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“Sunday. To be totally honest, I have no idea what day today is.”
“Mai Tais?” he asked. I nodded. “It’s only Tuesday.”
“Shit, really? I was half expecting you to say Friday.”
“Eh, that’s not so bad. At least you can now concentrate on the rest of it.”
“I guess.” I looked up to the front of the boat to see Nikki sitting on the Fijian man’s lap. “Well, they seem to be getting along well, don’t they?”
* * *
After Nikki introduced us to her new gentleman, Siti, a Fiji local, we three left him to his own business and went to lunch. She couldn’t stop talking about him, though. “Isn’t he gorgeous?”
“He is quite handsome,” said Jason, a little too convincing. “If I weren’t married…” he laughed.
“Oh please,” groaned Nikki. “You’re as straight as they come.”
“Okay, okay, Nikki. We get it. Yes, Siti is a very attractive man. You don’t have to torture poor Jason with your droolings right now.”
“Sorry, but I could just eat him whole.” Her green eyes gave off a dangerous sparkle that I recognized all too well. They said, And you know I will.
“Just cool it off a little when we have company, okay?”
“Fine. I’ll be right back. Gotta run to the ladies,” she said, and dashed off to the back of the restaurant.
“You know I don’t mind,” said Jason. “It’s not like I don’t know how she can get.”
“Yeah, but… Maybe I’m the one who’s uncomfortable with it.”
The laughter in his eyes softened. “Is this about the kindred spirit thing from earlier?”
I shrugged. “I thought we were fine. But he forgot about our anniversary—our fifth, which you know is a big deal for me—and when I surprised him with this trip, he couldn’t come. Yes,” I added, “it was my idea to come here, and Nikki bailed me out last minute.”
“Why couldn’t he come?”
“He’s in Chicago.”
“He moved out?” Jason said, shocked.
“No. Work sent him there to do something, I don’t know, he’s never specific about any of it. But he’s there the whole month.” I sighed in frustration. “Did you know, in the entire time we’ve been dating, we have not once gone on a trip together? Not once! I don’t even know if he’s afraid of flying, or gets sick on boats, because I’ve never seen him on one. I feel like he just shut down once we moved in together.”
“Wow. I thought you guys would actually make it.”
“And who all were you betting against?”
“Well, I never thought Nikki’s marriage would last, but I didn’t see the under-aged boyfriend thing coming. Annie and me… I don’t know. I guess I still don’t understand why she wanted to date me in the first place, let alone marry me. You know she called me boring?”
“I remember in college, one of the times she broke up with you.”
“Yeah. If you thought someone was so boring that you dumped them, why would you want to get back together with them, or start a life with them? Jesus, we’ve been together something like thirteen years all told. But somehow, I always kind of felt like she was waiting for something better.” He took a deep swig of his soda. “I guess nothing really lasts anymore. Even Jack and Mary are having troubles.”
“No, not Jack and Mary!”
He solemnly nodded. “Yeah. Something to do with them trying to have kids and it not working. I think they’re taking the stress out on each other.”
So many of our friends unable to stay in a relationship. I knew the divorce rate in our country—hell, even our generation—was high, but I never would have guessed. “Well, let’s make one thing clear: Fred and I aren’t over just yet. I just need to figure out a way to get through to him.”
“Do you, though? Why’d he take the job in Chicago? It’s not like you guys are hurting for money. With your books being published and him working a tech job, you guys must be saving a ton. Unless you guys got a new penthouse apartment somewhere fancy I don’t know about.”
