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Miranda had been disappointed when Stephen told her about the trip but she had understood. Work was work, and she couldn’t do anything about it. She readied the best smile from her repertoire to see him off, but when she woke he was already gone.

She spent the rest of the long weekend engrossed in putting the current issue of Runway together. She had barely had time to think about Stephen’s behavior towards her of late. By Monday morning she had enough of work and so decided to head to her mother’s house for brunch.

She found Amelie, her mother, somewhat hostile. Miranda couldn’t understand why her mother insisted on certain topics lately.

“There is not a married man I know who has been faithful to his wife. Not completely faithful.”

“Is there more than one way to be faithful?” Miranda sat opposite her at the breakfast table.

“Well, of course, there is. You are not stupid Miranda, do not act like you are.”

“I simply cannot comprehend why you insist on talking about this. What are you trying to tell me, mother, that Stephen is having an affair?” She looked angrily at her mother. Why couldn’t they just have brunch? Or if she did know something, she should just say it.

“Did I say that? No, I did not. Do not put words in my mouth.” Miranda stayed quite, trying to remind herself that she did in fact love her mother even if she couldn’t imagine why at the moment. “If your father was ever unfaithful I do not know, but I cannot say one way or another with any certainty.”

That did it. “Do not bring daddy into this.” She looked pointedly at her mother. “Now why don’t you tell me about your next project for the foundation.”

“You are not going to achieve a thing thinking about what the foundation will be involved in next, instead of worrying about your marriage.”

“What I do achieve, every time I visit, is to be driven to the edge of insanity!” Miranda threw down her napkin with enough force to knock over one of the glasses filled with orange juice. With a quick, “Thank you for brunch,” she turned to leave.

Amelie sighed heavily and followed Miranda out of the dinning room. “I haven’t decided on anything yet. I was planning on discussing it at the next board meeting.”

Rachel, Amelie’s long-suffering maid, entered the room phone in hand. “It’s Mr. Tomlinson for Ms. Priestly.”

Miranda took the phone quickly. “Are you home, already?” She didn’t feel very amiable but she tried to be cordial with Stephen. “Are you at home or at the office?”

He stayed at the office to work until late, and Miranda sat on the chaise in their room, and went once more over the book, while she waited for him. She had been almost finished, when Stephen burst through the door. “Caroline uses that stupid thing as a torture device!”

Miranda looked up from the book startled. Good God, what an entrance. Miranda tried her best to not react to his outburst. She took a minute and then asked calmly, “How was your trip?”

“Horrid. JFK is a mess, and I’m not going to even mention Atlanta.”

“Mother says hello.”

“Thank you. I’ll call her tomorrow.”

Despite his behavior towards her, Stephen had always been kind and friendly towards her mother. She tried to take solace in that. She wasn’t too successful.

[]

The things men have too worry about when they’re unfaithful to their wives could fill a book, as Stephen found out the next morning. “What are you doing?”

“Unpacking your suitcase.”

“Leave it. I’ll do it.”

Miranda starred at him for a long time as he took the suitcase off the bed and headed for the closet. When they got married Miranda had quickly become accustomed to taking care of her husband’s personal things, a fact that had pleased Stephen to no end. It could be tedious at times to find an extra hour in her schedule to do so, but she had done it regardless. It was ridiculous, therefore, for Stephen to be surprised at her actions after so many years.

“I don’t mind doing it.” She said from the doorway of the closet.

Stephen remembered a book Thomas, his friend and confidant, had shown him about the different ways women catch their husband’s infidelity. “Leave it alone!” He pulled the suitcase away from Miranda and closed it.

Surprised at his roughness, Miranda began to wonder when exactly her attentions had begun to bother him. “Goodness, anyone would think you were hiding something.”

“Look for it, if that’s what you think!” He threw the suitcase against the floor. It opened on impact, scattering its contents all over the place. He walked away. She heard the bathroom door slam a moment later. He always did that. Always left her standing alone. Not this time.

She had thought things over after the conversation with her mother. She wasn’t going to stay silent anymore. “How long has it been since we’ve made love?”

“What?” He said from the sink looking at her reflection in the mirror.

“It’s a valid question.”

“After so many years of marriage…and I’ve been so busy lately. You’ve been busy as well. I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

“I’m not sure, but it been a while.”

“You don’t know but you expect me to? Do you why you don’t remember? It’s because it isn’t important.”

“Of course it’s important!”

“We’re not young, Miranda. We are going to have times when sex isn’t the most important thing on our minds.”

“So sex is only important to young people?” Miranda folded her arms across her chest and glared at him.

“That isn’t what I said. This conversation is ridiculous!”

