DEADLINES ARE MURDER
A Sam Monroe Mystery
By
Anne Macdonald
Smashwords Edition
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Anne Macdonald on Smashwords
Copyright © 2011 by Anne Macdonald
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
*****
Chapter 1
Why can’t you be more like Donna?” Rick asked.
Sam had hoped that Rick would still be asleep and this continuing argument could wait until later. Besides, why should I want to be like Donna, she thought to herself.
“So, you’re going into the office, even though it’s the last day of our vacation together?” Rick asked. He was sitting up in bed, staring at the blanket rather than look at Sam.
“Hey, I’m sorry I woke you,” Sam said. Sam moved across the bedroom to her closet to select a navy blue suit to wear to work.
“I thought you were going to quit this job like we discussed?”
Sam walked across the bedroom to her closet. She had decided to wear her navy blue suit to work today. A suit was always easier than trying to figure out multiple pieces, Sam thought, especially when you’re running late. She knew that Rick would be angry if she went into the office rather than stay home with him but Jane had called a meeting and her attendance was required. They had had 7 wonderful days together without either one of them talking about work, could going into the office for an hour or two really matter.
“Look, it’s a good job and it pays well and I like what I do. It helped us while you got your Ph.D.,” Sam replied.
“Yes, it did, of course it did. Your Dad never fails to remind me. But now I’m making money and it would be great if you were around when I’m around.”
“Look Donna did everything Tom asked of her, working at the bank so they would have benefits while he got himself established and did work for Tom after hours doing the books and look where it got her.”
“Hey, Tom’s a jerk. He should never have taken up with that part-time secretary. But once he got her pregnant, what else could he do?”
There were probably a lot of other choices Tom could have made but the one’s he chose were not one’s that want Sam to be more like Donna.
“I’ll call you as soon as the meeting is over and we can make plans for the rest of day.”
“Don’t bother. I’m going to head over to the school to catch up on things.”
“Well, the semester’s done and your grades are in, what else do you need to do?”
“Research and writing. Remember, I need to get published. Plus you’ve ruined the whole vacation for me now.” Rick said. “I’m going to take a shower. You won’t be here when I get out so have a fun day at the office.”
Sam rolled her eyes and continued dressing. Rick may be unhappy but it had been a great vacation and this was just a minor hiccup. Sam looked at herself in the bedroom mirror. Her blue suit, light colored silk shirt, dark brown hair and blue eyes were set off by her newly acquired tan. Her lack of make-up would hardly be noticed.
Sam arrived late and headed straight to the conference room without checking her messages or emails. Jane had called her directly on Sunday, she and Rick’s last day in the Bahamas, and asked her to be at this 8am meeting on Monday morning. They had argued about this on the plane flight home and she thought Rick had understood that she needed to at this meeting. It wasn’t like she asked him to leave early, they were already scheduled to fly back on Sunday night.
Now that she was in the conference room with all the other members of the personal banking team looking at the grim looks on the faces of those around her, she realized that this was not the meeting she anticipated. Sam quickly took a seat at the large conference room table.
Jane stood at the head of the conference room table and announced that they were all being laid off. They were all being laid off because the newly merged bank had two different personal banking units and they needed to condense these into just one. The merger of the two units was heavily in favor of the other team, a more traditional team than the one that Jane had put together, the team currently sitting around the table together, the team that included Sam. They were all being sent home after their individual severance meeting with Human Resources of course.
They all filed out of the conference room, gathering their schedule for their severance meeting from Brenda at the door and saying good-bye to Jane. Sam was amazed at how well everyone appeared to be handling this announcement, unless they all needed to process what just happened. She heard no angry complaints and so far everyone seemed resigned to their fates. Sam realized that her life would not be the same again. She had worked hard to get where she was and now she would be leaving the bank, just like Rick wanted her to do.
Her meeting time was scheduled for 11:30am and it wasn’t even 9am yet. A set of empty boxes were in her office waiting to be filled. They had been delivered while everyone was at the meeting. Sam immediately called Rick but there was no answer. She was just about to dial his University number when Donna appeared at her door.
“Well, I just heard the news. You must be devastated.” Donna said. Donna was leaning against the doorway to Sam’s office with a look of concern on her face. Donna’s red curly hair framed her fair, freckled face and her tight skirt and blouse set off her figure while heals made her seem taller than her 5’7” frame. A lot of men fell for the package and it was a well put together package.
“I’m really, really shocked at what’s happening. We’re all going to be sent home for good. I know that I’ll be alright for a while but some of the team members are the sole breadwinners for their families. This is really going to hurt.”
“Well, it’s what happens in the banking world in a bad economy and during a merger. Look at me, I’m only a teller but I’m still employed and that’s a good thing,” Donna replied, dropping to a seat in front of Sam’s desk. “So, will you get an MBA now?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t had much time to think about it.”
“You should try working out more, now that you’re unemployed.” Donna said casually, without looking directly at Sam.
Sam could feel the prickly fingers of tension and anger running up her spine to the back of her head. She hoped that the heat spreading across her face did not show so Donna wouldn’t have the satisfaction of knowing that she had hit one of Sam’s hot buttons.
“I see,” Sam replied, gritting her teeth. “Don’t you get bored doing the same thing over and over again every day?”
“Pretty much the same as you do,” Donna replied.
