He contemplated his answer. “We will start with my rules. After a time, we can revisit them.” She submitted. He hadn’t closed the subject. It was a minor victory or a minor defeat. Either way, it wasn’t the end of the war.
They celebrated New Year’s Eve at their home with friends: the Simmonses, their son Caleb and his fiancée Julia, Tim and a six-month pregnant Sue, and Tom and Beverly. They all had a wonderful time. They spent most of the evening in the lower level, playing cards and pool, drinking champagne, talking, and laughing.
Courtney couldn’t contain her enthusiasm regarding their son’s engagement. Julia appeared overwhelmed by her overly zealous future mother-in-law. Claire couldn’t help herself. She offered Julia some advice, “Smile and give in. It makes life a lot easier.” They hadn’t set a date yet. Courtney told Claire she may have more charitable responsibilities this year. She planned on helping Julia as much as possible with the wedding. Claire read Julia’s expression and whispered in her ear, “I promise to talk to her later.”
Julia smiled. “Thank you.”
Tim and Sue’s baby was due March 20. All the women “oowwd” and “ahhhed” at her growing midsection. It made Claire think, they’d never discussed children. About six months before she met Tony, she had the birth control insert implanted. In hindsight, that’d been fortuitous. However, considering Tony’s age, maybe this was a subject they should discuss.
Together they all welcomed the New Year with enthusiasm. “To another great year for everyone and for Rawlings Industries.” Everyone tapped glasses.
Claire and Tony both told the Simmonses how fantastic Fiji will be. Claire added, “We can’t wait to hear all about it.” Then she smiled. “Well, not all.”
Courtney blushed. Tony embraced Claire, she had filled him in on her packing advice, and they kissed. Feeling left out, Brent looked at Courtney questionably. She grinned, “I will explain later.” That made them giggle some more. The year began with a bang.
Although Tony contacted Claire directly each evening, she didn’t feel like she’d gained any liberties regarding communication. Emily had her number and would leave text messages and voice mails. Claire could read them or listen to them, but she couldn’t respond until Tony’s input was added. She learned that deleting texts or voice mails was strictly forbidden, it implied hiding. She didn’t ask, but wondered why. If Tony had access to every text why did he need to see it on her phone before she deleted it?
The Simmonses left for Fiji, and Tony missed Brent. Claire found it amusing. He would never admit Brent’s full worth, yet his absence left Tony lacking. She planned to share this secret knowledge upon their return.
Courtney asked Claire to fill in with her multiple charities during her absence. Being January, the heart of her winter blues, Claire happily agreed to the additional tasks. Unfortunately, Claire agreed to help Courtney without first conferring with Tony. “I agree they are admirable charities. I don’t think you need to be gone that much.”
“It is only for two weeks, and I already said I would help.”
“You agreed without discussing it. Did you forget about your responsibilities here? I certainly hope you are not having memory problems again.”
“I didn’t forget and I am sorry. I just wanted to help a friend. I promise nothing will go undone here.”
“You are right, because you won’t be going. Or do you not feel that taking care of your husband is important?”
Claire knew her pleas were useless. “Tony, I am sorry.”
She called each organization. “I am truly sorry I won’t be able to attend your meeting. It seems that I have double booked my calendar. If you could e-mail the information, I will forward it to Mrs. Simmons.” Those calls were made on the speaker feature of her new phone with her husband present. Suddenly, her calendar was open to Tony’s whims.
Claire believed these consequences resulted more from Brent’s absence than from her insubordination. Tony would never admit that. Her attraction toward her husband was waning. Experience taught her that it was a cyclical process. It would wane, then it would wax. She encouraged herself to be patient for the wax.
This January was less snowy than the last, which helped Claire’s disposition. Less snow meant fewer clouds, more sunshine. The Iowa air still registered below freezing but the view from her suite wasn’t that of frozen white tundra. The winter, combined with the feeling that unpredictability was predictably returning, gave her the teetering on the fence sensation from before. Continuing her personal self-therapy, she reminded herself that Courtney would be back in another week and spring was only three months away.
Admittedly more of an attempt to pacify than an act of devotion, she tried desperately to alleviate Tony’s concerns. She obediently waited for him each evening, dressed appropriately for his arrival, attentively listened to his day and concerns, discussed her e-mails, texts, voice mails, and expressed her undying affection. She even chose to not pursue the e-mails and text messages from Emily. That is, until she heard a recent voice mail. The distress in her sister’s voice was unnerving. She respectfully asked Tony if they could call her.
They did from Claire’s telephone. Having her cell phone saved the long walk to his office. They tried three times and didn’t receive an answer. Tony willingly agreed to try again later. They finally reached Emily and the information from the call was difficult for Claire to fathom. John had been accused of fraudulent billing. The Vandersols were devastated.
The morning after the call, Claire opened her eyes, realizing that she was waking in Tony’s bed. The feeling of disorientation came more from her concern over her family than from the dark surroundings. She rolled toward him, but he was gone. The clock read 7:03 a.m. If she hurried to the dining room she may catch him before he left for work. She wanted to thank him again for the ability to talk to her sister during this difficult time. Truth be known, she hoped her gratitude would facilitate her opportunity to support Emily in the future. She put on slippers and her cashmere robe and walked to the dining room. The rich aroma of coffee met her halfway down the corridor. Tony was at the head of the table drinking coffee, his plate empty and his laptop open. When Claire entered the room he looked up. “Good morning, dear. You look beautiful this morning.”
She made a face, “I think you need an eye exam,” and gave him a kiss. “I just wanted to catch you before you left.” Claire sat down at the table and Catherine poured her coffee. “I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate talking to Emily. This is a really difficult time for them.” She added some cream, watching the ivory liquid swirl into the black abyss. Then she looked up into his eyes, wondering if they were the color of the coffee with or without the cream, and added, “And I wanted to let you know I will miss you.” She smiled at the cream filled eyes as she spoke.
“Good news, I am working from home today.” Claire’s heart sank, she really wanted alone time to contemplate the John thing. However, her smile never faltered. “So you will not need to miss me.”
“That’s great! Do you have a lot of work?”
“A few web conferences and phone calls, but don’t worry, I know your schedule is free. I have some ideas for us too.” That smile and the way his eyes shone made Claire question his ideas. She would be glad when Brent returned. This Tony made her uneasy, detesting the dual personalities.
Sipping her coffee, “All right, I need to work out and clean up. I came down here in a hurry to see you.”