*** something about a global pandemic and mandatory quarantine that has me ... trying to think of something else ***
An hour after seeing her off in a cab, Liza walked back to the loft feeling warm and drunk and not as angry but also weird. She had gotten drunk with her boyfriend's wife. Comforted her about her feelings as a bad mom. Assured her that everything would be OK, eventually, and that the focus was on her daughters.
Did I shift it away from Charles on purpose?, Liza wondered. Did I break girl code to keep Charles to myself?
Charles. Shit. She ran into the loft and looked at her phone to find a missed call and a text from him.
Just checking in. I miss you.
He added the kissy emoji - it was so saccharine it made her smile.
"Your face is red," Maggie said from the corner of the apartment where she sat in front of a half-painted canvas.
"Drinking after work?"
Liza sighed and threw herself down on the couch.
"Jameson's," she said. "With Pauline."
Maggie spun around on her stool.
"Oh SHIT," she said. "Did you throw a drink in her face?"
"I consoled her," Liza said. "She cried to me and I consoled her."
"You consoled your boyfriend's girlfriend," Maggie repeated back to her best friend. "You're either the picture of grace or crazier than I thought."
"I didn't tell Charles," she said. "She emailed me and then just showed up and …I fucked it up. I lied to him, and we don't lie to each other."
Maggie sat next to Liza on the couch and the two just sat there in silence as Liza dipped her head back on the couch.
"What are you afraid of?," Maggie asked; she got right to the point.
"She's his wife," Liza said. "The mother of his daughters. What if he wants her back? What if he wants to keep the family together."
It was silent for a few moments; when Liza was really in it - her feelings and her anxiety - she shut down. Maggie knew.
"Sweetie, I get it," she said. "But shit happens. Not everything works out. You should know better than anyone that not every family is supposed to stay together."
Maggie got up and went to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and two Advil for Liza. She plopped back on the couch, putting her head next to her friend.
"He's crazy about you," she said. "He loves you. And you showed a real maturity and care for his life before you to treat his wife this way."
She handed Liza the glass of water and she dutifully took the Advil.
"Call him," Maggie said. "And just tell him."
Maggie kissed the top of her friend's head.
"This will work out," she said. She went back to her painting and Liza walked slowly into her bedroom, throwing herself on her bed. She pulled the phone up to her ear.
"Hey you," she said. "I have to tell you something."