Page 51 of The Wife
We were cool now. She had seven disks on the right side of the scale.
Except as I drove into town and pulled up to park on the street near Pete’s, the doubts came back. I didn’t want to hone in on her night. She hadn’t seen her friends since they went off to college. I didn’t want her to think I was shadowing her or something.
I should probably go home. I didn’t think she would like it if I was there. Just as I turned the engine on my phone rang. I reached for it thinking it might be her, thinking she might actually be calling me to join her.
Except it wasn’t her name on the screen. It was Chrissy’s.
My gut clenched. “Chrissy, what is it?”
“Jake, something is wrong I think. Ellie only had one glass of wine, but she started acting really weird. Likereallyweird and I just came back from the bathroom and I can’t see her. The place is packed, but still she wouldn’t have just left me. I tried to call her, but she’s not picking up.”
I could see that. The parking lot was full. Cars lined the street.
“Do you know who gave her the wine?”
“Bobby bought all of our drinks.”
I didn’t need to hear anymore. “You keep looking for her and you text me the second you see her. I’ll be right there.”
I was turning off the engine and calling Ellie at the same time. Then I was out of my truck, running down the street to Pete’s.
Ellie didn’t pick up. I stopped long enough to text her.
Get away from Bobby now!
Doug was sitting outside of Pete’s, acting as the bouncer.
“Hey, Jake. Place is packed. I don’t think I can let any more people in tonight. Homecoming. You know how it is.”
“Doug, I’ve got to get in there. Ellie might be in trouble.”
“Oh shit. Yeah, no problem. Just muscle your way through.”
Hold on, Ellie. Just hold on.
* * *
Ellie
Something was not right. I knew that. I could feel it. I was sipping my wine. Slowly, because I could only have two glasses, because I was not going to do anything as asinine as drive drunk.
But I wasn’t halfway through it and already I felt like I was trashed.
Or not exactly. Just like I couldn’t think. But at the same time I felt so good. Like the best I had ever felt. I was hanging with my girls, and Bobby was there. He’d offered to buy us our first round.
Lisa didn’t even seem to mind despite the fact he’d jerked her around a lot back in high school.
He gave us our drinks. I was the only one who ordered wine. Naturally. And he seemed pretty normal for a while. Simply hanging with us. Then I had this crazy urge to touch him so I reached out to stroke his arm and I thought it was really hard.
“You have hard arms,” I told him. Actually I shouted it at him. The place was packed with people. I could barely hear myself.
“Thank you,” he shouted back.
“Jake also has hard arms.”
“Thanks for sharing.”
Then Lisa and Karen went to play pool. Chrissy went to the bathroom and it was me and Bobby. I was weaving a little bit on my stool. Bobby put his arm around my waist to steady me. I put my empty wine glass on the bar and it toppled over. Would have broken if it hadn’t been made with such thick glass.
