The truth of the matter was Melanie didn’t know how to tell Cameron about Janet Doka and the picture she found on Rob’s phone. She’d been racking her brain, trying to think of any logical reason, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t one. Melanie took a long sip of her wine before locking eyes with Cameron.
“So,” Melanie took a deep breath, “I need to tell you something.”
Cameron perked up, sitting up straighter. “Oh, tell me. What is it? Is it good work gossip?”
“No.”
“Bad work gossip?”
“No.”
“Work gossip?”
“No.”
“Do I have to keep guessing or are you going to tell me?”
“I think Rob is cheating on me.”
The words were out of her mouth before Melanie had time to think of a better, perhaps more tactful, way of saying it.
Melanie didn’t know how she expected Cameron to react, but her almost lack of reaction caught Melanie off guard.
“Well, I can’t say I’m not surprised.”
“What does that mean?” Melanie could hear the defensiveness in her tone.
“Mel,” Cameron nervously laughed, “come on.”
She seemed to wait for Melanie to catch up to what she wasn’t saying. And although Melanie knew what Cameron meant, she pretended she didn’t.
“Whatcome on? What do you mean? Why aren’t you more surprised at this?”
“Because you and Rob haven’t been happy in awhile. You’ve told me that several times before, remember?” Cameron didn’t wait for a response. “And, I’m sorry, but no person in their right mind goes twoyearswithout having sex with you. I know I wouldn’t.”
Under normal circumstances, Melanie would have just breezed past Cameron’s comment as a silly little friend joke. But there was something different in the air between them.
And in Cameron’s blue eyes.
“What—what do you mean by that?”
Cameron seemed to realize what she’d said as a momentarily scared look flashed across her face. It was quickly replaced by a smile, the one Melanie knew Cameron had when she was trying to fake it.
“I’m just saying you’re a catch and Rob is an idiot if he’s cheating on you. Which, by the way, how did you find out?”
“I saw her contact photo on his phone. It was of him kissing her cheek.”
“Shit.”
“Yup.” Leaning toward the coffee table, Melanie picked up the bottle of wine and refilled their glasses. “Is it bad that I’m not surprised? That’s bad, right? This isn’t how a wife shouldreact when she finds another woman’s picture on her husband’s phone, is it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had a husband’s phone to look at.” Cameron’s smirk made Melanie feel slightly more at ease.
She felt better having told Cameron about her suspicions. Although Melanie hadn’t planned on telling anyone until she had more concrete details, she also didn’t know what more she’d need to convince herself that Rob was cheating on her. And even if he wasn’t having sex with Janet, the mere fact he was snowboarding with and kissing other women meant their marriage was past being over.
Great. I failed at that too.
Melanie kept that thought to herself as she and Cameron stalked Rob’s newwhateveron social media. They snuggled on the couch under the same blanket as Cameron scrolled on her laptop sitting in her lap.
