Love and Food (9 page)

              Kyle groans.  “It’s always about the restaurant, isn’t it, Haillee?  Nothing is more important than the restaurant.  Maybe I should ask you about Ethan.  You two seem to be spending an awful lot of time together.”

              “You’ve got to be kidding me.  There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Ethan.  We’re working together and that’s it.  What you’ve said is not true at all.  The restaurant is important to me, but you know how much you mean to me.  You know what, I just can’t with good conscience go through with the wedding right now.  Not with us being the way that we are.”

              “You know what?  I don’t have the energy to fight with you.  If you want to postpone the wedding, than that’s what we’ll do.  I honestly don’t really care when it happens.  If it happens tomorrow or next year, I’m fine with it.”

              “Fine,” she says, not wanting to continue their conversation any further.  She doesn’t know why, but she can’t make eye contact with him.  She can’t bring herself to look him in the eye when she feels so suspicious of him.

              “Fine.  I’m tired.  I’m going to bed.  I think it’s probably best if I sleep on the sofa tonight.”

              “Kyle...”

              “Don’t Haillee.  It will give us time to think.”

              She doesn’t say anything in response.  She decides that it’s probably better not to protest.  Maybe he’s right anyway and she’s doesn’t want to argue with him any further.  She wonders when they started arguing again, as she watches him pull blankets out of the closet.  Was it when they decided to move in with each other full time or before that?

              They decided to move in together almost right away after she found him bed with Stella.  She thought it was a good idea because she thought that it would be better if she could keep an eye on him, but now she wishes that he could go to his own apartment.  She wishes that she could be alone and think about what has been happening between them.  She wishes that she could escape his presence. 

              She gets up so that he can make up the sofa for sleep.  She tries to find something to say to calm the situation, but she can’t find any words.  She makes her way to the bedroom and closes the door.  She wonders, is this love?  Do people in love fight the way that she and Kyle do?  Do people in love have abrupt conversations and sleep in separate rooms? She can’t help but doubt it.  She wonders how she can feel so alone with another human being right in the other room.

              She gets into bed and lies there for what feels like hours.  She can’t sleep.  She goes out to the living room.  Kyle is fast asleep on the sofa and doesn’t budge at her presence.  She wonders how it is possible that he can sleep so easily.  What happened between them doesn’t seem to bother him at all.  It makes her feel even angrier with him.  She wants him to feel as heartbroken as she feels.  She watches him sleep and remembers when he came to her after her discovery of the affair.  He told her that he couldn’t sleep because of his fear of losing her.  That doesn’t seem the case this time around.  The way that he sleeps so soundly, it’s as if he’s getting the best sleep that he’s ever had.

              She walks back into the bedroom.  She pulls open her underwear drawer and pulls out a business card that she has hidden amongst the clothing.  It’s the business card of a private investigator.  She hates that it’s come to this.  She wants to believe that making the call to the private investigator is what anyone in her position would do.  She wants to believe that hiring a private investigator is something that needs to be done.  It’s a last resort, but a necessary one.  She needs to know the absolute truth.

              She places the card back in its hiding spot.  She doesn’t need to think about her decision any longer.  When she is alone, she is going to make the call and set things into motion.  She is going to find out if Kyle is being truthful with her or if he’s not.  It has taken a lot of soul searching, but she has come to a place where she is prepared for the outcome, whatever it may be.  She is ready to find out if Kyle has been faithful or if he’s remains a cheater.

* * * * *

              “If you thought that hiring a private investigator is what you needed to do, then that is what you should’ve done,” Monica says as they sit in her friend’s apartment.

              “I think that it is.  Kyle has been acting very strangely lately and I need to know if there is something going on.  I can’t just turn a blind eye, especially after what’s gone on in the past.”

              “You know what I say, knowledge is power.  If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, not knowing.  There’s a lot at stake.  You plan on getting married.”

              “Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you.  I’ve postponed the wedding.  I just can’t get married when Kyle and I are constantly fighting and I suspect that he might still be cheating.  He accused me of having something going on with Ethan, and you know what they say about when someone is accusing you of cheating, they’re probably the one cheating.  I think it would be a stupid move on my part to proceed with the wedding.  I just can’t go into a marriage under these circumstances.  It feels all wrong.”

              “Haillee, you don’t have to do anything that you’re not comfortable doing.  I would hate to see you make a mistake and have regrets down the road.  If you need to call off the wedding, do it.”

              “I really think it’s the right thing to do.  Kyle and I can get married anytime.  We could even go to city hall if we want to or elope.”

              “Exactly.  My question to you is, do you really think that you are in a healthy relationship if you have to call a private investigator to check up on your significant other?”

              “Probably not, but I’ve told you how I feel about Kyle.”

              “I know.  I know.  You do know that you could have hired me?  I would follow Kyle for free for you.  I have time off, so it would be perfect.  I would be Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew extraordinaire.”

              “I actually thought about that, but Kyle knows you.  He would probably spot you from a mile away.  He would probably make you in two seconds flat.  I needed someone that he doesn’t know or recognize, but I do believe you would make a good detective.  You’re very sneaky.  You’d probably be the best dressed detective there is, too.”

              “That’s what I would put on my business card.  ‘Monica Stern. The Best Dressed Private Investigator In Town.  All the disguises I could wear – it’s endless.  Maybe I’m in the wrong profession.  Maybe I should have become a private eye instead of a fashion designer.”

