“But—”

Marlene opened the door wide. “It’s time, Ted.”

Kate walked in and Marlene shut the door behind her. Kate considered herself a tall woman but Marlene dwarfed her. The woman must be six feet tall. In her heels she was almost as tall as Ted.

“Come on in to the kitchen,” Marlene said. “We might as well sit.”

Of all of them she seemed the least disturbed.

“Thanks.”

They all headed back down the hallway and through a door into a kitchen that had been renovated with granite counter tops, cherry wood cabinets and top-of-the-line appliances. It looked a lot like the kitchen in Ted’s apartment.

“I’m not here to make trouble,” she said again, for Ted’s benefit.

“Why the hell are you here? What kind of woman follows her own fiancé? And what have you done to your hair?” He sounded petulant and aggrieved and not at all apologetic. Instead of an apron he should be wearing a diaper. He was a huge baby.

Marlene indicated a chair at the kitchen table and then pulled out one for herself. An open bottle of wine sat on the table along with two almost full glasses. “Want some wine?”

“No thank you.” She swallowed. Her throat felt dry. “But could I have some water?”

“Sure.” Marlene rose and went to the kitchen.

There were so many questions crowding in her head, along with the big ball of shock, that she didn’t know where to start. Ted frowned down at his wine, his fingers beating the table top. Finally, she asked, “Why haven’t you cancelled the wedding?”

“Nobody knew where you were. Your mother was convinced you’d been kidnapped.”

He was trying so hard to make her feel bad and she wasn’t going to let it happen. “No, she didn’t. I discovered you had hired a private investigator to attempt to seduce me. You had to be certain I would never cheat.” She cut her eyes to Marlene and back to Ted. “I was so angry that you would doubt my fidelity that I broke up with you and then I left town.”

“You were angry, upset. I wasn’t going to believe you were serious. Your mother was certain that you’d calm down and realize what a mistake you were making.”

Marlene set the glass of water in front of her and sat down.

Kate gazed from Ted to Marlene and then back again. “Do you really think I made a mistake ending our engagement, Ted?”

It was so quiet she could hear a clock ticking somewhere. Ted sipped his wine and she heard him swallow. Finally, he met her gaze and he looked defeated. Frightened. He gestured between Marlene and himself. “This is complicated.”

“Is it? What’s complicated about it?”

Marlene snorted. “You are definitely not what I was expecting.”

Ted took another sip of his wine. “I can’t. I mean, how could I?”

She could not believe he would say this right in front of Marlene. She glanced between the two.

“Oh, don’t worry about my feelings,” Marlene said. “I’m not good enough. I’m too trashy.” She dropped her voice to a stage whisper. “I have a past.”

“How long have you been in love with Marlene?” Kate asked.

Ted blushed a deep, ruddy shade. “You don’t understand. Marlene and I go back a long way.”

“Ted, I didn’t even know you could cook and here you are in an apron making dinner. The entire time we were together, you were still playing house with Marlene. Weren’t you?”

“I told you. It’s complicated.”

“No. It’s not. It’s simple. If you love someone, you should be brave enough to fight for them. And not ever live a fake life to please other people.” She sighed sadly. “You and I, we’ve been doing that our whole lives.”

“I do care about you,” Ted said, looking miserable. “You’re a wonderful woman, exactly the kind of woman I should marry.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m exactly the kind of woman your parents think you should marry. Probably your business associates. But you should marry someone you love. You don’t love me. And I don’t love you.” She turned to Marlene. “I don’t know you at all, but I’m pretty sure I was wrong about you, too.”

Marlene gave a shrug as though she were used to being misjudged.

Kate asked her, “Why did you stay with him when he was dating other women, when he was planning to marry me?”

Marlene pushed her hair over her shoulders. “God, I wish I still smoked. I need a cigarette right now.” Then she studied her long white nails, with leopard print on two of them. “He’s rich. He buys me things.”

But Ted hadn’t moved her out of this neighborhood, or upgraded her car. He might be rich, but it wasn’t the kind of money you could squander without being accountable. He was paid a healthy salary, and bonus, but his father knew to the penny how much Ted took home. His trust fund was bound with strings. No doubt he was as generous as he could be with Marlene, but he was pretty limited in how much he could lavish on her before his father grew suspicious.

