Die Happy
1132 Words
SERAPHINA
The house is quiet when I get home, except for the sound of the television coming from the living room.
I find Elena on the couch, legs stretched out and covered with a fluffy white blanket, her back resting against a pile of pillows. She’s eating popcorn and watching something on the screen, and for a moment she looks almost normal. Almost like the sister I grew up with, before cancer and chemo and all of this.
“Someone’s having a good time,” I say, dropping my bag by the door.
She looks up and smiles. “I’m having a Gilmore Girls marathon. Remember when we used to watch this together? You were obsessed with Jess.”
“I was fourteen. Everyone was obsessed with Jess.”
“Dominic used to watch it with me too, back when we first got married.” Her smile fades slightly. “Now he’s too busy for things like this. Always working late, always distracted. Sometimes I wonder if there’s someone else.”
She laughs as she says it, like the idea is so absurd it’s funny.
My stomach clenches.
“Come on, Elena. You know Dominic would never do that to you.”
“Would he?” She sets down the popcorn bowl. “I know it sounds paranoid, but he’s been so distant lately. Barely looks at me. Can’t seem to get out of the house fast enough in the mornings. Part of me wonders if there’s another woman somewhere. Someone who isn’t sick and bald and pathetic.”
“Stop.” I sit down next to her, careful to hide the wince when the movement pulls at my soreness. “Dominic loves you. He’s probably just overwhelmed with work and trying to distract himself from watching you suffer. Men don’t handle this stuff well. They want to fix things, and when they can’t, they throw themselves into what they can control.”
She looks at me with those trusting eyes. “You really think so?”
“I know so.”
Liar. I’m such a good liar.
“You always defend him,” she says softly. “I love that about you two. How well you get along. How much you care about each other.” She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “If anything ever happens to me, I’ll die happy knowing he has you. That you’ll take care of each other.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you,” I say firmly. “Your treatment is working. You’re getting better. You’re going to beat this.”
“Maybe.” She doesn’t sound convinced. “But if I don’t, at least I know you two will be okay. You’ll have each other.”
Oh, we already have each other, Elena. Just not the way you think.
The twisted thought slides through my mind unbidden, and I push it away. Or try to.
Because the truth is, part of me—the worst part—doesn’t want her to beat this. Part of me imagines a future where she’s just… gone. Where Dominic is mine without the sneaking, without the guilt, without the constant fear of getting caught.
Part of me wants her to stop fighting.
“Did Dominic enjoy the breakfast?” Elena asks, pulling me from my dark thoughts.
“Of course. You’re the best cook. Who wouldn’t enjoy your meal?”
He barely touched the food. He was too busy touching me. Too busy pinning me against the wall and f*****g me so hard I can still feel him inside me.
She pops another piece of popcorn in her mouth. “So how was the office? Was Dominic buried in work?”
“He was finishing up a meeting when I got there.” I pause, debating whether to mention Adrian. “Actually, something weird happened. I ran into someone I never expected to see.”
“Who?”
“Adrian Hawthorne.”
Elena goes completely still. The popcorn kernel she was reaching for remains in the bowl.
“Adrian,” she says finally, her voice careful. “Adrian’s back in town?”
“Apparently. He walked into Dominic’s office while I was there.”
“What was he doing at Dominic’s office?” Her tone is neutral, but I can see something flickering in her eyes. Something I can’t quite read.
“I don’t know. He said something about business, but I left before they could talk.” I watch her face carefully. “You didn’t know he was back?”
“No.” She picks up the remote and pauses the show. “I haven’t heard from Adrian in years. Not since…” She trails off.
Not since she chose Dominic over him.
“He asked about you,” I say. “Said he heard about your diagnosis and wants to come by to see you.”
Elena’s expression shifts into something I can’t identify. “Did he.”
It’s not a question.
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“I’m not, I guess.” She pulls the blanket tighter around herself. “Adrian was always the type to show up when things got hard. When mom died, he was there every day for a month. Brought us food, made sure we were okay. He’s good like that.”
The way she says it—with a softness I haven’t heard in her voice in months—makes something cold settle in my stomach.
“Do you want to see him?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” She’s quiet for a moment. “Maybe. It might be nice to talk to someone from before all of this. Before I was just the sick wife.”
Before Dominic started f*****g me, you mean.
“What does Dominic think about Adrian being back?” Elena asks.
“I don’t know. I left before they could really talk.”
“Hmm.” She picks up the remote again but doesn’t unpause the show. “Adrian was never interested in Dominic’s business before. They couldn’t stand each other, actually. Adrian thought Dominic was too ruthless. Too willing to do anything to win.”
She turns to look at me, and for just a second, less than a heartbeat, there’s something in her eyes that makes my skin prickle.
“I wonder what changed,” she says softly. “Why he’d show up now. At Dominic’s office. After all these years.”
“Maybe he heard you were sick and wanted to help.”
She unpauses the show, and Lorelai and Rory fill the silence.
“No. Something else must have brought him. Adrian doesn’t go to where he has nothing to benefit. I guess we will have to wait and find out when Dominic returns.”
- Writer