“Actually, Rick has wanted me to quit for a while. Now I’ll have some time to write my novel and consider what I want to do next,” Sam replied.
“Really, I thought that, well no matter, who knows what I thought. You two and your careers. Tom and his wife and kids and his career. Humph. You know, there is more to life than careers,” Donna stood up from the chair in front of Sam’s desk. “Well, at least I’m still employed. Have you told Rick yet?”
“No, I tried him at home but he didn’t pick up. I was just about to call him at the University,” Sam replied.
“Well, my break is nearly over so I better get back down to the floor before they miss me. And I’m sorry that you got laid off. Call me later tonight so we can talk.”
Donna was gone from her office as quickly as she’d arrived. Sam stared after Donna wondering how they could have been best friends. Well, it wasn’t that hard, they had had more in common 9 years ago than they do now. Sam had been more ambitious and Donna more of a home body back then. Now they were almost completely opposite.
Sam called Rick at the University but got no answer. Rick could easily still be walking to his office from their condo in the leather district of Boston or he could be meeting with another professor or even Arthur, the department chair. Rick had said that Arthur was concerned that Rick wasn’t published yet and that publication was needed for tenure. She then called Rick’s cell phone and left a quick message asking Rick to call her but didn’t leave any details about what had happened at work. News like this would be best delivered in person, she thought.
Sam was packed before her meeting with the severance counselor. It was a very straight forward explanation of benefits and severance pay and they were done. The counselor was concerned that Sam wasn’t more upset about everything. Sam explained that she was pretty sure she would be good for a while because they both worked and they had no children. The counselor said that that Sam was lucky; so many of the others had more pressing concerns, particularly those who had a spouse who did not work or wasn’t working right now. Sam didn’t feel lucky, she felt rootless.
Sam then stopped by to say good-bye to Jane and Brenda. Brenda was crying, mostly from saying good-bye to everyone. Jane asked that Sam keep in touch and let Jane know how she was doing and what she was doing next. She encouraged Sam to go for her MBA but Sam let her know she wasn’t sure about that yet. Sam then said good-bye to some of her team members who were still packing. It had been an exhausting day and it was now only 2pm.
Sam and a mover gathered up the five boxes she was taking home with her. The mover got all the boxes into a cab, said good-bye to Sam and lumbered back into the office building to help the next one. The trip home was fast, especially for this time of day. The condo was in the leather district of Boston and Sam usually walked to her downtown office every day, relying on cabs only in bad weather and when she had too much stuff to carry. It was nice that she and Rick could rely on being carless and had access to a rental car a couple of times a month to do more extensive shopping or to get out of town for a weekend. The cab driver helped her unload her boxes onto the sidewalk and took off for the next paying customer.
Sam stood on the corner, about 100 feet from her front door which was in the center of the block and wondered how she was going to get everything up to her condo. She couldn’t do five boxes by herself and she didn’t want to leave any of the boxes to random passersby. While she contemplated how best to do this or if she could find someone who would stop and help her, she saw two neighbors, Kate and Ben, heading out of the building. Kate and Ben were inseparable when they were both home, and both were without significant others. Sam waved and yelled to get their attention. They both waved back and then reluctantly headed to the corner where Sam stood with her boxes.
“I was just laid off and I need some help getting my stuff up to the condo,” Sam continued. “If you could just watch my stuff while I make trips to get it all inside the door, I’d be really greatful.”
Kate and Ben exchanged an odd glance and then both looked at her. “Why don’t you call up to your place and have Rick help you?” Kate asked.
“Rick’s at the University catching up on some work. If you could help me get this stuff inside the door, I can take it from there,” Sam replied.
“Ok, well I’ll call Rick for you and have him come down,” Kate replied. Kate dialed the number that Sam gave her and again there was no answer. Kate and Ben exchanged a cryptic look and both turned to Sam.
“It might be best for you to go up yourself. If you and Ben each take the boxes, I’ll grab the door,” Kate replied.
“Well, ok, if you’re sure,” Sam replied. Sam thought they were acting a bit weird but she was grateful for the help so decided to ignore the looks Kate and Ben were exchanging. She knew they didn’t like Rick very much. They thought he was cold, unfeeling and should treat Sam better.
“I’ll keep an eye on things and Ben can help you take boxes up to your place. That way it should only take a couple of trips.” A cab stopped to see if Kate needed a ride. Things like that always happened to Kate and never, ever happened to Sam or Ben apparently. Everyone else in the city had to fight for a cab but they seemed to just show up for Kate. Sam and Ben picked up the boxes and headed for the front door. Kate opened the door and another neighbor held it open while Kate opened the locked interior door.
“You know, I think that Kate could get a cab in a rain storm and I can’t even get one on a good day,” Ben said as they entered the building. Kate just rolled her eyes.
Sam got her keys out while they rode the elevator to the 6th floor. It was a short walk from the elevator to the front door of Sam’s condo and she quickly opened the door and put her boxes down just inside the door. She held the door while Ben put his next to hers Kate stood in the hallway and Ben quickly joined Kate.
“Thanks for all you help with these. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there to help me,” Sam said.
“Not a problem. Are you sure you are all set?” Kate asked.
“I think I can handle it from here,” Sam replied.
