Tear Stained Beaches Read Online Free PDF Page B

share his conversation. He didn’t look up; just looked at his plate, and cuthis chicken into the perfectly even pieces he needed before he would take a bite.
    I rolled my eyes and stabbed my fork into the grilled chicken on my plate and then asked, “Important phone call?”
    “No. Just Alex making sure we were still on for tomorrow.”
    Alex was one of the husbands in our cul-de-sac. He was married to a petite brunette named Allison. This was her second marriage. She was thirty-four and he just twenty-five. They found out they were having their first child about six months into their relationship. Alex proposed just a few months later and they had married in a small garden ceremony two months before Allison welcomed Austin into the world. They had a little girl named Madelyn a year later.
    Alex had started coming around more and more lately, as apparently, he realized a little too late, that he wasn’t ready for the whole kid thing just yet. He needed time away and would ask Chase to head to the local pub for a beer. He was also Chase’s main workout buddy. Every weekend they made it a point to hit the gym in mornings before doing anything else. However, I knew better. The voice on the other end of the line was not Alex. I knew contradicting him would just end in another fight. Lately, that phone seemed to be core of all of my anxiety, but I didn’t say a word.
    We went to bed that night like nothing happened, and the next morning I woke up to an empty bed. Chase was already at the gym with Alex by the time I awoke. It was my one Saturday of the month I had to work at the country club, but with all the stress I’d been under I had woken before my alarm had gone off. 
    I distracted myself with housework for the next hour, trying to ignore the fact that Chase hadn’t even woke me up to kiss me goodbye. I vacuumed all the bedrooms, dusted the dressers, mopped the tile floors and threw in a few loads of laundry. I rearranged the furniture on our wrap around front porch , and sat down to pay some bills that were due the next week. By that time I had to get ready for work.
    All day I kept thinking about the voice on the other end of the line. Who could Chase have been talking to, and why was it so important for him to lie about it? Was he really capable of cheating on me? His secrets, distance and excuses had begun to set in, and my paranoia had officially begun. I checked my phone regularly, but didn’t hear from Chase all day. When it was time for me to lock up and head home, I called to see where he was; but no answer. This was not the kind of life I thought I would be living. My marriage was failing and it was the worst feeling in the world.
    “Dammit.” In the midst of repeatedly dialing Chase’s number, I dropped my purse onto the pavement and all the contents scattered over the ground. I heaved everything back in and walked to the car. The car shook when I slammed the door. I shoved the key in the ignition and stomped on the accelerator.
    After arriving home, I called Chase a few more times, with no success. Finally, just as I was about to relax in a bubble bath, my phone rang. I picked it up
    “It’s about time.” 
    “Hi babe, sorry I missed your calls earlier, but I don’t really have service in here.”
    “Where are you?” I demanded.
    “Alex and I decided to go out for a few beers in the city. I hope that’s ok. I won’t be home too late.
    I shook my head in disbelief. I felt hopeless and was tired of always being angry. I didn’t argue his boys night out, I just hung up the phone and poured a tall glass of wine. I sunk into the bubbles of the Jacuzzi tub and let the warm water relieve the tension that had built up in my muscles. The name Alex was really starting to get on my nerves.
    I tried to relax and drown my sorrows by blaring Nick Lachey’s What’s Left of Me CD. Even the lavender bath oils couldn’t calm me. After awhile my eyes grew heavy. I drained the tub and dressed for bed. Sleep