"That I am already with a guy. The marriage is a mistake and we have to annull it or end it somehow." Valerie said.
"You sound very determined." Chris said. Valerie nodded. "Sure you won't change your mind?"
"I won't." Valerie said. "I have so much to do now. I have to get something to wear for tonight."
"Its not gonna be a formal fancy gig. You got a nice turquoise skirt you never wear in your suitcase." Chris said.
"I don't have a nice turquoise skirt." Valerie eyeballed Chris as they made their way to a sitting area. Valerie let herself collapse onto a big comfy sofa.
"Yes you do, you have one cause you are borrowing it from me tonight." Chris smiled. "And we will do your hair and everything."
"Sounds like my senior prom." Valerie sighed.
"Except we won't be at home eating ice cream and playing Mystery Date." Chris said. "We're so much better now, aren't we?"
"Sure, we're both married, and one is gonna be over by tomorrow...I hope." Valerie said. "The only thing that sucks is that I know I'm gonna break this guys heart. I do feel bad about that."
"Well maybe we can find another girl for him?" Chris said with a hopeful look. They both took a minute to think about that. "Okay I think we ought to let him down very easily." Chris sat down next to Valerie on the couch. She spotted her charm bracelet. "And you will have to give that back too."
"I know." Valerie said. "I'm more of a ring person anyway. It looks like a tacky handcuff."
"What does?" A mans voice caused Valerie and Chris to jump. Valerie jumped off the couch.
"Nothing does." Valerie said quickly as she spotted Mike by the door. "How are you?"
"Okay considering." Mike shrugged. He was alone.
"Where are the guys?" Chris asked.
"They are setting up for the show. We are going on first, and then Riverbend." Riverbend was the band managed by Valeries ex-fiancee' Elijah. "I objected to that, cause I said the other band wouldnt be sober by the time they showed up but who listens to me." He explained while he came over to the couch. "I need to talk to you." He said staring intently at Valerie. Valerie swallowed what seemed to be a huge lump in her throat.
"You know what? I think the guys need help picking out songs tonight." Chris said sliding off the couch. She scurried away faster than a cockroach who had just seen the kitchen light turn on. "I think I will help them." She called as she ran down the hall.
"Wow. Subtle." Valerie laughed. "I think we do need to talk."
"We do." Mike said. "I want to say something to you."
"Let me go first." Valerie said. Mike placed his fingers on her mouth.
"Please. I need to go first." Mike said. "If I don't say this now, I will never get it out." He moved his hands from her lips.
Valerie nodded and prepared to listen.
"I just want to say that if you want to be with Marcus I won't stand in your way." Mike said softly as she reached out to her. "I think you made the right decision. I think you will be very happy with him." He said as he hugged her.
Valerie hesitated a second but then returned the hug. She thought she could feel tears coming to her eyes but she sniffled them back quickly. She couldn't help but wonder if he did the same thing at moment.
"So what are you saying?" Valerie asked in a near whisper. "Is this goodbye?"
Mike took a second or two to answer. "You have a new life now. You don't need me in it." He said quietly as she pulled away from him. "We can only be friends now."
"I'm not sure I want to hear that." Valerie said looking at him. "I never wanted you as just a friend."
"Me neither." Mike said. "But this is the way things go. I don't know what you have planned after the concert tonight, I think this will be the last time we share the same room together." He looked around the sitting room. "Okay a tacky paisley covered room, but still..." He said trailing off.
"You're not gonna even fight for me?" Valerie said feeling a quiet anger in her voice.
"What fight? Someone already won." He said. "Someone snuck up and stole you from under my nose when I wasn't looking." Mike said. "Its all said and done."
"What if I could undo it?" Valerie thought. She couldnt say the words though. The worst thing she could say just happened to fly out at the wrong time. "Fine, if thats how you want it to end, after all thats happened to us, I would just as soon never see you again."
"Valerie..." Mike started to say.
"Go away!" Valerie yelled out hot tears stinging her eyes. "You heard me, get lost! Beat it! If you never want to see me again, why not start sooner than later?"
Mike gritted his teeth. An angry expression covered his face. "I thought I was doing the right thing here, but if this is what I get..."
"This is what you get! Nothing!" Valerie said her voice rising.
"See you later sweetheart." Mike said stomping from the room.
"Oh go lay an egg!" Valerie yelled out. She stopped for a second. "That was a stupid thing to say." She said to herself. She looked around. She was completely alone. Well alone except for a husband she didnt want and a boyfriend she had just lost. "I should have stayed at home." She said collapsing to the couch. She wiped her eyes. She closed her eyes for a second. She heard foot falls next to her side. "Oh get lost!"
"I'm sorry honey dearest." Valerie heard the voice say. "I thought you might want to have lunch or something so I set up a table for you and your friend in the Caba Coast room." Valerie looked up to see Marcus. He was wearing a different suit than she had seen him in earlier. It was shiny green paisley, but this new one was purple pin-striped. He looked so much like a lower rung mob member it wasnt funny.
"Where will you be?" Valerie asked standing. She hoped Marcus didnt see her bloodshot eyes from crying so much.
"I got things to do. We have such a new life waiting for us." Marcus said kissing her on the cheek. "Tomorrow we are leaving the country and moving to Haiti!"
"Haiti?" Valerie stuttered.
"Thats right. I got a place down there and everything. It will be perfect, and we can work on our tans. Clothing optional!" He said getting a dirty look on his face. Valerie suddenly felt like taking half a dozen lye baths.
"Optional?" Valerie said. "Oh wow, no tan lines." She said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
"I will see you at the gig. Enjoy your lunch." Marcus said going in for another kiss. He caught Valerie a little off guard with a french kiss. Valerie tried not to telegraph her digusted feeling as he pulled back. A tic tac was a must for this man.
"I will see you later." Valerie said. "With this clothing optional idea of his, I will be seeing way too much of him later." She thought. "I gotta get out of this dog right now!" Marcus was almost out the door when she tried to call out to him. "I have to tell you something!"
"Tell me at the gig!" Marcus called out. "I love you."
"Ditto!" Valerie called out. Marcus smiled and left the room. "Ditto?" Valerie rolled her eyes and sat back down. "Gotta find Chris. We got a free lunch date."
"He wants to move to Haiti. I have no passport. I don't think I even speak the language." Valerie said as she explained Marcus Matthews grand scheme over lunch. Marcus had ordered angel hair pasta with chicken for their meal. Since he had mentioned the 'clothing optional' part of living on an island country, Valeries appetite had pulled a vanishing act.
Chris was more than happy to help. After devouring her own plate of pasta, she started picking off of Valeries plate. Valerie finally dumped her food onto Chris's plate. She kept her own breadsticks in case she felt hungry later. She somehow doubted she would be hungry ever again.
"Tans are good." Chris said. "This happened after that talk with Mike went down in flames, right?"
"I said everything I didn't want to say." Valerie sighed. "I should have said I could get it fixed. But I didnt."
"You had a spaz attack." Chris said.
"No I didnt." Valerie said.
"Sure you did. You do that sometimes. You spaz and say what you are thinking instead of what you know what you should say." Chris said.
"You're right. You're always right." Valerie sighed. "I guess I oughta get ready for dinner."
"Its hours away." Chris said.
"Only half an hour to get ready. I still have a couple of hours of denial to work in." Valerie said grabbing her breadsticks.
"This will be fun, like a slumber party, during the day." Chris said. "Don't worry. You think this won't be fun. It'll be fun. It'll be very memorable, I promise."
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