“Look, we’re having a late lunch at Cecilia’s. Please feel free to join us if you need a break,” Ben said and he pushed a reluctant Kate out the door. “I’m sure it’s been a rough day so far.”
Sam thanked them again and closed the door. It was a good invitation and she hadn’t had any lunch yet. As she headed down the short hallway to the office cum guest room she noticed that the bedroom door was closed, which was unusual. She pushed it open and was surprised to find Rick pulling on his pants. She was even more surprised to see a young woman getting dressed, half-hidden by Rick. She looked at the bed and realized that they had just gotten out of the bed, her bed, her and Rick’s bed. Her mind was racing as she stood frozen in place looking at them numbly.
“Isn’t this a surprise,” Rick said with a cold smile. “You’re home awfully early for a work day.”
“I’ve been laid off,” Sam replied. “What’s your excuse?”
“Well, I’m taking a break with Ariella here,” Rick replied with a toss of his head towards the girl standing next to him. “She didn’t have to go to work today.”
Rick had stopped dressing and looked at Sam with his arms crossed across his chest. Ariella continued to dress without looking at Sam or at Rick.
“Ah, well, that explains it then,” Sam said and then turned back towards the kitchen. She needed to sit down and have a cup of tea or something stronger.
“Well, now that you know about us you can pack your things and leave,” Rick followed Sam back to the combined kitchen and living room.
“Leave? Why should I leave? This condo is in my name, yours doesn’t appear anywhere on the mortgage,” Sam replied. Her voice presented a quietness and control she wasn’t feeling. She leaned on the counter next to the kitchen sink, hoping she looked casual but knowing that the counter was holding her up.
“What do you mean this isn’t yours?” the young woman’s voice piped up from behind Rick. Ariella had followed Rick without either of them noticing her.
Sam looked at Rick. Her mind noticed that he really was very, very handsome with dark hair, a trim body and finely chiseled face. She should have known he was cheating on her and lying too. The vacation must have been a fluke. Hell, the marriage now seemed like a fluke.
Rick stared at Sam, as if his staring would somehow change things or intimidate Sam into leaving.
“Rick has no ownership of this condo. The mortgage is in my name and my father’s so until a judge makes us split the proceeds of a sale during a divorce settlement, I’m the one staying here and he’s leaving,” Sam replied. Again, her calm and composure surprised even her.
“Well,” Rick sputtered. “If that’s how you feel, I’ll be out of here in an hour. I’ll pack my bags and you’ll never see me again.”
“That’s fine with me. I’ll be getting the locks changed as soon as possible,” Sam replied. The kettle whistled, needing her attention, and she poured the overly hot water into the teapot.
“I don’t understand. I thought we were going to live here and she was going to leave,” the young woman said.
“I guess that she’s not going to go quietly,” Rick replied to the young woman. “Her wealthy daddy purchased this place and froze me out.”
“My wealthy daddy, as you refer to him, helped us out when we had no money and you wanted to work on your Ph.D. without being disturbed by minor things like making a living. That’s what I did.”
“Yeah, well, he never liked me anyway. How someone as brilliant as he is supposed to be could not understand my work, I’ll never know. Go back to your precious, dysfunctional, obnoxious family,” Rick yelled across the room as he turned and headed for the bedroom. “I’ll pack a bag and be out of here.”
The young woman, Ariella, turned and followed Rick. She stopped at the entrance to the hallway and turned to look at Sam. The confused look on her face said that nothing was as it had seemed up until now. This was not the Sam that Rick had described to her.
Sam didn’t notice Ariella observing her as she picked up the phone and the phone book and started looking for a locksmith. Sam found that the local hardware store had a locksmith service and she made the call. When she hung up, Sam was surprised to find Ariella was sitting in one of the chairs at the breakfast bar, still watching Sam.
“I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Ariella Fantini,” the young woman said.
“Well, I don’t know what appropriate to say in a situation such as this. It’s good to meet you doesn’t seem appropriate,” Sam responded, shaking the hand with Ariella had extended. It seemed impolite to not shake hands, even in these .
“Yes, this must be very uncomfortable. I’m sorry that you got laid off today. You have a very nice tan.”
“Thanks, we just got back from vacation.” Sam realized at that moment that Ariella didn’t know they had been away together for a week. It didn’t concern Sam much as she took in the look of shock on Ariella’s face. They were saved from having to say more but Rick’s entrance into the living area.
“I have everything I need for now. I’ll send for the rest of my stuff,” Rick said. He had two bags and a garment bag over his shoulder as walked across the living area to the front door. “Can you grab my shaving kit, it’s on the bed,” he said to Ariella.
“What do you mean you’ll send for your stuff? Do you think that I’m going to put your stuff together for you?” Sam asked.
“Oh, come on. You’ve been laid off and now you’re going to complain about helping me out. You’ve got the condo, at least for now. Putting my stuff together should be a piece of cake,” he responded.
“Or I could just throw everything into the street,” Sam replied. Her anger was causing her face to turn red under her tan.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Rick replied. His eyes had a cold, steely look that Sam did not like. “Besides, what else are you going to do?”
“Write a novel, which is more than you can do,” Sam replied. Her anger was palpable. Ariella took in the spiteful exchange without even blinking.
“Oh, now you’re going to pick on me,” he replied. “Let’s go,” he said to Ariella.
