by Kiki Leach
“I’m sorry, Nicole. We weren’t telling anybody just yet--”
“But I’m not just anybody. At least you never led me to believe I was before she came back.”
“She’s my wife, Nikki.”
“And what does that make me? The permanent mistress?”
He looked away for a minute and then back into her eyes. “I should’ve told you--”
“No. If it was something private between you and her then it needed to remain that way until you were ready to tell someone. You have a life and children with her, it’s not the same.”
“Nikki--”
“So what…” She wanted to change the subject, knowing it would be less painful than to continue discussing the truth. “What possessed you to open up another shop?”
Oscar felt her sadness and obliged to her silence. “Business has been booming for two years now, and you know that better than anyone that’s ever worked for me how much profit we’ve earned.” She turned to roll her eyes. “And I think it’s time for more expansion.”
“That’s great. I’m extremely happy for you, Oscar, but why did you chose Vanessa’s office building of all places?”
“It’s a great area for business. The traffic that comes in and out is always at the shop. Now it’ll be right there for them. And that way, we earn more money and up the profits for next year.” He wondered if what he was saying was convincing enough for her to believe it, because he was nearly convincing himself.
Though most of everything was true and based in his own factual research, it wasn’t the foot traffic that initially drove him to the idea of opening the shop there of all places. He didn’t want to tell her that he only elected to open the shop in Vanessa’s building to be closer to her in his own way.
He knew that when she wasn’t at work or home, or lucky enough to have landed an audition across town that she would spend most of her time loitering around Vanessa’s office. Allowing Melanie to believe that she was the one to give him the final push in that direction was just another step to keeping her in the dark.
“So how have you been?” he asked.
“Since last night? I’ve had better Sundays. Have you seen the papers today?”
He made a face and nodded as he crossed his arms. “Yeah, I’ve seen them. How’s Vanessa doing with all of that?”
“Not as well as she’d like. She’s trying to work things out with Sheila but I don’t know how well that’s going to go. They had brunch today, but—“
“That’s progress. A step in the right direction. I hate to see what’s next when Alexis finds out about what happened at The Palace. I met her on a shoot once and she made people cry, even the photographer and his assistant, and I don’t think they ever fully recovered from that.”
“She can be a pill. Vanessa used to call her ‘Frosty the Snow Bitch’ behind her back when we were in high school. And she’s never liked me, but you already know that.”
“I think I remember you telling me that once or a few times.” They grinned at each other.
She leaned her head aside and pressed her fingers against her temples, still grinning, but only because it kept her from shedding more tears.
“Okay, I can’t keep faking this with you,” she told him. “I tried changing the subject, I didn’t want to talk about it, but I can’t keep ignoring it like it’s not happening. What the hell are we doing? Because I don’t even know anymore. Vanessa knows about us, and Maurice has figured things out--”
“Maurice?”
“You don’t have to worry about it, he’s not going to say anything to anyone--”
“When did he find out?”
“He saw your jacket the day you came over. And then he heard me and Vanessa arguing and just put it all together.” She sighed. “I just need to know what this is that we are doing with each other. Because, I can’t keep feeling like this or pretending like things aren’t happening between us when they so clearly are. Every time we look at each other, I can’t believe Melanie doesn’t see it. I want to know if I should move on or not and every time I feel like I should, I keep making my way back here. This isn’t healthy or right, but…. I need to know what we’re doing.”
He waited a moment, staring at her. And then he whispered, his face reddening, his eyes becoming watery. “I don’t know.” Except he did know. He knew that he was never leaving his wife, and if he did, he knew that it wouldn’t be for long. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Nikki, he loved her with his whole heart and entire being in a way he never thought he could love his wife.
But he felt an obligation to her and to his marriage and children, till death they did part. He felt that he owed it to them to stay and be the husband she married and the father to their children that they adored. Not to mention, he wasn’t willing to give up his public image as the picture perfect husband with the picture perfect family and the picture perfect job, no matter how many times he had always told Nicole otherwise.
Deep down, it couldn’t be who he was, because he knew that person would no longer be accepted in the life he had worked so hard to create for himself.
Nikki turned her eyes to the ground and frowned. “That wasn’t exactly the answer I had been looking for,” she said.
“Nik--”
“I’m going to an opening on Thursday night, a restaurant opening near Madison.”
He nodded. “Angelino’s Bistro Bar and Grill.”
She pulled back. “How did you know about that?”
“Melanie told me about it. I guess Alexis told her a couple of weeks ago and she just remembered yesterday. She wasn’t originally planning to go because she wasn’t planning to be in town…” Nikki glowered. “And then she found out some old friend of hers is an investor in the business and now she wants us to attend for both support and publicity purposes. Are you going with Vanessa as her plus one?”
“Vanessa hadn’t mentioned anything to me about it. I’m not sure if she even knows.”
“Then how were you planning on attending? From what I was told, it’s not open to the public, just close friends and family. Were you going with a friend from one of your acting classes who knows this guy?”
