Page 41 of The Wife
Figured out where u were. The cabin.
It wasn’t the hardest mystery to solve. He must have noticed all my work had been done. I had even taken Petunia out for a long ride. He would have been in and out of the barn so he might have seen her missing. Would have known I was close.
Like father like daughter I guess. Needed some space to think.
Warm enough?
Yes.
…
…
Either he was writing something really long, or he was doing a lot of stopping and starting. My guess was the latter.
Do u believe me? That Carol came over in the morning?
I closed my eyes but it didn’t remove the image of him shirtless between her legs.
Still, I knew Jake. Inside out. Upside down. He wouldn’t lie to cover his own ass.
Yes
…
…
…
Poor Jake. This really wasn’t his strong point. I knew he thought I was mad at him, and he hated the idea of anyone ever being mad at him. Couldn’t stand it. I was about to let him off the hook. Tell him I would be back tomorrow and everything was fine. But I suppose I wanted to know what he was trying to say first.
Finally the words popped up.
I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it.
I could feel my chin starting to wobble again and my eyes well up. Crying really was so ugly.
Please tell me u believe that too.
I set the phone down. That was the problem. I didn’t. In that moment I knew he meant every word. I couldn’t tell him that though, it would only make him feel worse. But I couldn’t lie to him either.
I picked up the phone and typed.
It’s okay, Jake. I’m going to fix this.
What does that mean?
Trust me.
Ellie, please tell me what u mean.
I couldn’t right now. Because there was no plan. I didn’t want him to get his hopes up only to find out there was no way to get my hands on the money early. If I told him about the nuclear option, I knew he would go ballistic.
I need time. That’s all. Did you make yourself something to eat?
If I wasn’t around, he rarely bothered to cook for himself. Which meant he’d work a full physical day and make do with sandwiches.
Sandwiches.
