At breakfast, Jake was amused by how much Mary ate.
“What? I worked up an appetite.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Can’t wait to see what you have for lunch. It could be a great afternoon.”
He signaled the waiter for another round of freshly squeezed orange juice, hot black coffee, and crispy bacon.
“Hey, do you know why Dot’s not answering Danny’s texts?”
Mary knew. But Dot had sworn her to secrecy.
“She’s not answering his texts?” Mary asked innocently.
“No. He said he knows she’s really busy, but that it isn’t like her to not respond. He said he’s worried that she’s ghosting him.”
Mary hated the thought of Danny being upset or worried. But she knew that Dot was devastated by what she’d seen in the window when he was with that other woman. She decided to test the question.
“Do you know if Danny is seeing other people while he’s dating Dot?” Mary asked.
“Danny? Dating? Hell no,” Jake said. “Who would he be dating? He’s got his eyes fully on Dot. Why?”
“Well, what if Dot might have seen him with another woman?”
“When? Where?” Jake asked, moving into investigative mode.
“Oh, Jake. Dot made me promise not to say anything. But she called us in a total panic a few nights ago,” Mary said, knowing she was revealing one of Dot’s secrets. “That mean girl Maddy had just confronted her in a store about Danny and when she was walking home, she saw him through the window with another woman at Cocoa and Cabernet. She was devastated.”
“Wait. This isn’t right. Something else is going on here. Danny’s not dating anyone else. And that girl, Mad—she’s been a pain since junior high. She was friends with Sadie, but she has no business getting in between Danny and Dot. This is crazy. I have to tell him. He has a right to know. There’s got to be a mix-up.”
“No! You can’t. At least not yet,” Mary said, trying to slow Jake down. “Let’s think about it. Maybe there’s been a huge mistake. Or maybe he’s like most guys and plays the field.”
“What do you mean like most guys? Are you including me in that?”
“No, I...”
“Why do you think that all guys are the same?” His face turned red. “Look, Mary, I don’t know what men are like in New York, but I sure as heck know that what you’re describing about Danny and what you’re insinuating about me is not accurate.”
“I know that. I’m sorry,” she said.
Jake set his napkin down over his plate. He’d not finished his meal. “I’m done.”
“Okay, let’s go,” she said, pushing her chair back.
“I mean, I’m done right now. I need a minute,” Jake said.
“Jake, I said I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”
“But Mary, maybe it’s time we talked about this.”
Oh no, she thought. Was this the big talk she’d been dreading?
It was. He read her reticence and plowed ahead anyway.
“Mary, we need to talk,” Jake said. “We can’t keep avoiding it.”
She nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it. You first.”
Jake took a breath and squared his shoulders, then looked directly into Mary’s eyes.