              She can’t help, but laugh at her friend’s silliness.  Monica has always been good for a laugh.  She can always rely on her friend’s sense of humor to make her feel better about any situation that she finds herself in.

              “So, what has the private investigator found out so far?” Monica says, pouring herself another glass of wine and making herself comfortable on her sofa.

              “Nothing so far.  It makes me hopeful that Kyle has been telling me the truth.  So far, Kyle has been going everywhere that he says he’s going and doing what he says he’s doing.”

              “How long has the private investigator been on the job?”

              “A couple of weeks so far.  I’m starting to think that it’s becoming a waste of time.  I’m starting to feel a little silly, actually. 

              “I don’t think that you should feel silly at all.  It’s not like your feeling are just out of blue.  You found Kyle in bed with another woman.  You have more than enough cause to be suspicious.”

“Well, I’m going to let the private investigator follow him for a little while longer and then I’m going to call her off.  There’s no point wasting anymore money.”

              “Well, I’m glad that Kyle is being a good boy.  I don’t want to see you with a broken heart.”

              “Me too,” she says, smiling from the relief that she feels.

              “So, why don’t you tell me about Ethan?  When you told me about him, I expected to find some overweight, middle-aged man wearing a suit that was in style ten years ago.  Imagine my surprise when I found sexy Ethan standing with you in the kitchen.  Is he single?”

              “You know what, I have no idea.  I haven’t got around to asking him.  I’ve been trying to keep it professional.  I have yet to find it appropriate to ask him about his personal life.  Why are you interested?”

              “What single woman wouldn’t be?  That man is sexy as hell.  Those eyes and that smile – and he’s successful!  Where has he been my whole life?  You don’t think that he’s gorgeous?”

              “Settle down, you.  Ethan is definitely good-looking, I won’t deny that, but I have Kyle and he’s enough.”

              “Haillee, you’re so boring.  Don’t tell me that late a night, you don’t fantasize about that man,” Monica says and they laugh.   

              “Absolutely not.  I have Kyle.  He is where my fantasies stop.  Thank you very much.”

              “Boring,” Monica says, taking a drink of wine and giving her a mischievous look. 

* * * * *

              She is sitting in her office, listening to the silence of the restaurant, when Mack comes rushing into her office.  “What are you doing here?” she asks, surprised to see him. 

              “I tried calling you, but I didn’t get an answer.  I figured I would find you here, so I rushed right over.”

              “Rushed right over?  What for?” she asks, confused.

              “I have amazing news.”

              “Amazing news?  What about?”

              “Do you know who Marilyn Stance is?”

              “Marilyn Stance?  Why does that name sound so familiar?”

              “You know who she is.  She is the only the biggest restaurant reviewer in the city.”

              “Mack?”

              “Well, I have a friend who is really good friends with her and….”

              “Mack, please tell me that she isn’t going to review the restaurant.”

              “She definitely is.  My friend told me that she is very interested in the reopening of the restaurant.  She has plans to review the restaurant once it’s open.”

              “You have got to be kidding me,” she says in shock.  She can’t believe what she is hearing.  Once Mack refreshed her memory, she is very aware of Marilyn Stance.  She’s read her reviews many times in the past.  She is not only aware of who Marilyn Stance is, but she is aware of what Marilyn’s reviews can do for a restaurant.  Marilyn’s reviews can make or break a restaurant.  A good review from Marilyn could send the restaurant into the stratosphere and beyond.  Marilyn’s reviews drive business through the door or send business running in the opposite direction.  She starts to feel nervousness creeping in.  The news has put new pressure on her. 

              “I am not joking, Haillee.  Isn’t this great news?”

              “I guess so,” she says, not sure if it is or not.

              “If Marilyn is happy with what she finds here, we could see a huge up-tick in business.  That woman sinks or floats restaurants.”

              “I know.  That’s what I’m afraid of.  When does she plan on coming to the restaurant?”

              “Probably in a month or so.  Haillee, this is an amazing opportunity.  I don’t think that you should be worried.  I think that Marilyn is going to love what you’re doing with the business.  There is no doubt in my mind that she is going to be impressed.”

              “I hope you’re right, Mack.  I really can’t screw this up.  When and if Marilyn comes, it’s got to be spectacular.  I need to blow her mind.”

              “I know and I think that you will.”

              “Let’s hope so,” she says.

              “Well, I’ll leave you be to finish whatever you’re doing.”

              “Thanks, Mack, and thank you for letting me know the good news,” she says, smiling at him.

              “That’s what this is, Haillee, – good news.  You know that, don’t you?”

              “I do and I really am grateful, even though I’m acting unsure.  I know what this could mean for the restaurant.”

              “Don’t worry so much.  You need to have confidence in yourself because all of us believe in you.”

              “I know you do.  Thank you, Mack.  It feels good knowing that the people around me are so supportive.”

              “Don’t mention it.  Supporting you is easy.  You deserve it.”

              “Alright.  I’ll see you later.”

              “Bye,” she says and watches him leave her office with a big smile on his face.

              It’s good news, but she can’t help but feel apprehensive.  She has never been more scared then she is now.  The ante has definitely been upped.  Marilyn Stance reviewing the restaurant is a huge development.  Her review could be a good opportunity or turn out to be a huge disaster.  Her stress level has just been raised.  She needs to speak to Ethan and they need to speed up the transformation of the restaurant and make sure that everything is perfect.