The Infidelity Pact

by Carrie Karasyov

  Helen filled them in on what had transpired.

  “I think Victoria is right. So what?” said Leelee.

  Helen was aghast. “Eliza?”

  “I think we have to talk to him. This is getting too dangerous.”

  “I agree,” said Helen, nodding. “So what’s our plan?”

  Victoria and Leelee remained mute. Only Eliza appeared to be thinking.

  “Guys, help me out. Victoria? You’re the one who got us into this,” said Helen.

  “I got you into this? Oh, please.”

  “How dare you? Why are you copping out? I thought we were all supposed to have each other’s backs here. Just because you don’t care about your marriage doesn’t mean I don’t care about mine.”

  “Please,” said Victoria.

  “Really, Helen, calm down,” said Leelee, for once glad to be on the same side as Victoria.

  “I never should have agreed to this. You are both so selfish. You don’t care anymore so you won’t help me and Eliza,” said Helen, beginning to cry.

  Victoria sighed deeply and realized that even though she didn’t care if her marriage was over, she did care if her friendship with Helen was over. “You’re right, Helen. We’ll deal with this. Won’t we, Leelee?”

  Leelee paused, swirling the Tiffany gold chain around her neck. She really couldn’t be bothered. It would all blow over and she’d be living in New York. All she could think about was Jack, and this seemed like such a pain. But she’d have to do it. “Okay.”

  “So what’s our strategy?” asked Eliza.

  The ladies conferred for more than an hour and came up with a plan. They would invite Anson to Eliza’s cocktail party and confront him there. They’d placate him in order to receive the tapes from the baby monitor, and all would be forgotten. That was the plan, anyway.

  •• 37 ••

  The next day was busy for Leelee. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her daughters before she left with Jack, but she also wanted to say good-bye to her friends and make sure the house was in order. The plan was for her to meet Jack at the Santa Monica airport at two in the morning, when he would arrive by private jet and then whisk her off to Hawaii, where they would lay low until everything calmed down. They had been over the plan multiple times, but Leelee was so excited that she could have discussed it all day. Lately, Jack had been moody and a little more reluctant than usual to dissect every beat of their plan, which was fine with Leelee, because she didn’t want to stress him out. She could envelop herself in euphoria and then when they were together it would rub off on him.

  When she tucked her girls in for the night, for the first time she felt a pang in her heart, which she quickly dismissed. No, no, this will be better for them. For all of us. For me. She went downstairs and found Brad watching television in the living room, so she went and sat in the sofa across from him. As she nestled among monogrammed pillows, she realized she’d have to buy all new pillows and towels and stationery to fit her new initials when she married Jack. She’d get more expensive ones this time. So long, Horchow, hello, Leontine Linens. She glanced over at Brad, who was immersed in his program. One of the Law Orders. She didn’t know which one and had long ceased watching them, but Brad still loved them. It showed how provincial he was. They were all the same. And they always got the guy and had the murder weapon, but inevitably they had wrongfully attained the murder weapon and had to look for other clues to track down the killer. She found herself obsessing over the inanity of Law Order and procedural cop shows in general, which she later found prescient.

  “That’s it, I’m beat,” said Brad, standing up and handing her the remote. “You going to bed?”

  “No, I think I’ll watch Jon Stewart,” she said turning the channel.

  “All right,” he said, and walked to the door of the room. Suddenly he stopped and turned around. “I love you,” he said in a voice so low, she almost didn’t hear.

  She turned and looked at him. “I love you, too,” she said, but she knew her voice was fake.

  He looked as if he was about to say something but he changed his mind. Seconds later she heard him trudging up the stairs. After the show, Leelee went to her desk and began a letter to Brad. She was going to leave it on the commode in the front hall for him to find in the morning. He usually left early—at work he had to operate on East Coast time, so he was out the door by five-forty-five at the latest.

