“Yes. Tell her. All of it. She loves you. Do you really think Nicole gives a shit about the money, the houses, or the cars?”
“I promised myself, that my family would have everything.”
“See, that’s the problem. To Nicole, you and the kids are everything.”
Jane could tell that she had given Davis a lot to think about. She understood the root of his anxiety. But somewhere along the way, Davis forgot that material things were never more important than the people you love. Even if he thought what he was doing was for the right reasons, he was screwing things up. She gave him a small smile. “You better get going, or you’ll be late, and all of this madness this morning would be for nothing. I’ll get DJ ready and call you when the appointment is over.”
Davis nodded. He heard every word Jane had said, but she was wrong about telling Nicole everything. It was his job to protect her, and that’s what he planned to do.
Chapter 5
Nicole took off like a bat out of hell from her garage. Driving while angry was never a good idea. She had about half an hour ride before she arrived at her meeting and needed to vent. There was only one person she trusted to have this kind of conversation, and the woman was thousands of miles away in Fiji. Nicole hated to call this late because of the time difference, but if she didn’t talk it out, her emotions were going to run over. She pressed the speed dial button. When the phone rang, it came through the speakers of her car loud and clear. It rang two more times before a groggy sounding Dana Lasso picked up.
“Hello? Nicole?”
“Hey. I’m sorry to wake you, but I need to talk.”
Dana tried to clear her mind. “That’s okay. It’s only 1:19 a.m. here. I think my brain will work. What’s going on? Is everything alright?”
Nicole’s throat was thick with emotion. “My marriage is in trouble.”
It was those words that woke Dana, and her joking tone evaporated. She took off her sleeping mask and sat up in bed. “Wait? What? That’s crazy talk. I know things have been tough lately, but you two love each other.”
“In the famous words of Tina Turner, What’s Love Got to Do with It? Yes, we love each other, but the problem is Davis doesn’t take me seriously. He doesn’t respect me, or see me as an equal—as his partner and probably never has.”
“That’s not true. Why would you say that?”
The well of Nicole’s eyes began to fill and everything she’d been holding in for months tumbled out of her mouth along with the tears. “Nothing that is important to me is important to him whether it’s my work placing kids into good foster homes, the foundation, or even our family. He can’t even be bothered enough to fake it! The man is almost never home! He works constantly. I’m tired of feeling like I’m in this marriage by myself. I’m so physically exhausted. I literally have to take Vivarin like they are pieces of candy just to have the energy to get through the day. I think . . . I’m having a nervous breakdown.”
“Let’s take this one thing at a time.” Nicole was her friend, but today, she needed to put on her therapist’s hat. “What triggered all of this?”
“Dana, I need a friend, not a doctor!”
“Sounds like you need both. Now talk!”
Nicole squeezed the steering wheel. “I’m sorry. See? I’m turning into a real bitch. I’m not usually like this. I don’t even want to be around myself.”
Jane pressed. “What happened?”
“Other than the usual of having to do everything all by myself? Well, DJ’s been sick. Between his teething and an ear infection, I’ve only been able to sleep like 2-3 hours a day for the past couple of weeks. It’s bad enough Davis misses everything including dinner with the kids and me, but yesterday, I asked him to do one thing—one thing! I asked if he could take DJ to the doctor because I have a meeting this morning. Can you believe he delegated it to Jane! He couldn’t even find the time to take his own son to the doctor!”
Dana frowned with concern. “That doesn’t sound like Davis. After losing his sister to pneumonia when he was a child, he’s overly sensitive about stuff like that. I mean, the man freaks out when any of you come down with a common cold. Are you sure something else isn’t going on?”
“I doubt it. For argument’s sake, if there were, shouldn’t he have told me?”
“Yes, but you know men, especially the pigheaded ones. Sometimes they want to get all hunter-gatherer on you.” Dana needed to switch gears. “Nicole. You’re not superwoman. It’s okay to hire help especially since you both have hectic schedules lately. That won’t make you less than a mother.”
“What? A nanny? Someone else to raise our kids? No, thank you. Our children have two perfectly healthy parents. There’s no reason why Davis can’t help out more. He hasn’t always been like this. It’s just over the past year or so . . . I don’t know . . . I only need a little more help from him.”
“Nicole, are you sure there’s not something else going on? You just said that Davis is acting differently. My suggestion as your friend, and if I were treating you as a patient, which I’m not because it would be unethical . . .” She snickered. “Take the man out
