As soon as we’re alone, Liz asks, “Where is Joe? Cafeteria?”
“Probably.”
Clearly wanting to see him, she asks, “Are you okay? Did the surgery go well? You look like it did.”
“Did your boyfriend come with you?”
Liz blinks. “Boyfriend?”
“Yeah, the guy you’ve been cheating on me with.”
“Nax, um…it can’t be called cheating!” Frustration breaks free and she tosses her clutch bag onto the chair Joe was in. “I told you I wanted a divorce, that it was over for me.”
“Was that before or after?”
“We didn’t start sleeping together until after!”
I shout, “How could you introduce this guy to our son without telling me first?!”
Her hand flies to her chest, disarmed. “I’ve never seen you like this.”
“Never had a reason to be.”
“Interested?”
“You think my anger means I’m interested?”
“Clearly you care.”
I explode, “I care about Joe!” and wince at the pain shooting through me.
She takes a step nearer the bed. “Are you alright?”
Growling, “I’m fine. Don’t come closer.” I adjust my leg and demand, “Who is this guy?”
“They’d already met before we started seeing each other. I didn’t see the harm in him knowing that things had changed between Neal and I.”
“Neal?” I squint at her, trying to place the name. I’ve heard her say it before, but it’s outside of my mind’s reach. “Neal who?”
“The director.”
“Neal Portenhour?”
She takes a deep breath. “Yes. During our last film.”
“And this just started up, you and him, during the last film? Or was it one of the other three you’ve worked on with him over the last two years?!”
“Nax…”
“No!” I throw the blanket off, and stand up, IV hanging off of me. “You know what, Liz, I won’t believe anything you say anymore. I’m well aware of the hours it takes to make a movie, and I’m very aware of when you stopped wanting me to touch you.” Holding up my hand I cease more objections. “But telling Joe to keep a secret from me is what really pisses me off.”
Liz glares at me. “I made it very clear to Joe that since we’re divorcing, it’s okay for me to have a boyfriend.”
“You should’ve told me.”
“I didn’t think you’d care.”
“Bullshit!”
Liz gets in my face, eyes flashing, “You don’t care about anything!” Her arms fly out. “Life is a big joke to you! It’s all fun and games. You’re even smiling now!”
“I am not!”
“It’s behind your eyes, Nax! It’s always there. You take everything in stride. Nothing sticks on you. Nothing penetrates that happy-go-lucky mold God cut you out of. It’s never been like that for me! And I hate it!” Walking away she grumbles, “I feel pain when you don’t. I’m angry when you’re not. Life isn’t a game. It’s fucking heavy. And you know what else I finally had to admit — we just don’t have the same sense of humor, and humor is your biggest flaw.”
Incredulous, I step back like I just learned the world wasn’t round. “You have a sense of humor?”
Whirling around, she points at me. “Yes!”
Crossing my arms in a hospital gown with pain shooting through my leg, I cock an eyebrow, smirking, “Awesome.”
Liz growls at me, grabs her bag, and snaps, “You don’t understand.”
“I think I do.”
Walking to the door, she sighs, “I’m going to find Joe and take him back to my hotel. I brought clothes for him. I miss him. He’s been gone too long. How long are they keeping you?”
“I’ll be walking out of here tonight whether they want me to or not.”
She mutters with sarcasm, “Smart,” digging through her bag for who knows what.
“What do you have planned, Liz? I don’t want you taking Joe back to California tomorrow, or anything crazy like that. He was really scared by this.”
She shuts the bag with hands empty of anything new — I guess that was just nervous fiddling — and empathy replaces anger in her face. “I’m sure he was terrified. How about you?”
“I wasn’t scared.”
She smiles, “You’re just saying that to be macho.”
“Nope.”
Liz stares at me. “You always were good in emergencies, Nax.” Placing her clutch under a tense arm, she blinks a few times in thought. “I’m scouting locations for a new project next week that films in Upstate New York. I was going to tell you tomorrow, Monday, with an email. Then I got your angry voicemail, but you didn’t say what you were mad about. I thought you must’ve heard from my assistant that I’d booked a flight to New York.”
My eyebrows hike. “You’re here for a week?”
“Two, now that I had to change the flight.” She takes a deep breath. “Neal is coming here, too. He didn’t change his flight.” At my raised eyebrows she explains, “He’s the director on the project.”
I scoff, “Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Next week, that was the original plan. Neal has his own room so he won’t be with me and Joe. You know directors need space to work.”
“You can take Joe tonight. I want him tomorrow.”
She gasps. “I haven’t seen my son in a month!”
“And I just got shot! You weren’t here just now, Liz. You didn’t see him crying like he was sure he’d never see his dad again. Go ahead! Try to take him for two nights. See what he does.”
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Liz sighs, “Fine. I’ll bring him back to Josh’s tomorrow night.” Dropping her hand she coldly asks, “Or should I bring him to Zia’s? That’s her name, right? This woman you jumped in front of a bullet for?”
Limping to the door, I open it. “Don’t even try to make yourself feel better about Neal. We’re getting divorced. Just like you asked for, but not for the reasons you said.”
She walks through and turns to tell me, “Neal didn’t end us. We did. You and I were young when we got married, Nax. I had no idea then, that you would never grow up.”
I cock a smile. “If you’re a grown up, I’m cool with staying young.”
Zia
James is still in jail awaiting a trial, and I