“You know, that wasn’t a very nice thing to say,” Ariella said. “But I understand why you said it.”
Ariella turned, hopped off the tall chair and headed across the living area to the hallway. She returned with the shaving kit and followed Rick through the door and out of the condo. The door shut behind the two of them and Sam was alone.
Sam spent a several minutes just staring at the closed door. Her reverie was broken by the sound of the buzzer letting her know that someone wanted to get in. At first she thought it was Rick and was going to ignore it but after a few more buzzes, she decided to answer. It was the locksmith and she buzzed him in. When he arrived at her door, she let him in and explained what she needed to have done. He worked swiftly and was done before she finished her tea. Sam thanked him and wrote a check for the work. It was a premium price but she was glad to pay it.
What she needed to do next was buy new, clean, unused sheets and bedding and probably towels. She put down her tea, picked up her purse and headed to a local, very expensive linen store and bought sheets, blanket, comforter and mattress cover, all new and all very extravagant, along with some lovely towels. As soon as she got home with her packages, she stripped the bed and put all new linens on it. She bagged up the old, used bedding and put it in a corner of the living room. Well, if he wants everything bagged up for him, this is a good start she thought. She’d be damned if she was going to wash the sheets.
Just as she was heading to the kitchen area to warm up her tea, there was a knock on the door. No buzzer indicated that it was someone with a key to the front door. If it was Rick, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. Sam looked through the peephole to find Kate and Ben waiting. She opened the door to let them in.
“So, how long have you known about this?” Sam asked.
“Since late January or so,” Kate replied, brushing past Sam who still stood holding the door. “We didn’t feel it was our place to tell you. We hoped you would come home early some day to find them. Which now you’ve done and now we can console you.”
“Really, you put some thought into this plan,” Sam replied. Ben was still standing in the hallway politely waiting to be invited in. Sam rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let Ben enter as well.
“Well, I see you have new linens on the bed. I would have bought a whole new bed,” Kate said. She had walked to the bedroom and back into the kitchen, dining, living area. “Did you buy the linens down the street?”
“Yes, I thought I’d splurge before going to the poor house,” Sam replied.
“Well, they’re very pretty and they suit you,” Kate replied. “What are you going to do now that you’re unemployed?”
Kate and Ben took seats at the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining area and Sam started the kettle to make fresh tea. Kate was about 5’11” tall and looked a lot like model, which she had been once. She wore a long, fawn-colored coat over cream colored pants and a cream silk blouse. Her blond hair cascaded down over her shoulders. Ben was also about 5’11”, wore a t-shirt and jeans with a jacket. His mousy brown hair, gray eyes and pale skin all made him the less noticeable of the two. He didn’t look like an internist but then again, what does an internist really look like when not at work. His bland looks were his disguise when he was not at work. Few people knew or suspected he was a doctor and they usually just walked by him without looking twice. And Ben didn’t seem to mind this much. He said it allowed him to relax more when not at work. Sam smelled food and was pretty sure she should eat soon. The smell of food was coming from a bag that Ben had put on the counter. The smell was divine and Sam realized that she hadn’t had any food all day.
“So, did you bring some takeout?” Sam finally asked.
“Oh, some Chinese we picked up after the movie,” Kate replied. “What do you have to drink?”
“I thought you were going to Cecilia’s for a late lunch?” Sam asked.
“Well, it was a bit later than we expected after helping you with the boxes and all, so we decided to just go to the movie and grab some Chinese after. On the way back, we thought we’d check up on you and see how you were doing,” Ben replied.
Sam checked the refrigerator for drinks and found half a bottle of white wine, some soda, juice and water and not much else. She made a note to go shopping in the morning. What she had wasn’t much but it provided something to go with the Chinese. Ben had moved around the counter and was going through the cabinets looking for plates, glasses and silverware. Kate took the containers of food from the bag and opened each of the packages so they could each take what they wanted. They ate in silence and then Kate and Ben cleaned up after dinner while Sam sat at the counter and watched.
“Well, it’s been fun,” Kate said. “But I have some friends to meet for drinks. Ta, Ta.” And with that Kate picked up her bag, put on her coat and sailed out the door. Ben and Sam just watched her leave.
“Well, I’m on the late shift in the emergency room tonight,” Ben said. He too put on his coat, gave Sam a hug and headed out the door.
Alone, Sam poured herself the rest of the wine and sat at the counter, turning to look at the boxes by the door that she had brought home. She then broadened her view to look at her dining, living area.
It wasn’t a large space and strangely did not feel empty without Rick. They hadn’t spent much time together at home lately. She worked days and he worked afternoons and evenings. Sam had been running to one place or another after work and she had thought Rick was doing the same. Now that didn’t seem to be the case. She hadn’t anticipated him being with another woman, she thought he was working on writing, getting published and getting tenure. It’s what she would be doing in his shoes.
Next she looked at the bookshelves they had installed across the back wall that begain at the door to the hallway and around the right side wall until it met the windows. A couch was placed in front of the bookshelves across the back wall. Across from the couch were two chairs and between the couch and two chairs was a coffee table. In the right-hand front corner, at the end of the bookshelves and in front of the windows was a cozy reading nook with a comfortable chair and a light for reading. Directly across from the door was a hallway that led to the 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. The master bedroom with a large, walk-in closet was on the right-hand side and across the hall, on the left-hand side, was a full bath and a smaller bedroom that they used as an office. It had a day bed that was used on the rare occasions they had guests and was there overflow storage space. It had been quite crowded before Rick had an office at the University but now he didn’t use this one nearly as much. The master bedroom and the right-hand side of the living room were on an outside wall and the windows brought in natural light.
