The Sidelined Wife(43)

From the corner of my eye I could see Reed being seated two chairs down  from me by the cute looking grandma woman. I wanted to trade, though I  doubted Reed wanted a man touching him.

My phone buzzed. Who's the Don Juan getting ready to rub you with oil?

Tony.

You're on a first name basis?

It's a requirement before someone touches me.

I hope you didn't give him your NDA.

I giggled too loudly.

"I'm sorry, did that tickle?" Tony was taking my right foot out of the water.

I set my phone down. "No."

"So what do you do?"

Ugh. He wanted to talk.

"I'm a bookkeeper."

Did he glance at my empty ring finger?

Reed answered for me. He just checked for a ring.

I grinned down at my phone before texting, How was your day?

Fine until now.

I heard Reed ask his tech what a margarita pedicure was. I was curious,  but she better not invite him to the back room. She mentioned something  about a tequila scrub. I didn't catch it all because Tony's hands were  all over my calf. I'm not going to lie, it felt divine. If only he  wouldn't talk.

"I just moved here from California."

That explained the tan.

"That's nice."

It's not nice, Sam. He's touching you more than I ever have.

I cleared my throat so I wouldn't laugh again. Are you jealous?

No.

Of course he wasn't. We were only having fun. But something like  disappointment bounced around in my head. I had to remind myself I liked  our arrangement.

"Are you from around here?" Tony ran his hand up my leg.

I had to think for a second about what to say. My phone was buzzing like  crazy, not helping me formulate a response. I finally just looked at  it. Tell him no, repeatedly appeared on my screen.

"No." I gave Tony a strained smile.

"Just in town visiting?" His hands worked their magic on my feet,  rubbing all the right places, almost making me forget how uncomfortable  this all was.

Reed began coughing loudly to my left.

His cute little woman asked him if he wanted some water.

"No, thank you," he responded.

I took his nonverbal cue. "I'm here visiting an old friend." That was a completely true statement.

I picked up my phone when Reed texted again.

Nicely done. This guy has sleazeball written all over him.

He's just doing his job.

Right, while he's undressing you with his eyes.

Relax.

I will once he stops groping you. At least pretend you aren't enjoying it.                       
       
           



       

I caught a peek of the little lady rubbing the tequila scrub into Reed's foot. It looks like you should be enjoying yourself.

She's old enough to be my grandmother.

You like older women.

"Ooh," I jumped. Tony had hit a sore spot. The kind that hurt, but felt good when it was rubbed.

I detected movement from Reed. His tech asked if everything was okay.

"Yes," Reed growled.

Tony, on the other hand gave me a grin. "You have a knot in your foot. Don't worry, I'll work it out."

Did you by chance look at my speech? I had emailed him a copy of it this afternoon once I was finished.

Is this guy making you uncomfortable? He didn't answer my question.

I tried to sneak a look at Tony; I didn't want to make direct eye  contact. He looked to be enjoying himself more than any other tech I'd  ever had. Kind of, but I think it has more to do with the fact that  you're here, watching.

I would rather be the one touching you.

Do you rub feet?

Very well.

Is that an offer?

Yes. By the way, your speech was brilliant.

Really?

I loved the line where you said, ‘No one will ever truly be empowered  until we can see each other and work together as equals. For no one is  truly empowered until we all are.' Very insightful.

I just made that up.

Reed chuckled to my left.

Just kidding, I texted again.

I did feel that way-my only hope was to live it and breathe it. Teach it  to my son. Help the women in my life feel like they could overcome  anything, even teach my own mother, if necessary. If Ma only knew the  heartache Delanie was going through. But Delanie swore us to secrecy.  She didn't want to be looked at as the infertile couple. I could  understand that.

My thoughts were interrupted by Reed's tech, who was complimenting him  on how smooth his feet were and how impressed she was with his trimmed  toenails.

I guess my secrets are out now.

I like a man that takes care of his feet.

Is that one of your husband requirements, along with spine-tingling kisses?