“I can only think of one reason why you’d still be in this relationship.” It wasn’t money, it had to be love.

“Don’t go there,” Marlene warned, her eyes hardening.

“Ted, this woman has stuck by you for a long time. Don’t you think it’s time to man up?”

“Easy for you to say.”

She blew out a breath. “No. That wasn’t at all easy to say.” She turned to Marlene. “Maybe I will have a glass of that wine.”

When she drove away, a little later, Kate felt surprisingly good. That big, unresolved thing in her life, her impending wedding, was over. Ted promised he’d tell his parents that the wedding was definitely off, if she’d go with him. She was too happy to be getting her freedom to argue.

The first person she wanted to tell about her extraordinary evening was Nick. But, as much as she wanted to, she didn’t pick up the phone.

Instead, she drove to Lissa’s in order to switch cars one more time.

When she knocked on her friend’s door she was practically yanked inside. “You are not getting a glimpse of your car keys until you tell me everything.”

“Everything?”

“Okay, everything from the second you left here until now. I have beer, wine, tequila, some vodka, I think, and I made the mistake of hitting Costco when I was hungry.”

“Oh, not the snack aisle?”

“I have jumbo family packs of everything from Doritos to yam chips.”

“Could I have some tea? I’m driving.”

Lissa shook her head. “You’re not driving. You’re staying over. I also ended up buying the family pack of eight toothbrushes.”

And, she realized, she really, really needed some easy girlfriend time. So, she said, “I hate yams.”

Lissa laughed. “Doritos coming right up.”

They sat up late over junk food and wine. Kate didn’t tell Lissa about her recent visit with Ted. That was Ted’s business and even though he’d hurt and betrayed her, she could see that he was hurting too. Besides, she didn’t want to talk about Ted. Ted was over. He was the choice of the woman she used to be.

But she was dying to talk about Nick.

So she did. She described how Nick hired her to teach him to surf. Even gave Lissa a run down of the lesson. Lissa laughed until the tears ran down her face. “I give that man credit, he’s got cojones.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Also, I could not help but notice that the man is seriously hot.”

“Seriously hot? Wait a minute, how could you know—”

“He came here.”

Even beneath the wine buzz, she felt the pierce of betrayal. Lissa, the one person she’d trusted completely in all of this had sold her out. “And you told him where I was.” She didn’t even voice it as a question.

“Hey, girlfriend. I didn’t tell him shit. First, I didn’t know where you were because you didn’t tell me where you were going. Second, I’ve got your back and you don’t ever forget that.”

She nodded, feeling confused and irritated. “So, what happened?”

“He showed up here, looking like something out of a wet dream, and I might have given him a hard time about hurting you. He convinced me he wasn’t working for the Carnarvons. Agreed with my assessment that Ted is a dick, and then told me he was worried that no one had seen or heard from you for days.” She glared at Kate. “Which was true. I had no idea where you were after that one call you made from the road when you sounded unhinged.”

“Unhinged? That is so unfair. You were counselling me.”

Lissa continued as though she hadn’t spoken. “So, when he told me he was worried something had happened to you, I described my car and gave him the license number.”

“Seriously? Does no one think I can take care of myself? I was fine.”

Lissa grinned and poured more wine for both of them. “Oh, I know you can take care of yourself. I wasn’t worried about your safety. But after five minutes with Nick I knew he was exactly what you needed. A real man, with hot eyes who was obviously crazy about you.”

She sipped wine. Grabbed a chip and crunched into it. “You sent him after me so—”

“So you could get laid properly by a guy whose eyes light up when he talks about you.”

She tried to stop the delight that welled up inside her at Lissa’s words from showing. “His eyes didn’t light up.”

“Like a Christmas tree.”

She savored the image of a frantic Nick on Lissa’s front step, worried about her and decided she liked the image.

“Now, tell me everything.”

The telling took quite some time since Lissa kept interrupting to ask questions.

She got all the way to their last meeting. And when she described Nick’s parting words she heard her voice go husky.

Lissa stared at her for a moment. “And did you tell him you love him?”

She was so startled she choked on a chip. She coughed and spluttered before she managed to say, “No. Of course I didn’t tell him I love him.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to be in love with him,” she wailed.