Now that Sam was alone her lips started to quiver and her eyes filled with tears. This could easily be termed the worst day of her life. If there was ever going to be a worse day, she didn’t want to know about it.
Sam had just plopped herself down on the couch when the phone rang. The caller identification told her that it was her older brother Andrew. She was surprised as they didn’t talk on the phone much and certainly not during the work week. To have him call her on a Monday was unusual and a little startling, she wondered if he already know that Rick had left her. She picked up the phone and answered.
“Sis, I just heard that you’d been laid off. I wanted to call and let you know that you can call me if you need anything, just ask and it’s yours,” Andrew said.
“How did you hear that I got laid off?” Sam asked. She was wiping the tears from her eyes.
Andrew explained that he had heard the news from a friend who worked in the New York City office of her bank. Sam was surprised that the news had traveled so fast, even internally, since she was or had been part of a small, specialized unit that hadn’t existed for very long. Andrew explained that this friend was in very senior management and had received an internal memorandum regarding this dissolving of her unit that hadn’t been released to the entire company yet.
Sam then proceeded to tell Andrew about the rest of her day. By the time she had finished telling the story tears were running down her face again. She was surprised at how quickly the words flowed out of her. Her story may not have been too coherent but Andrew let her continue until she had worn herself out. He said that he would come to Boston on Friday night and they would get her place organized, meaning packing up Rick’s things, on Saturday. He made her promise not to do anything until he got there. Sam thanked him and they hung up. Exhaustion crept over her and she had gathered up enough energy to head into the bedroom when her mother called.
She ended up repeating everything, including all the details of the morning layoff, finding Rick in bed with the other woman and Andrew coming to town to help her over the weekend. Her sobbing again made the story less than coherent but her mother didn’t ask any questions, just made sympathetic noises, letting Sam talk until she was done. They hung up with the promise of speaking again the next day. She decided that it would take too much energy to get undressed and crawled into bed with all of her clothes on.
Chapter 2
When the alarm went as usual at 7am, Sam reached over, picked up the clock and threw it against the wall. She watched it break into a multitude of pieces, some of which bounced back on the bed due to the force behind her throw. Well, she thought, I won’t need that old clock anymore. If Rick needed an alarm clock he could go out and buy one. After a few minutes of fuming, she realized her anger could get quite expensive, especially if she continued to break things while she was unemployed and living off her severance pay. That meant that the dishes and glasses were safe for the moment. The thought of the amount of money she had spent on sheets, bedding and towels made her groan.
Since she was awake, and was now less likely to break anything, she decided to get up take a shower, wash her hair and have some coffee. She stripped off her clothes and left them on the floor, a luxury but no one but she was going to trip over them, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Her mood was alternately angry and weepy. Her head was muddled with all the things she needed to do and nothing was making much sense. A long shower usually helped her think through her problems and come to some resolution but that wasn’t happening today. Her thoughts were leaping around all the events of the previous day.
Once out of the shower and back in the bedroom, she saw that she had four phone messages. She listened to a message from her father, one from her mother, one from Rick’s mother in upstate New York and one from Donna. Bad news travels fast she though as she dressed for the day. She decided to have some breakfast before answering her messages, particularly the one from Rick’s mother. The phone rang several times while she cleaned up the kitchen from the previous night’s Chinese dinner; she’d never even put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Better to talk to with everyone on a full stomach, she thought, as she ate her breakfast and watched the morning news.
She started with her father, who recommended a divorce lawyer and said he would also be down over the weekend. His trip from Long Island would just be a quick trip and he would need to return. Sam and her Dad were not always close, but intentions were good even if he wasn’t the best and warmest father. He had never liked her choice of husband and was most likely secretly cheering the separation but he acted caring and concerned on the phone and she couldn’t fault him for that. Plus it would be interesting to see whether or not he brought Vittoria along. Vittoria, the latest step-mother, was younger than her father, actually not much older than her sister Angela, and didn’t always like spending time with her step-children. Of course, it was hard to blame her, the step-children were usually laying bets about how long this marriage would last and hadn’t spent a lot of time getting to know Vittoria. They had long since decided that getting to know their step-mothers was a waste of their time, since the step-mothers seemed to be on a revolving door. Vittoria had lasted 5 years now, and showed more staying power than Sam or her brothers Jonathan and Andrew and sister Angela had even thought this one would last.
Sam then called her mother and was able to get through the conversation without sobbing, which reassured her mother. Her mother asked her to come down to Florida to stay for a while and Sam had let her know that she would think about it. She loved her mother and step-father but she wasn’t sure she wanted to visit right now when there was so much to do here.
Sam’s next call was to Rick’s mother. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation but felt she would rather than handle this now than dread it all day. It was better to get it out of the way and move on. She liked Rick’s mother but knew that a separate from her favorite and only son was going to be difficult. Rick’s mother was sympathetic but not overly so. Mrs. Sampson hoped that Sam and Rick would be able to patch things up and that they would stay in touch with one another but did not want any details and seemed to know that Rick and she had separated. It was a friendly if very cool conversation.