  Dear Brad,

  Well, what can I say? Let’s not fool each other. We knew this time would come. I am finally leaving you. I am, and always have been, in love with Jack Porter, and I feel it is my destiny to be with him. Thank you, Brad, for our two beautiful daughters. You were a good husband, loyal and devoted. But we both know that we went into this marriage thinking our lives would be one way and everything turned out different. I cannot help but blame you. I am sorry that I am not a stronger person to get over that, but I had always promised myself that I would not make the same mistake that my mother did when she married my father, and yet I repeated history, and now I am leading a life that I fought so hard against. For this I cannot forgive you. Let’s make this easy. I will give you the house and cars, the membership to the beach club, and half of our bank account. I will send for the girls next week and we will move to New York, to be with Jack. Please don’t make this difficult. Let’s think of Charlotte and Violet. Godspeed, Brad.

  Leelee

  She folded the letter carefully and put it in an envelope, on which she wrote Brad. She spent the next hour deleting e-mails, organizing her desk, and making sure her carry-on bag had ample reading (Us Weekly, Star, People, In Touch, and the new Mary Higgins Clark novel). When it was time, she called and ordered a taxi, directing it not to honk or telephone her to announce its arrival, but instead to wait on the curb. She took her bag out of the hall closet and placed the letter on the commode, and she opened the door when she saw the taxi’s headlights. A gust of wind blew into the house, startling Leelee, but she kept going out the door. She had promised herself that once she opened the door she would never look back.

  When she got to the airport she was beside herself with excitement. She looked around and finally found the waiting area, where she paced back and forth. Two o’clock came and went, and then it was two-fifteen, two-thirty, and finally two-forty-five. She tried Jack’s cell but it went straight to voice mail, and the office was deserted except for a man with a mustache at the information desk, who was on the phone. When she finally got his attention, he told her that Jack’s plane had radioed and said they would land at three-thirty. They’d gotten a late start from Teterboro. Late start? Leelee felt her stomach lurch but then remembered that it was January and on the East Coast there was fog and snowstorms, not ideal weather. Finally at 3:33 she saw a plane come into sight and gently touch down on the tarmac.

  “Can I go out now?” she asked the man.

  “Gotta wait until they bring the stairs,” he said.

  Leelee pressed her face to the glass and walked out to the steps to get a closer look. The air felt fresh, and it awakened her. This is finally it! This is the fairy-tale ending. Then the hatch opened and the stairs were wheeled up, and without thinking Leelee felt herself running to the plane. A flight attendant stood at the door talking to someone, and before she knew it, she realized the someone was Jack! Jack! Her Jack. He looked gorgeous, the handsomest man in the world. He was wearing a light blue jacket and jeans, and his hair was longish, just the way she liked it. He turned toward her and caught her eye and she waved.

  But he didn’t smile.

  At first Leelee thought that he must be distracted, giving orders to the crew, asking how long they needed to refuel before they set off for Hawaii. She yelled “Jack!” and he turned again to her, but he still didn’t smile. She saw him motioning to someone on the plane, and before she knew it Jack had stepped aside and gallantly let a woman get off the plane in front of him.

  Tierney.

  What the hell is she doing
here? Leelee wanted to scream, but Jack kept his eyes averted, as if it took a tremendous amount of concentration to get down the stairs. Tierney, on the other hand, looked up at her and waved, and Leelee felt sick. What was going on? Did Jack want to confront Tierney together? Was Tierney so humiliated that she insisted on moving to California to avoid her friends and the press?

  “Hey, you!” said Tierney, approaching Leelee and giving her an air kiss. “You are such a doll for meeting us out here in the middle of the night! Jack said you might, and I told him not to be crazy, that we’d see you in the morning, but he said you were so excited to see us that you were going to make it out!”

  Leelee didn’t look at Tierney and stared directly at Jack, who avoided her gaze. She was struck dumb. Literally. She now knew what the phrase meant. What was going on?

  “There’s the car,” said Jack, and Leelee turned and looked to where he had pointed. A black stretch limousine was waiting by the gate, its engine huffing and steam floating out of its tailpipe.

