Part IV -- Ray's suspicions confirmed
Chapter 43
The ringing of his cell phone brought Ray far enough out of his stupor to where he could read the caller ID. The words "Nevada Call" appeared so he left the phone on the table until the voice mail picked up. The phone rang several more times but he never fully awakened enough to know the time.
An urgent need to empty his bladder finally forced him out of bed. On the way back from the bathroom, he stopped in the kitchen to wash down some aspirin with several glasses of water. His cell phone was chirping and the Missed Calls list indicated there were four calls from Nevada. Calling his Voice Mail, he listened to Karen's voice telling him that she could explain what happened. It was one o'clock, which meant it was only ten in Vegas.
Ray dialed the hotel and punched in her room number at the prompt. The phone rang about five times before transferring to voice mail. He told her what time it was and if she wanted to talk, she could call him back. He waited and dozed in his chair for another hour or so before giving up and going to bed.
Another intense need to piss woke him at about the time the sun was rising. Staring at himself in the bathroom mirror, he was surprised at how refreshed he felt until he realized that he had slept off and on for about ten hours.
After showering, shaving and brushing his teeth he felt like a new man. While waiting for the coffee to finish, he picked up the phone and dialed Karen's room again. Just as before, there was no answer and it switched over to voice mail. Ray did not bother leaving a message but hung up and dialed Karen's cell phone.
Someone answered her phone but immediately hung up. He called back he got the message saying that the phone was turned off.
"What the fuck is going on?" he yelled at the inanimate phone as if it could answer his question.
Standing there, staring at the silent instrument in his hand, Ray admitted to himself that he definitely was a fool and an idiot. As he put the phone back on the table he realized that the emotion he felt was sadness rather than anger.
He had already discovered that anger was not going to solve his problem as evidenced by Saturday's phone call fiasco. Going about the business of making coffee and toasting a bagel, he started to make a mental list of things to do. He already had the papers ready but he still had to decide when and where he would confront her. He knew he could not get a restraining order since he had no real proof that would convince a magistrate.
The home telephone rang just as he was preparing to leave the house to go to the hardware store. The caller ID told him it was "Out of area" so he answered it hoping it was one of the children and it was Melody calling from London.
She was all excited and gave him a rundown of her last few days without pausing for breath. She asked if Brian had called and he told her yes. He dreaded her next question about how her mother was doing but managed to get away with it by telling her he was picking her up at the airport that evening.
"There's absolutely no reason to get her upset," he rationalized about his avoiding an answer to Melody's question about her mother.
Walking through the aisles of the hardware store, he picked up replacement locksets for the front and kitchen doors. The only other outside door was the sliding door leading in from the patio and there was no key lock on that door. He could fix it so she could not get in through the kitchen door from the garage by changing the code on the garage door opener.
On the way back to the house, he decided against stopping for more beer. He knew that if he were going to be able to contain his anger when he saw Karen, he would have to be sober. Collecting the necessary tools from the garage, he changed the locks and the code on the automatic garage door opener.
He had just settled down into his chair when Brian called. He was doing fine and from the sound of his voice, he had not missed his family at all. He never asked about his mother and the Ray did not volunteer any information.
A NASCAR race was on the television but Ray's mind was absorbed in writing scripts in preparation for all of the scenarios that he could come up with when he confronted Karen. There was no use trying to pretend that it was all a mistake and that she could explain everything away.
That Sunday afternoon was one of the longest days that Ray had ever lived. No matter what he tried to think about, his thoughts always came back to the same problem. He found himself vacillating between blaming himself and blaming Karen for their problems. In the end, he always came to the conclusion that he may not be the perfect husband but that he was not at fault for her craziness.
He finally couldn't stand it any longer and left for the airport a good three hours before her plane was due to arrive. After parking the car, he roamed around the baggage claim area, watching people as they greeted each other and collected their luggage.
It was a few minutes after seven before her plane finally touched down. Ray watched the escalator and it was another 20 minutes for the passengers on her flight to start coming down to the claim area.
He sat back away from the baggage conveyors keeping an eye out for her. At first, he did not recognize her and she was halfway down the escalator before he realized it was her. Her hair was short and it was a few shades lighter than her normal dark brown. The bright lights showed that it was streaked with even lighter shades of blond highlights.
