Andrew told me that I shouldnโt be doing any work for the house, but Monday I usually go grocery shopping, and weโre low on a lot of supplies. And after I flip through a few books I pulled out of the bookcase and watch a little TV, Iโm itching for something else to do with myself. Unlike Nina, I like keeping busy.
I have been meticulously avoiding the grocery store where that security guard tried to apprehend me. Instead, I go to a different grocery store in another part of town. Theyโre all the same anyway.
The best part is pushing my cart around the store and not having to follow Ninaโs stupid pretentious grocery list. I can buy whatever I want. If I want to get brioche bread, Iโll get brioche. And if I want to get sourdough, Iโll get that. I donโt have to send her a hundred pictures of every kind of bread. Itโs so liberating.
While I am looking through the dairy aisle, my phone rings inside my purse. Again, I get that unsettled feeling. Who could be calling me?
Maybe itโs Andrew.
I reach into my purse and pull out the phone. Again, thereโs that blocked number. Whoever called me this morning is trying to call me again.
โMillie, is it?โ
I nearly jump out of my skin. I look up and itโs one of those women Nina had over for her PTA meetingโI canโt remember her name. Sheโs pushing her own shopping cart, and sheโs got a phony smile on her plump, painted lips.
โYes?โ I say.
โIโm Patrice,โ she says. โYouโre Ninaโs girl, right?โ
I bristle at the label she gave me.ย Ninaโs girl. Wow. Wait till she finds out that Andrew dumped Nina and sheโs going to be screwed over in the divorce thanks to the prenup. Wait till she finds out that I am Andrew Winchesterโs new girlfriend. Soon maybeย Iโllย be the one she has to suck up to. โI work for the Winchesters,โ I say sti๏ฌy. But not for
long.
โOh, good.โ Her smile broadens. โIโve been trying to get in touch with Nina all morning. She and I were supposed to get together for brunchโwe always have brunch Monday and Thursday at Kristenโs Dinerโbut she never showed up. Is everything okay?โ
โYes,โ I lie. โEverything is fine.โ
Patrice purses her lips. โI guess she mustโve just forgotten then. You know Nina can be a bit flaky, Iโm sure.โ
Oh, sheโs a lot more than that. But I keep my mouth shut.
Her eyes fall on the phone in my hand. โIs that the phone Nina gave you to use?โ
โUh, yeah. It is.โ
She throws her head back and laughs. โI have to say, itโs nice of you to let her keep track of where you are at all times. I donโt know if I would be okay with that if I were you.โ
I shrug. โShe mostly just texts me. Itโs not that bad.โ
โThatโs not what I mean.โ She nods at the phone. โIโm talking about the tracking app she installed. Doesnโt it drive you crazy that she wants to know where you are all the time?โ
I feel like I got sucker-punched in the stomach.ย Nina tracks me on my phone?ย What the hell?
Iโm so stupid. Ofย courseย she would do something like that. It makes perfect sense. And now I realize that she didnโt have to go through my purse to find that playbill or call the house the night of the show. She knew exactly where I was.
โOh!โ Patrice clasps a hand over her mouth. โIโm so sorry. Did you not realizeโฆ?โ
I want to slap her across her Botoxed face. Iโm not sure whether she knew that I knew about it or not, but she looks like sheโs taking great pleasure in being the one to tell me. A cold sweat breaks out in the back of my neck. โExcuse me,โ I say to Patrice.
I push past her, leaving my grocery cart behind. I race out into the parking lot and I can only breathe again when Iโm out of the store. I put my hands on my knees and lean forward until my breathing returns to normal.
When I straighten up again, a car is making a quick exit from the parking lot. I recognize the white Lexus.
It looks like Ninaโs car.
And then my phone starts to ring again.
I rip it out of my purse. Again, it says blocked number. Fine, if she wants to talk to me, she can go ahead and say what she wants to say. If she wants to threaten me and call me a homewrecker, let her do it.
I jab at the green button. โHello? Nina?โ
โHello!โ a cheerful voice says. โItโs come to our attention that your vehicle warranty may have recently expired!โ
I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it in disbelief. It wasnโt Nina after all. It was a stupid spam caller. I just completely overreacted to the entire thing.
But I still canโt push away the feeling that Iโm in danger.
