I miss you too. Last night was awesome.
My body heated up at the reminder of the night and suddenly, I couldn’t wait to go home. I felt like the luckiest man on earth to sleep next to a sexy gorgeous woman every night.
How’s Molly?
Her response was instant.
Crushed. Penelope didn’t show up.
Hot searing anger washed through me. What was the matter with Penelope? Didn’t she know she held a little girl’s heart in the palm of her hands? I typed a quick reply.
See you soon and give her a kiss from me.
I turned off my laptop, packed it and several minutes later, I headed out to the parking lot. Penelope wasn’t going to get away with such behavior, I thought as I drove towards The Sheraton hotel.
My mind worked out a plan as I drove. If I announced myself at the reception, Penelope would bolt. I needed to catch her by surprise. Except, I didn’t have her room number. I drove my car to the underground parking of the hotel. I fished out my phone and searched for the phone number then hit call. "Good evening, my name is Luke Meyers and I'd like to be put through to my wife's room. Her name is Penelope Meyers and she’s in room..." I let my voice trail off as though I was trying to remember.
As I’d thought, the clerk put me out of my misery, "Room 204, Sir. I've put you through. Have a nice day."
When the phone rang in Penelope’s room, I disconnected the call and got out of the car. I walked through the lobby to the elevators. Room 204 was on the second floor and seconds later, I strode down the heavily carpeted hallway.
Penelope’s room was at the very end. I put my ear to the door and heard muted voices coming from inside. One voice sounded deeper, like a man's voice. My insides clenched. I raised my hand and knocked as softly as I could, not wanting to alert her that it could be anyone else other than the hotel staff.
I heard soft steps and then the door swung open.
Penelope emerged wrapped in a white towel. Her hair was messed up and she had the just-fucked look that was hard to miss. Her mouth fell open when she saw me.
I didn't give her time to react and pushed my way in.
I stepped into the room and stared at the blond-haired young-looking man in the bed.
He looked back at me, his mouth falling open with dismay.
Silly boy! He probably thought I was a husband who had caught his wife cheating. And he was in for it.
"What are you doing here?" Penelope hissed, coming to my side.
"Why didn't you come and visit Molly? You promised her you would." I could barely control my anger.
She shrugged and looked away.
"I thought so!" I snapped. "You chose a man over your daughter, yet again!"
"It’s not like that, Luke," she said. "Why do you always have to make such a big deal of things? I was going to come tomorrow."
I shifted my glance to the man again. He didn’t look old enough to have a job or the ability to keep Penelope in the lifestyle she liked. She was probably just using him to satisfy her itch until something better came along. It meant that he wouldn’t be around for long. I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. Why was she lying to Molly then? Even a half hour visit would have pleased Molly.
"Get dressed!" I barked. "You're going to see Molly now, if you ever want to see her again, that is."
She opened her mouth to protest and then shut it. "Can you excuse me?"
I didn’t intend to leave the room. I walked to the window and stared out. Behind me, Penelope clicked her tongue and I heard the rustle of clothes.
"Are you just going to leave me here and go with him?" the young man in bed asked a petulant note in his voice.
I snorted in disgust. He was just a kid. How could Penelope stand to be with such a young person? Didn’t she get irritated by the child like behavior? Then I remembered how Penelope herself behaved like a child.
There were two words she hated. Responsibility and Commitment. Why hadn’t I seen it before I married her? Had I been so infatuated with her good looks to see the real person underneath? And yet, I couldn’t regret marrying her. She had caused me a lot of pain but she had also enriched it by giving me Molly. For my daughter alone, I refused to think of Penelope as a mistake.
"Well, you can wait for me," Penelope said to the kid in a cajoling tone. "I'll have something good for you when I come back. I promise."
That seemed to satisfy him and he didn’t say another word.
I shook my head. They deserved each other.
"Okay, I'm ready," Penelope announced minutes later.
When I turned, the young man was engrossed with his phone. When he wasn’t looking at me, I could truly see how young he was.
Penelope and I walked to the car wordlessly.
"I don’t understand you," I said to her when we got into the car.
She let out a dramatic sigh. "You're going to start on the lectures again."
"You sound like a child!" I snapped. "And you’re a grown woman with a five-year-old child."
Penelope sniffed.
Even if she cried, her tears wouldn’t move me. "Molly waits for you every day and you keep disappointing her. Can’t you make time for her when you say you will?”
She didn’t respond and stared outside the window instead.
I hadn't expected her to respond but I had a plan B. I intended to resort to threats. I'd do anything I had to do to get her to do the right thing.
Clearly, Penelope wasn’t wired like other parents. She saw no big deal in disappointing her daughter over and over again.
I waited until we got home
