Absolutely Unforgivable(43)

After lunch, Jeromy and I made our way back home. While I was sitting in the passenger seat looking out my window my phone buzzed. I looked down to see Billy had left me a text message. “Told you everything was going to be okay.” He was absolutely right. The lunch had gone great. I loved Jeromy’s mother. She was a wonderfully warm-hearted person. I texted him back to let him know that it went well and that I appreciated all of his support and that we would be home soon and I would tell him all about it.

With my phone in my hand, I mindlessly started flipping through photos I had taken from the night before of the band and the girls. I smiled as I looked at pictures of Bran drinking shots out of Mindy’s bellybutton and several different pictures of Billy on stage.

Soon though, Jeromy put his hand over on my knee and gently rubbed it. “Baby, can we talk?” I stiffened at hearing those words. He sounded so serious, it worried me, and even more so when I looked over at him and saw the horribly sad but serious look on his face.

“Okay? What about?” I asked him cautiously.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m not going to be able to make it to the big blowout this weekend.”

Just before I could say umm okay, it hit me. He was talking about the big Fourth of July party. My heart sank, tears started to well up in my eyes.

“Baby, I have to work. It can’t be helped.”

“Can’t I go with you? Maybe I can help. I’m not too bad with the clerical stuff,” I muttered, tears now rolling down my cheek.

“No, wives can’t go there.”

Wives? That was a strange way to say what he did. What did he mean wives can’t go there? Does that mean other kind of women could go? Why didn’t he say women can’t go there, why phrase it like he did? And where is there?

I barely got a “But ...” out of my mouth when he said, “Let’s go inside and talk about it.” I looked around, to see where we were. I was so caught up in what he was saying to me I hadn’t even noticed we were back home, in our driveway.

I was pissed. How could he do this? And what the hell did he mean by wives can’t go there? I flung open the car door, slamming it behind me and ran to the front door, Jeromy chasing behind me trying to catch me.

When I got in the front door I ran right into Billy. I didn’t say a word just let out a growl and then stormed up the stairs with Jeromy close behind me. Billy said, “Is she okay man?” Jeromy didn’t respond, he just ran up the stairs trying to catch me.

I was in a hurry to get to the bathroom so that I could lock the door behind me; I needed just a moment to myself to calm down, but I wasn’t fast enough and before I could slam it shut Jeromy had his foot in the door.

“Baby please, I have to go. I have about three million reasons why I have to go.”

“Don’t baby me! And I don’t care about the money. I just want to be with you. I want you to be here with me and I don’t understand why I can’t go with you.”

I probably wouldn’t have reacted in the way that I did, because we’ve spent time apart before, but something about the way he said wives can’t go really bugged me. It was like he was trying to say that other women would be there, like mistresses or hookers or something. I was probably just overreacting but I knew he wasn’t being honest with me. I knew something else was going on that he wasn’t telling me and that was what was getting to me.

I just met his mother. This should have been a huge step forward in our relationship. But it’s not. This news of his trip takes us two steps back.

He put his arms around me and held me tightly. “Please don’t cry, Stacy. Please. I love you.” I looked up at him, still tightly locked in his arms, but I didn’t say a word. I buried my face in his chest again for a moment and then Jeromy heard me sniff and pulled back to look at me. His eyebrows creased, and he asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

A few more tears toppled out but I did my best to say, “Yeah. I will be fine.” He pulled me back into him for another tight and reassuring hug, rubbing his hands up and down my back, trying to calm me down.

“I love you so much, Stacy. I hate seeing you like this.”

I looked up at him, while he looked down on me. He had just love and warmth in his eyes and I found it hard not to believe every word he was saying. He lifted me off of the ground as he hugged me tightly and began kissing me passionately. He lifted me up to the bathroom sink as we continued to lock lips.