Sam then called Donna at bank. Donna was on a break and was able to take her call right away.
“Wow, I can’t believe what happened to you yesterday,” Donna said.
“What do you mean? You know I was laid off,” Sam asked.
“Well, Rick of course. I let him stay at my place last night. He had nowhere else to go and didn’t want to stay at Ariella’s since she lives with other students from the University. I can’t believe you let one of the great ones get away,” Donna continued.
“The great ones! What’s so good about him?.”
“Oh, Sam, don’t you see. You can’t keep a guy like that by working all the time. I still can’t believe that you would devote so much time to work when your Dad could support you,” Donna replied.
“Really, well that didn’t stop Tom from leaving you,” Sam said. It was a low blow but Donna was making her angry by not taking her side. If she didn’t know better, she thought Donna sounded almost gleeful. There was a long pause before Donna spoke again.
“Well, I guess I should get back to work,” Donna replied and then hung up without waiting for a response from Sam. Sam wanted to apologize and decided she would call Donna that night to do so.
Next she called Andrew to see if he would be staying with her or at a hotel. If he was thinking of staying with her, she would really need to clean up the office cum guest room cum storage space. He had never stayed at the condo before so she anticipated that he would stay at a hotel and was not surprised when he confirmed that was his plan. Sam was relieved to find that she would not need to clean quite yet. Andrew lived and worked in New York City and didn’t have much time to spend with his siblings or father. He occasionally visited his mother in Ohio, but that was mostly holidays, particularly Christmas. He’d only come to Boston twice since she was married so his visits had been minimal so far. A hotel would work out just great
Angela, her sister, called next. It was a quick conversation as Angela was calling from work and her job for the fashion design firm was very hectic. Sam and Angela didn’t talk much because Angela had two young daughters, ages 9 and 7, a husband, Mario, who traveled to Europe frequently to cover soccer games as a former soccer star and commentator.
“So, I hear you and Rick have finally split up?” Angela asked, over the phone.
“Yes, we did,” Sam replied.
“May I ask what caused the split?” Angela responded.
“You can, but I think you may have already heard from Andrew, Dad and my Mom what has happened,” Sam replied.
“Yes, I did hear from all of them except your Mom. What I’d like to hear is from you,” Angela replied.
“Well, there isn’t much to tell. I was laid off yesterday morning and got home earlier than normal with all my junk from work and found Rick in bed with one of his students,” Sam said, quickly so it wouldn’t hurt so much.
“In your bed?” Angela asked quietly.
“Oh yes, we really don’t have any other bed here except ours. And then he had the audacity to be surly to me and to insist that he should be the one to stay in the condo. I just can’t believe it,” Sam was close to tears now, her lower lip quivering. She was thankful that her big sister couldn’t see her now.
“Well, I wish I could come up with Andrew this weekend but I can’t, Allie has a dance recital and Marco’s out of town on business. Otherwise, you know I would be there,” Angela said, sounding a bit misty herself.
“That’s OK; I think it would be too much for me if it were more than Andrew and Dad. As it is, I’m not sure what to do with Andrew,” Sam replied.
“I’m sure you two will think of something. I thought Dad was coming up too?”
“Well, he said he was coming, but he said it was a quick trip so I’m not sure how much I’ll see him or how long he’ll stay. I don’t know if Vittoria is coming or not,” Sam replied.
“Ah, yes, Vittoria. She has certainly had more staying power than I thought she would have. I’m sure it will be good to have them all there with you. At least your Mom is not joining in. Well, I have to get to my next meeting. I’ll call you on Sunday night so Allie can tell you all about the recital,” Angela rang off quickly, already late for her next meeting.
Sam wanted to cry, again. Instead she attacked her apartment. She had new sheets on the bed, but a lot of junk in the house. It would feel great to start putting Rick’s stuff together to get it out of the apartment. That thought made her pause for a second. She realized that she already knew, in her heart or her brain, that she and Rick would not be getting back together. It was all over and as emotional as she was, she was still sure that it was really all over and she was pretty sure she didn’t want to get back together.
Just as she was about to get to work, there was a knock on her door. Since there had been no buzzer telling her someone wanted to be let in, she assumed it was Kate or Ben or possibly someone else from their building. A quick look through the peephole let her know that it was the young woman, Ariella, who had been with Rick the previous day. She considered not opening the door and pretending to not be home but curiosity got the better of her.
“I’m sure you don’t remember this, but my name is Ariella, Ariella Fantini,” the young woman said to Sam, while standing in the hallway. “I want let you know how embarrassed I am by what happened yesterday. I have never been comfortable coming into your home and I want to apologize for my behavior,” she said.
“Ariella, that’s a pretty name. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before,” Sam said. They were still standing in the doorway as Sam had not invited her in. And Sam was sure she didn’t want to invite this young woman into her home.
“Thank you,” Ariella replied.
There was a long pause while neither of them spoke. Since Ariella didn’t appear to be leaving, Sam relented and invited her into the condo.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that you have never done anything like this before,” Sam said.
“Thank you,” Ariella replied. She walked over and took a seat at the kitchen counter.