  “Let’s go then. I’m freezing!” said Tierney, walking toward the car. “You didn’t tell me that it gets cold here! It’s California! Isn’t it supposed to be, like, eighty degrees?”

  “Not in winter,” said Jack, walking behind her.

  Leelee didn’t move. She watched Tierney run and dive into the car, but Jack was halfway there before he noticed that she was frozen. He walked back to her.

  “Wh-what is going on, Jack?” asked Leelee, looking up at him. Please say she just took it really well, and we’re still going to Hawaii. Please say you love me.

  “I couldn’t do it, Swifty,” he said with a sigh.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice faltering.

  “I can’t leave her. I’m so sorry,” he said.

  “I don’t understand.” She wasn’t going to let him walk away like this. She had to know.

  Jack took a deep breath. He was used to getting off the hook. He was not accustomed to having to answer for his actions, and he appeared put out. “It’s just…look. Swifty, you and I—we will always have something. You’re my best friend. But…I can’t leave Tierney…”

  “That’s not good enough,” said Leelee, irate. “Don’t you love me?”

  “I do, but…” He stuck his hands in his pants. “I want to run for office one day. A divorce won’t look good…”

  Leelee felt her face go red and the vein in her neck throb. “What? WHAT? I can’t believe you, Jack Porter. You are a disgrace. A disgrace! You won’t leave your wife because of that? You’re a pussy!”

  “Swifty, I knew you would…”

  She cut him off. “Don’t—DON’T Swifty me! You are disgusting. If you knew that, then why would you lead me on like this? Why would you send for me to come to Boston and then woo me and then promise me everything, a life together, and drag me out here in the middle of the night if you knew you couldn’t do it? You are not a man!”

  She was too stunned and furious to cry. She couldn’t believe it! It was just not what was supposed to happen. She felt betrayed. She felt ill. She felt like a fool.

  “I know, I know. I’m lame,” he said, shaking his head. “But let’s go now. We’ll drive you home. Tierney’s going to think it’s weird that we’re out here.”

  “Tierney? So now you care what Tierney thinks? I thought you told me she was an idiot who only cared about shopping. Now you care about her feelings?”

  “Look, Swifty, enough. I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry. But let’s walk away clean. Brad doesn’t know, Tierney doesn’t know, no one knows. Let’s just end it quietly so we can pick up the pieces of our lives.”

  Leelee was suddenly seized by a thought. What bothered Jack more than anything was to have someone have something on him. He always wanted to one-up people, and he voraciously protected his secrets. “Other people know, Jack.”

  “Who?” he snapped.

  “This guy in the Palisades. Anson Larrabee. He writes the gossip column. He knows and he hates me, so he’ll do something about it.”

  “How can he prove it?”

  “He has tapes. He tape-recorded us talking. He used a baby monitor. He has it all, Jack. It’s out of my hands now,” she said with a smile. Let him squirm.

  “Where does he live?”

  “Why, Jack? What are you going to do?” she asked, her eyes challenging him. “You’re too much of a pussy to do anything.”

  “Look, I know you’re hurt, but let’s just get through this. Where does this Anson live?” he asked. She could tell he was nervous.

  “In the Palisades. You look it up!” she said, walking to the waiting limousine. It was deserted in the airport and would take forever to get a cab. She had no choice but to take a ride home.

  She heard Jack following her and she walked over to the gate and got her suitcase. The limousine driver put it in the trunk and she got into the car.

  “Geez, what took you guys so long?” asked Tierney with a yawn. “I’m so tired.”

  Jack got in and sat across from Tierney and Leelee. He looked unsettled, at which Leelee couldn’t help but smile.

  “We’ll drop Leelee off and then head to the hotel, sweetie,” said Jack.

  “Where are you staying?” asked Leelee.

  “Shutters,” said Tierney.

  “Nice. Romantic,” said Leelee, looking at Jack. “Not as romantic as the Ritz in Boston, but romantic.”

  “Yeah, it has a pool,” said Tierney, resting her head on her arm and closing her eyes.

  “Why don’t I drop you guys off?” asked Leelee. “Your hotel is first.”

