Page 5 of The Hampton Beach Café 6
“Maybe he's just realizing how much he messed up and wants to make things right…Like, he probably never thought you'd be all right without him, and he's seeing how bad he misjudged the situation.”
Frances shook her head.
“No. I don't think so. He's always been too proud for that. Remember I told you about that time we got lost in Hong Kong because he was so sure of his map reading skills and we ended up in a dead end and he really genuinely tried to tell me they must have built the wall there since they published the map…He's never been one to own up to his mistakes.”
Lucinda nodded in understanding.
“Yikes…Yeah, you're right, I think. It is strange…maybe it's a tactic to try and shock you into forgiving him. You know, like, 'wow omg, he apologized for the first time in his life, he must mean it', that sort of thing?”
While it wouldn't exactly surprise her if that was the case, she wouldn't put it past him to be emotionally manipulative, but it just didn't entirely ring true.
“Do you remember when Hayley told me she had seen him in Texas with that woman?”
“Yeah?” Lucinda replied.
“I wonder if she spoke to him, like more than she said,” Frances mused. “Because you know, I wouldn't want to be fully in your face if I was telling you about seeing someone I thought you were married to was out there on a date with someone, you know?”
Lucinda's head toggled back and forth, but there was a look of interest on her face.
“Maybe, but she never seemed like a dishonest person, you know?”
“No, I don't think dishonest is the right word,” Frances said. “More like…it would be awkward to really talk about all the details, wouldn't it?”
Frances knew she needed more information, so she pulled out her phone and dialed Hayley's number.
“What are you doing?” Lucinda asked.
“I just figured I should ask her directly...”
Hayley picked up, cutting Frances off mid-sentence.
“Hey Frances! How are you!? It's been a hectic week here. I'm so glad you called!”
Lucinda swatted at her sleeve as Frances spoke, mouthing the words, 'put her on speaker'.
“Hey, Hayley. I need to ask you something,” Frances said, getting straight to the point.
“Sure, what's up?” Hayley replied, her voice tinged with surprise.
Frances explained the situation with Malcolm's sudden, unexplained, and unwelcome visit as well as her suspicion about his sudden apology.
“I honestly don't even know how he found me here! I mean, I know that we got some social media attention, but…Anyway, I just wanted to ask if there was anything about seeing him in Texas that you didn't tell me before?”
“Uh...”
“Not like, a play by play or anything…” she continued, “…just…I don't know. I'm trying to figure out what he's doing here.”
“I mean…it wasn't really…I don't know,” Hayley stuttered, “…it was all a bit weird. I mean, I showed up, I was talking to people, and I saw him. Something reminded me that he was married to you…Like I had seen an article or something written about you two at some business thing...”
Hayley's responses were awkward and stilted, making Frances even more suspicious.
“Okay, and the conversation?”
Frances was getting impatient.
“Weird, it was definitely weird,” Hayley said. “Hey, I actually have to go. It's a dress rehearsal for this show. Can I come and visit next week? I think talking face to face about this might be better than, like, over the phone?”
Frances felt a knot in her stomach. She didn't know what to make of Hayley's behavior, but she knew something was off.