His anger rose to the surface when he recognized Montrell riding a few steps in front of her. She was carrying a purse and a clothing bag and Montrell was carrying a briefcase. Montrell reached the bottom first, then turned and waited for her to step off of the escalator. Karen stumbled as she reached the floor and Montrell put his hand out to steady her. She pushed him away and balanced on one leg while she adjusted her shoe.
After fixing her shoe, she moved to walk away but Montrell grabbed her arm and pulling her tightly against him, he tried to kiss her. She appeared to resist and push away from him. After saying something to him, she walked ahead of him to the conveyor where they stood waiting for their luggage to appear.
The unfriendly interaction on Karen's part caught his attention and he held back and continued to observe them. Finding a spot next to the conveyor, Montrell picked two large suitcases off of the belt and set them down next to him. After ten more minutes or so there were only a few bags left on the conveyor and none of them apparently belonged to either Montrell or to Karen.
Ray continued watching as they apparently discussed their options for a few moments before locating the lost and found luggage office. Montrell led the way with Karen staying a few steps behind him.
"God, she's beautiful," he thought to himself. "She looks ten years younger than she did when she left."
A Customer Service Representative examined their luggage stubs and after entering some information in her computer, she gave them several forms to complete. After filling out the forms, they turned away from the counter and Ray rose from his seat and walked towards them. Montrell spotted him first and said something to Karen. She looked up and started walking to meet him, but Montrell turned and picked up his two suitcases. Karen never looked back as he headed off towards the taxi stand without acknowledging Ray.
Karen looked as if she were about to faint as she hurried the last few steps to reach Ray. She did not try to embrace him but stood in front of him with tears streaming down her face.
"Oh, Ray, thank God you're here. After our phone call I didn't think you'd come."
She was making little fluttering motions with her hands as if she was trying to make up her mind whether or not to touch him. Ray could smell the alcohol on her breath and she seemed to be having trouble balancing on her heels.
Except for her tear-streaked face, she looked like a new woman. She wore an off white, linen sundress with a tucked bodice that showed the tops of her breasts and her cleavage. She had developed a dark tan set off by a heavy looking gold necklace with matching bracelets and dangling earrings. Her gold-colored, high-heeled shoes were held onto her feet by a few thin straps around her toes and up over her ankles. She was not wearing her wedding or engagement rings nor was she wearing the ankle bracelet that the children had given her.
Ray did not return her greeting but asked, "Where's your luggage?"
"It never arrived with my flight. They said it's probably on its way to Florida and they will get them to me as soon as possible."
"How many do you have?"
"Just one, but I let Montrell send one on my ticket since we're each only allowed two."
"OK, let's go. Do you want to wait here while I go get the car?"
"No, I'd rather come with you if it's OK."
Ray did not reply as he turned and walked towards the door. After a few steps, he stopped and took the clothing bag from her. She hurried to catch up with him as he strode across the road. Ray could hear her heels clicking on the pavement a few steps behind him.
Suddenly the clicking stopped and he turned around to see where she was. She was leaning against a concrete pillar and struggling to remove her shoes. He patiently waited until she had them in her hand dangling from the straps.
"These were not made for walking, that's for sure," she said as she caught up to him.
She slid her hand into the crook of Ray's elbow and they walked along side-by-side.
"You look really great," Ray said turning his head to look down at her. "You look like you really enjoyed yourself."
Karen looked up at him and a sob came from her throat. She squeezed his bicep so hard that it hurt him. Stopping in her tracks, she opened her mouth as if to say something but all that came out was a whimper and her face fell apart into a look of total despair.
Ray saw her look and he desperately wanted to take her into his arms and make it all better. His anger at his belief that she had betrayed their marriage kept him from following through. Turning, he continued walking towards the car while practically dragging her along beside him.
Ray let her climb up into his van without his help while he hung her clothes bag on the rack in the back. He no sooner started the car and backed out of the parking spot when Karen waved her hand at him to stop. She fumbled with the door latch and leaning out she vomited on the floor of the garage.
