I cross the lobby heading for the restaurant. I go inside. It's nice and cool and it’s still pretty quiet. I easily spot Sebastian and the others crowded around a table in the far corner of the room. It’s a buffet lunch. They’ve filled their plates and are chowing down.
Matt spots me and gives me a wave.
I wave back and then point to the buffet, letting them know I’m going to get some food and then I’ll be joining them. I go over to the buffet. I didn’t think I was hungry until I saw all of the food, but now that I can see it and smell it, I am suddenly ravenous. It’s how I always am after I’ve had a good drink the night before. I don’t understand these people that can’t eat after a night out. I wonder briefly if Sierra will have time to stop and grab a bite to eat and I wonder if I should text her and check in on her. I tell myself she’s a grown woman. She can decide for herself if she wants to stop and eat or not.
I help myself to a cheeseburger and a plate full of fries. It’s not exactly high cuisine, but it’s what my body is craving. I smile to myself when I think of Sierra trying to convince us all to go for burgers last night because the restaurants are just a rip off.
I push all of my hazy thoughts of last night away as I turn and walk towards the others. I just need to act normal and no one will suspect a thing. “How’s everyone’s heads then?” I ask as I sit down and poke a fry into my mouth.
I get back a series of groans and moans which tells me I might be the only one with a new wife, but I’m not the only one suffering from a hangover.
“It’s good to see you’re in one piece anyway,” Matt says.
I frown as I munch on my burger. “Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask.
“Well, no reason, but being that we lost you at like eleven o’clock, it’s just good to know you’re okay,” Matt replies.
“You lost me at eleven?” I ask. “I don’t remember much from last night to be honest.”
“Yeah. We went for burgers at McDonalds because stupid here couldn’t keep his mouth shut,” Matt says, nodding towards Sebastian. “And then we went to that strip joint. It was a bat shit, so we left after a cocktail or two. Somewhere between leaving the strip club and getting to the next one, you and Sierra were gone.”
“Shit. I forgot about Sierra,” Sebastian says. “Someone should really check on her.”
“I’ll go check on her.” Rick grins.
I glare at him until he looks away.
“She’s fine. I saw her this morning,” I say. “I gave her the morning off and she’ll be working this afternoon. And I don’t want any comments about that, Seb.”
Sebastian holds his hands up and shakes his head. “After the partying you did last night, my work here is done. You sure as hell weren’t thinking about work.” He grins.
“So, you have no idea where you ended up after you left us?” Matt says.
“Oh, yeah. I went back to the hotel and had a few drinks in the bar before going to bed,” I say. “I was just surprised it was so early when we left the strip club. I thought it was later.”
“We’d been drinking since lunch time though,” Mark reminds me.
“So what did you guys get up to then?” I ask.
“Oh, you missed the best part,” Matt says. “We went into this bar and they had one of those mechanical bull things going. Sebastian insisted on us all taking a turn. Mark ended up needing stitches and Bradley now holds the record for staying on the bull the longest.”
“You had to get stitches?” I ask Mark.
He nods and grins, holding up his hand and showing me a stitched cut on his palm. “It was no big deal. They had one of those mobile first aid stations just down the street. They patched me up and I got right back on it. The drink that is. Not the bull. The bull can fuck off.” He laughs.
“We went on to another casino after that,” Rick puts in. “Lost a couple of grand. And then a couple more bars and strip clubs.”
I sit listening to their stories as we eat, laughing along and finding myself shocked by some of the stories they’re telling. Not as shocked as they’d be if they heard my story though. My mind wanders back to Sierra and I wonder if she’s managed to get the papers filed yet. God, I hope the court will just grant this damned thing and we don’t have to mess with getting a proper divorce.
As I think of Sierra, I see her in my mind’s eye, her hair loose around her face and her skin looking oh, so soft. I remember how I touched her arm to steady her in one of the chapels we visited and how I got tingles along my skin when I touched her.
I think of her laugh. It’s a lovely sound. Musical and infectious and full of innocent wonder and joy. Has it always sounded like that? How did I not notice it before today? I suppose in the same way that I didn’t notice how her eyes sparkle when she tells a joke. I’ve never really looked before. Yet today, I started to look, to really see Sierra as more than just my assistant.
I mean of course, we can’t just stay married. I don’t see her as my wife. But I do see her as… something. Something more than just background noise in the office. Something that makes me want to smile when I think of her. Something that makes me let my guard down and just live in the moment and laugh.
I realize with a start that Sebastian was right about last night. I
