He quirked an eyebrow at her and she answered by pulling a red and white striped shirt out of her bag. Her heart lifted when he laughed and she waved it at him like a flag.
“Now you’ll look like Where’s Waldo. I thought about getting you the hat, but that seemed like a bit much. Do you want to try it on?”
“Later,” he said, checking his watch. “Right now, there isn’t time.”
“You two be good,” Aubrey said with a smirk.
Adrienne crossed the room in a few strides and hugged Aubrey goodbye. “You are totally misreading the situation,” Adrienne whispered in her sister’s ear.
“Am I? Or are you?” her sister quipped back.
#
Once settled on the plane, Aubrey’s insinuations settled like an itch between Adrienne’s shoulders and refused to be ignored. Nick couldn’t be interested in her like that. He was more Catholic than she was. She’d converted shortly before her marriage. Her parents, both scientists, had little use for religion and joked about their heathen status. But despite her agnostic upbringing, Adrienne had immediately fallen in love with the Catholic services. She enjoyed attending mass and loved the heavy choral music and liturgy. When she’d married Seb, she had thought she had made a commitment before God that bound them beyond the grave.
She had thought he had shared her commitment.
Now, she stared out the window at the clouds and endless blue sky and wondered why Seb hadn’t honored his promises and why God hadn’t heard her prayers.
Nick sat beside her with earbuds tucked in his ears. She could tell he was listening to music because his fingers tapped to an inaudible rhythm. He caught her glance. “Excited?” he asked with a smile.
She nodded. “I’ve been thinking about seeing a priest.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“About a divorce.”
Nick’s expression sobered. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Still, I’m sorry you’re going through this.”
“I know we said we weren’t going to talk about Seb,” Adrienne said.
“Mr. Bean,” Nick corrected. “And we’re not, or at least we weren’t. We’re talking about you consulting a priest.”
“I know divorce is still really frowned upon.”
“The church has a more lenient view of divorce than it does of adultery.”
“That’s good to know.” Adrienne fingered her wedding ring, wondering if she should remove it. “You don’t think God would judge me for leaving Seb?”
Nick thought for a moment. “God loves you,” he said. “He wants you to be happy. If you can be happy with…Mr. Bean, I know He would want you to stay and honor your vows.”
“I can’t be happy with the way things are,” Adrienne said.
“Of course not.”
“You wouldn’t think less of me if I divorced…Mr. Bean?”
“I wouldn’t want to, but the truth is, I would think less of you if you stayed. I’d try to understand and support your decision, but…” Nick shook his head. “If you stayed in a marriage that allowed Mr. Bean to continue his affair, that wouldn’t be good for you or Mr. Bean and the bimbo.”
“Therese isn’t a bimbo,” Adrienne said. She wrinkled her nose. “I sort of wish she were.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I really wish I could hate her.”
“I’ll hate her for you,” Nick said.
“That’s not fair. Do you even know her?”
