Free THE AFFAIR by Dyanne Davis Page B

heard women behaved strangely during that time. They would weather it as they had everything in their lives. He forced a smile to his lips. Mick was not his mother. She would never desert him.
     

     
    I left Chance’s home thinking of Larry, wondering what he was doing, wishing I had flown to Arizona with him. It seemed as if I’d tumbled headlong into a whirlwind. With shaking fingers I dialed the phone. I needed to talk to Larry. I wanted to tell him what had happened.
    “Hello, Mother.”
    Erica’s voice was cold and hard. Her use of Mother, instead of Mom, was her signal to me that she was angry. I smiled at the fury in my eldest child’s voice. If I had cared that my actions would upset her I would have her kids right now and would probably be downing a handful of pills from the migraine they invariably gave me. No, I had no time for her histrionics.
    “Erica, let me speak to your father.” My voice was just as cold and dispassionate. I had given her twenty-three years of my life. I didn’t owe her more. I had done the mom thing until I was sick to death of it. The plays, the games, the sleep-overs, the trips, the park, the zoo, baking cookies, helping with homework until finally it was baby-sitting. And all this while working fulltime.
    Yes, I had done it all. No wonder Larry thought of me as the perfect mother. I had played the part and kept my feelings buried deep inside, but now, now I wasn’t ready to give away the next part of my life caring for my children’s offspring.
    I sagged against a chair and slid into it as I heard Larry’s voice on the other end of the phone.
    “I decided to take some vacation time. I need you to come home.” There was silence, dead silence such as I’d never known. Then Larry’s voice talking to Erica.
    “Honey, the connection on your phone’s not that good. I’m going to go outside and call your mother on my cell phone.”
    “Is everything all right, Dad?” I heard Erica answer him. He replied to her, “Everything’s fine, honey.”
    I could imagine him smiling at her. I wanted everything to be fine.
    I realized the silence on the phone had turned into a busy signal. I knew my husband had hung up the phone without telling me of his intentions. Sure, I’d heard him tell our daughter, but didn’t I count? I clicked the off button to stop the noise.
    I was beginning to feel sorry for myself and part of me knew it was an excuse to run back to Chance, to experience him the way I wanted. I was dying of thirst and he was the long awaited drink of water I needed.
    The cordless phone rang in my hand. The moment I clicked the button, Larry’s booming voice was screaming at me, something he never did.
    “What the hell do you mean, you need me to come home? Are you ill?”
    “I don’t think so.” I waited.
    “You don’t think so? You don’t think so!”
    This time his voice was so loud that I moved the phone away from my ear. “Hon, I know this sounds crazy and I can’t really explain it. All I can tell you is that I need you home. I can feel that I’m going to do something we’ll both regret if you’re not here to stop me. Please baby, come home now.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    I heard the momentary fear in his voice. He was probably thinking I was going to swallow a handful of pills or something else equally as innocent. If only that was what I was thinking.
    “Mick, when did you take this vacation time?”
    “That doesn’t matter.”
    “Like hell it doesn’t. It matters. If you’re on vacation, the kids could be there with us right now. I would be home with you and we wouldn’t be having this absurd conversation.”
    I heard the sound of the ocean in my head. I was screwing this up. I wanted to make him understand. I wanted to make it painless. Tears were streaming down my face. I couldn’t find the words to tell my husband the truth without making him want to commit me.
    “I asked you a question, Mick. When did you take vacation?”
    I