Saturday, May 17, 2008
How can Matt know her so well and not at all?
Sep 16, 1999 | Sept. 16, 1999
Sunday evening, August 15
This morning, I made a giant mistake ... I didn't know my business phone was still on -- at this time of year, it's usually so quiet on Sundays that it doesn't matter. The unfamiliar chirp of my work phone made Matt look up from his Sunday Times business section.
"What's that?" said Matt, "New phone?"
Damn! Why didn't I remember to unplug it from the wall? I turned beet red and waited for the call to jump into voice mail.
I've been so rattled by Jasmine's bitchiness -- and that mystery creep at the health club -- that I wasn't paying attention. No, it's Randy's goodbye kiss ... I've allowed myself to get so distracted by Randy that I got sloppy with my phones. Randy is walking proof that males must be kept in check: Boyfriends and wannabe boyfriends are a mental hazard.
"I'm not answering it," I mumbled.
"Why not?" he asked, frowning.
I got up from the couch, frantically wondering what to say. How could I somehow disable the phone behind his back? If both phones start ringing at once, I'll be sunk! How do I explain two phone lines? The business line is in the living room and he was showing no sign of moving from the couch. Quickly, I slipped into the bedroom and unplugged my personal line from the wall.
"What's going on?" Matt said, appearing in the doorway. I looked up numbly from where I was sprawled on the bed. "Do you want to talk about --"
"No!" I half-shrieked, thinking: What a fuck-up -- the personal line has a kitchen extension -- on the wall! How can I disable it?
As I headed for the kitchen, Matt tried to stop me.
"Why are you pacing around like this, Nancy? What have you been hiding from me?"
"Hiding from you?" I threw back at him. "You have some nerve!" After all, he's been hiding that office fling, hasn't he? Except that he has no idea that I know.
Alone in the kitchen, I ran some water and, with a shaking hand, silenced the ringer. I wanted to get him out of my apartment ... But suddenly, I felt calmer and safer because only one phone was on. Even if he were to answer my business line, well, most johns will hang up when they hear a man's voice.
Matt was now standing in front of me looking perplexed.
"Are you avoiding someone?" he asked.
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