CHAPTER 85

CHAPTER 85
The doorbell rang just after six. I set the last of the dinner plates in the sink and wiped my hands on the tea towel. 

Through the frosted glass I saw Aylissa’s outline, shoulders slightly hunched, one hand already lifting to knock again.

I opened the door. The evening air carried the damp smell of cut grass and the faint exhaust of a car that had just passed.

“Hey,” she said. Her voice was quieter than usual. “You said you will text when you are coming.” I said jokingly, she gave me a small sarcastic smile. “Well, I’m already here.”

She stepped inside, toeing off her shoes on the mat. They landed with a soft thud.

We talked for a few minutes in the hallway about nothing in particular traffic, the new coffee machine at the office, the weather. 

Sigurd’s soft babbling floated down from the living room. I glanced toward the sound, then back at her.

“I’ll put him down first, then we can have some wine.”

I lifted him from the play mat. 

His head rested against my collarbone, warm and heavy, the faint scent of baby lotion still clinging to the soft folds of his neck. 

I lowered him onto the mattress, smoothed the blanket over his stomach, and waited until his breathing evened into the slow, open-mouthed rhythm of sleep. 

The floorboard creaked once under my foot as I backed out and closed the door until only a thin strip of light remained. 

Thank god we have a rocking baby cot for him to sleep into.

I went downstairs and Aylissa had already found the wine glasses. I took the bottle from the rack, the glass cool against my palm, and poured for both of us.

The liquid caught the lamplight in a deep red arc. We touched the rims together; the soft chime hung in the air for a second.

“To more social visits,” she said.

I raised the glass and drank. The wine tasted sharp at first, then warmer, coating the back of my tongue. 

For a while the only sounds were the occasional clink of glass against the coffee table and the low tick of the wall clock.

Aylissa’s fingers kept turning the stem of her glass. She stared at the surface of the wine as if the answers were floating there. Finally she set it down carefully.

“I came here to tell you something about Dan.”

I kept the glass in my hand. My pulse gave a single harder beat at the base of my throat. I waited for the terrible news, I presume.

“Did he do something to you?” I asked turning to look at her, she quickly shook her head. 

“Oh, no. It’s something totally not relevant to myself.” She laughed softly, “Well, that’s a relief.” I said smiling.

“Not really.” She said, I just looked at her not sure how to respond to that comment.

“People at work have seen him with a particular woman. They have seen him more than once, in different places.” She said looking at me with unshed tears.

“It doesn’t mean anything, it could be a business deal that he is working on closing.” I said trying to convince myself than Aylissa.

I took another sip, the wine burned a little going down. “Emily, I don’t know how often you read the news.” Aylissa’s voice stayed even.

I shook my head once. “I don’t. Please tell me this was not the news.”

She nodded, the movement small. “Sadly.” The word hung there. I set my glass down. 

“I don’t understand, is he cheating on me?” The base made a soft click against the wood. My fingers rested on my knees. 

“I think he is.” She replied. This is something that I knew was bound to happen, he has been behaving really strange lately. Spending most of his time out, not informing me.

The house felt quieter than it had a minute ago only the distant hum of the fridge and the low music from the television.

I could understand what Aylissa was saying but somehow I wasn’t upset or sad. I just felt numb and defeated.

“I know he is very much capable of that but I need to see for myself. We should follow him.” Aylissa looked up. 

“Please do not look at me like that, last time this man left I had to drive around the whole city looking for him so please.” I said waving her off.

“Ever since he went missing once, I installed a tracker in his car. We can track where he is, let’s just hope he is driving that car.”I kept going, the words coming out steady.

She didn’t answer right away but I knew she wouldn’t say no. She is the one who came bearing the bad news anyways so the least she could do is finish the mission with me.

I reached for my phone. I opened the tracker app, and a map appeared. A small red dot moving.

“Looks like he is driving the car I installed the tracker on.” I said showing Aylissa the app.

“I don’t know how I feel about this, Em.” She said in a small voice, I looked at her. “Come
on, if he really is cheating on me I need to see for myself.”

“What if he catches us, and he sees me with you and fires me for being nosey?” She said waving her hands in the air, I rolled my eyes and stood up.

“And he is my husband so he will not fire you without my permission. Let’s go.” I said sticking my hand out for her to get up, she groaned but took my hand.

“I’m gonna quickly check on Sigurd before we leave.”’I said rushing upstairs to the baby’s room.

We left the glasses where they were. I checked the baby monitor one last time Sigurd’s breathing still even and locked the front door behind us. 

“His nanny is inside.” I said reassuring Aylissa who was giving me a very judging look.