Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

“That blows, too.”

“That I’m right?” Kalen said with a laugh.

“That you’re a jackass for rubbing it in my face and that she’s

straight and interested in someone else.”

1

Robin Alexander

“Bet you feel all tingly when you look at her, though,” Kalen

said seriously. “There’s nothing wrong with having a crush on

someone. It happens. But that might be getting in the way of you

meeting the right woman for you. I know she’s your friend, but if

you back away for a while, those butterflies will fly off.”

“That’s kind of hard to do with her living one floor below

me.”“You’ll find a way. You’re brilliant at avoiding me when you

want to. Give yourself some space. Look, I hate to cut this short,

but the crackers I ate for breakfast are on their way up.”

“Love you, bye,” I said, but Kalen had already disconnected.

I listened to the rain that was pounding on my window. The

sound made me want to crawl back into bed and sleep the day

away. Thunder rolled over the top of the building as lightning

flashed, then it was dark. I tossed the phone onto my coffee table

and stretched out on the couch. When I opened my eyes again, my

watch showed that it was after noon.

The power was still off when I rolled off the couch. Work

wasn’t an option. I wanted to call and check on Kalen, but my

cordless phone wasn’t working due to the outage. I rummaged

around, looking for my cell and realized that it was probably

in my car. When I went down to the garage, I heard music. As

I rounded the corner, I saw Fluffy intercept a ball that Hailey

bounced against the cement wall.

“Are you going somewhere?” Hailey asked when she turned.

“No, I was just going to get my phone out of the car, why?”

“Some of the streets are under water. My boss called and

asked me not to try to come in.” Hailey turned and hurled the ball

at the wall. “We’ve gotten a couple inches of rain this morning.

I’ve been listening to the weather on the radio. We’re supposed to

get more.” Hailey leaned against a shiny silver SUV when Fuzzy

took the ball and lay down.

“Is that your car?” I asked, moving closer. I’d noticed it in the

garage but hadn’t realized it was hers.

Hailey nodded.

I looked down at the license plate. “It’s not a rental?”

Hailey looked at me oddly as she shook her head. “No, why?”

2

Pitifully Ugly

“Because it has Georgia plates.” I watched as a flush moved

over Hailey’s face. “How long have you lived in New Orleans?”

My stomach knotted when Hailey’s lips twitched before she

replied. “A little less than two months.”

“I thought you said you moved from Tchoupitoulas Street.”

“I did.” Her voice was low. “I stayed in the company apartment

until I found a place to live.” Hailey didn’t move, though Fuzzy

had gotten her second wind and was bumping her ball against her

leg. “Where in Georgia are you from?” I thought I knew the

answer, but I wanted to make her say it.

Her shoulders sagged when she looked away from me.

“Atlanta.”

“You knew about the Rainbow Room before I mentioned it,

didn’t you?” Hailey nodded but didn’t look my way. “Why didn’t

you tell me?”

‘“Keep up the lie and hope she never finds out. That’s how

the game is played.’ Wasn’t that your advice?” Hailey turned to

face me.

I felt shocked, confused, and downright pissed off. “How did

you know it was me you were talking to?”

“You mentioned that you got a haircut. I wasn’t completely

sure then, but the coincidence was too uncanny to ignore. And

then you talked about the Rainbow Room, and that sealed it.”

“Why didn’t you come out and tell me then? And weren’t you

married to a man that you loved?” A ton of questions whirled

through my brain.

Hailey’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “I was incapable

of loving him like I should’ve. He deserved to be with someone

who could give him what I couldn’t.”

I scrubbed at my face as the truth settled in. I tried to retrace

all the conversations we’d had, but my mind was a complete

jumble.

“You told me about the Rainbow Room after I told you about

him. I wasn’t completely sure that you were P.U. until that moment.

Then I was afraid to come clean after I’d just told you about my

infidelity. I was afraid of what you’d think of me.” Hailey took

Robin Alexander

the ball that Fuzzy was rubbing on her leg and threw it. “The

other day when I invited you to dinner, I was going to tell you

everything, but I was nervous, so I e-mailed you to see what you’d

say, test the waters. Your response really surprised me.”

“I was hurt. I asked if you wanted to meet and you blew me

off, then you started talking about someone—” I thought back

to the part of Hailey’s e-mail that had hurt the most. I think she’s

someone I real y want to get to know. “Why did you choose the

Rainbow Room? I thought you were straight.”

“The affair was with another woman. I realized rather late in

life the real reason I wasn’t happy.”

Part of me wanted to be elated with the revelation. The other

part was appalled. “We’ll, it’s been nice talking to you, Newbie,”

I said as I turned and stalked toward the door.

“Shannon, please—” I could hear Hailey coming after me.

“Wait!” I turned and held my hands up. Hailey and Fuzzy

skidded to a halt. “I don’t want to hear anything else right now. I

need some time.”

Hailey opened her mouth, then closed it, deflated. Fuzzy

watched the exchange between us and leaned heavily against

Hailey’s leg with a whimper. I turned and went into the building,

hoping they wouldn’t follow.

4

Pitifully Ugly

Chapter 10

Let’s just be friends…blows.

I was furious when I returned to my apartment and the power

still wasn’t on. I wanted to go into my Rainbow Room account

and reread all the messages exchanged between Hailey and me.

To further exacerbate the situation, I’d forgotten to retrieve my

cell phone, and I wasn’t going back after it. I threw myself onto

the sofa and watched the moderate rain against my window.

I think she’s someone I really want to get to know.

Was she referring to me? Or had she met someone else and

decided that night to tell me who she really was? My mind started

to answer . She did seem a bit put off when you told her about

Marci. She asked a lot of questions. Stop that, leg!

I looked down and noticed that my right leg was dancing a

nervous jig. I crossed my feet at the ankles as my fingers began to

drum on my stomach. Hailey had played me nevertheless. Then I

thought about her throwing my callous response to her question

back in my face. Keep up the lie and hope she never finds out.

That’s how the game is played. That’s why she’d been so cold and

distant.

My head started to ache as I thought back on our conversation

the night before and the pained expression Hailey wore. Was I the

cause? Yes, dumbass, how obvious does she have to make it? My

brain was certain, but my heart wasn’t as quick to jump on the

bandwagon. It whispered, tread lightly .

And then there was Marci. How much damage would I do to