He Never Delayed For Anyone Else

Chapter 3

When my best friend, Ingrid Talbot, arrived, the nurse had just replaced my IV catheter. Ingrid went to speak to my attending physician first. Only after confirming that I was in no serious danger did she sit down to keep me company.

Not once since I'd been admitted had Desmond bothered to ask how I was doing. Even now, he probably thought I had nothing more than a fever.

Ingrid told me one ridiculous joke after another, trying to cheer me up. Warmth spread through my chest. Desmond had left me feeling cold inside, but her kindness was beginning to warm my heart again. Her absurd stories had me laughing out loud.

When my laughter died down, she looked at me as though she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

"What is it?" I asked.

She handed me her phone. On the screen was a photo of Desmond and Cecily at a pharmacy counter. They looked so intimate that anyone would have taken them for a couple deeply in love.

The smile faded from my face. I instinctively wanted to defend him, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

"Lenora, after they left the pharmacy, I asked the clerk what they'd bought. It was a box of condoms."

I lowered my head in silence, swiping aimlessly at the screen. In the end, all I could manage was, "He said he'd explain when he got back."

I was trying to salvage what little dignity I had left. Ingrid parted her lips, then hesitated. After a long pause, she asked cautiously, "What do you want to do?"

Neither of us spoke again. I opened the security camera app for our home. On the screen, pots, pans, and dishes were strewn across the dining table. Flies clustered over the spilled rice and soup. Shoes had been kicked off in every direction, and footprints covered the floor I'd mopped before going to the hospital.

He'd promised to take care of all those chores. I turned my phone facedown and closed my eyes. Exhaustion and helplessness washed over me, threatening to pull me under.

He didn't seem right for me, either as someone to love or as someone to share a home with. Whether he came back tonight, what he was doing with Cecily, whatever explanation he might offer, none of it seemed to matter quite so much anymore.

I opened my chat with Desmond and typed a breakup message. Before I could send it, a call came through. The moment I answered and heard that familiar voice, I pictured her kind face.

"Lenora, why haven't you come to see me this week? Has something happened?"

It was Desmond's grandmother, Mavis Calder.