Lucky Charm (7 page)

A waiter approached their table with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. He uncorked the bottle and poured the golden, sparkling liquid into Athena and Jeremy’s glasses. The champagne fizzed, and Athena threw her head back in delight, clapping her hands.

They are celebrating
, Annabel thought bitterly
. P
erhaps Athena has
finally cinch
ed the deal on Jeremy’s book – the
book that I waited for him to write all these years
.

Jeremy finished his champagne and moved his chair closer to Athena’s. He whispered something into her ear, and she smiled, turning her face toward his
. T
hen their lips met in a kiss that seemed to last an eternity.

Watching Jeremy and Athena together made Annabel feel as though her heart was being pierced with a million of glass shards, and yet, she remained transfixed in her makeshift hideaway. Part of her yearned to confront them, to unleash the hurt and betrayal that was churning inside her, but she knew that she did not have the guts to walk up to them. She longed for Jeremy to see her, for him to cower in shame for his betrayal, but instead she was the one cowering in her ridiculous hideaway.

“Can I help you?” An alarmed voice sounded behind her.

She turned around and saw the store clerk eyeing her suspiciously.

“No. I didn’t find what I was looking for.” Annabel stumbled onto the sidewalk, quickly turning in the opposite direction of the café where Jeremy obliviously swooned over Athena.

Back in her apartment – that was how she was going to think of it from now on: her apartment, not their apartment, not anymore
–
Annabel collapsed on the couch.

Did she really see Jeremy kiss Athena? How could she have been such a fool and not suspect
ed
a thing? Now, in hindsight, it all started to add up: Jeremy’s lukewarm response to her exotic get
-
up last night, his frequent trips to conferences, his growing evasiveness about the wedding
. S
upporting evidence was overwhelming. How long had this affair been going on
,
and how long did Jeremy plan to sneak behind her back? God, she felt like an idiot!

Her emotions were a tangled wreck. She wanted Jeremy gone, out of her life, and yet, the thought of him leaving was devastating. She had loved Jeremy for so long that it seemed unthinkable that he would no longer be a part of her life. You could not stop loving a man on the spot just because he turned out to be
a
cheating, lying bastard
. T
hat was the thing about love
. I
t was not subject to reason. And yet, she knew that she could never forgive him. Despite it being extremely painful to accept, she could understand the simple fact that Jeremy had stopped loving her, but his decision to lie about it, to go on with such shameless deceit, hurt unbearably. What was it that Athena had that she lacked? Was it her model looks, her expensive clothes
,
or her powerful job? Perhaps it was Athena’s personality and the sophisticated way she conducted herself
.
Annabel supposed that she would never know.

In a sudden surge of anger, Annabel jumped to her feet and flung open the closet door. One by one, she ripped Jeremy’s pastel-colored shirts and corduroy jackets off the rack and flung them onto the floor. For several moments
,
she continued to empty out his closet drawers, adding Jeremy’s possessions to the heaping mound by the front door. Then she opened a carton of garbage bags and started jamming Jeremy’s stuff into them. She wanted him out tonight
.
G
iven the circumstances, the least he could do was
to
leave. And now that he was seeing the glamorous Athena, Annabel was certain that Jeremy would much rather stay in Athena’s posh place on the
Upper East Side
than in their cramped little studio.

It was almost nine o’clock at night when Annabel heard Jeremy’s key in the front door lock. The bulging trash bags that she had assembled in the foyer obstructed the door from opening fully, and Jeremy had to squeeze himself through the narrow opening.

“Ann, where did all these garbage bags come from?”

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Annabel was certain that she heard a note of apprehension in Jeremy’s voice.

“Those are your clothes.”

Annabel stood facing him, her arms folded across her chest. She hoped that Jeremy would not notice the puffiness that still lingered around her eyes from all the crying.

“My clothes?” Jeremy looked dumbfounded. “But why would you put my clothes into garbage bags? I know that you don’t always approve of my fashion sense, but don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?” Jeremy managed a chuckle, but his eyes darted about nervously.

“That’s right
.
I never liked your preppy shirts and your corduroy jackets with leather patches on the sleeves. Why would anyone buy a new jacket with sleeve patches
? T
hey are pretentious and full of shit, just like you.” Annabel could barely believe the words that were coming out of her mouth
. S
he had been terrified of bursting into tears at the sight of Jeremy, and yet here she was, sounding tougher than nails, albeit with the help of several shots of Hine cognac that she had downed to dull her anguish.

“Where is this coming from? Baby, what’s wrong? I was going to surprise you with wonderful news
,
and this is the kind of welcome I get?”

“Let me guess
.
Athena sold your book?”

“How did you know that?”

“Because I saw you with her, celebrating.”

Jeremy had an exc
ellent poker face, but now
it failed him completely as he turned paper white.

“I can explain,” he murmured.

“That ought to be a good one
.
I’d like to hear how you’re going to explain your tongue in her mouth.”

“Ann, I did it for us…”

“How can you say that?” She stared at him, uncomprehending. “How long have you been seeing her behind my back?”

Jeremy looked away.

“Tell me how long you’ve been sneaking behind my back
. Y
ou owe me this much.” She glared at him.

“Ever since she started representing me…”

Three months
, Annabel thought. Jeremy’s admission stunned her like thunder on a sunny day
. S
he had been made a fool of for three months.

