- A Decent Woman
- A Decent Woman
Michelle
I hurried back to the table, carefully avoiding another encounter with Blake. Even though I pretended to be firm, his words kept echoing inside me, like a persistent drip that eventually carves out a deep well.
“Shall we go?” I asked Dylan, pretending to be fine, although his appearance revealed that he knew something had happened when I left.
“Yes, let’s go. Guys, you’ve been warned. I don’t want any absences or delays tomorrow,” he said authoritatively. I smiled at his words, grabbed my bag, and at my signal, we began to descend the stairs to leave.
The cool night air made the alcohol hit me faster. Dylan glanced at me sideways, guessing what was happening to me.
“You know what? I can’t let you drive like that. I’ll give you a ride home,” he asserted decisively.
I shook my head right away, but I could tell he wouldn’t back down.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I haven’t had more than one drink in a long time, but look, there’s a cab stand nearby. You can drop me off there.”
His kind expression turned serious and a bit annoyed.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable sending you off with a stranger. You’re too valuable to risk. I’ll take you home, and there’s no more discussion.”
I knew there was no way to change his mind, so I sighed, resigned. He opened the passenger door for me, and to my surprise, he buckled my seatbelt himself.
“I don’t trust your skills at the moment,” he said with a playful wink.
I couldn’t argue, so I simply murmured a weak “thank you” and gave him my address. Dylan entered it into the navigator to find the best route. Even at that hour, traffic was still pretty heavy, so he looked for quicker routes.
He turned on the radio, and relaxing music began to fill the atmosphere. The accumulated fatigue, a result of my recent attempts to exercise and the long nights of insomnia, made me succumb to sleep. Without realizing it, I fell into a deep
slumber.
When I woke up, Dylan’s car was parked in front of my building, and an hour had already passed.
“Oh my God! I fell asleep,” I exclaimed upon seeing the time on my phone.
“You looked very comfortable. It’s clear you haven’t rested at all, but I was about to wake you,” he responded with a kind smile.
I looked down, feeling embarrassed. Now Dylan had seen me at my worst moments, and yet, we were still practically strangers.
“I hope I didn’t drool or talk in my sleep,” I joked, trying to lighten the moment.
Dylan shakes his head firmly.
“No, you just snored a little loudly,” he says seriously.
His expression makes me doubt for a moment.
“Really? I’m so sorry!”
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13 A Decent Woman
After a brief pause, he lets out a soft laugh.
“It’s not true, you didn’t snore. Well, you made a sort of cute purring sound. It was like there was a little kitten in the car.”
I smile, still feeling a bit embarrassed, but his comment makes me feel a bit better. Maybe this night hasn’t turned out so badly after all.
After being told that, no matter what excuse I might have, he’d come to pick me up tomorrow, I entered the building and took the elevator. When I reach my apartment, solitude and silence greet me, but they don’t feel uncomfortable. In fact, it’s a peace that’s preferable to being around people who ignore you, who don’t really see you, who don’t ask how your day was, or acknowledge your efforts with a word of encouragement or affection. No, this silence is much better.
Since I already had a snack at the bar, I’m not hungry, so I pour myself a glass of warm water and sip it slowly. Then, I head to my bedroom to get ready for bed. But before I close my eyes, the phone rings, interrupting my tranquility. I reached over to grab it from the nightstand and saw it was my mom.
“Mom! Good night. I was just about to go to sleep,” I say with a yawn that makes her laugh.
“Sorry, honey. I’ll be quick. Ryan and Candace came by to ask if they were here, and your dad called Elvis to let him know. So now we just have to wait for the lawyer to talk to our cousin and finalize the divorce. Are you okay, sweetheart?”
I can’t deny it hurts. Everything is happening too fast, but there’s no turning back.
“I’m fine, don’t worry. We need to get through this quickly. Mom… Is my daughter okay?
