Gayle Roper - Caught In The Act

“It is you, isn’t it?”

That wasn’t Jack’s voice. Giddy with relief, I smiled at Airy Bennet.

She looked anxiously at me. “You’re the woman who was with Jolene Meister earlier today, aren’t you? I recognize the red coat.”

I nodded.

“Well,” she said, “I’ve got to apologize. I am very embarrassed by the way I acted.”

I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture. “Don’t worry. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not, though it’s kind of you to say so.” She smiled, and I thought she was probably a nice person when away from Jolene. At least she didn’t deny her complicity in the fight.

She continued. “Jolene has brought out the worst in me for years. I’m always dumb enough to get sucked in, no matter how many times I promise myself I won’t let her push my buttons. I see her again and boom! I explode.” She sighed. “Maybe someday I’ll grow up.” She said it without much hope.

“Don’t worry,” I repeated. “As far as the traumas of the day go, it’s at the bottom of the list, believe me.”

Since she didn’t know about the traumas at the top of the list, Airy thought I was just being polite. “Believe it or not,” she said, “it’s not like me to be so nasty.”

I nodded. Standing here with her coffee in her hand, she looked like a regular person, reasonably polite and intelligent. Besides, I knew Jolene.

“When I told Sean how I made a fool of myself, he couldn’t believe it.” She glanced back toward Jack and the other man. “That’s Sean,” she said. “The blond guy.”

Sean looked up at that moment and smiled widely at Airy. I noticed the mustache Jolene had referred to. It wasn’t very obvious at this distance, his being blond and all, but it looked nice as far as I could tell. He saw me looking at him and dipped his head in acknowledgment. Jack started to turn to see who Sean was looking at, and I spun around so fast I made myself dizzy.

“By the way, I’m Airy Bennett,” she said, holding out her hand. “We never did get introduced earlier.” She grinned ruefully.

“Merrileigh Kramer,” I said. “And this is Curt Carlyle.”

Airy looked again at Curt. “Of course,” she said, and I grinned proudly at him. Big-time artist. Name recognition. “Mr. Carlyle. I thought you looked familiar. You teach phys ed and coach—what? Soccer or something?”

So much for being a famous artist. I was disappointed, though he didn’t seem to mind.

“I coach soccer and tennis,” he said, “but I don’t teach anymore.”

“I was a senior the first year you taught.” Airy grinned. “We girls were all so impressed to have a single male teacher who was good-looking and all. I bet they miss you now.”

“I doubt it,” Curt said with his charming smile.

Airy suddenly waved her arm toward Sean. “Come here, honey,” she called. “I’d like you to meet some people.”

Double ack! I wondered if I could slide under the table before Jack saw me, but Curt and Airy’d probably notice.

The blond man walked to our table, soda cup in his hand. Introductions were once again made. I smiled weakly.

“So you like to eat late, elegant dinners just like we do.” Sean raised his cardboard cup.

“Class all the way,” agreed Curt.

Everyone smiled and wondered what to say next. Into our little silence my social bomb detonated.

“Merry? Merry! Is that you, sweetheart?” Jack had approached when I wasn’t looking. “What are you doing here?” He slid into the seat beside me and kissed me on the cheek. His breath smelled like French fries. He looked absolutely delighted to see me.

I sat turned to stone. I wanted to look at Curt and see his reaction, but I couldn’t make myself lift my eyes from the stupid cheeseburger.

“This is the girl I was telling you about,” he said to Airy and Sean, no doubt beaming as he took one of my fries and dunked it in Curt’s catsup. “She’s the reason I took the job at Bushay. Isn’t she wonderful?”

Help me, Lord! Help me get out of this mess! I’ll never shirk from saying what needs to be said again. I promise! Just please don’t let it get any worse!

Jack looked at me. “Sean here works at Bushay. He’s their comptroller, and he’s helping me get acclimated as I begin the audit.”

I found I could look at Sean. “That’s nice,” I managed.

“I’m Jack Hamilton, by the way.” He stretched his arm across the table to shake hands with Curt. “Merry’s boyfriend.”

Oh, Lord, I asked that it wouldn’t get worse!

I still couldn’t look at Curt, who no doubt was wondering how he could have fallen for someone cowardly enough to keep Jack’s presence in town a secret. Or maybe—and I almost gasped audibly at the thought—maybe he thought I was trying to be coy and play him against Jack!

“Her boyfriend?” Curt said. “Really?” I shivered as I heard the acid in his voice.

“Really,” Jack said happily, complacently. “She’s my best girl, my only girl.” With a proprietary air, he slid his arm across my shoulders.

I jerked as the weight of his arm fell on me. When I did, my left elbow snapped forward, bumping hard into my Coke. It toppled, the lid popped off and the dark liquid ran unerringly and with great speed across the table and into Curt’s lap.

I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut.

Curt sputtered as the cold Coke drenched him. He jumped to his feet as much as he could in the booth and grabbed for a cluster of napkins. He built a paper dam to hold back the surging flood, but it breached the dam at the sides and made new caramel-colored spatters on his khakis.

Such was the state of my nerves that I started to giggle. I slapped a hand over my mouth, but I couldn’t stop.

“I’m sorry,” I said or tried to say. I think I got as far as I before the giggles got me again. I may not be good at a lot, but at making a fool of myself, I’m first-rate.

“Are you okay, old man?” Jack asked Curt with a complete lack of genuine interest. If I wanted to think bad thoughts, I’d think Jack was enjoying the whole mess.

“Here.” Airy thrust a handful of napkins at Curt. She slapped others down on the soda on the table, sopping it up. She at least had been practical and run to the condiment stand where she’d grabbed as many napkins as were available.

“We need a cleanup over here,” Sean called to a girl behind the counter. She nodded and disappeared into the back, never to return.

“Thanks,” Curt took the proffered napkins from Airy and brushed at his soaked pants. He tried to slide out of the booth without getting splattered anymore and ended up sitting on a couple of ice cubes that had flown straight and true to where they could do the most damage.

“You’d better go home and get changed,” said Jack blandly. “We wouldn’t want you to catch a cold or anything. I’ll take care of Merry.”

He sounded so proprietary that I almost gagged. That’s what happens, I told myself, when you neglect to tell someone that things have moved beyond his knowledge of the situation.

Curt looked at me and I looked sadly back. I had stopped giggling, but now all I wanted to do was cry. He probably hated me for not being open with him.

Well, no. I caught myself. Not hate. That was too nasty a word for Curt. Maybe he just disliked me, thought I had deceived him, duped him, played him false, hoodwinked him, defrauded him, taken him for a ride.

I took a deep breath. When I started reeling off synonyms, I was in way over my emotional head.

Too much for one day, Lord. Way too much.

“Merry, are you all right?” Curt asked quietly as he stood beside the booth.

I saw that he understood how confused, distressed and embarrassed I felt. Maybe he even understood what a rotten person I was sometimes. Tears began to slide down my cheeks. I didn’t deserve someone as nice as him to fall for me. I deserved someone insensitive and unfeeling like Jack. Not that I wanted him, but I deserved him.