“I don’t have any friends in my acting classes. Maybe a few, but not like that – I have a date, and he asked me to go with him. That’s what I was trying to tell you, it’s why I brought it up.”
Perplexed at what she had just revealed, he had to mentally and physically take a step back. “You have a date? What kind of date?”
“The adult kind with a man that I met at the bank today.” She looked around the darkened streets and passing strangers, smiling as they glanced in her direction. “This is why I’m surprised Melanie didn’t tell you anything about seeing me today. I met someone this afternoon and he asked me to be his date for Thursday.”
“You just met today and he’s already taking you out? You don’t think that’s a little fast?”
“We’re going out on Thursday. I don’t think that’s fast at all, I think it’s reasonable and normal which I haven’t had a lot of in a very long time.”
“Do you know anything about this man?”
“No more than his name, but apparently that’s my life’s theme these days, meeting men and allowing them to take me out while knowing nothing about them beforehand.”
“That’s not fair Nik, you knew that I was married.”
“So did you, and we didn’t start out with rose petals and fireworks either.”
“We had fireworks, plenty of them. That was always the problem, and the solution,” he said. She felt almost willing to submit to the ultimate temptation he presented for her, but she turned away to keep from indulging. He rattled his head and breathed out, dropping his hands and curling his fingers inside his palms to make fists. “I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to go out with this guy.”
“Why? You’re going out with your wife whenever you aren’t sneaking off to be with me, so there’s no reason I shouldn’t find some time to enjoy myself t
oo. You haven’t given me any other choice.”
“You want to take time to enjoy yourself in the company of some stranger,” he said. “What’s fun about that?”
“I’ll be in in the company of someone unmarried who willingly asked me out on a date because he’s unmarried. I don’t even remember the last time I’ve been out on a real date, since the only thing I’ve been doing for the last good year is screwing you.”
“What’s going on?” Melanie made her way down the sidewalk then, waving the bags of fruit back and forth in her hand. Nikki peeked over Oscar’s shoulder as he looked to the side but never turned around. He continued glaring at Nikki until Melanie stepped up. She put her arm around his waist and he leaned over to kiss her cheek. It felt like an obligation on both of their parts to appear as a united front, though it was clear each had their own reasons for doing so.
“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” he said to her.
She looked up at him with a slight scowl mixed with a puzzling expression. “I went to get some fruit,” she responded. “It wasn’t as if I crossed a few boarders to get it.” She turned back to Nikki. “What are you doing out here so late?”
She crinkled her brows. “It’s only 8:30.”
“But you’re not supposed to be here until tomorrow morning, unless I was mistaken on your schedule. I wasn’t expecting to see you again today.” She tilted her head. “Did she tell you that I saw her at the bank today? With a man?”
“She just mentioned it right before you came up.” Oscar turned back to Nikki and tightened his jaw.
“He was very handsome too, muscular with the most beautiful brown skin I’d ever seen. I thought he was just the kind of man she needed, seemed very much like her type.”
“Is that so?” asked Oscar.
“I think it is. But don’t worry, honey, you’re still the best catch in town.” She reached up to kiss his cheek. When she saw a smudge of lipstick left near his lips, she laughed and wiped it off with the edge of her thumb. “All the best girls have loved you from the very beginning. Isn’t that right Nikki? I’m sure you just fell head over heels for him when you first met, until you found out he was married.”
She nervously scratched the back of her neck. “Not exactly.”
“Not at all,” Oscar blurted, glancing at each of them. He tried to play it off, but he wasn’t sure if Melanie was buying exactly what he was selling. “In fact, we hated each other upon meeting.”
Nikki bobbed her head. “Hated. I thought he was an egotistical pendejo.”
“And I thought her spicy attitude might’ve been too much for some of the customers.”
“But you still hired her,” said Melanie, “so, there must have been something you liked about that ‘spicy attitude’.”
He looked Nikki straight in the eyes and smiled. “She’s a good cook.” She smiled too, and shifted her eyes.
Melanie knit her brows. “Really?”
“Yeah, you should try her empanadas. We serve them every few months because they’re such a hit with the customers.”
“Then why do you only serve them every few months?”
“Because I don’t like doing it all the time,” said Nikki. “I’m not a seasoned cook, and Oscar gave me that option.”
“Wasn’t that sweet of him? So sweet,” she replied. And then she lay a hand on her chest and her mouth dropped open. “I just had a wild thought. If they’re so delicious, I’d like to try some myself, but not at the shop. Why don’t you come over and cook for me and our children sometime?”
“Mel--” Oscar shook his head at her, hoping to keep her from embarrassing the both of them.
“I think it would be so much fun. My nanny was Latin and I always loved being around her more than my mother at times. I’m sure the kids would just love it.”
Nikki glanced over at Oscar. “I can give you the recipe to make them yourself. It’s from my mother and it’s not very hard to copy--”
“I think it would be more authentic coming from your hands instead of mine. Wouldn’t you say so?”