My mom reassures me that she is and tells me what the little one shared with her. Despite everything, I miss Ryan; my heart still loves him. But not seeing my daughter is what truly breaks me. She’s part of my soul, and I just hope that one day she understands that my motherly love will always be there for her,
“Thanks for telling me, mom. I’ll just wait for Elvis to let me know everything’s going well with the divorce, and then I’ll unblock Candace’s number. If you see her, tell her I love her and give her a kiss from me, please.”
My voice starts to c***k, so I take a deep breath to hold back the tears.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. If I see her, I’ll tell her what you asked me to. Now I’ll let you rest. By the way… How was your first day at work?”
I give her a brief summary of my day and I can hear her smile.
“It’s like I’m talking to seventeen or eighteen-year-old Michelle. Where have you been all this time, daughter?”
Her words hurt me. It’s true, I got lost trying to please a cold man who never loved me.
“I was in the limbo of lovelessness, but now I’m back. Thanks for everything, Mom, I love you both.”
Despite my mistakes, my parents were always there, waiting for the return of the daughter they raised, who stayed for ten
years.
I hung up the phone and, before putting it down, I opened the gallery to watch the video of my daughter. Even though I’ve played it over and over since Dylan sent it to me, I never get tired of watching it. I see myself in her, and I only wish for her to have a happy life. If it’s alongside her father and that woman, I’m content knowing her smile remains intact.
I’ve always known that she didn’t steal them from me. They gave themselves willingly, so I can’t completely blame her. I sigh. After finishing the video, I leave the phone on the nightstand and close my eyes. My mind drifts to those days when I used to skate like that. Maybe it’s time to try it again, at least to regain the sense of freedom that skating once
gave me.
214
Ryan
After Candace finishes her homework, I send her to take a bath. When she comes out, she tells me she’s ready for bed, so
I accompany her to tuck her in. Her mother always did that, and when we travel, I do it. When she’s ready, I leave a kiss on her forehead and she gives a slight smile.
“Goodnight, darling.” I say, and for the first time, I see a couple of tears in her eyes.
“Will mom be okay?” she asks with a trembling voice, and I don’t know how to respond.
“She’s a responsible adult. I imagine she’s fine,” I reply, but her doubtful expression unsettles me.
What she says next completely throws me off.
“What if I never see her again?”
Those words echo in my head endlessly. Never. Never. Never.
“Well, we’ll see about that later. Now sleep.”
Candace nods silently. I turned off the light in her room and left. The house feels empty, and I don’t understand why. Maybe because, despite not talking much, Michelle was always around, making sure everything was taken care of. She was the first to get up and the last to go to bed.
I turn off the hallway lights and go to my bedroom. Now it’s accurate to say that, since there’s nothing of hers left, except for the photo where we are together. I take it and look at her face. The picture was taken shortly after we got married; in it, she still had a happy smile, the one that faded over time, and I must admit, I didn’t care enough about it.
As soon as I close the door, my phone rings. Blake. I take a moment to answer, which seems to irritate her.
“Why don’t you answer me? Are you ignoring my calls?” Her voice sounds irritated, which annoys me.
“I was with Candace, but you know I can’t take calls when I’m at home.”
I hear her give a mocking laugh.
“Why not? Is it because of Michelle? That would be very strange, because I know she’s not there.
Her words caught me off guard. How does she know?
“What do you mean, Blake?”
“I’m talking about knowing you’re separated and you hid it from me. Why?”
What does she really know?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, trying to sound calm.
Her loud, sarcastic laugh catches me off guard.
“I already know you’re separated and getting a divorce. She told me herself.”
“What did she tell you and where?” My voice sounds more anxious than I’d like.
“Oh, does it matter to you?” she mocks. I saw her a while ago at a downtown bar. Apparently, she was out celebrating her separation.
Her words hit me like a cold shower.
“You’re lying! She’s not that kind of woman. She’s a decent person.”
The silence on the line tells me I’ve said something wrong.
13 A Decent Woman
“So I’m not decent? Wow! It’s good to know what you think of me. And for your information, I’m not lying”
A moment later, a message comes through. It’s a photo.
Yes, it’s Michelle. She looks happy, chatting with a man whose face I can’t make out.
Could she be cheating on me?