“Well, is there anything I can get you? Water? Coffee?” Sam said. What she was thinking was why was this woman in her home and what did she really want, particularly since she didn’t seem very talkative.
Ariella accepted a glass of water. She told Sam that was trying to clear things up, at least a little. Ariella had never meant to steal anyone’s husband and had certainly never meant to intrude on Sam’s privacy by being there yesterday. It was Rick who felt that they could use the condo without any interruptions. Ariella shared an apartment with four other students and there was no privacy, someone was always coming or going and since Rick was a professor at the University where they were all students, her place wasn’t really a comfortable option for them. Ariella let Sam know that the two of them, Ariella and Rick that is, were going to rent an apartment together. Ariella didn’t really like having Rick stay with Donna.
“Really, you know Donna?” Sam asked
“Oh yes, we’ve been out with Donna a few times,” Ariella replied. “They seem to be really good friends.”
Well that a startling bit of news. Donna had certainly never said anything to Sam about Rick and Ariella. Donna obviously knew more than she let on this morning.
“Yes, I can certainly see why you would not want Rick to stay with Donna for too long,” Sam replied.
“Well, I’m sure this has all been quite a whirlwind for you. I’m so sorry that you were laid off too. What will you do next?”
“Well, believe it or not, I’m going to take some time to figure out what I want to do next. I’m really going to write a novel. I have some severance money and I can afford to take a few months off before I need to make some money again.”
“Well, that’s nice. Thank you for your hospitality this morning. I do need to run and get back to campus,” Ariella said. She then jumped off the kitchen stool, placed her glass in the sink and left.
Sam was not sure what to think of this whole, unexpected meeting. She was surprised to find that she sort of like Ariella, who reminded Sam of herself when she first met Rick. She hoped Ariella was smart enough to stay in school to finish her Ph.D. Sam looked at the clock and realized it was already noon. She didn’t want to answer any more phone calls or spend any more time in the condo so she grabbed her bag and headed out to visit a bookstore. This would be sure to distract her for a while.
Sam muddled through the rest of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning, shifting stuff around the apartment but not making much of a dent or many decisions. Her Dad, Philip, and Vittoria arrived in time for lunch on Friday. Philip and Vittoria needed to return to Long Island on Saturday morning for a small dinner party so their stay would be short. After a nice lunch at a local restaurant, Vittoria and Philip got to work on separating out Rick’s books and boxing them up. This consisted of Vittoria reading off each title, Sam deciding if it was to stay or not and Philip putting the book in a box for Philip, a box of books to be donated or moving the books to be kept to the designated ‘keep’ portion of the bookcase. Sam had successfully moved her stuff from work into the office, creating space for Rick’s stuff to be stacked by the door.
Andrew arrived on Friday night early enough for a late dinner with Sam, Philip and Vittoria. They caught up a bit on Andrew’s life, which was easier than talking about Sam’s life. His stories of life in investment banking were entertaining. After dinner, Philip and Vittoria said good-bye since they were leaving early Saturday morning and headed back to their room at the hotel. Sam and Andrew stopped at the hotel bar for a nightcap and to make plans for meeting the next morning. They grudgingly agreed that Vittoria had some staying power. They parted with plans to meet the next morning at Sam’s place to start cleaning out Rick’s things.
Sam returned to her condo, had a quick conversation with her mother, who was now calling every night to check on her, and then cried herself to sleep. It had been a long week and she was emotionally and mentally exhausted. After years of having a somewhat distant relationship with her family, they seemed to be suffocating her. She appreciated her Dad and Vittoria dropping in for an afternoon and they had been very helpful without expecting much from Sam. Andrew coming up from New York City and her mother calling every day as well as having Kate and Ben checking on her at unusual moments, even though she didn’t really know them very well, was more human contacted than she wanted right now.
Chapter 3
The Saturday clean-up went pretty well. Andrew was unemotional about the entire process, which made it go a lot faster. He took care of bagging up all of Rick’s remaining clothes and toiletry items without any help from Sam. Sam watched from the door, like a moth drawn to the flame. She didn’t want to stop Andrew and she didn’t want to touch any of Rick’s things but she couldn’t stop hovering either.
“Why don’t you go and pack up his laptop,” Andrew suggested, when he couldn’t take the silent staring any longer.
“OK, I guess I can do that,” Sam replied, biting her fingernails and leaning against the door jamb.
She didn’t move until Andrew stopped what he was doing and looked at her. With a sigh, she headed off to the office/guest room to pack up the laptop and any files that might be hanging around. There were a number of flash drives and CD’s on the desk that Sam knew were not hers, so she threw them into the laptop bag. Rick had moved a lot of his files to the University as soon as he got an office. He said it was easier to organize things in his office there. Sam had taken care of all of the finances, taxes and correspondence for the two of them so she kept those files to review at another time. She finished up with the desk, zipped up the case and put it in the hallway with the other items to be picked up or sent to Rick.
She was about to check on Andrew when there was a knock on her door. Sam looked through the peephole, saw it was Kate and Ben, and opened the door. They were heading out for a late breakfast and were there to invite Sam and Andrew to join them. Andrew came out of the bedroom to see who was there and Sam introduced him to Kate and Ben. Sam thanked them and let them know that she and Andrew had already had breakfast. They smiled, said they were happy to meet Sam’s brother and headed off to the elevator.
