Life couldn't haven been moving fast enough to give Karen the illusion that it was moving at all. Jack had seen her from outside the restaurant and decided to let himself in, smiling at her as he bounced over. Instantly she regretted it. Slowly she began to regret the past five months because it all could come to an abrupt stop with whatever he had to say.
The past few weeks between her and Will were tense. They had argued more than they had before the pregnancy test. They had gone to bed angry, if they had gone to bed at all. There was a lot of sex to be had, angry, power hungry sessions that had to have some sort of dominant winner. And on more than one occasion Karen or Will had woken up alone with some sort of apology note on the bedside table. It seemed like the thing that had to happen, no matter how stupid and childlike it had become.
The only familiar face that had been poking around the apartment lately was Jack. He was always friendly to her, deciding that one day they had to go shopping. She had been introduced to him a while back and she couldn't remember where he had gone in the past few months. Will told her, that much she did remember, but where he had said escaped her mind. As Jack spoke, animatedly, Karen racked her brains.
"So Will told me to tell you he has to cancel dinner tonight. Something came up." Jack said. The mention of Will brought her out of her thoughts. She smiled at the man, his blue eyes lightening up. "What happened between the two of you, Kare-? He seems miserable."
"Just a little misunderstanding honey. Nothing to worry about." She smiled. Behind Jack, in the mirror, Karen saw the man who she wanted to keep secret for a little longer.
Stan had called her, told her he was coming home earlier than expected. On the phone she was pleased, sounded pleased and devastated that he had been away so long. When in actuality she was devastated that he was coming home at all. She wanted to live in the moment a little longer. She had been in the bathtub waiting for Will to join her. It was one of the moments he had not been mad at her. She had hung up moments before he entered and when his hands applied minimal pressure to her shoulders, all thoughts of Stan had disappeared. It wasn't until the phone call that woke her out of a pleasant night's sleep to remind her that he'd be there in a few hours that she'd remembered. She was going to tell Will.
Now she was sitting in the Astor Café with her husband and her lover's best friend. And as much as she had come to like Jack, come to enjoy his presence, a gossip he was and she did not want Will to hear about Stan's arrival from anyone but her. It was her tell to tell and no one else's.
"Karen, we need to leave," Stan said from behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. His eyes met Jack's and Karen could see the confusion in his eyes. "Karen, who is this?"
"Stan this is Jack, a friend of Will's. Jack this is my husband." She smiled as she said the word husband, full well knowing that Stan was watching her face in the mirror. She saw the small smile that Jack was carrying falter ever so slightly, but nonetheless Jack kept a brave face. She had hoped he see her pleading with him not to say anything of the past few months to him.
"Oh, what a pleasant surprise." Stan exclaimed. He held out his hand offering it to Jack. "Nice to meet you. Any friend of Will's is a friend of mine,"
Stan laughed lightly, causing Karen and Jack to do the same. The embarrassment that Karen felt was nothing to laugh about. She felt her entire world come crashing down, piece by piece, as slowly as humanly possible. It made her sick. She wanted Will to whisper in her ear as he did the nights she felt a wreck that everything would be okay. Even if it wasn't going to be. Being with him had made everything better.
"Can I borrow your wife for a second?" Jack asked. Stan nodded and Jack grabbed Karen's hand practically dragging her out of her chair. He pulled her into his side and pushed her through the double doors that led into Tiffany's. He let go of her hand then and spun around, brown matching blue. "What the hell are you thinking? Are you trying to make sure he get's hurt?"
"He won't get hurt, Jack." Karen informed him. "Stan called me out of the blue this morning told me he was going to be home in a few hours." It was a lie, and nothing was going to make her feel better about telling it. But she had already lied to Will this morning when he asked her where she was going. And she felt bad enough that she hadn't told Will that Stan was back in town. She didn't want whatever she had with him to end yet.
"Karen. He will get hurt. If you don't tell him Stan is back in town he will be hurt."
"I will tell him when I feel like telling him." Karen said taking a step closer to Jack. She pressed her palm against his cheek. "Please, honey. Don't tell Will."
Jack nodded. "I hope you tell Will before your little secret does because I know how much Will hates cheaters."
With that Karen was left in Tiffany's alone with her husband who was no doubt on the phone in the next room. He was always on the phone no matter where they were. It annoyed her more so than when he wasn't home. And often enough she enjoyed when he went away, it gave her a chance to be someone else for a while.
And someone else she would be for a little while longer. Karen had gone 'home' to Will's apartment, telling Stan that she had to go out and do some things in town. He just nodded his head and waved her away as he answered yet another phone call. So she went to the only place that she felt comfortable.
She went into the bedroom and she heard the shower running. She smiled as she saw a small duffle bag on the bed. It had been packed for a few days it looked like. And she couldn't help but smile as she saw what he had packed. There were a few outfits and virtually no pajamas. She shook her head. He must have had a fun time picking these things up.
As she fingered her lace pair of underwear, Karen felt his arms wrap around her waist. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed his warm and wet chest against her back. He planted a kiss on her cheek and rested his chin on her shoulder. She leaned her head back and wrapped a hand around his neck.
"I never said I was sorry," Will muttered in her ear. "For the whole stick thing, I never said I was sorry for freaking out."
"It's okay." Karen said. It was true. Her eyes were casted down to the bag. "Where are we going?"
"My parent's house. They called me a couple hours ago after you went out for breakfast." He informed her. "We'll be there for a few days. Has Stan called?"
"He called me this morning. He'll be back in a few days. A week or two maybe." Will nodded and gave her a swift kiss to the cheek again before letting go and turning away from her.
She wanted to feel guilty for lying to him about Stanley. She should have felt guilty for lying to him, but she didn't. She was more so relieved than anything that he didn't question it or demand details. Another lie wouldn't have been possible. She would have crumbled into pieces.
The Truman house was a lot smaller than the mansion on the hill. It was a cozy little place with a fire going and lights that weren't too bright or too low either. Classical music played in the background, providing some ambience, a nice change to the city of New York.
Will had carried the bags up and held onto her hand as they waited for his mother to open the door. And when the door opened, she couldn't help but smile at the blonde woman. Dressed in a cream suit with a tumbler of some liquid; she looked gorgeous.
The woman moved aside letting the two of them inside, Karen still holding onto Will's hand, not wanting to let go. If she did it may break the allusion that they were in fact together, in a real relationship. Will had introduced Karen to Marilyn, to George, to his niece and nephew; Karen slowly started to become uncomfortable.
If they were in a real relationship, Karen's heart would have constricted in her chest, her pulse would sound loudly in her ears, the temporary thought that it could be her son and daughter one day running up to their father like that made her feel guilty more so than anything. Karen forced a smile at the little boy she was introduced to and allowed the little girl to kiss her cheek. It was a real family dynamic.
And in a real relationship all of this would bother her. The quick-witted question of whether or not she was pregnant could have been twisted into some joke. But instead she stood up and disappeared. What her and Will had wasn't a real relationship, so why was it bothering her so much?