Nikki’s cheeks flushed a bright red. It took every ounce of respect she had inside of herself to not curse Melanie out in every Spanish word she learned growing up, followed up by bitch slapping her into the middle of next year, or at best into the street. She knew the compliments were nothing but veiled digs, but she couldn’t tell if it was because Melanie had caught onto what was happening with her husband, or if she was just learning to be a bitch all of a sudden for sport. New York had gotten to her a little too well for Nikki’s liking. But she wasn’t backing down.
“Maybe I could teach your husband how to make them,” she said through a sly grin. “We already spend enough time together here. I could take him in the back and show him how it’s done with my authentic hands. All the kneading and jerking that has to be done just to make sure the dough is cooked just right.”
Melanie clinched her jaw tight and started grinding her teeth. “Maybe you should, and then maybe he can fix them for me during breakfast one morning, while the kids are sleep, and after we’ve had sex.” Nikki’s smug grin turned to an outright snarl. Melanie looked up at Oscar and wrinkled her nose. He stared back at her in disbelief. “I have a lot of yummy fruit in here for you to try. I was thinking that maybe we could expand by adding malts to the new shop with fresh fruit added. Why don’t we go inside and have some in the back? Nice seeing you again, Nikki. And think about what I said regarding the Empanadas. Oscar?” She took him by the hand.
“I’ll see you here tomorrow--” he started, turning toward Nikki.
“Oh, no you won’t,” said Melanie with a laugh. “Remember? I’ll be the one here opening in the morning, not you.”
“I think I can move some things around and make it in.”
Melanie grimaced, and then grinned to hide her anger. “It’s not necessary--”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he interrupted. “See you tomorrow, Nik.” He snatched the fruit from his wife and headed inside the shop alone as she stood behind.
She watched him travel to the back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you think I don’t know what you’re trying to do here?”
“What?”
“I think you heard me quite clearly, Nik.” She turned on one foot and glared at her opponent. “You’re trying to steal everything I’ve practically worked my entire life for, but I’m not going to let that happen.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about--”
“You think you can just waltz right in here and take whatever he says to you at face value?” She shook her head. “If so, you’re a fool. But let me tell you something, I’m the real deal. You be here tomorrow morning, bright and early on time, okay? You’re late even one half of a minute, and you’ll be out of here. I’ve done it to my own employees countless times, so I’m not kidding around.”
“I never thought you were,” said Nikki. “I’ll be here bright and early like always.”
“Good. Then you should have nothing to worry about.”
“I never do.”
Melanie stared angrily at Nikki one more time before leaving her to ponder whether or not she knew the actual truth of the relationship with her husband, or if she was just fucking with her mind to get some kind of vicious rise or reaction.
Nikki strolled off into the night as Melanie went inside and back to Oscar’s office. She closed the door and stared down at the fruit on his desk.
“What was that all about out there?” he asked. “You insulted everything about her right down to her entire heritage, relegating her to no more than a nanny for our children.”
“I did no such thing, I merely offered her an opportunity outside of this shop. And I think it’s good if our kids learn of other cultures. What better person to represent that than your number one employee? I’m sure she’d be thrilled to come over to our house any time we asked to teach our children one thing or another about Latin America.”
“She grew u
p in New York, Melanie.”
“I’m sure her parent’s didn’t.”
“Maybe her mother didn’t, but her father did.”
“How do you know that?” she asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” he snapped.
“I think it matters a lot, and I think the reason behind it has been a lot of our problem since I’ve been back.”
“We don’t need to do this right now.”
“Right now is a better time than any.”
He dropped down in his chair and shoved it back against the wall, staring at her in awe. “What is the matter with you? You weren’t always like this. In just the time you’ve been back to the city, you’ve grown almost cold and distant. What’s the deal?”
“There is no deal,” she said. Except there was, a big one. “I only feel the way that I feel because of some of the things that have gone on in our lives since we’ve been together, but it’s nothing that we can’t work through. We’ve always worked through everything and I don’t see this time being any different. And that’s why I’ve decided to stay. I think I’m going to permanently relocate with the children so that we can work on some things together, as a family.” He wasn’t as thrilled as she wanted him to be, and she knew the exact reason why he wasn’t. She nodded at his desk and pointed. “Try that fruit and tell me what you think. I’m serious about us putting it in the other store.”
“Mel--”
“I need to go and check on the children. The babysitter has school in the morning.” She pulled her cell phone from her purse to look at the time. “When do you plan on being home?”
“After midnight, like always.”
“Then I guess it’ll just be the girls tonight for dinner again. Check in on them before you come to bed, they really miss that.”
“I miss it too,” he said.
She left his office and leaned against the door as soon as she shut it. It was like her legs had almost given out but the rest of her managed to stand upright. She was aware of more about him than she would’ve liked to have been, but there was no way in hell that she was letting those two catch on to whatever it was she had planned.