Andrew asked a few questions about them both and Sam answered as best she could. Until Tuesday Sam had really only known them in passing. They had made small talk when they ran into each other on the elevator and greeted one another when they ran into one another around the neighborhood. What little she knew about them she had learned mostly in the past 3 days or had gathered from their small talk. She told Andrew that Kate and Ben had been more or less keeping an eye on her since Tuesday. Andrew noted that it was nice of them to stop by and that they seemed to be decent people, although breakfast at noon did seem a bit more New York than Boston.
Andrew continued to pack clothing and went through the laundry basket for additional clothing of Rick’s while Sam went back to tackle and separate the remaining stuff in the office. She kept her tennis racket but put Rick’s out for collection. After some thought, she decided to keep her wedding dress, at least for now.
When she couldn’t deal with anything else in the office, she joined Andrew in the bedroom. They discussed how to best get the items to Rick. After some discussion, they decided to have Andrew call Rick’s cell phone and arrange to ship the items to any address that Rick provided.
Andrew’s first call was not answered and several follow-up calls and voice mail messages were not answered that afternoon. They decided that if they didn’t hear from him by Sunday morning, they would rent a storage space to store everything until Rick was ready to claim it. It would get the items away from Sam and out of the condo but they would be stored and accessible in a neutral, non-confrontational location.
The day went by swiftly and before they knew it, it was time for dinner. They decided to go out to dinner, particularly since there was little food in the house to eat or from which to create a dinner. Sam was not known for her cooking skills but she could make a mean macaroni and cheese. Andrew liked to eat out, wasn’t always appreciative of a home cooked meal and was not impressed with macaroni and cheese in any form. Sam made a mental note to go food shopping as soon as Andrew left.
Sam and Andrew headed to a restaurant that had recently opened, had received great reviews and cost a fortune. Sam was pretty sure she didn’t have anything appropriate to wear to this type of restaurant and tried to talk Andrew to a local pizza place. With one look, he won and she lost. He told her that since this wasn’t a date, jeans, a nice t-shirt and jacket with boots or sandals would suffice. With the closet pretty well cleaned out, it was easy to find the clothes he mentioned and Sam did just that while Andrew headed back to the hotel to take a shower and change.
Sam wasn’t very surprised to see Kate at the same restaurant. It was new and very hip to be seen there. Kate was seated with a handsome, well dressed older man. They were a noticeable presence even in the crowded restaurant. Kate smiled and made a small gesture in their direction to let Sam and Andrew know that she saw them but wasn’t inviting them over to join her and her friend.
Dinner was magnificent and Andrew paid for both of them. It made her feel like someone liked her, even if it was only her brother. She looked around the restaurant and noted at all the different kinds of relationships; family, friendship, romantic, even some business looking relationships all taking place at the restaurant. She felt both included and left out at the same time. She was no longer part of a couple but she was certainly part of a family. It felt somehow less lonely than she thought it would feel.
“So, what was that sigh all about,” Andrew asked her as he disconnected from the call on his cell-phone.
“Oh nothing, just thinking about life and relationships and observing the other people here tonight,” she smiled. “When will you be leaving?”
“I have a flight around 4pm tomorrow but I’m going to make it earlier. That was just Rick I was talking to and he has agreed to be there at 1pm tomorrow to pick up his stuff. I had a call from work and I need to get back and deal with a tough client. Will you be ok without me?”
“Well, I’ve survived since Tuesday so I suspect I’ll be ok. I need to do a lot of thinking.”
“What will you do when Rick comes by tomorrow to pick up his boxes?”
“I’m going to ask Donna to meet him and go off somewhere by myself. I think it will be better that way.”
“I agree, you shouldn’t be there and you shouldn’t be there by yourself. You think Donna will be available?” Andrew asked.
“Actually, yeah, I called her after you left. I didn’t ask her to do anything but she let me know that she and Rick will be able to handle it. I suspect that Ariella and most likely some students will be there to help as well.” Sam responded a little sarcastically. “Did I tell her that Ariella wants me to be comfortable with this, uh, arrangement.”
“Yes, you did tell me about your conversation with Ariella. It will be best for you to not be there and it sounds like Rick has all the help he needs. Well, now that that’s settled, I’ll be off early in the morning so this is good-bye, at least until next weekend,” Andrew responded.
“Next weekend? You’ll be back next weekend?” Sam looked at Andrew quizzically.
“Jonathan’s wedding,” Andrew responded.
“Oh my god, I forgot all about the wedding,” Sam responded. “Well, I guess I have to go, don’t I. Yikes, I’ll be all alone with my family.”
“You are one of the bridesmaids so, yes, you have to be there. Plus everyone will want to gossip about what happened and Jonathan would be devastated if you didn’t show up,” Andrew responded, hardly able to suppress a grin.
“Oh, right, Jonathan. He’s been paying so much attention to me throughout this whole thing. He hasn’t even called me once,” Sam replied. “What are you so happy about?”
“I thought your family was suffocating you? Besides, Jonathan is busy with wedding matters. Actually, I’m not sure anyone has told him about you yet,” Andrew replied. “I won’t be the major topic of conversation. You know everyone thinks I’ll outgrow being gay but it’s hard to outgrow being laid off and coming home to find your husband in bed with one of his students.”