  “No, that’s okay…” began Jack.

  “Great,” said Tierney. “I’m exhausted. And we’re only here one day then off to Hawaii, so I want to make sure I hit Fred Segal before I go.”

  Leelee glared at Jack. He averted his eyes again.

  When she dropped them off at the hotel, Jack leaned in to kiss her good-bye, but she turned her head. Tierney gave her a sleepy hug.

  “I don’t think I have time for lunch this trip…” she said apologetically.

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Leelee.

  “One of my best friends lives here, and I promised…” she continued.

  Leelee motioned for her to stop. “I get it,” she said as she started to close the car door. “That’s why I insisted on coming in the middle of the night to say hi! I just knew it would be a whirlwind!”

  “You’re so sweet,” said Tierney, already looking away. She was watching the porter unload her T. Anthony luggage onto the cart. Leelee’s eyes focused on the giant gold monogram: T.H.P. Bitch.

  “Hey, Leelee,” said Tierney, her eyebrows furrowed. “Why did you bring your suitcase?”

  Leelee smiled and leaned forward to the driver. “You can go now,” she said.

  The car drove away and Leelee didn’t look back.

  When she pulled up to her house, she looked at her watch. 4:47. Yikes. So late, or rather, so early. The driver carried her bag to the door and she let herself in quietly. She walked over to the hall closet and pushed her suitcase into the back, behind the long coats, and closed the door. She walked upstairs to the bathroom in the hall and changed into the sweats that she had been wearing before she left. She had thought she would never see them again, or at least not for a long time. She dropped the skirt and blouse and sexy lingerie that she had spent weeks obsessing over (her “going away outfit,” she called it) into a ball on the floor. As she splashed cold water on her face she stared at her reflection. Life just isn’t what you think it will be. She knew she should be grateful for all that she had, and she was, but all she could feel right now was very sorry for herself. She just wanted to curl up and die. She was humiliated, heartbroken, and rejected.

  She flipped off the light switch and crept into her room so as not to wake Brad. But when she glanced at her bed, she realized that he wasn’t in it.

  “Brad?” she asked.

  No response. Leelee walked over to the bathro
om off their bedroom and looked inside. “Brad?” she asked.

  Silence.

  Suddenly a wave of panic crept over Leelee. She ran to the girls’ room, but no Brad. Oh God, the letter. She ran downstairs and looked at the commode. The letter was gone. She looked down next to it. Brad’s briefcase was gone. She ran into the living room then to the kitchen and even looked outside the backyard but no Brad. When she opened the garage door she saw that his car was gone. Brad was gone. He must have read the letter. Her life was now officially destroyed.

  •• 38 ••

  Victoria woke up early the morning of Eliza’s party and immediately felt that something was wrong. She glanced over at Justin’s side of the bed and saw that he wasn’t there. That’s what it was. Justin hadn’t come home last night by the time she went to bed, and it appeared as if he’d never come home at all. Victoria sprang up, threw on her cashmere bathrobe, and went downstairs. No sign of Justin at all. That bastard.

  Marguerita came and got the boys breakfast while Victoria took a shower. She turned the water so hot that it was almost unbearable, feeling her skin scream under its crush. The bathroom got steamy and Victoria closed her eyes and let the water pound on her until she could no longer take it and got out. When she left the bathroom, Justin was standing by the full-length mirror, adjusting his tie.

  “Where were you last night?” asked Victoria.

  Justin smiled and reknotted his tie. “Out.”

  Victoria rolled her eyes and threw the wet towel that she had been using to dry her hair back into the bathroom. “Out? Surely you can do better than that,” she said with derision.

  “What? You think I was with some bimbo? Sorry. It was work, baby. You know, I do everything around here so you can get massages and pedicures. I’m the one making the living and staying up talking Tad down from a coke bender until six in the morning.”

  “Gee, sounds like a nightmare,” she said with a sneer.

  He turned around and glared at her. “It was. And I would like a little support and gratitude when I’ve worked my ass off all night. I don’t want to come home to this!”