“Ridiculous? Don’t you care about me anymore? I know you don’t look at me with desire. What I want to know is whether you still care for me or not.” She couldn’t look at him. She felt like an idiot admitting to her insecurities. Never let them see you sweat. That had always been her mantra but now…well it wasn’t the same where Stephen was concern.

“You’re my wife.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

“We are married, Miranda, we have been for decades. We share the same house, the same bed…”

She looked up then, “Yes, we do. But do you care about me?”

“This is insane! I’m going to work in the study.” He walked past her.

Miranda remembered her mother’s words from the day before. “Stephen, are you having an affair?” The question exploded from her lips before he could reach the bedroom door.

“Are you?”

“Of course not.” She said indignant.

“Then don’t ask stupid questions!”

She winced when the door slammed after him. She felt incredibly stupid but she didn’t have the time to wallow, she had to get to Runway.

Chapter Four

Nigel and Abigail ordered a coffee and tea. Abigail didn’t understand why Nigel had wanted to meet with her when he was obviously extremely busy. Nigel wasn’t looking at her though but at a young woman with small girl that were just vacating one of the other tables.

“Do you know her?”

“Yes, she’s one of Doug’s friends, Andy Sachs.”

“The columnist?”

“The very same.” Nigel waved in response to Andy’s smile.

“We had dinner with her and her daughter on Friday.”

“I thought you and Dough had left for the Hamptons on Friday.”

Nigel shook his head. “Dough had promised Jude, Andy’s daughter, that he’d have dinner with them that night so we stayed in town for the grand event.”

Abigail chuckled. “I can’t see you as uncle Nigel.”

“Oh he’s wonderful.” The young woman said as she stopped by their table. “I’m sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to say hello.” She leaned down to give Nigel a kiss on each cheek.

“Don’t worry about it. Andy, Abigail. Abigail, Andy.” Nigel introduced them while Jude claimed onto his lap.

Abigail shook Andy’s extended hand, “I’m a big fan of your column.”

Andy smiled widely at her, “I’m honored.”

“You’re the first one of Dough’s friends I’ve met.”

Andy laughed, “You’re the first one of Nigel’s friends I’ve met.”

“Mommy can we go now?” Jude put in bringing everyone’s attention to her.

“Sure pumpkin. Sorry, I promised to take her to the park.”

“Of course,” Nigel said giving a Jude a kiss,

Abigail smiled at him as he watched them leave the restaurant. “Uncle Nigel, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it.”

Nigel shrugged. “She’s a cute kid.”

“Which one Andy or Jude?” Abigail asked making Nigel laughed, and then she changed the topic. “Well, what was so urgent you escaped Runway to tell me?”

“Who do you think I saw in the Hamptons?” Nigel asked with very serious look.

“No idea.”

“Stephen.”

Abigail was glad she hadn’t been sipping her tea because she might have done something very unlady-like. “What!”

“That is not the half of it.”

“He was supposed to he in Atlanta on business.”

“Really? I didn’t know. Well then he was neither where he was supposed to be, nor doing what he was supposed to be doing.”

“Dear Lord, Nigel, please don’t tell me that…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

Nigel nodded solemnly. “He was with another woman.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Abigail tired to hold on to some hope that Stephen wasn’t being unfaithful to Miranda.

“He was kissing her.”

“Oh God.”

“I think we should tell Miranda.”

Abigail’s eyes went wide. “No, no, don’t tell her anything! We’re not even sure it was him.”

“I am.”

“Nigel, please.”

Nigel leaned back in his chair and nodded. “Do you know why men are unfaithful to women?”

“No.”

“Because women are the ones watching their backs. Look Miranda and Stephen are having problems, maybe that girl is the reason.”

[]

Several days later things came to head. Probably the most insignificant event was that Andy had gone to Nigel’s apartment to ask him, she would have begged if it had been necessary, to invite her to a dinner he would be giving the following Saturday. She knew, from grilling Dough, that Stephen Tomlinson would be there and since she was covering the story and Mr. Tomlinson refused her an interview she thought she might have better luck at a social setting where he couldn’t just brush her off.

What Andy had never suspected was that Nigel would be pleased to help her ‘torment’ Stephen, a man he only tolerated for Miranda’s sake.

That afternoon, things at the Tomlinson-Priestley household unexpectedly took a turn for the worst. Stephen had come home early surprising Cara, the nanny, and Lara, the cook, so much that they forgot to tell him that Caroline had not gone to piano lessons that afternoon and was in third floor T.V. room. It was because of this that Caroline unintentionally overheard her father on the house phone.

“Besides, I have something important to tell you…I love you.”

Caroline almost dropped the phone. She didn’t hang up because her father would know someone had been listening to him.

She was sure that he wasn’t speaking to her mother who had called to tell her she would be having drinks with Nigel after work. She also knew from careful observation that her father had never spoken to her mother in such a sweet tone of voice.