Never Doubt Me: Judge Me Not #2(24)

So the first week of Operation Avoid-Missy was a breeze.

The following two weeks, right up until today, running into Missy wasn’t even a concern. She was down in Virginia visiting with her dad. He moved away years ago, following his breakup with Missy’s mom.

But clearly, my successful run of avoiding Missy has come to an end. She’s obviously back from her trip out of town. And it’s not like I can turn around and run away, even though I long to do exactly that. And I don’t do anything of the kind.

Instead, I offer up a cheery “Hey, Missy” as I slip around the opposite side of the desk from where she is seated.

I put my purse in a drawer, sit down, and with a fake smile in place, inquire, “So, how was Virginia?”

Missy fidgets nervously with the scalloped-edge of her blouse sleeve. “It was good,” she drawls, eyes down. “Dad’s doing okay. Still loves to bitch about Mom, of course.” She glances up and gives me a little roll of her eyes. “You’d think after all the years that have gone by, he’d move on. But…guess not.”

I really don’t know how to respond, so I just nod once.

Silence descends and the awkwardness between us increases tenfold. “Uh”—I move some random papers around on my desk—“I really have a lot to do this afternoon, Missy. I’m glad you’re back and all, but I should probably—”

“Look, Kay,” she interrupts, “I know you hate me now that you know about the…stuff that happened between me and Chase.”

I flinch, thinking, Stuff? This woman blew my boyfriend, and he fingered her to orgasm, twice. Ugh.

“But we still have to work together,” Missy continues, oblivious to my thoughts. “The rummage sale is coming up in August. And Father Maridale has already said he expects us to work on it together.”

“I know.” I sigh, resigned.

What Missy is saying is true; we do have to work together. Maybe it’s time I get over my jealousy, especially with something that occurred before I even knew Chase. I can hold on to this forever, or I can move on. I feel like I’ve been making progress on the forgiveness front, so I let it go.

“For the record, Missy,” I say, “I don’t hate you.”

Missy plucks at a wrinkle in her skirt. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” she mumbles. “I should have told you when you first started dating Chase. I guess I just didn’t know how to bring something like that up. If it helps, the things he and I did that night meant nothing, I swear.”

I cringe. I may be up for forgiving her, but that doesn’t mean I care to rehash the details of what she and my boyfriend did to each other, even if it was before I met him.

“Just let it go.” I wave my hand around, swishing the air. “I’m over it, okay?”

Missy looks doubtful, but I really am trying.

I tell her that, and she replies softly, “Well, since we’re putting it all out on the table, I also need to apologize for the night you and I were at the Anchor Inn. I swear, Kay, I never would have hit on Nick Mercurio if I’d known you two used to date. All I knew that night was that he was your boss last summer when you worked at Pizza House. I honestly didn’t know you two ever had a thing.”

“He was my boss, yeah, but we never really had…a thing,” I reply, floundering with discomfort.

How do I explain I never had sex with Nick?

I go with, “He and I were never involved-involved.”

Truth be told, I only went out with Nick a few times. And it was mostly platonic, apart from a few chaste kisses. Oh, and one night, we messed around in the back of his car. But we didn’t go too far, just some groping. I’ve always known Nick would’ve liked much more, though. He’d been crushing on me since we started worked together.

Right now, though, I just want to end this line of conversation with Missy. I clearly recall the night she and I were at the Anchor Inn. It was a girls’ night out, and we ran into Nick and his cousin Tony.

To say Missy, Nick, and Tony hit it off would be a major understatement. The three of them hooked up, and I ended up overhearing their threesome in a back stairwell at the bar.

Despite my repeated attempts to squelch the conversation, Missy insists on explaining the Nick-Tony thing. “Kay, you need to know I never had sex with Nick.” Missy is emphatic. “I mean, sure, we messed around some, but I was only with-with Tony.”

“Whatever, Missy,” I snap.

And that’s when she starts crying, like bawling.

Shit, now I feel bad. I’m not upset with Missy, not really. I think I’m just overly emotional this afternoon, what with worrying about Doug, my mom—just everything.

I touch the edge of Missy’s sleeve, the one she was toying with earlier. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She shakes her head, while big tears roll down her cheeks. “It’s not you, Kay,” she sniffles.

Truth be told, I am a little worried about Missy. This outburst isn’t like her. She takes things in stride; she has a thick skin. Something is dreadfully wrong for her to be this upset.

“What’s really wrong?” I ask. “Did something happen in Virginia?”

She takes a tissue out of her purse and dabs at the corners of her eyes. “No, Virginia was fine, just like I said.”