Save One Bullet

Chapter 20

Tom’s car was not in the driveway when I got home. I wonder if he’s visiting Miss Boobie? I wonder if Ned left before Tom got there. Oh, well. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

I put the groceries away and ran a hot bubble bath in the tub to clean off the lovely weekend of amazing sex. The hot water stung my down yonder a bit. Ouchy. I wasn’t sure if it was razor burns or blisters from being rubbed raw by someone with more than a handful. I was getting too old for this kind of life.

I drifted to sleep in the tub and woke up to Tom shaking me by the shoulder, “Tanya, Tanya! Wake up before you drown. Good grief, have you been partying with your book club all weekend, or what?”

“Oh, oh, what time is it?” I muttered hoarsely.

“It’s almost two in the afternoon. Your bath is freezing cold. Come on, you better get out and dry off before you catch pneumonia, Sweetpea.”

Sweetpea? Sweetpea? He hasn’t called me that since our first year of marriage. My hackles were up. What the heck was going on with him? Did he find out about Miss Boobie and Ned already? Shit. If he broke up with her, I would have a hard time proving his infidelity in court.

He pulled a freshly laundered towel off the rack and began to buff me dry. “Did you do laundry this weekend?” I asked.

“Yeah, I didn’t want you to worry about it when you got home. Did you have a good time with the girls? I’m glad you have such great friends to rely on. Brenda called and told me they were going to put together a nice spread for your mom’s reception after the funeral.”

“That’s like them. It was nice being surrounded by my friends this weekend. Thanks, Honey, for understanding. You’re pretty good to me,” I choked out, barely able to form the words.

“You’re my Sweetpea, of course. Tanya, I want to tell you something but I, I’m not sure this is the right time,” he stuttered.

“Tom, whatever it is, it can wait. Let’s just be with each other through this entire ordeal, okay? I need you and don’t want any more bad news,” I said, hoping he would eventually make up with Marcia if I let him keep his dirty, little secret.

“No, no. It’s not bad news. You might not like it though. However, when your mom went into the nursing home, I started worrying about the bills from it piling up and how we were going to manage end-of-life care, funeral expenses, and so forth,” he began.

I interrupted, “And?”

“Well, I increased her life insurance policy with a company that specializes in older clients with health problems. The premiums just about busted us. The good part is all her expenses at the nursing home, the hospital, and the funeral will be taken care of. I hope it’s all right that I went ahead and did that without mentioning it.”

“Oh. Oh. Well, you’re the insurance guy, so you know how to do that stuff. I guess that’s a good thing, right?” I replied, somewhat relieved that he wasn’t going to unburden himself about Miss Boobie yet.

“Whew, good. I was scared to talk with you about it. We’ll be able to pay off all her bills and leave her name in good standing. I’m so relieved now that you know,” he said sincerely.

“Oh, Tom, is that what got you all upset and nervous? Honey, you are the expert in the insurance area. I trust your instincts. Thank you for doing that. I was wondering where that extra $350. A month was going. I was sure you had a chick on the side, ha!”

He did a subtle double-take at that then turned around to wipe down the steam from the mirror. He scrubbed the bejesus out of it before trailing me on my way to the bedroom, where I flopped into bed, worn out from all the calisthenics with my new lover.

He began stripping off his clothes when I stopped him. “Tom, I’m just worn out and exhausted. I spent the weekend talking about Mom and crying my foolish head off. I’m sorry but I need to sleep and know you’re on watch duty for me. Plus, I have school tomorrow. Oh, yeah, Mrs. Reader fell and had hip surgery and will be out the rest of the semester, so I guess I’m a full-time teacher now.”

“Sweetpea, you don’t have to work anymore. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The insurance policy will pay off all of Mom’s bills and our bills and leave us with about a million left over. Where in the world would you like to go? We’ll go. What would you like to do? We’ll do it.”

I sat up abruptly, chilled to the bone, “What? What? I don’t want to get rich off from Mom’s suffering!”

“It’s not like that, Babe. It was a smart business move that put us in a better position, that’s all. You were the one who took care of her all these years. You were the one, the only one who has been there for her day and night since she began having problems. You helped her with your dad when he was failing. Babe. You deserve this. This is what people do if they’re able, for their families. Your Mom would want this, Tanya.”

“Oh, God. Please Tom, just go away and let me think. It doesn’t feel right to me. I’m sorry. I know you are trying to take care of us. It’s just, just, I don’t know.”

“Jesus, Tanya, wake the fuck up. We are about one month away from losing the house, and the cars, and filing for another bankruptcy. I plunked down $350. Every month on this policy. We, in effect, bought this with our own sweat and blood. Your mother didn’t suffer because of this policy. Your mother suffered because she married a stupid drunk. You’ve been cleaning up her mess for the last fifteen years. For the last ten years, I wasn’t sure if I had a wife or not because you were always taking care of them,” he screamed at me before stomping out of the house and gunning the car out of the driveway.

Well, fuckety fuck. So much for Mr. Nice Guy. Sweetpea, my ass. The tears began and the entire previous week replayed in my mind. Tom’s infidelity, Rick, Mom’s falls, Rick, the hospital, Rick, Mom’s death, Rick, and now this revelation and, of course, Rick. Catching my breath, I dug through my purse that was lying on the floor next to the bed and pulled out my phone.

I poked Rick’s number and after one ring he picked up, “Tanya?”

“Oh, my God, Rick, I needed to hear your voice.”

“Sweetie, what is going on? Do you need me to come get you? Did he hurt you?” Rick demanded to know.

“No. No. Nothing like that,” I told him, hesitating because I wasn’t certain my mother’s insurance policy was any of his business. Maybe if we knew each other better. Not yet though.

“What, then? What happened?” He pressed.

“Tom is just being Tom. He’s such an ass. How did I not see this before?” I explained between sobs, “Everything he does he does for himself, Rick. He makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t want him near me anymore. He’s a liar and cheater and I can’t take this much longer.”

“I think it would be best if I came and got you. Tanya, you don’t have to put up with his crap. Put some things together and I’ll pick you up,” he offered.

“What about my mom’s funeral arrangements?” I whined.

“I thought your husband said he was going to handle it. Tanya, let him handle it. If you’re there, he’ll pawn it all off on you. Leave him a note telling him you’re staying with a friend, and he can text you the details. Seriously, don’t let him get you into an argument,” he warned.