It is now.

What else?

You'll have to keep reading my blog.

Tony was done with my right leg and reaching for my left foot and leg. I  had almost forgotten about him for a second. It was easy to get caught  up in Reed. That all ended, though, with the woman seated next to me.

"OMG. Are you the Sidelined Wife?"

I didn't think women my age should say OMG. And I didn't particularly  like being recognized, especially because that meant that my date with  Reed was all but over, unless I wanted to be overtly rude. It was  tempting.

I fired off a quick, Sorry, before I faced the woman that would proudly  call herself a trophy wife. You know the type. Huge, sparkling wedding  ring, all the right designer brand-name clothes. Her long, auburn hair  was impeccably draped to the side. Tony was now wishing he was with her  and not me, by the way his tongue was wagging. It wasn't surprising. I  was the sidelined wife, after all.

"I'm Samantha." I reached over to shake the woman's hand.

"Belinda." She did that shake where she hardly gripped my hand. "It's so  nice to meet you. My girlfriends and I were just talking about you at  the country club. We were all like, have you read the Sidelined Wife?  She's hilarious, but maybe a little bitter-no offense."

"None taken."

"And I was like, she looks so pretty online, but I bet she was  Photoshopped, because really, if she looked that good, her husband  wouldn't have left her." She took a deeper look at me after insulting  me. She shrugged. "I guess I was wrong. No Photoshop." She was awfully  disappointed.

I couldn't help but turn to Reed to see if he had heard. Even though he  was looking at his phone, I knew he had. His face was blotched in red  and his jaw was tighter than Belinda's botoxed forehead.

I wasn't sure how to respond to this woman.

My phone buzzed and Reed had a suggestion too crude for me to repeat.

Belinda didn't seem to care that I hadn't responded or that she  marginalized every woman that had ever been cheated on by callously  blaming it on looks. "If you're local, you really should join the  country club, there's a lot of single men-"

Tony's head popped up at the mention of me being local. Great, now I was going to get caught in a lie.

"Thank you, but I'm not interested." I tried to skirt over the issue and  decided I would go ahead and be rude. I texted Reed. Can you believe  this woman?

Belinda didn't get the hint. "Of course you are. You know those looks  won't last forever. If you want to snag another man, you better get on  it." She sounded like my mother, but worse, which I didn't know was  possible when it came to this subject.                       
       
           



       

I'd had enough. I turned toward beaming Belinda. "I appreciate your  offer, but if and when I ever decide to remarry, it will be to a man  that is more concerned about who I am as a person and not how I look."

Her mouth fell open in disbelief. "Honey, men fall in love with their eyes, not their hearts."

"You haven't met the right men then."

"You can believe your fairytale." She turned in a huff.

I looked down at Tony, who was painting my nails at a furious pace, hoping to help Belinda, I'm sure. Why wasn't I surprised?

Don't believe her, Sam.

I stared at Reed's message. I didn't want to believe her, but sometimes I wondered.





Chapter Thirty-Seven


Our pedicure date was not the fun or relaxing event I'd hoped it would  be. The worst part was that we wouldn't be able to see each other for a  while, at least not alone. Suddenly, life and the Sidelined Wife took  over. I wasn't sure how to feel about it.

First up was homecoming. It, too, did not go as planned. The Panthers  lost their first game by one measly point. It was hard fought. Cody  didn't get to play at all. And Neil was another no-show. The season was  going to be over soon, and I had zero hopes of him making it to a game.  His excuse this time was a false labor scare. I knew the due date was  close. To be honest, it had me reliving a lot of bad memories. I'd  wanted more children more than anything. It had caused a lot of discord  in our marriage.

Cody wasn't the easiest of babies; he was colicky. Once we got that  sorted out, he was a party animal at night. I felt like I didn't sleep  for two years. They were rough times, but I loved it, if that made  sense. His smile in the middle of the night always made up for it. Neil  was not left with the same impression. I think he was jealous of the  time I had to give Cody; Neil's baby was his career.