She told her friends briefly about the late night call from him, and how he'd pleaded with her to meet with him.
"And I'll admit to being really, really tempted," confessed Sasha. "He sounded so unhappy, so upset, that all I wanted to do was comfort him and tell him everything was going to be okay. And then it dawned on me that I'd been doing exactly that from the very beginning of our relationship. I was always the understanding one, the one who never got upset or annoyed. So I stood my ground and asked him not to call me again. Because for once I was the one who needed comfort."
Tessa reached over and gave her a little hug. "Good for you," she murmured. "You're always doing nice things for other people, always being kind and supportive. And as much as I like Matthew and feel badly for the situation he's landed himself in, I think he needs to find a way out of it on his own. It isn't fair of him to expect you to keep supporting him and not giving the same back to you."
Julia waggled a finger in Sasha's direction. "Stand your ground, girl. Don't give in to him unless he's got those damned divorce papers signed. And for God's sake don't feel sorry for him. Tessa's right. You need to think about yourself for once, Sasha. And I think a trip to Paris is an excellent way to start."
Sasha thought back on her friends' advice during the bus ride back home. Taking a vacation to Paris was certainly tempting, and it would even be worth dealing with all of the family drama that would accompany the trip. Linda had also invited her along on a trip to Sedona, where she and some friends would be renting a house, and planned to hike through the red rocks and vortexes. Sasha had only been to Sedona once, and been enthralled by its magical, mystical beauty, so the temptation to accompany Linda on her trip was high.
There was also a week-long yoga retreat and teacher training near Lake Tahoe that she'd been asked to help teach, as well as Tessa's offer just today to use the beach house she and Ian owned on the Sonoma coast.
She needed to do at least one of those things, needed to get away for awhile where she wouldn't have too much time on her hands to mope and feel sad and lonely, and miss Matthew something fierce. Sasha knew that she'd fallen into a deep funk, and no matter how often she meditated, or how hard she pushed herself through an intense yoga practice, nothing seemed to be helping.
Even Julio was quickly growing frustrated with her, since the bulk of his efforts to cheer her up didn't seem to be doing the trick. He'd cheerfully accompanied her to art shows, a modern dance performance, and a poetry reading, and never complained once - though he had fallen asleep during the latter. He had watched movies with her, even the foreign ones with subtitles, and accompanied her on long walks and hikes. Chad, who fancied himself something of a gourmet chef, had cooked up a number of her favorite vegetarian dishes, and coaxed her to eat when her appetite had been lacking. And she'd even let the two of them drag her along to watch Sadie perform a brand new dance at the so-called gentleman's club she moonlighted at. Nothing, however, had seemed to help for very long, and no matter how hard she tried to remain positive and upbeat, Sasha quickly found herself descending back into a funk. And she feared that getting out of town for a week or two wouldn't help her to stop missing Matthew, or cure the bad case of the blues she'd come down with.
She did smile, however, after arriving home and checking her phone for messages. There was a text from Elena, who had kept in regular contact with her, and had made no secret of the fact that she was good and pissed off at her boss. Rather than act supportive and sympathetic, Elena seemed intent on making Matthew's life as difficult as possible, as evidenced by this morning's text.
Hey, chica. Comé está? The boss looks like crap this morning but what else is new. And he's so out of it he doesn't realize that I brought him decaf instead of regular. He'll figure it out when he falls asleep at his desk after lunch. #Revengeissweet.
Sasha shook her head in reluctant amusement, feeling an odd sort of satisfaction that Elena was obviously taking her side, but also feeling sorry for Matthew at the same time. She tapped out a quick reply.
No revenge, please? At least not on my account. He actually needs you more than ever right now so please do what you can for him. Some caffeine would be a good place to start.
Her phone pinged with an incoming text almost immediately, and this time she couldn't help herself from laughing out loud.
OK, chica. But this is for you not him. Besides I already got my revenge for the day when I brought him a blueberry bagel and strawberry banana yogurt after he asked for sesame seed and vanilla. He must have been hungry tho since he ate them anyway.