“I don’t want to be five-three and twenty pounds overweight, but that doesn’t change reality.”

“I ended my engagement like a week ago. I can’t be in love with another man already.”

“You can if you were never in love with the first one.”

She let out a howl of frustration. “Why did you never tell me this?”

“That you didn’t love Ted?”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously? I thought you knew. Figured you were in for a nice, easy life and you liked him fine. If that was enough for you, who was I to judge?”

She blinked, trying to take in the fact that her best friend had known she didn’t love Ted. But Lissa was wrong, wasn’t she? “I did love him. No. I thought I did.”

“Well, you can thank the suspicious dad for paying a seriously hot dude to try and seduce you.”

Kate had just enough wine in her to think this was the height of hilarity. “Truth is, Nick did seduce me.” She thought about it. “Or maybe I seduced him.”

“Seems to me you seduced each other.” She leaned over and patted Kate’s short hair. “And I like everything about the way you look since you got back. Like the hair, the weight you’re putting back on, and honey, you glow like somebody who’s getting great sex.”

She dropped her voice though there was no one to hear her. “I had no idea.”

Lissa cackled with glee. “I knew it.” Then she grew suddenly serious. “Sucks about your job, though. Specially now you need it.”

She waved a hand airily. “I will find another job.”

“So, what’s next?”

“Ted and I decided that we’d tell our parents together that we’re not getting married.”

“That’s going to be a fun conversation.”

“Yeah. I’m really looking forward to it,” she said, holding out her glass for more wine.

 ***

When she and Ted walked into the formal living room of Ted’s parents’ house, she felt a familiar wave of anxiety hit. As though she had to remember to keep her knees together when she sat and to be careful of what she said. Then, she realized that she no longer had to play the part of the perfect girlfriend/fiancée. In fact, she never had.

She’d dressed with care, choosing a beige skirt that covered her knees and a blouse and cardigan. There was no point setting their backs up by wearing jeans.

She could tell Ted was nervous and had no idea how to help him.

Ted’s parents welcomed them and then led them into the living room.

When they walked in, the first thing she saw was her wedding dress. It hung on a dress form, looking like a ghost. She was taken back to that awful day in Evangeline’s chic showroom, when the seamstress had cursed the dress. Now it was here, in human shape, like something out of a horror movie.

Her mother was there before her, in a blue Chanel suit and her pearls. “The dress was only delivered this morning, with the final alterations. Isn’t that the most perfect timing?”

No, she thought. It was the worst possible timing. Ted’s parents headed to a sofa and sat stiffly, side by side. She chose a chair near her mother and Ted remained standing.

“We’re so happy you’re back,” her mother said. “Nothing’s been cancelled. No one will ever know about your little upset. It was pre-wedding jitters.” But she wasn’t even talking to Kate. She was addressing her remarks to Ted’s parents. She received a nervous smile from his mother and no reaction at all from his father.

“Well, Ted? What do you have to say for yourself?”

She knew it took all of Ted’s courage to face his father. Maybe he wasn’t a great man, or even a particularly good one, but she was fond of Ted. She rose and went to stand by his side, offering him her support.

He took a deep breath and she knew in that instant that he’d prepared a speech. “Mom, Dad, Mrs. Winton-Jones,” he began. “Kate and I had a long talk yesterday. While we deeply care for and respect each other, we’ve decided we aren’t suited.”

Her mother made an inarticulate sound.

“I’m sorry. We’re not getting married.”

There was thunderous silence for a moment and then they all spoke at once.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“But we’ve sent out the invitations. Gifts have begun arriving.”

“The dress. What about that beautiful dress? And Evangeline is coming to the wedding!”

“I’m sorry,” Kate said, speaking for the first time. “I know you’ve all put a great deal of effort into this wedding, but we’re not getting married.”

Ted’s father glared at her. “Do you want an apology young lady? Is that what you want?”

“No. I—” Oh, God, it was the last thing she wanted.

He spoke over her. “Fine. I apologize. It showed poor judgment to hire someone to test your fidelity. I deeply regret any inconvenience. Now let’s move on.”