“Ann, she promised to get me a movie deal! Do you realize what this could do for my career?” Jeremy halted. “I did it for us
. I
t was the only way I could get my foot in the door! Now, I can finally give back to you as I’ve promised.”

“You have a very interesting understanding of paying back, Jeremy
. I
f I had known that from the start, I would have never wasted seven years of my life on you.” Suddenly Annabel felt that the tears she had managed to stall off until now were about to unleash themselves with a vengeance. “I’m going to go out for a walk. I’ll be back in an hour
.
I hope that by that time you’ll be gone.”

“Please, baby! Don’t leave
. N
ot like this!” Jeremy rushed toward her.

“Not like this? Is the timing wrong for you? Sorry I wasn’t blind enough to let you go on with your charade until it would be convenient for you to move over to Athena’s.” By the way Jeremy averted his eyes, Annabel knew that she had hit the nail right on the head. “Are you worried that Athena might not want you for the long term? Well, I’m sure the two of you will figure things out
. A
t any rate, now you should be able to pay your own rent.”

She had meant to hurt him by her last remark, but instead she felt that she hurt herself more
. W
as that all she had been to him – a convenient means to pay the rent with unlimited sex benefits? She had to get out of there before she broke down in front of him.

“Goodbye, Jeremy.” She was about to walk out, but then she remembered the sapphire ring on her finger
,
the very ring that Jeremy had proposed with two years ago. She twisted the ring off her left ring finger and placed it on the dining table.
T
hen she was gone, hurrying out into the street before he could see the tears in her eyes.

Annabel groaned at the sound of the alarm clock
. M
orning had never been her favorite part of the day, but this morning, the blaring sound was so much worse, as it mercilessly reminded her that her life was now officially in ruins.

In an instant, the details of the previous day came back to her: Jeremy
and Athena, together, kissing, h
er
anger at seeing them together, and
then tossing Jeremy’s belongings out on the floor and telling him to scram. Yesterday her senses had been dulled by her self-righteous anger, several shots of Hine
,
and a pint of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, but this morning she could already feel her gusto evaporating as she was faced with the aftermath
.
Jeremy was gone
,
and she was left alone. She wondered what Jeremy was doing this very moment
. W
as he thinking about her or had he already forgotten
her
, happily turning over the page to a more exciting one with Athena? Were they drinking their morning coffee together, cooing over breakfast? Maybe
,
full of lust and passion,
they were making love this ver
y moment,
while Annabel was alone in the queen-sized bed – the bed that used to belong to her and Jeremy.

Her eyes felt scratchy, as though covered with a film of sand, from all the crying she
had done
last night
;
her mouth was cotton-dry from all the cognac she had downed, and her head hurt from all the sugar she had ingested in vain attempts to quell the ache in her heart. After giving her ultimatum to Jeremy last night, she had roamed the streets for over two hours, while eating
Haagen-Dazs
chocolate chip cookie dough
ice
cream
right out of the pint carton that she had purchased at a grocery store along the way. Dressed in her old sweats and scuffed up sneakers, she was not a pretty sight, but at the time she could not care less about the concerned glances that she attracted. By the time Annabel got home, she had finished the entire container
. W
ell, at least there was no danger
of her losing any more weight
. A
t this rate she would quickly gain back the pounds she had lost while planning the wedding
,
and then some.

Of course
,
there had been no need for her to be alone last night
. T
here were people she could have called
. H
er family and friends would have supported her. But she could foresee what every one of them would say
. W
hen she
had
first moved in with Jeremy, everyone
had
told her she was crazy to put her own dreams on hold for him. Lilly had been beside herself, calling Jeremy a shameless leech, and while less vocal, Annabel’s parents had been none too thrilled either
. E
ven Meredith
had
tried to intervene. Back then
,
Annabel was too in love to heed the warnings of her family and friends
. N
ow she wished she had listened. But the last thing she needed last night was to be reminded of her mistake, so as much as she had yearned for a shoulder to cry on, she opted to be alone instead.

Despite all the anger and the hurt, part of her had secretly hoped that Jeremy would be there when she got home. As much as she hated to admit it, a small part of her wanted to believe that somehow Jeremy would find a way to convince her to forgive him, to make her believe that he still loved her and that his kissing Athena was nothing more than a momentary lapse in judgment, a slip of the tongue, as it were. But when Annabel got home, all signs of Jeremy were gone. Who knew that six years of living together could be erased in less than two hours? But then
,
it was probably for the best
. I
t was far better to be alone than to be cheated on – at least that was what she wanted to believe.

Getting up felt impossible
. W
hat was there to get up for? Her world as she
knew it was over, and right now
, she seriously doubted if she would ever be able to rebuild it. Suddenly
,
Mrs. Parker’s words from the day before sprang up in her mind:
Ever been so sad that you couldn’t get out of bed?
At the time Annabel’s life had been complete, with a few imperfections perhaps (whose
did
n’t?)
but otherwise
fine.
Mrs. Parker’s words
had
seemed overly dramatic. Sure, maybe someone like Mrs. Parker could afford the luxury of not getting up, but most of us can’t afford to just zonk out, Annabel had thought. But now, the phrase rang jarringly true. Who knew that one’s life could be turned completely upside down in less than twenty-four hours?