Chapter 03 -- Trust
When I woke on Tuesday, both women were already gone. The house was quiet, as it had been all last night. I cleaned up and decided to go do some quality thinking. I opened my closet and saw my favorite bat still leaning against the wall. I felt a great bit of warmth towards these women I lived with. They had left everything of mine untouched while I was gone. It was as if they expected me to return as I had and resume things exactly as they had been. That was exactly what I had hoped for, though I sensed trouble developing around me.
I grabbed the bat and made my way to the door. I jumped in my car and headed for the nearest batting cage, which was only about a mile away. It was a run down little mini-golf and batting cage place, which never had many customers. I bought a handful of tokens from the young kid behind the counter and strapped on my batting gloves. With swing after swing the tension left my body. My mind slowed to a peaceful pace as I made contact with ball after ball. Short strides, quick hands, solid contact. Every swing I took made me feel better. Even after the worst day several good swings could always bring me back to center, it was nice to have the time today to get here and enjoy these moments to myself.
I finished up after a while and went back to the house. I cleaned up as much as I could and tried to get things in order, hoping that tonight would be a better night than last night. I waited patiently for both Vivian and Penny to get home. I even went as far as having dinner ready for when I expected them to arrive. Of course, I didn't cook but they liked take-out food as much as I did. I tried to make it look like I did cook by getting out nice plates and real silverware, not the paper dishes and plastic forks that we often used. Still, I knew they would know the truth about the meal and I was alright with that.
Vivian arrived home first. She was pretty timely, especially since she was a full-time nanny for Emma's kids. Jack got home on time most days and Vivian could leave at her discretion after that. She loved those kids more than anything and spending time with them was heaven for her. She usually didn't even get upset with them when they misbehaved. Her job was fairly easy when they were in school and she wasn't chauffeuring them from parties to the mall to practices. Her patience was endless.
I pulled out a chair for her as she made her way up the stairs. When she was seated at the dining room table, I smiled at her widely and kissed her on the cheek. She couldn't help but smile back at me, which was very enjoyable from my perspective since she was such a beautiful woman. I filled her plate with food and set it down softly in front of her. I filled a plate for Penny and placed it on the setting across from Vivian. I made myself a plate and put it at the head of the table. I put a bottle of wine on the table for the two of them, expecting that they would need it, and I grabbed a bottle of water for myself.
As I headed back to the table, I heard Penny's key in the door. As she made her way up the stairs I pulled her chair out for her and offered her a seat with a small gesture of my hand. No one had said a word yet. The situation felt tense and awkward. Penny stared at the chair for a long moment before sitting down. I pushed her in close to the table and took my seat.
We ate in silence, with the two of them hardly looking at each other. I was torn as to what to do about this. It was quite uncomfortable. When we were done eating, I cleared the dishes and placed them in the sink without a word. I returned to the table and watched as both women stared in opposite directions, almost refusing to look at each other.
"Anyone for dessert," I asked, breaking the code of silence.
Neither of them said anything. I sat there, waiting. I shook my head at the mess this had become. Vivian rose from her chair and looked down at me. She leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. She then turned her attention to Penny, staring her dead in the eye.
"Thanks, but I think I've lost my appetite," Vivian stated crisply.
She turned and walked across the living room. I listened as her footsteps made their way up the stairs. I heard the door to her room close softly, no slam, no fireworks. I looked at Penny, hoping to get some sort of answer but she looked away from me quickly. I continued to look at her until she rose from the table.
I expected her to head to her room as well, but she threw me a curve when she sat back down and pulled her chair closer to the table. I looked her in the eyes and she returned my gaze. I smiled lightly and brushed her hair behind her ear. I ran my fingers across her soft cheek and retracted my hand.
"Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on with you two," I asked simply.
"I promise to tell you everything tomorrow night," she offered.
"Is there anything you can tell me now," I pursued.
"Sure, Jack threw you under the bus while you were gone," she laughed.
I sat back in my chair and smirked at her. This was an interesting, but unexpected statement. She had changed the topic and I wanted to go back to the situation here at home, but I could not let this one go, it was too good.
"Really," I remarked. "Do tell."