“Oh, no, please,” she was so flustered receiving an apology from a man who always spoke and acted like he was infallible that she wished she were a million miles away. Preferably on a different planet. She glanced helplessly at Ted but he looked as startled as she felt.

Every ounce of training and experience she had as a good girl rose up, trying to force her to give in, to comply, as she’d always done.

Her gaze rose and there was that dress. It was a beautiful dress: a stunning, stylish, gown. But it wasn’t her dress. She felt that beautiful wedding gown almost like another person in the room. A stylish piece of clothing with no one in it, a little like a ghostly reminder of what could have been, of what would be if she didn’t stand up for herself finally, once and for all.

She pulled in a breath, knowing that what she was about to say would change her future forever. Even though she’d already made her decision, saying it out loud, in a calm and rational way, to these very powerful people in her life was going to take all her courage.

“I’m sorry. This is a personal decision. Yes, you hiring a private investigator to prove that I would be faithful to Ted really upset me. But that’s not the reason. Ted and I simply don’t love each other and I thank you for helping us realize that.” She glanced at Ted, wishing he could be brave enough to tell his folks that he was, in fact, in love with another woman. But that was his battle to fight, not hers.

An antique, and no doubt priceless, clock chimed somewhere. Suddenly, Ted’s father rose to his full height, which was impressive. He glared down his nose at Kate. “I never thought you were good enough for my son. You have cost this family a great deal of time and money and I, for one, will be happy to see the back of you.”

He strode toward the door.

“No, Dad, wait,” Ted said, following him.

His mother fluttered behind the two men. “Duncan, please don’t be angry, think of your blood pressure. Edward, don’t aggravate your father.”

As Millicent made to follow her men out of the living room, she glanced back. “Please see yourselves out,” she said coldly.

“I think I need a minute,” Kate said, sitting down on one of the blue silk chairs. She realized her legs were shaking.

Her mother rose and, holding a lacy handkerchief to the corner of her eye, said, “I never thought any daughter of mine would embarrass me like this.”

Kate’s mother always carried a lacy, meticulously ironed handkerchief with her. As much as Kate appreciated the environmentally friendly aspects of using a reusable handkerchief rather than disposable tissues, she knew that her mother did not use linen handkerchiefs to be green. She used them as weapons. The flutter of white linen and lace was, and always had been, a sign that Kate had once more let down her mother.

For once, she didn’t jump to her feet to apologize. She kept her voice quiet, but she said, “It would have been nice, once, to have some support from my own mother.”

“I’m so upset, I can’t talk to you right now.” Her mother headed for the door. She hesitated before walking out of the room, Kate’s cue that this was her last chance to rush after her. But she didn’t. She let her mother leave.

The room was so quiet. Somewhere, a maid was vacuuming, and no doubt the three Carnarvons were huddled somewhere. She was alone with the wedding gown that she knew she would never wear. She rose and walked towards it. She traced the line of the seam where the dressmakers’ pins stabbed her at her last fitting. The blood spot was gone, of course, but she had the spooky feeling that even the dress had been trying to tell her not to go ahead with the wedding.

“I hope you find your bride,” she said. She imagined someone as rich and chic as Evangeline herself floating down the aisle in this glorious concoction. She wondered who would end up wearing this dress?

A small silk bag with Evangeline’s logo on it hung from the dressmaker’s dummy. Curious, she peeked inside and had to smile. Nestled like a pair of fat jellyfish were the gel pads that were meant to plump up her skimpy cleavage. She had never filled that dress properly anymore than she would have fit in Ted’s world and Ted’s life.

She heard someone come into the room. She turned and found Ashley, Ted’s cousin there. “Hi Kate. You’re back.”

“I am. Thanks for helping me out that night with the bike.” Which Ted had promised to return for her.

“No probs.” Ashley walked forward to stand in front of the dress. “Wow. Some dress.”

“Yes, it is. But I won’t be wearing it.”

Ashley didn’t look very surprised. “Wedding’s off, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Wow. That is going to cause some serious drama around here.” But she didn’t sound too upset. Perhaps she looked forward to the entertainment.

The bag containing the gel pads was in her hand. She went to hang them back up with the dress. Ashley said, “What’s in the bag?”

Kate passed the bag over and Ashley said, “Oh, I love these things. They take you up an extra bra size.”